Christmas Is Amazing

The snow sifted down from a gray sky as my mother and I looked out the windows of the trolley station waiting for the Red Arrow to arrive. It was pretty exciting to take the trolley car to 69^th Street, the main shopping area in the western suburb of Philadelphia. In 1952 the term “shopping center” did not mean a mall, it referred to a region in the city or town where the commercial shops were clustered. We boarded the trolley for the trip that was just about 30 minutes long. In the brief time it took to get to our destination, the snow had intensified. When we got off the trolley there was already an inch of snow on the streets and sidewalks. For a four-year old this only added to the excitement of the Christmas shopping adventure. Christmas carols were playing outside the shops and department stores, and people bustled around the slushy sidewalks like folks on a mission. Display windows were filled with all sorts of merchandise to entice a person to enter and find the perfect present to give to that special person.

I recall how I was drawn to the department store windows that had model electric trains running through miniature villages with mechanical buildings and people dotted throughout the display. Such fascination caused me to become separated from my mother from time to time, and generated a response from my mother to hurry up so we could complete our shopping excursion. So, through the snow blown horizontal by a bitter wind, we trudged up the hill where the stores lined the streets to reach the one where Mom wanted to shop. Across from that department store was the Woolworth’s 5 and 10 cent store and the lunch counter where we always stopped. I knew this meant a grilled hot dog and a chocolate soda. That made the trip up the hill less of a chore, despite the fact that the snow was falling heavier and was getting deeper.

Outside Woolworth’s was a trio of Salvation Army folks ringing bells and playing brass instruments. They faithfully stood in the growing snow storm to receive donations in a red pot suspended from a black tripod. These people always fascinated me; and I was equally intrigued by the fact that those who made a donation received a colorful booklet that looked somewhat like a comic book. We passed them going into Woolworth’s for our lunch. While I ate my meal I asked Mom about these people. She told me that they were Christians who wanted to tell others about Jesus and his birth, and that they helped lots of people who did not have food and clothing. As we got ready to leave the lunch counter, I decided I wanted to give them some of the money I had brought to do my shopping. We passed by them and I put the money in the pot and kept walking. The lady ringing the bell stopped me and gave me the booklet and wished me a merry Christmas. I carefully tucked the booklet in my coat and we continued our Christmas shopping.

The day really did turn into an adventure. The storm had turned into a full scale blizzard. I am sure if the Weather Channel was around we would not have been caught off guard – then again maybe we would! We got back into the trolley and headed to Oakmont. At the trolley station we were greeted by drifts of snow that covered my knees and caused Mom to stuff old newspapers in her boots to keep the snow out. Roads were unplowed and impassable. A kind neighbor man on the same trolley carried me much of the way home as I could not navigate the drifts and Mom’s hands were full of her purchases. When we finally made it home we were wet and felt like frozen popsicles. Taking off my coat I felt the wet booklet I had been given. I began to cry because I thought it was ruined. Mom comforted me by saying she could put it on one of our cast iron radiators and dry it out. She promised me she would read it to me later in the evening.

Before bed Mom brought the now dried yet wrinkled booklet to my bedroom. There she read to me the story of Christmas and how Jesus, God’s Son, was born and placed in a manger. She showed me the pictures of shepherds and wise men. She read that Jesus came because God so loved the world and me that he gave His Son to come to earth so that people could have eternal life. I cannot remember if I had ever heard the story before. But I have never forgotten the amazing story she read that night huddled under my covers as the wind howled outside and snow and sleet pelted my window. To me it was amazing to think that God loved people so much that he gave His Son to come from heaven to a world like this.

For many years after that I would go to my closet as Christmas approached and retrieve that wrinkled Salvation Army booklet. I would read for myself the reason for Christmas and continue to be amazed. The last time I saw the booklet was when I went to college and cleaned out my closet. When I saw the wrinkled booklet I flipped through the pages and was again amazed at God’s great love. Now in my sixties, I do not have the booklet. I can read my Bible about the same account that I read in that booklet and I am still amazed. You never see Christmas the same once you realize how amazing it really is. How about reading in the Bible that amazing story for yourself as this Christmas season approaches (Luke 2:1-20 is one suggested passage)? Christmas is amazing!

What Is the Value of One Person?

What is the value of one person? I recently pondered that question on an early morning flight from Whitehorse in Yukon Territories, Canada. My wife and I had just finished ministering at a conference with a committed group of Christian workers and their families who are lovingly serving people in a sparsely populated area of the world. On takeoff the plane banked over the city of Whitehorse. The plane’s window revealed a tight cluster of lights poking into the surrounding darkness. This small city, which is the territorial capital of Yukon, has a population of about 23,000 – representing two-thirds of the entire population of Yukon. When Wikipedia describes Yukon as “sparsely populated” that is probably an overstatement. Imagine the remaining population of 9,000 spread over almost 186,272 square miles. Now that is “elbow room!”

At this conference I was privileged to serve people who are excited to be called by God to declare good news and hope to people in very isolated settings. The conference for these workers was held at a Christian camp located along Marsh Lake, the headwaters for the Yukon River. The camp was situated by a beautiful lakeside ringed by snow-clad mountains whose reflection fills the surface of the lake. It was a rustic camp – meaning outhouses, woodstoves for heat, and running water which involved running to the dining room for hot water hoping it did not cool too much on the hike back to the cabin in below-freezing temperatures. I suspect we were privileged to be in a cabin that had some electric heat because they feared we might burn a cabin down trying to stay warm.

One morning, while leaning my elbows on the table and cupping a mug of steaming coffee in my hands, I commented to one of the attendees that the camp was beautiful and somewhat rustic. He responded, “Welcome to my world!” Conditions at the camp evidently were what he and his family considered normal in their village of 250 people. In our conversation I discovered they faced challenging living conditions that included severe weather (i.e. lows as extreme as -50 degrees Fahrenheit), isolation (i.e. unable to see family and old friends for many months and even years at a time), financial challenges (i.e. declining exchange rates and support), the absence of creature comforts we take for granted (i.e. a trip to the mall or favorite fast food establishment), and working in communities that daily battle many social problems that would tax even the most experienced social worker, counselor, and mental health professional. Add to all of this the real spiritual war that goes on all over the world (Ephesians 6:10-17) and was very apparent in their community. I would be in this “environment” – which really was not bad at all – for a few days. What he encountered went on for years. Beginning to understand just a bit of the challenges he faced, I quizzed him as to why he was willing to face all of this. Paraphrasing his short answer, “I love God who called me here, and I love the people God has called me to love and serve.” He was focused not upon his circumstances. He was focused upon his calling.

Later I heard one Christian worker comment that recently a church that had supported him in his mission for a number of years decided that it was not worth supporting him and his family. This church concluded it was not cost effective to support them because there “just were not a lot of people in their area to reach.” I bristled a bit in my soul. How could they put so little value on a person who needed to have someone minister to their physical needs and eternal soul?

What would that church have thought of God and his servant, Philip, in Acts 8? He was ministering in a region where multitudes were responding to his ministry as their physical and spiritual needs were being met (8:4-8). God reflecting his love for the whole world (see John 3:16) then sovereignly moved Philip to the wilderness to minister to one man (Acts 8:26-40). If the church that stopped supporting this Christian worker in Yukon had lived in the days of the early church, would they have said God’s plan and Philip’s ministry in the wilderness was not cost effective? Perhaps, but they would have been wrong!

As the plane leveled off at 32,000 feet over the ice fields of Yukon, I prayed. I thanked God for the Christian workers I had met who saw people’s value the way God does. I thanked God that He valued people so much that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, on a mission to planet earth to address their physical and spiritual needs. I thanked God that Jesus came and met my needs. The conditions Jesus faced were tough. The cost to Jesus was exorbitant – he died for people. Why did he do this? Because Jesus loved to do the Father’s will and loved the people to whom he was called to minister. He valued people. I then prayed that I will have that same perspective. I prayed that those who claim they are Christians would also see the value of people.

God so loved the world that He values people individually.

"Christian Commuting 101"

For the last thirty-three years I have enjoyed an easy commute to the church building. For the first fifteen of those years, I walked out my door and though a thick forest of towering poplar and oak trees that opened up at the church parking lot. From there I was afforded a vista of pastel sunrises. The colors seemed to accentuate the beauty of the many farms that stretched toward the horizon and framed by the elevated hills of Gap. For the last eighteen years I enjoyed a seven mile commute from the lovely historic Borough of Strasburg along a lightly traveled Route 741. I passed by seasonally changing fields and beautifully maintained farms. The end of my drive took me on winding forest-lined roads that carried me up the hills that lead to our church. It was a relaxing drive that refreshed my mind as I enjoyed the magnificent handiwork of God. Occasionally I would contrast my commute with a former drive to college that took me on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill Expressway, often sarcastically referred to by daily commuters as “the world’s largest parking lot.” Actually the contrast was no contest – plowed fields vs. congested, polluted ribbons of concrete. I actually at times would say out loud in my car, “Lord, thanks for the great drive today.” Occasionally, in the middle of a winter snow storm, that praise was absent.

For the last number of weeks my commute has changed. Now as I get into my car and prepare for my 16.5 mile commute, I can almost hear an imaginary announcer bark, “Gentlemen start your engines.” Winding past a mile of suburban housing, opens to the entrance ramp of the Route 30 bypass. The rush hour traffic creates enough noise that I instinctively turn the radio up a notch. As I try to merge into the traffic filled with rumbling 18-wheelers, flying rocket motorcycles, and whizzing cars, trucks, and SUVs, I look for a gesture of kindness to let me enter the flood of traffic. Oh there are gestures, but I assure you they are not ones of kindness!

Having achieved a safe merger I flow with the traffic and breathe a sigh of relief. Then I begin to take on the character of the traffic of which I have become a part. Passing entrance ramps filled with people in cars facing the same dilemma I had experienced just moments earlier does not elicit mercy, just a little more pressure on the gas peddle. How quickly I had forgotten that moments earlier I had wanted kindness. Now I had become just as stingy with mercy and grace as those drivers I had complained about earlier. Perhaps the only difference between me and the drivers I had been criticizing is that I did not make the physical gestures they made! However, neither did I display the gesture of kindness I thought earlier should be a reasonable driver’s attitude.

How easy it is to graciously receive something and then become stingy in sharing it with others. Take forgiveness for an example. Jesus expects the forgiven to be forgivers. He tells a parable in Matthew 18:21-35 about a man who is forgiven by a king a huge debt he could not pay. The forgiven man promptly forgets the forgiveness he had received and displays an unforgiving spirit toward a person who owed him a much smaller debt. The master who had forgiven the man with the massive debt hears about the man’s ungracious conduct and asks the man, “Should you not also have compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” Jesus says in essence, “I expect the forgiven to be forgivers.”

On the cross of Calvary when Jesus shed his blood and died for my sins, he made it possible for me to be forgiven of all my sins – certainly a debt I could not pay. As a result I can have eternal fellowship with the God of the universe. Why then should I not follow his example of forgiveness in dealing with another sinner – of which we all are (Romans 3:23)? My offense against God was certainly greater than any offense that any person has done to me. Will I who have received mercy and grace refuse to dispense it to another? The Apostle Paul, who describes himself was “the chief of sinners” received mercy from God. What does he admonish the forgiven to do? He writes, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

How many human relationships would be repaired if Christians would forgive as they have been forgiven? How many family feuds would cease? How many marriages healed? How many children and parents would embrace one another? How many church conflicts would end? How many friends would again connect with one another? How transformed would our communities be if we treated others in a way we want to be treated?

I need to drive home now. May I “do unto others as I would have them do unto me” (Matthew 7:21). Sure, I’ll let them merge! Maybe this commuting thing will be getting better!

"Moving Is Annoying"

I am sure there are people who like to move. However, I am not sure I have even met someone with such a disposition. I certainly am not one of them. It is not so much the end result that bothers me as much as it is the process that you go through that annoys me. So right now I am in a state of being annoyed. I am moving. I am packing up to go to a retirement community.

People come up to me and boost my ego by saying, “You don’t seem old enough to be moving to ‘the home’.” Unfortunately the ego boost vaporizes when I realize their statement is more about my wife whose appearance and activities make me look younger – she looks like our daughter’s sister, and she is still actively involved in a career as a lacrosse official. A second dose of reality sets in when I realize in a few short years I won’t hear statements like that being made about me anymore!

I have moved 8 times in my life (4 times in the 1^st 4 years of our marriage), so you would think moving should not be such an irritation. What is it about moving that annoys me? Perhaps it is the sorting through stuff and coming to the realization that I have accumulated way more than I need and use. This move is from a house where we have lived the longest – about 18 years. It is amazing how much stuff one accumulates without even intending to do so. I have come across items that I did not even know I had. Worse yet, I have come across things in the attic that have left me wondering what they are, how they could possibly be used, and if they are really mine!

Another annoying thing is deciding about that which needs to be thrown away. I pick up an item I have chosen to discard and suddenly have an Antiques Road Show flash. I convince myself I would be foolish to discard this item that is probably worth a fortune. Then again, I struggle with how many aluminum coffee cans I “need” to keep to store things on shelves at our new house. Right now I probably have enough coffee cans to take to the recycling center for them to melt down to make a new car!

Sentimentality can be bothersome too. I come across pictures of the past that conjure up memories of summer vacations on the coast of Maine and portray our children about the same size of what our grandkids are today. We have collected so many scrap books that we would need to build a wing on our cottage to have enough bookcases to store them. We have our children’s arts and crafts projects, gifts they bought us for special occasions, letters they wrote while studying overseas that reveal lessons about life they were learning, and a host of other tangible treasures. I have come to the realization that such memories have to be mentally “downloaded” into the inner recesses of my heart to be recalled later in quiet times of refection and gratitude. I will manage to save a few choice tokens. After all, isn’t that what those plastic storage containers are for anyway?

I may be annoyed by moves, but they will occur anyway. So I might as well just brace myself and pack another box, make additional deposits in the dumpster, and make decisions about stuff that in the long run is not really the sum total or measure of my life anyway. So I guess I should just silently sing as I pack or whistle while I work, “Hi Ho, Hi, Ho another box to go!”

There is another move that I am certain will be coming up in the future. This move is not annoying to me in any way. This move is connected to a promise Jesus made to his disciples, to me, and to all who by faith have trusted in Christ as Savior. Shortly before his crucifixion and resurrection Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). I look forward to this “last move” that is good for all eternity. For one thing, I don’t have to pack! When Jesus comes for me, either through death or a divine departure, I do not need to take a thing with me. In fact, all the “stuff” I have been shuffling around all these years will be of no consequence (see Luke 12:16-20). He will not only provide a place for me, but all that I need for that place. I don’t need earthly “stuff” to dwell in a heavenly place (see Revelation 21), because I will have put off that which is mortal and put on that which is immortal (see 1 Corinthians 15:50-57).

The greatest thing about the “great last move” is who will be there. My faith will finally become sight as I will see and be in the presence of Jesus, the one who loved me so much he died for me. I will also see family members I have never seen because they made their “final move” before I was born. I have heard of their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I am assured we will have an eternal meeting. I will also be reunited with those I have known who are fellow believers. What a reunion (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)!

Perhaps when I see moving from a bigger, eternal perspective I am not so annoyed after all!

My Kingdom or Your Kingdom Come?

When we read, recite, or pray the Lord’s Prayer we come across the sentences, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). Do we really mean those words when we pray them? Or are we masking another agenda fearing that if we express our inner longing it may expose that latent self-absorption that really drives us? Perhaps Dr. Alan Redpath is more correct than we wish to admit when he wrote, “Before we can pray ‘Thy kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go.’”

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there was a tremendous amount of rejoicing and relief in the hearts and minds of the disciples. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19) had been resurrected! “Certainly,” the disciples may have thought, “now something big is really going to happen!” However, for the next 40 days before Christ ascended into heaven, he spent his time carefully instructing his disciples in many truths “pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Toward the end of that “discipleship institute” his followers asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (1:6). Jesus’ response was a general statement, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (1:7). He is not denying that there would be an earthly kingdom. He just indicated it was not now and they had something else to focus upon – being witnesses of the resurrected King and enlisting people for the kingdom (Acts 1:8).

Perhaps all this kingdom-talk had excited their kingdom aspirations. For years they had envisioned a certain kind of kingdom and they were growing impatient for its formation. This kingdom-excitement had been expressed earlier when the disciples jockeyed for position in the kingdom they thought Jesus would establish (see Mark 10:35-45). They were seeing a kingdom formed after their passions and measured by specifications of the “rulers over the Gentiles” (10:42). Jesus directed them to see a different model – the one he had been modeling – a servant (10:45).

If we pulled off our masks and prayed honestly, would it sound more like, “My kingdom come?”Humans are kingdom builders. The kingdom we are choosing to build, however, may not be fashioned like the one for which Christ had challenged his disciples to pray. The kingdom we want is more likely designed to match our expectations and looking like how we envision a perfect world – a world meeting my aspirations, providing fulfillment, making me significant, and shrouding me in a cocoon of peace and security.

Chris Tiegreen asks a significant question and offers some solid advice. He writes in his book, Wonder of the Cross, “What kingdom have you been expecting? Whatever it is, stop striving for it. Live instead for the agenda of Jesus’ Kingdom. Be His witness, live in the Spirit, seek His will on earth as it is in heaven. One day you will notice a startling phenomenon. In abandoning your own idea of the Kingdom for His, you’ll find that His includes everything you deeply desired anyway… The real kingdom will be much more fulfilling than your own.”

What would result if we aspired to follow God’s Kingdom agenda and not our own? Families would be transformed as husbands loved their wife as Christ loved the church, wives reverenced their husbands, children were respected, and parents were obeyed. Churches would be places of unity with the common goal of glorifying Christ and not promoting personal agendas and pursuing trivial pursuits. Non-Christians would look at churches not as social clubs but as places where “imitators of Christ” gather to be equipped to reenter a world as agents change and servants who lovingly minister to a needy world. Government would not be looked at as the sole provider for the needs of people because people driven by the agenda of Jesus’ Kingdom are “esteeming others better than himself” and looking “out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3, 4). People then who are living without hope in a hard world would see in followers of Jesus Christ good news that reveals their hungry souls can have hope in this world and for all eternity. This hope comes as they receive “the gift of God which is eternal life through Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23).

Lord, your kingdom come! It will when I am willing to say to my Heavenly Father the same thing His Son prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

“Generational Connectedness”

Someone has described the four ages of man this way: You believe in Santa Claus; you don’t believe in Santa Claus; you are Santa Claus; and you look like Santa Claus. Well my beard is white, my tummy has “done-lap-disease,” and every December little children keep staring and pointing at me while anxiously whispering excited words to a smiling mother. I guess this places me in the last age of man

A more scholarly division of adulthood by Dr. Win Arn suggests five stages of adulthood: emerging adults (18-30 yrs.); young adults (30-50 yrs.); middle adults (50-70 yrs.); senior adults (70-80 yrs.); and elderly adults (80+ yrs.). I suppose I prefer this description of the age groups because it puts me solidly in middle age and not the last stage of man! The American Board of Family Practice indicates you are middle-aged if you: “are between 46 and 65; think more about the past than the future; don’t recognize the names of the new music groups; need a day or two to recover from strenuous exercise; and worry about having money to take care of future medical needs.” Obviously they forgot one of the greatest indicators – you are middle aged when you rely heavily upon your grandchildren to explain the newest technological devices i.e. how to get new apps for the iPad you just bought from Radio Shack!

I have looked at how various generations function and interact with one another and my greatest concern is not how one divides the ages, but how one gets the various age groups to operate cohesively and not divisively. This may require tuning back the rhetoric. For example, one person of a former generation commenting on younger individuals said, “I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.” You may have thought those words were lifted from current prose. The words in fact are attributed to Hesiod of the 8^th century B.C. Generational tension is not new! It goes way back!

Throughout history various age groups have always had to work at cohesiveness by communicating, respecting, and learning from one another. In the period of my youth, “the turbulent 1960’s,” there was a lot of discussion about the “generation gap” and very little emphasis upon how the various generations needed to connect to one another. Too often the notion is that younger generations do not want to connect with gray, white, or in my case – bald heads! Research does not support that belief. When PBS did a series entitled “American Family: Journey of Dreams” they revealed, “One common misconception is that they [youth] most admire celebrities --athletes, actors, or musicians. A Nickelodeon survey found quite different results. In their study, 80 percent of young people named their parents and 19 percent named their grandparents as the people that they admired most. Recent research has found that feelings of connectedness with family, other adults, the community, and social institutions greatly contribute to the health of American youth.” They added, “Researchers further found that even when a parent is not available, connectedness to another adult is highly protective, as are informal community networks, and connectedness to social institutions.”

Generations connecting with one another were assumed in the early church. Paul wrote to Timothy to “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example to those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:12). As a young minister it was assumed he would engage with various age groups. He was instructed about interacting with various generations and genders, “Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity” (5:1-2). The early church would have looked with distain upon churches segregating by generational divisions Cp. Titus 2:1-8. Generations learn from one another as they interact, understand, and learn to appreciate one another.

Here is a novel idea, begin by acknowledging someone from another generation. A simple greeting is a start. Look for someone other than your peers with which to spend some time. How about sharing a meal with one another? Engage in conversation and ask them about themselves (what they do, like, think, etc.). When you attend church, you could sit in the section where the old or young folks sit. God won’t mind! He loves to hear praise from every generation and to see them love one another.

Living in Pain and Uncertainty

Every day we are faced with the reality that we live in a painfully uncertain world. The recent events in Japan illustrate this as an earthquake brought buildings down, a tsunami washed things around, a nuclear catastrophe polluted the ground, and now a financial crisis threatens to make them economically unsound. Certainly this was not what the people of Japan thought was going to happen when they awoke on March 11, 2011. What was a brief moment on a clock, seemed an eternity for those who lived through it. The world that day for millions citizens in that country was forever changed or ended.

Severe weather outbreaks in the southern states of our nation underscores for us that painful uncertainty knows no political boundaries. Accu Weather writes, “April 2011 has been a horrific month for severe weather so far with more than 1,000 reports of tornadoes, hundreds of tornado-related deaths and unthinkable destruction.” Pictures in the news captured both shattered homes and lives that will take decades to rebuild. The media has displayed thousands of faces of people etched with pain who never anticipated such devastation.

We realize that pain and uncertainty do not arise from only the natural world. Some find the source of their agony in a doctor’s report concerning a suspicious growth. For others their life is altered as they receive notification that their financial investments have failed. Devastating words from a spouse that there was no future for their marriage crushes some. Uncertainty seeps into others when an employer announces their job has been eliminated. Others find the ending of a friendship the source of their pain. Abuse of a child by a parent can leave lasting painful scars for some. The disintegration of affection between a parent and their child may produce distressful emotions. Frankly, living in a fallen, painful world is troubling.

Jesus knows people face uncertainties. He cares and He does not ignore the painful perplexities that result. Prior to his crucifixion – certainly a distressfully dark time for the disciples – he says, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). These words were spoken in the context of assurances and promises that Jesus has just made.

Among the assurances Jesus gave his followers was that they would not be facing this troublesome world alone. He promised that he would give them the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is described as the “Helper” or the “Comforter” (15:26). The Greek word that is used here means “one who is called to one's side, especially called to one's aid.” The promise was repeated immediately before the ascension after Christ’s resurrection. Jesus told his followers that the Spirit was going to be given to them so they would have the power to live as clear and bold witnesses in a painfully uncertain world (Acts 1:4-8). Because of this Jesus would promise, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NIV). We do not face the world in which we live alone, even when we feel helpless and hopeless.

The Psalmist captured the attitude we can have when he wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). When our world falls apart, God doesn’t. He is a sufficient resource when all other resources fail. He is the divine director when chaos rules. When this reality is embraced by us in our painfully uncertain world, we do not have to fear. Calmness in crisis – what a paradox.

Report after report by survivors of the tornado-ravaged South said the same thing, “We could only cry out to God.” It is significant that people facing impending catastrophic devastation called out to God. Is this a reflexive response of just a few? Or is it the deeply held, albeit vastly ignored, reality buried in the minds of a majority of people who may be trying to live as if there is no God (Psalm 2). Perhaps it takes impending doom to uncover a reality that lies buried deep in people who are living in a state of denial. The reality is that we are not god, cannot control our world, have limited power and resources, and therefore need to reach out to our Divine Creator.

One news account tells about a mother and two daughters, Stormy and Sky (appropriate names!), in Trent, GA, who survived by seeking refuge in a tanning bed in their business! One daughter thought she would die. Her mother, Linda said she had her, “Pray and pray and pray.” Somehow that mother realized they needed Someone bigger than them. Are you looking to Someone bigger than you in this painful uncertain world? “Seek the Lord… call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

Breaking Trail

The flakes of snow sifted through the white pine tree needles as we entered the forest. Snow lay heavy on the branches. The wind occasionally dislodged snow from its perch and it fell in a puffy avalanche. The response of our two granddaughters, ages 5 and 8, was joyous squeals. “Snowballs from heaven,” as I called them, plopped on their hooded heads. Soon their laughter was swallowed up in the silent stillness of the late winter wonderland that stretched out before us. Snow absorbs sound so quickly. With our snow shoes firmly fastened, we began plowing through the powdery snow to enjoy a unique look at God’s creation. The only thing we heard was the squeaking sound of snow compacting under our snowshoes.

The girls in their pastel snow suites insisted on leading the way. They were proudly “breaking trail” for Gandpop and Grandmom making it a little easier on the “old folks.” You must understand that when you snowshoe you really do not walk on top of the snow. You simply pack the snow under your broad shoes as you sink into the snow pack until the snow is able to support your distributed weight. Then you lift your snowshoe almost straight up out of the snow to make another step. Thus it is easier to snowshoe on a "packed" trail rather than a new one. The task of "breaking trail" is exhausting, especially when you are 5 and 8 years old. At that age there is no geometric theorem that says the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Their path in the woods meandered all through the trees as they explored wildlife tracks and other snow-covered mysteries. We were not far into the woods when their energy began to wane and their short little legs grew tired of “breaking trail.”

Soon two little voices tinged with a bit of whining breathlessly said, “We’re tired. Can’t you go in front?” Their energy was sapped and their enthusiasm had been evaporated by tired legs. Now they were willing to be led rather than lead. Soon Gandpop was out in front “breaking trail.” They were content with the path I made rather than making one for themselves. I led them to places in the woods to show them things that their inexperienced eyes would have missed.

At one point Gandmom decided that it would be better for the girls to stay on more level terrain. So she began to break another trail more appropriate for the legs of 5 and 8 year olds. The girls followed Grandmom without hesitation perhaps knowing my reputation for turning a short hike into a marathon march. As I continued on my trail, I could hear joyous squeals in the distance as we grew further apart. Grandmom’s path sounded like it was fun. My path… well let’s say it was becoming more an endurance exercise rather than an enjoyable stroll. When I came across fresh bear tracks, I thought Grandmom’s trail might be the better one to take and my excursion ended. I thought to myself, “I guess there are early risers even among the bear population!”

I learned something from this day in the woods. First, it is easier to let someone who has more strength and wisdom to “break trail.” Think of this reality in the spiritual realm. We assume that we can make our own path in the world without God and His leading. We can. However, is this the wisest thing to do? In doing so are we only asking for trouble? The Psalmist thought about that and wrote, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long… He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psalm 25:4, 5, 9). God is stronger and wiser. He can “break trail” in life much better than I can.

A second discovery I made is that paths we choose can lead to the unexpected. Our wisdom is so limited as human beings. When I took my trail, I did not expect to encounter fresh bear tracks in February in the middle of a snow storm. I did not expect that the course over the hilly terrain I chose would be so exhausting. I had minimized risk and maximized capabilities. How foolish. I often do the same thing in life. I do not consider the path God is setting before me and I rely on my own wisdom. Solomon, one of the wisest of all men said, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes” (Proverbs 3:5-7). Sadly, later in his life it appears he forgot that principle.

I am grateful that God is willing to “break trail” for me. The Psalmist said, “You have made know to me the path of life” (16:11). What I must consider is whether or not I am following that trail or choosing to forge my own way. A walk in the woods on a snowy day let me reflect on how I needed to live life. You don’t have to wait for a snowy day to do some reflection. A “walk” in the Word of God can produce the same results – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). Let God “break trail” for you. You will find life much more manageable.

"Follow the Right Leader"

As Canadian geese honked overhead, I plodded along through my daily predawn walk. There was still crispness in the late winter air, yet the temperatures had modified over the last several days melting snow piles and allowing patches of grass to materialize over night. I looked up and admit a smile formed on my face when I realized that the v-shaped flock was headed in a generally northern direction. The leading goose flapped away as the rest followed as an obedient avian flock on a mission. “Can spring be far away?” I mused. I could at least be hopeful.

The sighting of the flock of geese reminded me of the 1996 movie release entitled Fly Away Home. This movie was loosely based upon a true-life experience of a Canadian, Bill Lishman. He theorized that if he could get a flock of geese to become “imprinted” (the process by which birds will approach and follow an object to which they are exposed soon after hatching – from Scienceray.com) he could get them to follow an ultra light aircraft. In 1993 he successfully went through this “imprinting” process with some newly hatched goslings and later that fall led a flock of 16 Canadian geese from Ontario, Canada, to Northern Virginia. He had convinced these birds that he and the ultra light were leaders worth following. Fortunately he was a leader that had their best interests at heart.

Each fall there are groups of people who also try to lead Canadian geese. They do not use an ultra light aircraft; they use decoys cleverly set in fields and waterways along the geese’s migration routes. They are called goose hunters. Through skill and trickery these hunters try to get the geese to follow their lead and land where decoys are strategically located. Geese that follow the hunters “leadership” often end up a tasty meal on a hunter’s kitchen table. These leaders have their own best interests in mind, not the geese’s.

You have to be careful when it comes to following a leader. Following is important. So is knowing who and what you follow. If you follow the wrong person or thing – no matter how sincere and how much effort you invest – you can be in trouble. Following the right leader is as important as the activity itself! Who wants to have their goose cooked by a dangerous leader!

In our lives there are many “leaders” that vie for our followership. They may arise from among our peers, popular cultural personalities, religious instructors, educational institutions, print and electronic media, friends, and a host of other sources. The point is they are attempting to influence us to head in a particular direction and toward a specific outcome. The challenge is to determine if the leader is taking us where we really should be going and thus worthy of our followership.

Throughout the Bible there is ample evidence that leaders need to be scrutinized and not blindly followed because of their charming personalities, convincing propositions, and pleasing promises. One biblical warning states it this way, “There were false prophets [looking back at history]… even as there will be false teachers among you [looking ahead in history] who will secretly bring in destructive heresies… and bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Here it seems clear if you follow the wrong leader you might find yourself destroyed along with them. That is why it is essential to inspect a leader’s leading by measuring them against the absolutes of Scripture. The people in Berea did this in Acts 17:11 as they listened to the leaders of the early church, Paul and Silas. Dr. Luke reports they listened to their leading, but they also “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

One needs to be careful about who and what they follow or they could find their goose is cooked! I just heard another flock of geese outside my window. I hope their leader is taking them north. I’m anxious for spring!

Loving God as Much as the Super Bowl

I love football. I loved to play it. I love to read about it. I love to watch it. So when the Super Bowl came along years ago, I loved it. The first Super Bowl was played when I was a college freshman, January 15, 1967. I clearly remember this game between the AFL and the NFL league champions as they bashed one another for bragging rights. I watched the game on a 21-inch black and white television located in the lounge of the men’s dorm of Philadelphia College of Bible. The room was packed with guys sitting on discarded couches and chairs and munching cheeseburgers and fries from a “greasy spoon” called St. George’s. The food wasn’t great, but it was functional – the heart burn you got from the food could keep you awake all night so you could study. I remember little about that game, but I remember that it was a great evening!

From that humble beginning, the Super Bowl has morphed into a world all of its own. The game has become an unofficial national holiday gathering family and friends around all sorts and sizes of screens. Most years it is the most-watched television broadcast in the USA. Last year 106.5 million viewers made it the largest TV audience in history. People watch football teams play a game and half-watch a half-time show – often of dubious interest. They laugh at commercials funded by corporations that pay millions of dollars for fleeting seconds of opportunity, hoping to capture the nation’s attention and hawk their products.

Consumption of food has become a key ingredient to watching the game, becoming second in the USA only to Thanksgiving as the largest day for food consumption. The cost of the food, estimated at about $55 million, including among others things: 15,000 tons of chips, 4,000 tons of popcorn, and 8 million pounds of guacamole! It is no coincidence that the Monday after Super Bowl, 7-Eleven claims their sales of antacid increases 20 percent and there is a 6 percent increase of all working Americans who call in sick. I suppose you could say, “Americans love their Super Bowl… no matter what it costs them.”

What would happen if people loved God as much as they loved the Super Bowl? First, people would give a lot of attention to God. He would not be a casual interest. He would be a compelling reason to adjust schedules and make sure that nothing would interrupt time with Him. People would hardly be able to wait for Super Sunday to get to church to focus upon God. Each day there would be discussions about God’s strategies and daily opportunities would be taken to read the Bible and to learn about how God operates.

If people loved God like the Super Bowl, then they would gather family and friends together to focus upon God. There would be no fear that someone might not be interested in God. In fact, the love they had for God would have them thinking it would only be natural that their associates would want to love God too. Invitations to encounter God would be so natural that people who loved God would look at their invitation as a reasonable act of friendship, not an invasion into a person’s private world. There would be lots of enthusiasm and little embarrassment.

Loving God like people love the Super Bowl would bring joy into the lives of those who loved God. Being with God would be seen as a wonderful time of celebration, not a mere obligation or something to be tolerated and endured. They would think of all the victories God had won and reflect on the exciting prospect of what God was going to do. Cheers of praise would flow out of their lips. Being in God’s presence is where they wanted to be, and they rejoiced that they had the opportunity to do so. After all, God the Son is the champion over sin and death! He has already won the game over our soul’s opponent, Satan.

If one loved God like they do the Super Bowl, one would not think about the cost and fret about the sacrifice of being with God. You would just be glad to be able to be there and experience Him. After all, you would think, “Isn’t He worth it?”

Loving God is more important than the Super Bowl. The 45th Super Bowl will be over in a few days and few will even remember much about the game. On the other hand, God and His love for you will last for forever and it impacts your eternal soul. Why not love God more than the Super Bowl?