Sweet Words from Maine

From Sea to Shining Sea

The grand, final stanza of America the Beautiful will echo across the majestic “purple mountains” and fruited plains” of our country this Fourth of July:

O beautiful for patriot dream/ That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam/ Undimmed by human tears.
America! America!/ God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood/ From sea to shining sea.

Patriots place their lives on the line in the fight for freedom as they dream of peace and brotherhood. We in America have been particularly fortunate to have realized that dream. Yet, we still strive to to overcome our personal histories, biases, and imperfections, to improve our lot, and to be better people. We search for relief from the weight of guilt and the consequences of our moral weaknesses, addictions, bad behaviors, and miserable attitudes. We seek absolution, restoration, and transformation. We all struggle with spiritual bondage and oppression.

In a declaration to the Galatian church, the Apostle Paul said: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) He was saying that rule keeping, tradition, and personal effort are constricting, ineffectual, and futile in freeing us from guilt and shame. But because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, God wipes the slate clean and frees us from guilt, fear, and judgment. When His forgiveness is received in repentance and believing reliance on His presence and power, one is released from spiritual oppression and eternal condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

This time of year Americans celebrate their many civil freedoms because patriots dreamed and scarified. When we accept Christ’s sacrifice for us, we can also celebrate spiritual freedom. Even though the external world places restraints upon us, God offers soul freedom to all peoples.

May God “shed His grace on thee” from continent to continent- from sea to shining sea.

A Vacancy?

A fresh, early summer morning; fog lingering down the bay; smells from the sea; beauty all around!

Beautiful but empty!

We know how to present cheerful facades when actually feeling empty. We hope nobody will detect our loneliness. “Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains. (Proverbs 14:13) Like a decorative shell, lovely but vacant, we live with a nagging fear that something important and purposeful is missing.

We are susceptible to the illusions that wealth, notoriety, good looks, and power will make us happy. We mistake fame and celebrity for accomplishment. Striving for these alone sets us up for disappointment, fear of failure, and competitiveness which may lead to internal stresses of depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, addictions, and hopelessness. The Wisdom Books of the Bible ( Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) acknowledge that life goals can be empty pursuits. Wealth, pleasure, adventure, work, relationships, and intellectual endeavors may be temporarily fulfilling but become meaningless unless put into the context of life’s grander purposes.

King Solomon was drawn into the fantasy that he would be complete and fully satisfied by living the beautiful life with the most and the best, but he eventually realized that “all is vanity” apart from a relationship with God. (Ecclesiastes 12) One of Jobs’ friends, Bildad, suggested that “ to all who forget God” life is like “withering grass.” “The hopes of the godless evaporate.Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web.” (Job 8:11-15 ) Yet, we too become caught up in the chase for those things that do not satisfy the soul.

Christ warned his followers to “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own,” and then told a parable about a rich man who built more and bigger barns to hold an exceptionally productive crop thinking that he had stored enough away to last him for years. He could “eat, drink and be merry.” “But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:15-22) The problem was not the man’s wealth but his idolatrous attitude and dependence upon it to the exclusion of God.

In contrast, the Psalmist held a clear sense of identity. He had learned the true source of happiness and life’s essence: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:2-5) That man understood his place in the universe.

Christ came to show us who we are and our need. Crowned with redemption’s forgiveness and healing, the human spirit is directed from selfish excesses to a new life of humility and grace. In 1971, Gloria Gather wrote these lyrics: “Something beautiful, something good/ All my confusion he understood/ All I had to offer him was brokenness and strife/ But he made something beautiful of my life..“

Beautiful and full!

Controlling the Winds…

Winds blow! Seas rise! Sails billow! Boats move! But without a rudder boats flounder. Controlling the rudder determines the direction in which the ships slips along. James, the brother of Jesus (when speaking about the power of the tongue) said , “…a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. (James 3:4-17 (NLT2)

Buffeted about by cultural influences, difficult circumstances, and a world full of powerful delusions, we may flounder because of anxiety, depression, fear, stress, worry, indecisiveness, temptations, and misinformation, but if we are centered with a strong sense of meaning and purpose, we can recover and regain a steady, intentional course. The Psalmist found his orientation, meaning, and stability in his relationship with God:

Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:3-7 (NLT2)

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifically addressed the important values which lead to a peace filled life centered on God and others. He ended his teaching with a parable about a wise man and a foolish man:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Someone has said, “ The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder…” Christ brings truth which gives meaning and purpose and stability to life. A good place to hear him out is the Gospel of John.

Hawk Eyes

There is a lesson for us in that hawk’s eye.

When we are wary and discerning, we can sort out the good from the bad and distinguish truth from delusion and falsehood. Bombarded with influencers, vain and deluded thinkers, paper thin heroes, power hungry leaders, flimflam artists, conspiracy theories, conflicting, divisive ideologies and agendas, and false or biased news, we must be vigilant. There are those who willingly deceive or prevaricate to obtain our votes or finances, but more importantly, there are those who would steal our minds and torpedo our knowledge and enjoyment of God forever. Whether we realize it or not, there is a ongoing spiritual battle for our fragile, sacred souls. In today’s culture, we need “eyes like a hawk”.

Created with a innate capacity to be generous and loving, we strive to be people of integrity, but our moral sensibilities are not derived from some social construct. They are part of our created being and purpose. Cultural morality and values are situational. They vary with circumstances and desires and are not held to a consistent standard. Moral relativity leaves our inner lives in a confused, precarious state. “We do what we do because we want what we want.” And we make every attempt to justify what we want to do. However, we fail to be perfect or often make unjust, self biased decisions. That is a problem.

Christ addressed this problem. He said that although men and women may do good things, out of their hearts come evil thoughts, attitudes and behaviors. (Matthew 12:34-40;15:19) That is why redemption and spiritual empowerment are essential. Faith turns one from self-centeredness and the dangers of moral relativity to God’s moral perfection and the idea that we are created to mirror His character. So, Scripture guides in ways to be vigilant, to protect our spirits where our intellects reside, our emotions respond, and our will controls.

Why all this instruction about watchfulness? God’s moral prescription leads to emotional and spiritual thriving and healthy relationships. Because He loves and desires good for humanity, He sent us Christ…to show us our need, to redeem and reorient our hearts, and to set us on a grander course of seeking eternal values.

Inexhaustible Questions

In a voice trembling with suffering and grief, Job cried out to God, whom he felt had unjustly allowed a series of tragedies to befall him. A righteous man, he believed he had been wrongly treated and deserved better. He did not just complain to his friends; he was so distressed that he wanted God to obliterate the day he had been born and to wipe away any evidence of his existence. He demanded an audience with God.

Within a whirlwind of probing questions, God proved the point that Job could not fully understand or explain the complex and amazing physical world surrounding him let alone the unseen moral universe of God’s good purposes and perfect justice.

God inquired of Job: “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?….Do you know when the wild goats give birth? Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?”

In today’s parlance that might be “Have you seen atoms and sub atomic quarks and gluons? Have you seen the ends of space? Have you revealed all the mysteries of the human cell?

Even after all the scientific discoveries uncovered by our curiosity and advanced technology, our immense universe continues to amaze with its inexhaustible secrets. Each new discovery comes with a set of new questions which are humbling reminders that there is a level of purpose that lies beyond our full comprehension.

Job’s concept of God was small and contained. When he realized how limited his knowledge of the moral universe was , he exclaimed, “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:3-6)

As we continue to formulate and reformulate our theories of life’s origins and meaning, we should do so with great humility. Giving strong consideration to not just the idea of God but to discovering how He has revealed Himself and His purposes through the natural world is just one gate which opens His “divine nature” and “eternal power” to us.

Sense or Senseless?

“Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea.” (Ecclesiastes 1)

That statement is a fragmented thought from King Solomon’s larger assessment of life’s meaningless monotony. Despite power and wealth, both Solomon and his father, King David, expressed some surprisingly humble discoveries about purpose and meaning.

David extolled God’s role in life in his celebratory Psalm 24. He humbly worshiped God as the awesome Sovereign and Creator and the powerful King of Glory: “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein…Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!”

Realizing his own moral inadequacy and redemptive powerlessness and recognizing God’s unique loving and merciful character, David discerned that those with “clean hands” and “pure hearts,” those of honesty and integrity, those who adhere to truth, and those who seek God, will be the ones blessed with God’s righteousness and salvation. (Psalm 24:1-9)

Solomon’s intelligence, wealth, and status along with an adventurous and willful spirit enabled him to explore and experiment with his amazing life but more importantly to insightfully assess it. His deliberate detours around God had left him with an inner emptiness and led him to a startlingly, disconcerting conclusion! “Everything is meaningless…completely meaningless!” “Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-8)

Surprisingly, his negative observations did not depress but invigorated his spirit. He said, “Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty…” (Ecclesiastes 12:12-14)

Solomon eventually got it! Reverential fear of God’s holiness amplifies the fact that we are unholy. We are morally flawed and in need of God’s mercy. Both Kings spoke of God’s amazing grace and love for miserable humanity. It exceeds understanding. Jesus told Nicodemus that God loved the world so much that he gave His Son to take His holy wrath for our sins upon Christ so that we would never be condemned. (John 3:16-17)

Life will continue its natural cycles; night will follow day; seasons will continue to change; the rivers will flow and be replenished. But underneath the routine, the regularity, the boring, and the monotonous, lies a powerful, meaningful grandness and future when lived within God’s love and purpose which is to redeem and restore humanity so we can know and enjoy Him forever.

If we are created in God’s image, we should understand who we are meant to be. Seeking God is life’s major purpose. He makes sense out of what may sometimes seem senseless.

Love at Work

Country churches with their white spires poking into the sky stir up some wistful childhood memories of growing up in a small Maine town. Their edifices are historical icons. For the most part they are reminders of the long history of Christianity in New England and the central role it has played in the social and spiritual health of local communities. If they could speak, they would tell about generations of villagers who regularly attended, socialized, and worshiped within their sanctuaries. Some former parishioners are buried just outside the stained glass windows behind which their descendants still worship and squirm in well worn, uncomfortable pews Sunday after Sunday, year after year. Pump organs wheeze out hymns of the faith. Sanctuaries echo with messages extracted from ancient pulpit Bibles.

Catholicism and mainline protestant denominations are struggling today with issues of relevance while still preserving the important, foundational doctrines of the Church. In an increasingly humanistic society which has no need for God and asserts that ethics and morality are situational and arise from accepted societal norms and the goodness of man, there is conflict with Christian doctrine which holds that God is the source of morality and that mankind is so spiritually broken and morally impure that it needs restoration which is attained by faith. These are divergent views that can never conjoin. Difficulties arise when either or both parties behave with arrogance and disrespect, refuse to civilly engage, and intolerantly oppress the other.

Preserving the undiluted message of the Gospel and the authority of Scripture is the responsibility of the Church. Condemnation is not the work of the Church. The Word of God will discern the heart. Christ said that he did not come into the world to condemn it. He came as God’s grace and said that people would be judged by what they did with his teachings because what he spoke was the will of his Father. (John 3:47; 5:30; 12:19)

The tension we may sense between God’s amazing love and His holiness are major themes of Scripture! His love is all encompassing. He “loved the world” in an amazingly participatory way. (John 3:16) Because we all fall short of moral purity, Jesus came to redeem us, take the judgment for our sins, and give us his righteousness. (1John 4:9) Love and holiness are gifted to us through Christ. As images of God we have been created to be loving and holy. Because we obviously fail in both categories, we need God’s gracious redemption and the righteousness Christ gives us. Neither salvation nor holiness are achieved by our works, our efforts to be good enough.

Although current buzz words like tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion are wonderful concepts and hold an aura of love, they dilute love’s essence when substituted for or given equal status with love. Their use is limited, undiscerning, and potentially deceitful and harmful if not placed within the context of God’s holiness. Divine love is actually the remedy for our unholiness. It sets attitudinal and behavioral boundaries because it desires only the best for its recipient. God has set and shown us the guidelines for healthy moral choices because not every action or idea is good. Love from a biblical view point does not tolerate what is scripturally defined as unholy because immorality, lousy attitudes, and bad behaviors destroy the spirit.

If churches wish to be relevant in a society which is devolving into confusion and violence, then concern for souls has to be a priority. Although Christ’s heart was with the poor, sick, and disenfranchised, he came primarily to “seek and to save the lost”, to reveal truth about our lostness and God’s redemption. (Luke 19:10) (John 18:37) That is the Gospel, which is the life changing “power of God unto salvation to those who will believe.” (Romans 1:16) (1 Corinthians 1:18)(1 Corinthians 1:30) Grace, mercy, love and justice will spring from a faith which reorients love of self to love for God and others.

Churches will not “fail” if they adhere to God’s Word. Neither will societies that know and practice it.

Does Peace Have a Chance?

Spring—Congregational Church, Machias, Maine

John Lennon’s lyrics of “All we are saying is give peace a chance” “are familiar to those who remember the antiwar songs of the sixty’s. It may seem cynical to say, but history has proven that world peace will always be an elusive, utopian ideal. There is no trust among those who seek power and control. The aggressive, competitive, greedy, selfish nature of mankind prohibits peace from being a reality. That is why our country needs a Department of Defense and why Jesus made several distinct predictions about the “end of the age” which included the truth that his followers would face troubles, that God’s redemptive plan would be theologically perverted, and that “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” (Matthew 24:5-7)

However, our destiny need not be anxiety, restlessness, disagreements, and dissatisfaction! Despite his ominous predictions, Jesus gave his followers tremendous encouragement. He assured them that his Spirit would always be with them and that his words and promises were true and would bring them reassurance and peace. “ I have told you these things so that in me you might have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

It seems a bit curious to claim victory over the world that beat and killed him? However, even though the world crucified him, Jesus moved heaven’s authority and power to combat evil’s influence on the human soul. By accepting the consequences of our transgressions at the cross, he made redemption possible and completely erased condemnation for those who choose to believe. In resurrection power he took away death’s sting. Peace and life with God became possible through faith.

One of the oldest Bible books states a life principle: “Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.” (Job 22:21-22) The Old Testament prophet Isaiah put it this way when speaking of God: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 (NLT2) He subsequently deepened that thought: “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; .” ( Isaiah 48:17-22)

Both Old and New Testaments teach us that peace and righteousness are found when we agree with God, trust God, honor God, and follow God’s life principles. That would seem to be a very good definition of faith. The Apostle Paul assured the Roman church: ^“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us… (We are forgiven, made righteous, free from condemnation and fear of death, and are restored, children of God)… and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (parentheses mine) (Romans 5:1-2 (NLT2)

A prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi expresses this humility of mind and heart: “Lord, make us instruments of your peace/Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon/ where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith/where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light/where there is sadness, joy/ Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love/ For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Those principles were taught and modeled by Christ and were encouragements which the Apostle Paul gave to the Colossians : “let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.” (Colossians 3:15)

If those prayers became a universal mind set, there would be hope for peace.

Give peace a chance!

Of Kingfishers, Pebbles, and Bells…

Watching kingfishers fish along the Taunton river has always been a summer treat. Not long ago, a friend gifted me with a wonderful, little kingfisher painting which he had done. It was accompanied by his hand printed copy of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, As Kingfishers Catch Fire:

“As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame/ As tumbled over rim in roundy wells/ Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s/ Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name/ Each mortal thing does one thing and the same/ Deals out that being indoors each one dwells/ Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells/ Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.“

The poem flows with imagination, alliteration and rhyming but also expresses a deep theological truth. (Not a surprise because Hopkins was a Jesuit priest.) Just as kingfishers catch the light in their rapid dive for food or as pebbles resound when they roll off a well’s rim into the water, or as bells fling out their own special tones, our souls have their own way of perceiving and expressing their unique roles in life. “What I do is me: for that I came.”

That short statement encapsulates the need for our special self expressions but with a determined higher purpose in mind. The second verse captures the essence of that common purpose.

“I say more: the just man justices/ Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces/ Acts in God’s eyes what in God’s eyes he is-/ Christ —for Christ plays in ten thousand places;/ Lovely in limbs and lovely in eyes not his/ To the Father through the feature of men’s faces”

Even though we express ourselves through different personalities and giftedness, our spirits have been created to be images of our Creator. The Apostle Paul addressed that concept in his letter to the Roman Church. (Romans 8:28-29) Having received God’s gracious forgiveness and redemption, believers can live graciously because God works good through life’s situations while conforming them to the character of Christ, who modeled patience and kindness, goodness and gentleness, gratitude and joy, faithfulness and love.

So whether one is a kingfisher, a pebble, or a gonging bell, the prayerful goal of every Christian should be to mirror the character of God, or as Albert Orsborn expressed in song: “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me/ All his wonderful passion and purity/ O thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine/Til the beauty of Jesus is seen in me.”

Calm Winds, Easy Seas, and Full Sails

Sailing By Saddleback Ledge, Penobscot Bay, Maine

Calm winds, easy seas, and full sails bring to mind the Message’s paraphrase of Psalm 84:12!

All sunshine and sovereign is God,
generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies. (MSG)

To those who have been through deep waters of hurt and suffering or grief and troubling difficulties, “smooth sailing all the way” may seem a hollow thought and raises the question of whether God is really good all the time.

Psalm 107:1 says He is: “Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out.” (MSG) However, the Psalmist is not naïve. He has had his share of sadness. He is thinking globally and is expressing gratitude for those worldwide (from the four winds, from the seven seas) who God has graciously freed from various life conditions because of His “miraculous mercy and marvelous love“. He sings of God’s compassion for the oppressed, the homeless and wandering, the imprisioned, the sick because of debauchery, and for those attempting to run from God. When they “called out to God“, they were wonderfully saved from their condition.

Calling on the Name of the Lord presupposes that there is belief. The principle that God always responds to believing, repentant hearts is as old as mankind and as contemporary as today! As early as Genesis 4:26, common people and then later Patriarchs, Kings, and Prophets began to call on the Name of the Lord as they sought help from the Giver of Life. They expected to be heard because God promised redemption to all who trusted Him: “Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.” (Psalm 50:15 (NLT2)

“I call to God, and the LORD will save me.” (Psalm 55:16 (ESV)

“O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” (Psalm 86:5 (NLT2)

“Then ( in repentance) you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ (Isaiah 58:9 (ESV)

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13; Joel 2:32)

And the 107th Psalm ends with the admonition : “If you are really wise, you’ll think this over— it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.” (MSG)

That “deep love” culminates in Christ and his sacrifice on the cross for our sinfulness. “There is no greater love than that a man give his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Christ came to seek and to save, to heal and free mankind from deep spiritual burdens of lostness, oppression, enslavement, and rebellion. (Luke 4:18)

God knows and relates to our physical and spiritual troubles through the temptations and sufferings experienced by Christ, who has walked our journey. He will change our perspective and our story when we trust Him to guide us.

God’s deep, divine love secures the soul for “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39)

And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the last turn—Zion! God in full view! (Psalm 84:5-7, MSG)

God’s goodness is never ending! He is good all the time.