Sweet Words from Maine

Whose Footprints?

This is the time of year in Maine when one is more likely to see footprints in the snow rather than in the sand. However, any footprint is a reminder of Henry W. Longfellow’s words: “ We can make our lives sublime/ And, departing, leave behind us/Footprints on the sands of time.” (from A Psalm of Life)

Men and women of determined mind have impacted culture for good or for evil ever since Adam and Eve. Although we may have outgrown our childhood superheroes, we continue to be inspired by the strong character, generous hearts, and courageous living of those who work for personal and common good. We value determination, endurance, and conviction especially when they involve sacrifice or an effort to rally others to achieve good and even great things.

However, history has also proven that our loyalties and affections may be naively captivated by evil scoundrels, by antiheroes of the worse kind, who can deceive and manipulate us into the most depraved depths of inhumanity and who leave terrible, indelible marks on psyches and societies. Careful discernment about what we believe or whom we esteem and choose to follow is crucial to personal and national wellbeing. We are always in danger of being misled by cultural delusions that accompany prestige, power, success or celebrity. And we can easily center our world views around the many respected voices of humanistic and religious ideologies.

Of all the distinctive, influential, and crucial historical voices the most pivotal is that of Jesus Christ, a poor, humble, itinerant Jewish Rabbi whose teachings and powers were initially ignored or denied or disparaged by the religious elite. Few recommended or promoted him during his life time; those who did were maligned or persecuted. He received no accolades, no royal recognition, no Nobel Peace prizes; Incredibly his miracles, including raising the dead, were dismissed. So, what validates his importance?

Jesus’ name and teachings continue to turn political, religious and spiritual worlds upside down. But more importantly, after several thousand years, Jesus’ words still impact individuals. The Apostle John told his readers “… whoever keeps (Christ’s) word, in him truly the love of God is perfected…and (you) ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:5-6) The Apostle Peter took that idea to a very practical and uncomfortable level: “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.” (1Peter 2:21-25)

Walking through the Gospels with Jesus is transformative as we listen to his thoughts on organized religion and as he addresses large crowds, teaches small groups, and mentors individuals. We become an audience to discussions with skeptics and seekers and to interviews with humble sinners and arrogant religious intellectuals. We witness healing of bodies and the changed souls of men and women at all levels of society. Peter knew the spiritual healing Christ gives and testified that “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1Peter 2:24)

So, why is Jesus still important?

An old hymn, Footsteps of Jesus, gives us a clue: “Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling, /’Come, follow Me!’/ And we see where Thy footprints falling/ lead us to Thee.” (M. Slade 1871) Christ leads us out of our personal muck onto solid ground. He takes the hopeless, the helpless, and the faithless on an unending journey to love, forgiveness, redemption, and hope, and to the promise of a glorious day of life forever.

Thankful in All Things? Really?

Fog Bank and Breaking Sun, Sullivan, Maine

Sometimes it is difficult to be thankful. Life isn’t always easy. Sometimes we become battered, beaten down, and immobilized. Sometimes the way ahead becomes too heavy, dark, and obscured by uncertainties, difficulties. impossibilities, disappointments, fear, or grief. Sometimes we are enshrouded and overwhelmed with despair. Yet, God promises hope and strength in our despair and weakened states. He does not minimize but understands our angst and has so much compassion that He gave His son to redeem us and our circumstances.

When we turn our pain filled faces, furrowed brows, fear filled thoughts, and empty hearts away from our troubles and seek the light of His face, the reality of His love shines through the murkiness. Scripture conveys the idea that God is invested in us, is constantly aware of us, cares about us, and can be found in our circumstance. It is crucial that we remember Him and His mighty redemptive acts on our behalf.

Thankfulness is a running Biblical theme. Joshua gave Israel that hope when he told them: ^“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Christ gave that same assurance and comfort to his disciples: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”( Matthew 28:20) When speaking at Athens, the Apostle Paul proclaimed that God “is actually not far from each one of us, for In him we live and move and have our being..” (Acts 17:27-28 (ESV) The Psalmist reminds us that “This is the day the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it.” King David exhorted his people to^“Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.. (1 Chronicles 16:11-12) And the Apostle Paul urges us to “ give thanks in all circumstances.”

Gratitude is hardly the first thought we have when facing difficulties or injustices. The Apostle Peter addresses that idea with the early Christians as they suffered persecution. He encouraged them to be watchful, to stand firm in the faith, and to not become ensnared by anxiety but to cast their anxieties on God because He cared for them: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:7-11)

As our Sovereign, God is for us. He gives us good things. Through Christ He experienced all the temptations and trials known to man. He remembers that we are but fragile souls wrapped in bits of dust and promises to help us deal with our complexities, anxieties, and confusion. Turning toward Him brings us to the light and warmth of our Creator’s grace and love. Even in dark times, we can trust His character as He shepherds us above the valley mists to still waters and green pastures while we sing the Psalmist’s song: “Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good.” His mercies are new everyday. They bring assurance, strength, comfort, peace and joy even in the midst of tumult.

Be Thankful in All Circumstances? Really?

Fog Bank and Breaking Sun… Sullivan, Maine

Change

Most of us no longer work the family farm or commute to work in the mills. Our society is no longer primarily agrarian or industrial. However, a strange, pandemic induced twist has sent many workers back to work on “the farm” where trade tools are now computers rather than hay rakes and garden hoes.

Social values are also changing. As we become more affluent, cosmopolitan and liberal, we tend to exaggerate and elevate our desires into purposes and to think in relative terms rather than holding tightly to high moral standards. We seek fulfillment in easy living, special recognition, mega-mansions, expensive entertainment, sex wherever and with whom we want, and guarantees that we are not only free to do and have anything we want but that society should work for us to attain it.

Speaking to Solomon, King David gave this counsel: “My son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. (1 Chronicles 28:9 (NLT2)

That truth is both reassuring and disturbing. Where does God fit into our plans and thoughts? In our search for meaning and wholeness, we often resist God and the principles He designed to give us the best possible life. Our understanding of the world may change, but God’s purposes and the deep needs of our spirits will never be any different. That discovery of purpose is all about our souls and not about our material, sensual lives. It is more about humility and selflessness than self exultation.

Because we have become distorted images of what He created us to be, God has made a way for our restoration. In His wisdom, love, and grace, He meets the need of our fragile, fickle, stubborn, proud, poorly focused, broken, imperfect souls which are embodied in dust. He safe guards them by accepting the consequences of our waywardness through Christ’s redemptive work on our behalf and by forgiving us when we choose Him.

We may be ambiguous about being made in God’s image…but God is not. He has done everything possible to restore us to the image we are intended to be. Our repentance and His restorative power makes all the difference!

Considering Him and His life principles will transform the desires of our hearts.

Creation Knows!

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. (Job: 7-10)

For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made…(Romans 1:20)

The Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth
For the beauty of the skies
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night
Hill and vale and tree and flower
Sun and moon and stars of light
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise

For the joy of human love
Brother, sister, parent, child
Friends on earth, and friends above
For all gentle thoughts and mild
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise

For each perfect gift of thine
To our race so freely given
Graces human and divine
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our joyful hymn of praise
This our joyful hymn of praise

Several stanzas from “For the Beauty of the Earth” , written by Folliot Pierpoint in 1864 when he was 29 years old.

Whose Pleasure?

Hidden behind these beautiful mountains ranges, expansive heavens, flowing rivers, color filled, forested valleys, and rolling hills lie ages of unraveled mysteries which challenge us to consider the unique design of our planet and how this vast universe transcends understanding while hinting that it is the place where we have always belonged.

Scripture’s statements about God’s creativity are amazing and reassuring but can also be startling and even mildly disconcerting at times . The King James Version says God “created all things for his pleasure.” Another version says He created what He “pleased.” (Revelations 4:10 NLT2)

Those should be comforting statements because what pleases God is good. However, to willful, self centered, authority-resistant humans who believe in self determination and concentrate on personal desires, such a doctrine is cringeworthy. It can appear to reveal a controlling, egotistical god whose creation is woefully flawed! That perception is often predicated upon the human experience of suffering and evil. So, tension arises between God’s capabilities, sovereign purposes, the concept of free will, and the sacred revelations of God’s flawless, holy, loving , just, omniscient, authoritative character.

Tension between these ideas lessens a bit if one considers that God acts within the confines of His holy, just, and loving character but also within an individual’s will, choices, and circumstances (good or evil) to accomplish His ultimate purpose of redemption and restoration of all creation! Perhaps the greatest example of the interaction of divine love and human evil is found in Christ’s sacrificial death for humanity’s salvation. He was crucified through the evil intents of men but for our ultimate benefit. That onerous and unspeakable provided hope for mankind.

Although there are many things which please God, there is one prerequisite. Faith! “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists.” (Hebrews 11:6) We are free to seek or not seek God. However, we cannot please Him by any means, efforts, or methods apart from belief.

Eden was ours before it became “Paradise Lost” due to our brokenness and unholy imperfections. However, God wants us to regain what was lost. So he fixed our brokenness by paying the consequences of our sins and thereby accepting us into his kingdom through Christ’s perfection and redemptive work. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.” (Ephesians 1:7-8)

His grace plus our faith equate to a restored relationship with God. Jesus said that it pleases God to give us His Kingdom! “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” which the Apostle Paul reminds us is not a matter of eating and drinking but is a spiritual Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. It is a place of spiritual rest and protection. (Ephesians 2:8-9) (Luke 12:31-32)(Romans 14:17)

God has created us so that we may experience His pleasure. Everything that is good and perfect flows from His grace . Most importantly, He has given us Himself so that we might know the deep pleasures of peace and eternal hope.

Living in Awe

…‘Let us live in awe of the Lord our God,
for he gives us rain each spring and fall,
assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’

Jeremiah 5:24

With advanced farming methods, techniques, and technologies, we have figured out ways to assist God with crop production. So, it is easy to miss the wonder–the underlying miracle of life lying within the tiniest seed pushing it to fruit.

Similarly, we educate the human mind, glamorize the human body, and enjoy the pleasantries of materialism, but if we lack faith and neglect our souls, we miss the wonder and meaning of life and do not flourish as the intended images of God’s character.

By using an agricultural metaphor, Christ addressed how this kind of robust faith develops: “ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.
Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in tthis world will keep it for eternity.” (John 12:24-25 (NLT2)

Faith means a readiness to submit ones soul to God and is evidenced by humility, repentance, and selflessness. It entails a willingness to live under the rule of God rather than the rule of self and the ways of the world. It requires a belief in, or acceptance of, and submission to, the grace and authority of God and to the truth that we are morally broken, imperfect people who need forgiveness which holy God has lovingly and graciously provided through the amazing, redemptive, restorative work of the resurrected Christ, who made the awful payment for our sinfulness on the cross.

That kind of love should be awe inspiring enough. However, the Psalmist broadens the wonder by expressing the persistent biblical theme that God holds all of life in His hand! He is at the beginning and at the end!

“Let the whole world (reverence) the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.

“We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.” (Psalm 33: 8-9, 20-22 (NLT2)

And Jude similarly expressed this wonder for God as he ended his letter to early believers: “to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:25)

Creation draws our minds to God, who helps us blossom with the beauty of his character when we choose Him. That surely meets the requirements of awesomeness!

Good Beginnings…Good Endings…

Whether it is the dawning of a new day or the emergence of a beautiful, new life, a good beginning may increase the chance for a full, meaningful day or purposeful life but does not guarantee either. One fragile moment or one wrong step may change the trajectory of life forever.

Country music star Roy Clark expressed the hazards of a self absorbed life style in his 1969 song, “Yesterday when I was young” : “I never stopped to think what life was all about/And every conversation I can now recall/Concerns itself with me and nothing else at all.”

We have all experienced that need to define and prove and express our unique individualities and to live as we want without much consideration for others or their counsel. Wise mentors encourage us to be generous, consider end goals, and warn us about leading wasteful lives that end with regrets. Often we believe that means living emotionally and physically healthy lives, being financially independent, and feeling fulfilled and happy, but many times in our search, we ignore ultimate realities and the care of our souls.

Some might disagree with this concept of man’s nature and may ignore or disbelieve the theological fact that we are embodied souls and that our physical bodies are not who we are but are created to sense the glorious material world about us. They enable us to interpret and respond to our circumstances in physically, intellectually, emotionally, and morally appropriate ways.

When we focus on the material world of pleasures and comfort rather than nourishing our created purpose for knowing God and honoring Him in our relationships, we minimize our humanity and regretfully miss the mark of how to live an optimum soul life.

Ancient Scripture provides answers on how to live without regret. Consideration of the moral code will verify that. If we honor God with belief and trust, with awe and loving, respectful, righteous living and treat our neighbors honestly and justly and love them as we love ourselves then hostilities would cease, violence would abate, hatred would vanish and we would live in understanding and peace. Christ’s first big teaching session explored the fact that the root meaning of the Law is about who we are and not what we do. He explained the character traits that lead to a flourishing spiritual life and ended his sermon by saying, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ..But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.” (Deuteronomy 4:40) (Proverbs 3:1-2) (Proverbs 10:27) (Ephesians 6:2-3)(1 Peter 3:10) (Matthew 7:24-27)

If these sayings are true, they are worth investigating and building healthy minds and spirits which function within the purposes of God. Although there are no guaranteed outcomes, it would seem important to not only give children love, good values, encouragement, and opportunities but also to expose them to a belief system which includes God so that their lament will not be that of Clark’s lyrics: “Yesterday when I was young, The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned/ I always built to last on weak and shifting sand. I lived by night and shunned the naked light of the day/ And only now I see how the years ran away.”

Fortunately life need not end as the song does: “There are so many songs in me that won’t be sung/I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue/ The time has come for me to pay /forYesterday when I was young…

We all fall short of perfection, but despite our folly and sometimes awful regrets, God understands our frailties and lovingly extends grace and mercy to us. He identifies with us. He experienced humanity’s physical and soul suffering through Christ, who in perfection and an incomprehensible, sacrificial, loving act paid for our imperfections, our moral failures, our sins by dying for us so that we can be forgiven and was resurrected so that we can have eternal hope when we believe. It is by trust alone that we are reconciled with God. (Romans 5:8)

Regret need not be our final lament. We all will have things we wish we had done or said differently, but trusting God who loves us enough to give us a new beginning in which lie daily mercies gives us purpose and the promise of a great ending.

O’ The Times and The Seasons

End of Day, End of Season, Sullivan, Maine

There is a rhythm to life. As the world spins around the sun, seasons blend, and “time flies.”For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”(Genesis 8:22) Always fragile and unpredictable, life slowly shifts and slows, and then we “fly away”.

Change is inevitable in this world. In contrast, Scripture points to God’s immutable nature and upholds the idea that what He has purposed will be done. His constancy is posed as a rhetorical question in the book of Numbers: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (Numbers 23:19) The Psalmists sang about God’s providential wisdom and compassionate purposes, repeatedly invoked God as Israel’s “Rock” of salvation, and proclaimed that “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:11) Those plans “of his heart” included redeeming and restoring broken humanity to Himself through faith in the Messiah, the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9: 6-7)

When he wrote about the Gospel, the Apostle Peter echoed and affirmed Isaiah’s statement: “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (1 Peter 1:23-25) (Isaiah 40:6-8) And in his sermon on the mount, Christ pointed us to the importance of truth when he spoke the parable about building life on solid foundations. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…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. (Matthew 7:24,26) Later he would say, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) That is true because his character does not change with the times and seasons. He “is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Such information should be good news for an increasingly divided society which is experiencing high levels of anxiety, addictions, and violent acting out behaviors and which does not accept or understand the universally healthy moral standard for living out our created purposes and the most meaningful life possible. Life’s complexities, challenges, inconsistencies, and uncertainties can be very unsettling- even devastating. Obviously doing our own thing, self-determination, situational ethics, and loving ourselves more than God or others aren’t philosophies working well for us.

The times and seasons just keep on changing as do the human standards by which we choose to live; but if we trust the intentional, steadfast, and transformative power of God’s Word, which brings light to our minds and meaning and wholeness to our souls through exhortation, rebuke, and enlightenment, we will be guided to a steadfast faith of peace, joy, and hope.