Mountains Movers

Sunrise over Mount Desert Island from Hancock Point, Maine

In Mark 11:22-25, Jesus made the interesting claim that it is possible to move a mountain if one has faith! He provided context to that statement by saying belief (in God’s good character and sovereign will) and prayer are two critical factors in this amazing power of faith. Then Jesus tossed another crucial ingredient into the mix: ”And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25)

This Easter week Christians “celebrate” Christ’s passion, his horrible crucifixion, and his glorious resurrection. They celebrate with humility, awe, and thankfulness for God’s grace and mercy, realizing that Christ’s ministry to humanity not only redeems because of God’s forgiveness but assures eternal life because of his victory over death in his bodily resurrection.

No one has ever had greater goodwill for humanity than Jesus. Yet, nobody could possibly know more about adversity, anguish, agony, and injustice suffered at the hands of human deceit, betrayal, desertion, and wickedness. No one has had more wrong to forgive than Jesus. Yet, at the peak of wrenching, emotional, physical and spiritual pain, he felt compassion for those who had denigrated and tortured and were mocking and killing him. He asked God’s mercy and forgiveness for them. “Father forgive them…,” he prayed.

Christ’s death and his plea for his torturers show the utter selflessness of absolution, an act that cuts to a person’s core because it involves emotional, willful decisions and requires profound, intentional actions. That is the message of Good Friday’s cross when Holy God lovingly, intentionally, and sacrificially made full pardon available to sinful mankind. Likewise, extending mercy and grace are of great importance to those who profess Christianity. Jesus taught his disciples that God’s forgiveness for them was nuanced by the personal forgiveness which they offered others. He taught us to pray, “ Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive our trespassers.”

Once Jesus told a story about a king who forgave one of his servant a huge debt, but the very same servant then refused to forgive a fellow servant a very small debt. Upon hearing  of the unforgiving servant’s behavior, the King withdrew his mercy and disciplined him. (Matthew 18-23-35)

That parable tells the Gospel story. Unconditional, supernatural love and mercy moved heaven to patiently travel the arduous, dusty, unjust road to Jesus’ cross so that even his enemies could be redeemed from their sinful natures. In His immeasurable mercy and love, God cancelled our sin debt at extreme cost. Jesus said that kind of love would be shown by his followers. It would be paid forward with the ability to continually forgive, to walk extra miles with oppressors , to take slapping insults without retaliation, and to be generous to those who have taken unfair advantage.(John 13:35)(Matthew 18:21) (Matthew 5:39-42) . Spiteful behaviors, retribution, and vengeance are not manifestations of the Gospel in one’s life.

Just as receiving God’s forgiveness redeems, frees from guilt and condemnation, and reconciles, peace with others results when our forgiveness is offered and received. The offended and the offender are released from anger, bitterness, hatred, vengefulness, grudges, resentment, and shame and are freed to respect, to treat justly, and to be gracious despite severe hurt; negativity can no longer inform and control and consume their lives. Even if forgiveness is not received and full restoration does not occur, the willingness to forgive releases the negative emotions and attitudes that have affected the forgiver. Forgiveness is humbling but is a powerful mountain mover which redeems relationships and situation and renews spirits.

These last three blogs on “moving mountains” have suggested that belief in God’s good character and sovereign will, prayer, and forgiveness go a long way toward relieving the obstacles which delay or prevent us from moving forward with the peace and the confidence which are discovered in Christ, who wholly trusted His heavenly Father, lived a humble and prayer filled and sacrificial life, lovingly forgave his worst enemies, and ultimately defeated life’s final obstacle -death. He has risen! We need not fear because by faith we will also live.

Do Mountains Move?

Cadillac Mountain from Schoodic Point, Acadia National Park, Maine

Since mountains don’t move unless some external force is exerted upon them,  Jesus’ teaching about moving mountains is puzzling: “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22-25)

 Moving our insurmountable obstacles also requires an external influence, something or someone with greater knowledge and power than we have. Jesus said that kind of power comes from God. “ Have faith in God.”  Does trusting in God’s goodness and power actually makes a difference in altering impossible situations? The Psalmist believed that was so: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. (Psalm 37:4-6) 

That Psalm sheds light on how the power of faith works. “Delight yourself in the Lord, Commit your ways to the Lord ”are words and phrases which imply that belief involves a sincere, trusting , confident, enjoyable, and committed  relationship with someone powerful enough to not only make something good from our desires but to make our desires good. The Psalm identifies that Someone as our heavenly Father and emphatically impresses upon us that God will act to bring righteousness and justice to our situations.

Many of our prayers are laser focused on ourselves and not the broader picture of God’s purposes, but there are proper attitudes and motivations in which our requests are to be couched. We may ask naively and incorrectly. James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that we do not have “because we ask not”  but also because we ask “amiss” which the Apostle John says is pursuing our will and not considering God’s. Also, we may be improperly prepared for prayer. Jeremiah lamented: “We have transgressed and rebelled… you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.” Scripture clearly indicates arrogant and unrepentant hearts do not get through to God.

Jesus helps clarify these thoughts: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13)( Matthew 21:22) When we ask as Jesus would, when we ask in the spirit of submission to God’s authority, we are seeking God’s good will for us in ways which honor Him, and we won’t be asking “amiss.” Living out faith is not about getting what we want but is about learning how to be the person God desires us to be in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. So biblical prayers will seek for God-empowered knowledge, wisdom and understanding, strength, patience,  endurance and joy with the expectation for receiving what is good and right. (Colossians 1:9-13)

Depending on our need or perceived need, our prayers may be all over the map: confession and repentance, lamentations and imploring, praise and gratitude, and intercessions and supplications. As we pray, we will truly receive our hearts’ desires: redemption and forgiveness, comfort and relief, and assurance and hope. Prayer taps into, delights in, and expresses gratitude for the many good things that God provides.

After his nephew died in an auto accident which also caused serious injury to this boy’s three siblings, Don Moen wrote this song: “God will make a way/ Where there seems to be no way/ He works in ways we cannot see/ He will make a way for me // He will be my guide/Hold me closely to His side/ With love and strength for each new day/ He will make a way, He will make a way // By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me/ And rivers in the desert will I see/ Heaven and Earth will fade but His word will still remain/ And He will do something new today.”

Prayer invites God into our dreams and desires and needs and hurts, and He will bring what is right and just to us. While belief opens us to God’s salvation and sovereignty, prayer unleashes God’s good and sovereign will. Communion with God in prayer and knowledge of His Word are key to power. They align and realign our desires and attitudes and actions. With spiritual change, perspectives change; attitudes transform; obstacles diminish; perceived needs vanish; miracles happen; paths open; and

Mountains move.

Do Mountains Move?

(Moving Mountains 2)

Cadillac Mountain from Schoodic Point, Acadia National Park, Maine

Since mountains don’t move unless some external force is exerted upon them,  Jesus’ teaching about moving mountains is puzzling: “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22-25)

 Moving our insurmountable obstacles also requires an external influence, something or someone with greater knowledge and power than we have. Jesus said that kind of power comes from God. “ Have faith in God.”  Does trusting in God’s goodness and power actually makes a difference in altering impossible situations? The Psalmist believed that was so: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. (Psalm 37:4-6) 

That Psalm sheds light on how the power of faith works. “Delight yourself in the Lord, Commit your ways to the Lord ”are words and phrases which imply that belief involves a sincere, trusting , confident, enjoyable, and committed  relationship with someone powerful enough to not only make something good from our desires but to make our desires good. The Psalm identifies that Someone as our heavenly Father and emphatically impresses upon us that God will act to bring righteousness and justice to our situations.

Many of our prayers are laser focused on ourselves and not the broader picture of God’s purposes, but there are proper attitudes and motivations in which our requests are to be couched. We may ask naively and incorrectly. James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that we do not have “because we ask not”  but also because we ask “amiss” which the Apostle John says is pursuing our will and not considering God’s. Also, we may be improperly prepared for prayer. Jeremiah lamented: “We have transgressed and rebelled… you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.” Scripture clearly indicates arrogant and unrepentant hearts do not get through to God.

Jesus helps clarify these thoughts: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13)( Matthew 21:22) When we ask as Jesus would, when we ask in the spirit of submission to God’s authority, we are seeking God’s good will for us in ways which honor Him, and we won’t be asking “amiss.” Living out faith is not about getting what we want but is about learning how to be the person God desires us to be in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. So biblical prayers will seek for God-empowered knowledge, wisdom and understanding, strength, patience,  endurance and joy with the expectation for receiving what is good and right. (Colossians 1:9-13)

Depending on our need or perceived need, our prayers may be all over the map: confession and repentance, lamentations and imploring, praise and gratitude, and intercessions and supplications. As we pray, we will truly receive our hearts’ desires: redemption and forgiveness, comfort and relief, and assurance and hope. Prayer taps into, delights in, and expresses gratitude for the many good things that God provides.

After his nephew died in an auto accident which also caused serious injury to this boy’s three siblings, Don Moen wrote this song: “God will make a way/ Where there seems to be no way/ He works in ways we cannot see/ He will make a way for me // He will be my guide/Hold me closely to His side/ With love and strength for each new day/ He will make a way, He will make a way // By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me/ And rivers in the desert will I see/ Heaven and Earth will fade but His word will still remain/ And He will do something new today.”

Prayer invites God into our dreams and desires and needs and hurts, and He will bring what is right and just to us. While belief opens us to God’s salvation and sovereignty, prayer unleashes God’s good and sovereign will. Communion with God in prayer and knowledge of His Word are key to power. They align and realign our desires and attitudes and actions. With spiritual change, perspectives change; attitudes transform; obstacles diminish; perceived needs vanish; miracles happen; paths open; and

Mountains move.

Moving Mountains

Mount Desert beyond Frenchman’s Bay, Sorrento, Maine

  Majestically rising from the Atlantic Ocean, Acadia’s beautiful mountains  have not moved in thousands of years. We know  they will always be in the very same location whenever we look for them. Unfortunately, life is not as predictable. No matter how considered our decisions, proactive our plans, or rationally sound and intuitive our actions, unanticipated, puzzling, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles  suddenly loom, obstructing our plans, complicating our journeys, and sometimes casting threatening shadows which terrify us!  We may exercise patience, be flexible, make directional changes, seek counsel, and even practice denial! But sometimes, nothing works. The mountain remains!

On one occasion, Christ’s disciples found themselves in an impossible situation. They had failed to heal someone. When they inquired  of Jesus about why they had not succeeded, he rebuked them for the spiritual problem of “little faith”.  He said “nothing is  impossible” and if one has faith like “a grain of mustard seed” even mountains can be moved.  (Mathew 17:16-20) What does that mean?

How much faith is enough to do the impossible? Taken in context,  it would seem that “little faith” is more about quality than about quantity because faith as small as “a grain of mustard seed”  powerfully transforms, exploits, and defies human impossibilities. When and where we stand impotent, “little faith” performs miracles by converting the undoable into doable or done.  If that is true,  in what or in whom  do we trust  to accomplish what we cannot, that which is beyond our capability to do?

During another encounter, Jesus gave further context to the “mountain-moving” components of “little faith.”  He said, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:22-25)

One might deduce that the disciples had become unwittingly and subtly arrogant, that they had become self reliant and spiritually complacent by neglecting the source of their spiritual strength and forgetting that the goal of their efforts was to bring attention to God’s powerful redemption and not to themselves. Their confidence was misplaced. More training or increased knowledge or better logic or improved conditions were not necessary for their success.  Faith is not about ginning up self confidence, personal capabilities, or self effort. Jesus reminded them that it is God’s power that moves overwhelming  obstacles, that humble spirits and right motivation are pivotal in mountain removal endeavors.

We are not expected to deal with the unworkable, the ludicrous, the inconceivable, the impossible alone. Jesus’ discussion with his disciples is reminiscent of God’s talk with Moses when He  empowered Moses to execute miracles for the very specific purpose that Pharaoh and the Israelites would believe in God’s redemptive power, not in Moses. (Exodus 4:21ff; 10:1-2) Jesus made a simple but impactful statement when he said that not only is belief necessary  but that the power for change comes from outside oneself:  “it will be done for him.”

“Believe.” Don’t have “doubt in your heart.”  “Have faith in God.”  That is good advice, but it is difficult to trust someone with our hopes, desires, needs, and difficulties if  we don’t have a relationship with them. Getting to know God will mean getting to know and accept Scripture’s overarching picture of Him as a loving , heavenly Father, who is a faithful promise keeper, who has given us life-principles which lead us into the best life possible,  and who has given us Jesus as our redemptive and eternal hope.  Jesus  said that our  “Father who is in heaven gives what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7-11) .If we believe God is good but will not give us good, if we believe He can grant our requests but just doesn’t, then we are double-minded. (James 1:6-8) In those situations, we fail to believe His sovereignty. If we believe, we know He is working good even when we cannot see it.

So, “little” but powerful faith  resides in a believing heart which is dependent upon God, is properly motivated with a  desire to honor Him, and seeks Him with a self denying attitude which fully trusts that His character and will and justice are always good and that He will always do good. Belief opens us to the power of God’s salvation and sovereignty.

(More on Mountain Moving next blog)

Moving Mountains

Mount Desert beyond Frenchman’s Bay, Sorrento, Maine

 

  Majestically rising from the Atlantic Ocean, Acadia’s beautiful mountains  have not moved in thousands of years. We know  they will always be in the very same location whenever we look for them. Unfortunately, life is not as predictable. No matter how considered our decisions, proactive our plans, or rationally sound and intuitive our actions, unanticipated, puzzling, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles  suddenly loom, obstructing our plans, complicating our journeys, and sometimes casting threatening shadows which terrify us!  We may exercise patience, be flexible, make directional changes, seek counsel, and even practice denial! But sometimes, nothing works. The mountain remains!

On one occasion, Christ’s disciples found themselves in an impossible situation. They had failed to heal someone. When they inquired  of Jesus about why they had not succeeded, he rebuked them for the spiritual problem of “little faith”.  He said “nothing is  impossible” and if one has faith like “a grain of mustard seed” even mountains can be moved.  (Mathew 17:16-20) What does that mean?

How much faith is enough to do the impossible? Taken in context,  it would seem that “little faith” is more about quality than about quantity because faith as small as “a grain of mustard seed”  powerfully transforms, exploits, and defies human impossibilities. When and where we stand impotent, “little faith” performs miracles by converting the undoable into doable or done.  If that is true,  in what or in whom  do we trust  to accomplish what we cannot, that which is beyond our capability to do?

During another encounter, Jesus gave further context to the “mountain-moving” components of “little faith.”  He said, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:22-25)

One might deduce that the disciples had become unwittingly and subtly arrogant, that they had become self reliant and spiritually complacent by neglecting the source of their spiritual strength and forgetting that the goal of their efforts was to bring attention to God’s powerful redemption and not to themselves. Their confidence was misplaced. More training or increased knowledge or better logic or improved conditions were not necessary for their success.  Faith is not about ginning up self confidence, personal capabilities, or self effort. Jesus reminded them that it is God’s power that moves overwhelming  obstacles, that humble spirits and right motivation are pivotal in mountain removal endeavors.

We are not expected to deal with the unworkable, the ludicrous, the inconceivable, the impossible alone. Jesus’ discussion with his disciples is reminiscent of God’s talk with Moses when He  empowered Moses to execute miracles for the very specific purpose that Pharaoh and the Israelites would believe in God’s redemptive power, not in Moses. (Exodus 4:21ff; 10:1-2) Jesus made a simple but impactful statement when he said that not only is belief necessary  but that the power for change comes from outside oneself:  “it will be done for him.”

“Believe.” Don’t have “doubt in your heart.”  “Have faith in God.”  That is good advice, but it is difficult to trust someone with our hopes, desires, needs, and difficulties if  we don’t have a relationship with them. Getting to know God will mean getting to know and accept Scripture’s overarching picture of Him as a loving , heavenly Father, who is a faithful promise keeper, who has given us life-principles which lead us into the best life possible,  and who has given us Jesus as our redemptive and eternal hope.  Jesus  said that our  “Father who is in heaven gives what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7-11) .If we believe God is good but will not give us good, if we believe He can grant our requests but just doesn’t, then we are double-minded. (James 1:6-8) In those situations, we fail to believe His sovereignty. If we believe, we know He is working good even when we cannot see it.

So, “little” but powerful faith  resides in a believing heart which is dependent upon God, is properly motivated with a  desire to honor Him, and seeks Him with a self denying attitude which fully trusts that His character and will and justice are always good and that He will always do good. Belief opens us to the power of God’s salvation and sovereignty.

(More on Mountain Moving next blog)

The Mountains Speak

Jordan Mountain and the Bubbles at Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine

Whether we realize or believe it, creation’s grandeur, vastness, complexity and beauty manifest God’s nature to us. (Romans1:20) In Scripture, mountain imagery frequently expresses His greatness, majesty, eternality, power, and His faithful, protective presence with us.

“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”(Psalm 90:2)“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you.” (Isaiah 54:10) “Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!”(Psalm 95:1-7 (NLT2)

In Psalm 95, the Psalmist interrupts his soaring thoughts and emotional praise of omnipotent God with a startling, plaintive comment :”If only you would listen to his voice today!” He seems to suddenly remember the devastation that Israel has suffered because they did not listen to God despite the ways He had manifested Himself to them. (Psalm 95:8-11)

The Psalmist’s song raises profound questions. Who or what speaks to us when we look around our magnificent world? Do we appreciate the reality lying beyond our perceptions? Does a rainbow or a brilliantly colored Brazilian parrot or a wide and beautiful, mountain range or the thundering, crashing surf or a tiny, intricately formed “for-get-me not” or a busy little honey bee cross pollinating a beautiful flower make us think beyond the marvels of nature to the very nature of God? Have we become desensitized to the Wonder behind the wonders that we see and hear every day?

In 1901, Maltbie D. Babcock wrote these song lyrics: “This is my Father’s world/The birds their carols raise/The morning light, the lily white, Declare their Maker’s praise/ This is my Father’s world/He shines in all that’s fair/ In the rustling grass I hear Him pass/He speaks to me everywhere. ( second verse of This is My Father’s World, 1901)

Are we no longed attuned to God? Has the background din from voices within our culture distorted and confused our hearing? Can God’s voice be heard above the denials, the protestations, the intellectual and social and political attempts to devalue the impact of God on life? As our overwhelmed brains whir and pulsate and our DNA strands snap and crack, separate, and rejoin in an amazingly ordered and purposeful fashion, do we hear or find evidences of God or of some mindless, happenstance? Have we become inattentive to what the whole cosmos is telling us?

Gospel singer George Beverly Shea wrote these words in the hymn, “The wonder of it all”: “There’s the wonder of sunset at evening/The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul/Is the wonder that God loves me. ” “There’s the wonder of springtime and harvest/The sky, the stars, the sun;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul/Is a wonder that’s only begun.”

God patiently speak to us not only by means of creation but through Scripture and the perfection of Christ, whose sacrifice on the cross atones for us and is humanity’s hope for redemption. ” … in these last days (God) has spoken to us by his Son…. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power… (Hebrews 1:2-3)

What drowns out, obstructs, or overrides this mighty Voice which spoke mountains and all of creation into existence and which creation itself validates?

The Psalmist’s words haunt and challenge us: “O that you would hear His voice!”

The Power of the Dog

Ginger, a Boxer mix, Sullivan, Maine

Dog lovers experience the sweet sway these wonderful, loyal, faithful, comforting, adoring pets hold over them. However, there is the occasional bad tempered cur! Imbedded in memories of my youth is a dog which eagerly and regularly lay in wait to aggressively terrorize and bite my friends and me as we bicycled by its yard on the only way to the small country store in our town. We dreaded that little stretch of street until my father confronted the owner. Then the intimidation stopped!

Humiliation, intimidation, manipulation are destructive powers portrayed in Hollywood’s recently Oscar nominated movie “The Power of the Dog.” The title references Psalm 22:20 where King David was  feeling vulnerable to the power of his enemy and cried out to God: “Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!”

In Hollywood’s psychological drama, the protagonist is a classically educated, pathetic, damaged, hardened, Montana cowboy who takes advantage of  others’ weaknesses and emotionally abuses them. He bullies, manipulates, diminishes, and destroys them. In the end, he is ironically done in by someone who detected his moral weaknesses and insidiously and brutally destroyed him.

We are all vulnerable. We are insecure, feel inadequate or unacceptable, and have moral flaws. Paradoxically, weaknesses and imperfections leave us open to abuse or to be abusers. When our insecurities, inadequacies, and vulnerabilities are discovered, we may become victims of abuse, but when we deny our own perceived or real failures or cover them up with a cloak of superiority, we easily become critics and judges and diminish others. Although the movie’s cowboy protagonist’s behaviors may seem raw and exaggerated, his faults are common and very recognizable in daily human arrogance. Malicious gossip, unkind attitudes and behaviors, bullying or abuse of any kind, unforgiveness, unhealthy competitiveness, ignoring or disrespecting, over speaking, misusing of authority by overpowering and oppressing and controlling, demeaning words and social media put downs, or demanding our own way are all manipulative behaviors that demoralize others whether done unconsciously or aggressively and purposefully. The prophet Jeremiah made a very perceptive observation: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

However, there is a power greater than that of the “cur” which is kenneled within us. That power is Love! “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) That kind of love is supernatural!

Scripture tells us, and Christ has shown us, that “God is love” and that the Gospel is the story of His love. Although the Good News frankly addresses the negativity of humanity and its fallen, sinful nature, it doesn’t excoriate us but is sympathetic to our redemptive need and offers spiritual newness for broken spirits. It doesn’t condemn but encourages us to look at who we are and to get the help we need. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”(John 3:17)

The Gospel is all about confident expectations. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”(Romans 1:16) It offers forgiveness and hope and  freedom by releasing one from the guilt and shame and destructiveness of our imperfect natures. “God sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” (Romans 8:1-3 (NLT2)

“Sin’s control” is spiritual death. Faith in what Christ did for humanity on the cross is life giving by ending “sin’s control over us.” God’s forgiveness is redeeming, healing, transformative, restorative and filled with the confidence of eternal life. Redemptive love has the power to raise one up to a new life of progressive strength, peace and hope where condemnation, shame, demoralizing guilt are taken away. By grace, it changes that inner, corrupted mean power of the “dog” which attacks those peddling close by.

We are reminded of Jesus, of how humbly he lived and of what he said: “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” (Luke 6:31)

The Power of the Dog

Ginger, a mixed breed Boxer, Sullivan, Maine

Dog lovers experience the sweet sway these wonderful, loyal, faithful, comforting, adoring pets hold over them. However, there is the occasional bad tempered cur! Imbedded in memories of my youth is a dog which eagerly and regularly lay in wait to aggressively terrorize and bite my friends and me as we bicycled by its yard on the only way to the small country store in our town. We dreaded that little stretch of street until my father confronted the owner. Then the intimidation stopped!

Humiliation, intimidation, manipulation are destructive powers portrayed in Hollywood’s recently Oscar nominated movie “The Power of the Dog.” The title references Psalm 22:20 where King David was  feeling vulnerable to the power of his enemy and cried out to God: “Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!”

In Hollywood’s psychological drama, the protagonist is a classically educated, pathetic, damaged, hardened, Montana cowboy who takes advantage of  others’ weaknesses and emotionally abuses them. He bullies, manipulates, diminishes, and destroys them. In the end, he is ironically done in by someone who detected his moral weaknesses and insidiously and brutally destroyed him.

We are all vulnerable. We are insecure, feel inadequate or unacceptable, and have moral flaws. Paradoxically, weaknesses and imperfections leave us open to abuse or to be abusers. When our insecurities, inadequacies, and vulnerabilities are discovered, we may become victims of abuse, but when we deny our own perceived or real failures or cover them up with a cloak of superiority, we easily become critics and judges and diminish others. Although the movie’s cowboy protagonist’s behaviors may seem raw and exaggerated, his faults are common and very recognizable in daily human arrogance. Malicious gossip, unkind attitudes and behaviors, bullying or abuse of any kind, unforgiveness, unhealthy competitiveness, ignoring or disrespecting, over speaking, misusing of authority by overpowering and oppressing and controlling, demeaning words and social media put downs, or demanding our own way are all manipulative behaviors that demoralize others whether done unconsciously or aggressively and purposefully. The prophet Jeremiah made a very perceptive observation: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

However, there is a power greater than that of the “cur” which is kenneled within us. That power is Love! “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) That kind of love is supernatural!

Scripture tells us, and Christ has shown us, that “God is love” and that the Gospel is the story of His love. Although the Good News frankly addresses the negativity of humanity and its fallen, sinful nature, it doesn’t excoriate us but is sympathetic to our redemptive need and offers spiritual newness for broken spirits. It doesn’t condemn but encourages us to look at who we are and to get the help we need. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”(John 3:17)

The Gospel is all about confident expectations. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”(Romans 1:16) It offers forgiveness and hope and  freedom by releasing one from the guilt and shame and destructiveness of our imperfect natures. “God sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” (Romans 8:1-3 (NLT2)

“Sin’s control” is spiritual death. Faith in what Christ did for humanity on the cross is life giving by ending “sin’s control over us.” God’s forgiveness is redeeming, healing, transformative, restorative and filled with the confidence of eternal life. Redemptive love has the power to raise one up to a new life of progressive strength, peace and hope where condemnation, shame, demoralizing guilt are taken away. By grace, it changes that inner, corrupted mean power of the “dog” which attacks those peddling close by.

We are reminded of Jesus, of how humbly he lived and of what he said: “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” (Luke 6:31)

A Prayer for the Ukraine and Us

Cadillac Mountain from the Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine

Eons ago, these mountains shook and fell into the sea leaving behind a stark beauty and a strange reminder that out of ashes can come beauty; such an idea is difficult to comprehend while considering the devastation, pain, suffering, injustices, and questions brought on by humanity’s self afflicted wars.

Despite the huge outpouring of military and humanitarian support from the international community, the Ukrainians are a vulnerable people who need hope. Their images remind us of WW2. Their circumstances tear at our hearts and bring tears to our eyes and prayers to our lips. Fear, wrenching uncertainty, deprivation, separation, dispossession, injury, loss of family and friends and property and finances and basic necessities, homelessness, and refugee status are unimaginable conditions which are all too real for the people of this nation. They hope and pray for safety, for the strength and ability to sustain themselves, for resolution, for reunion, for return to their homeland. Where does one find that hope in the midst of such upheaval and horrific suffering? Is there any comfort? Will there be any justice? Can good come from such evil?

The Ukraine has a broad religious presence with a large Jewish population and strong Jewish tradition, but the majority of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christian as well as some Roman Catholic and Protestants groups. Even though their current situation differs, the Ukrainian refuges are a reminder of how confused, sad, hopeless and isolated Israel’s people felt while exiled in Babylonian. “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.  On the willows there we hung up our lyres.  For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us  of the songs of Zion! … How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?”( Psalm 137:1-4)

Remembering God and believing His promises have always been an important, necessary, comforting and stabilizing feature of faith. Knowledge of and trust in the revelations, work, and promises of God bring peace and hope even in the midst of crises and disasters. “Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:1-3, 8-11)

Approximately 380 years ago, George Fredric Handel wrote the musical score for the Messiah, a renowned oratorio. Its Hallelujah Chorus is a frequent Christmas favorite. The story text written by Charles Jennens addresses this universal need for hope. It follows the threads of comforting scripture passages written by  Old Testament Prophets and  the writers of the New Testament Gospels and epistles  about God’s promised Redeemer who will bring justice and salvation to a troubled, suffering Israel and will be the ultimate hope for all nations. Among the familiar recitatives and choruses are: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.…Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together… I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come… Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”

The Psalms are filled with vocalized questions and heartfelt responses to human conundrums of oppression and suffering. There are angry, sad, sorrowful laments, but the overarching theme is that God is present and good and worthy of our gratitude, praise and honor. Despite the messes we make for ourselves or for others, He is faithful and steadfast. He loves and redeems His people and in His sovereignty will bring ultimate justice. Like a “refiner’s fire” a day of justice lies ahead. Christ’s life itself exemplifies that God can change the evilness of suffering into something good; from an unjust crucifixion, He lifts us up with gracious mercy and makes us righteous and just when we believe.

Is it possible that any good might come from the material and emotional devastation and from the injustices  being inflected in the Ukraine? Certainly we pray for safety, protection, and basic necessities to be met and that the desires of Ukrainian hearts will be fulfilled; we pray for the halting of devastation, atrocities and disorder; we pray for justice. We also pray that the image of God will emerge from the evil rubble of war; that His glory will be manifested in the kindnesses,  compassion, understanding, and support given to these vulnerable people;  that His love will be demonstrated through the work and outreach of His Church as it lives out the Gospel; that God’s comfort and peace and assurances will be proclaimed and received and felt;  that somehow the world’s eyes will be opened to the incorrigible nature of the human heart and will see that the purposes and meaning of life transcend the present and will recognize that only God can change the hearts of men, not armies and weaponry; that respect and understanding and unity are ways to advance humanity’s well being not power struggles and  manipulations which devolve into bitter conflicts and selfish divisions; that we would have wise and powerful leaders who seek God’s help to respond to this evil aggression, who will fight for our common good and the protection for human rights and freedom; that we will all develop a greater level of sustainable empathy and be a grateful people who love our neighbors and somehow even our enemies;  that we will value truth and justice; and that God will sooth wounds, take away painful scars, and heal the land.

The difficulty lies in the waiting, in being “still” before God, in trusting Him to do good and bring healing and justice into our lives, in knowing that He is Lord God omnipotent who reigneth.

“ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

“Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.                                                                   The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and/He shall reign for ever and ever/King of kings, Lord of lords.”( Hallelujah Chorus, The Messiah)

Prayers for the Ukraine and Us

Cadillac Mountain from the Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine

Eons ago, these mountains shook and fell into the sea leaving behind a stark beauty and a strange reminder that out of ashes can come beauty; such an idea is difficult to comprehend while considering the devastation, pain, suffering, injustices, and questions brought on by humanity’s self afflicted wars.

Despite the huge outpouring of military and humanitarian support from the international community, the Ukrainians are a vulnerable people who need hope. Their images remind us of WW2. Their circumstances tear at our hearts and bring tears to our eyes and prayers to our lips. Fear, wrenching uncertainty, deprivation, separation, dispossession, injury, loss of family and friends and property and finances and basic necessities, homelessness, and refugee status are unimaginable conditions which are all too real for the people of this nation. They hope and pray for safety, for the strength and ability to sustain themselves, for resolution, for reunion, for return to their homeland. Where does one find that hope in the midst of such upheaval and horrific suffering? Is there any comfort? Will there be any justice? Can good come from such evil?

The Ukraine has a broad religious presence with a large Jewish population and strong Jewish tradition, but the majority of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christian as well as some Roman Catholic and Protestants groups. Even though their current situation differs, the Ukrainian refuges are a reminder of how confused, sad, hopeless and isolated Israel’s people felt while exiled in Babylonian. “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.  On the willows there we hung up our lyres.  For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us  of the songs of Zion! … How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land?”( Psalm 137:1-4)

Remembering God and believing His promises have always been an important, necessary, comforting and stabilizing feature of faith. Knowledge of and trust in the revelations, work, and promises of God bring peace and hope even in the midst of crises and disasters. “Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:1-3, 8-11)

Approximately 380 years ago, George Fredric Handel wrote the musical score for the Messiah, a renowned oratorio. Its Hallelujah Chorus is a frequent Christmas favorite. The story text written by Charles Jennens addresses this universal need for hope. It follows the threads of comforting scripture passages written by  Old Testament Prophets and  the writers of the New Testament Gospels and epistles  about God’s promised Redeemer who will bring justice and salvation to a troubled, suffering Israel and will be the ultimate hope for all nations. Among the familiar recitatives and choruses are: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.…Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together… I will shake all nations; and the desire of all nations shall come… Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”

The Psalms are filled with vocalized questions and heartfelt responses to human conundrums of oppression and suffering. There are angry, sad, sorrowful laments, but the overarching theme is that God is present and good and worthy of our gratitude, praise and honor. Despite the messes we make for ourselves or for others, He is faithful and steadfast. He loves and redeems His people and in His sovereignty will bring ultimate justice. Like a “refiner’s fire” a day of justice lies ahead. Christ’s life itself exemplifies that God can change the evilness of suffering into something good; from an unjust crucifixion, He lifts us up with gracious mercy and makes us righteous and just when we believe.

Is it possible that any good might come from the material and emotional devastation and from the injustices  being inflected in the Ukraine? Certainly we pray for safety, protection, and basic necessities to be met and that the desires of Ukrainian hearts will be fulfilled; we pray for the halting of devastation, atrocities and disorder; we pray for justice. We also pray that the image of God will emerge from the evil rubble of war; that His glory will be manifested in the kindnesses,  compassion, understanding, and support given to these vulnerable people;  that His love will be demonstrated through the work and outreach of His Church as it lives out the Gospel; that God’s comfort and peace and assurances will be proclaimed and received and felt;  that somehow the world’s eyes will be opened to the incorrigible nature of the human heart and will see that the purposes and meaning of life transcend the present and will recognize that only God can change the hearts of men, not armies and weaponry; that respect and understanding and unity are ways to advance humanity’s well being not power struggles and  manipulations which devolve into bitter conflicts and selfish divisions; that we would have wise and powerful leaders who seek God’s help to respond to this evil aggression, who will fight for our common good and the protection for human rights and freedom; that we will all develop a greater level of sustainable empathy and be a grateful people who love our neighbors and somehow even our enemies;  that we will value truth and justice; and that God will sooth wounds, take away painful scars, and heal the land.

The difficulty lies in the waiting, in being “still” before God, in trusting Him to do good and bring healing and justice into our lives, in knowing that He is Lord God omnipotent who reigneth.

“ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

“Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.                                                                   The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and/He shall reign for ever and ever/King of kings, Lord of lords.”( Hallelujah Chorus, The Messiah)