Sweet Words from Maine

Freedom Rings

The Machias Valley
“Down in the valley where the river meets the sea…”

Nestled in the picturesque Machias valley lies this historic New England village. The Church in this photo played a role in a Revolutionary War naval battle during which local patriots captured a British ship, the Margaretta, took it up Middle River, (foreground) and scuttled it.

New England villages are steeped with the history and ambiance of our nation’s social and religious beginnings. There are village greens, old court houses, cemeteries, and taverns. Magnificent church spires point to the heavens while holding crosses and weather-vanes high above their towns. Belfry clocks keep the village on schedule, clanging bells invite or even summon one to worship, and carillons chime beautiful, old hymns that echo through the town. They remind one of quickly advancing hours and worship opportunities while their steeples tell how the winds are blowing, point to the One from whom all good things come, and proclaim God’s Good News of redemption.

The first battles of the Revolutionary War were fought in New England villages. Our incontrovertible, dearly held God-given rights and freedom of worship were purchased with the bloody sacrifice of brave men and women. But are we truly free? Despite our political and religious freedoms, things we seek or fear become our masters: goals, habits, desires, needs, addictions, relationships, money, professions, ideas, positions and prestige, and our anxieties, and neuroses. We may have Freedom from tyranny of others, but do we have Freedom from tyranny of self? Who will save us from ourselves?

The message symbolized by crosses on village church spires is that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has won our spiritual freedom. Believers are loved, forgiven, restored and free to live as they ought because of Christ. Scripture tell us: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1) He made a covenant freeing us from the power of our sinful natures, pardoned us from the condemnation of our unholiness, undid the tyranny of death, and guaranteed life eternal if we but agree that we need him and will trust him.

American song writers have produced some wonderful patriotic hymns which sadly are seldom heard any more. “My Country Tis of Thee” was written in 1831 and beautifully delivers the powerful message of why we know the blessings of freedom. Listen to stanzas one and four. Ironically they are sung to the tune of “God Save the King.”

My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim’s pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!

Our father’s God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!

Beauty or Burnout?

Fleeting Light, Dusk on the Taunton River, Sullivan, Maine

If we do not believe in God or do not perceive Him as Someone who is interested in our lives, we miss His voice speaking to us through creation’s beauty. Also, at times, our psychic and physical energies have been so overwhelmed and dissipated with the busyness and preoccupations of hectic days that we experience mini “burnouts.” These not only diminish the fleeting moments of creation’s magnificence but also sap the joy from our entire days.

Minor “burnout” may respond to a reprioritizing pep talk, a good night’s rest, or an energizing vacation. However, we are all susceptible to serious burnout when the things we strive for and the ways we conduct our lives disappoint and seem futile. The prophet Isaiah had special advice for those who have reached “flame out” status because of failed expectations. He had been reassured by God that he was God’s servant and would be used to bring God glory. Because he focused on results and not God, he saw no evidence that God was fulfilling His promise. He felt powerless and saw no benefit from his efforts. “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.” (Isaiah 49:4)

At that point, Isaiah make an important, conscious decision to trust God to do what He had said He would do. His submission statement should be posted on all our desks or walls, “… Yet, I leave it all in the LORD’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.” (Isaiah 49:4) He listened as he heard God reiterate, “I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” The key to that incredibly big promise and huge responsibility for this little-known prophet was that God said. “I will make you…” Therein lay the power. God could and would do it. He needed to trust God, not himself, to do so.

Remember Christ’s difficult, extensive, and exhausting work and how sadly disastrous the end seemed. Even though he had poured his energy and his heart into people while doing God’s will, he was murdered. Praise God for the resurrection, but when he left this world, he would have been considered a failure by most standards. He had only a meager group of followers. Yet Jesus knew that his suffering for the purposes of God would result in joy—both his and ours! Believers are encouraged to look to him as “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.(Hebrews 12:2) What greater affirmation could there be?

Ultimate purposes and hope may be difficult to define if God is not in the mix of one’s life. Trusting God makes all the difference because the joy of the Lord is the believer’s strength. When the Psalmist was in deep despair, he remembered the benefits of his faith: God’s mercy, forgiveness, unfailing love, and eternal hope. His descriptive summation was that God gave “full redemption” (Psalm 130).

The Apostle Paul had learned the truth about full redemption as he dealt with physical problems and treacherous situations: “…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:10-13)

Seeing life through the lens that God is present, powerful, good, loves creation and its creatures, and has good purposes for us will bring a sense of gratitude and hope and a fuller realization and appreciation for both the constant and the fleeting beauty around us. Oh, the wonder of it all!

Navigating the journey

Navigating life is like navigating the Stonington thoroughfare. It requires certain skills, awareness of potential hazards, and alertness to the dynamics of the moment as we weave our way through life’s challenges. Although our lives hold the possibility for much happiness and joy, these can be siderailed by complicated relationships, misplaced priorities, personal weaknesses, the demands of family and careers, unexpected disasters and disappointments, and unanticipated oppositions. Injustices, scammers, mistakes, betrayals, failures, and the transitions required of aging all exact their price and can decrease one’s sense of enjoyment.

Whether under pressure or riding a high, we are not immune to the injustices, the hurt, the wrong, and the depravity around us. At some point, we are going to search for meaning, purpose, and explanations and wonder if humanity is redeemable.

But God has not given us up! And Christ gives us a solid hope. He died to make us right with God by making redemption possible for every human soul through repentance and belief. Furthermore, God has promised a day when He will make paths straight. “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (Isaiah 40:4)

Until that time when wrongs will be made right and justice will reign, God has promised guidance to the good ways, to the best possible life. When we “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding (and) in all our ways submit to him, he will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).” His Word is “a light” for our paths (Psalm 119:105). “(He) instructs you in the way of wisdom and leads you along straight paths (Proverbs 4:11). “Watch the path of your feet/And all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil (Proverbs 4:26-27)”

He not only has instructed us how to live with love for Him and our neighbor but has shown us the way through Jesus. The New Testament authors summed it up by telling us to “walk as Jesus did.”(1John 2:6, Ephesians5:2)

The journey may be difficult and even hazardous, but the “Captain of our salvation” steadfastly and lovingly takes us through to the other side of our difficulties into a glorious life with Him. (Hebrews 2:10). In the beautiful metaphor of walking, he even walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death into what Pilgrim in Pilgrim’s Progress called the Celestial City.”

Tied in knots?

Lying on this Stonington wharf, these colorful, braided ropes are reminders of things which hold us tightly. King Solomon used braided cords as a metaphor for strong relationships. The Message paraphrases his wisdom: “With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 (MSG)

Just as intertwined rope strands increase strength and durability, bonds of love, shared values, and mutual support join to make strong marriages, cohesive families, and successful cooperative efforts. We are more stable and able when joined in community where we share ideas, customs, rituals, and learned values but are free to communicate differences.

However, not all bonds are good. Toxic relationships, inherited disorders, unfortunate personality traits, difficult circumstances, chronic disabilities, and devastating addictions are restrictive. They control us, hold us back, and are often the source of shame.

Scripture speaks of being enslaved by sinful attitudes, behaviors and beliefs. Christ said that he was Truth and “the Truth will make you free.” His atoning work releases the power of forgiveness, takes away shame, grants freedom from condemnation, provides comfort in difficulties, gives meaning and purpose, enables overcoming, and ensures hope even in death if we choose to believe.

Many of us are familiar with the beautiful, hope-filled, and much beloved hymn “Amazing Grace,” which was written by slave owner John Newton after his conversion. Another version (Amazing Grace -My Chains are Gone). expands the concept of how free and amazing God’s grace is when it comes to bondage of the soul. Although better heard than read, one refrain is:

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free/ My God, my Savior has ransomed me/And like a flood His mercy reigns/
Unending love, amazing grace

No entrapped mind or soul is so tightly bound that Jesus cannot intervene and loose the bonds. “If the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you are will be free indeed.” (John 8:36 (ESV).

Safely Anchored?

Precariously perched on a piece of seaweed tenuously attached to a lobster buoy, this little sandpiper seemed a bit disconcerted as its world swirled madly around it.

We know what it is like to be overwhelmed, to lose the meaningful context of our lives, to become disoriented by chaotic ideas and events rushing in upon us. Searching for meaning in the confusion, we seek and choose places to land in order to maintain stability and personal value; we latch onto intellectually and emotionally appealing ideas and noble activities. We challenge ourselves to excel. Yet we like routines and feel more confident when there is structure and predictability. Whatever our ideologies and personal efforts, they evaporate the day we disappear into eternity. We know our journey is transitory, but are we prepared for its earthly end?

Scripture envisions this life as the staging ground for an afterlife which is best approached by a trusting relationship with God, in whose image we are created and without whom life makes no ultimate sense. He is the solid ground on which the soul can safely rest.The Psalmist recognized Him as Savior and a secure place as he sang: “God is our refuge and strength/an ever-present help in trouble/
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea/ though its waters roar and foam/and the mountains quake with their surging/…The Lord Almighty is with us/the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46)

God’s immeasurable love secures those who believe in Him and trust Him to redeem them. An old hymn first composed in 1824 but rewritten several times and still sung in churches today expresses that redemptive hope: “On Christ the solid rock I stand…./When all around my soul gives way/ He then is all my hope and stay.”

Because of God’s loving character and promises, we can live with confidence despite life’s pressures and uncertainties. We may find ourselves powerless,vulnerable, and seemingly insignificant, but the buoying truth is that there is a grand and beautiful plan for life with God now and beyond our existence on this earth. That life is substantive and eternally secure and made possible by trusting Christ and his redemptive work. God’s love, grace and mercy are steadfast.

Even as life swirls about us, we can sing the words of another old hymn: “My faith has found a resting place/ not in device nor creed/ I trust the ever living one/ His wounds for me shall plead/ I need no other argument/ I need no other plea/ It is enough that Jesus died/ and that he died for me.”

Unruined Grandeur

Lupine on Frenchman’s Bay across from Acadia National Park

In 1877, Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote the poem “God’s Grandeur,” the first line of which states, ” The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” Soon, colorful lupine will cover Maine fields and roadsides giving testimony to that fact. Nothing can match nature’s beauty.

Centuries of prophets, poets, artists, writers, theologians, and songsters have exuberantly proclaimed the power visible in nature. Moses wrote that God was so pleased with His creation that He called it “good.” The Psalmist sang: “The heavens declare the glory of God /and the sky above proclaims his handiwork /Day to day pours out speech /and night to night reveals knowledge… /Their voice goes out through all the earth /and their words to the end of the world (Psalm 19:1-4).

Whether or not we attribute nature’s bountiful mysteries and magnificent beauty to God, they should cause us to wonder, to look closely, and to listen to their lessons.

In his poem, Hopkins wrote that despite being “trod” upon for generations and wearing ” man’s smudge” and sharing” “man’s smell,” “nature is never spent.” No matter how much we mar and offend them, the enduring wonders of nature along with the consistent laws which control our universe continue to boggle even the most sophisticated minds. The reason that the Apostle Paul gave for creation’s awesomeness is that it reveals God’s power and divine nature. “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 1:19-20). Third Day’s contemporary song continues to elevate that idea: “Lord of all creation /Lord of water, earth and sky /The heavens are your Tabernacle /Glory to the Lord on high.”

We can thank God for lupine and their message:

“The whole earth is full of his glory !” (Isaiah 6:3)

Ancient Paths

Once God spoke, as only He can, with comforting reassurance to His people, “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16 )

God doesn’t tell us to throw away our iPhones, or to become cave dwellers, or to communicate with smoke signals. He simply exhorts us to get our priorities straight, to take stock of who we are and why we are here at this particular juncture or decision point, to consider whose values influence us, to and to ponder the foundations of a “good” life. His principles undergird the moral universe and establish the paths of righteousness, justice, generosity, forgiveness, kindness, and love. These are more important than the cravings of mind and body.

However, folly is a real danger because of our amazing tendency to choose half truths and delusions. We daily stand at the crossroads of weaknesses and temptations, of ethical dilemmas, and of compromised integrity. We confuse wants with rights and freedoms; so we become enslaved to some debilitating consequences of selfishness which may cause anxiety, depression, disappointment, disillusionment, anger, cynicism, violence, and addictions.

So, when God’s voice cuts in, we should take notice! His advice has always been contemporary, crucial, true, and eternal. His moral principles are indelibly buried in our social conscience. Jesus’ summary of the ancient path was : Love God with everything you have, with heart, soul, mind and strength. Then follow God’s directions which will guarantee a healthy spirit of love for fellow sojourners (Matthew 12:29-31). Because we are imperfect in our attempts to fulfill those requirements, we must rely upon the perfection of Christ who redeems us and gives us his righteousness when we believe in his selfless sacrifice for us. God wants to take care of our souls!

He made it clear that there is both good reason and great benefit to choosing His ancient, well planned, enduring path: “You will find rest for your souls.” Jesus made that very same promise when he said, “Come unto me all you who labor, and I will give you rest” (John 14:6) ( Matthew 11:28). W hen we trust his saving work on our behalf and walk with him in the ancient prescription of loving God and our neighbor, we will find the good ways, and God’s peace will be upon us.

No More Work!

Fishing on theTaunton River, Sullivan, Maine

This lobsterman has spent a full day teaching school, but now he, his “stern-man,” and his canine friend are pulling lobster traps at dusk. I am uncertain about the “stern-man,” but he and his dog enjoy the work.

Enjoyment is one of many reasons we labor long and hard. Economic needs, advancement opportunities, retirement savings, or even a misplaced sense of self-identification and self value are other reasons we devote time and energy to our work situations.

Scripture tells us that “Night is coming when no man can work.” (John 9:4) Of course, Jesus was not speaking of retirement! Today, technology, material desires, economic needs, shift work, and a frenetic, competitive work ethic make that thought of not working physically, culturally, and prophetically obsolete. There is no break in today’s working hours.

In the 1960’s , Burt Barurach wrote and Diane Warwick sang “What’s it all about Alfie?” Reflecting on that question, the song concludes that life is about caring and loving, not about self effort. Clearly, obsession with work and its potential material “benefits” can actually distract us from experiencing the deep meaning of life.

Once a crowd following Jesus posed a question: ^“What must we do to do the works that God requires?” ^“Jesus answered and said unto them, The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.” (John 6:28-29) The full implication is that meaning and purpose are found in the context of God’s love expressed through Christ.

Interestingly, Jesus said that faith in him, that believing in his sacrifice for our redemption, is work. He didn’t say that faith is attained by works but that belief and trust are work. Belief involves our minds, emotions, wills and bodies and requires devotion, commitment, faithfulness, and dedication. Such descriptive words as “repent”, “confess” “seek”, “stand firm”, “walk”, “put on the armor of God”, “examine” yourself, “test the doctrines”, “run the race”, “discipline”, “become”, bear fruit”, “bear burdens”, “abide”, “persevere”, “overcome”, “deny self”, “submit”, “forgive”, “love”, and “Go” are all Biblical terms describing the believer’s difficult faith walk. People of faith understand the cry of “I believe. Help my unbelief.”

Finishing the race, fighting the fight, and completing the course mean running the gauntlet of belief: trust, self-denial, sacrifice, love, generosity, and even doubt.

A time will come when our lives will stop being what we know them to be now. Our “work” will have been completed. At that juncture, faith will take on a whole different dimension because it will become sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) The night of “no work” will be lit with an understanding of the magnitude of God’s love— and the question of
What’s it is all about?” will be answered!

World Wide Hunger

Have you ever met a gull that wasn’t hungry or willing to swoop in and steal your lunch?

Circling lobster pots outside the food processing plant in Prospect Harbor in the hope of snatching tasty bait or bits of lobsters parts, these gulls remind us of unrelenting hunger. We all may appreciate some degree of hunger pangs, but there are far too many people unsure of their next meal. Starvation is a much too prevalent and disgraceful problem in our world.

However, there is also a deep gnawing in every soul.

Curious and needy, we pursue material things, recreational activities, and intellectual pursuits in order to satisfy desires, to achieve some sense of self-fulfillment, and to persuade others of our worth. Sometimes our lives are like storage containers…full of stuff that has no ultimate benefit. Our accomplishments don’t alleviate discontent or a hunger for something truly enduring, more grand and meaningful. What do we really need? What will relieve and bring peace to restless spirits?

Jesus said that seeking after righteousness “will fill” our emptiness. (Matthew 5:6) He spoke of seeking after God and what is right in His eyes. In some ways that thought is disconcerting because “there is none righteous, no not one.” No matter how righteous within ourselves, we know we do not and can not always do right. We fall short of being just, gracious, generous, nonjudgmental, consistently kind, and humbly, lovingly following God.

Jesus told us if we seek, we will find life’s answers in him. He is the Way to connect us with God and God’s righteousness through faith in the powerful ability of his saving grace.

We don’t need to circle around like the gulls and snatch at what this world can offer us. Jesus is the Bread of Life, who will satiate the hunger and quench the thirst of our souls. If we trust him to do so, he, in his perfection, will become our righteousness, make us right with God, and satisfy our starving souls with meaning, purpose, hope, and peace.

Every Spring!

As the song goes, “Everything is beautiful in its own way.”

These lemon lilies hunker down each fall, endure chilling winter freezes, and faithfully grow back every spring with bright and fragrant beauty. That amazing cycle of transformation and resiliency occurs all around us in the plant kingdom.

Although we humans are part of this natural world, the principles governing our lives work a bit differently. In one sense we keep ourselves alive through propagation. We rise again in the “magic”of DNA, but at some point, our physical endurance ceases. Our bodies give out, revert to dust, and do not return.

We may or may not have been blessed with physical beauty and health, but God “makes all things beautiful in His time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) He transforms ugliness, uselessness, hopelessness, and brokenness into the awesome. Jesus turned water into wine, brought life where there was death and gave flaccid muscles the ability to walk , leap, and grasp. He forgave the proud, the greedy, the sexually immoral. Furthermore he changed mockery, bullying, torture, abuse, suffering and a crucifixion into a triumphal resurrection.

God is the God of impossibilities. He can and will bring beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:3). He lovingly redeems lives decimated by unremitting struggles, persistent doubts, repeated failures, and devastating unbelief and sin. If questioning God’s goodness, look at Christ on the cross. If despairing and feeling helpless and hopeless, peer into an empty tomb and consider the powerful resurrected Christ, who brings about new beginnings. We too can thrive after long cold winters of difficulties and disappointment.

God has created us with beautiful, resilient spirits. “Hope springs eternal” when Christ enters the picture. Even in death, he promises life for those who believe.