Sweet Words from Maine

Morning Songs of the Heart

Do you ever awaken with your soul singing? Matthew Redman did as he contemplated God’s goodness: “The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning. It’s time to sing your song again” (10,000 Reasons). Perhaps a beautiful dawn was the inspiration for the awaking Psalmist who exclaimed, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”(Psalm 118:24)

For millenniums, song writers have turned their praise heavenward for the blessings and fresh hope found in new dawns, in new beginnings. One German song writer penned, “When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries, ‘May Jesus Christ be praised’? (Anonymous, 1828) Why would he suggest that Christ be praised when the first light rays break darkness? It is all about love! Christ entered humanity as the embodiment of God’s deep love. He opened the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven where God’s “mercies are renewed every morning” for all those who trust Him (Lamentations 3:22-23).

So great and wonderful are God’s mercies that the Psalmist said he would “sing of them forever “ (Psalm 89:1-3). He rejoiced over God’s grace and mercy, over God’s peace, hope, comfort and goodwill, over God’s righteousness and justice, over God’s forgiveness and healing of offenses, hurts and diseases of the soul, and over His “steadfast love” (Psalm 103). So great is that love that George Matheson wrote a hymn describing Christ as the “Love that will not let me go!” The Apostle Paul said nothing in “life or death” or “in all creation” can separate us from God’s love found in Christ (Romans 8:38:39). And Keith Getty’s and Stuart Townsend’s contemporary song powerfully exclaims: “no power of hell, no scheme of man\Can ever pluck me from his hand” (In Christ Alone).

Jesus, who was dead and is alive, said, “Behold I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) That promise is for every person, for every day, and for every future when taken in the context of belief. God’s old promises don’t wear out or become obsolete. They are constant and continual, yet they are new every day!

So, “Whatever may pass, or whatever lies before me,Let me be singing when the evening comes, Bless the Lord, O my soul…Bless his holy name!” (10000 Reasons)

Wisdom from an Old Owl…

A wise old owl sat on an oak\ The more he heard\ The less he spoke.

The less he spoke\ The more he heard\ Why not be like that wise old bird?

That bit of proverbial wisdom became my first public “speech” in first grade. Although this particular saying is not attributed to him, King Solomon was the king of proverbs, one of which is: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Really? Is God a celestial policeman to be feared?

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of (God’s) throne…” (Psalm 89:14) That God is righteous and just is certainly intimidating for all of us because we struggle to do (or even know at times) what is always right and just. But this Psalm continues on to speak of God’s “steadfast love” and “faithfulness.” Other Scriptures teach us that “God is love,” that He loves all humanity, and that “perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:8,16)(John 3:16) (1John 4:18). So, is there some conflict, some incongruity, or tension between justice and love in God’s nature?

Biblical “fear” carries the connotation of “reverence” which is much more than respect. When my Dad spoke, he had my undivided attention! He was not all knowing but knew what was best for me at the time. (And I knew when he spoke what was best for me at that time!) I think that idea is at play in Solomon’s word of wisdom about fear. The remainder of Solomon’s thought is that “the knowledge of the Lord is understanding.” “Fearing God” implies devotion, trust, and obedience or adherence to His omniscience. Not only is God all knowing, but He is morally pure: “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong…“(Habakkuk 1:13) His moral purity demands that He wants and does only what is good for us.

Therein comes the rub. Although God has great compassion for us, our moral brokenness or sin is abhorrent to Him and separates us from Him. However, in His remarkable love, God desires that none should perish and willingly, eagerly, and graciously redeems us. His remedy for our brokenness is the person and the work of Christ. Through him, God has shown “his immense love for us “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) When we accept the grace and mercy of forgiveness poured out at the cross, “Christ Jesus becomes to us wisdom from God, righteousness…and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). If we choose to believe that and receive the gift of saving faith, he reconciles us to God. If we choose not to listen to Christ as God’s wisdom, our ultimate fear should be that we would be separated from God and “perfect love.”

It is easy to allow our minds and voices to off-put or over-speak God. But there is a lesson to be taken from that wise old owl. Man’s wisdom is fallible, but God’s is not. Man’s voice is often in conflict with God’s. However, if “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” and if “in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” then listening to Jesus is not only a wise move, it is crucial. (1 Corinthians 1:24,30) (Colossians 2:3),

Has the Light Gone Out?

Sails at Mark Island, Winter Harbor, Maine

I love watching sails slip by this old lighthouse and can easily romanticize its many stories as it sits on Mark island within rowing distance of Winter Harbor, Maine. Sadly, it is now a privately owned landmark and is no longer an active beacon warning, guiding or welcoming weary sailors and fishermen seeking safe harbor or home.

Like this lighthouse, many beacons which have guided our forebears and which our nation has cherished are losing their brilliance as history is denied or rewritten, as the Constitution is misconstrued, as the moral code is ignored or denied, as the common good is lost in greed and self interest, as social standards of respect and civility disappear into arrogant ignorance, as personal values disintegrate, as patriotism devolves into disgust for authority, and as faith in God has no daily, if any, pertinence.

I wonder about failing our younger generations as they race toward their finish line. Are we getting them to safe harbors and solid ground? Can we guide others through a world obsessed with self interest, greed, and sensuality, if we are prone to sacrifice integrity for expediency, influence, and greed and if we do not confront delusional thinking? Are we beacons guiding to good ends? Do we transmit inspiration and strong signals of hope in a society losing sight of what is good and healthy-a society lost and lonely in virtual worlds of social media’s bullying, sexualization, moral and identity confusion, self-interest, and violent games and distorted images; a society too numbed to realize that what it wants isn’t always best; a society too dishonest to face reality? Instead of raising flags of decency, civility, and the common good, we indulge in partisanship and what we want when we want it. And we are prone to shifting moral goal posts to accommodate our desires and thus define wrong as right despite the fact it is still unhealthy for our souls?

We are in this way over our heads and hearts without effective solutions for our base instincts and behaviors. Intellect, science, technology, philosophy, religions,and good effort have not solved our self-problem. Humbled by failure, we have to cede defeat and acknowledge we need outside help.

However, we are never without hope. The one light that darkness can never obliterate is Jesus. Darkness has tried and continues to try, but he is the Light of the world. His life, teaching, and saving work tell us that life is about loving God above all else and our neighbors as ourselves. Because we are self-centered and self-serving by nature, we all miss those goals, lack righteousness, deserve condemnation, and need redemption. Jesus took that condemnation, restores us to God, and brings us new meaning and purpose. He is the bight future.

He is The light that never goes out.

All or none…

Stonington’s visitors and residents will recognize this familiar scene on its working waterfront. Curiously, this shed like building which has weathered high winds and vicious storms for years appears to be sitting partially on rugged shore rock and partly on a wharf held up by stilts.

Christ told a parable about foundational materials on which people construct their belief systems. He used the symbols of rock and sand and made it very clear that his words are substantive and crucial.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7)

The implication is clear. Christ’s words are powerful, life sustaining words when believed and followed. His Words are spirit and life (John 6:63). He left no room for cherry picking what one likes about him or his teachings. There are no compromises, no enhancing or subtracting, maximizing or diminishing him with ideas, theories, and adaptations. Either one accepts him, his claims, and his works as true and honest or one does not. Either he spoke truth or was a deluded exaggerator or worse still a calculating liar. We cannot honestly consider him to be a great person without accepting the glorious mysteries of his divinity, authority, redemptive acts, and his less palatable teachings about eternal judgment.

Christians have just celebrated “Holy Week,” Christ’s “Last Supper”, his crucifixion, and his wonder filled resurrection. For some, those events hold no value or may be considered nonsense! However, there is no fence straddling. We cannot build faith on a foundation of half truths. Jesus said that if we do not believe in him we are against him. (Matthew 12:30) As the old hymn goes, “Neutral you cannot be.

Beauty Without End

We think of beauty as a quality of someone or something that visually pleases us. Whether or not beauty is intrinsic to something, the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” implies that beauty is subject to personal aesthetics, appreciations, preferences or interests. That also allows certain intangibles such as music or a person’s character to be considered “beautiful.”

In his country ballad, “I saw God today,” George Strait sings, “His fingerprints are everywhere” including in the beauty of a flower, the love of a couple strolling by holding hands, and in the face of his new born baby. But he realizes, “I’ve been to church\ I’ve read the book\ I know he’s there\ but I don’t look\ near as often as I should\ yeah, I know I should,”

Although “The heavens declare the glory of God” and creation reveals His “eternal power and divine nature,” the wonders of God’s character are ‘seen” within the pages of Scripture where the enormities of His love, grace, mercy, power, and purposes are on display. And when we meditate on Jesus, we discover his pure, magnificent nature, and the Kingdom of Heaven is brought close.

Isaiah paints considerable tension and irony between the horror and beauty of Jesus’ life in a dismal yet wonderful word picture of Jesus, the suffering Messiah.“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 52:3-5)

We may prefer not to look at the suffering Savior or admit that we sent him to Calvary! However, could anything be more beautiful than mercy, compassion, and selflessness? Can we who are of deceptive, wicked hearts save ourselves? How can we deny the old rugged cross? We must look at that cross…at the tortured, bruised, battered, innocent pathetic figure suffering, hanging there agonizing for us. There he has freed us from condemnation and eternal death when we believe.

Someone has said, “We look at the cross and see anguish, pain, and Jesus being crushed under the weight of the sins of multiplied billions of men and women. But Jesus sees the cross as bringing glory to the Father on earth. It is the glory of the Son’s obedience and the Father’s divine love that brings redemption to humanity, but at a staggering cost.”

The beauty of Jesus doesn’t end at the cross or even the morning he stepped out of the tomb in glorious resurrection. That first Easter morning cinched the bright hope that he is “the resurrection and the life.” Therein lies the awesome promise—even though we die a physical death, we will never die if we trust in his sacrifice for our sins.

The beauty continues. Trusting and loving Jesus transforms lives with meaning and purpose. The words of an old hymn express that possibility: “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me\all his compassion and purity\O Thou Spirit Devine\All my nature refine\’til the beauty of Jesus is seen in me.” (1916, Arthur Osborne, General in the Salvation Army)

That is ongoing, progressive, unending beauty!

Unending Beauty

That is ongoing, progressive, unending beauty!

Beyond Repair?

This old, deserted place appears to have deteriorated beyond repair. Full restoration might be possible but would require the knowledge and skills of a devoted, courageous, visionary craftsman with deep pockets and much patience. There is little hope that will happen.

Sometimes it seems civilization has degenerated into total moral rebellion and has reached that point of no return from its selfishness. At times the brokenness, violence, greed, deceit, oppression, abuse, and injustices seem overwhelming. Addictions and their consequences are devastating. And we have our personal regrets, guilt, and even shame with which to deal. Many of us are running on empty.

Yet, there is great hope. The cure for our selfishness lies in recognition of our self deceit and need for repentance. Thankfully, Almighty God is in the restoration business! One of the great promises of Scripture is the vitalization of the grieving, repentant soul by an understanding, loving God, who is willing to “forgive all your iniquities, heal all your diseases, redeem your life from the pit, crown you with steadfast, love and mercy, and satisfy you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103). “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

Jesus was a carpenter trained to create and repair, but he was uniquely qualified in spiritual restoration. When he showed up, Jesus changed lives. His touch and voice not only made lives as good as new but transformed them completely. He commanded the authority and power to defy and change physical and spiritual realities. He walked on water, spoke and calmed raging seas. Dead men tore off their funeral gab and climbed out of their caskets. Paralyzed and lame limbs flexed, moved, jumped, and walked like never before. Blind eyes saw the beauty of faces and a world never previously seen. Demons and delusions were confronted and driven out. More importantly, the deranged and mentally tortured received right minds and peace; the immoral were forgiven; the diminished were valued; the hopeless found hope; the misguided, confused, and deluded discovered truth; those in darkness came into the light; the lost found the Way of redemption.

This world is broken; our personal values are skewed, but Jesus was sent to restore hurting creation and suffering humanity to their heavenly potential and original glory. He did so by taking the sins of the world upon his sinless self and by willingly paying our ransom with the death which we deserve. The cost of our redemption is measured somewhere in the magnitude of God’s amazing grace, the extremeness of His mercy, the infinitude of divine love, the selflessness and sacrifice and wonders of Jesus on an old rugged cross, and the hope of an astounding resurrection.

Nobody is beyond his restorative touch. He will make all things new, including us, if we want him to. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise ( Psalm 51:17).

“Dooryard” Treasures

A Maine “dooryard” is often the source of surprises and treasures! Scrap lumber? Junk cars? Old buggies? Clotheslines? Free ranging chickens? Weeds? Goats? Playgrounds? Cast off toilets? Whirligigs? Beautiful lilacs? Callous chaos? A lovely, sculpted lawn? Or some combination with a dog or two thrown in!

Maybe even sheep and a lobster boat and gear!

Like Old Faithful, which erupts predictably for three minutes twenty times a day, this lobster boat has faithfully and reliably weathered many fishing seasons. Time and again, the boat has passed that test and is named accordingly.

Fulfilling expectations is an important trust builder. Familiarity with equipment or people or situations provides a certain comfort level. Knowing someone’s weaknesses, strengths, and quirks enables one to deal with them, but predictability and reliability promote confidence. That is what sheep find in their shepherd.

In the context of belief and relationship, the well known twenty third Psalm speaks of the Lord as being a courageous Shepherd, as One who meets the needs of His sheep, who leads them to quiet places while restoring their souls, and who never ever deserts them. But even more than that, scripture proclaims that Jesus came to us as the Good Shepherd, seeking to rescue the “lost” while willingly putting himself in harm’s way to the point of sacrificing his own life to save them.

Knowing that God’s purposes are always good and that He patiently and intentionally shepherds his sheep is assurance that His promises hold firm both for today and always. The Psalmist said , “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.” (Psalm 33:4) He has kept and will always keep His word.

Jesus is described by different names in Scripture including “Faithful” and “True” and the “Word” (Revelation 19:11) (John1:1). As expressions of God’s nature, he met expectations and gives us confidence in his redemptive work, in his triumph over evil, and in assurances of life eternal when we believe. (Romans10:9-10). When we trust Him, we can sing with the Psalmist: Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3)

He is forever faithful. When we discover Him, He is the greatest treasure!

A Father’s Love

Ice Fishing at George’s Pond, Franklin, Maine

I don’t know him, but I love this guy. It may be cold outside, but it warms my heart to see him huddled and enjoying life with his little family while sharing his knowledge about what he values. He is a good Dad. He has even prepared a picnic and reminds me of our Heavenly Father, who wants to provide and care for us and to show us how to enjoy life.

George Strait sang a country ballad, “A Father’s Love,” which is a touching interaction between a young boy and his Dad. The lad had gotten into trouble and feared his Dad’s would discipline him but was surprised by a tender “secret” which his Dad had learned from his Dad. It was a lesson which the boy took with him throughout his life.

“He said, ‘Let me tell you a secret about a father’s love
A secret that my daddy said was just between us
He said, ‘Daddies don’t just love their children
Every now and then, It’s a love without end, amen
It’s a love without end, amen”

A good Dad knows his children are emotionally and physically fragile. God not only knows our physical and emotional vulnerabilities but also the spiritual weaknesses arising from our rebellious natures. Yet, He “delights in steadfast love.” (Micah 7:18) Strait’s song ends with some lyrics about God’s tender heart for His children. The Psalmist knew that heart and sang about God’s tenderness toward those who reverence Him: “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).

The Apostle John personally knew Jesus well and believed that God’s love was manifested in him as the crucified, risen Savior. He marveled at Jesus’ sacrifice to save humanity: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1) The Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Church that in His amazing grace and mercy, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…He who did not spare his only Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans5:8; 8:32) He further expounded on the immense magnitude of God’s affirming, loving goodness and grace to those who believe in Him: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor the to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

The second verse and refrain of “A Good, Good Father,” sung by Chris Tomlin, conveys that message:

Oh, and I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching for answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need before we say a word

You’re a good, good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

We live with broken natures in a broken world, and earthly Dad’s may fail miserably. But God does not and will not. He is the Father from whom all good is derived. His intentions are always to give us “ hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) He knows we need redemption, gives it when we seek Him, and

loves His children “without end, amen.”

Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8 (NLT2)

Skating on Thin Ice

Skating on Long Pond, Pretty Marsh Road, Mt. Desert, Maine

^“By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast” (Job 37:10).

As kids, we loved to skate on a frog pond beside railroad tracks that ran through the middle of our village. While we skated, we warmed ourselves beside, or cooked an occasional hotdog over, a fire of scavenged wood or old, cast off tires garnered from villagers. However, before we were allowed to skate, our Dad or our friends’ Dad always went the first time and checked the thickness of the pond’s ice.

“Skating on thin ice” is more than an idiom. It is a warning that we should not only be alert but be pre-prepared. Being prepared may prevent disasterous repercussions from poorly thought out or willfully bad choices that can derail one’s future. This is true for our spiritual lives as well. Knowing and living by guiding principles will help prevent us from making decisions with negative consequences because “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12) One wise applicable biblical principle to follow when we make choices is found in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your way acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” If that is true, God’s purposes are the best ones to know and to personally apply because “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21).

Living well is increasingly difficult in a chaotic culture where standards are fluid, relative, and based on whatever we want or think about the circumstance facing us. The ethical ice is thin when there is no substantial moral foundation to hold us up. Although we have been created with the capacity to act in the image of God, we will not be people of intention and integrity and or have stability without guiding principle by which we decide to live and without which we become side tracked or derailed.

Scriptures clearly indicate God’s desires and purposes for us are always good and involve the Moral Law of loving God with all our being and others as we love ourselves, Because we all have difficulty with that kind of selflessness, we fail in those endeavors, mar that special image, and need forgiveness and reconciliation with God and neighbors. We choose whether or not to seek those. But our choices do not negate the overarching fact that we need forgiveness. Thankfully, God is not willing any should be estranged from Him or perish without Him and is wants to redeem all who seek Him in truth. So, basing one’s life principles on God’s Word or wisdom and not on cultural leanings is crucial.

Christ is God’s wisdom revealed to us in Scripture and is the consistent, solid, immutable foundation of the Christian faith. That fact was expressed in “How Firm a Foundation”, a hymn written in 1787. It is still sung in Protestant churches today:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God’s excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake.”

If we choose Jesus, we will not skate through life on thin ice.