Sweet Words from Maine

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.

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).