Sweet Words from Maine

Open or Closed?

Beyond the fence in the photo lies a magnificent but obscured view of Frenchman’s bay, its islands, boats, and mountains. That wonder can only be accessed through the now closed gate, and we are not invited in.

Jesus used a gate as a metaphor in a rather surprising, even shocking parable about some good but misguided people who faced an unexpected closed gate: ” Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me…”(Luke 13:24-27 )

These upstanding, well intention people were refused entrance into God’s Kingdom. Although they had not overtly rejected Christ, they had never personally heeded or embraced him. They had some familiarity with him, had heard about his teaching, but had not taken time to know him or “hear” him when he taught that he was the gate to redemption: “I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved.”(John 10:9) They had ignored his invitation and had never grasped the truth that they needed Christ’s righteousness and God’s mercy and grace to enter God’s Kingdom. Instead they had relied on their own abilities, good deeds, ideas, and self righteousness. They were “striving” but not by in faith.

The Apostle John portrayed Christ as standing and knocking at the door of our hearts, ready to enter our lives if we choose to allow him access. (Rev 3:20). Whether he is rejected or ignored, the result is the same. He does not force entry but enters upon invitation. Like Jerusalem’s ancient gates which the Psalmist adjured to allow the King of Glory to come in (Psalm 24:7), when we open our lives to Christ, the King of Glory will come in.

Those parables and illustrations are worth consideration. They indicate the importance of hearing Christ out and that his presence not only grants freedom to our spirits and guides us beyond our weaknesses and brokenness to forgiveness and healing but also assures us that one day a gate will open into a kingdom wonderful beyond imagination.

Illusions

Have you ever reached a long pursued goal, one which you imagined and idealized and in which you invested time, energy, and dreams? Maybe it was a career move, a promotion, a relationship, an academic degree, some accolade, social status, or wealth? However, the achievement did not meet expectations nor its anticipated happiness! Emptiness, disappointment, and maybe even sadness invaded your color filled dreams. Satisfaction was an illusion which sailed away unworthy of the sacrifices made to attain it..

Programmed to want “more”, to seek pleasure, to search for happiness, we are easily disoriented or diverted to what the Apostle John categorized as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. However, “more” is never enough. Feeding our senses and egos and neglecting our souls ultimately lead to unfulfilled lives because the void we are trying to fill is spiritual in nature.

Our deepest desires are for intimacy, love, joy, peace, integrity, wholeness, forgiveness, and gentle, kind, compassionate spirits. Unfortunately, the daily local and world news cycles attest to the fact we are unable to achieve that life on our own. Jesus has an extraordinary solution to our dilemma. He told us that we can gain the world but lose our souls and showed us that fulfillment comes to us in sacrifice and reversals.

Although prestige, position, power, and wealth were available to him, he willingly sacrificed himself for us through the horrors of crucifixion instead of seeking temporal fame. Through what might appear to have been weakness and defeat, he has given the power of the cross, the power of grace and mercy, the power of humility, the power of love, the power of redemption, the power of forgiveness and restoration, the power of no condemnation, the power of resurrection and hope, and the power of his eternal presence to those who trust him .

In our belief and humility, Christ leads us on the road to satisfaction. He opens the way to God and His promised joy, peace, comfort, and rest. That is God’s reality. It is no illusion.

It’s a new dawn…

Dawn! A new day is on the verge of its possibilities. Will it be routine? Mundane? Challenging? Disappointing? Exhausting? Exciting? End in uncertainties? Will it finish on a good note with enthusiasm and hope for another day?

Matt Redman released his album “10,000 Reasons” in 2012. It included “The sun comes up, its a new day dawning.” The lyrics harmonize with those of Psalm 103, which extolls the daily benefits of a relationship with God, who knows our vulnerabilities, understands that we are dust, is merciful and forgiving, and compassionately “crowns” life with love and healing. He redeems, satisfies with good, rectifies wrongs and brings justice to the oppressed. His goodness enriches and sustains the day…

Knowing all that, the Psalmist and the songster greet the dawn with a song in their hearts:

“The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning

Whatever may pass

It’s time to sing your song again

And whatever lies before me,

let me be singing when the evening comes.”

“Bless the Lord, Oh my soul

Oh my soul, Worship his holy name.

Sing like never before, Oh my soul,

I will worship your holy name.”

Their songs are reminders that those who trust God can begin and conclude each day with thanksgiving, rejoicing as the recipients of His benefits regardless of what the day has brought. The evening song begins and ends as the morning one did with total confidence in God’s sovereignty and soul protection.

“This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Some Day…

“Abandoned,” Bucks Harbor, Washington County, Maine

This abandoned boat is a reminder of King Solomon’s lament that “There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after” (Ecclesiastes 1:11)*

Does that mean that someday we will be just a moment spent? A still photo sitting on a mantel? An old census notation? A faded, moss covered name? A memory lost in some dark, genealogical archive?

Job didn’t believe that was the case. Even in deep anguish and frustration, he confidently cried out, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! (Job 19:25-27)

Christ taught how to possess that eternal life: “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. (John 5:24)

The Apostle Paul spoke of “ the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:1). Christ had made that promise as he stood by Lazarus’s tomb and raised him from the dead : I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Then Jesus asked a crucial question. “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

God promises us a Someday! If our response to Jesus’ question is in the affirmative, we have the confident expectation that on that Someday we will be restored, new in body, complete in spirit, lovely and loving, eternally alive, and brought to glory by the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10).

*_{(Solomon believed in an “afterlife.” He was just lamenting our empty earthly legacy. He concluded that, “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).}

Who is in the Mirror?

The child in the photo is just beginning a life time of self perception i.e. something more than just interacting with the world. Recognizing oneself in mirrors or photos begins at an early age and continues into an awareness of how others perceive us. Those concerns develop into frequent preoccupations with self image. Significant time and energy is wasted on managing perceptions we have about ourselves or how we think others think about us.

Genetics and experience help write our stories, but we work hard on developing strategies to promote positive appearances and judgments about ourselves or to hide negative impressions, thoughts, and feelings. Our coping mechanisms may be healthy or unhealthy as we deal with personality tendencies and giftedness and capabilities or weaknesses and inadequacies. We may become individualists or conformists, extroverts and the life of the party or introverts and nerds, aggressive and confident or afraid and ineffective, bold and adventuresome or hesitant and predictable, or some combination of many different character qualities.

The Apostle Paul said something worth considering on this matter. He said that the judgments which others made about him and even his own judgments about himself didn’t matter. They were of no consequence because our perceptions can not be trusted as true, as unbiased, or as accurate. Only God’s judgment about us is important.

That sounds rather scary! However, it need not be. It isn’t as though God doesn’t know our depraved, rebellious, unholy natures. We may see each other and ourselves unclearly, but He looks at our hearts and knows we are too broken and unholy to redeem ourselves. Nevertheless, He is gracious. His heart is overwhelmed with so much compassion, immeasurable love, and mercy that He has taken the penalty for our sins on Himself. He redeems us and removes our deserved condemnation through the sacrifice of Christ if we will believe.

So, as we look through the mirror of faith in Christ, our true identities emerge: God’s loved, forgiven, rescued, restored children.

Is There Any Safe Place?

Some of us have known the security and comfort of homes with parents who we could trust to protect us and to make everything as right as it could be. Sadly, some of us have not known the love and safety of nurturing arms because of abuse or neglect or abandonment. Those situations may lead to problems with trust and self worth and subsequent anger, anxiety, depression or behavioral issues. Furthermore, such terribly flawed relationships can impede our ability to understand or accept God as loving and good especially when times are challenging.

Scripture is replete with reassuring promises which help address those misperceptions and hesitancies. The Psalmist understood God’s incomparably deep, unconditional love for those who trust Him. He wrote, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.” (Psalm 27:10) “The steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him…” (Psalm 103:17) “

Speaking through Isaiah, God promised, “…do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) “I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” (Isaiah 46:4) As with all of God’s promises, these are eternal truths: “The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you” (Deuteronomy 33:26-27).

Jesus came as living proof of God’s deep, redemptive love and amazing grace toward us. “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10) When we trust him, he wraps us securely in his righteousness and carries us with the promise: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

The Apostle Paul expressed it beautifully: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).

Wrapped in that love, he holds us close- secure and safe “while the ages roll.”

Creation’s story

Another awe filled Downeast sunrise brings thoughts of Creator God and how beautifully He reveals Himself to us. The Psalmist’s ageless poetry affirms that God is evident to all people through creation:

“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/There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard/ Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy/Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19:1-6)

That psalm leads into others thoughts of how one can know God and His purposes for us.

“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward…” (Psalm 19:7-14)

That God’s revealed Word revives the soul, brings wisdom to one’s life, rejoices the heart, and enlightens the mind are bold and powerful assertions that run throughout both Old and New Testaments.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Even more breathtaking than discerning human faults and bringing wisdom to life, Scripture offers a redemptive solution for our sinful souls. “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ” (Colossians 1:19). “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

Such claims are not only unique but have transformed the lives of millions. They warrant thoughtful consideration by each of us during all the sunrises to which we awake!

“For what can be known about God is plain (to people) because God has shown it to them. 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. So, they (people) are without excuse.”( Romans 1:19-20)

From where you sit…

From where you sit, do you see what I see?

Probably not!

We live in the same world, maybe in the same neighborhood, or even in the same household but still can have very different perspectives on life. What we learn and the way we learn and experience the world can be very diverse. So, our stories, expectations, and values will vary…some in insignificant ways but others in widely divergent views. Our focuses may differ. Some of us are caught in the weeds and entanglements of daily living. Others view the distant hills of opportunity and imagination.

In fact, our constructs about meaning, purpose, values, ethics, morality, politics, religious beliefs, and understandings of the universe become so deeply personal and ingrained that we are not readily open to evaluate different or opposing views or even consider established facts if they defy what we believe or what we want to continue to believe. We effectively respond with, “Don’t confuse me with the facts! They are too challenging, too unsettling, too disruptive for me to even consider. I am comfortable with my view of things.”

That is the kind of thinking Jesus faced. He was opposed because his message was both extraordinary and countercultural and demanded some introspective evaluation. There was then, is now, and always will be skepticism and cynicism related to Jesus, his origins, his claims, and his mental health. He said he came into the world to expose it to truth, that in truth He is Truth. However, the Gospels repeatedly tell us that although many believed in him, many did not.

He was wildly different from centuries of expectations and imaginations garnered from ancient, sacred, prophetic documents about who the Messiah would be and what he would do. His claims stretched believability, but more importantly he faced preconceived ideas about his social background and his identity. A poor, itinerant Rabbi from Nazareth did not fit the perceived mold.

Blinded to his character, discounting his miraculous works, and ignoring grace filled teachings, the religious leaders could only see him as a blasphemer, a usurper of their authority, and a danger to their security. Rather than attempting to understand him, they opposed him by trying to undermine, ensnare, and eventually murder him.

The difference in people’s receptivity to Jesus not only depended on their attitudes but on their encounters with him. To know somebody requires interaction and openness to “hear” and “see.” Jesus said as much. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear. “ He who has eyes to see, let him see” (Matthew 13:9-16)

We may be skeptics or cynics or just uninterested, but in fairness to Christ, we should attempt to get to know him before making a judgment about him. The only way to do that is to meet him first. The New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) chronicle his conversations, teachings, activities, purposes, and claims. Investigating Christ will not allow one to be neutral about him. Either he is who he claimed to be, or he is a very disturbed individual who has duped millions of believers. He is either Savior or a hoax. It would seem crucial to make a well considered decision about him.

Running Shoes and Eagles

Eagle, Scanning the River, Sullivan, Maine

Some obscure sage named Agur was so enthralled by the sight of a soaring eagle that he wrote that the way “an eagle glides through the sky” is one of three things that amazed him. (Proverbs 30:18-19)

Although this beautiful raptor with its stern, disgruntled, uninviting, disturbingly scary face seems an odd choice, America’s founding fathers were impressed enough to make the eagle the official seal of America. President John F. Kennedy expressed his approval when he wrote that “the founding fathers made an appropriate choice when they selected the bald eagle as the nation’s emblem. The fierce beauty and proud independece of this great bird aptly symbolizes the strength and freedom of America.”

Those powerful wings which carry eagles to soaring heights are biblical metaphors for the indescribable awareness, amazing love, boundless mercy, and constant providential care which God gives His children. He is “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions.” (Deuteronomy 32:11). That encouragement comes from the ever present God, who reminded Israel of His history with them and why He had stuck with them. “ I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. (Exodus 19:4)

Those are poetic sentiments for God’s humility and grace and for His the victorious saving, lifting up, and restoring of His faltering children. They speak to the undeserved mercy and supernatural intimacy we may have with a sovereign, almighty, compassionate, care-taker God, whose heart cannot contain His love because He is love.

In mixed metaphors, Isaiah puts this into perspective for us: “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

What humility and grace! Such radical love! Those promises are literally embodied in Jesus, who willingly and unabashedly embraced humanity. He opened his arms to die on a Roman cross in order to take humanity’s rightful condemnation for missing the mark. He not only rescued us, he empowers us to live with meaning and lifts us up with the confidence of a promised, glorious resurrection.

That knowledge of God’s loving character and merciful intervention leads to belief, but trust gives us our running shoes to run faith’s race.

From Disorder to Order

We live in a magnificently beautiful, physical world from which we gather inklings and snippets of something even more grand, but these glimpses quickly fade because something is wrong!

We do not live in Eden. We live with imperfections—dead trees, decaying vegetation, fading colors, dark clouds, dangerous mountain passes, rocky shores, raging waters, and tragic weather events. Frequently, our personal spiritual “world” mirrors the material one. We are more in-sync with stress and turmoil than we are with peace and order.

Religion has failed to bring order and grace. In fact, forced religious domination leads to oppression and cruelty. The justice system provides social and moral structure but does not make people moral. The Enlightenment failed to make people better, more peaceful, or kind as was proven by horrible war devastations throughout the 20th century. Science and technology raise ethical dilemmas. Moral relativism, cynicism, and disillusionment are tearing society’s fabric apart. Poverty, hunger, injustices, and violence are persistent and widespread throughout this world. Our wisdom, our knowledge, our understanding are limited and faulty. Try as we might, we can not bring our restless dysfunction to complete emotional and spiritual calmness or gentleness of spirit.

Why is there no peace? Why is there so much pain? The startling answer is that we are at to blame! We have good desires, but they have become corrupted, and destructive. The world would be going to sleep with full stomachs, and poverty would be nonexistent if not for greed. Willful, unrestrained, arrogant racism, radicalism, and demands for resources and power cause wars. Control would mean self restraint imposed by the Moral Code and not attempts to make right and wrong conform to what we want it to be. Pleasure would be pleasure if it were not for the excesses of lust which lead to debilitating behaviors and addictions and disintegrating personalities. We would experience self-fulfillment if it were not for unbridled selfishness that covers and mars the image God gave us. Our reasoning is limited at best and faulty at worst. We are unable to self-correct or avoid folly.

Some would say that our dysfunction is due to hurriedness, lack of human intimacy, fear, control loss, uncertainty, insecurity, or technology. However, we are disordered because we do not know God or perhaps even desire to know God as we should even though He is the Author of life and Creator of order! He is the One who holds the material universe together and balances the moral universe.

He brings grace and redemption to rebellion, love and mercy to justice, comfort and purpose to suffering, power to weakness, peace to pain, joy to tears, strength to humility, exaltation to lowliness, courage to fear, assurance to anxiety, endurance to faltering, truth to delusion, meaning to quandaries and conundrums, calmness to trouble spirits, confidence to desperation, forgiveness to folly, and eternal life to dying people.

Everything changes when God enters our circumstances. He intervenes and introduces order to our chaos if we allow Him to. Christ’s cross and resurrection assure us of that. Through His grace and mercy and our trust, we receive forgiveness and healing. By taking our sin penalty and giving us his righteousness, Christ realigns us with God’s good purposes and a meaningful life free from condemnation and fear of death. And then one day, there will be justice and restoration:

“Every valley shall be lifted up/and every mountain and hill be made low /the uneven ground shall become level/ and the rough places a plain (Isaiah 40:4).