January 1st = Forgiveness (The 70X7 Principle)

New beginnings. That’s what some people are hoping for at the start of 2014. Cue the song “High Hopes” (I’m really not being cynical here either…really). I believe in the God of second chances, do you? I believe that when His disciples asked Him how many times they had to forgive Jesus told them seventy times seven (Matt 18:21-22). I know that He wasn’t just giving them a random number out of His head and it wasn’t legalistic in the sense that they only had to forgive 490 times (that’s 70 X 7 by the way for us who had to use a calculator cause we suck at math). I believe the disciples eventually got Jesus’ point. Forgiveness isn’t really about how many times we have to forgive but rather about the conditions of our hearts and the willingness to find grace for others. Isn’t that what God has done for us? We mess up royally and we don’t deserve God’s forgiveness and yet His prevenient grace is offered to us through Christ. He forgives us COMPLETELY!

I don’t wish to imply that there are conditions on forgiveness here but think of it this way: Forgiveness of others and those who have wronged you alleviates the burdens and scorn you may still have in your heart for that person(s). They may not even seek sincere forgiveness from you but when you wipe the slate clean of transgressions done to you, you are clearing the weight of that burdens of wrongs done to you. It may sound selfish, but why live life burdened by the wrongs of others? It holds you back. It holds you captive. You will always be a prisoner to their wrong doings done to you even if they have moved on. So why let it fester? Why let that kind of emotional/spiritual sliver remain? Pluck it out and move on for your own health and well being.

Secondly, forgiveness doesn’t mean that you become naive and trust people who haven’t earned that trust yet, but it does mean that you move on. We must be wise in how we let others effect us coupled with the decisions we make which also impacts others. Forgiveness and trust aren’t always mutually the same. What forgiveness allows you to do (and the offending party) is to move on. I don’t believe that we have to automatically forget but we forgive. Afterall we can’t expect someone who has been sexually or physically abused to forget what was done to them right out of the “forgiveness gate”…it will take time to heal and to cope. In the same way that it may take years of counseling and healing for the abused, those who have been wronged in other ways will find that time needs to pass before trust and “forgetting” can ever take place.

Lastly, I mentioned earlier about what the year of Jubilee meant in the Hebrew culture. It was a year in which all debts were erased and people could start over. Perhaps 2014 is that year of Jubilee for you. Perhaps you’ve been holding onto pains, hurts, and grudges that need to be wiped completely away. Forgiveness heals and lifts burdens of all parties.

Are you willing to forgive? For those also who are seeking to find forgiveness, be strong. It takes a lot of courage to own up to wrong doings so that you can grow and move on. Don’t miss this opportunity on the first of the year to begin on the right foot!

-Just a thought for new beginnings.

January 1, 2014 0

Faith – A Rules Changer

My daughter is five years old, and already she is very clever. If you ever cross her, I don’t envy your position because she is the most cunning strategist that I know at the age of five.

It all began with a game. Actually it started when she wanted something that her twin brother had, and she was determined to have it and get it her way. So she played a game with him. It was a kicking game, and she made up the rules right then and there. In a very commanding voice she told her brother, “If I kick you I win, and if you kick me I win and I will win the mask“. -the mask was what she wanted from her brother. She had devised a game with rules in place in which the outcomes would benefit her either way. At no point in this game would her twin brother, who is taller and quicker than she is, have an edge or even a chance to win.

My daughter’s cleverness made me laugh. In part I was proud of her for being quick on her feet, yet surprised at the lengths at which she would go just to obtain what she wanted most. She had devised a strategy in which she could outsmart her brother even though she knew that she was no match for his physicality.

Sometimes life is kind of like that isn’t it? We are greatly outmatched and the thing(s) that we want so badly are just beyond our reach. We want our families to be closer, our health or the health of loved ones/friends to be better, our financial situation more profitable, our jobs more enjoyable, love and respect that goes unfulfilled. Life can sometimes be like that cruel master which dangles a carrot in from of a donkey just to get it to work and be productive. We want so desperately to change the rules, to make a life more to our advantage…to win. But what do we really desire to win? Will we truly be happy? Can we really change the rules in life?

How does faith play into this thing called life? Is faith important? The simple answer is YES, absolutely! Despite how much we might plan for every contingency and strategize for every positive outcome, life doesn’t play according to our rules. Life can sometimes be unpredictable and we can find ourselves grossly out of winning options. But faith isn’t some wild card or last resort. The key is the source behind our faith. If our source is simply our own powers and motivations we will eventually face disappointment and discouragement. But if our source is God, in whom made all things and our faith takes us to the understanding that we are indeed loved and important to the Creator then regardless of what happens to us we can have this immeasurable unending faith.

Faith is a rules changer. Faith can propel us from self-sufficiency to something much more sustainable and everlasting…if we allow it to grow in us. Are you willing to let this kind of everlasting faith take root in you? Give it a try and perhaps you will begin to see life in a whole new perspective.

-Just a thought.

December 31, 2013 0

Finding Hope (A Poem)

Finding salvation and comfort…is that even possible?
In a world that seems so wrought with pain and sadness,
these half-timbered, dimly lit dwellings
plastered with the scabs of hurts and slings of words
how can hope spawn from such a place?
These tall escarpments seem too far,
and we, with reaches far too limited
how can hope ever stoop, low and bending
to such a place as this?

Yet, when the babe, cherubic and glorious
came to this fallen shambles of a place
we now, with arms extended
broken and needy
can embrace this light
beaming and radiant.

Hope? Don’t speak of such a thing,
live it, experience it, vivid and streaked
with Theophonic glory…speak not
of falsities and half promises of this word!
Instead, with hearts extended
grooved and bending
no longer a barren land but
but rich, empirical
blazing in His glory!

December 30, 2013 0

New Year’s Resolutions…love em’ or hate em’???

I have to admit it, I’m a cynic when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made them, broken them, and other years I have purposely gone out of my way to avoid them. So what is your take on New Year’s resolutions? Love em or Hate em? Please leave me some comments and tell me why you make New year’s Resolutions or why you don’t make New Year’s resolutions…and perhaps some stories of resolutions gone by!

Via Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year’s_resolution)

New Year’s resolution

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A New Year’s resolution is a secular tradition, most common in the West but found around the world, in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement starting on New Year’s Day.^[1]

[hide]

Religious origins[edit]

The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.^[2]

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.^[3]

In the Medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.^[2]

At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.^[4]

There are other religious parallels to this tradition. During Judaism’s New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one’s wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. People may act similarly during the Catholic fasting period of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility, in fact the practice of New Year’s resolutions partially came from the Lenten sacrifices.^[4] The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvementannually.

Participation[edit]

At the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of American adults formed New Year’s resolutions. At the start of the 21st century, about 40% did.^{[citation needed]}

Popular goals[edit]

Early 20th-century New Year’s resolution postcards

Some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become moreenvironmentally responsible.

Popular goals include resolutions to:^[5]^[6]

Improve physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stopbiting nails, get rid of old bad habits
Improve mental well-being; think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life
Improve finances: get out of debt, save money, make small investments
Improve career: perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business
Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talents
Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games
Take a trip
Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization (NGO)
Get along better with people, improve social skills, enhance social intelligence
Make new friends
Spend quality time with family members
Settle down, get engaged/get married, have kids
Try foreign foods, discovering new cultures
Pray more, be closer to God, be more spiritual

December 30, 2013 1

Fragile Gift (a poem)

Life is candy glass
In the hands of children
Imperfecta to a dreamer.
Why is it bestowed upon
we, the undeserved,
The frivolous, the vain?
It is un-recycled, unrepentant
Far more than we can preserve.

These tears are not my own
I am but a poor reflection
A shadow of the genuine
Only less refined, impure.
Why waste His time on this
If not for pure love?
A creature as I am – dirt and mud…
Yes, granted the greatest gift,
This inhalation, this pulse,
This and every other new beginning…
I am candy glass
Yet built to endure eternity.

December 30, 2013 0

A Note from God (A poem)

When the light is sucked from your eyes

and terror is masked as hope disguised

I will hold your hand and bring the day

I will hope when your earth gives way.

When dreams become hollowed and cold

and you are left with nothing to hold

I will hold you within my loving arms

I will keep you from fear and harm.

And if you falter and lose all sight

I will be there to shine my light

and ignite your faith with my grace

so that my love you will embrace.

I have never left you, I am here

I will help and dry your tears

These nail scarred hands will guide you there

I am Your Savior I will always care!

December 29, 2013 1

New Things, New Year’s Brings!

Many people want a clean slate. Some are hoping to just get through this year and with breaths of relief cruise into a new year, hopefully less bruised and battered. It is almost 2014, can you believe it? For some this year flew by (I would be in that crowd), while for others it slowly, geriatrically creeped by.

Perhaps some look forward to that big New Year’s day bash, while others will happily avoid the festivities and regale themselves with a cup of tea and a good book before falling asleep well before the clock strikes midnight. 3-2-1…Happy New Year!!

I, for one, have a tough time when getting to the new year and writing that “2014” on the checks from my check book…I’m sure I’m not the only one…anyway I digress.

What will 2014 have in store for you? Do you have dreams and hopes to plunge into? Have you already filled your calendar with them? I’m not much of a long range planner, but I do have some aspirations for the new year.

ASPIRATIONS:

as·pi·ra·tion

noun \ˌas-pə-ˈrā-shən\

Definition of ASPIRATION

~~a : audible breath that accompanies or comprises a speech sound~~

~~b : the pronunciation or addition of an aspiration; also : the symbol of an aspiration~~

~~: a drawing of something in, out, up, or through by or as if by suction: as~~

~~a : the act of breathing and especially of breathing in~~

~~b : the withdrawal of fluid or tissue from the body~~

~~c : the taking of foreign matter into the lungs with the respiratory current~~

a : a strong desire to achieve something high or great

There we go, #3 in the dictionary…something to achieve…this is the kind of aspiration I’m talking about.

Here is my bucket list for 2014…(AKA my bucket of aspiration)

1) I want to write better and increase this audience:

I know, perhaps it sounds ambitious, but we need things to aspire to and I want to become a better writer as well as help others along the way within the content of what I write…so here goes!

2) I want to improve my preaching and my application of the Word!

It goes without saying that ministry is tough and there will be times when I won’t have all the time I would like to write my sermons but my desire is to dedicate more time the application of method of my sermon writing.

3) To stop and take in God’s beauty more.

I love the outdoors, I enjoy photography as well as poetry and this year I would like to stop and just relish the beauty of God’s creation around me. In the process of taking time for 1 & 2 I want to be able to look up from my computer or my books and spend time in the nature around me, to truly appreciate it more and say “thank you” more often to the Lord of these provisions.

4) Be all I can be as a good parent.

I have four kids who need good parental role models and I can (and should) strive to be that to them as their father. God blessed me with these four wonderful humans and it is both my responsibility as well as my Wife’s responsibility to bring them up properly. I aspire to be a better parent in 2014.

5) Be all I can be as a Husband.

My Wife deserves it, and I can and should show the love of my life how a husband can cherish and love his wife! She deserves my best effort and love as well as attention to her every needs. I aspire in 2014 to win “Husband of the year”…okay maybe that’s pushing it, but hey the sky’s the limit! 🙂

Anyway, new things, new year’s brings…it’s simple…take time, appreciate life, and contribute positively to it in ways that God has blessed you through gifts, insight, and abilities. Remember life isn’t only about what you’ll get out of it, life is far more rewarding if we all include others first into the grand scheme of our perspectives.

God Bless you, and Happy (Pre) New Years! Now get aspiring!

December 29, 2013 0

Jesus = Clean Slate

Luke 4:18-21 (NIV)
¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Well this year is cruising to an end. We are just over a week from 2014, and many (post Christmas) will be making lists of resolutions and promises. Most will probably break them within the month of January, while others might actually fulfill their promised new year’s resolutions. Regardless of where you stand on the whole “resolution” thing I imagine all of us would like a “do over” from time to time. We all, most likely, live with some regrets in life. We’ve erred and made poor decisions and we wish we could find a way to clean slate and start over.

Jesus came to earth. He was born within lowly means and He even slept in a feeding trough to begin His humble journey. Jesus didn’t enter this world with much, but He left a lasting impact on this place. Yet when he went back to His hometown in Nazareth (post wilderness temptation) he discovered his “old stomping grounds” were less than friendly to him. He was invited to read from the very Word of God in the temple, yet what he read set the city folk’s teeth on edge. Some thought perhaps, if he was Messiah (a big grasp for some), perhaps he would give them preferential treatment. Yet he wasn’t what any expected the Messiah to be. Instead of vanquishing enemies and re-conquering Israel for his people, he came for a much more important conquest – the souls of all people! His mighty purpose wasn’t strictly for the Jews but for the entire world – those who would seek after him would find eternal life!

Jesus declared within this prophetic passage that it was fulfilled “in their hearing” (vv21). He wasn’t only implying that He was the One they were waiting for but that a clean slate was possible – new life could take place! How many of us have experienced this clean slate with Christ? It’s interesting that Jesus uses this passage in Isaiah. Do you know that there were specific years in the Hebrew custom that was a cause for celebration by the burdened, the taxed and the debtor? It was called the “year of jubilee”,this was the year at the end of seven cycles of “shmita” which means Sabbatical years. What that meant that after 49 or 50 years there was a year where all debts and financial burdens could be forgiven. It was the year of clean slates! This was certainly a cause for celebration for many many people. Some probably hadn’t even caused their financial issue(s) but was passed onto them by their parents or relatives.

A clean slate – Jesus declared himself to be Messiah and one in whom all could find a “do over” in life…to make better decisions, to start afresh and live selfless holy lives.

Do you need a “do over” today? Are you praying for a “restart” button? Is there a slate that needs to be wiped clean? Perhaps it’s time to make the leap and trust that Jesus was and is the ONLY ONE who can cancel your debts and set you free!

-Just a thought for you today!

December 23, 2013 4

Santa is on Fire

I would be lying if I said

that Christmas isn’t busy.

There are meetings to attend

people to direct

and nights

far too vacant of slumber.

Yet when I do sleep,

I am reluctant to admit

that I have dreamt

that Santa is on fire.

I stand there

with arms crossed

satisfaction on my face

as Santa, jolly and red

is smoldering, and ablaze.

Tiny bits of plastic bubble and gurgle

the colors on his crimson suit bleed

and drip…and I with arms crossed

and smile on my face

step back and almost trip…

upon my can of gasoline.

Don’t think me strange

or even a Scrooge for it’s just

a dream that

I have dreamt

I haven’t actually torched Santa,

children there’s no need to cry…

but there are days

when I have considered,

with malicious intent,

what the jolly fat man would

look like all consumed

and a-glowing in a red ball of flame.

There would be no more

“Ho-ho-ho-ing” for that

Jolly man,

If simply just poured

out the contents

of my gasoline can…

then, I would throw my stocking

which is filled with

coal

happily upon the

Santa pyre.

December 21, 2013 0

A Cerulean Bike and a Christmas tree.

I remember a shimmering cerulean bicycle with a crimson bow on the handle sitting under the Christmas tree. The Christmas lights were blinking and twinkling casting reflections on the brand new shiny chrome frame. My eyes tried yet failed to take in the whole spectacle before me. They were as wide as saucers, yet still my brain couldn’t process the scene.

I remember my parents, both younger than they are now, with smiles of satisfaction on their faces. This had been no easy feat. A bicycle, let alone a new bicycle had taken months to arrive. We lived on a small island with no airport or major shopping centers. This Christmas gift had been planned well in advance.

I remember attempting to hold both handles within my child-hands clutching them tightly, white knuckled as I tried to ride with my Father at my side as he held on, as he was my balance. He wasn’t going to let me fall. “All you have to do is pump your legs and keep the front wheel straight” He would say; “You can do this!” I knew I could…and I did. But not without help.

Yet standing in front of that Christmas tree, cerulean bike shimmering in the twinkling Christmas lights, I caught a glimpse. It was a glimpse not of a bike, or presents under some tree, but rather as a young child, the love that parents have (or should have) for their children. It wasn’t about spending money, or giving gifts, but rather it was about being together. It was about soaking in the presence of each other and caring for one another. I caught a glimpse of the future too. It is a future that is before me now, and on Wednesday will join a slew of other Christmas’ soon to be filed away into the ever increasing recesses of my memory, and that of the memories of my children. I am blessed. Do my children see this love in me? Am I beside them? Am I their balance in a world so often out of it?

This Christmas, there won’t be a cerulean bicycle beneath our tree…but I will be watching the faces of my children. I will be soaking up their presence – Ah yes, this is the best gift that money could never buy…which reminds me of another more everlasting gift that we have all been given.