Day 34 - Thirty Six Days

Matthew 27:45-46 (NRSV) From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

One of the greatest challenges that I face as a teacher is what people think they already know. Once we learn, it is hard to unlearn. That is especially true with the Bible and matters of faith. I wonder if there is something in us that thinks that knowing the right thing will get us to heaven. If we discover that we still need to learn something, we somehow we have a sense of ‘lostness.’

Consider this. Some people have been taught that God turned his back on his Son while on the cross. Does the passage above teach that Jesus was godforsaken? Was the sin that he bore more than God could bear to see?

I once thought that. However, what I now see is that Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22. He is giving the first line. Psalms 22:1 (NRSV) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

The truth is that God is not so far away from helping. God is near. God is paying close attention. God hears and knows. The psalm goes on to say, For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him (Psalms 22:24).

Just as God does not forsake Jesus in this critical moment, so also he does not turn away from you in yours. Whatever your predicament, God does not turn away. You may feel godforsaken, but it is not true.

Day 30 - Thirty Six Days

Let me just say something about the sacrifice of Jesus. The beatings were not the sacrifice. The death was not the limit of the sacrifice. Crucifixion was common in the times of Jesus. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, were crucified. Jesus was not the first innocent person to die, either. The sacrifice began at his birth. He stopped being the eternal Word.

Philippians 2:7 (NRSV) ...but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form...

In the beginning was The Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

He becomes a baby, and person, a nephesh chaya, a living being.
He suffered like you and me. You could not out suffer him.
He had been with God for an eternity in close fellowship. Closer than we can say. Then he was torn from the Father and he will never be able to return to that connection. It is a forever sacrifice. It is not a temporary suffering. It is not a three-day death. Jesus is changed. When he returns we will see him as he went (Acts 2:11).

Day 29 - Thirty Six Days

Mark 8:34 (NRSV) He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

The cross is coming. If we want to be disciples, a cross is required. No one wants that.

The Roman orator Cicero said this about ‘the cross.’ “...the executioner, the veiling of the head and the very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but his thoughts, his eyes and his ears. For it is not only the actual occurrence of these things but the very mention of them, that is unworthy of a Roman citizen and a free man” (Rabirius Perd. 16).

My teachers, Fred Aquino and Jeff Childers, say, “Jesus proclaimed that the way to true health leads through suffering and that new life comes only to those ready to die each day. His unjust and inhumane death drove that message home, providing his disciples with a pattern to imitate.”

What we see in Jesus on the cross is God’s participation in our lives from the bottom up. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, even among the least of these.

Do you have a glimpse of that kind of love? Wouldn’t you love to have Someone who would come and be with you. Wouldn’t you love to have Someone who would not flee from your troubles, or your heartache, or your mess, from your truest self? This Someone comes to sit with you, to look you in the eyes, to appreciate you, to encourage you, to show you what love really means. This Someone comes to send you to do the same. That is what the cross means.

Day 28 - Thirty Six Days

Matthew 26:26-28 (NRSV) While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”


Jesus and his disciples were having an early Passover meal. The Passover was a celebration that came from the Exodus. I remember the scene from The Ten Commandments movie starring Charlton Heston. The last plague that was inflicted on Egypt, prying the Israelites out of slavery, was the death of the first born. In the movie the death angel was green smoke winding through the streets of Egyptian cities. One could escape that plague, that judgment, if one had marked their homes with the blood of a lamb.

The Passover was a meal made up of lamb and wine and traveling bread. In this scene, Jesus is the host, but he is also in a metaphorical way, the lamb. He is the bread, manna in the wilderness. He is the red wine, the blood of the lamb that would mark our households and our very lives. He is the lamb who died that we might live.
When we share this meal with Jesus we are reminded (and we are proclaiming our intention) that it is God who sustains us, who passes over us in judgment, who forgives.

Day 27 - Thirty Six Days

Matthew 21:2-3 (NRSV) saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."

This is an interesting story. Jesus tells some of his disciples to ‘borrow’ a burro. He has need of it. He is going to make a declaration of who he is. To come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was a sign of the coming of a new age. The prophet Zechariah had said, “See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey” (9:9).
However, I don’t think I want the job of going into the village and untying someone’s donkey. I can just imagine the owner (especially in Texas) being a little irritated by the rustling of his burro. Jesus says, “Just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ Couldn’t he send me with money?

Following Jesus is not always a comfortable thing. Faith is required. He sends. We go. We trust that there will be people who will give a donkey, when that is required. I think we find ourselves on both sides of this episode. Sometimes he sends us to do difficult things. Sometimes we surrender a donkey.

Not my will, Lord, but yours, be done.

Day 26 - Thirty Six Days

Acts 6:15 (NRSV) And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

This was Stephen. He had been called to service in the early church and found himself under attack. People did not like that he was confronting and challenging their religious customs. The crowd was about to kill him. They would succeed, but not until he had his say.

What I see in this scene is a non-anxious presence. Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. Have you had that experience? It is what is supposed to happen to us in worship.

Ephesians 5:18-19 (NRSV) Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts.

I think it should happen in church. I think it can happen in all sorts of places. There are times when we sing together that we turn our faces to God and he moves us deeply. Tears wash our face and our heart. We are encouraged. We are reminded that we are not alone. Our burdens are lifted. We love and are loved.

When we have those experiences our anxiety is cured. Whatever we face is faceable. When you know this peace, you become a gift to those around you. You are the one who can see. You are the one who can think clearly. You are the one who is ready to speak just the right word. Like Stephen, you become an instrument in the hands of God. Do you know that experience? I hope you do!

Day 23 - Thirty Six Days

John 3:22 (NRSV) After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized.

“He spent some time there with them and baptized.”

Jesus was spending time with his disciples. I suppose that is not remarkable. What is interesting to me is our interest in being disciples of Jesus and the question of time spent.

Annie Dillard wrote a book called The Writing Life. She was meeting with a group of people who said that they wanted advice on how to become writers. She was hard on them. She recommended that they take a axe to their lives. She said nothing changes until you totally reframe your priorities. You are not a writer because you are busy with other things. Your schedule is full. You have chosen to be a parent. You have chosen to be whatever your profession is. Your mind is full. Your life is full. Take an axe and start brutally cutting those things away and then maybe, maybe (if God has called you to be) you will be a writer.

At lot of people want to go to heaven because hell just seems to be such a bad future. What is the least I can do to prevent that? That is not what we are doing, however. That is not the Christian enterprise. The Christian enterprise is to follow Jesus, to do the things that Jesus did.

John 20:21 (NRSV) Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

They went to the countryside and “he spent some time there with them and baptized.” Would you be willing to spend time with Jesus? Are you interested in that? Would you be baptized (immersed) into that? How would you, will you, can you, spend time with Jesus?

Day 21 - Thirty Six Days

Acts 2:23 (NRSV) ...this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law.

This last Christmas season (2007) I had an idea. It came from a news program about soldiers returning from the war in Iraq. It was clear that the spouses and children of enlisted soldiers were bearing a huge burden. Part of the burden was the ever-present anxiety that their loved one would not come home. Part of the burden is the financial reality of the families of enlisted personnel. I wanted Southeast to do something, some small thing, that would help them.

We announced on a Sunday morning that we were going to collect gift cards, or money to buy gift cards, that would be sent to homes of deployed enlisted soldiers. We were not really sure how we were going to get that done, but we started collecting money. Our people were generous. These Christians are sensitive to the sacrifices that these soldiers’ families are making.

I went to the local bank and purchased 300 gift cards worth $100 each. We found a way to get these into the hands of a support group for soldiers at Fort Bliss near El Paso, TX. Howard Bryan found a contact for us. The folks in that office told us that they had soldiers returning from the war and had been working to help them but that their resources were running low. They had been praying for God to help them when our package arrived. They wept as they opened the bundle of Visa gift cards. God had been answering their prayer a month before it was spoken. Our intention to bless, to manifest the presence of God, hit its target.

You see, God knows what you need even before you ask. Peter was preaching at Pentecost. He was saying that a gift had been given. The One and Only Son was given. It was not an accident. It was not a coincidence. It was not plan ‘B.’ God knew that you had a need. God so loved you, that he gave.

Day 20 - Thirty Six Days

Matthew 16:23 (NRSV) But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

I have the honor to share sacred space with a lot of people. Weddings and funerals are times of vulnerability and important conversation. A couple of years ago I was thinking with a young woman about her marriage that she thought was coming to an end. She was asking me for an opinion. What would be the right course of action. I told her, “I think I know what Jesus would do in this situation, but it is a lot to ask.” Jesus would choose to forgive. Jesus would take the wounds, would sorrow over the choices that had been made and then give himself in love.

Jesus seems always to be doing the perfect thing. We follow him, trusting. At times is seems a little ridiculous.

Matthew 9:24-25 (NRSV) ... he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.

The crowd knew a dead little girl when they saw one. They were sure. From a worldly perspective, they were right. They just did not know the resources Jesus had at his disposal. We who follow him wonder. Are those resources still available?

This is what I believe. God is for you. Does it mean we can forgive as Jesus forgave? Maybe. Does it mean we can love as Jesus loved? I think so. Would people think we were crazy for doing it? I think so. However, I think we will feel His Spirit moving in us and through us and for us as we dare to try.

From Southeast to Cite Soliel

Southeast Church of Christ in suburban Houston has a new mission engine! We were introduced to the ministry of HFHC in May of 2007. Jayson Henry and Scott Allen traveled with Rick Fyffe to work on some promotional materials for the ministry. Jayson and Scott came back to Southeast as if they had been to Bible Camp. They were covered with the Spirit of God, taken captive by the work that Debbie Vanderbeek and Rick Fyffe were doing. In July, Lanny Partain, one of our elders traveled with me to participate in the summer conference for the teens who are in HFHC schools. Our experiences in Haiti, the strong leadership of Debbie, the influence of Jean Teyrard Elmera, the passion of Sandy Besso, Julie Georges, and Phil Smith convinced me that this ministry fit the heart of Southeast. We needed to partner with HFHC.

At Southeast we are on a journey of re-hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hear him say, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” In Jesus, God is breaking in to set the world right. Those who will believe this good news are not only being personally changed, but they are also being called to participate in the mission of God. Christians are those who are interested in being sent into the world to set the world right. We are those who care for ‘the least of these’ because God cares. Southeast has been on God’s anvil for a while, being shaped by this missional perspective.

In November, Rick came to Southeast to speak about Hope For Haiti’s Children on a Sunday morning. We do not share our Sunday morning with just anyone! We do not have dry missionary reports on a Sunday morning in a thriving suburban church. Rick came with some packets, thinking that our people would be ready to support as many as twenty children. We had already agreed to send $1,000 each month for the support of the school in Cite Soleil. When Rick spoke, our people were ready to hear. They were also ready, and that is an understatement, to partner with HFHC to change the world. Over one hundred people have asked to sponsor a child from Cite Soliel. That has brought our annual commitment to HFHC to $50,000. Our intention is to send our people to Cite Soliel to meet their sponsored children, to see the church/school, and to know that in this one place they are partnering with God to set the world right. The kingdom of God is breaking in at Cite Soliel and at Southeast. It is beautiful!

Day 17 - Thirty Six Days

I am in my second attempt to read Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. It is about seeing. As I read, she is teaching me and God is changing me. Here is a sample:

Thomas Merton wrote, “There is always a temptation to diddle around in the contemplative life, making itsy-bitsy statues.” There is always an enormous temptation in all of life to diddle around making itsy-bitsy friends and meals and journeys for itsy-bitsy years on end. It is so self-conscious, so apparently moral, simply to step aside from the gaps where the creeks and winds pour down, saying, I never merited this grace, quiet rightly, and then to sulk along the rest of your days on the edge of rage. I won’t have it. The world is wilder than that in all directions, more dangerous and bitter, more extravagant and bright. We are making hay when we should be making whoopee; we are raising tomatoes when we should be raising Cain, or Lazarus.

That is important. We have not been called to live small. God has made us for adventure. We were called, are right now called, to the dangerous life. And there is this promise that God will be with us through it all.

Matthew 5:3-5 (NRSV) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."

The poor in spirit are not disincluded. God will be with them.
Those who are suffering, heartbroken, and whose life is unfair, God has not deserted them.
Those who are meek (not the diddling meek, not the itsy-bitsy, but those who are not arrogant, those who are like Jesus in his willingness to win with love and self-sacrifice) have God with them, and the whole world in theirs.

Don’t waste your days, your minutes, your gifts.
The will of the Creator is that you live!

Day 16 - Thirty Six Days

Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Jeremiah is not known as ‘the positive prophet.’ Most of the time he is called the ‘weeping prophet.’ He is doing what prophets always do. He is warning the people of God. He has told them that judgment is coming upon them. Their country is about to come to an end. The Temple will be destroyed. Their whole society will be left in ruins. The Babylonians are coming to carry away the people into captivity. It looks like the end. Where is God’s goodness? Where is God’s mercy? Where is grace?

I wonder if the same feelings came over the disciples when Jesus was crucified. I wonder if they thought, “This is not the way this story is supposed to unfold! This is the king (Messiah, Christ)! He is ushering in the new era! The glory of God is to be manifest in a new way. This kingdom is a never-ending kingdom” (Dan 2:44)!”

Jeremiah had a word. The word was not a prosperity promise in the modern sense. It was not that they would have a great career or perfect children or a clean bill of health. The word was, “Trust me.” In seventy years, your children and your grandchildren will return. This is not the end of the story.

And for the disciples of Jesus, a similar word could be heard. “This looks like the end, but it is not. This looks like a defeat, but it is an astounding victory. You have some ideas about a kingdom, but they are provincial, local, and limited. Trust me. You will become heralds of the grace and goodness of God throughout the world.”

Wait. Trust. Everything will come clear.
Not my limited will, but your inexhaustible will, Father, be done!

Day 15 - Thirty Six Days

Craddock Story – Un-joining Church

Have you ever been present when anybody unjoined a church? I experienced that only once. It was in Oklahoma, and my wife and I belonged to a church, it was a rather large church there. One Sunday morning during the closing hymn, a hymn of dedication, consecration, a woman in her mid-thirties, we both knew her, went to the front. People stopped singing and were looking at each other. Why is she doing that? She is already a member. Maybe she is going to rededicate her life. Maybe she is going to become a minister. So we all hushed and waited.

She spoke quietly to the minister; we didn’t know what she was saying. At the conclusion of the hymn, he asked us all to sit down. We waited as she turned around to address us. What she said in essence was, ‘I owe it to you to let you know I am leaving the church. And since I made this public notice when I came, I wanted to make public notice when I leave. I don’t think it is right just to drift off into inactive membership. I am leaving the Christian circle. I have been disappointed. What I expected from the church and from the gospel and from the scriptures and from God, I have not received. I am leaving. For those of you who have expressed concern about my life’ – and hers was a troubled life – ‘for those among you who know it and expressed concern about it, I thank you. To that extent, I have some regret. Thank you.’

It was a strange morning. We didn’t know how to leave. We didn’t pay attention to the benediction. We bumped into the furniture and into each other leaving. And many of us spent Sunday afternoon thinking about what she did. It made us determine whether we would claim our own commitment in view of the fact that one of our group had decided to leave.

...

The NYT has a story today (2/26/08) about people changing their religious affiliations. It makes me wonder. What are churches 'selling'? I think I know. It is not always the Way of Jesus. It is not always the self-sacrificing love that God demonstrates. Sometimes that is not what people were really hoping for.

Day 14 - Thirty Six Days

John 1:4-5 (NRSV) ...in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There is a lot in the Bible about seeing and blindness, about light and darkness. Jesus is speaking to people, but they are not always understanding. That was a part of his work. God had commissioned Isaiah to invite and warn the People of God and gave him this rather strange message...

Isaiah 6:9 (NRSV) And he said, "Go and say to this people: 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.'

God was bringing judgment. The people would be stubborn. They would choose to go their own way (that is what hell is). I wonder if we would listen. I wonder if we would have our eyes opened, even if we found it disillusioning.

Leo Tolstoy said, “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.”

Change is hard when we think we know, when we have been the teacher, when we have lived with particular assumptions. Rather than see, we will close our eyes.

Not my will, Father, but yours be done! (But if your will pleased me that would be really great!)

Day 13 - Thirty Six Days

Psalms 32:5 (NRSV) Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Michelle wandered down to my office with an interesting question. They were putting their son in a Christian school and the application was pretty detailed. One question had a about fifteen lines of blank space, indicating that they were prepared for a long answer. The question: When you stand before God in judgment, what will you say?

What will you say? I am sure that this was a tool for the school to determine whether or not you are a Christian. It occurred to me to answer with song lyrics. “I can only imagine what it will be like!” Or “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!”

And then I thought of a courtroom scene.
“How do you plead?”
“I plead guilty, with a stipulation.”
“State your stipulation.”
“God be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13). I plead Jesus!”

I sure would hope to avoid allocution. You know, where you have to give an account of the details! Kyrie Eleison! Lord, Have Mercy!

What will you say?

Day 12 - Thirty Six Days

Romans 5:8 (NRSV) But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

We are seeing a theme in these Thirty Six Days. Of course it is the love of God for people.
I would bet that you have some people in your life that you find annoying. There may be people that you do not like. You may know some dangerous people. I hope you don’t have people in your life that hurt you on purpose. I would guess that you have been hurt. You probably have hurt some people, too. These are the situations where love is put to the test.

Those who are Christians are commanded to love just as God loves (Eph 5:1). We are to love our neighbors. We are to love one another. We are to love our enemies. Does that leave anyone out? Oh! And yourself! “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39).

In the next sermon (Post Easter – 2008) series I want to explore the idea of the sacrifice of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten.” What did he give? How was it love? I suggest that the sacrifice that God made was eternal.

• John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  
• John 1:14 (NRSV) And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
  

The Word had been with God from the beginning, whenever that was! The community of God, the Elohim, had always existed in close fellowship. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were intertwined from eternity. Was it like inseparable eternal triplets? The word I learned to describe this is perichoresis. The sacrifice of God began with the incarnation. There was no turning back from this point. The eternal proximity, the close fellowship, was broken...forever. The Word became Jesus. Jesus does not appear to ever return to be Word again. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Eph 1:20). When Jesus ascended angels told his disciples...
Acts 1:11 (NRSV) They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Is it strange to say that Jesus will be Jesus forever. The cross was a powerful example for us, but it is not the sum of the sacrificial love of God for us. The death of the innocent Jesus is a powerful moment, but thousands of people have been crucified. I also think innocent people have died unfairly. The sacrifice of God was not a three day stay in the realm of the dead (I think Lazarus had four!).
God loves you enough to make a forever sacrifice. That is big love.

Day 11 - Thirty Six Days

This Wednesday evening I was teaching from the gospel of Luke. John the Baptist had begun his revolutionary ministry. He was baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins. That drew a crowd. Could one get forgiveness of sins without the usual sacrifices? That must have been appealing! As the crowd came, John must have sensed a lack of sincerity. Listen.

Luke 3:7-8 - John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

The fruit was not easy!

• "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
  
• The tax collectors, those who were considered traitors to Israel, could they be baptized? Could they receive forgiveness? They were told, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to.”
  
• The soldiers, those who fought and killed for a living, could they receive forgiveness in their baptism? Yes, if they would stop extorting money, making them fearful. If they would stop bearing false witness as a matter of intimidation, and be content with their wages, then yes indeed.
  

Is this difficult? You know what we ask, if someone is lacking a tunic? If they don’t have a coat or a shirt, we want to know why. Have they been irresponsible? Are they going to take advantage of us? And if I do this, I will be impoverished. Can I afford to be generous?

And for tax collectors to only collect what they are ‘required to’ collect would put them personally out of business. Could a soldier survive on the wages of the day? I think the answer is “unlikely.”

Here is the point. In the world that God has in mind, his people operate like Jesus does. He gives to everyone regardless of their gratitude or their relative responsibility. Jesus has been good to you and me. We have not earned that goodness. Sometimes we are grateful. Would we dare to imitate that?

God help us!

Day 10 - Thirty Six Days

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NRSV) 14 Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This was the love of God for the world, for all of human life. This was the most astounding cultural move in history. God was changing his location. He was moving in with us. He was going to experience humanity in a remarkable way. God made himself vulnerable by coming as a baby born in the midst of a scandal. Here is this young woman who was not married who got pregnant with God’s baby. Is that hard to believe?

Jesus is born to poor parents. When they came to present Jesus in the Temple on the eighth day, they brought a pair of turtledoves or pigeons. It was the offering if one could not afford a sheep. I find that interesting. God came to draw close to us in our struggles. He did not come to show us ‘the easy life.’

He also followed through. Yes, he physically suffered. More than that, he knew what it was like to be separated from God, to be lonely, to be afraid that ‘things’ would not turn out alright. I think that it began at his birth, but the cross took that sacrifice to a pointed peak.

And the point of it all? He knows. God knows what your life is like. He knows about loneliness. He understands love and pride and grief and unfairness. He knows about darkness and beauty. He knows temptation. He knows about politics and religion. He knows about being a baby and about dying.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten. I don’t see this as a light-hearted present. This was a deep and profound gift. This was a heart-breaking gift. This was love for you and me. This was a love lesson. Do you love? This is what love really is. Could we learn it? I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Day 9 - Thirty Six Days

Philippians 4:8 (NRSV) Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

What you think matters. We have some control over what we think. That is exactly why we would involve ourselves in a forty day discipline of reading Scripture together. We are thinking together!

The whole ‘gospeling’ enterprise is about mind renewal (See Rom 12:2), about thinking differently. We are thinking about the most important questions. What am I doing here? What is the purpose of my life? What is my destination? Are you asking those questions?

When our son was a toddler, we would ask him questions. As toddlers do, he was working on his sentence structures and word choices. Instead of saying, “I don’t know,” he would say, “I can’t know.” I would just smile at my little philosopher. Maybe we can’t know, exactly.

However, I think we can come to some decisions. We can make some choices about the purpose of our lives. We can think about those things that interest and motivate us. We can think about God. We can spend some serious time pursuing whatever is true, honorable, just and pure.

When we see it, we have an experience of reverence. It is beautiful, WONDER full, and worthy of praise. I hear Paul calling us to worship. He is calling us into the presence of that which is Holy. How can we keep from singing? These ‘things,’ the true, honorable, just, excellent things are around us every day. When we see them, and when we respond with praise, I think we are encouraged. God is with us. We are not alone. Life is good.

Be joyful! This is God’s love made visible. That is what I think!

Day 8 - Thirty Six Days

Romans 4:5 (NRSV) 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.

In the Church of Christ tradition, there has been this lingering belief that we are set right before God by certain things that we do. If you were to hear the words ‘plan of salvation’ often the speaker would mean a list of things that you do. You hear. You believe. You repent. You submit to baptism. It sounds like you are saving yourself.

When we say that salvation is by faith it generates quite a conversation. Some would point to 1 Peter 3:21 (NRSV) which says, “And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

I have a hard time thinking that baptism is much of a work. It is an easy work, if it is one. Some have turned it into the main issue and I think that is a mistake. When that happens, we end up with an empty ritual. Apart from faith, baptism has no power. The bottom line for salvation (wholeness, the peace of God, living in the world that God has in mind) is the work of Jesus.

Romans 3:21-22 (NRSV) 21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction.

I know that it is a bold thing to suggest that the translation is wrong, and I do not do that on my own biblical expertise. My teachers have suggested to me that in verse 22 the correct translation should be (an objective genitive), “the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.” A righteousness, a right standing before God, has been disclosed, that does not come from your good behavior, from your ability to do the right things all of the time. How could that be? Through the faithfulness of Jesus, through his work on the cross (there is a work for you!), for all who believe. That is the plan of salvation.

Whom do you trust? Do you trust in your own goodness? Do you trust in self-righteousness? For me, I don’t think I have enough of that. Lord, have mercy!

Not my will, Father, but yours be done!