Last week on vacation I began an interesting book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Now, I don’t practice Zen, nor do I ride motorcycles, and I know virtually nothing about how either works. Nevertheless, isn’t reading the thing that can take you places you’ve never gone? An escape?
This book was a runaway hit in the early 70’s and has been on my list for a while. It is also pretty easy reading and on one level is the story about a father, his eleven year-old son and two other friends who ride out West on the back of motorcycles. This part of the storyline is simple.
But, like with many good books, there is a deeper story, also. You see, this father is trying to figure out his life. He is on a journey – and I’m a sucker for journeys – and is trying to understand what it is that he’s lost in life. He must first comprehend the past to understand who he is now and who he can be tomorrow. When read on this level, it is a book of Philosophy.
One thought that has captured my imagination occurs as the father is trying to understand the difference between himself and one of his riding partners. He observes that we glean our picture of the world as we notice a myriad of events in our lives and select them and sort them and process them. The author’s exact quotes was, We take a handful of sand form the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world.
My wheels have really been turning on this. I’ve known people whose world was simply as big as their living room and what they could see from it. One said, Did you know that 17 school buses pass our house each morning on the way to school? That’s 3 more than last year!
I’ve also known people whose world was grand. I knew one lady who was basically confined to her very small home in rural Virginia because of physical limitations, yet her world was large and full of ideas that she wanted to discuss with me. She was involved with many people and lived life to the fullest with her mind through books and conversation and worship.
I wonder what sand I am holding in my hand and how it shapes my understanding of the world. I fear I often hold tight to the wrong things. I worry and am anxious. I can be selfish. My world gets too small. I rely too much on myself.
A wise person once said, One must look at the world with the Bible in one hand and the New York Times in the other. (Feel free to substitute your newspaper of choice.) I would add, When in doubt, focus on the Bible and the Good News therein, for it is here that we find our grounding.
Late one afternoon on the beach last week I stood with my feet in the sand; the coolish waves were lapping over my ankles. As I looked up I saw the moon clearly in the darkening blue sky. I think I began to understand being ‘wed to heaven yet rooted on earth.’
What do you hold in your hand that shapes your understanding of the world? My prayer is that you hold tight to what is Hopeful and Best and learn to turn loose of everything else. Jesus said it this way, But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mt 6.33)
Blessings,
Ande
Do you have comments? I'd love to hear: ande.myers@gmail.com
This afternoon I want to talk with you about when things don’t go as you had planned. Maybe you can relate.
Our family is fresh off our vacation for the summer and rested and ready for what comes next, I suppose. Now, I’ve always loved the beach, not so much the sand but the sounds and the wind and the waves and the food and the schedule or lack thereof. In preparation for our trip to the beach I pulled out a novel, a book of sermons by Gardner C. Taylor, and a memoir to take with me. I had started all three before we went, which proves critical for me to be motivated to read on vacation. (In the past Michelle and I have always worked to carve out time for one another to be able to read and just think while at the beach.) I also was preparing to pray about certain areas in my life where discernment is needed at this time.
Well, lo and behold, two days before we were to leave, Michelle was called to KY to care for her parents and I went on to the beach with our three kids in tow to meet my sister, her family and my parents.
I did little reading at the beach. Also, instead of much quiet time spent in prayer for discernment, my prayers were simple, short, and simply asking for strength and wisdom. This was not my intention, for I had planned to pray about very specific topics and issues; instead I could only pray in broad strokes. God, please give me strength for today. I was so very tired and this was all I could do.
Maybe Anne Morrow Lindbergh was right when she said, The beach is not the place to work; to read, write or think. I rested and laughed and jogged and prayed and was as quiet as I could be. (Incidentally, the Lindbergh quote was from the first line of her wonderful book, Gift from the Sea. The first line was about as far as I got on vacation in this profound memoir.)
I realize the strength God has given me was in the form of rest. Discernment will have to come in time. I wonder, where do you need God’s strength today? Are you even aware of where it is needed in your life? If not, perhaps God will show you…
Recently in our Sunday School Class we have been focusing on the life of Joseph. You’ll remember he was a bright and confident young man with a promising future before him. Until … he was despised and sold into slavery by his brothers.
End of story, right? No! In Egypt he rose through the ranks and served Potiphar and was loyal to him – even at great cost. Joseph ended up in prison, so, end of story, right?
No! There, even in prison, he was faithful and true and used the gifts God had given him. He was almost forgotten in prison until he was recognized to be wise and given great responsibility by Pharaoh himself.
This responsibility brought him full circle and face to face with his brothers again. And through all of this God brought reconciliation.
The verse that sums up Joseph’s plight is found in Genesis 50.20:
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (NLT)
Basically, the story of Joseph is a reminder that God is above all, in all and can work through all. As David once said, Where can I flee from your presence?
I was reminded of a couple of questions asked by William C. Martin in The Art of Pastoring: Contemplative Reflections. I will quote Martin:
There are two questions that need to be answered in order to move along the path toward God. One could spend a lifetime just considering these two questions and answers.
The first question is, What time is it?
The second question is, Where are you?
The only correct answer to the first question is, Now!
The only correct answer to the second is, Here!
So, I wonder, What time is it in your life? Where are you? Remember, God is at work in your life and has big plans for you whether you can see his hand at the moment or not.
Blessings,
Ande
If you have comments, I'd like to hear them: ande.myers@gmail.com.
It is great to be back from our mission trip to Paducah, KY. You know that the ministry of Carpenters for Christ has been so meaningful and instrumental in our church’s life.
One of the traditions at Carpenters is that after each meal during the trip someone shares a devotional thought. On Saturday a week ago, I was asked to and would like to share with you some of what was said.
This week is my sixth Carpenters for Christ trip and that is hard for me to believe. Each trip has been a unique blessing in my life. Throughout the years I’ve enjoyed the devotions that different ones of you have shared and as I reflect on these and as I’ve listened to you and as I’ve shared myself, I am struck by how similar our stories really are. We’ve shared stories of joy and of pain; we’ve shared of loneliness, brokenness, and family challenges. One thing we’ve also all shared is this – testimonies of God’s faithfulness.
The Scripture I want to share with you this morning is found in the third chapter of Revelation. It is Jesus’ word to one of the churches, a church that had not really made a decision for Christ. This church was neither hot nor cold.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Notice this invitation from the Lord – I want to come in to sup with you. Jesus does not want to linger on the stoop; he doesn’t want to sit in the foyer. He wants to be at the table, at the heart of the home.
Once some friends of Michelle’s invited us to supper.When we arrived they weren’t ready, so they invited us into the kitchen and involved us in the preparation. Dawn said, You do the salad. And, Ande, can you put together the casserole?
As we worked together in the kitchen and as we eventually shared that meal together we had a great time. On the way back home I said, I didn’t really know them before, but now I really feel like I know their family. This is what sharing a meal can do.
And Jesus’ invitation to us is this: I stand at the door and knock. Can I please come in and sup with you?
Gardner Taylor has shared about this picture, The Light of the World – By Holman Hunt.
Hunt presented it to one of the colleges at Oxford and at the reception, one friend pulled him aside and said, Holman, I’m afraid you’ve made a terrible mistake.
What is it?
The door at which Jesus stands has no knob on it.
Holman replied to his friend, There is no mistake. That door must be opened from the inside.
And Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Today will be filled with invitations from Christ. Will you open the door.
Wednesday night in prayer meeting we considered Psalm 8. Surely the psalmist penned this after gazing into a night sky.
Here are some of the verses from the New King James translation of the Bible: O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! …When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?
When have you last taken the time to ‘consider’ the Lord and his excellence? Our lives can be so busy; we run to a fro from this to that. And reflection takes time, as does ‘consideration.’ They take planning and commitment. They take prioritizing and effort.
One has said, If you have but three minutes to give to Bible reading in the morning, give one minute to reading and two to thinking about what you’ve read. These are wise words, indeed.
A few weeks ago my parents went to Florida to watch Atlantis’ last flight. She’s taken 32 trips and flow 120 million miles in the last 25 years. One of her sisters also launched the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. (The space images here are provided by Hubble. Launch shot taken by Dad.)
Atlantis reminds us that we’ll go to great lengths to observe the heavens, which brings me back to the psalmist. His wonder, his attention, his focus, his gaze went from the night sky to the Creator of it all.
And there, to the praise of the Lord God, did he return:
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
In the days to come will you focus your gaze on God’s wonderful creation? Take the time to notice the smile of a loved one or the face of your child or the beauty of nature or by a gaze into the night sky (in short, simply pay attention to God's wonderful Creation). My hope is that this focus will cause a praise to God on High to well up inside of you to the point of overflowing.
Blessings,
Ande
If you have thoughts you'd like to share, please email me at: ande.myers@gmail.com
On Sunday I was to be away on vacation, but, really at the last minute, we weren't able to go away for the week. So, on Monday, I began looking at Acts 1 and this sermon came to be. It was a pleasant surprise to me and I want to share a bit of it with you...
On Tuesday of this past week I had lunch with two pastors in town. As we chatted I asked, What big plans do you have this summer?
One said, Well, as you know, in July we are expecting our second little girl. (Their first is three years old.) The other pastor replied, Well now, that should be easy, you already have the girl thing down, right?
His reply was – I’m not sure any of us ever have that parenting thing down. (Can I get an, Amen?!)
When we were expecting Daniel we read, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, The Guide to Your Baby’s First Year, The Father’s Guide for the Baby’s First Year, etc… We went to childbirth classes, nursing classes and caring for your baby classes. We paid attention in the hospital and allowed the nurses to show us everything we were supposed to do.
But, when they said, It’s time to go home!, we thought, You aren’t going to let us take this baby home are you? We just aren’t ready!
Well, we were…but we weren’t. We are…but we aren’t. But, by the Grace of God, here we are.I remember my cousin saying, after his son, Will, was born, there is never a moment – 24 hours a day – where either the washer or dryer is going and lights are on somewhere in the house. Often all three are going on at the same time.
When should I call? I said. His response – Anytime, we are always up now.
You know, there are some things in life you only learn by experience. Some journeys are such that you must learn as you go. Step by step. Steps of faith.
The book of Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. And here, in the first verses of Acts we pick up where the last verses of Luke have taken us – with some repetition.
Jesus has risen from the dead and he’s come back to the earth for forty days and during this time he has revealed himself to the disciples, he has given them instructions and commands and he has tried to prepare them for his departure.
Notice that he’s given them the instructions, Stay here in Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit to come to you. This is what the Father has promised.
Of course, as I look at the disciples and try to sympathize with what they are going through, I realize, if they are anything like I am, they want to go back to Galilee, back home, back where things are easier.
Notice here – this is not what discipleship is about. At least not as far as Jesus is concerned. It is as if Jesus says to them, I am not calling you to a place where you will be most at ease…I am calling you to a place where you will be most effective witnesses for me. (Thanks to the comments of Alexander Maclaren)
Notice Jesus is never sentimental or nostalgic. Jesus always calls us to press forward from where we are now not to a place we have been before but to a place where he is calling us and a place that he is preparing for us.
This instance in Scripture has been called the Ascension, for Jesus ascends into Heaven where he will rule forever. And Luke records that he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
As Jesus ascended, they must have tarried. They looked intently into the sky. They reflected upon Jesus’ life and ministry. They were focused. They marveled at what they were seeing. They noticed what had happened and they studied what it meant in those moments.
The brief portion of the text I want us to focus upon is verse eleven, and it is so very telling. Spoken by, I assume, the angels:
"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?”
Why do you stand here looking into the sky? What did this mean? What does it mean for you and me?
Jesus’ call is into a life of deep conviction, strong compassion, endless grace and eternal mercy. Jesus’ call is to follow with our lives. Remember Jesus’ instructions in the Sermon on the Mount. They were not theoretical but practical. He advised his followers on anger and murder, on contempt and lust, on family and marriage, on bullying and living with enemies.
You and I live in a specific place and we’ve been given a specific life that involves certain family members and neighbors. You have specific talents and gifts, so do I. You have been given opportunities to serve the Lord today. They may not be there tomorrow.
As Eleanor Roosevelt so aptly said: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.
And, you know, this present is created by God wrapped up by Jesus Christ himself and delivered to you by the Holy Spirit.
And the angels are saying to you right now, can you hear them? …Why do you stand here looking into the sky?
I believe – I have been convicted lately - that one of the greatest things the church need is more theologians. What do I mean by that? Well, I believe we don’t give our faith enough thought. We don’t marvel enough at God.
In seminary my favorite professor, David Garland, said, My problem with students is that they spend too much time out there (pointing to the world) and not enough time in there (pointing to the library.)
Well, what does serious reflection do for a person? What will daily prayer and contemplation with the Lord accomplish? What will a commitment to studying the Scriptures in whole and specifically the Gospels and the life of Christ do for you?
You will be prepared to return the life you’ve been given to God. You will be able to present your lives as a living Sacrifices to God – this is what God wants from you. This is our job.
How we walk away from this place is of central importance to God. God wants your whole life – or as Eugene Peterson says in the Message translation of the Bible – God wants … your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – He wants the whole thing as an offering. This is the best thing you can do for God.
So – what does this all mean? Well, step one is this. You have to decide and only you can decide. You must commit to following Jesus Christ wherever he leads. This may mean there are some behaviors in your life that will have to change – absolutely. This may mean some priorities and what you do with your time and your money and your giftedness will have to be refocused.
This will mean that you will do your tasks; you will live your life and follow through with your responsibilities – you will do this – no longer for yourself. You will live starting right now for God. If you have never made this commitment or if you need to re-focus or re-commit to this commitment again, then use this time…right now. I will be here to receive you if you come. The Lord – right now – is listening to your prayers.
Or – as the angels ask – will you stand there and look at the sky? Amen.
If you have feedback or comments about this blog, please email me at ande.myers@gmail.com.
Sunday was Pentecost Sunday and a great day to celebrate in church. Here are some excerpts from my message:
One of the fun things about going away to college was visiting other churches. I went to college in Birmingham, AL, and finding baptist churches there is like finding sand at the beach.
One weekend a friend in the dorm asked me to go to church with him. He’d seen that a former Hell’s Angel was giving his testimony. Well, we loaded up and went to hear him one Sunday night and his testimony was extraordinary; it was astonishing; it was spectacular - everything you would imagine from a former Hell’s Angel turned Evangelist.
That next week a few of us were talking about what we’d seen and heard and I remember thinking, I’m not so sure I should ever tell my testimony…compared to what I had heard, I sounded about as adventurous as Lawrence Welk or Al Gore!
Let’s consider Jesus’ first recorded public statements in the Gospel of Luke. Now, he’d been ministering and healing throughout the land, but he has come home to Nazareth to worship.
Unrolling it, Jesus found the place where it is written: "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, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor." Then 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, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Luke 4.14 -21
News of Jesus’ ministry had spread, so when he got up to read Scripture in worship, people paid close attention. As Jesus read this Scripture everyone related, as they considered the oppression and lack of freedom they experienced under the strong hand of Rome.
And Jesus said, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. Today, right in front of you, God has come into the world. Today, God is delivering.
As Jesus quoted from Isaiah…we are reminded that Jesus had come bringing the Good News that God so loved the world. And Jesus had come to share this good news with the poor. And I believe he meant to share not just with people who had few material possessions or little means, I believe he came to the poor, the person who’d sold herself to her own will and had made her own desires and whims and inclinations her chief aim in life. As she chased her desires and put her wants over everything else, she had been left bankrupt and impoverished. Jesus came to deliver Good News to the poor.
This week I talked with a minister who’d spent ten years as a prison chaplain. One interesting thing he said as he reflected upon that ministry was this: When a person is in prison, he is not the only one in prison. His wife is in prison; his children are in prison; his extended family is in prison, too.
I believe Jesus was not just talking to the prisoner. He was speaking to the person who’d been held captive by his own sin or the sin of a loved one. The solution for sin, the way to break the shackles of sin, is and always will be a vibrant and active faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus has come for imprisoned of all sorts.
Jesus also came for the blind. And here lack of vision is not just limited to the physically impaired. Jesus came for the people who’d lost sight of what life was to be about. God has a plan for your life. God knows you. God loves you. God calls you to participate with him in this world.
Some were blind because they focused on the wrong things. Take the Pharisees, for example. They knew their Bible better than we do. They fasted. They prayed every day. They followed God’s law in their life even when it was inconvenient. Yet, they missed Jesus Christ right in front of them – at least many of them did.
Some, like Judas, were blinded by their greed or blinded by their expectations of a Messiah who’d free them from Rome. As they looked for a Messiah, they looked for a political solution to life’s problems. Instead, Jesus offered a life greater than the freedom of citizenship of any nation could ever offer. (The poor, blind, and prisoner ideas inspired by Alexander Maclaren.)
In the synagogue that day they heard Jesus’ words, yet they didn’t hear his message. And a few verses later, they drove him out of town. Matthew and Mark record similar occurrences in the Synagogue. Mark says, He could not do any miracles there because of their unbelief…And Jesus was astonished at their lack of faith. (Chapter 6)
Let’s consider two things: The first one is this, Is it possible that our doubts and suspicions and unbelief effect the ability of God to work in our lives or in the lives of our family or in our neighbor’s lives? Jesus could do no miracles there because of their lack of faith. Mark said so.
Pentecost should remind us that God does great things when his people faithfully gather in prayer together. Where two or three are gathered, there I shall be, Jesus says. There should be no such thing as an ordinary or average Sunday. My prayer is that we will learn to come into this place with great expectations anticipating the wonderful things God is doing and will do!
The second issue involves a question. What does it mean, what will it look like, what will be the result when the Spirit of the Lord is upon you (and me?) (Thank you to Walter Shurden’s May 2010 Preaching Journal for this question.)
Some would say, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because I am excited to be here. Some would say, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because I ‘feel’ something powerful. Some would say that the Spirit of the Lord is upon us because we draw big crowds and our people are excited. Is the Spirit of the Lord upon me because my testimony is spectacular? No. Some would say, The Spirit of the Lord is upon us because we jump up and down and shout and sing and dance.
But, what did Jesus say?
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, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor."
Jesus’ call is into a life of deep conviction, strong compassion, endless grace and eternal mercy.
We are to be his witnesses. Now, ask any judge, do they want witnesses to be fancy or creative, embellishing the story for the sake of courtroom drama? No, the judge wants someone to simply tell ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’
Jesus said, You are to be my witnesses. And my Spirit is in your midst. You are not alone. Go. Tell. Be my disciples. The world needs you to tell them about me. Amen.
