How's Your Walk?

 One day when I was in college, I was walking near the Library when a student I knew greeted me with a question.  At the time we were both pledging to a campus society, and as young Christians, we were both struggling with the idea of pledging to anything other than Christ.  I knew Tom was challenged by it, as I was, but clearly he was further along in his thought process than I was. I wasn't very insightful back then.  

Now I'm pretty sure my family would think I've gone off the deep end in my later years.  But perhaps that's the blessing of living a long time. It causes you to think more eternally. 

Anyway, Tom asked me a simple question, and I have carried the memory of that encounter through the past 50+ years.  So today I wrote a short lyric about that day, and if it helps you, I am glad. 

And thanks, Tom, wherever you are today. Godspeed

How’s Your Walk?

 

He asked, “How is your walk?” and it caught me off guard.

I knew what he meant but I couldn’t find words.

I couldn’t say then what I needed to say.

I had strayed much to far from my Savior that day.

 

I stammered an answer, but I knew all too well,

There were words to say what I needed to tell.

His face became soft; he looked straight in my eyes,

I could tell by his look he saw right through my lies.

 

With four simple words, with one simple greeting

He had tripped that one switch that set my soul reeling.

He reached out his hand and took hold of my shoulder,

He said, “I understand. I’ve been there too, brother.”

 

“You know, sometimes we feel like we fell off the shelf.

But the Lord understands. Don’t be hard on yourself.”

And his words gave me comfort, and we sat down and talked.

Then he asked if I’d mind if he prayed for my walk.

 

And in that encounter, I found I could find peace.

I’m not perfect, by far, but forgiven, at least.

As we walk in His promise, God has saved us a place.

Such a comfort there is knowing we’re given grace.

Reacting to a Rude Awakening

Matthew 6: 5-8

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

This morning I got a phone call before I was fully awake. I had been "coasting" for about five minutes but suddenly I had this urgent call that required that I spring out of bed and deal with something with a clear head.

It didn't help that the caller was already anxious! It took a little while for me to get to a point where I could get involved with his need, and come back down gently. The best I could do was fulfill his request, and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, from his viewpoint, resolution didn't happen immediately! Again he urged me to make some programming changes undoing what I had just done. But I could already see that things were settling down in the software, and I finally had to just tell him to let it go for now... give it some time for the changes to take effect. Once I did, he backed off. Perhaps he was a little uncomfortable that my sense of urgency did not match his, but if I had let the situation continue to escalate and make repeated change requests, we might have really harmed the program. Hopefully by now he can see things are working out.

Let me be clear. My caller was never rude. The anxiety of the situation just jarred my resting spirit. While the caller is always very courteous with me, the sense of urgency made it more difficult to transition into a calm morning. Even this afternoon, my nerves are still a little rattled!

Most of us has had that "rude awakening" feeling where we've felt suddenly jarred into taking action before our thoughts are prepared. All too often we hang on to those feelings, because we sense we need to act immediately, but we just are not quite sure which way to go.

Whenever that happens, it is good to find time to talk to God. Like meditation and other spiritual pursuits, prayer has the ability for us to seek out that quiet essence inside. But prayer has an added plus, because it enables you to think beyond yourself, and focus on a higher power. Prayer, unlike meditation, is open-ended on two sides; Meditation guides you to find peace within, whereas prayer helps you connect beyond yourself with God.

Some meditative methods seek to free your mind, and empty your mind of negative and challenging thoughts. Prayer, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to get down to the essence of your need. It helps you discover the source of your trouble, and then helps you seek and find solutions.

Now, it might be a little hard at first to train yourself to not react in your usual manner, and instead recognize a shift might be needed. But try to be ready. Pray continually for the wisdom to seek out God's guidance in everything.

If you do, then when those panic moments arrive, you'll be better equipped to seek out God's solution.

The Free Things In Life Are Best

Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

I have good news: There are still some great things that as yet are not illegal!

I know. It's been a rough decade. It seems that everywhere we turn someone is doing something that flies in the face of some tradition we hold dear. Respect for many of the things we have long held as American rights are slowly being eroded away. Our freedom becomes reduced because there is an increasing number of people who think that "fairness" is something that can be regulated by law.

What they fail to see is that countless of other nations before us have had the same idea, and the results have failed because there will always be those who will take more, in the name of "fairness."

I was in a country in turmoil a few years ago, and I noticed that there were some very large stores, but no one was inside buying anything. I asked my friend why this was, and she told me that the stores were owned by the criminals in the government. Only they were allowed to sell because of favors done for their political comrades. As a result, they would charge outrageous prices for things, knowing that there was no competition allowed. So people only bought from them as a last resort. Legislated fairness only benefited a few. The rest of the country lay in squalor.

Fortunately, it is not to late for us. There are still values we can celebrate today. We can still love each other, find joy, practice forbearance and kindness. We can strive for goodness, and be faithful to those to whom we have made promises. We can be gentle in our actions, and above all, we still can practice self-control. I think the world would be hard-pressed to make laws requiring the practice of any of these things, and these are the best part of being alive... especially as Christians.

Want to Go For a Ride?

Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

I have a dog named Bentley. I call him "Bones" because when I first met him the poor guy was nothing but skin and bones. That was three years ago, and while he still maintains a slim physique, he is no longer the frightened, abandoned dog we first knew.

In brief, Bones is my guy. No matter where I go, he is most likely nearby. Here in my office he is sleeping right now on an ottoman right behind my chair. At night, he gets as close to me as he can, sometimes to the point where I have very little bed space left. For a small, ten pound pup, Bentley Bones makes his presence known.

But he is also the gentlest dog I have ever known. When I am writing at my desk, occasionally I will feel the gentlest of brushes against my leg. He never paws or scratches. Instead he just brushes his curly coat of hair on my leg, as if to say "Hi. Don't want to interrupt you, but if you have the opportunity, I could use a little affection." His demeanor is primarily calm and quiet, but if he senses danger, his bark is the toughest one in the house... including mine.

Bones loves to go for a ride. In fact, you can barely say those words without him going bananas. Then once in the car, he tries to sit in my lap or on the middle console. Oh what joy! Each car ride is the greatest ride ever! It is the thing he loves most of all, even above eating. Sometimes it is hard to get him to come into the kitchen to eat breakfast, if there is even a tiny chance of going for a ride. His tan eyes are filled with anticipatory hope, just waiting for me to tell him "Okay."

We are encouraged in Romans to have the same hope when it comes to living our lives in Christ. To be quite honest, I seldom see that kind of behavior in people. We keep our emotions in check, lest we be perceived as a total dweeb about our faith. One exception: I DO see it in my daughter. She is an amazingly honest Christian, who actually has a reputation among her friends of being the one to bring party to the party. Her sense of joy and hope is infectious. It is a blessing for me to see, and it is clear that the lives she touches agree.

Let us all strive to be hopeful and joyous. There is plenty of negative input in the world. Let's live our faith and be different. Be joyous. Be at peace. Overflow with hope as you trust in Christ. It is a journey of Joy. Get excited to "go for the ride."

Avoid Joining the Stampede

Proverbs 15

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

No rational person seeks to stir up anger. Someone who is angry is unpredictable; there are many directions they can take to vent their feelings.

That's not to say there are people out there who don't enjoy stirring the pot. Just because it is irrational, there are still those who enjoy doing it. And those who do incite anger can often help direct the flow of the reaction they create, because even though some individuals may not choose to vent in the expected manner and follow their prodding, often times enough people follow to make it worth the inciter's effort.

Ever watch a stampede? One of my favorite movie scenes in the old classic "How the West Was Won" shows a herd of buffalo incited to stampede toward a railroad construction site. Buffalo, by nature simple, grass gnawing beasts, are incited through fear to plow over train cars and water towers; driven to this crazy behavior because they were incited and directed down to the job site.

Of course the best way to see the scene is in the manner for which it was filmed: Cinerama, which was basically three cameras lined up to make a super-wide screen that wraps around the viewer. It was early Hollywood tech to simulate a virtual "You Are There" experience. So it comes as no surprise that in the widest visual perspective of the scene, you can see more than what was intended. And yes, in the middle of this wild, crazy stampede, you can look off to the side of the screen and see one or two animals walking along casually, refusing to go along with the madness. (At the time the scene was shot, the buffalo were actually cattle in make-up. The endangered bison were too few in number to play themselves. They had stand in actors instead)!

But the point is, even when those who would stir us to anger manage to sway a large portion of the population, you don't have to join the stampede.

I think there are times to act on our anger, but I also think that when we are angry, it becomes hard for us to determine just how much reaction is too much. That's why the psalmist encourages our hearts to choose a gentle answer in the face of wrath. Now, I've been around long enough to realize that doesn't always work. Sometimes a gentle word doesn't stand up against someone who is just crazy wicked. We've probably all tried at some point to turn the other cheek, only to have it slapped harder than the first.

But the takeaway here is that harboring a spirit that chooses knowledge over folly, life and peace over the perverse voices in our world is the ultimate winner.

This Lent, as you continue your 40 day journey to become more Christ-like, work to be a soothing voice in a world gone mad. Respond to the rally cries with calm assurance, and let God take the duty of judgement against the wicked. It's such a liberating thing to release the need to respond to evil. Turn away from it, and focus on the Glory of God.