"What?!"

 

Early spring along the shore, Cunningham Pond.

“Obedience to God is the pathway to the life you really want to live.”—Joyce Meyer

The t-shirt is right: “Life is good.”

But loving in it can be hard.

Serving others in it can be hard.

Praying throughout it can be really hard.

“Follow Me” every day in it can be—no, is—definitely hard.

Why should something so good be so difficult?

Because in the natural, following Jesus every day is a war... of wills.

Though everything deep within desires to do so, the mere idea of obeying God can at times seem crazy, foolish, or it simply doesn’t make sense.

The war often prompts a response that sounds like: “Yeah, but…” or “But what if?…” or “Maybe another time.”

It’s kind of like being told by Jesus to go downtown, walk up to a total stranger and say you’re borrowing a couple of his really nice donkeys simply because Jesus needs to borrow them.

“What?!”

Until a seemingly throw-away verse preaches:

“The two disciples did as Jesus commanded.”—Matthew 21:6

And what followed was a time of great joy, shouting and dancing, and a parade filled with waving palm branches and a red carpet of cloaks for Jesus and two donkeys. Not only that, it was a fulfillment of a 500-year-old prophecy about a king and a donkey that would eventually bring Life to all—even those along that parade route—who would believe. “Behold, your King is coming to you!” (Matthew 21:5). Forget the duck boats, marching bands or rose-decorated floats—this was by far the grandest entrance by anyone in the history of the world!…(it gets even better, just wait!).

Every Palm Sunday, it’s that joyous processional we tend to remember. But maybe the story of the guys and the donkeys is just as important. It’s a much-needed reminder that on this Walk of ours, we can never go wrong by obeying the Word, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. “What?!”

Sometimes, you just have to fight (against yourself) for it.

“We’re not called to live by human reason. All that matters is obedience to God’s Word and His leading in our lives. If God says go, we’ll go. If He says stay, we’ll stay.

When we are in His will, we are in the safest place in the world.”

—Brother Yun, from “The Heavenly Man”

By Name

April arrives at Cunningham Pond.

Here it is the first Sunday morning in April, ice is out of the ponds and spring birds are singing up a storm, and for some reason, the Christmas story is speaking loudly…

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.”—Luke 1:26-27

It is speaking loudly right now because it’s a reminder for all those times and all those days when you wonder if God even knows where you live. When you wonder if He notices us or hears our prayers—especially the ones we lift up over and over and over again—or if maybe instead we’re all part of this one grand heavenly “hey you down there” Church. Super-Christians can stop faking it, because we've all been there. When you’re in the midst of "one of those days, "it’s easy to think He kinda notices who we are but that maybe we’re just another familiar face in the crowd. 

But this beloved passage from the Christmas story, one that often goes in one ear and out the other during the holidays, is speaking loudly on an April Sunday because it’s a reminder that...

God not only loves all that He has made, when He has a plan and the timing is right, it is never a random act of kindness, and it is always personal…

The angel wasn’t just any one of the gazillions in the army of the heavenly hosts.

God picked one by name: Gabriel.

And Gabriel wasn’t just sent to roam anywhere on the earth to see what he could see, he was on a specific assignment that had a name: Redemption.

And Gabriel could have gone to any one of a million places in all the world but God sent him to a specific land that had the name Galilee and then not to just to any old town or village but like an arrow hitting its target in an unlikely place with the name Nazareth…

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”—John 1:14 Message

...But come on, there were probably hundreds if not thousands of virgins in that town.

And yet God sent Gabriel to just one who was betrothed to a man by the name of Joseph.

Well, gee, there were probably thousands of Josephs in that town, too.

But nothing random here—Gabriel had his eyes on one Joseph out of a thousand who alone was of King David’s and the Messiah’s line...the Name above all names.

And wait…not just betrothed to any nameless, faceless young girl but to a virgin named Mary.

It is all speaking loudly right now because the common denominator in all of this is that every thing and every place and every person had a name. And Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Nothing random. Never a “hey you down there” or “oh listen, whatshisname is praying again.”

There are few things more meaningful or loving or fueling feelings of worth as when someone calls us by name. And the best and most important Someone in all of history always does. Never forget. Never ever forget…

“Look at the myriad of stars and constellations above you.

Who set them to burning, each in its place?

Who knows those countless lights each by name?

They obediently shine, each in its place, because God has the great strength and strong power to make it so.

Why, then, do you, Jacob, inheritors of God’s promise, you, Israel, chosen of God—

Why do you say, “My troubled path is hidden from the Eternal; God has lost all interest in My cause”?

Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?

The Eternal, the Everlasting God, the Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary.

His wisdom is beyond understanding.

God strengthens the weary and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care.

Young people will get tired; strapping young men will stumble and fall.

But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength.

They will soar on wings as eagles.

They will run—never winded, never weary.

They will walk—never tired, never faint.”

—Isaiah 40:26-31, Voice

Parable of the Old Chair

One day, an owner of a wonderful homestead was admiring the beauty of Creation all around it and decided that it needed a chair upon which he could rest and enjoy.

And the chair came out of the womb of its box and into the world, and it was beautiful indeed.
But as soon as the chair emerged, something strange happened.

Though it enjoyed many days of beautiful sunrises and sunsets and moonlit skies, fierce storms and harsh winds began to wound the chair, inside and out.

The storms were mean and relentless and came from every direction.

They tried to knock the chair over.

They blew branches onto it and pelted it time and again with many, many acorns.

Soon, the chair that the owner loved very much began to decay.

The owner knew his beloved chair needed rescuing, and when the sighing and creaking of the chair cried out for help, he was ready to get to work.

He knew that there could be no shortcuts.

No dusting things off and hoping the chair could hold on for a few more years.

No spray paint that is uneven, takes several coats, and easily misses the chair’s finer details.

Instead, he bought the finest brush that ever was made and he bought the finest paint that ever was applied...

Lovingly but ever so completely, he dipped the brush into a can that was labeled red but resulted in something amazing:

The decaying chair that the owner loved so dearly somehow turned pure white!...

His brush did not miss a crack, sliver, hidden corner or rough spot. 

Everything about the chair was beautiful,

And it was not just skin deep but from the inside out.

It was the same chair and yet it was without question brand new, and the owner loved it so.

And the chair no longer sighed and creaked and the owner danced over it with joy.

He could have kept his new-new chair out of harm’s way after that, but then it wouldn’t have been a very good or useful chair.

So the owner put the new-new chair back out into his yard where it belonged.

And just as before, there were many days of beautiful sunrises and sunsets and moonlit skies.

And there were still many fierce storms and harsh winds and tree limbs and sharp acorns that were mean and relentless and came from every direction, all trying to knock the chair over.

But no matter how hard they tried, they could not.

The owner had made sure of that.

In every season, the new-new chair stood strong. Nothing could kill it.

And it all brought not just many days but endless days of joy to the chair and its owner…

"For I am convinced and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt—that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the unlimited love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

—Romans 8:38-39, Amplified

It Depends

 (Photo: gearpatrol.com)

“Depend on the Lord and His strength; always go to Him for help.”

—Psalm 105:4, New Century

Saturday was a running day because it was. Routines are good for body and soul, even when it’s raining. The beauty of sticking to routine on a day like that is that you can depend on having the track to yourself. You can also depend on people driving by and thinking, “wow, look at that idiot!” It all felt good and inspiring at first. After a few laps, however, the rain began to penetrate clothing, the chill started working into fingers and toes, and the wind in my face while heading northeast was brutal. Everything within me was thinking…

“I just walked about 7 miles yesterday, so why am I doing this now?”

“I could maybe just do half the course and call it a day—works for me.”

“I should really stop right now because this is NUTS and no one would blame me.”

“I should keep going anyway because that’s what all the motivational posters and reels say I should do…”

"Jesus told them a picture-story to show that [they] should always pray and not give up."

—Luke 18:1, New Life Version

...Just when I was about to cave in to any and all temptations to quit, God planted that picture-story of the persistent widow in my head, and how against all odds and frustrations, she kept on praying until she got an answer. As one miserable lap turned into another, I was reminded of how that picture-story ended: ”However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find this kind of persistent faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8, Amplified) When all is said and done, I have always wanted to be that guy with “this kind of persistent faith,” but on this day when I’d rather quit than persevere, the picture-story was louder and clearer than ever:

Me: “This is really hard. What if I quit now? No one would notice.”

Answer in head (maybe God?): “Yes, but what if you found out when the Son of Man comes that you were the only one still praying?”

Mic drop.

God can do any and everything thing He wants, anytime. But for some reason, He prefers that His kids depend on Him for any and everything, and ask Him for any and everything, and work through that kind of relationship. And that Saturday run in the rain and against the wind—not unlike the journey we face many days on this Walk—drove home the ancient quote attributed to Saint Augustine: “Pray as though everything depended on God; act as though everything depended on you.” Don’t quit. Persevere. Never give up...

...Depend on the Great I Am and not the imperfect “I.”

...And before I knew it, I was on the last lap of my 5K, soaked to the bone, but energized to keep going even further! But this picture-story was not over, because maybe it never is. This morning, I read some confirming words—perhaps another of God’s ways of using an everyday thing like the good routine of a morning devotional—to remind us of what really matters (and also making sure I didn’t forget that run in the rain):

“The reason why the Bible spends so much of its time reiterating that God is a strong rock, a firm defense, and sure refuge and help for the weak is that God spends so much of His time showing us that we are weak, both mentally and morally, and dare not trust ourselves to find or follow the right road. When we walk along a clear road feeling fine, and someone takes our arm to help us, likely we would impatiently shake him off, but when we are caught in rough country in the dark, with a storm brewing and our strength spent, and someone takes our arm to help us, we would thankfully lean on him. And God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough and perplexing, so that we may learn to lean on Him thankfully. Therefore, He takes steps to drive us out of self-confidence to trust in [and depend on] Himself, to—in the classic scriptural phrase for the secret of the godly man’s life—‘wait on the Lord.’”—J.I. Packer

Even on a track on a rainy Saturday.

Seeing

“The air is distinctly fragrant with balsam and resin and mint,  every breath of it a gift we may well thank God for.”—John Muir, “My First Summer in the Sierra”

It’s cold and it’s windy but it’s beautiful out there this morning anyway, with the sunrise painting the clouds pink and yesterday’s pasty snow clinging to tree branches like a Currier and Ives holiday scene. Just maybe, this weekend is winter’s last gasp, but because this is New England and since it snowed seven inches in May last year, I doubt it. Even so, the dawn of a new season of Daylight Savings Time signals that, just as it has been forever, warmer weather is ahead eventually and spring will arrive on time…eventually. I can almost smell it all now…

…Often, after I grab my coffee first thing in the morning, I’ll do something like John Muir did—I’ll just breathe in deeply and thank God that it’s His breath in my lungs to live another day for His glory. That’s not weird, that’s “seeing” and feeling the Words on a page come alive: 

“This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them; He has everything he needs.”

—Acts 17:25, New Century Version

For the start of any new day, breathing that in always puts a lot of things in their right perspective. When you “see “ God, you see really well. With so much heaviness and troubles in our world and in the news, we all need that recalibration to remember that we are never alone and that He is always “God with us” and not off preoccupied with someone or something else more important.

Many people think that they can’t “see” God in the everyday, but His artistry and majesty and faithfulness and steadfastness in a crazy world can be seen in all four seasons, and in everyday life. It’s probably one reason why Jesus painted everyday pictures in words to help others better understand and “see” the God who made and loves them. Every everyday picture tells a story if only we will look for it. For instance, I remember a time driving down the highway with one contact lens in focus and the other not quite right, and somehow I knew God was trying to show me something about living well that was more than just about malfunctioning eyewear. You don’t have to be special. Anyone can “see” God in the everyday. so long as you’re looking for Him. As the young prophet Jeremiah wrote: 

“You will find Me when you seek Me, if you seek Me in earnest.”

—Jeremiah 29:13, Living Bible

I was reminded of this in a jaw-dropping sort of way one day last summer. I woke up one morning in Maine surprised to see the sun when all the forecasts were dead-on promising rain. I thought I was just doing an everyday unspiritual thing like walking the beach. My everyday thoughts were not on church things but on everyday “to do” things and on how my grumbling stomach needed breakfast. But I must have remembered John Muir and that holy breath in my lungs while taking an everyday step on the low-tide hard-pack because I decided to check my phone app for the verse of the day. You know, just to see what it says. And it was this: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and the expanse of heaven is declaring the work of His hands. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night reveals knowledge.”—Psalm 19:1-2

And then I happened to look up and then out over the ocean, as I often do on an everyday kind of beach walk. I could not believe my eyes—I was “seeing” what God had just said about Himself (pictured)—the vast expanse of sea and sky, with the sun advancing on one side and storm clouds retreating slowly in the other direction. Mic drop.

And it’s just as true on a frigid Sunday in March as it was that summer day....

Our God …is…always…speaking to us in our everyday. We just need to look for Him.

Parable From the Trail

Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.—Malcolm Muggeridge

The joy of thriving on this journey with God while here on planet Earth seems to come down to one of these previous words: With. Relationship trumps trying to live by a checklist of "dos and don'ts"  every time. Yet in the routine of walking the rhythms of daily life, without even realizing it, it can be easy to be lulled into following Heaven-sent instructions and trying to make the best of it, figuring that God is looking on from, well, somewhere. 

Then there is this: "And Enoch walked in habitual fellowship with God..." (Genesis 5:24) and "he was commended as one who pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5) Recalibrating...

It's good to know that getting back to "with God" mode, like Enoch, is never very far away.  That was my mission one Sunday afternoon while setting out on a familiar and incredibly peaceful trail. It began with a fresh mode of transport: snowshoes instead of trail shoes. Adventurous and great exercise, yes, but also like that recurring nightmare where you desperately want to run but your feet won't move. Which, as it turned out, was the perfect setup for an encouraging parable from the trail. Because as Jesus modeled throughout the Gospels, the most practical and essential principles for joyfully living out this Walk often get through to us most effectively through storytelling and through those ways in which we best connect with Him. ...

...A few hundred yards beyond the trailhead, a crossroad of sorts; arrows pointing in two directions, demanding a choice. The path to the right seemed to be the clear favorite of many. The one to the left, however, seemed to have been the favorite of just one other hiker thus far. And though the exact passage didn't show up in bright lights right then and there, the heart of it did: "Ancient path! Dude, take the ancient path, it's really good!" I wrote it down in a little notebook in my back pocket. Now where did that come from? Later back at home, the answer:

"Stand at the crossing and consider the ancient path, for it is good and it leads to Me. Walk on this path, and you will find rest for your souls." 

(Jeremiah 6:16, The Voice)

And so I went left, where the one other guy a few hours or days before had gone as well. From there, the parable of the trail, in all of its impressions and imagination, began to download quickly. Words to tuck away and yet words to pass on as a baton ...

Yes, this path you've chosen is good, but as you can see, it is narrow, and few travel it. You stay on it anyway, because it's Mine.

There are many seasons on this good path where you can move ahead briskly or even run like the wind. But there are also seasons of slow, difficult plodding, like right now. In every season, however, My cheer will be the same: "Forward!"

Besides, there is beauty in the plodding season: It forces you to slow down and take it all in. So, remember to pause regularly and look Up often...Remember, I'm right here with you, every step of the way.

Now don't let this scene discourage you, but take a picture of it anyway as a reminder:

Some who have journeyed this narrow path have caved in to the temptation to quit too soon, or find an easier way, or just not really care much anymore. When that temptation comes your way, and it will, remember My promise that won't fail: "I have a plan."

Sometimes (many times, in fact) along the way, I will lead you out of your comfort zone, not to spook you but to strengthen your faith, and because on occasion you will, without fanfare, be blazing trails for others to follow...whether you realize it or not. And whenever you begin to wonder where this is all leading, just keep your eyes fixed to the trail markers of My Word and My Presence.







I remembered that "pause regularly and look Up" thing often as the plodding became as though walking through cement. And just as the trail was about to loop back to the trailhead, I figured the parable download was done, but instead, a grand finale:

Just remember, you often won't realize you're making progress on this Journey until you pause to look back at how far you've come...

With Me.

(Originally published March 2017)

"What's In This?"

(Photo: Joel Muniz @unsplash.com)

The couple in front of me placed their order: “I’d like the number seven sandwich special, please. What’s on it?” The server could have been a wise guy and said “it’s right on the menu, read it for yourself,” but instead did the right thing and patiently described the details. And as the couple waited for their order, they noticed at the counter a little hand-written sign, “free bibles.” One of them fanned one of  the bible’s pages like shuffling a deck of cards, thought for a second, looked at the other without saying a word—it was hard to detect body language whether positive or negative vibe—and they took their order and headed out the door.

That brief scene forced me to ask myself an important question: What would I say if that couple, or anyone, fanned a bible like a deck of cards and said, “This looks interesting. What’s in this?” I could be a halfway-helpful wise guy and say “well, you should read it for yourself.” It might be more helpful to patiently describe the highlights in just a few words to maybe pique curiosity. Except at that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to do that well. Because after all these years, I had never taken the time to summarize for myself in conversational English what the bible is all about and why it’s a huge deal. And that’s a big deal because this is a big deal:

“Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.”

—1 Peter 3:15, Amplified

So, the next morning, I started scribbling down every random thought that came to mind when trying to describe or explain the bible to myself so that maybe I could do the same to someone who is honestly curious and mostly knows only bits of pieces of scriptures taken out of context and put on people’s Instagram posts or spoken of as old-fashioned and irrelevant by modern debaters, experts and gurus.

There is so much, so much that could be said. Where to begin? I could say that the bible is more than a history book but a guidebook for living well in a world gone mad. I could say that it is an incredible and amazing love story of God’s created world from beginningless beginning to endless future. And I might say to that, “just look where we live—look all around. So beautiful. So detailed. So much symmetry that makes everything else work right day after day after day. Something like a snowflake or a sunset doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. Someone had to be behind it all, don’t you think?” And I could add that God takes it very seriously that He intended for all of us to take dominion of it all—including every tribe and tongue that He also mind-blowingly and lovingly created—with great care, stewardship, responsibility, servanthood, enthusiasm, love and compassion.

“Why is this world such a mess, then, and why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people?” A great question. I suppose I could say that “such a mess” was never God’s plan, and that the bible tells over and over again that God never forces anyone to love or obey Him, but that it’s His world and He warned that the consequences of doing life our own way would unleash evil and every form of life’s negativity. And of course, people being people, the first ones wanted to do things their way, and we’re part of that family, and so the rest is history—the results are still all around us even to this day. Frankly, some of it is hard to read about. But then there's the rest of the story!

I could say that unlike any other person we’ve known who loves us, God never gives up on us—that the bible tells over and over again that when people mess up, He patiently and longingly woos them back to Himself. Rinse, repeat. Even today. And I could say that everlasting love carries throughout the book until the climax when God sends His only Son who is actually part of His three-in-one nature (um, I have no idea how to explain that yet) to pay the price for sin and rebellion once and for all!—but again, God still doesn’t force His love on anyone. Rather, to only those who receives the gift paid by His Son, even today, there is peace and joy and an endless future far beyond life in this world. It’s all so amazing! And…

…I realize my scribbling needs more work. Because I realize that if I’m still having a hard time wrapping my own brain around all of this amazingness after all these years of reading the bible, what about that couple ordering take-out? All of this scribbling is worthwhile, though, and I’ll try to put some of it into words if someone someday asks, “hey, what’s in this?” But I think the most important thing I can say after all of that is this: Not just “read if for yourself” but first even dare ask a God you may not know or believe in (yet):

“Open my eyes to see wonderful things in Your Word. I am but a pilgrim here on earth: how I need a map—and Your commands are my chart and guide.”

—Psalm 119:18-19, Living Bible

Wait. Never mind just that couple ordering take-out. Look in the mirror…

“As we study scripture, we stand in the presence of the living God. Each time, it is as if He has handed us a letter from Himself and stays with us while we read it to hear what our answer will be.”—J.I. Packer