Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Dragging Cats Backward Across the Carpet
A while back our team at work was discussing a difficult project- the details of which I cannot now remember. What I do remember is someone saying it would be like trying to 'drag a cat backward across the carpet'. That was a phrase I had never heard before but which made me smile and accurately described the task at hand. This phrase came to mind again as I thought about my disappointment in the direction our country is headed and how quiet Christians have become. Many faiths have de-clawed themselves, accepted the new morality and are enjoying the backwards ride across the carpet. A good portion of us with claws still intact act more like Garfield the cat, lazy, fat and happy, sleeping right where we are. Maybe 'cat'atonic and aloof best describe Christians today. But we know in our hearts that God has called us to something different than this don't we?I have a favorite verse that I think is the 'dragging cats backwards across the carpet' verse of the Bible. I like it because it comes with a promise of a sort. This verse follows more famous verses we always hear at funerals asking 'death where is thy victory and sting'. The answer follows that it has been swallowed up in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then comes my verse, the last one of 1Corinthians 15. Verse 58 reads, " Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."I like the call to be steadfast and immoveable. To me this means digging your claws into the carpet. It means you ain't dragging me back without a fight. It means letting the world know they have a tiger by the tail when they try to pull us backwards. It means doing something! This was the attitude I had as a police officer, a security guard and a school administrator tried to get me to leave a school sidewalk last week as I handed out Bibles. I only relented when it escalated towards a move or be arrested status.This summer I am asking you to dig your claws in with me right here at Atonement. To dig your heels in and say enough. I want your help with our biggest and best VBS ever. As I mentioned in an earlier article, I want you to redeem your time, to buy up personal leisure time and exchange it for time in serving Jesus, helping us share the Gospel message of Jesus' resurrection and gifts of faith, grace, hope and love.And here is where the promise part of verse 58 comes in- that nothing we do for the Lord will be in vain! God will use our efforts to grow His kingdom, build faith, and give hope. If we know we can't fail to impact our community, our world, why would we not support our VBS? Why would each of us not dig in and speak up? Irish philosopher Edmund Burke said, 'The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.' I refuse to 'do nothing' especially when I have been told my work will not be in vain!Here kitty-kitty is our call to be faithful. I'm looking for good cat-women and cat-men. I'm calling all cats- Tom cats and Salley cats (just to name a couple names), big cats, cool cats, and house cats, I need you all! Sharpen your claws on the Word and join me as we dig in to take a stand for Christ at our VBS. Together we will be steadfast and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord! I pray the Holy Spirit will use us as the 'cat'alyst to draw boys and girls and their parents closer to Him! See you at Catonement this Sunday! Blest Regards,kp
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
You've Got a Friend in Your Low Places!
This past Sunday was 'Low Sunday'. Sort of a strange name don't you think? Maybe that name makes sense as we all came down off our Easter marshmallow and sugar highs. And really that could be the meaning of the term only in a spiritual sense, as in we come crashing down off our Easter spiritual high.
More than likely though the term 'Low Sunday' is derived from the Latin word 'laude' which means 'praise'. I like that idea much better, that this Sunday is one to be praising God, to still be fired up about our Easter gifts of hope, salvation and faith. On Low Sunday as the old hymn says we should give 'all glory, laud and honor to our Redeemer King'.
But 'Low Sunday' as in feeling down also fits well with the other common name for this Sunday, 'Thomas Sunday' where most churches -including our own- retell the historic event of Thomas seeing Jesus' wounds. Clearly Jesus' death was a low point for Thomas, the guy who when the other disciples wanted to take the safe road encouraged everyone to follow Jesus down a dangerous path and to even die with Him. Thomas, the guy who would become the first man recorded to proclaim Jesus as his Lord and King was certainly feeling down before Jesus appeared. Even when the others told him of Jesus' return, Thomas was too low to want to hear any of it.
So maybe 'Low Sunday' is a good time to consider that we don't always feel 'up' either, that sometimes we struggle with daily life, with finances, with job concerns or family matters, not to mention worries and concerns we keep to ourselves. Some deal with depression on a daily basis, others deal with health issues, and yet others deal with loss of loved ones, loneliness and broken hearts. This list goes on and on. We've all had 'Low Sundays' of our own haven't we, not to mention Low Mondays and Low Tuesdays and well, you get the the point.
Thomas wasn't around when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, maybe he was so down, so low he didn't want to get out with the boys. I can easily imagine Thomas finally agreeing to be with the others even though he was disheartened. There he sat, amidst a group of 'up' and excited disciples just wanting to go home, depressed about having to be around a bunch of happy people. Little did he know he was about to receive an amazing gift while he was with his fellow believers.
At his lowest point Jesus appeared to Thomas, to show him He was alive! And it is at church, where we meet to encourage one another that Jesus comes to us as well, no matter how low we feel, with His amazing gifts through His Word and Sacraments. On any low Sunday Jesus will touch your heart, add to your faith, give you strength and a joy and a confidence in believing. This isn't just happy religious speak, it's Gospel truth!
Garth Brooks almost had it right, the Good News is 'I've got a Friend in my Low Places'. He's always there for you, especially with your brothers and sisters at Atonement. You know for sure that Thomas went from low to laude (praising) in a heartbeat. Maybe this Sunday will be both for you as well. Praise God for our Confirmation, Low, Thomas, Laud, Praising Sunday service.Laud-ly Yours,Keith P.
More than likely though the term 'Low Sunday' is derived from the Latin word 'laude' which means 'praise'. I like that idea much better, that this Sunday is one to be praising God, to still be fired up about our Easter gifts of hope, salvation and faith. On Low Sunday as the old hymn says we should give 'all glory, laud and honor to our Redeemer King'.
But 'Low Sunday' as in feeling down also fits well with the other common name for this Sunday, 'Thomas Sunday' where most churches -including our own- retell the historic event of Thomas seeing Jesus' wounds. Clearly Jesus' death was a low point for Thomas, the guy who when the other disciples wanted to take the safe road encouraged everyone to follow Jesus down a dangerous path and to even die with Him. Thomas, the guy who would become the first man recorded to proclaim Jesus as his Lord and King was certainly feeling down before Jesus appeared. Even when the others told him of Jesus' return, Thomas was too low to want to hear any of it.
So maybe 'Low Sunday' is a good time to consider that we don't always feel 'up' either, that sometimes we struggle with daily life, with finances, with job concerns or family matters, not to mention worries and concerns we keep to ourselves. Some deal with depression on a daily basis, others deal with health issues, and yet others deal with loss of loved ones, loneliness and broken hearts. This list goes on and on. We've all had 'Low Sundays' of our own haven't we, not to mention Low Mondays and Low Tuesdays and well, you get the the point.
Thomas wasn't around when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, maybe he was so down, so low he didn't want to get out with the boys. I can easily imagine Thomas finally agreeing to be with the others even though he was disheartened. There he sat, amidst a group of 'up' and excited disciples just wanting to go home, depressed about having to be around a bunch of happy people. Little did he know he was about to receive an amazing gift while he was with his fellow believers.
At his lowest point Jesus appeared to Thomas, to show him He was alive! And it is at church, where we meet to encourage one another that Jesus comes to us as well, no matter how low we feel, with His amazing gifts through His Word and Sacraments. On any low Sunday Jesus will touch your heart, add to your faith, give you strength and a joy and a confidence in believing. This isn't just happy religious speak, it's Gospel truth!
Garth Brooks almost had it right, the Good News is 'I've got a Friend in my Low Places'. He's always there for you, especially with your brothers and sisters at Atonement. You know for sure that Thomas went from low to laude (praising) in a heartbeat. Maybe this Sunday will be both for you as well. Praise God for our Confirmation, Low, Thomas, Laud, Praising Sunday service.Laud-ly Yours,Keith P.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Smells Like Easter!
Like Easter!Our dog Diamond has a number of amazing talents. She has this trick she does called the 'Diamond Flip' where she runs at us then jumps up off our hips and flips over landing back on her feet. Petty funny and a bit strange all at once. Another talent is that she loves to play hide and seek. She gets to be the all-time seeker and Sherri gets to be the all-time hider, Diamond won't seek anyone else. Anyway, we hold Diamond while Sherri hides and then let her go and she races around the house using her nose to narrow the search until she locates Sherri in a closet or behind the kitchen cabinets. Upon successfully locating Sherri she licks her found prey and wags her tail like crazy.
It's amazing really, how acute a dog's tracking ability is, how refined their sense of smell is. I'm sure your dog has the same amazing sense of smell. I wonder what it must be like for a dog when a smell is strong even for us- like burnt popcorn or that bag of garbage that needs to go out. If it is strong for us it must be over-whelming for them.
I was thinking about this as I considered the Easter season. How the smell of the meaning of Easter is so strong that even those who are agnosticly stuffed-up sense the importance of what is being celebrated. In Romans 1 we learn that God continually makes Himself visible through His creation, which shows His divine attributes- so that they are without excuse for not knowing Him. In other words, the smell of eternity permeates our everyday world not just in fragrant flowers but in gentle breezes, babbling brooks and star-lit nights just for starters.
We were all born with a nose for the eternal. Like Diamond, we were born with an innate ability, in our case an ability to recognize the scent of God, to know He exists and loves us, to recognize the work of His hands and to be able to find Him in all these works of creation. And I believe the Easter season only makes the aroma of the eternal stronger. Spring comes, the air warms and God begins to color the canvas of His world with bold strokes of new life. The Easter true-life good news Gospel story of Jesus' resurrection waifs through the spring air like the smell of a refreshing rain that makes you feel warm inside.
And maybe I feel this way because I am a Christian, believing that Easter joy brings with it hope (a sure confidence of salvation), grace, love and so much more. In addition, I believe God's presence is indeed obvious from creation, I see Him in it all the time and thank Him often. That said, I still believe Easter tugs at the heart of every non-believer through the power of the Holy Spirit with greater force than usual.
Why? First, because of the purpose and greatness of Jesus' resurrection. What an awesome act on our behalf giving us eternal life. And secondly, and the real point of my thought here, because the aroma of Easter is to come through us. We are at our most excited and faithful it seems when we celebrate all that Easter means to us. 2Corinthians 2:14 tells us, "God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume." We're called to be holy skunks of a sort, spraying our joy and faith wherever we go.
My prayer is that we each meet this Biblical challenge, that our Easter joy will be used by the Holy Spirit to help others pick up on the sweet aroma of faith and being a child of God. Let's be like middle school boys who douse themselves in Tag or Axe body wash, let's be fully doused in the 'knowledge about Christ', the sweetest of all perfumes. May God bless you with a wonderful Easter and an aroma of faith and joy that lasts a lifetime and an eternity!
Your 'Old Spice' Friend,
Keith
It's amazing really, how acute a dog's tracking ability is, how refined their sense of smell is. I'm sure your dog has the same amazing sense of smell. I wonder what it must be like for a dog when a smell is strong even for us- like burnt popcorn or that bag of garbage that needs to go out. If it is strong for us it must be over-whelming for them.
I was thinking about this as I considered the Easter season. How the smell of the meaning of Easter is so strong that even those who are agnosticly stuffed-up sense the importance of what is being celebrated. In Romans 1 we learn that God continually makes Himself visible through His creation, which shows His divine attributes- so that they are without excuse for not knowing Him. In other words, the smell of eternity permeates our everyday world not just in fragrant flowers but in gentle breezes, babbling brooks and star-lit nights just for starters.
We were all born with a nose for the eternal. Like Diamond, we were born with an innate ability, in our case an ability to recognize the scent of God, to know He exists and loves us, to recognize the work of His hands and to be able to find Him in all these works of creation. And I believe the Easter season only makes the aroma of the eternal stronger. Spring comes, the air warms and God begins to color the canvas of His world with bold strokes of new life. The Easter true-life good news Gospel story of Jesus' resurrection waifs through the spring air like the smell of a refreshing rain that makes you feel warm inside.
And maybe I feel this way because I am a Christian, believing that Easter joy brings with it hope (a sure confidence of salvation), grace, love and so much more. In addition, I believe God's presence is indeed obvious from creation, I see Him in it all the time and thank Him often. That said, I still believe Easter tugs at the heart of every non-believer through the power of the Holy Spirit with greater force than usual.
Why? First, because of the purpose and greatness of Jesus' resurrection. What an awesome act on our behalf giving us eternal life. And secondly, and the real point of my thought here, because the aroma of Easter is to come through us. We are at our most excited and faithful it seems when we celebrate all that Easter means to us. 2Corinthians 2:14 tells us, "God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume." We're called to be holy skunks of a sort, spraying our joy and faith wherever we go.
My prayer is that we each meet this Biblical challenge, that our Easter joy will be used by the Holy Spirit to help others pick up on the sweet aroma of faith and being a child of God. Let's be like middle school boys who douse themselves in Tag or Axe body wash, let's be fully doused in the 'knowledge about Christ', the sweetest of all perfumes. May God bless you with a wonderful Easter and an aroma of faith and joy that lasts a lifetime and an eternity!
Your 'Old Spice' Friend,
Keith
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Monoply Anyone??
Ever play Monopoly? I bet most of you have at least once. I think the game has declined in popularity because to really play the game right takes a long time. We don't have 'long times' much these days. Everyone is busy running around doing things that take 'short times'. Sitting around with family over game boards or a deck of cards or even over a simple meal just doesn't seem to happen as much as it used to.
Anyway, if this column creates the desire in you to play Monopoly this week, let me give you my strategy for success. Buy as much property as you can as fast as you can. Pay others more than they paid to get their property away from them. Worry about houses and hotels later, buy, buy, buy property. Mortgage the property you have in order to get more, buy, buy, buy!
My strategy for Monopoly success came to mind as I read Colossians 4:5 which says, "When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time". And that last part of the verse in the Greek language is idiomatic- it has a meaning different from what the Greek words really tell us. Maybe a better translation would read, buy up the opportunities like Monopoly property!
And so Paul reminds us here that when it comes to those who are outside the faith, we are to 'buy time' from our worldly pursuits in return for a more eternal activity- telling others about Jesus. A selfless act we are not naturally inclined to pursue wouldn't you agree? Let's be honest, we are much better at redeeming spiritual time for worldly time, trading worship for sleep, redeeming Bible study evenings for time in front of the TV, selling church work for worldly play. The list goes on and on, we all know what I'm talking about from experience.
In this verse, God is calling us to a higher calling, to buy, buy, buy time, for His purpose of calling others to Him. This year, this summer we are going to have our biggest and best VBS ever. Sherri and I have agreed to lead this effort and we are going to call on each one of you reading this to redeem your time in our VBS effort to reach the lost in our Keystone community. We're going to ask you to be a part of our Monopoly strategy- to ask you to buy the time to spend with us in this effort.
The call for you to redeem your time for outreach was delivered to you from 2000 years in the past, Sherri and I are just the current day messengers. VBS is a great opportunity for us as a church to buy Boardwalk, the best piece of property in Monopoly- it is our opportunity to be used by the Holy Spirit to change lives and eternal destinations. It is our chance to slam down a heavenly hotel and make a difference in our world. What could be of greater value than this?
Jesus tells us Himself, in some of His last words on earth to 'GO, and make disciples'. When we pass GO in our Monopoly strategy to make disciples this August we'll collect far more than $200, we'll collect and store up treasures in heaven of far greater value. Monopoly now has hundreds of different game versions, Nebraska-opoly, Simpsons-opoly, and Grinch-opoly. I look forward to our Atonement VBS Roman-opoly and a church filled with children who learn about Jesus. And I look forward to spending a week of our redeemed time together, playing so as to win the prize.
Blest Regards,
Keith
Anyway, if this column creates the desire in you to play Monopoly this week, let me give you my strategy for success. Buy as much property as you can as fast as you can. Pay others more than they paid to get their property away from them. Worry about houses and hotels later, buy, buy, buy property. Mortgage the property you have in order to get more, buy, buy, buy!
My strategy for Monopoly success came to mind as I read Colossians 4:5 which says, "When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time". And that last part of the verse in the Greek language is idiomatic- it has a meaning different from what the Greek words really tell us. Maybe a better translation would read, buy up the opportunities like Monopoly property!
And so Paul reminds us here that when it comes to those who are outside the faith, we are to 'buy time' from our worldly pursuits in return for a more eternal activity- telling others about Jesus. A selfless act we are not naturally inclined to pursue wouldn't you agree? Let's be honest, we are much better at redeeming spiritual time for worldly time, trading worship for sleep, redeeming Bible study evenings for time in front of the TV, selling church work for worldly play. The list goes on and on, we all know what I'm talking about from experience.
In this verse, God is calling us to a higher calling, to buy, buy, buy time, for His purpose of calling others to Him. This year, this summer we are going to have our biggest and best VBS ever. Sherri and I have agreed to lead this effort and we are going to call on each one of you reading this to redeem your time in our VBS effort to reach the lost in our Keystone community. We're going to ask you to be a part of our Monopoly strategy- to ask you to buy the time to spend with us in this effort.
The call for you to redeem your time for outreach was delivered to you from 2000 years in the past, Sherri and I are just the current day messengers. VBS is a great opportunity for us as a church to buy Boardwalk, the best piece of property in Monopoly- it is our opportunity to be used by the Holy Spirit to change lives and eternal destinations. It is our chance to slam down a heavenly hotel and make a difference in our world. What could be of greater value than this?
Jesus tells us Himself, in some of His last words on earth to 'GO, and make disciples'. When we pass GO in our Monopoly strategy to make disciples this August we'll collect far more than $200, we'll collect and store up treasures in heaven of far greater value. Monopoly now has hundreds of different game versions, Nebraska-opoly, Simpsons-opoly, and Grinch-opoly. I look forward to our Atonement VBS Roman-opoly and a church filled with children who learn about Jesus. And I look forward to spending a week of our redeemed time together, playing so as to win the prize.
Blest Regards,
Keith
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