I'm looking forward to this weekend. Actually I always look forward to weekends but the last weekend in June is my favorite. Why? Because the Brad Beckman Memorial Golf Scramble always happens then. This event supports a scholarship in Brad's name at UNO. And part of the reason I look forward to this is because I like to golf and spend time with my son Dan and my dad and Clyde Durham. But more importantly I like this event, this day, because it celebrates the life of a good friend, and a good family I will never forget.
Many of you may not know Brad. He and his family were members of Atonement and always will be, at least in my mind. I grew up with his older brother Rod and in fact spent a lot of time after school at Irvington at the Beckman's. Brad was 5 years younger and Brian 10 years younger. At the Beckman's house the neighborhood would gather for basketball in the driveway or football in the back yard. Later, we all played at different times on the church softball team including mom, Millie. As our dusty trophies prove, all the Beckman's were good softball players.
And though the Beckman boys were athletic, Brad was especially blessed with both talent and physical prowess. He played just about every sport but was best at basketball (a star at NW High and more importantly on our church team) and football. He played football at UNO and was drafted in the 7th round of the 1988 draft by the Minnesota Vikings. He ended up playing for the New York Giants and later for the Atlanta Falcons. On December 19, 1989 at age 24, Brad was killed in an Atlanta area car crash and we were all shocked and saddened.
To this day, I count it as one of my greatest honors in life to have served as a pall bearer for Brad on a cold snow-clad day. Over these past twenty years I have thought about Brad a number of times. Sometimes I think about how much fun we had playing sports and poker together, how fun it was to watch him play at UNO, or I think about a funny story that involved Brad, my dad and Pastor Pete and a lot of laughs. That's the way I remember Brad- as a young man who enjoyed life. And so I look forward to the last Saturday in June to see the Beckman family again and to remember and honor my friend with a round of poor golf.
God graces our life with friends that we will never forget doesn't He? Think about your best friend for example and what a blessing that person is or was to you. Friend means 'favored companion, one attached to another by affection or esteem'. Actually the word derives from the Old English word 'freon' which means 'to love'. Very 'cool' and that makes sense, friends are folks we love. Sometimes time and distance may reduce the contact, but never the heart and love we have for them. You know what I am saying.
Jesus knew all about friends. In John 15 He gives us the world's best lesson on friendship. Talking with His disciples Jesus tells them and us, 'I have called you friends'. He calls each of us friend, people He loves! He said He lays down his life for His friends. Can we comprehend the depths of this or the meaning of the old hymn title 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus'? God tells us in Jeremiah 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love--a love that will last forever". Amazing- God delivered the first most meaningful BFF (best friends forever) text message more than 2000 years ago. The power of these words reminds me of the song from Aladdin where Robin Williams sings, 'You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend, You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend, You ain't never had a friend like me, You ain't never had a friend like me, hah!'
Someone said, 'True friendship is like a star, You don't see it's light in the brightness of prosperity But in the darkness of adversity'. On that first Christmas morning a star shown bright in the sky to point out our Star, our Superstar true Friend- Jesus, the One who shines bright and is with us always, even in the darkness of adversity- and with us in the loss of earthly friends as well. So this weekend I'll pay tribute to an old friend on the golf course and an eternal Friend at church. A weekend of celebrating friendships, surrounded by 'favored companions' is certainly something to look forward to - with an occasional birdie throw in for good measure- I hope!
Blest Regards from your Friend,
kp
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Death by Basketball- A Story of Encouragement
Maybe I was wrong in my conclusion. As I looked over my freshly planted marigolds, I noticed one poor plant had been broken and the stem with flower attached, now lay on its side, starting to wither. I concluded right away that it was another case of death by basketball- a serial flower killer has been on the loose at our house for years with his round-ball weapon of choice and now another innocent victim lay dying in the sun.
Slightly irritated I broke off the flowered stem and jammed it into the ground next to another plant. I then pulled out the rest of the plant and replanted another marigold. I watered down the bed and called it good. A couple days later I noticed the stem I had stuck in the ground wasn't giving up. Its flower still shown bright and a few new sprouts had sprung. I hadn't expected this and rewarded my colorful friend with another good dousing of water. Today stick flower continues to boldly hold its one lone bloom in spite of its fear of basketballs (just my guess- that is if flowers have the ability to fear anything in addition to rabbits).
I began to think of my stick flower as a lesson in encouragement and determination. Which then reminded me of this past Thursday's 'Portals of Prayer' devotion on encouragement- one of my favorite topics. As we all know (not), June 11 was St. Barnabas Feast Day and St. B was noted as being an encourager. Acts 11:23 is evidence of this as it tells us 'he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord.' So what can we learn about encouragement from Barnabas?
It turns out the very name 'Barnabas' means encourager, exhorter, consoler. We learn in Acts 4:36 that the disciples gave Barnabas this new name. How great to be recognized as such an encourager that your name gets changed! I can just hear the conversation:
Peter: 'Hey Joe, the boys and I have decided to change your name.'
Joe: 'Really. Why's that?'
Peter: 'Oh, just a little something Jesus started. He changed mine from Simon to Pete, and Saul's to Paul.'
Joe: 'Let me hear it first, I don't want some goofy name like Keith or Obama.'
Peter: 'Heavens no, we've decided on Barney. No, let's be a little more formal, you are now Barnabas- you know, the encourager.'
Barnabas: 'That's cool, I like that name. Thanks Rocky- by the way, great sermon you delivered on Pentecost, keep up the good work.'
Peter: 'Hey Doc, jot this down will you for that Acts book you're writing. We just changed Joe's name to Barnabas.'
Some think Barnabas was converted on Pentecost, others think Barnabas was one of Jesus' 70 disciples and his encouragement, what some call his edification, exhortation and consolation skills caused him to rise to the top. Acts 4 tells us he sold some land and laid the proceeds at the disciples' feet. Maybe that's the first part of being an encourager- buying in. Believing in something, in this case Someone, so much that you redeem your time and things to tell others all about it. To encourage others, we (by the power of the Holy Spirit) need to do just that, 'buy in', 'focus in' and 'get strong in' our faith.
Barnabas also encouraged the disciples to accept the 'new' Paul and later is an encouragement to John Mark after he fails in a missionary trip. From this we learn that encouragers help those new in the faith and lift up those who have fallen or made a mistake. I wish we were all better at being this kind of an encourager. Saint Luke goes on later to describe Barnabas as a good man full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Not many get such a wonderful description in the Bible. Clearly Barnabas was an encourager just by his everyday example- we should be too.
Church tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred for his faith. True or not, the point is that he was such an awesome encourager we now celebrate a 'Feast of Christ' day to remember the example he became for us through the power of the Holy Spirit. As our Lutheran teachings say he and other saints have 'become a kind of living "stained-glass windows" through whom the light of Christ now shines on us'. Or maybe we could say Barnabas is like a flower that continues to encourage and bloom long after it has been broken off…. by a basketball. Or maybe not. I encourage you to be an encourager this week, to bloom where you are planted and to let the light of Christ shine through you! See you at the encouraging encouragers meeting this Sunday.
Blest Regards,
kp
Slightly irritated I broke off the flowered stem and jammed it into the ground next to another plant. I then pulled out the rest of the plant and replanted another marigold. I watered down the bed and called it good. A couple days later I noticed the stem I had stuck in the ground wasn't giving up. Its flower still shown bright and a few new sprouts had sprung. I hadn't expected this and rewarded my colorful friend with another good dousing of water. Today stick flower continues to boldly hold its one lone bloom in spite of its fear of basketballs (just my guess- that is if flowers have the ability to fear anything in addition to rabbits).
I began to think of my stick flower as a lesson in encouragement and determination. Which then reminded me of this past Thursday's 'Portals of Prayer' devotion on encouragement- one of my favorite topics. As we all know (not), June 11 was St. Barnabas Feast Day and St. B was noted as being an encourager. Acts 11:23 is evidence of this as it tells us 'he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord.' So what can we learn about encouragement from Barnabas?
It turns out the very name 'Barnabas' means encourager, exhorter, consoler. We learn in Acts 4:36 that the disciples gave Barnabas this new name. How great to be recognized as such an encourager that your name gets changed! I can just hear the conversation:
Peter: 'Hey Joe, the boys and I have decided to change your name.'
Joe: 'Really. Why's that?'
Peter: 'Oh, just a little something Jesus started. He changed mine from Simon to Pete, and Saul's to Paul.'
Joe: 'Let me hear it first, I don't want some goofy name like Keith or Obama.'
Peter: 'Heavens no, we've decided on Barney. No, let's be a little more formal, you are now Barnabas- you know, the encourager.'
Barnabas: 'That's cool, I like that name. Thanks Rocky- by the way, great sermon you delivered on Pentecost, keep up the good work.'
Peter: 'Hey Doc, jot this down will you for that Acts book you're writing. We just changed Joe's name to Barnabas.'
Some think Barnabas was converted on Pentecost, others think Barnabas was one of Jesus' 70 disciples and his encouragement, what some call his edification, exhortation and consolation skills caused him to rise to the top. Acts 4 tells us he sold some land and laid the proceeds at the disciples' feet. Maybe that's the first part of being an encourager- buying in. Believing in something, in this case Someone, so much that you redeem your time and things to tell others all about it. To encourage others, we (by the power of the Holy Spirit) need to do just that, 'buy in', 'focus in' and 'get strong in' our faith.
Barnabas also encouraged the disciples to accept the 'new' Paul and later is an encouragement to John Mark after he fails in a missionary trip. From this we learn that encouragers help those new in the faith and lift up those who have fallen or made a mistake. I wish we were all better at being this kind of an encourager. Saint Luke goes on later to describe Barnabas as a good man full of the Holy Spirit and faith. Not many get such a wonderful description in the Bible. Clearly Barnabas was an encourager just by his everyday example- we should be too.
Church tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred for his faith. True or not, the point is that he was such an awesome encourager we now celebrate a 'Feast of Christ' day to remember the example he became for us through the power of the Holy Spirit. As our Lutheran teachings say he and other saints have 'become a kind of living "stained-glass windows" through whom the light of Christ now shines on us'. Or maybe we could say Barnabas is like a flower that continues to encourage and bloom long after it has been broken off…. by a basketball. Or maybe not. I encourage you to be an encourager this week, to bloom where you are planted and to let the light of Christ shine through you! See you at the encouraging encouragers meeting this Sunday.
Blest Regards,
kp
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
I Wanna Give My All and NO Less
"Don't wish it was easier. Wish you were stronger." These are the words I read as I walk into the West YMCA to workout. They are part of an advertisement for a YMCA boot camp to build self-esteem, strength and confidence. I like these words, they motivate me to workout a little harder.
When Jake was looking at colleges for basketball he paid very little attention to NAIA schools like Concordia who made him very lucrative offers. Jake only considered his highest level offers including a walk-on invite at Nebraska. In the end he accepted the scholarship offer from NW Missouri State where he would most likely still have to redshirt (sit out for an entire year) to get bigger and stronger. That didn't happen. Instead Jake worked hard and proved that though he wasn't the biggest guard on the team he was the most intense and very talented. He got more and more playing time as the season went on and ended up starting the last two games of the year.
It was fun to watch Jake play at this high level. Big crowds, bands, radio and television coverage, game announcers, and cheerleaders create an aura of excitement. I could quickly see why Jake wanted to play here. But it wasn't easy. The competition was very tough and the conference NW Missouri plays in includes UNO and other high ranking national basketball powers. The very first game during warm-ups Jake walked by a 7-foot opponent and Sherri and I looked at each other with a 'you got to be kidding me' look.
At the end of the season Jake won the 'Most Improved Player' award. And on the award is a picture I think fits the 'Don't wish it was easier' slogan. In the picture Jake is driving with the basketball, pushing up against two very big, strong and athletic opponents. These guys represent the reason Jake wanted to play 'up'- to the toughest level of basketball where someone would give him a real shot at competing. In short, Jake wanted to play the best. He never wished it was easier, instead he made himself stronger and as a result of his hard work he had a fantastic freshman season.
I was thinking about the sign and Jake as I was working through a Bible study on suffering. The bottom line is that sometimes life is hard, real hard. Our sin has made it so. God could have made us perfect people with no free will. Instead we are playing in a higher league- a league, a life, with great highs and sad lows. God has told us we will never get more than we can handle- in short, we can play at this level. So don't wish life was easier, by the power of the Holy Spirit, make yourself stronger.
Listening to my IPOD as I was working out and mulling over my thoughts on this subject, I heard the Joy Williams song 'No Less'. The chorus hit at the attitude we need to have towards life which can be hard and fit what I'm trying to encourage us towards this week. Here are the words:'I wanna give my all and no less,I wanna live my life with no regrets. I'll listen to the call, Cause You gave it all. So when You put me to the test I'm gonna give You no less.'
This week in Mass the Priest was talking about the Holy Trinity and he delivered some words I will never forget. He said, 'God is for us, Jesus is with us and the Holy Spirit is in us'. Knowing this, we don't need to wish life would be easier, we just need to keep getting stronger in Him! We are blessed through Him to live confidently and with Hope. So get stronger, get in the Word, get in prayer, worship and service. Listen to His call, give it your all and no less. Knowing God is for us, with us and in us, we say to life, bring it on, this is a great adventure! And best of all, thanks to Him, we look forward to playing at an even higher level when we graduate from here!
Blest Regards,
kp
When Jake was looking at colleges for basketball he paid very little attention to NAIA schools like Concordia who made him very lucrative offers. Jake only considered his highest level offers including a walk-on invite at Nebraska. In the end he accepted the scholarship offer from NW Missouri State where he would most likely still have to redshirt (sit out for an entire year) to get bigger and stronger. That didn't happen. Instead Jake worked hard and proved that though he wasn't the biggest guard on the team he was the most intense and very talented. He got more and more playing time as the season went on and ended up starting the last two games of the year.
It was fun to watch Jake play at this high level. Big crowds, bands, radio and television coverage, game announcers, and cheerleaders create an aura of excitement. I could quickly see why Jake wanted to play here. But it wasn't easy. The competition was very tough and the conference NW Missouri plays in includes UNO and other high ranking national basketball powers. The very first game during warm-ups Jake walked by a 7-foot opponent and Sherri and I looked at each other with a 'you got to be kidding me' look.
At the end of the season Jake won the 'Most Improved Player' award. And on the award is a picture I think fits the 'Don't wish it was easier' slogan. In the picture Jake is driving with the basketball, pushing up against two very big, strong and athletic opponents. These guys represent the reason Jake wanted to play 'up'- to the toughest level of basketball where someone would give him a real shot at competing. In short, Jake wanted to play the best. He never wished it was easier, instead he made himself stronger and as a result of his hard work he had a fantastic freshman season.
I was thinking about the sign and Jake as I was working through a Bible study on suffering. The bottom line is that sometimes life is hard, real hard. Our sin has made it so. God could have made us perfect people with no free will. Instead we are playing in a higher league- a league, a life, with great highs and sad lows. God has told us we will never get more than we can handle- in short, we can play at this level. So don't wish life was easier, by the power of the Holy Spirit, make yourself stronger.
Listening to my IPOD as I was working out and mulling over my thoughts on this subject, I heard the Joy Williams song 'No Less'. The chorus hit at the attitude we need to have towards life which can be hard and fit what I'm trying to encourage us towards this week. Here are the words:'I wanna give my all and no less,I wanna live my life with no regrets. I'll listen to the call, Cause You gave it all. So when You put me to the test I'm gonna give You no less.'
This week in Mass the Priest was talking about the Holy Trinity and he delivered some words I will never forget. He said, 'God is for us, Jesus is with us and the Holy Spirit is in us'. Knowing this, we don't need to wish life would be easier, we just need to keep getting stronger in Him! We are blessed through Him to live confidently and with Hope. So get stronger, get in the Word, get in prayer, worship and service. Listen to His call, give it your all and no less. Knowing God is for us, with us and in us, we say to life, bring it on, this is a great adventure! And best of all, thanks to Him, we look forward to playing at an even higher level when we graduate from here!
Blest Regards,
kp
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Coram Deo
An abortion doctor was killed last week in a Lutheran church as he ushered. And I'm going to be very honest here and admit that I struggle with what happened there on a number of fronts. I don't often wade into the waters of social issues in this column but I'm going to today- I keep thinking about this. Maybe you do too.
I firmly believe the Bible is clear on a couple of issues here. First, that anyone who has had an abortion or conducted abortions can be forgiven. God's forgiveness, His grace is wide and deep and for everyone who sincerely seeks it. What a blessing, what a gift and how reassuring it is for every one of us to have our sins 'remembered no more'. Secondly, the Bible is clear that life begins in the womb. From our little heart to our little brains to our little toes we are alive, we are small humans in the womb and best of all, even as curled up little balls of humanity, we are loved by God!
I struggle as I consider the Lutheran church which accepted a member with this on-going practice. I know we are all habitual sinners and as I comment on the sins of others I do so only by looking around the log in my own eye. In short, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And I also know we are to be repentant and by the power of the Holy Spirit turn from those sins we find ourselves in. Are the ELCA and this church okay with late term abortions? Evidently. Does the LCMS and our own church take the same stance? No. Our position on 'life' is clear and clearly different. It can be found on the Synod website and would mandate a change in the heart of a 'doctor' like this.
The greater issue I struggle with is my reaction to this murder. I know it is wrong to kill. I know this 'doctor' is a child of God, a man whom I should love no matter how evil I perceive his actions to be. And yet I feel very little sympathy or outrage. My heart doesn't break for him - I am at best, at my very best, indifferent. Even worse, every time I hear someone say how awful the shooting was, how mean, how senseless, how evil- I can't help but think these same comments could be said about the children who lost their lives at the hands of this victim. I'm not proud of this reaction, not trying to be holier-than-thou, I'm just honestly telling you how I feel and trying to understand why.
Maybe you could say I have a guilty conscience about the way I feel. Or is it possible that maybe my conscience is causing this reaction? Conscience is a pretty complex subject and lovers of knowledge (philosophers) have been contemplating its existence and workings for thousands of years. Luther uses Holy Scripture to give the most insightful description and purpose of 'conscience' in a sermon on Romans, 'Conscience is not the power to do works, but to judge them. The proper work of conscience (as Paul says in Romans 2[:15]), is to accuse or excuse, to make guilty or guiltless, uncertain or certain. Its purpose is not to do, but to pass judgment on what has been done and what should be done, and this judgment makes us stand accused or saved in God's sight.'
Maybe you remember Flip Wilson saying (as only he could say), 'Here come da judge, here come da judge!' Could it be our conscience is a small hint of the perfect Judge and judgment to come? As we act and react in the world, we do so as Luther put it 'Coram Deo'- in front of, before, in plain sight of God. Our conscience helps us act and judge and form opinions with this in mind. The Catholic church wrote in her Second Vatican Council, 'Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a person. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths'. Echoing in my depths, in my conscience, God's voice calls me to love all. I am working on that. Thankfully God does not judge me as quickly as I judge others.
I usually like to provide you an insight with a smile and encouragement in this column. Today I know I didn't really do that. Maybe today's column was more for me than for you. I just needed to think with you for a moment as I write and struggle to hear God's voice in this event. May God grant each of us a 'coram deo' conscience about all of life's big issues. May His voice, His Holy Spirit, echo within the depths of you. God's richest blessings to you this week.
Blest Regards,
kp
I firmly believe the Bible is clear on a couple of issues here. First, that anyone who has had an abortion or conducted abortions can be forgiven. God's forgiveness, His grace is wide and deep and for everyone who sincerely seeks it. What a blessing, what a gift and how reassuring it is for every one of us to have our sins 'remembered no more'. Secondly, the Bible is clear that life begins in the womb. From our little heart to our little brains to our little toes we are alive, we are small humans in the womb and best of all, even as curled up little balls of humanity, we are loved by God!
I struggle as I consider the Lutheran church which accepted a member with this on-going practice. I know we are all habitual sinners and as I comment on the sins of others I do so only by looking around the log in my own eye. In short, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And I also know we are to be repentant and by the power of the Holy Spirit turn from those sins we find ourselves in. Are the ELCA and this church okay with late term abortions? Evidently. Does the LCMS and our own church take the same stance? No. Our position on 'life' is clear and clearly different. It can be found on the Synod website and would mandate a change in the heart of a 'doctor' like this.
The greater issue I struggle with is my reaction to this murder. I know it is wrong to kill. I know this 'doctor' is a child of God, a man whom I should love no matter how evil I perceive his actions to be. And yet I feel very little sympathy or outrage. My heart doesn't break for him - I am at best, at my very best, indifferent. Even worse, every time I hear someone say how awful the shooting was, how mean, how senseless, how evil- I can't help but think these same comments could be said about the children who lost their lives at the hands of this victim. I'm not proud of this reaction, not trying to be holier-than-thou, I'm just honestly telling you how I feel and trying to understand why.
Maybe you could say I have a guilty conscience about the way I feel. Or is it possible that maybe my conscience is causing this reaction? Conscience is a pretty complex subject and lovers of knowledge (philosophers) have been contemplating its existence and workings for thousands of years. Luther uses Holy Scripture to give the most insightful description and purpose of 'conscience' in a sermon on Romans, 'Conscience is not the power to do works, but to judge them. The proper work of conscience (as Paul says in Romans 2[:15]), is to accuse or excuse, to make guilty or guiltless, uncertain or certain. Its purpose is not to do, but to pass judgment on what has been done and what should be done, and this judgment makes us stand accused or saved in God's sight.'
Maybe you remember Flip Wilson saying (as only he could say), 'Here come da judge, here come da judge!' Could it be our conscience is a small hint of the perfect Judge and judgment to come? As we act and react in the world, we do so as Luther put it 'Coram Deo'- in front of, before, in plain sight of God. Our conscience helps us act and judge and form opinions with this in mind. The Catholic church wrote in her Second Vatican Council, 'Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a person. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths'. Echoing in my depths, in my conscience, God's voice calls me to love all. I am working on that. Thankfully God does not judge me as quickly as I judge others.
I usually like to provide you an insight with a smile and encouragement in this column. Today I know I didn't really do that. Maybe today's column was more for me than for you. I just needed to think with you for a moment as I write and struggle to hear God's voice in this event. May God grant each of us a 'coram deo' conscience about all of life's big issues. May His voice, His Holy Spirit, echo within the depths of you. God's richest blessings to you this week.
Blest Regards,
kp
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