Recently a close friend of mine told me about a local church here in our community that actually turned away a young man because he was wearing piercings. That same congregation turned away a young woman who wanted to participate in a relatives funeral because she was wearing slacks.
A few years ago I was traveling with a semi-professional Gospel quartet and at one our "gigs" all the members of the group (there were about 8 of us) were asked to remove ALL of our jewelry, including our wedding rings before we could sing. Another time we had a couple of "suits" come to one of our rehearsals to make sure our HAIR wasn't too long. As it turned out me and the bass player had to get a haircut before we could sing in this church.
I really wonder sometimes if people in the church completely forget why we're here. I would be really shocked when, we "we all get to heaven" the Lord looks at you and me and says "sorry you cannot enter Heaven cause you're hair's too long," or "you are not properly dressed." It would be a shame if we Christians lived our entire life being so Heavenly minded that we're no earthly good! What a waste for us and for the Kingdom really if we should come to the end of our life here on earth and suddenly realize that it doesn't really matter that not everybody worships or serves God JUST LIKE ME! Let me tell you what really matters. What really matters now and in the end is our relationship to GOD. I don't really believe that God will meet us in Glory and be concerned about our body piercings or our clothes. What he is going to be concerned about is whether or not we have asked Him to forgive us of our sins. Our relationship with Jesus is what matters!
Mike Warnke tells a story about a church that builds a wonderful new Sanctuary to accommodate their growth. They hire an artist to come in paint murals of key Biblical stories all around the church (which was apparently built in the round). But in the scene depicting the Creation he has Adam with a belly button. And so arose this great theological debate in this church as to whether or not Adam did actually have a belly button. One group said that he did because he was the prototype of all men. Another group said no he did not because he had no earthly mother, therefore no umbilical cord therefore no belly button. Warnke makes a good point when he says "meanwhile people who live within walking distance of that church are dying and going to hell - not because they don't know about belly buttons, but because they don't see the children of the Most high God acting like it!
So please,Christian, for the sake of the Call, let's make sure we keep the main thing the main thing! Let us not get ourselves so wrapped up in legalism that we forget about Grace!
Until Next Time,
The Methmusiciain
Friday, February 10, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Love from a pre-schooler
Our pastor and I do what we lovingly call "chapel" time for the preschoolers in our church. We meet each Tuesday and Wednesday morning (surprisingly) in the Chapel for about 10 minutes of singing and then our pastor does a great object lesson.
The other day at chapel, I had just finished leading the song part of Chapel and sat down on the front pew. As our pastor was beginning his devotion a little guy sitting behind (whose name I can never remember) leaned up and pulled on my sleeve. "Hey," he says, "I love you!" I felt my heart "strangely warmed!" I leaned back to him and said "Hey! I love you too!"
Right at that moment I thought about that story in Scripture where some of the people were bringing kids to Jesus to be blessed and His disciples said "get those kids out of here! Jesus is a really important guy and He doesn't have time for this kind of stuff!" But do you remember what Jesus said? He said "leave these kids alone! The Kingdom of God is made up of people like this!" And he proceeded to lay hands those children and blessing them before He moved on to the next ministry op.
Jesus loves kids. And so do I. I was also reminded that day that we parents have a HUGE responsibility to lead our kids to Jesus. In addition, the CHURCH has a responsibility too to help the parents help their kids learn and live the Faith. There is also the reality that there a many children out there who do not experience love, provision or moral guidance because their parents don't know how to parent. Worse yet, there are kids who are verbally, emotionally and even physically abused by parent figures or relatives. And because the divorce rate is so shamefully high in this country, we have been forced to redefine "family" and as a result we have kids with two or three sets of parents, two or three mothers or fathers and some who never know their parents. It's sad ya know. I long for the days when family was defined by a Mom and Dad who genuinely love each other and they and their kids were God-fearing people.
And yet, in that one little moment during Chapel time that day I caught a glimpse of something very real, very healthy and very sweet. And while the little boy whose name I can never remember might not realize it, I caught a glimpse of the simple love of God between us-real, unconditional love! What a blessing!
The other day at chapel, I had just finished leading the song part of Chapel and sat down on the front pew. As our pastor was beginning his devotion a little guy sitting behind (whose name I can never remember) leaned up and pulled on my sleeve. "Hey," he says, "I love you!" I felt my heart "strangely warmed!" I leaned back to him and said "Hey! I love you too!"
Right at that moment I thought about that story in Scripture where some of the people were bringing kids to Jesus to be blessed and His disciples said "get those kids out of here! Jesus is a really important guy and He doesn't have time for this kind of stuff!" But do you remember what Jesus said? He said "leave these kids alone! The Kingdom of God is made up of people like this!" And he proceeded to lay hands those children and blessing them before He moved on to the next ministry op.
Jesus loves kids. And so do I. I was also reminded that day that we parents have a HUGE responsibility to lead our kids to Jesus. In addition, the CHURCH has a responsibility too to help the parents help their kids learn and live the Faith. There is also the reality that there a many children out there who do not experience love, provision or moral guidance because their parents don't know how to parent. Worse yet, there are kids who are verbally, emotionally and even physically abused by parent figures or relatives. And because the divorce rate is so shamefully high in this country, we have been forced to redefine "family" and as a result we have kids with two or three sets of parents, two or three mothers or fathers and some who never know their parents. It's sad ya know. I long for the days when family was defined by a Mom and Dad who genuinely love each other and they and their kids were God-fearing people.
And yet, in that one little moment during Chapel time that day I caught a glimpse of something very real, very healthy and very sweet. And while the little boy whose name I can never remember might not realize it, I caught a glimpse of the simple love of God between us-real, unconditional love! What a blessing!
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Are there more important things to talk about?
There's been a LOT of controversy lately over racially motivated news stories. Just today there was a hot story about the women on "The View." It seemed that Whoopi Goldberg used the "n" word during the course of their discussion. Then, a few minutes later when Barbara Walters used the same slang, another (African-American) lady in the group took grave offense to it and called Barabara out on it as they were on air! Man. I wish could have seen that cause I'm not really a huge fan of Barbara Walters (or the View). I will catch it later on YouTube.
Anyhow, I have a question. Aren't there really more important issues that we need to deal with in our nation rather than what words are used in the courses of our conversation?
Look, I know that the old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is a boldfaced lie. Words can and DO hurt people all the time! For those of us who are Christians we need to be especially careful about this! However, while we are worried so much about what towns and cities in America have the most racially offensive names, there are countless thousands of American men and women, boys and girls who are in crisis because of job loss, lack of discipline, hunger and disease. Hey listen, I am deeply offended by all the sex and foul language on TV and in the movies but no one does anything about that do they?
Besides I am more concerned about teenagers who are thinking about suicide. Or children from broken homes who have no stability. Or adults who are having melt-downs because their relationship with their spouse is over. I believe I'm more concerned about the number of families receiving help from local food banks than I am with Hank Williams Junior spouting off about President Obama and Hitler, (but I agree-old Hank should have never said what he did. What an idiotic thing to say in public OR in private!).
Jesus said one time that "the poor will always be with you." WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE HE SPOKE OF? Could it be the marginilized of our communities or could it even be you or I?
That same Jesus reminded the religious folk of HIS day (and OURS) that we need to be concerned with the "weightier matters of the law" like caring for kids, widows the homeless etc.
I don't mean to downplay the importance of being politically correct or being prudent in our speech about people whose race is different than our own. There are some white folk who are genuially offeneded by the term "cracker" for example. And I don't think God ever intended for us to hate someone else just because their skin is a different color. And Jesus said "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!" To be sure, there are a lot of folk who say aweful things about their neighbors because in the their heart they don't don't have love. But let's not get side-tracked by these temporal issues that really won't matter too much when we stand before God in judgement. Somehow, I really don't thing when we arrive there that God will say to us "what did you just call me?" I really think what God will say is something like "Do you know my son, Jesus? O Good! Come on in!" When that happens we won't have to wash our mouth out with soap or even clean off our shoes! But between here and there, let's see if we can get past language and attitude and try to just be Jesus to each other and to the rest of the people on this planet. "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight-Jesus loves the little children of the world!"
The Methmusician
Anyhow, I have a question. Aren't there really more important issues that we need to deal with in our nation rather than what words are used in the courses of our conversation?
Look, I know that the old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is a boldfaced lie. Words can and DO hurt people all the time! For those of us who are Christians we need to be especially careful about this! However, while we are worried so much about what towns and cities in America have the most racially offensive names, there are countless thousands of American men and women, boys and girls who are in crisis because of job loss, lack of discipline, hunger and disease. Hey listen, I am deeply offended by all the sex and foul language on TV and in the movies but no one does anything about that do they?
Besides I am more concerned about teenagers who are thinking about suicide. Or children from broken homes who have no stability. Or adults who are having melt-downs because their relationship with their spouse is over. I believe I'm more concerned about the number of families receiving help from local food banks than I am with Hank Williams Junior spouting off about President Obama and Hitler, (but I agree-old Hank should have never said what he did. What an idiotic thing to say in public OR in private!).
Jesus said one time that "the poor will always be with you." WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE HE SPOKE OF? Could it be the marginilized of our communities or could it even be you or I?
That same Jesus reminded the religious folk of HIS day (and OURS) that we need to be concerned with the "weightier matters of the law" like caring for kids, widows the homeless etc.
I don't mean to downplay the importance of being politically correct or being prudent in our speech about people whose race is different than our own. There are some white folk who are genuially offeneded by the term "cracker" for example. And I don't think God ever intended for us to hate someone else just because their skin is a different color. And Jesus said "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!" To be sure, there are a lot of folk who say aweful things about their neighbors because in the their heart they don't don't have love. But let's not get side-tracked by these temporal issues that really won't matter too much when we stand before God in judgement. Somehow, I really don't thing when we arrive there that God will say to us "what did you just call me?" I really think what God will say is something like "Do you know my son, Jesus? O Good! Come on in!" When that happens we won't have to wash our mouth out with soap or even clean off our shoes! But between here and there, let's see if we can get past language and attitude and try to just be Jesus to each other and to the rest of the people on this planet. "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight-Jesus loves the little children of the world!"
The Methmusician
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Medicine Cabinet
It suddenly "dawned" on me this morning just how important the medicine cabinet has become. I mean, 30 years ago I'm not sure I even needed a medicine cabinet, except for the mirror (what? do you think THIS just HAPPENS?!) Thirty years ago all we had in the medicine cabinet was stuff to make you smell good. Now it's filled with that PLUS stuff to make you FEEL good!
Its unbelievable! There are pills, lotions, creams, bandages, drops and sprays and other stuff that we need to get us through the day. In fact the thing is overflowing with this stuff. The medicine cabinet has gone from being just an accessory to my best friend! And here is another interesting thing. All these pills, lotions, creams, bandages, drops and sprays are displayed in some sort of strange order. Don't move the eye drops because not only would I never find them but it would put some sort of hole in my universe. And Lord, please don't let one of the vanity lights go out because I'll have to stop what I'm doing and rush out to Wal-Mart to get a replacement bulb.
Yep. My medicine cabinet is full and it greets me with medicinal hope every morning. Thank you for being there my friend.
My Mom says that "getting old is not for wimps!" Oh dear, I'm in BIG trouble.
Til next time,
The Methmusician
Its unbelievable! There are pills, lotions, creams, bandages, drops and sprays and other stuff that we need to get us through the day. In fact the thing is overflowing with this stuff. The medicine cabinet has gone from being just an accessory to my best friend! And here is another interesting thing. All these pills, lotions, creams, bandages, drops and sprays are displayed in some sort of strange order. Don't move the eye drops because not only would I never find them but it would put some sort of hole in my universe. And Lord, please don't let one of the vanity lights go out because I'll have to stop what I'm doing and rush out to Wal-Mart to get a replacement bulb.
Yep. My medicine cabinet is full and it greets me with medicinal hope every morning. Thank you for being there my friend.
My Mom says that "getting old is not for wimps!" Oh dear, I'm in BIG trouble.
Til next time,
The Methmusician
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
New Morality
I read just very recently where the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH has now accepted the practice of ordaining (I assume PRACTICING) homosexual persons to the ordained ministry. I'm reading posts that people put up on the web through social networking that hold favorable regard for the Presbyterian's decision to ordain gays. In fact I was totally shocked to see one post written by a young person whose father is a pastor who I worked with several years ago. This young person was hailing this monumental decision and asking when will our denomination (the United Methodist Church) might follow suit. All this debate over whether or not to ordain gay people has me really concerned. Let me tell you why.
I make no apologies for my conservative background. And like most people who have it, my theology has been shaped by my up-bringing, the influence of the the church and experience. So what I say here in this blog is certainly in no small way informed by years of formation in the Christian faith. The issue of homosexuality, in my opinion, has little to do with "conservative" or "liberal," "democrat" or "republican" or for that matter "Presbyterian" or "United Methodist." What is at the root of the great debate over this issue in our time is this- THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE.
The church has evidently forgotten the meaning of the word "sin." While the Bible is not explicitly demonstrative about homosexuality it DOES speak to that practice as being something the Great Creator God did not really intend as "normal." The practice of homosexuality is sin. No one will EVER convince me that "we're born this way," or that God has changed His mind about the matter. But here's the thing. Homosexuality is no more offensive to God than adultery, fornication, lying or stealing. It is ALL disobedience to God's will and that makes it sin.
Hey I didn't just make this stuff up - God has laid down this law. But here is another problem we have. We don't consider what the Bible calls sin as sin because WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE BIBLE! If "sin" is not really "sin" then why did Jesus have to go hang on a cross for it? The fact is we humans are desperately trying to clear our collective conscience by buying into the lies of the enemy of God (you know, the devil) who tells us "you can eat of this fruit and you will surely not die! God surely wouldn't do that to you, would He?" Yep, we've taken another huge bite out of the apple of temptation and made ourselves "god." The universalism which is so prevalent today is gradually destroying all common decency. Call it "new morality" or "social/civil justice" but it is in reality no morality at all. If God calls it sin then that is what it is.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a "gay basher." In fact I'm in the same boat with the rest of the sinners in the world. I am not the judge of homosexuals or murderers or shoplifters. That's God business. It just breaks my heart that the so-called institutionalized "church" has decided we know better than God-that God somehow made a critical mistake by calling homosexuality "sin" and that we aim to fix that mistake. Should we love homosexual people? You bet. God loves them. Should we "allow" them to be a part of our worship experience and welcome them into the church? Absolutely! Should we place them in leadership roles as ordained clergy (or for that matter lay leadership)? I don't think we should. Well, let me put it another way, if we do, then we need to make room for practicing (the operative word here) sex offenders, prostitutes, murderers, drunks etc in the ranks of the ordained clergy. None of this changes the fact that we are ALL sinners-we are ALL broken and ALL OF US need to come to the divine Jesus to fix our human condition. I pray that we see a corporate change in how we deal with morality and that we will come to our senses and come back to God. Perhaps we all need to live more "righteous" and not just more "moral."
The Methmusician
I make no apologies for my conservative background. And like most people who have it, my theology has been shaped by my up-bringing, the influence of the the church and experience. So what I say here in this blog is certainly in no small way informed by years of formation in the Christian faith. The issue of homosexuality, in my opinion, has little to do with "conservative" or "liberal," "democrat" or "republican" or for that matter "Presbyterian" or "United Methodist." What is at the root of the great debate over this issue in our time is this- THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE.
The church has evidently forgotten the meaning of the word "sin." While the Bible is not explicitly demonstrative about homosexuality it DOES speak to that practice as being something the Great Creator God did not really intend as "normal." The practice of homosexuality is sin. No one will EVER convince me that "we're born this way," or that God has changed His mind about the matter. But here's the thing. Homosexuality is no more offensive to God than adultery, fornication, lying or stealing. It is ALL disobedience to God's will and that makes it sin.
Hey I didn't just make this stuff up - God has laid down this law. But here is another problem we have. We don't consider what the Bible calls sin as sin because WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE BIBLE! If "sin" is not really "sin" then why did Jesus have to go hang on a cross for it? The fact is we humans are desperately trying to clear our collective conscience by buying into the lies of the enemy of God (you know, the devil) who tells us "you can eat of this fruit and you will surely not die! God surely wouldn't do that to you, would He?" Yep, we've taken another huge bite out of the apple of temptation and made ourselves "god." The universalism which is so prevalent today is gradually destroying all common decency. Call it "new morality" or "social/civil justice" but it is in reality no morality at all. If God calls it sin then that is what it is.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a "gay basher." In fact I'm in the same boat with the rest of the sinners in the world. I am not the judge of homosexuals or murderers or shoplifters. That's God business. It just breaks my heart that the so-called institutionalized "church" has decided we know better than God-that God somehow made a critical mistake by calling homosexuality "sin" and that we aim to fix that mistake. Should we love homosexual people? You bet. God loves them. Should we "allow" them to be a part of our worship experience and welcome them into the church? Absolutely! Should we place them in leadership roles as ordained clergy (or for that matter lay leadership)? I don't think we should. Well, let me put it another way, if we do, then we need to make room for practicing (the operative word here) sex offenders, prostitutes, murderers, drunks etc in the ranks of the ordained clergy. None of this changes the fact that we are ALL sinners-we are ALL broken and ALL OF US need to come to the divine Jesus to fix our human condition. I pray that we see a corporate change in how we deal with morality and that we will come to our senses and come back to God. Perhaps we all need to live more "righteous" and not just more "moral."
The Methmusician
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Nothing Short of a Miracle...
It was three years ago this month and I sat in the chair at the eye doctor for a check up. He said "Mr. B you have a cataract!" I said "No I don't I have a FORD!" (Get it?) Ok, maybe not that funny. So my eye doctor tells me there isn't anything we can do about this until the cataract "gets ripe." He said my vision in that eye would, as a result, get progressively worse.
He was right.
So right before Christmas in 2010 I went back to the eye doctor and they referred me to a surgeon who would remove the cataract. Now I had a couple of guys at church tell me they had this done and they said it was a piece of cake. They said, you won't even feel a thing! That's really good cause I have an extremely low threshold for PAIN. I mean, if I get a paper cut I think I'm dying!
So recently I went for a consult with this eye surgeon and after a battery of different tests (some of which I think I saw Bones do on Star Trek) we set the date for the surgery.
Now you cannot drive home after a procedure like this because they give you this medicine that places you somewhere between what's real and "la la Land." So my son drove me to the surgery center and more importantly back home again. The prep time took three times as long as the actual surgical procedure. The surgery itself only lasted about 15 minutes. And my friends at church were right - I didn't feel a thing. I could hear my surgeon talking to me and I remember seeing all kinds of weird colored lights. And one of the attending nurses kept patting me on the hand saying "You're doing fine, it's going to be ok." That really was not very reassuring since I was just kind of freaking out already. But it was over before I knew it.
After the procedure they wheeled me into "recovery" where they could keep an eye on me (get it? Ok not that funny) for a little while to make sure I didn't act strange or have a negative reaction to the drugs they had given me. And after a few minutes they let me walk to the car where my son was waiting to take me home.
I suppose that I had a preconceived notion about what would happen immediately after eye surgery. I thought I would take that bandage off and I would have perfect 20/20 vision. But a few hours after surgery when I came out of that eye patch (I looked like a pirate by the way) I was so disappointed when I realized I could barely see anything! My wife, who was in the eye care profession for about 10 years and really does know about this stuff (although I would NEVER let her operate on my eye!) said "GIVE IT TIME!"
The next morning I had to be in my surgeon's office at 9:30 AM for the first follow-up. Here is where the story takes a dramatic turn. Even though my vision was still very blurry in that eye I still drove myself to her office. I checked in and sat down to wait for my name to be called. They had a flat screen TV on the wall and I covered my other eye to see if I could see the television from the operative eye. To my great wonder I could see that TV image just as clear as day with my new eye! I didn't even care that it was Regis and Kathy Lee on TV - I could now see clearly! Nothing short of a miracle. What a wonderful gift! And I immediately thought of the blind man who was healed by Jesus. How ecstatic he surely must have been to go from NO SIGHT to PERFECT SIGHT at the Master's hand!
I think this adventure has given me a new perspective spiritually too. "I once was blind but now I see" as the John Newton song goes is so much more than being able to see physically- it is viewing our world through spiritual "eyes" that reveal over and over to us the beauty of God's creation and His Grace and Mercy. That too is nothing short of miraculous!
My eye doctor tells me I have a cataract on my OTHER eye too. But I will have to wait until it "gets ripe" to go through this little adventure again! When that happens, I probably will not have to even wear glasses- I will be the "bionic man!"
SEE YOU later, (get it? OK that's the last one)
The Methmusician
He was right.
So right before Christmas in 2010 I went back to the eye doctor and they referred me to a surgeon who would remove the cataract. Now I had a couple of guys at church tell me they had this done and they said it was a piece of cake. They said, you won't even feel a thing! That's really good cause I have an extremely low threshold for PAIN. I mean, if I get a paper cut I think I'm dying!
So recently I went for a consult with this eye surgeon and after a battery of different tests (some of which I think I saw Bones do on Star Trek) we set the date for the surgery.
Now you cannot drive home after a procedure like this because they give you this medicine that places you somewhere between what's real and "la la Land." So my son drove me to the surgery center and more importantly back home again. The prep time took three times as long as the actual surgical procedure. The surgery itself only lasted about 15 minutes. And my friends at church were right - I didn't feel a thing. I could hear my surgeon talking to me and I remember seeing all kinds of weird colored lights. And one of the attending nurses kept patting me on the hand saying "You're doing fine, it's going to be ok." That really was not very reassuring since I was just kind of freaking out already. But it was over before I knew it.
After the procedure they wheeled me into "recovery" where they could keep an eye on me (get it? Ok not that funny) for a little while to make sure I didn't act strange or have a negative reaction to the drugs they had given me. And after a few minutes they let me walk to the car where my son was waiting to take me home.
I suppose that I had a preconceived notion about what would happen immediately after eye surgery. I thought I would take that bandage off and I would have perfect 20/20 vision. But a few hours after surgery when I came out of that eye patch (I looked like a pirate by the way) I was so disappointed when I realized I could barely see anything! My wife, who was in the eye care profession for about 10 years and really does know about this stuff (although I would NEVER let her operate on my eye!) said "GIVE IT TIME!"
The next morning I had to be in my surgeon's office at 9:30 AM for the first follow-up. Here is where the story takes a dramatic turn. Even though my vision was still very blurry in that eye I still drove myself to her office. I checked in and sat down to wait for my name to be called. They had a flat screen TV on the wall and I covered my other eye to see if I could see the television from the operative eye. To my great wonder I could see that TV image just as clear as day with my new eye! I didn't even care that it was Regis and Kathy Lee on TV - I could now see clearly! Nothing short of a miracle. What a wonderful gift! And I immediately thought of the blind man who was healed by Jesus. How ecstatic he surely must have been to go from NO SIGHT to PERFECT SIGHT at the Master's hand!
I think this adventure has given me a new perspective spiritually too. "I once was blind but now I see" as the John Newton song goes is so much more than being able to see physically- it is viewing our world through spiritual "eyes" that reveal over and over to us the beauty of God's creation and His Grace and Mercy. That too is nothing short of miraculous!
My eye doctor tells me I have a cataract on my OTHER eye too. But I will have to wait until it "gets ripe" to go through this little adventure again! When that happens, I probably will not have to even wear glasses- I will be the "bionic man!"
SEE YOU later, (get it? OK that's the last one)
The Methmusician
Friday, February 18, 2011
Eating Together...what a concept...
so I'm watching TV today when I saw this program where some so called "expert" is telling about how some research group has concluded that when families sit down to eat a meal together that 71% of the children interviewed said that they would rather do that then go on a family vacation. About 90% of the parents interviewed said that they thought sitting down to share a meal together was extremely meaningful.
So here is my question: why are we spending money on research on something that many of us already know to be true? When I was growing up we ALWAYS gathered around the table at breakfast, lunch (unless we were in school!) and dinner to share in the family meal. It was expected and you had better get to the table the very first time Mom called you! I think it is just shameful that families cannot find time to eat together nowadays. In spite of all the wonderful technology we have today there is no substitute for having a meal with your family-no TV, no computer, no cell phone. TALK to each other! You will be blessed! And don't forget to wash your hands before you eat!
The Methmusician
So here is my question: why are we spending money on research on something that many of us already know to be true? When I was growing up we ALWAYS gathered around the table at breakfast, lunch (unless we were in school!) and dinner to share in the family meal. It was expected and you had better get to the table the very first time Mom called you! I think it is just shameful that families cannot find time to eat together nowadays. In spite of all the wonderful technology we have today there is no substitute for having a meal with your family-no TV, no computer, no cell phone. TALK to each other! You will be blessed! And don't forget to wash your hands before you eat!
The Methmusician
Friday, February 04, 2011
Never Quite Satisfied...
We have had an unusual amount of snow and ice this winter in the state where I live. Oh we usually have some snow and usually schools are closed for a few days but this winter has been a bit more severe than any I remember here in recent years (and I've lived in this area for about 20 years). And I must admit that I am one these people who complains about the weather! It's either too cold, too hot, too rainy or, recently too SNOWY! Why is it that we are never quite satisfied with the weather? I mean we really have NO control over it and we speak of it as if when we do our speaking of it will change it to our liking!
But you know we are like that in our expectation of other people too. It is so very easy to find the splinter in someone else's eye when we have an entire board in our eye! (Jesus said that you know!). And yet we sometimes knit pick over what we consider to be someone's "shortcomings" without regard to the damage we do to them in the inside. We can only hope that someone doesn't treat US in the same way!
I believe the Bible calls this irrational, unjust judgment "bearing false witness." And a wonderful Episcopalian Priest that I know says that "bearing false witness" means "saying negative things about someone else when you yourself don't know what the h--- you're talking about!" (He can use the h word cause he's Episcopalian AND he's retired!).
You might also remember that Jesus said "do not judge lest ye be judged!" And my mama used to say that when you point a finger at someone else remember "that there are at least three fingers pointing back at you!"
All I'm saying here is that I think it would "behoove" us to practice the Golden Rule a little more often. Because if we choose NOT too there is another old saying that will apply to us and that is "what goes around comes around!"
Find some good in someone.
The Methmusician
But you know we are like that in our expectation of other people too. It is so very easy to find the splinter in someone else's eye when we have an entire board in our eye! (Jesus said that you know!). And yet we sometimes knit pick over what we consider to be someone's "shortcomings" without regard to the damage we do to them in the inside. We can only hope that someone doesn't treat US in the same way!
I believe the Bible calls this irrational, unjust judgment "bearing false witness." And a wonderful Episcopalian Priest that I know says that "bearing false witness" means "saying negative things about someone else when you yourself don't know what the h--- you're talking about!" (He can use the h word cause he's Episcopalian AND he's retired!).
You might also remember that Jesus said "do not judge lest ye be judged!" And my mama used to say that when you point a finger at someone else remember "that there are at least three fingers pointing back at you!"
All I'm saying here is that I think it would "behoove" us to practice the Golden Rule a little more often. Because if we choose NOT too there is another old saying that will apply to us and that is "what goes around comes around!"
Find some good in someone.
The Methmusician
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thanksgiving is "Thanks-living"
I know this sounds like the name of a Thanksgiving sermon (which I am sure that have preached at some point and time in my illustrious ministry career!). I always do a lot of reflecting this time of the year. We just celebrated Thanksgiving at our house. We continue to carry on a strong family tradition that goes back for generations.
When I was growing up I can remember all of my aunts and uncles and cousins coming out to our farm for Thanksgiving day. My dad owned a couple of flat-bed wagons and would pull both of the them in the side yard for all the food that my mom would fix and my relatives would bring with them! We always nearly filled BOTH wagons with food and fixin's! Then after the feast, while the adults were visiting, all of us kids would find ways to run off all that food we ate! Good times.
Now we have grown children they have kids. It was such a joy to hear my grandkids offer the prayer for the Thanksgiving meal. And my wife and daughters and daughter-in-law fixed enough food to feed a small army! Then after the meal the guys enjoy a new Thanksgiving tradition-watching football while the women folk go shopping! Then, before everyone has to go home, we enjoy the leftovers for supper. But the most important thing is that the family is together. At the end of the day, I am in my reflecting mode thanking God for such a wonderfully close family.
We are not "rich" by the standards of the world. But we have what we need. We have been greatly blessed by God. We have a very nice house to live in (along with a very nice mortgage!), my wife and I drive decent cars (not Lexus or Mercedes-a Ford and and a Kia!), we have ample food to eat, good jobs, good health, and good friends. But the greatest blessing of all is knowing God. I am eternally thankful that I was raised by Christian parents and that the Lord saved me when I was a teenager. And now that I'm getting older I find myself thanking God for even the smallest things. I find that I am a lot happier when I am thankful.
Do I have stress and problems in my life? Sure. But like the Apostle Paul I'm learning to cope with problems and to be content with what I have. I love the words to this Russell Frager song that our Praise team sings "I've found the power to be free, it's in the way You look at me, I call Your name and then, stand in your Grace again and I will always have a grateful, faithful heart."
I pray that the Lord will continue to make my life an expression of thanks for all that God has done for me.
thankfully
The Methmusician
When I was growing up I can remember all of my aunts and uncles and cousins coming out to our farm for Thanksgiving day. My dad owned a couple of flat-bed wagons and would pull both of the them in the side yard for all the food that my mom would fix and my relatives would bring with them! We always nearly filled BOTH wagons with food and fixin's! Then after the feast, while the adults were visiting, all of us kids would find ways to run off all that food we ate! Good times.
Now we have grown children they have kids. It was such a joy to hear my grandkids offer the prayer for the Thanksgiving meal. And my wife and daughters and daughter-in-law fixed enough food to feed a small army! Then after the meal the guys enjoy a new Thanksgiving tradition-watching football while the women folk go shopping! Then, before everyone has to go home, we enjoy the leftovers for supper. But the most important thing is that the family is together. At the end of the day, I am in my reflecting mode thanking God for such a wonderfully close family.
We are not "rich" by the standards of the world. But we have what we need. We have been greatly blessed by God. We have a very nice house to live in (along with a very nice mortgage!), my wife and I drive decent cars (not Lexus or Mercedes-a Ford and and a Kia!), we have ample food to eat, good jobs, good health, and good friends. But the greatest blessing of all is knowing God. I am eternally thankful that I was raised by Christian parents and that the Lord saved me when I was a teenager. And now that I'm getting older I find myself thanking God for even the smallest things. I find that I am a lot happier when I am thankful.
Do I have stress and problems in my life? Sure. But like the Apostle Paul I'm learning to cope with problems and to be content with what I have. I love the words to this Russell Frager song that our Praise team sings "I've found the power to be free, it's in the way You look at me, I call Your name and then, stand in your Grace again and I will always have a grateful, faithful heart."
I pray that the Lord will continue to make my life an expression of thanks for all that God has done for me.
thankfully
The Methmusician
Friday, November 12, 2010
Seeing God
So I'm sitting in McDonald's this morning having one of those nutritious quick breakfast meals when a song playing on the intercom caught my attention. I'm not sure exactly who was singing it (I think it might be George Straight) but the song talks about seeing God in everyday simple things.
It got me to thinking (you know that happens to me several times each month!). In the song I heard the singer talks about watching his baby being born. My wife and I had five children and I watched that fifth child being born and I can tell you it really is a miraculous thing! I wish I would have had the nerve to watch the first four kids come into this world. And yes, I did see God in that birth! When I hear birds singing in mid-November I see God. When I enjoy time with my wife or my grandkids I see God. When I kneel at the communion rail to receive or to serve Communion I see God. When I hear a song that touches me deeply and stirs my heart, I see god. There are truly all kinds of ways that we can experience the presence of God every single day.
Frankly, I feel sorry for people who choose NOT to seek God or to see God working in their lives. There is lot of crazy stuff going on in the world today and we need something that is constant, true and real. I have found that my relationship with God in Christ IS that one thing that is unchanging and worthwhile. But I also am eternally grateful for the people that God has put in my life who share the same convictions and love. Life is too short to not see God! Wouldn't you agree?
Later
The Methmusician
It got me to thinking (you know that happens to me several times each month!). In the song I heard the singer talks about watching his baby being born. My wife and I had five children and I watched that fifth child being born and I can tell you it really is a miraculous thing! I wish I would have had the nerve to watch the first four kids come into this world. And yes, I did see God in that birth! When I hear birds singing in mid-November I see God. When I enjoy time with my wife or my grandkids I see God. When I kneel at the communion rail to receive or to serve Communion I see God. When I hear a song that touches me deeply and stirs my heart, I see god. There are truly all kinds of ways that we can experience the presence of God every single day.
Frankly, I feel sorry for people who choose NOT to seek God or to see God working in their lives. There is lot of crazy stuff going on in the world today and we need something that is constant, true and real. I have found that my relationship with God in Christ IS that one thing that is unchanging and worthwhile. But I also am eternally grateful for the people that God has put in my life who share the same convictions and love. Life is too short to not see God! Wouldn't you agree?
Later
The Methmusician
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Bad Samaritan
I attended a college football game with a couple of my sons the other day. The stadium was packed and there was much excitement. This was a home game for our team and the opposing team and their fans had driven across several states just to get here. And it is was really HOT for a September day! So along about the second quarter I decided i need a $3.50 bottled water to cool off.
The line to the concessions was long so there i was...waiting. Then I noticed two police officers approaching at the request of a stadium employee. He was pointing to a young fella dressed in the colors of "that other team." Now I didn't really mean to eaves drop but I did and as best as i can tell this young man had requested a cup of ice from the concession stand to give to someone in his party who was obviously having a hard time with the terrible heat that day. And apparently the concession stand policy is that they don't give out cups of ice. So the young fella offered to pay the $3.50 drink charge and got nowhere with that. He was pleading his case to these two police officers who were obviously NOT going to go against "policy." I could not help but feel sorry for this kid. And at one point I almost walked over there myself to say "for crying out loud give the kid a cup of ice! It's not that big of a deal is it?" I wondered if the concession people and these police officers would have shown any mercy to that person needing the ice should they had stroke from the heat.
Well I got through that long line..finally.. and got my bottled water and that young man was still pleading when I walked away. I could not help but think to myself "here is a perfect example of how legalistic we have become in this world when the policy is more important than people. In the New Testament Jesus tells a story about a man who was robbed and beaten and left along the roadside for dead. Three persons walked by, two of them part of the religious "establishment" and one a Samaritan. And as you know the Samaritan (who was the least likely person to help) was the hero of that story. What has happened to that GOOD SAMARITAN? Has he now turned into the bad Samaritan? When I thought about this incident I asked the Lord to please, please let me show compassion on that person who stands in need of even the simplest thing like a drink of water or a cup of ice! And please God, NEVER EVER let me sacrifice people for policy. Oh yeah, and could you help OUR TEAM win next time?
That's all for now!
The Methmusician
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Justice Issues
Well I am really disappointed! I was certain that Michael Jackson was as guilty as sin of child molestation and then he turns around gets an aquital! Is there no justice in the world? Then I read in the paper recently where a jury convicted Ray Killen of manslaughter from a crime he apparently committed some 41 years ago. Either there is no justice or the wheels of justice turn slower and slower!
Now, I am not a fan at all of Michael Jackson. I quit listening to his music some time ago. And I am certainly not a proponent of the KKK and I'm quite sure that Ray Killen is getting what has been a long-time-coming to him! (Although, it seems a bit futile to convice an 80 year old-I mean he's most likely not long for this world as it is, don't you think?). But I don't want to think about justice in classical terms of "getting what you deserve." I would much rather think about justice in more theological terms. I think we need to consider justice in the context of the absolute righteousness of God. Yes, I mean the God of the Israelites who sometimes sanctioned war and death in His Law. Remember Him? He's the same God that we Christian profess to follow and serve today.
True justice is served up when we take the crap in our lives that keeps us from being God-like and let God bury it, as Audio Adrenaline says "on the ocean floor." When we allow our heavenly father to strip us of the filthy rags we call our own "righteousness" and replace it with the unmerited Grace of Jesus' love and life, then WE become "JUSTIFIED." This is God's style of Justice!
But be careful! Don't confuse God's JUSTICE for God's JUDGEMENT! Make no mistake about it, every single last one of us (including Michael Jackson, Ray Killen, you and me!) will be JUDGED by God in the end. And I for one am grateful that God's judgement is always sure and right and fair. I'm also convinced that the faith I have in God in God's son, Jesus Christ will be sufficient grounds for God to forgive me and let me live with my Creator forever. Look, if you don't have this assurance or if you just don't know what the heck I'm talking about, let me encourage you to try to find out about it. It won't make you perfect, but you will enjoy being forgiven! til next time...
methmusician
Now, I am not a fan at all of Michael Jackson. I quit listening to his music some time ago. And I am certainly not a proponent of the KKK and I'm quite sure that Ray Killen is getting what has been a long-time-coming to him! (Although, it seems a bit futile to convice an 80 year old-I mean he's most likely not long for this world as it is, don't you think?). But I don't want to think about justice in classical terms of "getting what you deserve." I would much rather think about justice in more theological terms. I think we need to consider justice in the context of the absolute righteousness of God. Yes, I mean the God of the Israelites who sometimes sanctioned war and death in His Law. Remember Him? He's the same God that we Christian profess to follow and serve today.
True justice is served up when we take the crap in our lives that keeps us from being God-like and let God bury it, as Audio Adrenaline says "on the ocean floor." When we allow our heavenly father to strip us of the filthy rags we call our own "righteousness" and replace it with the unmerited Grace of Jesus' love and life, then WE become "JUSTIFIED." This is God's style of Justice!
But be careful! Don't confuse God's JUSTICE for God's JUDGEMENT! Make no mistake about it, every single last one of us (including Michael Jackson, Ray Killen, you and me!) will be JUDGED by God in the end. And I for one am grateful that God's judgement is always sure and right and fair. I'm also convinced that the faith I have in God in God's son, Jesus Christ will be sufficient grounds for God to forgive me and let me live with my Creator forever. Look, if you don't have this assurance or if you just don't know what the heck I'm talking about, let me encourage you to try to find out about it. It won't make you perfect, but you will enjoy being forgiven! til next time...
methmusician
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
How I Hate Christmas
Well, ok, I don't really hate Christmas...I hate the commercialization of it! Now I know that the Christian tradition of celebrating Christmas actually grew out of pagan sacramental practices. But I also know and am convinced that the nature of God is to take stuff that's bad and make it good. So why not take pagan practices centered around the winter solitice and have a church holiday?
But I think our culture goes too far when it comes to Christmas consumerism. I remember going into a local department store in late August and seeing all the Christmas wrapping paper and ornaments out! Christmas is obviously big business in retail. And I like buying and giving (and receiving) presents as much as the next guy. But when the true meaning of the season, (i.e. the advent of God into the world in Christ) is so smothered by buying, selling and greed, then I think we've gone a little too far.
Even in church we are sometimes hardpressed to really fully appreciate the epiphany because we are so dog-gone BUSY! I hope that you will join me in a simple prayer that we will stop and think about the real reason we celebrate this Holy holiday. Let us not forget that Christ came for every person to have an opportunity to experience reall life in God through Him. JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. Let's make our hearts a modern day Bethlehem where Christ can be born over and over again!
Have a Great Christmas!
methmusician
PS I hate shopping, too.
But I think our culture goes too far when it comes to Christmas consumerism. I remember going into a local department store in late August and seeing all the Christmas wrapping paper and ornaments out! Christmas is obviously big business in retail. And I like buying and giving (and receiving) presents as much as the next guy. But when the true meaning of the season, (i.e. the advent of God into the world in Christ) is so smothered by buying, selling and greed, then I think we've gone a little too far.
Even in church we are sometimes hardpressed to really fully appreciate the epiphany because we are so dog-gone BUSY! I hope that you will join me in a simple prayer that we will stop and think about the real reason we celebrate this Holy holiday. Let us not forget that Christ came for every person to have an opportunity to experience reall life in God through Him. JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. Let's make our hearts a modern day Bethlehem where Christ can be born over and over again!
Have a Great Christmas!
methmusician
PS I hate shopping, too.
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