Wednesday, October 28, 2009

"The Fear Factor"

Wouldn't life be wonderful if all we had to fear were werewolves, vampires and the occasional witches brew? That would be nice, but we have much greater things to fear. Let's see...where do I start? Well, there is H1N1 that experts estimate will infect 65% of the population...and then there is the ongoing economic and unemployment threat...Terrorist are still blowing up cars and we are all too aware that their eye is on bigger targets that will cost a greater number of lives...North Korean and Iran are just fascinated with testing nuclear missiles...and, then there is Jon Gibson, at least he frightens me sometimes (Just kidding, Jon...well...no, I am kidding)and those are just global fears not mention more local and personal fears.

With all these things to fear in our world, it makes me wonder, how much of what I do or don't do is driven by fear? Before we are too hard on fear, let's be thankful for fear. Fear can be healthy. For instance, I want my kids to fear sticking their finger in the light socket. However, it is very easy for fear to very quickly leave the realm of healthy. You can always tell when fear crosses over to being unhealthy, because when we have unhealthy fear it keeps us from living.

You see, healthy fear helps us live (not sticking my finger in the light socket helps me live without being electrocuted). Unhealthy fear keeps me from living by causing me to withdraw from life and others. Unhealthy fear paralyzes. It isolates. It convinces me the only way to be safe is to stop living in some way...For example, since H1N1 is spreading so quickly, unhealthy fear says, "Don't leave the house." Unhealthy fear says, "Terrorists may high jack an airplane again so never fly again" or "The economy may never improve so cash out and hide your money in a mattress." Unhealthy fear moves fear from serving as a healthy safe guard to an irrational trying to control what we cannot.

Recently, I heard another pastor say, "As the world gets darker, the church ought to shine brighter." Of course, he stole that from Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before all people, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

In other words, for the Follower of Jesus our response to the fears of this world is not to deny or ignore them, nor to hide from them. instead, we are to shine all the brighter. We are to live life to the full in Jesus and as we live by faith and not fear may others see God and praise him.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

"The Point of No Return"

The other night I went through a Yellow traffic light and said, "Past the point of no return." I suppose I said it out loud to some how try to justify that I hit the gas when the light turned yellow rather than slow down (What are you looking at me like that for...Like you've never done that). The truth is I learned that phrase in driving school many years ago. In all reality it is a phrase not of justification but permission. When the light turns yellow and you are already committed to go, it is better for you to keep going that to try and stop after you have gone past the point of no return.

I was thinking about how life is regularly calling us to go past the point of no return; to commit ourselves to going all the way in one thing or another. For instance, when you jump off the diving board you go past the point of no return. You are going in the pool whether you change your mind in mid-air or not. Marriage is going past the point of no return. Dating is easy to get in and out of but marriage makes a spiritual and legal commitment that is costly to end. Major purchases such a house require a past the point of no return choice. No Bank will agree to let you sign a loan that says, "I agree to pay on this House the next 30 years unless it would seem otherwise financially inconvenient". Everyone who does anything valuable at all in their life does so because they make "a past the point of no return" choice...it applies to relationships, jobs, education and 100 small choices every day. The reason we move forward in life is because we hit the gas and go past the point of no return.

The same is true spiritually speaking. If I am to keep moving forward in my relationship with God, then regularly God will bring me to "past the point of no return" choices...some of them are small such as will I incorporate corporate worship into my weekly schedule, while others are as significant as teh decision to be baptized.

Baptism is a choice to go past the point of no return. It is saying, "Father, you went all the way for me and I am ready to go all the way with you." In baptism my faith is no longer merely personal, it is public meaning that God can use my faith not just for my benefit but anyone he should so choose. It means that I am committed to living in his forgiveness and following him wherever he leads. For our spiritual forefather's, this meaning of baptism was nothing to be ignored. During times of persecution, when people made a decision to be baptized they were most literally putting a target on their backs. And yet, they chose to follow Jesus' command to be baptized. That is going way past the point of no return!

Romans 6:1-4 expresses this past the point of no return faith: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live any longer to it? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore, buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

So, far 12 people have signed up to go past the point of no return in baptism this Sunday! It is not too late for you to make this decision as well (just email or call me). For those of us not being baptized, our presence is just as important. Their baptism will remind of us of our own. Furthermore, it is our chance to celebrate and support our brothers and sisters in Christ in going past the point of no return in their faith. It is going to be a powerful day of celebration. See you Sunday!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

"She Noticed"

Last Sunday he came to worship with a cast on his broken hand. As he stood in line to pick up his child from the Kidz Zone, a little girl noticed his hand. Sierra is her name. (Sierra is a little girl that our society would say has special needs, but around here we just call her special). She signed with her hands to her mom and asked, "What happened?" Her mom asked and he explained he had broken his hand. Then Sierra asked, "Does he need an IV?" Sierra has had to many IV's in her life to keep track of...she has been through so many surgeries and has many more to come, so she was concerned that perhaps he would need one too. He explained he did not need one. Then she asked, "Did it hurt?" He said, "Yes, it did." Then Sierra did something he did not expect...her eyes filled with tears...she hurt for him...with him. Already in her young life she knows all too well physical pain. And because of what she has been through, already she has learned a lesson that many adults fail to learn that when you hurt, it means a lot to have someone else notice. It means a lot to know someone else cares. It means a lot to have someone cry with you. He said to me, "Chad, I just met an Angel" and then he told me the story.

I was going to find a Scripture to go with this, but then I thought, isn't this what the entire Bible is about?

Thank you, Sierra, I needed to be reminded of the powerful ministry of noticing!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

"Message in a Bottle"

I read in the news this week about a bottle with a message written by a woman who tossed it in the ocean in 2003 off Cape Ann in Massachusetts. The bottle was recently found 3000 miles across the Atlantic off the coast of France. The message came from Ann Hernandez, a lighthouse keeper on Thacher Island where she had thrown bottles with notes into the water every October on her birthday since 1991. In the note she identified herself and urged the finders to send a card to her. The people who found the note in the bottle tried to fulfill that request but learned that she had died unexpectedly last year at age 61 from complications from surgery.

Obviously, I never knew Ann Hernandez, but as I read the story something inside of me hoped that she would get her message answered. And then to think that someone did respond but it was too late...for some reason the story left me feeling disappointed for her.

I think I know the reason I felt that...We send out a message hoping that someone will hear, someone will care, someone will respond...We put up a prayer hoping the same thing of God--that He will hear, care and respond. And then we wait...hoping the reply will come before its too late.

To all of you who have sent out a message and put up a prayer and are now in that uncertain time of waiting, The Bible invites us to be certain of this: "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:5-7.