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Writing on the Wall

The gospel reading at church this morning told about how Jesus opened the eyes of the blind man.

“I was blind but now I see.”

Tonight I opened the Bible to Daniel.  The section was called the “Writing on the Wall” and it talked about how King Belshazzar  needed someone to interpret the writing on the wall:

Daniel answered the king: “You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else; but the writing I will read for the king, and tell what it means. The Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, splendor, and majesty.  Because he made him so great, the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Whomever he willed, he would kill or let live; whomever he willed, he would exalt or humble. But when his heart became proud and his spirit hardened by insolence, he was put down from his royal throne and deprived of his glory; he was cast out from human society and his heart was made like that of a beast; he lived with wild asses, and ate grass like an ox; his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God is sovereign over human kingship and sets over it whom he will. You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this; you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your consorts and your concubines, might drink wine from them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your very breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify. By him was the hand sent, and the writing set down.

Daniel 5:17-24

As I read this I thought how easy it is to see where the kings went wrong.  How easy it was to see the proverbial “writing on the wall.”  They let their greed and pride get the best of them and as a result lost all of the goodness that God had bestowed.  It is so easy to sit in judgment and say, if God gave me kingship, greatness, splendor and majesty — I would bow to Him, I would glorify Him, I would be humble and grateful.  Wouldn’t I?  Of course as soon as I started typing this thought, I was quickly reminded of all the gifts God does bestow on me.  And all the times I fail to glorify Him, all of the times I am not humble and grateful and all of the times I covet something else, or bow to the “gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone,” Facebook and electronics.  And I thought back to this morning’s gospel reading, “I was blind but now I see.”  Wouldn’t it be nice if every day we could see the writing on our own wall, if we could see, really see what God is trying to tell us, if we could see, really see all of the goodness that God has bestowed on us and be grateful and humble.

Thank you God for all of the gifts you give me.  I know I am not worthy.  Everything I have is because of you.  Please give me the grace and wisdom to see, really see.  Please open my eyes every morning to your grace and mercy.  I am humbled by your greatness and by your merciful love.  Your love is all I need.

I am grateful!  I am satisfied!

 

 

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God lifts us up for the slam dunk

This morning, I woke up early and decided to open the Bible while I ate some Frosted Mini-Wheats.  The Bible fell open to John chapter 8.  In John 8, Jesus saves the woman from being stoned and reminds her would be assailants:

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

I have always found this passage very easy to grasp. People in glass houses should not throw stones.  None of us have any room to talk.  Or are righteous enough to judge others.  Easy to grasp, not always easy to live up to.  But today I read further:

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.  How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”  Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.  A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free.”

John 8: 31-36

I read this passage over several times, particularly the last three sentences:  “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.  A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free.” At first it was very troubling to me.  And I was filled with this feeling of hopelessness.  “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”  Well, we all know that we are all sinners.  So we are all slaves.  “A slave does not remain in a household forever.”  What does that mean?  We don’t remain on earth?  We don’t remain alive?  Of course both of these are true.  We don’t remain in God’s household?  We are not truly part of His house, His kingdom?  This is where, the feeling of hopelessness set in.  Because I know I am a sinner.  I also understand that all humans are sinners and that we really cannot opt out of being a sinner here on earth.  So is it hopeless?  I want to be able to not be a slave to sin.  I want to remain in God’s household forever.  But from everything I read and hear and understand, I cannot choose to do that — I will always sin — so isn’t it hopeless and why do we try not to sin, if we know we will fail?  Is anyone else feeling hopeless with me, now?

So I put the Bible down and thought — maybe I will try to open it again later and it will be a happier place.

Then as I was driving to church, I had a moment of clarity, or at least I think it was. My hopelessness came, because I was thinking only of myself, and my pride was getting in the way saying if I cannot fix it, then it is hopeless.  If I cannot not sin, then  I am a failure.  I was totally missing the last sentence: “So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free.”  Jesus frees us.  Jesus is our hope. I was putting myself ahead of God.  I was thinking like a child: if I can’t do it on my own, then I don’t want it.  I am not able to do it on my own, but God is.  I just need to be humble enough to accept it.  And I need to be humble enough to ask for God’s grace and mercy — to ask Him to free me.

Ok, starting to feel a lot better.  But I was still struggling with a question that has haunted me before.  Why should we keep trying not to sin, even if we know we will fail and continue to sin.  Because God asks us to try.   By trying we show our love for Him. (This time some clarity came from basketball.)  We all root for the under dog.  (I am watching #11 seed Xavier University trying to beat #1 seed Gonzaga right now in the NCAA Elite Eight.)  Why do we like the under dog?  Because they don’t give up — they keep trying even when the odds are against them.  Why do they keep trying?  Because they love the game, they love their team.  God wants us to try.  And understand that when we try, and when we accept our failure and turn to Him, he will lift us up to the rim, so we can finish with the slam dunk.

Jesus,

I love you!  I do not want to sin.  I want to live in your household forever.  I need your help.  I need your grace and your mercy.  Forgive me for my sins.  Break the chains that bind me.  I know that when you lift me up, I will truly be free.  Lord, Lift me up!

Amen

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Joy & Peace

It is late Friday night.  It has been a very long week.  I have been gone since 5 am this morning and just now getting home at 11:30 at night.  The  weekend plans are packed with 3 soccer games, 1 baseball game, 2 meetings and probably 4-5 hours of work, maybe more.  And at some point I need to pack and prepare for a three-day trip.  I am tired.  And there is no foreseeable rest in sight.

I quickly opened the Bible tonight, ready to just crawl into bed and collapse.  Here is what God told me:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!  Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

The section is labeled “Joy and Peace”. And that is exactly what I need right now.  God always knows just what to say!  I rejoice in the Lord!  He is mighty indeed and He is near. I will let go of my anxieties (hand them over to God) and in prayer and petition, make my requests known to God.    Lord, I need rest.  I need help.  I look to you.  I put my trust in you. Lead me, guide me, hold me.

Now I just need to think about what is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and gracious and excellent and worthy of praise.  I think about God because what else is all of these things? GOD.  God and all that He creates.  The beautiful sunrise breaking through the darkness of night.  The new buds on the trees and the daffodils starting to bloom.  The newborn calf and the 5-year old’s laugh.  Friends forged in faith.  LOVE.

Peace

Joy

Thank you God!

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Steadfast

Some days are just not good days.  But I came home and opened the Bible, and this is what I heard:

My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials.

Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.

Cling to him, do not leave him, that you may prosper in your last days.

Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient.

For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.

Trust in God, and he will help you; make your ways straight and hope in him.

Sirach 2:1-6

Just the reminder that I needed!

Lord,

Grant me a steadfast spirit!  I trust in you!

 

 

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Eye-Opening

Today’s Bible  verse was “eye-opening” to say the least:

As they left Jericho, a great crowd followed him.  Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “[Lord,]  Son of David, have pity on us!”  The crowd warned them to be silent, but they called out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on us!”  Jesus stopped and called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”  They answered him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” Moved with pity, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight, and followed him.

Matthew 20:29-34

Now, I know I have heard before the comparison between the blind men and the rest of us.  We are all, at times, blind to what is right before us.  And sometimes we are blind to God.

But what struck me when I read this passage was the crowd warning them to be quiet.  The blind men were calling out  to Jesus “open our eyes” and the crowd was trying to dissuade them, telling them to shut up.  Sometimes it seems like today’s crowd is still trying to silence those who seek Jesus, those who long to have their eyes opened.

Lord,

Help me to continue to cry out for you, even when the world tries to silence me.  Open my eyes, Lord!

Amen

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Promises, Promises

Lent is the time, that I make promises to God.  I promise to give up meat on Fridays.  I promise not to eat candy until the Easter Bunny brings me an Easter basket full.  I promise to do good.  And most years, all of my good intentions on Ash Wednesday fall apart long before Good Friday rolls around.

Today, I opened up the Bible as I waited in the drive thru line at Chik-fil-A.  (Thankfully it is not Friday, so I wasn’t breaching a Lenten promise.)  Here is where I landed in the Bible:

Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, “This is what the LORD has commanded: When a man makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself under oath to a pledge, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.”

Numbers 30:2-3.

What struck me today, was not incredible guilt for all the times I have not kept my promises to God, but rather the joy of knowing all of the times He has kept his promises to  me, to us.   And I was struck by the thought, who am I to make promises to God?  Promises that I often do not have the ability to keep.  Promises that are often made in the form of a bribe:  God if you will just do this, I will never do that again.

Promises are often meaningless (as any politician knows).  It is almost as though our normal words are so void of truth, that we have to say we promise to give any effect to our words.  (Even more effective is to lock pinkies or cross our heart when we make these valuable promises.)  Our society seems to “thrive” on promises and the breaking of those promises.  How many times do you click on internet boxes promising that you have read the terms and conditions of whatever new app, device, or website you are wanting to use.  We all know you haven’t actually opened and read the lengthy terms and conditions (that would take several minutes just to scroll though, let alone read).

So why do we promise? I would love to promise not to make any more promises — but that would be just as meaningless.

Father,

Thank you for being so faithful and true to us.  Thank you for keeping your promises.  I know you don’t need or want verbal “promises.”    Grant me a clean heart and steadfast spirit, that I may speak through my actions and true heart rather than settling for words or empty promises.

Amen.

 

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Reflect on Your Experience

I think God may be trying to make a point.  Yesterday the Bible opened to St. Paul reminding me that any gains on earth may be meaningless.  And today the Bible opened at Haggai.  (Now I must confess that I have no idea who Haggai is, and only discovered a month ago that there was a book in the Bible called Haggai.  It is a pretty short book.)  But, here is what I read this morning.  See if you hear the same thing that I do:

Now thus says the LORD of hosts:

Reflect on your experience! You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not become intoxicated; you have clothed yourselves, but have not been warmed; And the hired worker labors for a bag full of holes.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

Reflect on your experience! Go up into the hill country; bring timber, and build the house that I may be pleased with it, and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. You expected much, but it came to little; and what you brought home, I blew away.  Why is this?—oracle of the LORD of hosts— Because my house is the one which lies in ruins, while each of you runs to your own house.

Haggai 1:5-9

Reflect on your experience, the Lord says.  We work, we eat, we drink, we have clothes to wear.  But we are not satisfied.  We expect more. (Remember the commercial with the little kids saying they want more — that’s us — or at least its me.)  Why are we not satisfied?  Because we run to our houses (our material things) instead of God’s house.  We are looking in the wrong places, building up the wrong things.

I hear you, God!  But what you are asking is so hard.  I need your help!  I find myself thinking I will worry about that in the next life, right now I need to make it through this life and the pressures and rewards of the world.  I know that is wrong.  But it is so easy to fall into that habit.  I know that focusing on You and Your word and Your love will satisfy me in a way that no instant gratification of this world ever can.  Help me to change my heart and my mind and my focus.  Help me to run to your house and build up your house.

 

 

 

 

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Turn Back

Today I started the Augustine Institute’s Forgiven series.  Powerful.  If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it (at least the first session, which is all I have done so far).

We talked about how sin separates us from God — not earth shattering news, I know.  But it’s not just the sin, but our response to it which separates us.  We separate ourselves from God by doubting his love for us when we sin.  Read more

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St. Patrick and the Good Shepherd

I had no idea that St. Patrick worked as a shepherd for a period of time.  It is true you learn something new everyday and that is what I learned today.

I say that only because of the coincidence of where the Bible opened today.  Today I opened the Bible to Jesus’ description of the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of John:

“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

John 10: 14-16

I have read or heard this part of the Gospel many times before.  But what I heard today was: we are all one.  Too often it seems we try to split up into teams, sides or folds.  We focus on our differences.  There are so many today who may not feel like they are in the fold.  I suppose we all feel like that at times.  But Jesus’s words are clear.  Whether you belong to the fold or not, He came here for you.  Regardless of your country, your race, your preferences, your religion, we are all one flock.  And Jesus came to shepherd us all.  To lead us to our Father.  To lay down His life for each and every one of His sheep — even when we feel completely lost and left out of the fold. Even when the world tries to separate us.

St. Patrick  found sheep who weren’t in the fold and brought them to God.  He helped Ireland hear God’s voice.

Lord, help me be like Patrick.  Help me reach out to those who may feel outside the fold. Help me to ignore the differences between others and me (all of which truly are minor),  and to not get caught up in the divisions that differences create.  And finally help me listen to You!  Shepherd me O Lord!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March madness, God’s gladness

I believe that God likes basketball.  He made us in his image and it certainly seems that we like basketball.

I enjoy watching, rooting for the underdog, watching the sweetness of victory — the joy that is shared among the players and the fans — and watching the “agony” and sometimes heartbreak of defeat.  As I was watching tonight, I happened to open my Bible again (a double header day):

You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God, for:

“All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts; but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

1 Peter 1:23-25

I was struck with one thought as I read this, with one eye on the basketball scores (and my bracket that was quickly going down the drain):  March madness is a beautiful microcosm of all worldly things.  Perishable.  Whether your team wins the game, wins the tournament or even experiences the ultimate Cinderella story — the victory is perishable.  The victory is fleeting and will eventually wilt.  Even the worst loss, the humiliating defeat, the broken dreams.  These too are perishable.

Next fall the teams will all start anew.  This year’s victories and losses will be meaningless.  Just memories.  As with most things in life.  Easy come.  Easy go.  Today’s peaks, quickly turn into tomorrow’s valleys.  But one thing remains:

GOD.

All the glory of today will fade away.  All the glory of March Madness will be gone by mid April.  But the Glory of God reigns true.

So cheer your team to victory (as long as they are not playing my team), and remember one team endures forever.