Black Friday

In a land of more than plenty

We never seem to have enough

On a day of giving thanks 

We're always looking for more

And before the night is done

We will pitch our little tent

Wishing for the next big thing

They sell at the big box store

Dream

Sleepy streams into a misty sea

Fragile hearts held at the seams

What did you hope life would be

When the stars still gave us dreams

Down windy roads stretched ahead

That lead us to hopes and dreams

Of a life imagined in fairy tales 

And seen in shows and magazines

The city lights make a bright sky 

That light a midnight path this way

To memories that keep us hoping

For what we thought life would bring

The imagination of what could be

At times fall short of our reality

Dreams left to linger on and on

Waiting to be come to life again

In the mundane of our menial tasks

We keep to dreams we long to see

That give us hope for another day

To be where we've never been before

Worship That Shapes Us

The strength of our theology shapes the depth of our worship and the depth of our worship transforms the core of what we believe.  This truth stems back to the time of the Exile when God allowed Israel to be scattered.  Up to the time of Exile, the people had a temple, a system of worship, and teachers to study the law.  After the exile all of this had been displaced.  In response, the people searched for a way to preserve their faith and what they believed.  This came in what we now know as the 150 chapters of Psalms.  The Psalms did not simply give them a worship book for Sundays, it gave them a way to learn what they believed and preserved it, no matter where they were.

We are the teachers of truth to this generation, and what we teach must create a space in which obedience to truth is practiced.

We are the teachers of truth to this generation, and what we teach must create a space in which obedience to truth is practiced.  What does this say to us now and what does it challenge us to do as we pastor students?  How are we teaching them to translate worship experience in to a transformational opportunity?
Here are some things to consider:

1. We must go beyond just an experience.  How can what we do and how we worship become transformational in the life of a student?  How do we take what happens at an altar or a worship service and translate it in to everyday life?  Our challenge is to teach students how to carry their “altar time” in the rest of the week.  This challenges us to go from simply creating experience to transformational moments.  It requires us to go deeper and take our student deeper as well. Simply being satisfied in how worship makes us feel is not enough, because that is not what worship is about.
2. It cannot be about worship unto itself.  Sometimes I think a tragedy of the modern church is we worship the experience worship. We like the goose bumps and we like the response.  Worship was never meant to be about us, it is about us coming before God as an act of humility. How are we allowing him to speak to us and transform us?   Our worship must move us forward.   Sadly, I can count too many times I have seen students who actively engage in “worship,” yet no life change takes place, no obedience to the Spirit is manifested, and no desire for Truth or a pursuit of holiness is developed.
3. Our worship must shape our theology.  Consider this, most students won’t remember what you said, but they will remember the song playing in their head.  Music and worship become a powerful tool in shaping the lives of our students and what they believe.  This puts great responsibility on us to examine what we sing, how we worship and what we teach week in and week out.  Is it offering depth?  Will it teach them? Will it alter their spiritual DNA?

John 4:23-24 states, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The true impact of worship is not found in how good it makes you feel, but in how much it changes you. Worship moves us to seek and implement Truth and causes us to become people dependent on the Spirit. It is not tied to a place or a song, but instead it is tied to a deep dependency on the Spirit leading us as we follow. Great worship doesn’t respond with loud noise and shouting, it responds through obedient action to what the Spirit is saying to us and calling us to do in response to our worship, after all true worship is how we live our life out in the everyday facets of our lives.

Let us worship and let it transform us. Let us teach our students to do the same.

A Bird's Eye View

The bird used the stairs.  I used them too.  The difference between the bird and myself was that I didn’t have wings.  It would have seemed much easier for the bird to flap it wings and quickly escalate the stairs, avoiding the unnecessary hop up each step (I’ve done this as a kid, it’s quite a bit of work.)  I don’t know why it used the stairs, it didn’t need to.  Maybe for the bird hopping up the steps was akin to us flying in a plane.  Maybe the bird had a great fear of stairs and wanted to get over this fear.  Maybe it was taking a break from flapping its wings, or maybe it was injured.   Whatever the reason, it simply struck me as ironic.  He had wings.  He would have made pet birds angry. 

I remember the kid who sat in the back of the room and refused to use his talents because things didn’t go his way.  I remember the girl who sat on the side not even aware of her own beauty because she believed the lies others have told her over and over and over again.  They simply hop up the stairs either unaware or just simply refusing to use the wings that are right there for them to use.  It seems we live in a world of clipped wings.  The reasons are endless but the results end up being the same:  we hop up the stairs. 

For many, they know they have wings, they simply refuse to use them.    It’s too much work.  They don’t like how they look or they don’t want to use them they way others are asking them to, or how they were designed to.  I heard one bird got his wings clipped because it was the latest trend.  The bird kind of regrets that now.  Perhaps they don’t think they will work right, or they are embarrassed to use them.  Maybe that was the bird’s problem.  There were a bunch of people around, and it was too busy worrying about what all the people would think of how he flapped his wings.  One awkward flap and it becomes a bad day.

Others are not even aware of their wings.   I’ve often wondered how many Mozarts we’ve never heard or how many Rembrandts we’ve never seen because they potential artists never knew they had it in them.  How many worship leaders have never led, how many missionaries never leave their homes, or how many preachers never preach a sermon?  How many doctors never heal, or teachers never see the light bulb go on in a child’s eye?  They never knew they had the wings to do it.  No one ever bothered to tell them.

Both are equally frustrating.  How many times have we seen a student’s enormous potential, and they remain blind looking in the mirror.  Or how many times has a student seen it, and the take the path of least resistant or in some cases worst resistance, only to clip themselves through poor decisions, never knowing their full potential. 

As leaders, we must help students discover their wings, and to use them as God intended.  Can you imagine the impact they would make if students truly lived up to their potential?  I think the world would be just as impacted now, as it was 2000 years ago when Jesus took 12 cast offs and made them world changers.  He simply showed them their wings, and what an impact they made. 

The reality is the world is greatly impacted by the missionaries, pastors, teachers, doctors, and laypeople every day many times over who have simply used their wings and trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.  If we can convey to our students to simply trust God, being willing to grow, and know that our failures are not fatal, there will be no holding them back.  They just need to stretch their wings.

A while back, I sat in a coffee shop and in hopped a bird.  He was pecking the crumbs off the floor.  I sat at the table eating a scone, which was right above him.  He had also hopped in.  A hot warm scone sat right above him, and he was settling for crumbs on a floor.  He and the hopping bird seem to have the same problem.  They didn’t know what they had right in front of them.

I wonder if it was the same bird. 

They Are Only Giants

One of the realities of ministry is that we will face obstacles and challenges.  The question then is do these challenges stop us from what God has for us, or do we face the challenges and move forward?  Issues such as worry and doubt can become giants that keep us from entering the blessing that God has for us and our ministry.  

When we look at Numbers 13:27-32 we see spies who allowed the limitations they saw keep them from receiving the blessing God had for them.  God sent them in to the land to spy out what he had already promised them.  Instead of realizing that God had already given them the land, they instead respond with fear and doubt, leaving them wandering for 40 years, never receiving what God already had given them!

The ‘giants’ we face can come in many forms, but how we respond will determine the end result. What is keeping us from receiving what God has already promised and given to us? What can we consider as we face challenges? 

Consider these things:

DON’T TURN OPPORTUNITIES IN TO OBSTACLES -  Two saw land and blessing, while ten saw walls and giants. So often we miss the opportunity hidden in the problem. Just beyond the challenge lies the opportunity.  Obstacles are meant to be pushed out of the way. Often we here people mus-characterized as “the bad kid that won’t change” or we hear people speak how “things have always been done this way.”   How often do we write people off, not realizing that God has brought them our way?  We become the agent of change to shape them and direct them toward the kind of life God had intended for them?  

OVERCOME THE ASSUMPTIONS.  The ten spies were looking through the wrong lens.  They already assumed they couldn’t defeat the giants.  What we think we see is not always the reality.  We often approach situations assuming we know the outcome.  This outcome is often based on the limitations we let dictate our lives.  Don’t let the assumptions you have of people, places, or situations remove you from moving forward in what God has for you.  How often do we misjudge or misread a situation, which keeps us from having the opportunity to make a difference?

DON’T LET FEAR BLOCK THE BLESSING.  The ten spies saw the giants, and forgot the blessing God had for them.  The promised land became an unopened gift they would never receive, because fear became the roadblock.  The land was already a guarantee.  They simply needed to take it. Focus on what God has placed before us, not on what stands in our way.   What stands in our way will eventually be behind us if we continue to move forward.  Remember, the giants only look big, but often it is simply a facade.  Fear is a facade that has no power.

TRUST WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN YOU. Don’t let Go of What God has already given you.  God has already given you everything you need to overcome the obstacles that stand in your way. The size of our obstacles always diminish when held up to the glory of God. In the end, when we trust God and allow him to lead us, we find out the giants weren’t giants at all. 

What we Must Do?

a.    Trust God and trust that He is leading you

b.    Find and work with those who are going the same direction

c.    Keep your eye on the promise not on the problem

d.    Change your perspective of how you see obstacles

e.    Seek wisdom and counsel from trusted mentors and leaders

f.     Always keep the vision before you of what God has called you to do

What became of the other two spies?  For 40 years, they wandered with the others.  However, God remembered their faithfulness and willingness to move forward and take the land. In those years, they would come to be trusted men who stood beside Moses, and were raised up to lead.  Of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb would be the only ones to enter the land of promise.  Not only did they enter the land, but they led the others into what God had already given to them so long ago. Trusting God not only becomes an opportunity to be blessed, but also an opportunity to lead.   

So when you look at obstacles and when you face challenges, remember this: they only look like Giants

Tragedy and Comedy

The fiction in my head 

Tells me of stories untrue

And memories that never were

The plot spells my fate

Of epic tales and folklore 

Penning  the end of  my demise

The antagonist lies within

Dancing with woes and worry

Prancing around the masquerade 

It's a tall  tale to believe 

That the story now unfolds

With no consequence in the end

All that leaves me undone,

Is it tragedy or a sad comedy,

Playing over and over in my head?

A Thousand Sounds

As the water whispers

We listen so intently

To a thousand sounds 

Played out in our hearts

The trees wave to us

As we pass quickly by

Carried along the way 

By the beauty of it all

Mountains stretch out 

And pave a way for us 

To behold the majesty

Of all that He has made

White clouds float on by

Against a light blue fresco

Moved by a rushing wind

That leaves us so amazed

All these things He has made

By speaking them into being

But by His hands we are formed

Because of His great love for us

What's In A Name

“What’s your name?”

He sat there, tired, beads of sweat dripped down his face.  He could feel the touch on his hip, and the limp in his step.  He had wrestled with Him all night long.  Never had he struggled so much, so long.  It wasn’t just the physical wrestling, but the spiritual struggle taking place in his heart.

It echoed again in his mind, “What is your name?”

He knew his name.  This wasn’t the only time there had been a wrestling in his heart, a struggle in his mind.  Yet tonight, it all came to this one life changing, life altering moment.

“What is your name?”  “Deceiver” raced through his mind.  He knew why God was asking him this.  It was more than just the name, it was what the name meant;  Deceiver.  His life had been filled with it.  Deception was his name, and he lived up to it well.

“What is your name?”  His mind raced back to the smell of fresh meat broiling on an open flame out in the fields.  It was fresh hot stew that he had just made after a long day of work.  In the distance, he saw his brother approaching.  “Can I have some?”  Quickly Jacob said no, and continued to prepare his meal.  Again Esau asked.  This time a thought came to Jacob’s mind.  But hesitant, he again said no.  Finally Esau, starving after a long day of hunting ,but with no success, pleaded with his brother.  “I will give what ever you want, I am hungry!”  The Deceiver saw his opportunity, and in a moment he had stolen his brother’s birthright.

“What is your name?”  In another instant, Jacob was taken back to his father’s bed.  His deception this time was not his alone, but his mother’s as well.  To complete the process of stealing a birthright, Jacob, with the help of his mother, prepared to gain the blessing from his father.  As he approached the frail image of who his father once was, Jacob, covered in thick fur, and smelling of Esau’s garments, approached Isaac.   Kneeling down, he altered his voice, and prepared in his heart to deceive his own father, for a birthright that was not his.  In that moment, he reputation as a deceiver was sealed.

“The man said, "What's your name?" He answered, "Jacob."  Jacob knew what his name meant, and he knew he had lived up to it well.

 He realized that his life had been nothing more the a deception to others and himself, and surely now, in this moment, God was seeing the same.  His life had reached this moment of fear, frustration, anger, pain, doubt and anguish.   He knew he was about to face the brother he deceived so long ago, the one who’s very existence he had taken away so many years ago.  He feared the rumors he had heard, his brother was seeking revenge.   It was this night, that he wrestled with God.

It was in this moment of struggle, God gave Jacob hope.  He changed his name.  He changed who he was, and changed history.

“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”  Jacob glimpsed.  Israel?  Prince of God?  What about my deception, my sin, my past?  God had taken this all away, and in its place God gave birth to hope, and created a nation.  Israel, the “Prince of God, “the Righteous Man,” the one “Of God,”  the one who once was “the deceiver” would rise to become the father of a nation, and the seed of Salvation.

Heroes Don't Come in Capes and Costumes

Heroes hardly come in cape and costumes. Rarely do they ever know they are the heroes we have been looking for. Never do they assume on themselves the role we have assigned them. Such is the case with my father.

He was born in Ashtabula, Oh to Edith Ostrom Tuttle, a registered nurse, and Stuart Wayne Tuttle, a WW2 Veteran, on January 4th, 1949. He lived the typical life of any kid growing up in the Midwest with adventures filled with snow, paper routes, a dog named Sarge, an older sister, and a family who struggled to make ends meet.

Like many boys his age, he went in to the military. He joined the air force to avoid being drafted in to the army. He quickly learned the ways of life, and how to survive away from home. It was during this time (in the air force) that he ended up at Beale Air Force Base, found a church attend, and met my mom.

This is where our story together begins. Here are the memories of my father:

For as long as I've known, my dad has worked in a paint store, and he knows his job well. I've never seen anyone who can match a color better than my dad, just by looking at the color. I always know come spring, he's going to start cheering for the Cleveland Indians, and at some point, the 1954 season will enter the conversation. He loves animals. We've had dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, fish, and who knows what else. He has built more things for me and my brother than I can count: box hockey, spin arts, basket ball hoops, plinko games, and forts... loved the forts!

Along the way, he taught me how to live.

He raised me to love God and have a sincere faith in Christ. My father's humble spirit, and gentleness is evident to all who meet him. We were in church every Sunday and Wednesday. He didn't just take us, he was involved. He was my children's church teacher, my Royal Ranger commander, and my Sunday School teacher. And he knew how to make it fun. We have more games that he made that still fill up the garage in his home. I've been known to borrow them from time to time.

He was firm, but gentle, in discipline (as he reminded me today, even...). He taught me the importance of discipline and being self sufficient and doing well. In it all, there was never a doubt he loved me, because he always told me so.

He taught me character and integrity. He taught my brother and I to be honest, do the right thing, and do good for others. He taught us that it is more important to do right than be popular, for popularity is fleeting, but character and integrity last a lifetime. His name is worth it's weight in gold. Everyone I know, speaks very well of my father. He taught me how to respect others, and expect the best out of ourselves.

He made sure my brother and I had fun and loved life. We didn't always have much, but we had our family. He was there, and more than just present, he was active in our lives. He made our childhood memories filled with camp outs, slot cars, pinewood derbies, rabbits, guinea pigs, vacations, bb guns, and many endless adventures. He was my Royal Ranger commander, create of many great forts, and someone who always had a good story to tell, and I never get tired of hearing them. Practically every good childhood memory is with my dad and family. I still look forward to fishing, because you never know what a Tuttle fishing trip is going to be like. Lets just say we catch more limbs than fishes.

He taught me the value of hard work. I can still remember the day he called to tell me the owner of McDonald's was hiring, and my dad personally could help me get a job. Needless to say, I wasn't jumping for joy. But that wasn't his concern. He wanted me to learn the value of a dollar, and a job well done. I found myself doing many projects around the house from painting rooms, to removing fences, to cleaning up yards (we had dogs.) If our chores weren't done, we didn't go out and play, and we were given ample time. He was teaching us the values of life.

He is meticulous in doing a good job, no matter what he is doing. He is creative and intelligent. From building the shed that would survive a hurricane,to building go carts, rock smoothing machines, fire pits, puppet stages, and much more. He loved working with his hands. Late in the evening, If he's not sleeping in the recliner after a long day of work, he's busy in the back yard or the garage, "puttering" as he likes to call it.

He taught me how to love my family (and someday, my wife). Family always comes first to him. He reminded me of the prayers he prayed when I was weeks old, lying in the hospital, unsure if I would ever come home. I have seen in him the modeling of faithfulness, commitment, love, and compassion. I saw him care for months for my mom, faithfully visiting her, fighting for her when she couldn't fight for herself, and praying for her always, as she lay dying. I have seen him sleep in his truck overnight, just to be close to my mom, while she was sick. He would wake up, drive to work, then drive back (an hour) to be by her side.

That May, after my mom died, he was the first one I found at my graduation ceremony from Bethany University. He couldn't have been more proud. He always reminds me of how proud he is of me.

He continues to be a loving husband, now to Mary, his new wife of 3 years, and a father figure to Mary's daughter and her husband, Tom and Ange. He is a loving grandfather to my nieces, Natalie, Melanie, Austin, and Taylor.

He is known for always having a harmonica, wearing the same style shoes, and always wearing suspenders. I'm glad he never changed. I liked the consistency in a world that is always changing.

My father is a man of peace and patience. He is the most loving man I know, and the greatest example of who Christ has called us to be. Heroes do not hit baseballs, shoot hoops, star in movies, play instruments, and hold to the latest fashions. Heroes commit themselves to their family. Heroes teach their sons to be honorable men. True heroes strive for honor and integrity.

My dad's hard work of being a godly man is extended to others through his sons. When a student at Sutter High School has a class with my brother, a teacher, it's in no small part to my father. When a kid listens to me preaching about the importance of doing good, and having character, it is simply the extension of my father's words and actions I saw him model to me. When my niece Natalie, sings in the children's choir at church, it's because my father, long ago, instilled in us the importance of faithfully following Jesus.

He continues to be my father and my hero.

My Dad and I

Christmas Traditions (An Exerpt)

I wrote this for my church Christmas program 3 years ago:

You know what I love about Christmas; the traditions. The music, trees, decorating, the presents, the eggnog, the snow (or wished for). The list goes on and on.

Maybe it’s the cold winter nights as you bundle up together with eggnog or hot chocolate, or apple cider in hand, a faint fire flickering dimly in the fireplace, kids half asleep on the floor, and you are watching your favorite Christmas Special, like Charlie Brown Christmas.  And as you watch it, you can’t help notice that Charlie Brown’s tree looks a little better than yours.

Or maybe it’s the morning of Christmas, the kids have just finishing tearing in to their stockings, and you just saved them from opening their presents just yet.  Because this is the time where you have that special breakfast that you and your family have, just once a year, saved for this special day, at this special time, where share in this holy moment of feasting together, knowing that in the midst of this, God is there too, enjoying it with you.

For some it’s the Christmas Eve candle light service.  Remember that service?  Especially as a kid, were you’re watching this flame just flicker in front of you, and you’re trying to make sure the wax doesn’t spill off the catcher.  And you watched in amazement at how quickly the flames spread from candle to candle across the church, and when it was all done there was this sacred glow of candles everywhere as your sang “Silent Night” in quiet unison.

What about you, what kind of traditions did you have?  Which ones have you carried over?  When did you open gifts?

For us, it is more than just trees, and gifts and food.  It’s like these traditions are little heirlooms that have been passed to us, and that we pass on to others.  One of my other favorite things to do each year was to set aside a couple of hours, a couple of days before Christmas, pull out all the gifts that I was to wrap, put on my favorite Christmas movie, grab some holiday eggnog, and go at it.  And there was no better movie to get me in the mood than "A Christmas Story."

There was something about the last day of class at the end of my first semester at Bethany, finishing my last final, packing up, and heading home for that month off, where my dad would have me wallpaper the dining room in my parent's new home, paying me $500 (I was a POOR college student mind you), and enjoy a month full of traditions, food, faith, and family.  This was our year to host Christmas for our whole family: aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, nieces, and everyone!  My mom wanted everything just right, and I was there to make sure it happened.  I was the unofficial "Mr. Christmas" in our family.  Like every other year, I was there to make sure every decoration went up as soon as possible, and stayed up late as possible. I helped hang the lights, decorate the tree, eat the goodies.  Everything!

It was like every Christmas I remember as a child, my family sitting together, celebrating the birth of Christ.  I was still the first one up, probably couldn't sleep, never could.  I was quick to invade my stocking that hung over our fireplace.   I know I was the anxious one as we sat around and had a Swedish Christmas Breakfast, BEFORE we opened presents.  Talk about forms of torture.  It was always a struggle over who would be Santa, passing out the presents,  the fight was over who didn't have to do it.  It was like Norman Rockwell Christmas with Tuttle Twists.

Even when my mother passed away the following October, these were and still are things that held my family together, and the memories I hold very near to my heart.  That following Christmas, just 2 months after she passed, we made sure we still decorated the house, hung up the stockings, and celebrated with our family.  It was a continuation of the traditions we hold most dear, and our common faith in Christ.  And now we continue to build new traditions with new family having been added in the last few years.

It was more than just traditions, they are moments in time.  Memories of another life, Christmases Past, and moments cherished.

It was much more than just traditions, it was Home.

Bread Crumbs and the Glory of God

There's a bird walking around inside Lulu's Coffee Shop even as I type.  He's getting his crumbs.  To him this must be heaven.  He's enjoying the crumbs off of someone else's table, probably been stepped on, laying there for hours, but the birds seems to be pretty happy right now.  What's funny is that no one else is even noticing, at all.

Seems like us sometimes.  We get a tiny little speck of God's glory, mercy, passion, grace, presence, and we camp out there.  We live off of other people's crumbs dropped on the floor.   Yet we miss out on the full course, the hot plate out of the oven, the better that God destined for us.  We settle for the crumbs that have landed on the floor, which were better than we had "outside."  Yet God screams quietly into our hearts... "there's more!  There's something show much better than even this crumbly bliss that you have discovered!"

But its easy to pick up the crumbs, live off of someone else's experiences, struggles, longings.  We ride the spiritual coat tails of those who have fought before us.  We happily peck around from books to church finding the nice little crumbs that make us feel good but have no additional value.  All the while, others have slaved in the kitchen, prepared the feast, and put in the effort to create what the crumb is jealous of: delicacy.

This is what God is calling us to.  But it does cost us something.  The great "meal of God" requires more of us than we are willing to give.  It requires our time in the "kitchen."  It demands of us time at the altar of the presence of God, it requires us the sit in the library of Scripture pouring over the heart of God.  It requires the time, sacrifice, and effort needed to eat from the "delicacy" of God.

Yet we happily eat the leftovers, never knowing the right above the crumbs on the floor, sits the bread of life at the table of God.

Fighting the Wind

As is common in the adventures of my life, I found myself again, along the rocky cliffs of Santa Cruz. The weather was stormy, windy, and cold. One step outside of my car, and I realized I had forgotten my jacket.. So I ventured quickly to the edge of the sea to absorb for a few brief moments the violent beauty that I have grown to love. The oceans ripples were seen everywhere as the wind blew across the face of the sea. The waves crashed along the edge of the coast, creating a beautiful sound only heard in nature. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Not wanting to upset the masses, I quickly jumped back in my vehicular mobile, and headed to church. It was on this drive "home" (isn't church supposed to be family?) that I saw for a brief moment the vivid contrast to what I just experienced. Four children stood fighting the wind. It was picture perfect really. Now I am sure that they were having the time of their life, fighting the sea as they would throw pebbles at the ocean with everything they had. Keep in mind, they weren't just tossing them over the cliff with half efforts. No, they were heaving with everything they had, little rocks against the violent wind. It was an epic battle, with no hope of victory for the four valiant warriors.

It reminded me of a couple things. First, it seems like that is how we are with God sometimes. Our futile attempt to fight Him is liking throwing rocks at the wind. He comes to bring winds of change that will be to our benefit, and the first thing we do is pick up our rocks of tradition to fight this change. We pick up or pebbles of position because we don't like the winds of change that God is bringing. It may threaten our positions of power, or traditions, or current way of thinking. Yet, these are the very things that God wants to crash against. Its the very reason he is shaking us up.

I will be first to tell you I do not like change. I do like being thrown of the course that I have set in the sea of life, yet it seems so often that God brings along the winds to change my direction, because He knows I am needing to head a different direction. Ask my roommate how well I have handled graduating, leaving Bethany, being stuck in a transitional period with no end in site. Yet, its in these travailing winds that God wants me to be.

I guess what made the image of the kids fighting against the wind, is that I saw myself standing on those shores. I am spiritually, emotionally, and foolishly throughing rocks again the wind. I guess its time to stop, and stand with my face in the wind, and enjoy the ripples and tides that God has brought to me during this time. It's time to embrace the wind.

Thoughts on Thanks

In this land of plenty, too many of us are left wanting.  To those who would say “I have no reason to give thanks” I would ask you to look again.  We have a roof over our heads and a place to rest tonight.  We have clothes to keep warm, family who love us and friends to share our lives with.  We seek pleasure when we desire and comfort is often found near.

Maybe this season has struggles because of trials you might face.  We can be thankful that we live in a land where supply is abundant to those even in need so that we can go on another day.   Where we can gain help from sorrow and pain. A friend spoke today of even find thanksgiving in death.  Wheat is sown to the ground, a seed left to die, so that it can come to life again.

Some will look back a remember those who are no longer here, and their hearts will be filled with sorrow.   I would say we give thanks for the memories of mothers and fathers, of sisters and brothers, and of loves lost that once gave us joy.  How dreary a place it would have been, if these were people we had never known?
Paul found joy in suffering, and gave praise in the midst of trial.  Scripture compels us to even find joy in tribulation knowing that God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and seek Him.

In this we have most to be thankful for:  that Christ came down and gave his life so that we could be made whole.  Redemption is made available to all who would receive it and grace and forgiveness is obtained by the mercy of God through His son Jesus.

My prayer today is that you find peace in your suffering, that God will supply all your needs and that you find hope in Christ Jesus.

Today I give thanks because I know God is good and His mercy endures forever.

Salvation, Justice, and the Heart of God

(These are pieced together exerpts from a paper written for 'Pentecostal Perspectives On Justice, The Church, and Society  Class.)

"The struggle for justice began long ago in a garden that now resides in antiquity.  A man gave in to temptation from a snake, a woman ate a fruit, and humanity was removed from the garden.  Separation from God began.  The struggle for justice is as old as time itself, and it is helped along by the broken nature of our humanity that was altered in the garden.   We had been made in the image of God, created by His very hand, and it was His breath that brought us life.

The garden represented all that was good and right.  In the garden there was hope.  There was hope in the future, in our creativity, and in the endless possibilities that lay before us.  In the garden was peace.  There was no war, nor injustice, or prejudice.  There was found harmony with God and each other.  In the garden was relationship.  There was relationship with man and woman, relationship with man and nature, relationship with man and God.  It was good, and it was right.  All of this was lost after the fall.  Since that time, God has been working to bring about the redemption and restoration of man.  Our search for  justice is our search for redemption.  It is a search for a hope to make things right; to return back to the time of the garden.

The tragedy of the Garden was that man was now in bondage to sin.  Sin is separation from God.  Sin works against the nature God intended, and works against all that is good and right for humanity.  Since the Garden man has fallen in to terrible disarray.  Men have ruled over other men unjustly.  Men have sold other men for profit.  Women have been raped and sold for pleasure.  Children have worked long hours for little to no wages.  Sin has worked in to the very core of our nature and has brought us far from the beauty of the Garden

God’s love for humanity and his hatred for injustice caused him to send His Son Jesus to bring about our ultimate redemption.  In His desire for relationship with us, Christ died on a Cross to restore what we had lost in the garden so long ago.  Jesus stated  in Luke 4:18 his purpose best when he said “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” .  Christ came to bring our redemption from sin and to set men free.  He came to set us free, not just beyond death, but here and now.

In order to know social justice, we must know the heart and nature of God.  We understand God to be the embodiment of love.  In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes a beautiful explanation of love.  He describes it as being not boastful, not envious or keeping any record of wrongs.  The nature of God is patient, kind, and does not dishonor others.  “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:6,7, NIV)  This is the nature of God.  Scripture teaches us that we had made in his likeness- his image.  We were meant to reflect these attributes as well.  The Bible goes on to teach that God is Father, Son and Spirit.  We will focus on the Spirit for a moment.  We read in Galatians that the fruit of the Spirit, the product of his nature, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, selflessness, and so much more.  If this is the nature of God, and this is who we were intended to be, then the work of social justice works to restore these qualities.  Salvation works to accomplish this.

If salvation brings redemption, then do not our acts of love, kindness, and goodness begin to display the full redemptive work of God through social justice? If faith without works is dead, then do our works of justice become faith that has come alive, that therefore reveals the nature of God to a world that is dead in sin?  Justice works to bring the dead back to life.  When we fight to restore families, we bring goodness. When we give a cup of water, we show love.  When we fight to end war, we bring peace.  When we act against slavery we bring hope.  When we do not boast, show pride, or elevate ourselves, we work against the power schemes that have kept men in bondage.  “Turning the face of the church outward, giving its resources away, blessing the community, unleashing the gifts of laypeople to serve – this is what our living God desires for his church.” (Lewis 2001, 115)


Christ was the “good news” sent to earth.  But what was this good news?  Was it just being kept from the flames of Hell?  Was there more to this plan of salvation?  Jesus said he came so that we would have life, and more abundantly.  He went on to teach that salvation was to be transformative and would work to reverse the curse of sin on humanity.  And it did just that.

We know that fulfillment of all things came through his Son Jesus and he brought with him the Kingdom of God to earth.  While we come to understand that the Kingdom of God is present, and actively present at that, it is not a full complete coming of the Kingdom.  There exists an element of the “not yet” that still is yet to come.   This culmination will be at the end of the age with the arrival of the ‘not yet’ upon Christ’s return, and with it will come the full reality of God’s justice and judgment upon evil.     We see Kingdom of God working against accepted norms of society, even present within the Church.  Christ went so far as to say to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who hate you.  He came to bring a dramatically different way of living.  The Kingdom of God became present to be the change agent of a world corrupted by sin.    It actually works against all that is destructive to humanity.   This Kingdom invades the ordinary life and brings transformation.

God has called the church to act.  We work to elevate the human condition.  We have the endless possibility of transforming our world.  By doing this, we are not only helping our fellow man, but we are doing as unto Christ.  We work to advance the kingdom of God here and now.  The church must act in powerful tangible ways that bring about long term change, not just band aid solutions.

The beauty of Pentecostalism is the natural marriage that can exist between justice and Pentecostalism.  The movement thrives on the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives. There is a great appeal to the Pentecostal movement that can empower our movement to justice.

God’s heartbeat is justice. God’s purpose is redemption.  Salvation works to bring redemption and elevate humanity to a level of dignity God intended.  The end of all things will find us not in a Garden, but in a holy city.  And really it isn’t an ending, but a restoration of all things.  It will be the beginning of all things made new.  We will find ourselves in a city where the God of Justice has set things right and made us whole.  It will be His ultimate act of mercy.

For All Eternity

Diverting all our days

We live in momentary ways

For we have been caught up

In a temporary world

We did not know.

We have played charades

Of how to live and let die

In a poor fleeting life,

Found in a distant place

Not called our own.

Amid our borrowed masks,

We wore them to blend in

With a fallen broken world,

We had so long thought

Was not meant to be home.

We became pretenders

Of a shallow existence,

Holding fast to our comforts

And Longing for reception

In a place we don’t belong.

How have we so forgotten

That we are the children

Who are born of redemption,

Anticipating and longing

For a time without end?

We are the messengers

To a world weighed down

By transgression and iniquity,

Who long for a sacred hope

From all they have known.

A narrow path has been laid,

So rarely traveled down,

Calling us live a different way

As strangers and refugees

looking for an unending home.

Brevity of Life

In the brevity of life
we hold to few things
that remain dear to us
at the end of our days

The ambiguity of time
and the frailty of hope
leave us distant still
from what we long to love

Enduring pain we suffer
that lingers in moments
that happen so quickly
Keep bottled up inside

Yet we hold out for more
in moments of anguish
We are moved to believe
There still is more to this

The shadow of our souls
reminds us light exists
just beyond the sorrow
that we have held on to

The memories  we carry
Resound an eternal echo
That reminds our heart
Of a Hope beyond this life

For Grace extends to us
Freedom found in mercy
Setting us free from pain
That has bound our heart