Category: Blog

Thoughts from here and There…Priceless Not Worthless!
I like short stories that offer me insight and understanding that moves beyond the everyday course of my life. This is such a story.
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”
Hands started going up.
He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first let me do this.”
He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.
“Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.
“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us ‘as the apple of His eye.'”
You and I are still priceless. I like that. I live for that, and I hope that you do as well.

A Good Lesson

Several years ago, a new preacher moved to Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, “You’d better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.” Then he thought, “Oh, forget it, it’s only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a ‘gift from God’ and keep quiet.”

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, “Here, you gave me too much change.” The driver with a smile replied, “Aren’t you the new Preacher in town? I have been thinking lately about going to worship somewhere. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.

“I’ll see you at church on Sunday”

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, “Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.”

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us to the test! Always be on guard and remember (as I try to remember) that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself “Christian.”

How are you doing. Remember the Christ is here to help.

Thoughts from here and there…It’s not too late.

It’s too late. He is being dragged down into hell by demons. He has one hand over one eye and in the other is a look of ominous recognition. He understands, but it is now too late. This is a scene from Michelangelo’s painting of the Last Judgement.

On an Easter Sunday morning it is too late for the guards that blocked access to the tomb. It is too late for those who sought to falsify the story with a tale that has lived even to this day. It is too late for a Roman ruler who washed his hands of the whole mess and gave the man to a mob hungry for death.

It is not too late for those who were called friends and disciples. Oh, they fled the scene. On an earlier occasion he was denied three times before the cock crowed. In despair, with heads lowered from heavy hearts, they gave up and returned to hide it out in an upper room. The anguish of apparent loss hangs heavy like thick fog in the valley of hopelessness. It only appears to be too late.

Its not too late because there is a flash of light like lightening and the stone is rolled away. Its not too late because the beautiful voice of the representatives of a gracious God reveal that he is truly risen indeed. It took a while, but eventually the disciples realized that it was not too late. They accepted and incorporated his resurrection into the very core of their lives and teachings. This is true even of Paul, who claimed to be a disciple like one born out of wedlock. He was determined to know nothing accept Jesus Christ.

I read this story as told by Ann Weems and how it relates to Easter and worship and life shared together.

“Hearing a southern accent, Ann Weems was reminded of the time she was in Wisconsin leading a worship service at an Interim Ministers’ Conference. Before supper that first night, a man with a southern accent came up to her and asked, ‘Where are you from?’ When she responded, ‘Nashville,’ he smiled and said he had known it.

“‘Who are your people?’ he asked.

Ann recalls the surge of memories which swept over her. She saw faces and names and even smelled some of the sweet aromas associated with home. She had answered the question before: when she went to college in Memphis and when she had married and her name changed.

I knew what it meant: To whom do you belong? Ann writes. It is an ancient question. It’s a means of identification, a claiming of ties. It can instantly open doors or shut them in your face.

“‘My father is Tom Barr,’ Ann replied.

“His face lit up with a look of recognition. He told the people with him, ‘She’s one of us! She’s Tom Barr’s daughter.’ They gathered around and led her to their table, talking about people they knew twenty-five years ago in Nashville.

“We dashed back in time and it felt right, Ann recalled. I belonged. I was accepted. I know who my people are.”

We are the people of God. It is never too late. There is always time to join the resurrection throng and shout loud hosannas of praise for what God has done in Jesus Christ.

The Cocoon
This story comes in many forms and with differing detail. No matter, all of them make the same point. Please, read on!
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of his life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
It was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
The cocoon is a marvelous symbol of Easter. We would be butterflies. Jesus trials, trial and resurrection speak of the nature of life and relationships. Out of the grave emerged a butterfly. Jesus’ story speaks to us of the nature of our lives, our tasks, and the rewards of the future. Life may at times be extremely painful. We cannot ignore the pain. We choose to work through it for the eventual beauty of character and life that may be ours through Christ. Ultimately, there is a resurrection!

Thoughts from here and there…Covenant

A Church Covenant is vital for the understanding of our Christian community as a Congregational Christian Church.

I recently read that “Karl Barth once compared the creeds and confessions of the church to the guardrails that border the narrow roads of the Swiss Alps. Only a fool with suicidal tendencies would want to drive across the Alps without the guardrails. But it would be equally foolish to mistake the guardrails for the road; when we start driving on the rails, disaster is imminent.

In writing this article Timothy George went on to reflect that “to push the analogy further, Jesus Christ is the Road, and the Bible, as interpreted by a covenanted congregation of baptized believers in continuity with the apostolic witness, is the light by which we are able to see clearly both the road on which we travel and the guardrails that protect us from dangerous deviations.”

Christ is the Road. We have no difficulty in accepting this conclusion. The Bible is the is the source of light as it is understood within the context of a “covenanted community.” If the church has no covenant it cannot be a covenanted community.

To review the question “What is the nature and importance of a covenant,” I offer you some quotations that I found on the Internet. I apologize to the author. I have misplaced the reference. The words are not mine, but the intent is mine.

“A covenant is simply a solemn promise by which people commit themselves to common action. The most important element in the life of any church is commitment. Christians must be able to count on one another, the way family members depend on each other. This should go without saying; it is part of being a true Christian.

“The raging spirit of independence in America has led many to disregard fundamental life commitments: to spouses, to children, and (for believers) to the body of Christ. We Christians flit about from church to church, shopping for a perfection we never find. The large number of churches in any community makes it easy to change churches like we change seasonal wardrobes. Most of us are not used to any real commitment to a local church.

“A church covenant not only serves as a focal point for mutual commitment, it also clarifies a common understanding of what the church is and what exactly we are committed to do together. This is also an essential thing for a church since so few Christians really understand the Bible’s teaching about the nature and functions of a local assembly. The church covenant can serve to identify the essential points of agreement which can then serve as a positive focus for the group. The non-essential points of disagreement can be handled with charity and patience over time without undermining the unity of the body.”

The Ozaukee Congregational Church Covenant to which all members agree, accept and implement:

“We covenant together of our own free will, to love God and to enjoy God forever, to walk in God’s ways, known and to be made known, to study the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, to live and work together in unity and peace, and to care for those whom God has given us to love.”

Thoughts from here and there…How much time do you have?
I was deeply impressed with this story. Mary Ann O’Roark in an interview with Anne Lamott talks about her friend Pammy and herself.
“I was raised to keep all the family secrets and present myself in such a way that people would be either envious or approving. But keeping up a facade like that takes so much energy.
“When my friend Pammy was going through chemotherapy, and I asked her if the dress I was wearing made me look fat, I was making a fuss about the dumbest things, and Pammy looked at me and said, Annie, you just don’t have that kind of time. It was so profound, it was like I was in a cartoon and somebody conked me over the head. I got it.
“Pammy died seven years ago. But I still live by her words: You don’t have time to live a lie. You don’t have time to get the world to approve of you. You only have the time to become the person you dream of being. You only have the time to clean out your mean and ugly spots, areas that drag you down and hurt other people. You only have the time to accept yourself as you are and start getting a little bit healthier so you can be who God needs you to be. In a way, it’s exhilarating to say, This is really who I am, and I’m not going to pretend just because I have the sneaking suspicion I’m not good enough. God meets you where you are.”
God meets us in so many ways and in so many places. God meets us during Lent to reminds us of the brief nature of life and on Easter to loudly declare that there is life after life. Get the message?
Mary Ann O’Roark, an interview with Anne Lamott, reprinted from Clarity magazine.

The Christian’s Immune System
“If there is no immune system to resist heresy, there will soon be nothing but the teeming infestation of heresy.” —Thomas C. Oden
Your immune system is a complex defense system for suppressing and eliminating infections. Agents that can invade your body live everywhere—in the air; on dust particles, food and plants; on and in animals and humans; in soil and water; and on virtually every other surface. They range from microscopic organisms to lager parasites.
The vast majority of these organisms do not produce disease, but some do. This majority is usually kept under control by your immune system but, if that system becomes weakened or you encounter an organism to which you have not built up a resistance, illness results.
We live with the constant battle that is going on between the body and infection—a battle your body usually wins, but not always. We don’t have to be told how important our immune system is for our good health. A strong and healthy immune system protects us from disease.
We know how important it is that we pump–up the immune system with vaccinations, injections or oral immunization agents. We can be immunized for the flue, measles, chickenpox, diphtheria, mumps, smallpox, and many, many more threats to health and life.
It might be well to think of the Christian religion as an immune system that protects us from dissolution and death. But the benefits that Jesus Christ offers us include much, much more than immortality.
The great plague that, more than anything else, infects us and inhibits us is selfishness. The selfish need an immunization of love. Harry Emerson Fosdick in “Riverside Sermons,” wrote: “Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.”
Bitterness is the end result of selfishness. It is a deep feeling of anguish created by anger, resentment or animosity to people or life. Life owes us and it has not paid off. Only the application of the therapy of love can gradually wash away the fruits of bitterness.
Thomas C. Oden speaks of an immune system for heresy. Heresy is like an infection. Heresy can be understood as an opinion or doctrine that is not in line with the accepted teachings of Jesus Christ. It is more than false teachings; it also has to do with improper attitudes.
The siren call of the heretic enters smoothly into the ear and mind. The message is one that supports our own personal gods, whatever they may be. The message infects our morals, our ethics, our values, our attitudes, and our relationships. We are victims. We are bound by unnecessary restrictions. We do not allow ourselves to experience the pleasures of life. It is an old song which reverberates from Eden to the present day.
There is a vaccine which we can take that helps the immune system resist heresy. It is the good news taught by Jesus Christ. There is a clinic which dispenses the vaccine, it is called the church. The clinic is open seven days a week to provide the information and use of the antitoxin that saves us not only from the heretics but also from ourselves. The invitation is open. It’s up to you.
It was a very wise pastor who observed, “The most extraordinary thing about the oyster is this: irritations get into his shell. He does not like them. But when he cannot get rid of them, he uses the irritation to do the loveliest thing an oyster ever has a chance to do. If there are irritations in our lives today, there is only one prescription: make a pearl.” Harry Emerson Fosdick

The following story that is a prime example of the love of friends. Its application moves on to love for our families and our love for God.
A story is told of two friends who were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”
They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near drowning, he carved on a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”
The friend, who had slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you carve on a stone, why?”
The other friend replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away, but when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone, where no wind can ever erase it.”
You may not be able to carve something good that is done for you in stone, but you can write it on the mind and heart and remember it from time to time as an aid to expressing love for someone for whom you care for.
Pastor Kevin Martineau quoted in Pastor Tim [mailto:posts@cybersaltlists.org] Cybersalt News, Today’s Illustration

Thoughts from here and there…
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portugese, no. 43.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:43-45a NRSV).

He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” (Matthew 22:37-40 NRSV).

“Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? (Luke 6:31-33a NRSV).

“But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 3.4-8a, NRSV).

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law, Romans 13.8-10, English Standard Version)

Love is acting rather than reacting.

“Love is the willingness to extend one’s self for the nurture of one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”