Change the Whole Atmosphere

How do you want this week to go for you? Do you want to be miserable, irritable? Would you prefer joy? There is a singular choice that you alone can make that will have a major impact, shaping your environment.  What is that?  Gratitude!

People will do things you do not like.  Some will be rude, others just thoughtless. Your food may arrive at the table cold. Your spouse may come home from work weary and difficult. And the list goes on  …   but, be thankful anyway! Find a reason to offer thanks.

G.K. Chesterton reminded us that we need to get in the habit of “taking things with gratitude and not taking things for granted.”  A Christian who wants to reflect the heart of Jesus to the world will learn to be grateful – to God, to others – consistently. It takes practice.  Self has a voracious appetite and will devour as much attention as we give to it. Many of us mistakenly believe that gratitude is something we ‘feel’ rather than a choice we make.  On those days when the kids are mysteriously wonderful and kind, when our spouse is especially attentive to our needs, when our coffee is served ‘just right,’ and everyone on the road is courteous, we feel thankful. (Does that ever really happen?)  If we wait to feel thankful, we will not be thankful often, if ever.  That is why the Lord directs us to choose thanks as a way of life. It is as simple as this: “Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, The Message)

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest and writer, reflects on his own journey writing that “In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”

Gratitude is hard!  I know that from personal experience. I wasted too many days wishing that life were different, allowing myself to get lost in the maze of ‘if only’ and ‘could be.’  What I am learning is that every second spent wishing is a second where I am not present to what God is doing in my life right where I am.  That does not mean that I cannot work to change things, or that I cannot acknowledge pain or disappointment.  Gratitude is not escapism, nor is it denial. Gratitude finds God in the now and accepts His grace.

Let me suggest a plan for being grateful this Thanksgiving week.

1. Begin the day with thanks to God. Do not let it be a perfunctory, “Thank you, Lord, for all You have done.” Make it personal, from the heart, authentic. Speak it.
2. That first person you encounter in the morning – let your first words be thankful and again, make it real!
3. When irritation stirs in you, meet it with your will and replace it with a positive thought.
4. Take some time this week and write your own “Psalm.” (a model might be Psalm 103)

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—” (Psalm 103:1-2, NIV)

This is true – the more thankful I am, the better I become at it. It grows with practice.  Thankful people attract others who are grateful, who have dethroned Self and learned to accept life, not as they wish it were, but as it is.

Here is the word from the Word. Live it! “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.” (Psalm 107:1-2, NLT)  “Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.” (Psalm 107:31-32, NLT)

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Happy Thanksgiving!

CoffeeBreak will be ‘on break,’ until Monday, 11/30.  See you next week.

Finish the race

Thursdays are often the longest day of the week for me, the middle of the pastor’s week, the ‘make or break’ day for weekend preparation. This morning while I was getting focused for the day I thought of the child’s tale about staying in the race.  

 Remember Aesop's fable about a race between a tortoise and a hare?  The speedy rabbit challenged the old turtle to a race. How could he lose?  With so much of an edge in speed, over his heavy-shelled, short-legged friend, he knew his victory was inevitable. Turtle accepted the challenge because he knew something, too.  Mr. Rabbit was over-confident, lacking character!  You know the story, right. The hare turned off the course to find a shade tree and catch a nap.  “I’ll just wake up and speed past my old friend and win the race,’ he thought as he snoozed.  Meanwhile, the turtle just kept pushing along, not stopping. When rabbit awakened and ran to the finish line, he found turtle waiting for him with a bit of advice - 'slow and steady wins the race!'   It is a good Thursday morning story for me.  Sometimes we paraphrase the lesson – “You snooze, you lose.”

Paul says it this way: "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power … put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6:10,13, NIV) Stand your ground! Do everything you can! Then, take God’s strength and keep on standing!

We love those who are attractive – physically. We admire those with charisma.  We are often prone to trust those who 'look' like winners. Mere mortals, the majority of us, are sometimes deceived by the lie that we cannot compete in the race, that we will never win, because we do not look like a winner or because we have too much baggage.  Look around! Stars may get the attention, but the faithful plodders usually carry the heaviest part of the load in life. Finishers often compensate for what they lack in 'star power' with hard work, networking, and showing up every day, on time, ready to do what they are asked to do. In the end, when the star has burnt out or moved on; the steady one is still standing.

God needs steady plodders in His Kingdom who are finishing the race.  What does that look like?  They work at their marriage for God’s glory. They love and teach their children for God’s glory. They develop and use their spiritual gifts, for God’s glory. They practice the disciplines of the Spirit, for God’s glory.  They show up whether they feel like it or not.

We are drawn our culture's myth that there is a ‘secret' that will make life work without struggle. We find it difficult to believe that sin and evil are real, opposed to everything good and godly. But, the Word tells us that are engaged in a fight to the finish.  We are called to soldier on in the struggle with the World, the Flesh, and the Devil! Conflict, by definition, is exhausting.  The Devil seeks to kill and destroy. The systems of this world that surround us are corrupt and oppose the will of God which includes living a life of love, integrity, humility, faithfulness, and sacrificial service. Our own internal desires are often at odds with the call of the Spirit to holiness. We all struggle with temptation to lust, or greed, or laziness, or pride! The Christian life is a pilgrimage, as we walk through a world that is not our home.

The good news is that we do not stand alone!  The Spirit of God is with us, right here, right now. He gives strength to the faithful who seek Him. The Bible calls on us to endure: to keep on walking in His strength even when we just want to lay down and rest. Paul reminds us: "I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him." (2 Timothy 2:10-12, NLT)

Keep walking! Here is a steady, standing word of wisdom from God's Holy Word.  "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ... So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." (Hebrews 10:23-24, 35-36, NLT) “If you hang in there, you will be able to say, at the very end of this earthly life: "This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting—God's applause! Depend on it, he's an honest judge. He'll do right ... by everyone eager for his coming." (2 Timothy 4:7-8, The Message)

Stand your ground! Do everything you can! Then, take God’s strength and keep on standing!

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How Firm A Foundation (Foundation)

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said,

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God, I will still give thee aid!

I'll strengthen thee, help thee,

And cause thee to stand

Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

© Words: Public Domain

Fell From the Fire?

On Friday I lit a fire in our fireplace. The flames and warmth are just right for a relaxing evening.  First, there are small pieces of kindling. On top of that are smaller pieces of wood. Once that has caught fire, burning nicely, I placed two larger pieces on top to sustain the fire.  As the pile burned and settled, one of the larger logs rolled off of the pile.  In a few moments it was just smoking, no longer aflame.

There is a powerful lesson for a Christian about keeping holy passion alive.

“Church, who needs it?” is a question that many Christians are asking, in their heart, if not out loud.  We who shape the worship services must accept some responsibility for that. If gatherings are thrown together, unfocused, without prayer, and the Word is presented in ways that are beyond understanding or disconnected from daily life, it’s only natural for a person to start to wonder – ‘why bother?’  I am not just blaming the people in the pews!

However, there is a casual attitude toward gathering for worship that grows out of a misunderstanding of what worship means and why we gather, too. Worship is not just about your experience. We gather to honor God with our time, our attention!  We present ourselves to Him, acknowledging with our attendance, that He is our God.  On a given Sunday, I see somewhere around half of the congregation present.  Some are resting after busy weeks. Some are doing ‘family’ things. Sports are a factor, too.  In each case, Christians insist that they can worship as they do what they feel is more important than coming together for formal acts of worship and instruction from the Scripture.

So, you think this is just an issue because I am a Pastor, my life dedicated to the organized Church?  In fact, those who brush off the importance of being an active part of a congregation, are ignoring what God says is  ‘critically important.’ The Bible says, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV)

Our spiritual experience is incomplete without Church.  We are part of Christ’s Body, each of gifted to contribute to the whole, none of us self-sufficient in our practice or understanding.  (see 1 Corinthians 12)  Nearly every aberrant or heretical practice begins when a person decides that his/her ‘private experience with God’ is more significant than the teaching of the Church and the relationships found in her.  Like the log that fell off the fire, if a Christian spends too long apart from the Fellowship, there will be an inevitable cooling of the Spirit’s fire, too.  And, on a positive note, there is the factor of multiplied effectiveness and joy that comes from shared worship and service in the Church.

Let’s not confuse the building with the Church!  Christ’s church is us, not our gathering place. That said, we need structure – people with the holy calling of teaching, shepherding, speaking, guiding, correcting, loving.  Yes, the Body of Christ can, and often does, gather in a living room, a school gymnasium, a chapel by the roadside, or a cathedral. I have worshiped with Christians in all of the above and offered my praise and worship to the Living God.

I remember feeling the Presence of God as I worshiped with people whose language I could not understand, sitting on a wooden bench in a potato warehouse that had been converted to a church in India. Our only musical instrument was a single drum!  I also have stood with thousands in huge arenas, pouring out praise, led by skilled musicians, taught by gifted communicators. They were equally rich worship experiences! It is the act of gathering; coming together in the  Name of Jesus, to adore the Father in the Spirit, that is worshipful!  Jesus assures us that “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20, NIV)  He’s in the gathering, not the building.

Thinking about walking away from your church?  If she is not a good church, then earnestly pray for her; don’t abandon her!  God may change the church or He may change you, but the act of loving His Church with prayer and support, is a choice of obedience that the Lord will always bless.  If your church is a good, healthy Body, give thanks for the work being accomplished and pray for those who lead her to keep vision renewed and fervor fresh.  Nothing breeds complacency like ‘success’ even in church work!

This I know: there is nothing that will contribute to the stability and vitality of your faith in a greater way than your church over the course of your life.  God says so! 

Don’t be like the log that rolled off the fire!  The charred piece of wood lies cold, alone, in my fireplace. The fire went out when it got separated from the other logs.  Stay fired up! Keep your holy passion intact by staying ‘in church.’  If the Church is important to Him, it must be important to those who claim to love and serve Him!  You better believe it.

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Here’s a song from the Rend Collective. It is a prayer that I pray daily. Will you pray, too?  And, together, let’s be part of His answer.

Build Your Kingdom Here

(listen by clicking on the title)

Come set Your rule and reign

In our hearts again.

Increase in us we pray,

Unveil why we’re made.

Come set our hearts ablaze with hope,

Like wildfire in our very souls,

Holy Spirit, come invade us now.

We are Your church,

We need Your pow’r in us.

We seek Your kingdom first,

We hunger and we thirst,

Refuse to waste our lives,

For You’re our joy and prize.

To see the captives’ hearts released,

The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace.

We lay down our lives for heaven’s cause,

We are Your church!

We pray,  “revive this earth.”

Build Your kingdom here.

Let the darkness fear.

Show Your mighty hand,

Heal our streets and land.

Set Your church on fire,

Win this nation back.

Change the atmosphere,

Build Your kingdom here we pray.

Unleash Your kingdom’s pow’r,

Reaching the near and far.

No force of hell can stop,

Your beauty changing hearts.

You made us for much more than this,

Awake the kingdom seed in us,

Fill us with the strength and love of Christ.

We are Your church,

We are the hope on earth.

Rend Collective

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