Real Love says NO.

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good."  Romans 12.9 NLT

As a follower of Jesus Messiah I am instructed to:
     1. Love others.
     2. Hate evil.
     3. Embrace good.

So then, not only is it possible, it is commanded of Christ-followers: love people without embracing their broken behavior, like Jesus does. 

Tolerance is NOT love. Love does not REQUIRE tolerance.

In-other-words, I CAN "love the sinner and hate the sin" and BE acting IN LOVE toward those whose behavior I cannot tolerate. I cannot hate broken people.

Love is non-negotiable. Tolerance is fraud.

Do. Love. Walk.
Live it well...M6.8 bN

What Joy!

Water flows, silk across rock.
Resounding concert of joy.
Linger, listen.  Do.

It comes, it goes.
Course of life it forms.
Reflect, rejoice. Love.

Linger, listen
Reflect, rejoice. Walk.

New Every morning--His mercies.

Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with God. 
What joy!




Life is fast.
Live it well...M6.8 bN

Just sing!

 Spring is off to a very slow start, even for Northern Indiana. 

April has been dominated by a blustery chill producing intermittent snow flurries, sleet and almost freezing rain that cuts right through each layer I so carefully fit over this 65 year-old well-worn frame I call home (on this side of eternity.)

Yet each morning begins with a concert performed on cue by the "yard birds" vocalizing--a concert of joy to the human ear. I thought it was curious given the wind, snow, sleet, rain and biting cold we have endured waiting for our weather to catch up to the calendar. But there they were, intent on doing what birds do. They sang, I groused.

Their internal calendar told the birds "it's Spring." They sing with confidence because they know, intuitively, that regardless of what the weather may be like today, it's Spring, and it's going to feel like Spring sooner than later.

It occurred to me this morning, off to another blustery start, as I listened to them sing outside my window, I can do that too. I know my life is "hidden with Christ in God," and even though it may not feel like that today, it will, sooner than later.

Colossians 3.2-4 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."

He put a glorious new song in my heart.  Just sing. 

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Above the Law.

Anger and hate are easy because they are intuitive to our human nature.

Empowered by God, we can do better "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."  Galatians 5.22, 23

No law; Statutory, Constitutional or Sharia can stand against these compelling virtues. They are a starting place, pointing us to the truth about the Universe we can see, but not fully experience; the world we can experience, but not fully understand and ourselves--with hearts so desperately sick, who can know them.

Need help? Let's talk. Message me.


Life is fast.
Live it well...bN M6.8

We will RISE!

Several years ago I received a note from a good friend..."my dad's cancer is progressing. His time here is probably down to days..." When I read those words I was transported back to the last time I was with his dad. I was saddened by this news, concerned for the grief this final act of life would introduce to my friend and his family...and not.

My friend's father did lose his life; but not once was he in danger of losing his hope: the certain promise that he, as a believer in Jesus Christ, would finally be transported into the presence of His Lord and Savior, there to enjoy life as HE designed it to be.

Life is hard, then we die.  Death is of course a very present reality for all of us--the older we get, the more acutely aware we become of our mortality.  We will all lose our lives, but we need not lose our hope.

Praise God for the hope we have in Christ, and the healing death brings for those who have embraced Christ through effective saving faith.  For these death need not be something to be feared; it is a gracious provision that carries us back into a "face to face" real-time relationship with God. Without death, we would be eternal beings, like Lucifer and the legion of angels which were cast out of heaven because of their rebellion...eternally separated from God, without hope of redemption.

Death became the modality that God uses to foil Satan's attempt to co-opt God's crowning creative act, humankind.  So then, death is the definitive "check-mate" and demonstrates God's mastery; always steps ahead of evil and the chaos of sin. Genesis 3 describes the event that initiated the rebellion of Adam and Eve to sin and it's necessary result, death; it's also here that we learn that death is part of God's bigger plan for hope and the redemption of humankind.

The rest, is history, 1 John 4.9,10...

"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son 

into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 

10  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us 

and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

We know that love is a four letter word, spelled H-O-P-E; more importantly, we know that death simply marks the first day of the rest of our lives, 2 Corinthians 4.16-18...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet 

inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary 

troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, 

Every Sunday it's our privilege to gather with others in our community of faith and there, to go Vertical in our worship of God Almighty, the Creator, Sustainer of the universe; the Lover of humankind.  His glory fills that place we gather in and He inhabits the praise of His people.  In those moments I am frequently reminded of friends and family who have preceded me in death...and are in His literal presence even as we are gathered in that crowded room; no more heart-failure, COPD, cancer, diabetes, stroke, dementia, arthritis, infirmity, organ failure--no disease, no broken hearts, no flaw, no pain, no suffering, no regret.  Joy unspeakable. Blessed hope.  

We will rise, thanks be to God.  Stand-firm.  It's a GRACE day. 

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Help!

Celebrated my year #65, yesterday, 45 shared with Laura as my L(w)ife companion. In this photo, about one-month into our dating relationship, Laura was 15, I'd just turned 16. I remember that day like it happened yesterday.

Reflecting on life at 65, I am reminded, again, about the plaintive message in the Beatles tune "Help." It occurred to me...what a tremendous insight that song had into what happens to us as we move into the final third of our lives--but seen through the eyes of those five young men. Hence the plaintive nature of the song.

In fact, from this side of the time continuum I realize that life today is filled with tradeoffs. While I can't "do it all" anymore, the tenderness I experience as Laura, our kids and friends "stand in the gaps" is profound.

The FabFive had it figured out in 1969, they just didn't realize the light at the end of the tunnel was a train, coming to pick them up and carry them into a new chapter; Life is certainly different, it's definitely sweeter.  The challenge remains the same, "...do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God."  Do. Love. Walk.  Micah 6.8

Leaning into my weakness, only to discover God's strength is transformational; the humility that comes with interdependence is liberating.  My life, hidden with Christ, in God. This is the constant that will NEVER change.  Thanks be to God for our blessed hope.  

Life is fast.
Live it well...M6.8 bN

Why?

Please, tell me...

Why is the express line, not very "express?" Why is over-night delivery always 2nd day? Why do yellow lights make people see red? Why is urgent rarely important?

Why do we expect politicians to lie to us, and then get upset when they do? Why do we complain about the quality and direction of government, then refuse to vote? Why do we ask government to lower our taxes then complain when they reduce our services? Why is "public-service" so oppressive?

Why do we make vows we don't really intend to honor? Why do we "honor" people we often don't respect? Why are love and heartbreak two sides of the same coin? Why do we swear on a book we don't revere?

Why are educators accountable, but parents aren't? Why do we need a license to marry, but not to parent? Why can a 15 year old get an abortion, but not a divers license? Why do we mandate an education for "students" who won't try, don't care and refuse to cooperate? Why do so many parents think they can do a better job teaching, than our teachers, but make so little effort at educating their children?

Why do we feel sympathy for those with great need and outrage for those with great privilege? Why is the Humane Society only about animals? Why do we pretend everyone should be treated the same way, when we know that's not the way life really works? Why do we act like everyone is born with the same set of genes, when we know that's just not true? Why are criminals victims and victims criminalized? Why is "Affordable Health Care" so unaffordable?

Why does the right to privacy trump the right to life? Why is "profile" a dirty concept when, if applied appropriately, it can save innocent life? Why does our Constitution work harder for criminals than for good citizens? Why are some lives more valuable that others? Why is justice such a fleeting virtue? Why is it that the smarter we are, the dumber we get? Why has the information highway produced so much uncertainty?

"35...Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."   Matthew 9.35,36

Confused, helpless; lacking direction, weary, burdened?

Find rest...

"28 ...Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'”   Matthew 11.28-30

He...will give us rest.

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

DON'T wait for it.

Tomorrow we get a teaser.

Temps are projected to hit the mid-60's. Who knew 60* something  could feel so deliciously warm, so "right."

We haven't been set free from the clutches of "Old Man Winter," but we can see the day looming fast on the snow framed horizon. Spring is just 4 weeks away--March 21, 2018..liberation day in Northern Indiana.

We just "wait for it." Now, much sooner than later, it will happen.

Life is like this too, isn't it. We wait. It happens; life, happens. If we aren't attentive to this cycle-of-reality we wake up one day and realize, life passed us by while we waited.

That's why now is important. It's really all we have. It's all we need. Now.

"Now" gives us time to live fully in this moment...with certainty, confidence; live now with no regrets. Ah, but tomorrow, tomorrow will be a better day--but what if tomorrow never comes?

Don't wait for it. Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Better than Beethoven.

Many of my friends express concern about the fact that "God is being forced out of the public square." It's become a favorite pastime for People of Faith (yes I'm guilty); lamenting the "sorry state" of the Nation.

What concerns ME?  It's this: People of Faith have come to embrace the notion that the symbolic presence of God is the same thing as the authentic presence of God.   Here is a short list of hot-buttons, not intended to be exhaustive--but illustrative.

• Do we want God in our schools--disciple your children to know and love Jesus. 
• Do we want our Nation to understand that marriage is a beautiful metaphor, designed by God, of a much bigger relationship--and for this reason it is a sacred estate? Love your wife selflessly and trust your husband implicitly.
• Do we want values to govern our economy, greed to be disdained--choose simplicity and invest our resources on behalf of the poor, widows, orphans; be seekers of justice for all the disenfranchised.  
• Are we befuddled by the National obsession with abortion-rights, perplexed by the disdain modern cultures have for human life, and high regard they show for endangered species?  Find your voice and speak passionately-forcefully for the little Ones, consider...adoption, Foster parenting, Mentoring programs.

For too long, too many of us who profess to be followers of Jesus have routinely phoned it in.

• We've been content to build private school sanctuaries, teaching Bible courses, that will disciple our children for us.
• We've turned a blind eye to the failure rate of marriages in our churches.
• We've justified selfish ambition and the boastful pride of life as "what's ours is ours" and left justice to government inefficiency and the dehumanizing impact of its one-size fits all insanity.
• We've ceded the heavy lifting for protecting the lives of unborn-children, the quality of life for born-children to others "called" to missional living.

Consider this: God's plan has always been to show-up via the beautiful music being played through lives well-lived by those who are His devoted followers--the Scripture makes clear that no law can stand against such purposeful, selfless living, "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5.22,23 NASB

Lives lived this way will produce a breathtaking symphony that will bring relevance back to our Mission as His Church--no longer engaged in managing the kingdom (small ''k") but compelled to build HIS Kingdom (big "K"). 

WHEN we take seriously our empowerment, from God, to add value to the lives of people, to make hard lives easier, to speak the truth of the Gospel into the brokenness of life without Christ, to model the transformational reality of the Gospel through the choices and investments we make--with our lives and resources, THEN they won't be able lock God out of the public square. There is no law that can stand against this kind of authenticity.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3.20,21 NASB

I hear a symphony.  Through Jesus Messiah, let it be.

Do. Love. Wak.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Cracked Pots. We are.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection and preparation for Resurrection Day--coming this year on April 1.  I'm reposting a blog I shared three years ago, today.  At that time it had been just a few months since one of the Rocks-of-my-life passed into the presence of God.

Gene Cherrie was my father-in-law.  He was an extraordinary man. I'm hoping these words will help those looking forward to Resurrection Day expand their appreciation for what God in Christ did for humankind at the Cross. That said, reflect and prepare;  Sunday's com'n.

Gene's Repurposed Scissors--Our life in Christ

"The family gathered in November 2014 to say our final farewells and remember Gene in a memorial tribute to his the life and legacy.  At that time I ran across a pair of scissors that belonged to him. My first response--I laughed out loud! Then my heart was warmed as I realized they were metaphor for Gene's life--his legacy, and God's amazing grace.

They are an ordinary three-dollar pair, with customized handle--the one that your middle finger slips into. It's been very skillfully fashioned from a one-inch piece of ply-wood. It's clear that Gene had created a jig from the broken handle; carefully cut the wood using the jig, then shaped it with a grinder to fit precisely the targeted finger; sanded to be smooth and pose no splinter threat to the user.

The stub of plastic it has been attached to was skillfully reshaped to be the base for the new wood-extension. The extension has been precisely measured so that the fabrication slips tightly over the stub with one end slightly longer than the other to provide the proper leverage as the scissors are opened and closed (Physics matter). The extension has been glued to the stub and secured with three very intentionally placed wood screws, two on the long end, one on the short to complete the revision. The screw on the short end has been ground down just enough to allow the scissors to close precisely as they did when they were new just coming off the shelf at Staples.

I immediately asked Betsey, Laura's step-mom, if I could have them--she very graciously said 'Of course, take them.' As I've used these scissors, and yes--reflected on them--over the past several months, I realize they say as much about God, as they do about Gene.

This came clearly into focus for me just this week as I had breakfast with a dear brother-in-Christ and our conversation turned to the impact, the life-long impact, of sin on our lives. There isn't a re-set button for the bad choices we make. The grooves sin cuts into our lives are deep and stubborn, they don't simply disappear when we confess our sin and seek God's forgiveness. The consequences of our willful choices and bad decisions are still part of our daily experience. If it ended there it would be a difficult load to bear. But, thanks be to God, it doesn't.

When we come to Christ through effective faith, God takes us as we are, then carefully, lovingly and skillfully refabricates our lives. The scars are there, still visible--painful--but He restores us. Like Gene's re-visioned pair of scissors, we become fully-functional again. He never throws us away; He picks us up, dusts us off and empowers us to carry on. The scars, the memories, they serve to instruct us each day about His gracious provision, His empowering desire and His loving redemption.

Paul writing to the Church in Corinth (4.1,2...7-10) instructs us...

'4 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods...7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.'

Did you see that? We are cracked pots; pressed not crushed. Perplexed not confused. Pursued not abandoned. Pushed down not destroyed. Suffering, but fully ALIVE in Christ! The scars that remain serve as a map pointing others to Jesus. It is our weakness that serves as such a remarkable witness to the power of God--choosing the weakness of the human condition to transform our spheres of influence one person, one family, one neighborhood, one community, one nation at time. This humble path-to-power is, in fact, the real road less traveled. 

I thank God every day for that pair of scissors. They have an honored place in a simple container, with other tools we use on a daily basis, on one of the counters in our kitchen. Each time my gaze falls on them, I remember Gene--and in that moment, the legacy of his life points me to God's grace, power and love. He takes the total-loss that was our lives and transforms it to treasure...'all I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful out of my life.'"  

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Sunday's Com'n.




Life is fast.
Live it well...M6.8 bN