Help getting home.

This song has been on my mind and heart over the past several weeks. 

I know that someone, perhaps you, is out there struggling, searching, feeling lost, but unable to find your way to the calm delight we all long for--and you are ready to embrace a new way.

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." Matthew 11.28,29

Listen to Revelation, a soulful heart cry for new direction and real meaning for life. If it resonates with you and you'd like to know more, contact me at goodneighbaier@yahoo.com.

You are loved.

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Help.

Listening to the 1965 Beatles tune this morning, "Help."

"When I was younger, so
much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone,
I'm not so self-assured
Now I find, I've changed my mind,
I've opened up the doors.
And now my life has changed
in, oh, so many ways
My independence seems
to vanish in the haze
But every now and then
I feel so insecure
I know that I just need
you like I've never done before.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down
And I do appreciate you being 'round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won't you, please, please help me?"

As I was taken back to another (MUCH younger) time in my life, it occurred to me that the (young) Beatles had uncanny insight in writing about what happens to us as we move through the final third of our lives; a time filled with change we 't can't control, loss we can't prevent and tradeoffs driven by, that's right, change and loss.

While we can't "do it all" anymore (not that we ever could!), the tenderness we experience as our spouses, kids and friends stand in the gaps is profound. It's in those moments we discover the rich, mysterious, blessing of interdependence.

Help is good. 
Life is grand.

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Its Enough.

Today's predicted high: 51. "It's begining to feel alot like...WINTER."

But that's just fine. Lawns are--almost--done for the season, the air is crisp and filled with the fragrance of fresh coffee. As the season changes and our pace slows down, a new perspective emerges.

We glance back--and give Thanks. We look up--and are humbled by "the Word made flesh." We anticipate 2018--and feel energized by the prospect of a fresh start.

That said, life happens TODAY. Today is where we live; that's all we have, that's all we need.

Its enough.

Father in heaven, may Your grace empower us to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly wth You, TODAY.


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

Trying Times.

"These are the times that try men's souls" wrote Thomas Paine in his pamphlet The American Crisis published December 23, 1776.  The Colonies faced the almost certain prospect of defeat in their war for independence--for liberty.  Paine implored Americans "don't give up the fight!"  

As the curtain begins to drop on 2017: we are racked by recriminations, accusations and at times violent "resistance" fueled by an angry election for the 45th President, between two very flawed candidates; our economy remains fragile, the world is a more dangerous place than ever, we face the prospect of a nuclear Iran--still, an ascendant China, rouge-state North Korea, and troubling news about the future of Healthcare; all made more ominous because of poor leadership--on both sides of the aisle--from those we've elected to make good decisions.

That said, the fact remains that every generation of Americans has been forced to face down a crisis; yet they survived, thrived and grew strong on an IDEA called, America.

We must remember to "keep the main thing," the main thing. The "idea of America" has been the fuel driving our resolve to be one nation, under God, indivisable, with liberty and justice for all; an idea those who traveled this way before us thought to be worth sacrificing, fighting and dying for. Indifference to this "big idea" is the real, the urgent threat to our liberty.

Resolve to do your part; work hard, make informed decisions, be a person of strong character, celebrate interdependence and respect people who disagree with you--but press them to think outside their "box" and you, think outside yours. Don't give in to tyranny, fear or indifference--be strong and of good courage. Don't tolerate incivility; choose kindness.

Invest in a legacy that will inspire a new generation.



Live it well...M6.8 bN

Life is Short.

When the road of life is clear and smooth,
too often we miss the beauty within our easy grasp.
We gaze ahead with intensity 

through the portal which beckons us,

"...move quickly along the way! 

Life waits...just ahead." 

Indeed it is the journey, not the destination 

that unravels the mystery.

Life is short, live slow...and well.

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

Keep your eye on the ball.

The cardinal rule of good hitting--baseball, golf, billiards--is of course, "keep your eye on the ball." 

That said, my mission as a follower of Christ--to proclaim the truth about God, His love for humankind, His provision for our redemption--does not require me to fear a culture filled with souls who "are like sheep without a shepherd."  It does NOT require me to win the so-called "culture war."

Jesus saw the crowds of distressed people and was "moved with compassion" all the way to the Cross where He crushed the power of sin, once-and-for-all.  God's Word makes it clear who the enemy is..."For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places"  Ephesians 6.12

God's Word tells me what it is I must do to engage these evil adversaries and prevail; keep my eye on the ball...

"10 ...be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."  Ephesians 6.10-24

Note that this passage does not instruct Christ-followers to revile the sinner, legislate a solution that protects my family, leave the Union, or disengage from "life in the world--not of the world."  This is not a political war, not a culture war--it is a Spiritual battle that calls for weapons fashioned by God for taking down, taking back, strongholds.  Our weapons?  See...truth, righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, faith, salvation, God's Word, intercessory prayer, wisdom from God to speak the truth in love with boldness behaving as an Ambassador/Doulos (bond-servant) for the King.

When we allow ourselves to be drawn into a "culture-war" mentality, we lose; people yet to trust Christ and experience spiritual re-birth lose.  We allow the "the rulers, the powers, the world forces of darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness" to pick the time and place of the struggle; we lay the Armor of God aside--and we are impotent in the face of such evil. It's high time believers figure out "who and where" the enemy is and the rules-of-engagement; then take the fight to the enemy as per Paul's instruction in Ephesians 6.10-24.  Only then will we see the tide of evil begin to recede. 

We will not prevail in the long-term by building higher walls around the spiritual reservations we have fashioned our churches into,  by asking Focus of the Family to lobby our politicians, by finding conservative-too often shrill--politicians to write laws and pack the courts; cursing-the-darkness won't win the battle. 

Choose God.  Love people.  Know who the enemy is and "10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."  Ephesians 6.10   

Our battle is NOT against flesh and blood.  The stakes are infinity higher than a culture-war; eternity hangs in the balance for those yet to embrace Christ with effective faith.  

For the sake of the Kingdom, and especially those who have not yet secured a place in the Kingdom through effective faith in Christ, keep your eye on the ball.

Life is fast.

Live it well...M6.8 bN

HOPE.

In February 2015 we received news that every family dreads might be a part of their  future: our beloved 13 year-old grandson, Braden, was diagnosed with cancer.   Braden waged a courageous battle with this dragon, but in the end, his body could not gain the upper hand and on June 28, 2016 he "leveled-up" and bounded into the arms of Jesus--leaving for us a legacy of grace, mercy and confidence.

Our lives have been changed, but they have not been wrecked. Braden lost his life, but not once in the process leading up to his last breath on this side of the vale, did he lose 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.

I am grateful beyond words 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

DEATH levels the playing field of life. No one ever gets out alive. Feels capricious and mean-spirited. Yet, not; you see had not death been allowed to efficiently rampage through humankind, with no exceptions, we would be once and forever separated from experiencing the face-to-face, real-time, relationship God created us for in the first place. It's through this portal that we bound into eternity; it's the portal Braden bounded through. 

Without death we would be chained to a relationship of enmity with God; we would be eternal beings, like Lucifer and the legion of angels which were cast out of heaven because of their rebellion; no reverse, no repair--NO hope.

Death became the modality that God uses to foil Satan's attempt to co-opt God's crowning creative act, the human race.  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 human-kind.

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, 

since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"What is unseen is eternal..." welcome to the real world.   In Christ, we will rise; thanks be to God.  

It's a GRACE day.

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

Cracked Pots.

Three years ago, today, Gene Cherrie--Laura's dad, passed into eternity.  I'm reposting this as a "shout-out" to an amazing man.

...As we prepared to say our final farewells in a memorial tribute to his life and legacy I ran across a pair of scissors that belonged to Gene.  My first response--I laughed out loud!  Then my heart was warmed as I realized they were metaphor for Gene's life--his legacy.

Gene's scissor project

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...

"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."   He wants to do it for you too.

Say "yes" to Jesus, today, “...'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.'12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"   Romans 10:8-13

Hallelujah! What a Savior.


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

Vexed; Not Beaten.

Some years ago I was asked about a passing comment I'd made in reference to the Tower of Babel; the inquisitor wanted me to expand on the comment.

I've always attempted to find "dynamic equivalents" in the culture around me to help people understand a deeper principle from the Scriptures. The Tower of course was the penultimate expression of hubris on the part of humankind; our effort to shake a collective fist at God and say "See, you aren't so transcendent after all." Foolish pride led to an inflated opinion of who we were; God breathed, language changed and chaos ensued. We discovered we were no match for the transcendent God.

Fast forward to modern culture: God, in his grace, has allowed mankind to apply his intellect and ingenuity, these also graciously granted by God, to "discover" thousands of things that insulate us from the ill-effects of the fall: drugs, asphalt, steel, plastic, roads, air conditioning, engines, automation--the list is endless. We in turn, tainted by sin and swelled with pride, believeing ourselves to be wise "shake our fists" at God and say, "You see, the Scriptures are myth; there was a big-bang and then there was 'protoplasm' and look at how we have evolved...we have the power to give and take life. We don't need myths to prop us up anymore. We ARE god." 

In reality, everything we touch we corrupt. Look at what we call our "system of Justice." We condition the air at the same time we poison it with hydro-carbons. We pollute the planet, poison our bodies, can't beat cancer or aids and when/if we do, something else always emerges. Regardless of how effective we are at blunting the effect of sin on life and the planet, sin always trumps our best efforts...and God allows it, to point us to our need for a Savior and His gracious provision for our redemption.

The farther evolved civilization becomes the further it devolves into moral and spiritual chaos--abortion, failed economies, addiction, violence, corrupt governments, greed, broken relationships, idolotry, shaminism, social injustice. Think about it, in 1965 LBJ gave us the Great Society. These unfunded mandates have done nothing to enlighten culture and end poverty--but they have driven us to edge of bankruptcy and destroyed families while perpetrating genocide on the poorest of the poor. The smarter we get, the dumber we are. We can run from God, but we can't hide.

So then, civilization as we have fashioned it, has become mankind's' most recent Tower of Babel; the work of "our hands" which demonstrates our independence, our ability to "get it done without God." We set out to be like God, and in a final irony, we create the very modality that could be the end of life as we know it. We can destroy it, but we can't fix it..."and all the king's horses, and all the king's men, couldn't put humpty-dumpty back together again."  The lie that deceived Eve, continues to vex us; but we aren't beaten. 

This Truth has set us free..."When we were utterly helpless...God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5.6a,8

Hallelujah, what a Savior!



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

Grace. Amazing!

"...while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."  Romans 5.6

The reality of redemption, Jesus died in my place, gifted me with the will to say "yes" and choose godliness.

My choices shape my character. 

Godly character will empower me to be the kind of person He (God)  uses to make hard lives easier.  

Making hard lives easier is a legacy that will transform my world, one needy, undeserving person at a time.   This is the miraculous power of amazing grace.

Say "yes" to God's gift, new life in Jesus Messiah. 


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