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 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 h0pe.

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

Liveitwell!

A stone of Remembrance.

This is a till now unpublished blog I began nearly three years ago.  It remains unfinished...on this side of the veil.  I felt an urgency to deliver it to you, in this unfinished form, tonight...


I'm still gasping for air.

Braden died 9 days ago.  I spent time this morning at his gravesite.  Laura asked me "what is it about being there that helps you?"  Sentences began to roll from my lips in a staccato fashion as though I needed to convince her that it wasn't a silly investment of time.  Of course, she didn't need that from me.  She is his grandmother and swimming in the same sea of pain I feel over his loss.

The person needing convincing, permission really--was me.  He isn't there.  He is with Messiah--Paul instructed us clearly, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (Philippians)." Yet I find myself drawn to that place where we carefully, lovingly, thoughtfully laid his body; why?

I believe it's because Braden was fearfully, wonderfully made, knit together in his mother's womb and known in eternity past by God, fashioned in the image of God, creator of the universe.  His body bore that image.  He isn't in that body anymore, but it's all I have left till I join him on the other side of that portal to eternity, when we will stand together with that "great cloud of witnesses" in the presence of the King.

So we established a "stone of remembrance" in that place; it helps me to remember him, it gives me a quiet place to go and reflect, to talk with God about my pain and to honor Braden's life, his legacy.  

A "stone of remembrance..."

Liveitwell! 

Route 66

I hit 66 this week.  I don't consider myself to be a "senior citizen," which of course is just wishful thinking at this stage in my life.  While I don't "see" myself that way now, the truth is, I can certainly see "that place" from here.

Life is so much faster than I ever imagined it would be and so much more than I ever dreamed it could be.  My cup isn't half-full, it overflows.

• In High School a guy named Mark Zier walked into my life and lovingly led me to a life-changing decision to trust Jesus Messiah as my Lord and Redeemer; then he introduced me to a girl who eventually became my for-life companion.
• I have been blessed by that girl, Laura Cherrie, who became my wife (we were both 19), help-mate, mother of and for our children, my best friend and companion, for 46 years and counting!
• Neither of my parents were college grads and when the time came for me to enroll, my father died;  one month after I graduated from high school.  There was no money for higher education.  God provided, first at Duke were I received my B.A. and then at Talbot Seminary where I earned an M.Div. all without student loans.
• God blessed us with two children.  Erin and Joseph have made me so proud because of the people they have become; honest, engaging, generous, interesting good-hearted young adults.  Our "second" son Matthew, and "second" daughter Miranda are amazing in every way.  These four are our closest friends.  We prayed from the time the children were born that God would bless them with stellar life-mates, He did.
• We have six grands, three boys and three girls.  Our first-born, Braden leveled-up in June, 2016, after a sixteen-month battle with cancer.  He was 14. He lived it well.  We miss him so very much.  We were never privileged to caress one of our little girls--we lost her to a miscarriage.  Our hearts have been broken but not crushed.  Kellen, Gabriella, Grayson, and Gwendolyn remain and our lives are full as we come alongside their parents to love them well.   They have made us laugh, given us hope for the future, loved us in a special way unique to our role in their lives...and enjoy hanging out with us!
• I have enjoyed two modestly successful careers centered around helping people; for 26 years as their Pastor and, now, for the last 18, I'm that guy who takes the "scarey" out of the risks of everyday life as their State Farm Agent.
• Over the years I've witnessed lives change in long-term and very profound ways; I have played a part in that process as a tool in the Master's Hands; what a privilege those moments have been.
• While I have experienced disappointment in and betrayal by friends, my life has been rich beyond measure because of folks who've come alongside and embraced me (changed me) with their friendship.
• I have traveled with people through the most difficult intersections of their lives, prayed with them and waited; then watched God do what only He can do..." exceedingly, abundantly beyond anything we could ask or imagine."
• Laura has loved me and patiently waited for me to become the man she needed and so richly deserves.
• The roles (the work of my hands) I have chosen to invest my energy in, have been challenging and rewarding.  Not once have I felt trapped in doing what has been my life's work.  It's been and continues to be too much fun.
• My girlfriend's dad, (my future father-in-law) stepped into my life as the man I needed when at age 17, my father died--he continued to be a rock for me until his passing in 2014.
• Mentors have invested their lives in me.  They've taught me, listened to me, cried with me and believed in me. 
• Life has softened me.  Tenderness comes easily today.

I enjoy a rich tapestry of memories, some good and not.  These memories confirm what most people eventually come to realize: there are a few regrets, there are scores upon scores of very special people and wonderful events, whose images remain clear to the smallest detail.  I smile each time I think about these people and replay those special moments. 

There has been the failure, good fortune and difficulty; pain, lost dreams, heartbreak and victory.  But through it all runs a story, my story, of God's grace transforming me, using me, teaching me and most amazingly, loving me with an everlasting love. 

I pray that when my run for the prize concludes, my legacy will be people I've touched along the way saying, "I love Jesus more."

Life is fast.


Liveitwell!

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 drivers license? Why do we mandate 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 lives? Why does our Constitution work harder for criminals than for good citizens? Why are some lives more valuable than 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 gives us clarity, stamina, vision, energy, peace and rest.

Life is fast.

Liveitwell!

A gray, cloudy day

Lake slips into a mist of gray
Horizon broken by trees stripped by Fall, 

bracing for winter.
Seasons change, storms pass.

A metaphor for life?
Fifty shades of gray, stripped by storms, 

bracing for loss.
Where is the hope?

A Blue Herron floats over the water.
The Spirit floats over the chaos of life.
Flashes of color break through the mist.
Seasons change, storms pass.
God--not lost in the gray.
Hope.

Dust to Diamonds.

Given the presence of carbon--along with vast amounts of time, temperature (rangeing between 1800 and 2400*F) and extreme pressure (650,000-850,000psi) the Earth will produce diamonds.  It`s this remarkble process that makes diamonds a realatively rare and always valuable comodity.

It should surprise no one that God uses a similar process in bringing people with effective faith into a beautiful reflection of the image of our Saviour, The Lord Jesus Messiah.

Dust to Diamonds.

Paul decribes this process for us in his second letter to the church at Corinth...

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 we are 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.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

--2 Corinthians 4.7-18 NLT

Pressed on every side, perplexed, hunted, knocked-down; NOT crushed, NOT despairing, NOT abandoned, NOT destroyed.  BUT suffering; sharing in the death of Jesus--for one glorious purpose: that the life of The Savior might be clearly seen in our bodies, IN us.

Dust to Diamonds.

God uses hard places to fashion us into a new version of ourselves, still us, but transformed in ways that manifest His presence, His grace, His mercy.  This is not what we will be, but we are sufficiently different in ways that produce confident expectation--hope.  Look at how Paul describes it to the church in Rome, where he compares our struggle with the cataclysmic impact sin has had on the Earth; thus all creation waits...

18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

--Romans 8.18-25 NLT

Dust to diamonds.

What is responsible for this transformation and the hope it delivers?  Paul makes this clear to us at the beginning of the eighth chapter of his letter to the Roman church...

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

--Romans 8.1-4 ESV

Don`t miss it...for God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (humankind) and for sin (He absorbed the penalty for sin on His own body in our place) He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.

Sin broke the planet.

God is in the process of restoring what He created.  The tipping point of the restoration is the passion, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Messiah.  We have been redeemed and restored, positionally, now we are waiting--suffering still, but knowing that`it is finished.` 

In that suffering, as we lean into our weakness, our fragility, there, in that moment the Manifest Presence of God shines brightly through us and our suffering--for us, for a watching world to behold in wonder.  His strength made manifest through our weakness.  Indeed, `the wound is where the light shines through.`

Dust to Diamonds.

Suffering is NOT payback. 
Suffering is NOT God`s plan spinning out of control.
Suffering IS the last dying gasp of sin--Check, NOT Check-Mate.
Suffering IS the process God has sovereignly allowed to transform our lives on this side of veil from...

Dust to Diamonds.

Don`t get to be here long.
Liveitwell!

Don't Wait For It.

Saturday we got a teaser.

Temps rose to 48*. Who knew 48* 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 3+ weeks away--March 20, 2019...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.

Liveitwell!

Today.

Laura Cherrie & BJ Baier, April 1969

Today, empty nest.
Today, cannot, not can.
Today, hair a memory.
Today, confidence morphes to doubt.
Today, strength ebbs to weakness.

Today, independence became community.
Today, knowledge became wisdom.
Today, love became tenderness.
Today, time became a gift.
Today, "help" stopped being a four letter word.

Today.
...all we have.
...all we need.

Liveitwell!

Oh SO super!

America is unique.

It's amazing what people can do when given the freedom to succeed AND to fail. Our "Super Bowl" has become a metaphor.

Back in July, each team started at the same place, 0-0, as every other franchise in the NFL. Now, 106 young men, two teams remain standing; black, white, brown...not all born equally, privleged start and not. All shapes, sizes...some more talented than others. All making the most of what they've been given, working hard and sacrificing for a dream. Working together to create synergy. All competing on a level playing field, and yet, a few with a clear advantage over others, not all endowed equally--size, strength, speed. All paid, what the market will bear for their service--some much more than others.

That said, each strives to overcome, to elevate their game and maximize their opportunity, against all odds. The underdog can prevail, because "heart" can't be measured. Mistakes will be made, injuries will occur that force a change to the gameplan and the unexpected, will be the norm. Bad calls? No doubt; someone is going to feel like it wasn't fair. Most will perform up to standard, a few will be disappointed--and not play well at all. The ball will be dropped and it will take some bad bounces. But there won't be any do-overs. One performance will be judged most outstanding of all...and propel that player to a new level of achievement and noteriety.

At the end of the day, some will win, others will lose; and Monday morning? Each will crawl out of bed, and begin again, in an attempt to make the ascent to the top of their profession; each sore, tired, some beaten, all driven by conviction: it's a new day, it's a new opportunity, "I believe 'it' can happen, if I work hard, stay focused and apply myself."

This hope compels them to bear down, start over and try again. They will take what they learned (the good, the bad and the ugly), winners and losers, and use that as leverage to get better and they will--because they see the future is filled with open doors.

I believe this is why this night, this event, is more celebrated, anticipated and watched than any other event on the calendar in America. It reflects our hopes and dreams, our core values as a nation, at so many levels. We watch these young men compete and we are reminded, dreams come true here; hard work pays here, the hope of success far outweighs the risk of failure. Bottom line: "It can happen, it does happen." If it doesn't? Failure isn't the end of the world, it's the begining of a new cycle.

Everyone has to play by the rules, but the rules aren't designed to produce pre-determined outcomes. So, many compete; some win, some lose; some never win or lose, because they never try, that's ok too. America is a place where dreaming is a part of our culture, where we, as free people, set the bar; where people can "do better" and to no one's surprise, we do.

America, "we hold these truths..."



Liveitwell!

Vexed, not beaten.

"1 Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me...26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."  John 14.1,26-28 

Words of comfort in a time that was filled with uncertainty and fear.  Jesus is leaving.  Life has taken a left turn and the Disciples are fragile, distraught slipping into despair or worse.  

Jesus comforts them; He reminds his followers who God is, who He is and what they must do to thrive in an environment of great hostility toward people on the Way and their message of deliverance and hope.  He blesses them with assurance and tells them a Helper will come.

We too live in a turbulent time!  The axioms that life, civilization, have been built on are being torn down, "stone by stone."  We have been adrift; now we are swept down a torrent no one can control.  This is vexing.  

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.

Over the years 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 mankind 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

Stand-firm.  We will see the victory.  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Liveitwell!