Friday, July 31, 2015

It's so easy to get sidetracked!


 
It is so very easy to get sidetracked!

It’s not so much choices made as priorities driving what those choices will be.

Every day we get to choose what are priorities are! Every day we get to make decisions and take action based on those priorities.

I'm beginning to see why it’s a good thing to simply get in the habit of choosing to spend time with God. I'm being reminded of why it's important to have a foundation of deep relationship to stand on.

And without that foundation there isn't solid hope or trust.

It's true that sometimes hope is deferred, but if we're grounded in relationship with God, if we have our priorities right, we'll make the choice to keep trusting!
 

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Social Justice from Isaiah 58


 
This morning I work up with a stirring in my soul about social justice.
I knew Isaiah had something very specific to say about this. So I went to Isaiah 58 and began reading from the New Living Translation of the Bible.
As the chapter begins, the nation of Israel is complaining and asking God, why haven’t you helped us? “We’ve fasted before you! They say, ‘Why aren’t you impressed?’
And God answers “I will tell you why! It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even when you fast you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling?"
 
Isaiah interjects: Do you really think this will please the Lord?
God  continues: "No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them and do not hide from relatives who need your help. Then your salvation will come like the dawn and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer, ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness…”
Wow!

How often do I fall into the same trap? Opening my mouth instead of opening my heart?
Looking at oppression and judging it is very easy; looking at oppression and actively doing something about it is hard work. Forgive me Lord for being so quick to point the finger. Help me learn to extend a helping hand instead.
photo credit: from xpectamiracle.blogspot.com quote is from Martin Luther King, Jr.
 

 

Monday, July 27, 2015

Shooting Hoops


This spring, after an absence of about 25 years, I got back in the habit of shooting hoops on an almost daily basis, outside, at local courts.

I love to shoot hoops (basketball). It's not exactly a "Love & Basketball" type of situation, but some days it comes close.

The photo above is from a hoop that's set up in back of a school. It faces about 20 acres of open prairie, which, in turn, feeds into the Bow in the Clouds nature preserve.

So, here are five reasons why I love to shoot hoops:
1. It's fun and you get a workout (especially upper arms, triceps) without realizing it
2. The only equipment you need is a basketball
3. You can shoot whenever, mostly whenever you'd like, especially in the summer months
4. You can track your shooting percentage very easily (how many shots of the past 10 did you make?)
5. You gain the advantage of being outside, in fresh air and sunshine!

An added benefit is that it's a relatively low impact sort of exercise. I'm 63 and I can still shoot from back of the free throw line and make it. When the ball hits the backboard I normally go for the rebound, so that helps add a bit of endurance and leg muscle to the routine.

Shooting hoops teaches me patience and humility (because my shooting percentage hovers around 50%). It also teaches me to persevere - especially in hotter weather! And it's amazingly satisfying to hear the swoosh of a no-net shot!

I'll usually shoot for about 20 minutes and find it's sufficient to keep me in shape and build up arm muscle.

Just as an aside, I'm not advocating that shooting hoops is for everyone. As with any form of exercise, it should be done within reason and with consulting your family doctor, especially if you haven't exercised in a while. A final PS,: When I use the term "hoops" I'm talking about shooting a basketball through a hoop, solo; not actually playing the game of basketball. Have fun!

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Seeking the Kingdom First



Jesus said "seek first the kingdom and it’s righteousness and everything else will be given to you." (Matt. 6:33).

It's arguably one of the most powerful promises made in the Bible.

To seek God's kingdom, to seek God before anything else. Everything flows from that relationship. Everything in the kingdom exists to promote relationship and the fruit of it. There is nothing superficial about it.

That isn’t to say that there isn’t pleasure or beauty, because those things are found in abundance and they are found because there is nothing counterfeit to get in the way of their expression.

Perfection is found in God's presence. Love, mercy, grace, peace, wisdom, understanding – they are all found in their perfect form in God's presence. Because perfection is found in God's presence, completeness is found, and because completeness is found there is an intimacy that has its roots in the eternal.

Eyes are opened, hearts are made pure, souls are free to express their truest self. Freedom, in its truest form is attained. No lack, only fufillment. No sorrow, only joy.


All of this to say that when we practice being in God's presence, we are actually practicing getting our soul ready for eternity in the kingdom.

photo credit: www.businessgrow.com

Friday, July 24, 2015

The Wellspring of Joy


God's joy flows out of a wellspring of thanksgiving. This isn’t knowledge-based as much as it is experienced. There is a discipline that sets the foundation, for it; a longing that sets in motion a seeking. An appetite develops and is only satisfied with the pure form.
Remember when Jesus said, seek, knock ask and you’ll find? There is an implied satisfaction. A longing fulfilled, an intimacy attained. At the same time comes the realization that there is no limit, there are no boundaries, there is always enough and always more. There is a state of continual overflow that influences others.
This is the essence of kingdom living. Other-centeredness. Wholeness. This goes beyond contentment to the desire of the heart becoming a tree of life, providing shade and sustenance.

There is simply nothing like it!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Joy



Isn’t it interesting that God's joy isn’t contingent upon life events or circumstance? God's joy is independent from the cares of the day. It’s totally unrelated to politics or world events. It’s not dependent upon our emotions. God's joy isn’t a feeling, it’s a decision. It’s a result of relationship, not what we may or may not have.

God's joy is completely unrelated to social position or material possessions or prestige. It flows from friendship not finances. God's joy is the essence of being content, comfortable, at ease in all things.


God's joy is fueled by thanksgiving. Being thankful for the everyday. God's joy in turn, fuels compassion and mercy and grace. Joy-filled people tend to be generous, loving and kind. In fact you could say that some of the fruit of joy is exactly those things.


God's joy sharpens our focus and expands our vision to see others’ suffering and share what we have been given with others. God's joy gives and doesn’t count the cost. God's joy is both the fruit and the foundation of deep love and intimacy.


(photo above from plaidheart.wordpress.com)

 

                                                                                          

 

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Sara Groves & Something Changed













Yesterday I watched "The Ultimate Gift."

It's a great film that I'd seen before and it's a great story about learning what's important in life. Each time I watch it I always check out the bonus features and am drawn to the video of Sara Groves singing her song "Something Changed." It's an incredibly beautiful expression of how redemption, how life with/in God works.

Please take a look at the lyrics and then check out the link below.

Something Changed (2007 by Sara Groves)

Something changed inside me
Broke wide open, all spilled out
Till I had no doubt
That something changed

Never would have believed it
Till I felt it in my own heart
In the deepest part

The healing came
And I cannot make it
And I cannot fake it
And I can't afford it
But it's mine

Something so amazing
In a heart so dark and dim
When the walls fall down
And the light comes in

And I cannot make it
And I cannot fake it
And I can't afford it
But it's mine

And I cannot make it
And I cannot fake it
And I can't afford it
But it's mine
But it's mine
Oh thank You, Lord
Thank You, Lord, thank you Lord

Leave it like a skin upon the ground

Something changed inside me
Broke wide open, all spilled out
Till I had no doubt
That something changed













Sara Groves - Something Changed   

Saturday, July 18, 2015

The Good News




The Good News isn’t just that you have been saved from sin and death. The Good News is much more than that. The Good News sets in motion kingdom living, God's will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
You have been saved into an adventure. You have been transformed by the renewing of your mind into the kingdom. Your life has been given back to you. Your destiny has been restored. Meaning has been released. There is nothing on earth that can match the fulfilment and excitement that comes from kingdom living.

This is worth shouting about! This is worth remembering on rainy days that seem dark and foreboding. This is worth living for! This is the Good News that God wants all those who follow him to spread.

I took the black and white photo above of the road leading down from the farmhouse where my Mom grew up. Every day she had the job of walking down the road - about half a mile - to the end to pick up the mail from her mailbox. During the lazy summertime, it could take her an hour or two to complete the assignment as she often tarried along the way.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

John 10:10

This morning I was thinking about a comment that Jesus made to the Pharisees, shortly after they excommunicated a person who had been healed of his blindness. (You can read all about it in John 9:13-34). It's an interesting story in and of itself.

Shortly after this encounter, a few of the Pharisees stuck around and asked Jesus, sort of tongue-in-cheek, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus answered by talking about being a good shepherd. His answer includes this little tidbit: "I have come that they (the sheep, us) may have life, and that they have it more abundantly."

Right here we get an inside scoop on what the "Good News" is supposed to be.

Oftentimes, in religious circles, the term "Good News" is used. Often enough it's used in a "repent or you're going to hades" sort of way. Almost as if judgment is the only aspect of the "Good News."

However, if I'm taking Jesus at his word, it's nothing short of incredible that the way he describes himself to a group of religious folks in leadership positions, who are well versed on the rules, is that a shepherd's primary goal is to feed the sheep and take care of them. (And it's helpful to remember that the Pharisees would have very well understood what shepherds did for a living, even if they would have felt it was beneath them to associate with shepherds).  So it's equally interesting that Jesus chose to use a shepherd as a symbol for what he was doing.

At any rate, I'm struck by the limitless, unconditional love that Jesus expresses here. At the end of the day, the "Good News" is all about love. Whatever we may or may not believe about Jesus, there just isn't any getting around this incredible stance on behalf of mercy and grace, in abundance.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Buddy Comes Home!



Yesterday I went up to Grand Rapids to the Kentwood Cat Clinic (photo above from www.catclinics.com) to pick up Buddy, one of my cats.

He had been there for a radioactive iodine treatment and was boarded for a week-and-a-half due to the half-life of the iodine used to treat him for a hyperthyroid condition.

All the way home he was mewing. I have to believe it was in anticipation of coming home. But nothing prepared me for what happened once we pulled into the driveway and brought him inside.

He immediately began to walk through the house, exploring every nook and cranny of it. And within a few seconds, he began to purr, the loudest he's ever, and Buddy's purr is LOUD! He kept it up for at least a couple of hours.

It was Buddy's way of expressing deep joy, being thankful for being home again.

I continually find myself learning things from my two cats. But what Buddy showed me yesterday morning was nothing short of remarkable. I want to be thankful like that! I want to learn how to express joy based on that pure thankfulness!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Author Conversation: From WestBow Press



Here's a link to an author conversation-type blog post that I was asked to do for WestBow Press.
Thank You Kevin Gray and the WestBow Press team for your support!

http://blog.westbowpress.com/dan-salerno-20-short-ones/

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Pinocchio: Art Credit, Disney If ever there were a time for a national "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" award, it's now. And certai...