The Silver Anniversary Sylvania...

I can’t believe it! Diane and I are 4 months away from celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary and today I trashed the first appliance we ever bought together. Seeing that we have been through half a dozen microwaves, it’s hard to believe that any appliance could stand the test of time – let alone a television set. Actually, it was taken out of daily service and placed in cold storage about 2 years ago when a faltering picture tube gave everyone a sunburned glow. Yet a post-Christmas cleaning relegated the icon to depart from the premises…permanently.


It survived 3 moves, endless episodes of LA Law, E.R., Cosby and Raymond. Not to mention early childhood home videos from three children (obviously more from the first). Barney, Veggie Tales and Disney brought hours of entertainment to wondering eyes and empty minds. Rabbit ears, satellite and a couple bouts with cable made this a most versatile unit.

Now lest you think I’m memorializing the “Trojan Horse of Entertainment” … it’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek sentimentality that marks time through the inanimate. This occasion has given me another glimpse not only into the passage of time but also into the emptiness of the temporal. On the flip side of that coin are the fulfilling blessings of everything that is eternal. Those are the lives and relationships that extend beyond the lifespan of any appliance and are definitely worth celebrating.

Even as I write this, my heart hurts for those around me: a lady in her 60’s who has been left paralyzed by invasive cancer surgery, 2 friends in their forties who are in the fight of their life for their lives right now and 3 men in mid-life who can’t seem to find a job in the midst of a thousand prayer circles.

Compartmentalizing and prioritizing “things that matter” is necessary at every stage of life. I guess for me and my TV…that is today!

THE SIZE OF MY SHOEBOX

So, how many toys under your tree were broken on Christmas morning? Not just the ones for the kids but the grownups as well?


Please pardon the intrusion, but once again it allowed me a punctuation mark on the closing sentence of 2011. Every gift in every one of 7 million shoeboxes delivered thru Operation Christmas Child will one day lose their effectiveness. That is, their material effectiveness; their spiritual value is eternal. The difference between our perspective and theirs is the price of our toys and the size of our shoeboxes. Then again, it’s the thought that counts right? Our gifts of love and acts of service are extensions of the loving hand of God into lives that need to know that love. But, it’s not just the kid in Africa or the Romanian orphan that need to know that love. It’s also the children of all ages in our communities, our churches and even under own roofs…including you and me. Here’s hoping that whatever the holidays delivered to your home will last year-long in your heart. Something about the reassuring love of God that brings joy and peace to our personal existence…the real gift that keeps on giving.

"...there rings a melody?..."

Sometimes my mind wanders to strange places at the most inopportune times. During worship, this requires a “spirit check” to determine if this is a divine thought or the subject of my own imagination.


Blessed is the church that acts in unity or in this case – sings a unified melody. Thanks to modern technology and a desire to make worship accessible to all, the lyrics of our music are delivered in the same manner to each of us. Surely, the voice of the Body in melody is most pleasing to the Lord.

Now – usually we see this as a good thing. No doubt it is.

However, it dawned on me recently that in so doing we are no longer a church that sings in harmony. I’m not proposing a revival of hymnals, but as we have discarded them, we no longer are privy to the true beauty of the tune. The “parts” intended by the author to give the song a deeper essence have been lost in the simplification of the program. We may all be on the same page, but are we doing a disservice to the composer if we finger paint the masterpiece?

In this instance, we can’t all deliver the melody. Some of us are called to sing the lesser parts. One thing I have learned in 31 years working adjacent to the music business: the most beautiful note that can be produced. You can find it at either end of the scale and sometimes smack in the middle. The most beautiful note is one of harmony. It gives depth to the simple and meaning to the mundane. There is certainly an art to such. I only pray that this “Body” never forsakes it for the melody.

"Missed It By That Much..."

 
Music fills our minds and mouths on a regular basis, but sometimes there is a line or a lyric that reaches the heart. A line in a new song heard recently on WBFJ says; “the peace that passes understanding is my song…”


Each of us has a song that defines us, describe our character or pinpoint a certain place in life. That’s one of the joys of music. God uses the creativity of His servants (maybe even out of their pain) to encourage our hearts.

I’m not sure where this hot mid-summer day finds you. But as for me, I truly want to sing that chorus of peace previously mentioned. Things I don’t understand, circumstances over which I have no control and conditions I can’t explain can lead to hopelessness. That is, unless we lean on that peace we cannot define. I know I need it today and my guess is that you do too…

So regardless of the situation, let’s sing together and find rest in the arms that long to hold us…

MIDDLE EAST MUSINGS:  THE PENTATEUCH

"It's more than I expected"

One thing I have come to learn through a series of trips abroad is to always expect the unexpected. Flexibility is the key to any mission endeavor.

In the Amazon, I bathed in the waters of redemption. On the dark continent, I witnessed an uncanny commitment to the cause. So, how is it possible that in the cradle of civilization I find that the extended hand of kindness becomes the hand that seemingly prevents the furtherance of God's work?

On previous junkets, I have been challenged by physical labor, the lack of facilities, schedule, language and diet. But this time was different. What was intended to be a "feel-good" type of "happily ever after" scenario instead challenged my spirit to a greater awareness than ever before.

I am truly realizing that the poverty of the soul far exceeds any other need. It's not just a boy on a bike, an elderly lady selling socks or the keeper of the corner store. It's everywhere. It's everyone - a family, a community, a city, a nation. How can a single light be effective in a darkness that runs centuries deep?

To be honest, I don't know. But that is the part of the process that has to be left to the Sovereign Creator. If only one corner of darkness is broken by my little light, we can celebrate even the slightest beam of hope. Others will be encouraged to share their light and the Gospel will be given greater illumination.

I have always been encouraged by the life of the Body around the globe. It's a thrill to fellowship with other believers in different cultures and experience their zeal and deep faith. But in the midst of a society gripped by darkness, the zeal could seem pointless and the faith futile. In reality, the opposite is true but is seen only as we trade our western eyes for a heavenly perspective.

The Spirit's groanings are apt to describe the context of my Middle East experience. Sometimes being hands and feet means gripping that which is slipping away and walking the dusty paths of uncertainty. Yes, it was more than I expected , then again, I've come to expect that from God.



MID EAST MUSINGS:  TAKE FOUR

“Thank You!” Really? Why Me?

Okay, so I purchased the goods, packed the box and processed as a volunteer. But – not this box! This one is from Claire in Akron, Paul in Durham of Esther from Coral Gables.

I receive your gratitude on their behalf knowing that at this point I serve as the best representation of such that you will ever see. Taking that a step further- I stand here before you representing the Giver of all good gifts.

In fact, these gifts themselves are an offering of thanks to the One who has blessed us, healed us, provided for us and saved us. How do you adequately than k God for all that He has given? Taking what we have learned from Him, we give freely to others. We give to those can never give back to us. We give to those who could never tell us “thanks” or even know that it came from our hands.

You might say that “thank you” is welcomed here. It’s the core of our being, the thread of our culture, the language we speak. It’s the “attitude of gratitude” that permeates our being. Because of that, I can accept your thanks, add mine to it and defer the greater sum to the One who is most giving and most deserving. Under normal circumstances, it may not add up – but then again, these circumstances are far above normal.



MID EAST MUSINGS:  TAKE THREE

You would think it was a good thing, but…


When religion becomes culture, the task of separating from such becomes virtually impossible. The trappings of tradition offer considerably greater entanglement than we could have ever imagined.

I recently spent eight days immersed in a culture whose identity is deeply ingrained in a religious system that has existed for hundreds of years. It is a system serves a false god, promises a counterfeit hope and holds it’s constituents captive. Yet, in the middle of such, the places of worship remain virtually empty despite the constant presence of religion in everyday life.

To leave the practices of tradition would lead to familial extrication, perhaps even death. An outsider would consider it foolish to be trapped by society’s expectations. From an evangelical perspective, we wonder why the desire to follow Christ would be intentionally delayed due to cultural ramifications.

Yet, as we stand on the edge and gaze curiously across, a little self-evaluation seems prudent. How willing are we to lay aside the expectations of culture to get a greater grasp on the eternal? Affluence and prosperity beckon our time and attention. Even closer to home, believers can find themselves ensnared in the trapping of religion that have no foundation in Scripture. What is right tends to find its’ absolution in the expectations of others rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit.

It seems that the differences from the foreign culture are less obvious than previously thought. Perhaps it’s time to allow God to call us from the comfortable. At times like this we will find which homeland we really demands our allegiance…Strangers, Pilgrims and Aliens never did fit well…