The 'S' Word part 4

In my past, I had the opportunity to do cooking demonstrations for gas grills. It was during that process that I created several of my family’s favorite summer time dishes – mustard chicken, apple pie chicken, and pancake pork roast. For those that are intrigued or want a recipe see me after church. I am often asked, “How did you come up with that?” It is in that moment that I tell them my ‘pizza story’ - When cooking you must be willing to take risks and try things that are new. But what if it is doesn’t work out? Remember that this is America and throw it out and order pizza!

And so we begin our discussion of two more of the Seven Deadly Sins - Gluttony and Greed. These two sins go far beyond how they are generally defined. The chief error about Gluttony is to think it only pertains to food. There are at least three forms of Gluttony:

1) Wanting more pleasure from something than it was made for
2) Wanting it exactly our way
3) Demanding too much from people

Greed is not only about money. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, but greed also ignores the realm of the spiritual in the pursuit of the material. There are at least three forms of Greed:

1) obsessive desire for more material goods and the attendant power.
2) fearful need to store up surplus for a vaguely defined time of want.
3) desire for more earthly goods for their own sake.

But what do greed and gluttony look like in our world or in our lives today?

It is a trash can filled with a poor tasting dinner and an empty pizza box.

It is the abundance of things we gather in the name of collecting: movies, trading cards, antiques, hats, trinkets, etc.

It is our desire to have things exactly our way. Food having to be prepared just right, or in just the right amount, but it isn't limited to food.

It is our complaints about unimportant defects in a product, the temperature in the room, or even the color of a laundry basket. (there is a certain amount of discomfort to be expected in life, but a Glutton will have none of it!)

It is our inordinate desire to consume more than that which is required. Some people can't have enough toys, television, entertainment, sex, or even friends (ie Facebook).

In relationships, one person desires the other's company constantly, to the point that the other can barely maintain a sense of independence. There can be a healthy and natural enjoyment of time spent with friends and acquaintances, but some people just can't get enough

Gluttons talks too much and invade our time and our space.

It comes in the form of Credit Cards that remove delayed gratification and feed both our greed and our gluttony.

They show up in our compulsion to diet or eat just the right things in a controlling manner.

Greed and gluttony how up in our inability to care for others who face starvation in our community and the world.

They show up in our short-term thinking that ignores the consequences for the following generations.

Greed and gluttony show up in our drinking the water polluted by factories dumping untreated waste water.

It shows up in our language that centers on what ‘I’ want.

They show up in the underpaid salaries and wages of the lower class.

They show up in our callous treatment of the refuge and the immigrant.

Greed keeps war, violence and destruction of lives and property a dominating experience in the lives of so many.

They show up in our consumer mentality that more choices aren’t just needed, but choices are our right. (How many Pop Tarts do we need?)

They show up in the extra piece of pie, the larger house, the nicer car, the larger television, and the super sized meal.

All of this and more occurs in our lives as we claim our constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness. It is in that pursuit that we have created this consumer driven frenzy.

But in the last 100 years with all the new inventions, the ever increasing means of choice, have we created in more innate ability to have more happiness?

We have so much more than the generations that have gone before us and yet we have no more happiness and many would argue that we have less happiness in our lives.

So how do we reduce, or even end, this pursuit of greed and gluttony in our lives?

The discovery that possessions do not equal happiness is the beginning of the end for gluttony in our lives. This process begins by deliberately reducing our use of pleasurable things not in eliminating them. When eating quit before feeling stuffed. With people, allow for some quiet time together, and also get some time alone. Of course, if time alone is pleasurable then get out more often with your family and friends. And if the new recipe doesn’t quite taste perfect, eat it anyway.

Part of the process for removing greed from our lives may be to embrace poverty. We need not become homeless, but we can learn to do with less. We can try to use less of the world's goods. We can stop accumulating so many things. We can embrace the concept: "Live simply, that others may simply live."

The obvious cure is to divest oneself of as much as possible. Then as we practice this concept in our lives, we will realize that we don't really need that much. Another suggestion in eliminating greed and gluttony from our lives might be to consider the grave.

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. Ecclesiastes 7:2 NIV

The author of Ecclesiastes understood that people have a much better ‘picture’ of what is important while contemplating life at the time of death. Consider that as people get older, or during terminal illness, people have a habit of making lists of final wishes and spend a great deal of time giving things away. There is a sense of knowing that the material is becoming in-material. How different our lives would be if we spent lives living life to the fullest and not waiting to discover it in the end.

If we are destined for heaven, then the temporary enjoyment of trinkets in this life is simply absurd. Simple meditation on this begins to loosen the grip of objects and things on the heart. How much is enough? Church when will we stop dancing with sin? When will we stop pretending that sin isn’t deadly?

When will we realize that we who call ourselves Christian are not immune to sin let alone the Seven Deadly Sins? When will we acknowledge the sin in our own lives and not just the sins of society?

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious.Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.
James 4:7-10 The Message

Is today the day you surrender your desires to God and begin living the life God intended you to live?

Day 204 a note from God: Isaiah 59-63

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt . . . For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities

Isaiah 59:1-3a, 12 NIV

We like to read in Isaiah the messages of victory. We like to know that the 'good guys' win in the end.

BUT . . .

we forget that the 'good guys' are not us!

There is only one Good Guy and He has taken our place.

Yet, we continue to bargain with God. We talk of all the good we do and ignore our sins. And yet, there it is 'piled up' in plain sight of God. All the while we pretend that it (sin) is not there. We play the part of the professor in the Wizard of OZ and loudly proclaim, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

Do not miss the message of the promised Messiah found in Isaiah. But do not miss the reason for the Messiah also contained within Isaiah - we are sinners in need of a Savior.

No matter how hard we try to hide or disguise our sins, they are there for God to see. Acknowledge your sin before God and find the peace that comes from receiving forgiveness and grace.

Day 203 a note from God: Isaiah 54-58

Come, all yo who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Isaiah 55:1 NIV

One of my favorite verses in the Bible!

I think we can all relate to being thirsty or hungry.

Think of those moments you have gone to the fridge and stood there looking . . .

It's not that there isnt't food and drink . . . but rather there is nothing there that fills the craving or the need you have at that moment.

Not with God. God promises that if you come to Him, your thirst will be gone.

Not only will your thirst be gone, but God promises FREE REFILLS!!!!

This passage inspired Kutless to write the following:

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away

Click for video: Kutless "All who are thirsty"

Day 202 a note from God: Isaiah 49-53

For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:12c NIV








Over 50 years ago Old Testament Scholar, Dr. Kyle M. Yates, stated that the passages in Isaiah 53 are the Mount Everest of the Messianic prophecies. Like Mount Everest, the beauty and grandeur of the words stand out. They stand out because they reveal to us the person of Jesus and take us to Mount Calvary centuries before his arrival.

From the time Isaiah wrote these words, people searched and hoped for the coming Messiah. During the 12th century, Jewish scholars reinterpreted these passages as descriptions of the suffering of the nation of Israel and not as an individual. This new interpretation still does not answer the question, "How could the nation pay the price for sin?"

The question for you today is how do you respond to the prophecy?

How do you respond to the promise of the One who will come to save you from your sin?

Day 201 a note from God: 2 King 18:19-37 and Psalms 46,80,135

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
though the earth give way and
the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:1-3

The message over and over that comes to us from God is this: "Do not be afraid!"

Why? "I am with you"

Lose your job? - God is with you.

Investments take a tumble? - God is with you.

Bad news from the doctor? - God is with you.

Flood waters rising? - God is with you.

Get the picture?

This is not a fatalist view of the world. This is a view that has God in the midst of your life. God cares what happens to you. And in the midst of whatever might be going wrong in your life at this moment - God is with you.

Seek Him . . . Find comfort . . . find strength . . . find grace for the day.

Tomorrow will come and . . . God will still be there with you!

Day 200 a note from God: Isaiah 44-48

Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,‘The potter has no hands’?

Isaiah 45: 9b

Isaiah continues with more good news.

God is greater than any enemy you may have.

God will be victorious and Isaiah is laying out how this will take place (BTW, his prophecy was accurate!)

God is calling out Cyrus a century before he was born as the instrument of God's victory.

God asks, "Who are you to question MY ways?" "Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’"

God is making it clear to His people and to the world - I am GOD and there are none other like me!

This is one of those moments when you want to yell, "Go God! You tell 'em - those stupid idiot, Isrealites should have known better"

However, it is in that moment that you begin to realize that God is speaking to you and your voice quickly trails off into silence.

Ever had one of those moments? It's okay. People who have followed God have been having them for centuries.

Question is "What will you do with your moment?"

Humbling when God works that way.

Day 199 a note from God: Isaiah 40-43

With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him?
As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
Isaiah 40:18-19 NIV

Isaiah offers words of comfort. In the midst of your circumstances, God is still God.

We spend so much time crafting things to bring us comfort, yet none of them last.

No matter your circumstances this day, look to God and find comfort that He knows your situation and has a plan for your life. A plan that will bring honor and glory to Him.

Day 198 a note from God: Isaiah 37-39 and Psalm 76

At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”

"From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”

The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

"They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
Isaiah 37:1-4 NIV

If you have consistently been the little dog in a fight and the opportunity to be the big dog come, it is hard to resist.

Hezekiah is faced with this problem. The King has been consistently second fiddle to Assyria, but here comes Babylon - a small and second-rate nation.

Pride overcomes Hezekiah. He takes the opportunity to show off. After all, it has grown tiresome being in second place. This opportunity to be #1 feels good.

Hezekiah's pride will be a stepping stone to the downfall of the people and will lead them eventually into Babylonian captivity.

Where will your pride lead you and your family?

The S Word part 3

Let’s begin by clearing something up: Nowhere in the Bible is there a specific list of Seven Deadly Sins. Although, lists of virtues contrasted with lists of sins are found in certain books of the New Testament, such as the Letter to the Galatians (6:16-26).

The modern concept of the Seven Deadly Sins is linked to the work of a 4th century monk, who listed eight "evil thoughts": gluttony; fornication; avarice; sorrow; anger; discouragement; vainglory; pride. The Seven Deadly Sins as we know them are attributed to both Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century and later to Dante Alighieri in his epic poem The Divine Comedy.

They are as follows: luxuria (extravagance, later lust), gula (gluttony), avaritia (greed), acedia (sloth), ira (wrath), invidia (envy), and superbia (pride). Each of the seven deadly sins has an opposite among the corresponding seven holy virtues. In parallel order to the sins they oppose, the seven holy virtues are chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility.

This week we turn our attention to two more of these sins – lust and envy. In so doing, I begin by asking the simple question, “What happened to love?” To begin to understand what has happened to love, we must first understand what love was designed to be: I Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV

Paul described love with such eloquence in this passage that it has become a near universally accepted description of love. Perhaps for you, like so many, it was read at your wedding. Whenever I perform a wedding, one of the admonitions that I give the couple is that saying I love you is the easy part. The hard part is waking every morning and still choosing to love. Whether you are married or not, I think that we can all relate to that admonition – choosing to love is not easy. After all we live in a society that leads us to believe that love is something we fall in and out of at the drop of a hat – therefore there is no choice in the matter because love is just feeling that we have no control over.

I believe that love has become self-indulgent. It has given way to the ‘me first’ thought and God has became secondary in our love. Love is now driven by cultural definitions and therefore it is hard to grasp the love Paul describes. The reason this love (I Corinthians 13) is so hard to comprehend is that the love described by Paul can only be accomplished with God. By contrast, the love that we are left with as a culture is the love which we have created, or de-evolved, into Lust and Envy.

What have we made of love? Love now masquerades as sex and more subtly as lust and envy.

Pick a magazine off the rack at the grocery store and it will tell you how to find love, choose love, measure love, keep love, lose love, and even make love.

You see, love is now bought and sold and more importantly love is measured in dollars. Did you pay attention to the advertisements this past week? Did you succumb to their message? Did you shop at Jared’s? Did you buy the right deodorant? the right cologne? The right clothes? Did your purchases lead you to the love of your life? Was your love life immediately transformed?

Turn on the radio and listen to the music – doesn’t matter your genre – because on any given week the music playing will no doubt remind us of the love we have had, should have, could have, or have lost.

Based on music sales alone there are an ever increasing number of people looking for love and I might add in all the wrong places – perhaps there should be a song about that.

Consider that plastic surgery for the dead is now a growing industry as people to seek to look younger and more appealing after their dead. How can you be any more self-indulgent?

Consider the headline: ‘Sexy TV Shows tied to teen pregnancies’ that was offered recently by MSNBC (Laura T. Coffey MSNBC.com Nov 3, 2008). In the article, 2000 teens were interviewed from 2001-2004. The results were the ‘startling’ discovery revealed in the headline. Consider as well that since 2004 the amount of sexual content on TV has doubled. The US continues to have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world (what a great thing to be a world leader in!).

The reality is that by the time we are done with love all that is left is lust and envy.

In The Divine Comedy, Dante's definition of lust was "excessive love of others," which therefore rendered love and devotion to God as secondary. And perhaps that is exactly what has happened to love.

Church in the name of love we have sinned. We have taken that which was designed to be perfect and we have perverted it and instead of calling it sin we traded the names of lust and envy for love.

Sin is tricky. It does not reveal itself knowingly. No, it seeks to trap us unaware. None of us would buy the notion that we would willingly associate with Lust and/or Envy. And yet, we allow ourselves to be bombarded with the message (and we seem to be buying it at an alarming rate) that our lives are worthless unless we . . . have more free time, more money, more success, more love, more beauty, more lovers, more sex appeal, more, more, and more.

Envy and Lust do not attack head on, they creeps up on us. It begins as luxuria which is luxury or extravagance which then becomes lust. Once you have luxury or extravagance it is only a matter of time before you have envy of the luxury that others have.

It can begin with a simple question, “Why not me?” It quickly then becomes the ‘If only’ syndrome: If only I had a better a job, If only I had more money, If only I were better looking; had better clothes; drove a better car; had a better house, and on and on.

The subtlety of Envy is that it feeds our desire to have that which is not our own and that is Lust. And yet Lust is hiding behind much of what our culture is trying to sell. Lust and Envy go hand in hand and one leads to other and it does not matter which comes first.

As Christians we have a multitude of sins in our lives and all have been forgiven in the name of love – Jesus.

We must learn to reclaim that perfect Love in our lives.

We must rise above envy.

Envy must give way to kindness. We must be willing to celebrate with others the successes of the world or our envy will devour us and become lust.

We must rise above lust.

Our lust must give way to chastity, not just in sexual matters, but in our ever growing appetite for the love of things and people over our love for God.
We must reclaim and proclaim the love that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ.

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing Him directly just as He knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
I Corinthians 13:12-13 The Message

Church if we who know perfect love can not proclaim this love and live this love in this world, who will?

Day 197 a note from God: Isaiah 35-36

The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
Isaiah 35:7 NIV

The idea of burning sand becoming a pool is a nice thought considering the heat wave we have experienced this week. Every community pool was filled to capacity as people sought relief from the heat.

Imagine how the people would have responded to this message from Isaiah. They lived in the midst of the desert. Bubbling springs and cool pools were things you wished for . . . and yet here is a promise that they are to come.

But how?

Isaiah is delivering God's message of redemption. Redemption not only for mankind, but for all of creation. Everything changed for mankind and the world when sin entered. God has promised to reclaim His Creation and to return it to its intended design and purpose.

I like that promise. I want that promise. Not only my life made right, but all of creation made right.

I join with the voices of old and pray, "May that Day come.

Day 196 a note from God: Isaiah 31-34

for the LORD is our judge,
the LORD is our lawgiver,
the LORD is our king;
it is he who will save us.

Isaiah 33:22 NIV







The Times They Are a-Changin'" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released as the title track of his 1964 album, The Times They Are a-Changin'. Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the moment. The song was ranked #59 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Less than a month after Dylan recorded the song, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. The next night, Dylan opened a concert with "The Times They Are a-Changin'

'The times they are a-changin' could have been the theme song for the nation of Israel. The nation began as a theocracy with God as the king. The people rebelled and demanded a king of their own - they got Saul.

Isaiah is now promising a new king. This king will be different. This king will not be 'a' king. This king will not just 'the' king. This king will be king for everyone - everywhere. This king will be the King of all kings.

Times are a-changin, but just not fast enough for the people or for that matter God.

Good thing our God is a patient God.

We no longer must wait for the promised king, but God is still waiting for us to acknowledge that Jesus is King.

Day 195 a note from God: Isaiah 28-30

We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey teacher leave them kids alone






"Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.”

Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people

Isaiah 28:9-11 NIV

The prophets and priests speak words of warning and the people ignore them - taunting them and making fun of them.

The people of Israel have grown complacent. They trust in their wealth for their joy and their secured city for their security.

God's message: "If you won't listen to them, perhaps you will listen to the great army that I am sending to wipe you out."

It is easy to read "the world today" into the story. We must be careful in doing this. The words of judgement were words for Israel. The lesson taught is for us.

God is patient, but He will not be mocked. Judgement will come.

What have you put your trust in for joy and security?

Day 194 a note from God: Hosea 8-14

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more they were called, the more they went away from me.
Hosea 11:1-2 NIV

An excerpt from the Holman Commentary:

"It's a baby boy!" I will never forget the doctor's words or the feeling they brought. God had blessed us with a healthy child. Mother and baby were fine. I could hold the little life in my hands. In so many ways that life lay there for me to mold. Was I up to the task? How would I respond to this child? When the child did not act exactly as I desired, how would react?

Now, all these years later, experience has shown me that I had reason to ask those questions. Many times I have stood asking myself and my God, What should I do in this situation? Such experiences with my children have helped me understand God better because he, too, has children who cause him to ask, "How can I give you up?" Hosea pictures the inward struggles of God as He replays the story of His people and struggles with His emotional attachment to them. Their sins anger Him and lead Him to feelings of anguish, but His love conquers all.

This passage spoke to me as a father and as a son.

How often our children exasperate their parents? and yet, as parents, we continue to love our children, hoping for the best out of them, encouraging them . . .

How often we must exasperate God? and yet God continues to love us, hoping for the best out of us, encouraging us . . .

Hosea is a story for us to find encouragement and hope.

God loves us and with that love comes discipline and a promise for a better tomorrow.

Day 193 a note from God: Hosea 1-7

The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek
of barley. Hosea 3:1-2 NIV

The story of Hosea ooffers an interesting parable for the people of Israel.

The nation is the harlot in the story - running after other lovers and chasing after their carnal apetites.

Homer is God in the story constantly pursing the love of his life.

At this point in the story, Homer buys back his wife with a price - starting to sound familiar?

No matter where you might have been. No matter what you might have done.

God still loves you and is pursuing you.

God desires a relationship with you and continues to pursue you.

Won't you return to the One who has loved from you the beginning?

Day 192 a note from God: 2 King 18:1-8, 2 Chronicle 29-31 and Psalm 48

Can I get a do over?

Most of the people that came from Ephraim, West Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not made themselves clean, but they ignored God's Law and ate the Passover lambs anyway. Hezekiah found out what they had done and prayed, "LORD God, these people are unclean according to the laws of holiness. But they are worshiping you, just as their ancestors did. So, please be kind and forgive them."

The LORD answered Hezekiah's prayer and did not punish them.

2 Chronicle 30 18-20 CEV

This story from King Hezekiah's reign has to make you chuckle!

The King sets out to a good thing. He wants to cleanse the temple. The people had long ignored God's rules and the temple by all accounts was ceremonially unclean.

The process is followed and a great celebration ensues when the temple is re-opened.

Problem is that in the process of celebrating all that is GOD - some of the people celebrating in the temple were in fact unclean.

In other words, the temple was unclean as it was before.

Time to groan or to laugh . . . your choice.

Hezekiah chooses the later and calls upon God to forgive them for they are not there to defile the temple, but rather to worship God.

If only we could learn to respond the same way when people enter our churches and do not conform to "our ways" in their worship. Perhaps we could end all the "worship wars" about form by learning to grasp as Hezekiah did that we are all seeking the same thing - Worship of God as our gift to HIM.

Day 191 a note from God: Isaiah 23-27

In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25:9 NIV





Isaiah declares that there is a day of judgement coming. But there are questions that linger:

Will the wicked be judged?

Will anyone be saved?

The answers come from Isaiah, "All will be judged, especially the wicked and a remnant will be rescued. There is hope."

The journey for the people has been a rough road with lots of pitfalls and turns and twists. But God declares there is a time when the path will be made straight and smooth.

In my life filled with never ending turns and twists, I find comfort in the promise that one day my path will be straight and smooth.

How about you?

The 'S' Word part 2

The Sneetches by Dr Seuss (video link)

The crux of the story, and I might add it’s underlying message of marketing brilliance, is found in the role of Sylvester McMonkey McBean who offers the plain-bellied Sneetches a trip through his star-on machine for "three dollars eaches."

Once they've paid their money, McBean turns to the original star-bellies and declares, "Star bellies are no longer in style," and offers them a trip through his star-off machine -- for "ten dollars eaches."

McBean quickly induces all the Sneetches to run around desperately, going through first one machine and then the other -- making McBean extremely rich as a result.

Over the years, I've shared this story with high school students and asked them, "Who is Sylvester McMonkey McBean in your life?"

The answers come fast: "Magazines. Television. Advertisements. Music videos. Friends. Parents."

I also ask, “What are the stars that you wear?” The brand names and items they list would make your head spin – then again as a parent – maybe not?

The thing that gets me is the list all the things – all the wants – all the needs – with a sense of identity – or perhaps we might call it today - a sense of pride in their ability to possess and wear them. I then ask, "How much did they pay you to wear their products?" Almost stupified, the students respond that they paid more for the things with the logo, not less. As you might guess, this is the moment when I get to say, “Exactly!”

We live in a world that serves itself. This world, if you listen and follow, will lead you into becoming a self-serving, self-gratifying, self-seeking individual. And if the world as a whole doesn’t get it done, we let the Sylvester McMonkey McBeans step in and do the rest. You see, PRIDE will lead us to doing lots of things. Now don’t get me wrong, we do it all with right intentions . . .

All the other kids have “it” . . . I didn’t want my kids to be left out . . . My neighbors got one . . . so it seemed that it was time for us to get one to . . . Everyone else has one . . . If I had one . . .

Pride of life, Pride of things, Pride of Status, Pride of whatever can lead us to do some bizarre things (well at least bizarre in hindsight – we all have picture of fashion mistakes). Let’s face it we are all guilty of a bit of pride.

I believe that it is good to be proud of the things we accomplish. But when being proud turns into being full of pride we are travelling down a very slippery path - a path that leads us to trust in a life of significance that is only measured by what we have in comparison to others and not in worth and value as found in relationship to God. Pride is subtle in the way it invades our life.

Pride leads us to spend more than we have . . . Buy what we don’t need . . . Causes us to stretch the truth . . . brag a little more (The fish I caught was thisssssssss big)

Parents, are you teaching your kids how to make money or to be good stewards of what they have? Are you teaching them how to be successful or to be significant?

Let me state again . . . the sin of Pride is a tricky one. I believe that it is good to be proud of the things we accomplish. But when being proud turns into being full of pride we are travelling down a very slippery path – a path that leads us to trust in a life of significance that is only measured by what we have in comparison to others and NOT in worth and value as found in relationship to God.

Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
I John 2:15-17 The Message

Let’s turn back to Dr Seuss for a moment . . . What are some of the stars in your life? What in your life causes you to look at “it” and say, “I’m okay . . .look at what I have!” Who or what are the Sylvester McMonkey McBeans in your life ‘selling’ you these stars? Have you looked away from others because they did not have a star on thars? Have you become a Star Bellied Sneetch? Have you pursued other things, other interests, in such a way that God became secondary in your life?

I invite you to remove your stars and label them for what they are or write the name of your McBean on them?

Leave behind the pride of things and embrace pride in the One who has saved you from it all.

Day 190 a note from God: Isaiah 18-22

The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine!

“Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”

Isaiah 22:12-13 NIV

Faced with crisis what else is there to do but eat drink and be merry!

God says, "Doom is coming! So, repent and be humble."

The people respond with end of the world parties.

Why face your problems when it is more fun to revel in them.

At the risk of being political, is that not what has happened in Washington D.C. for decades. We know there is a problem, but it is easier to raise money at a party about the problem than to actually solve it.

Which will you do this day . . . repent in the face of sin . . . or use sin as an excuse to continue the party?

Your choice . . .

Day 189 a note from God: Isaiah 13-17

Woe to the many nations that rage — they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar — they roar like the roaring of great waters!
Isaiah 17:12 NIV

On November 18, 1956, the premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, famously said to a group of Western diplomats, "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!"

Khrushchev is dead and so is the Soviet Union. His prophecy was not fulfilled.

Isaiah is proclaiming God's prophetic statements.

History is God's story of prophecy and fulfillment.

Learn from the story of the past.

Learn from God's prophetic word.

It is not too late to change your future, by finding forgiveness for your past.

Day 188 a note from God: 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 King 16-17

Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help . . . In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.
2 Chronicles 28:20,22-23 NIV

Why is it when we are in trouble we seek help from all the wrong places?

Many of us figured it out eventually, but most keep seeking help in all the wrong places. If we were talking about love, I am might break out in song!

The King seeks help that becomes trouble . . . sound familiar? We tend to justify are behavior in moments of trouble. It is only then that we utter the words, "If only . . ."

Stop right where you are! Before you go any further . . . before you get to the "if only" . . . Call upon God.

God has promised to be your rescuer, your hope in times of trouble.

Turn to Him first and not as your last resort and be surprised!

Surprised by The Great I Am.

Day 187 a note from God: Micah

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
Micah 1:2-4 NIV

When you read the Bible chronologically, you end up flipping a lot of pages and it can be confusing. The first verse of Micah helps us put Micah in the place we read it today in the midst of 2 Chronicles.

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.Micah 1:1 NIV

So in the midst of the proclaimation that judgement and destruction is coming, there is a message of hope.

God promises there will be a remnant preserved and that in time ONE will come. Each prophet tells us more about this promised Savior.

Micah is most remembered for telling us the savior will come from Bethlehem.

It would be a long wait before this Savior came, but the people held onto this hope.

Today, we are waiting for the return of the Savior as He promised.

Day 186 a note from God: 2 Chronicles 27 and Isaiah 9-12

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
Isaiah 9:1a NIV

This section of Isaiah continues the prophetic words of judgement, but there is also a message of hope . . . a promise of a remnant that will remain - that will be protected . . . a promise of rescue for those in need.

In the midst of our troubles. In the middle of feeling surrounded by trouble. The words from Isaiah remind us that we are not forgotten.

Be reminded this day that no matter the desperation of your situation, there is a Savior.

We no longer must wait for the One who was promised. Christ is with us today.

Call to Him and find your salvation.

Find your hope.

Dat 185 a note from God: Amos 6-9

Do you rulers in Jerusalem and in the city of Samaria feel safe and at ease? Everyone bows down to you, and you think you are better than any other nation. But you are in for trouble! Look what happened to the cities of Calneh, powerful Hamath, and Gath in Philistia. Are you greater than any of those kingdoms? You are cruel, and you forget the coming day of judgment. You rich people lounge around on beds with ivory posts, while dining on the meat of your lambs and calves. You sing foolish songs to the music of harps, and you make up new tunes, just as David used to do. You drink all the wine you want and wear expensive perfume, but you don't care about the ruin of your nation. So you will be the first to be dragged off as captives; your good times will end. The LORD God All-Powerful has sworn by his own name: "You descendants of Jacob make me angry by your pride, and I hate your fortresses. And so I will surrender your city and possessions to your enemies."
Amos 6:1-8 The Message

The words of Amos and God's pending judgement tend to hit a little too close to home - they sound eerily familiar.

It is easy too assume when things are going well that God is pleased with you - that was the mistake the Isrealites were making.

Money, fame, success, etc. can come and go . . . don't blame the coming or the going on God.

Don't make the mistake and think that God still judges nations . . . God is about relationships with individual people - YOU to be specific.

Don't make the mistake of reading America into the story of Amos . . . but equally don't make the mistake of seeing yourself in the story.

Day 184 a note from God: Amos 1-5

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa
Amos 1:1a

The first three chapters of Amos are part of the message of judgement that the prophet delivered to the nation.

The interesting thing about Amos is that he wasn't a professional prophet. Amos was a shepherd from Tekoa.

Amos was a simple guy trying to make a living in the suburbs of the big city when God called him. Amos responded by becoming a messenger (prophet) for God for a short period of time.

Responding to God's call to action in your life does not have to mean a life time commitment. Amos is proof that sometimes God calls you to do odd jobs for a short period of time.

When is the last time you answered the call?

Day 183 a note from God: Isaiah 5-8

The one I love had a vineyard, a fine, well-placed vineyard. He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds, and planted the very best vines. He built a lookout, built a winepress, a vineyard to be proud of. He looked for a vintage yield of grapes, but for all his pains he got junk grapes. "Now listen to what I'm telling you, you who live in Jerusalem and Judah. What do you think is going on between me and my vineyard? Can you think of anything I could have done to my vineyard that I didn't do? When I expected good grapes, why did I get bitter grapes?"

"Well now, let me tell you what I'll do to my vineyard: I'll tear down its fence and let it go to ruin. I'll knock down the gate and let it be trampled. I'll turn it into a patch of weeds, untended, uncared for — thistles and thorns will take over.
I'll give orders to the clouds: "Don't rain on that vineyard, ever!'"

Do you get it? The vineyard of God is the country of Israel. All the men and women of Judah are the garden he was so proud of. He looked for a crop of justice and saw them murdering each other. He looked for a harvest of righteousness and heard only the moans of victims.

Isaiah 5:1b-7 The Message

Through Isaiah God is delivering His message of judgement that is coming.

It would be easy to ignore these words from God, if this was only a story from history.

HOWEVER, this story is in the Bible to teach us.

This message is just as fitting to the church, and every Christian, today.

Playing the game and living on our heels is not the life of a disciple.

We need to be caring for the "vineyard" and producing "fruit".

What have you been doing with your "vineyard"? Produced any "fruit" lately?

The S Word part 1

I have to admit that the sound of the word sin has an enticing, somewhat sinister, ring to it – SIN. Just at the sound of the word images begin to crowd into our minds. Conversely the thought of being good doesn’t bring to mind nearly as numerous or exciting images. Let’s be honest, who really relishes the thought of being good? Being good is somewhat like a perpetual, never-ending, year-round homework assignment.

We do like to use sin as a barrier to separate ourselves from others. We tend to snub certain groups, judging them as inferior, or at the least separating ourselves as not as “bad” a sinner as “them”. Yet when you boil it down, the chief difference between the Christian and others is only that a Christian is an admitted sinner. Actually the one thing most true about sin is that it unites us. We’re not all crooks, perverts, or murderers, BUT we are all are in some way sinners.

In the early 1970’s, psychiatrist, Karl Menninger, wrote a book entitled, Whatever became of Sin? He wrote in the book a plea that we, as a society, not write off all the unpleasant behavior as maladjustment or that we reduce evil to a legal problem by calling it crime.

My dear Dr Menninger, I fear it is too late. I know that we have seemingly always called them the ‘deadly’ sins, but do we still believe that about Sloth, Pride, Anger, Lust, Envy, Greed, and Gluttony? Or has time and culture lessened the sting of these so-called seven deadly sins? Have we stop believing that these sins can harm us? Have we become immune to the thought of sin? Have we outgrown the Seven Deadly Sins?

Jeff Bridges, the actor, stated in a recent interview, “I don’t do Facebook or tweeting or any of that, but I spend huge hunks of my day in front of a computer screen emailing . . . it’s addicting. Like so many things in life, the stuff that comes easily and feels good can really be dangerous.”

The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal GOD had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?" The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"
The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."
When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. GENESIS 3:1-7

The Serpent, brings the temptation – “Did God say . . .” Temptation comes in the simplest of forms. Sin comes to most of us not in the big ways, but in the simple, it’s no biggie, that’s not really a sin, it doesn’t matter, no one will care kinda way. We are still giving into the same lies – “it will do you no harm. You’re being cheated of pleasure and good.” Our inner desire we can handle (or so we think) it is the external temptation that we get caught up in.

Temptation works like this – no one wants to be involved with Pornography, but the harmless link on the computer that looks interesting – the pretty picture - the non-descript e-mail – begins to slowly spiral into a dark region of internet pornography in which we wake up and say how did I get here?

You see I believe as a church, as Christians, in the name of tolerance we have stopped calling sin – sin. Or in our desire to be tolerant, we have stopped doing anything or in old world terms we have become slothful. We have bought the biggest lie of them all – it doesn’t matter. We have in effect been devoured by one of the Deadly Sins with out even knowing it or caring about it – SLOTH.

Sloth pokes at the areas of our life that should be active and alive and instead causes them to atrophy.

A primary assertion amongst family counselors as to the large number of undisciplined children in our schools is that their parents are too lazy to do the hard work – to invest the time and the energy to teach and to nurture their children. Which is why schools are so desperate for quality parents and grandparents to volunteer.

Sloth takes our time and wastes it. It takes our emotions and dulls them. Sloth is an escape – an excuse. Sloth is indifference.

When did Dr. Marcus Welby give way to Nip/Tuck?
When did Carol Burnett become SNL?
When did Johnny Quest become Eric Cartman?
When did Dennis the Menace become Bart Simpson?
When did Father Knows Best become Family Guy?
When did Lucy and Ethel become Desperate Housewives?
When did Old Time Radio Drama and Comedy stop being entertaining?
When did Civil Disobedience become riots in the streets?
When did innuendo become reality?
When did tragedy become entertainment?
When did disrespect become vogue?

While we’re at when did Sin stop being sin?
When did greed become profit?
When did excess become necessity?
When did lust become a marketing tool?
When did envy become a basis for our economy?
When did anger become the preferred method of passionate rhetoric?
When did pride become a virtue?
When did sloth give way to tolerance?

Author Dorothy Sayers writes about the sin of sloth this way: “The world calls it tolerance. It (sloth) is the sin which believes in nothing, enjoys nothing, loves nothing, seeks to know nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing and only remains alive because there is nothing it would die for.”

The haunting words of Pastor Martin Niemöller (Jan 14, 1892 – Mar 6, 1984) speak to slothful and tolerant ways (The origins of this poem have been traced to a speech given January 6, 1946, to the representatives of the Confessing Church in Frankfurt):

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
Church, we remained silent and rationalized the removal of prayer from our schools as no big deal. Then we pondered at the loss of calm and the rise of problems, chaos, and discipline in the schools.

We remained silent and thought it won’t affect me as ratings and guidelines for movies and television lessened and then we pondered, “How did we raise such a violent and sexual aggressive generation?”

We remained silent and thought no problem when they removed the Ten Commandments, like thou shall not kill, from the walls of our courthouses and public places. Then we pondered as the courts made abortion legal and now ponder legalizing assisted suicide.

We remained silent and rationalized abortion as a personal choice and then pondered, “How did we get to the point that children and women have no value and their lives are bartered in human sex trafficking and pornography?”

Church, we are dead when we avoid the truth that hurts and accept the easy lies.

We are dead when our blood does not boil in the face of injustice.

The world is drowning in sin. We are drowning in sin! And someone must cry out! Do not be pulled under! Church, I am asking, no I am pleading, “Wake Up!” Do not be lulled to sleep! Do not let another day go by with someone drowning in the waters of sin!

God put it simply, “you are either for me or against me!” There is no gray. There is no tolerance. Sin is sin and no matter how hard we try to rationalize it in our lives, it will not work in our relationship to God.

A friend once told me, “I’ll never become a Christian because they are always unhappy, carrying a burden of guilt for all their sins. I don’t want a life of guilt.”

The truth couldn’t be further from that concept. A Christan is the only one who does not need to go around feeling guilty. For a believer, sin is a burden that can be put down – let go of – because you are forgiven. The inability to admit you are a sinner is what creates guilt.

It is not fatal to be a sinner, BUT it is fatal to deny that you are a sinner.

Let us take time to confess our sins, and then rise up as forgiven people and begin again this journey of faith.

Day 182 a note from God: Isaiah 1-4

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.
Isaiah 1:13 NIV

The nation was prospering, so things must be right with God. Isaiah comes and says no they are not. Your actions are empty. Your worship is meaningless. Judgement is coming. The message is not all doom and gloom from God.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Is 1:18)

There is hope.

George Barna reported that 62% of the people surveyed in America said the church in America was losing its influence on society. Is is any wonder when the average church spends just 5% on outreach while spending 30% for buildings and maintainance. Churches in America are spending on the average 3 billion dollars (yes Billion!) a year on construction. Perhaps we, like the people in Jerusalem, are just going through the motions of church.

We who know the message of hope must do more than buildings that house hope. We must take hope to the streets.

Day 181 a note from God: 2 King 15 and 2 Chronicle 26

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God.”

Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
2 Chronicles 26:16-19 NIV

Observations from the life of King Uzziah.

1) Responsibility is something learned over time. Becoming king at age 16 might seem really cool, but it certainly led to a life of entitlement and pride. Teach your children responsibility . . . don't just thrust it upon them.

2) Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. As the king grew in power, it was somehow easy to forget the source of the power. When the source is forgotten, it is easy to place all your confidence in self and become full of pride.

3) When it becomes all about us, it is easy to set ourselves up as more important than God. Uzziah is now above the laws of God and takes the role of the priest upon himself.

4) Why is that when we are confronted with the sins of our life we must often respond in anger? Had Uzziah responded with humility perhaps the story would have ended differently.

What will you learn from Uzziah today?

Day 180 a note from God: Jonah

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai Jonah 1:1 NIV

Many people approach the story of Jonah as a big fishing story – a great story but hard to swallow as true.

I am not a "Bible says it; so I believe it" kinda of guy. I want context. I want historical fact. I want the skinny.

That being said, this book does not say who wrote it. It is unlikely that Jonah was the author. The story is not very favourable towards Jonah. No writer in the Bible tells such a bad story about himself.

Regardless, I want to learn from the story. There must be a reason the story of Jonah is in the Bible. And it may be hard to grasp the story as true, but then again how hard is it to believe this story once you understand that Jesus rose from the dead!

You can read more about Noah from my sermon series on Noah here and here and here and even here.

May the word of the Lord come to you this day as it did so long ago for Jonah.

Day 179 a note from God: 2 King 15 and 2 Chronicle 26

The long and winding road . . .

He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
2 King 15:3-4 NIV

However is a sad word. It negates what ever proceeds it.

This is the story of the kings. Whatever good they might have done was left incomplete by their inability to turn the nation from the spiritual rebellion.

We are nearing the end of a long and winding road. This path that will lead to the destruction of the kingdom has been slow. It had taken so long because of God's grace. God has constantly intervened and consistently called out to the wayward people to come back.

The story reminds us that although God is patient and graceful; God is also holy.

We can only kid ourselves for so long. We can only squander the opportunities God gives us for so long.

Death will come and with it judgement.

The road is coming to an end . . .

What have you done with all the opportunities along the way?

Day 178 a note from God: 2 King 12-13 and 2 Chronicle 24

But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, “Why aren’t you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple.” The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.
2 King 12:6-8 NIV

I have been involved in several debates regarding the accountability of ministries:

Should a ministry be required to provide a full accounting for how their funds are spent?

Some see this as an intrusion and state that a gift is given and the giver should trust that it is being used wisely. Others believe that a full accounting of how all gifts are spent and used should be provided or at the least available.

I fall in the second category, but how out of lack of trust. I believe that as followers of Christ we should be different. We are called to be light in this world. In a world where money is a number one temptation, we should show the world that we can be trusted. We should be willing to conduct our business/ministry in the open light of day.

This story reveals that even in the temple there was a need for better structure. The temptation for the priests to use the money without accountability was too tempting - they willing surrender this role.

In ministry, we need to keep our finances above approach. People should give out of faith, but they should also be able to give with full confidence and trust that their gifts will be best used.

Day 177 a note from God: 2 King 9-11

They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
2 King 10:27 NIV

This new King of Israel appears to have promise. Jehu is determined to wipe out all Baal worship in Israel. He calls for a special Baal celebration - all the big Baal leaders show up. He proclaims to them that he doesn't want any Jehovah worshippers in the group - leave if that's who you worship. Jehu has them all wiped out right there and then. Baal worship in Israel is gone! But wait, there's more - the house of Baal is also destroyed and turned into a latrine.

While he hated Baal, he didn't go back to the worship of the One True God, but rather embraced the newer worship that Jeroboam had established back at the beginning of the Northern Kingdom - two golden calves.

Hating that which is wrong or a living a life doing good things in the sight of the Lord can be rewarded, but make no mistake this is an earthly reward - not eternal.

What is your reason for the things you do?

Are you doing right to get ahead or serve God?

July 4th: Free To Celebrate

Over two hundred years ago, men like George Washington led this country to independence. In the intervening two hundred plus years much has been debated about the faith of our founding fathers and much lost with respect to our religious freedom. Upon the occasion of our nation’s celebration this week, I thought it interesting to examine the religious freedom we have from a historical perspective.

George Washington’s life of faith has been at the front of much of the scholarly debate as to the religious roots of this country. George Washington was the General of the Continental Army, the president of the 2nd Constitutional Convention, and the first President of the United States. Let’s begin by setting the record straight about the Continental Congress, 28 members were Episcopalians, 8 were Presbyterians, 7 were Congregationalist, 2 Lutheran, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Catholic, and 3 were Deists (including Benjamin Franklin). Thomas Jefferson who was also a deist was not a part of the Second Constitutional Convention, nor did he take part in the writing of the constitution.

It must be understood that unless one makes it a matter of constant public confession, the record of one’s faith must be found in their recorded deeds and words. Washington’s stature leaves us with much information about his life that is recorded both first and second hand. Washington was a baptized member of the Episcopal Church as were his parents. Like his father, George served as a lay leader in the church. As a student, Washington was well versed in the Bible and other religious books of the day. It was said of Washington that he was “never interested in theological issues; he had absolute faith in the omnipotent power of God. Washington’s religion was one of complete and quiet trust in his Creator.” (Wilbur)

Bishop William White who frequently preached before Washington, wrote in a letter dated November 23, 1832, “I knew no man who seemed so carefully to guard against the discoursing of himself or of his acts, or of anything pertaining to himself; and it has occasionally occurred to me, that when in his company, that (if a stranger to this person) were present, (that person) would never have known, from anything said by (Washington), that he was conscious of having distinguished himself in the eyes of the world. (Washington’s) ordinary behavior, was not such as to encourage intrusion on what might be on his mind.” (Eidsmoe)

Washington’s silence on matters of religion was in large part due to his reserved nature. There are also three distinct reasons that he would have appeared “quiet” with respect to matters of his faith.

First, societal beliefs prevailed that theological issues were a personal and private matter. This was in part due to the fact that voicing the wrong opinion in matters of faith could land you in jail or at war.

Second, public officials in the newly formed United States had a duty to remain neutral on doctrinal matters in order to avoid a split amongst the states based on religious issues. There were Episcopalians in the South, Quakers in Pennsylvania, Catholics in Maryland, Baptists in Rhode Island, Reformed in New York, plus Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Unitarians, Universalists, Jews, Deists, and others found throughout the nation.

Thirdly, there was a widely held belief that government did not belong in religious matters and as a public servant Washington would have remained silent on these matters. On the other hand, it is Washington who added “so help me God” to the oath of office.

Washington did regard himself as a spiritual leader and spiritual example to the nation and people of all denominations regarded him as such. He was a great protector of religious liberty. The phrase “free exercise of religion” as quoted in the first amendment is largely attributed to Washington. He stated in an address to the United Baptist Churches in 1789 that “every person may here (United States) worship God according to the dictates of his heart.”

In an address to the Quakers in 1789, Washington further expressed his concept of religious liberty: “The liberty enjoyed by the people of these States, of worshipping Almighty God agreeably to their consciences, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also their rights.”

Washington was also known as a man of prayer. The pictures of Washington praying at Valley Forge are not of myth, but rather they are recorded by many as first hand observations. It is a matter of record that Washington had a habit of beginning everyday in quiet devotion and prayer and ended each day in the same manner. His prayer habits included the practice of saying grace at the table. There is a story of this action that I particularly like.

It was Washington’s habit to ask a clergyman to lead in prayer if one was present. If not, he led in prayer at the table. On one occasion at Mount Vernon, Washington asked a clergyman who was dining with them to lead in prayer and then, apparently out of habit, proceeded to say the grace. Martha interrupted, “My dear, you forgot that you had a clergyman dining with you today.” Washington then replied pleasantly, “My Dear, I wish clergyman and all men to know that I am not a graceless man.” (Boller)

The matter of Washington’s faith was even debated in the years following Washington’s death in 1799. Washington’s upbringing, actions and words indicate that he was a Christian. Those that knew him well concluded the same. Chief Justice John Marshall, Washington’s biographer, ally, and friend wrote “without making ostentatious professions of religion, he was a sincere believer in the Christian faith, and a truly devout man.” (Marshall)

Fellow Virginian, James Madison said “that he did not suppose that Washington had ever attended to the arguments for Christianity, and for the different systems of religion, or in fact that he had formed definite opinions on the subject. But he took these things as he found them existing, and was constant in his observance of worship according to the received forms of the Episcopal Church in which he was brought up.” (Sparks)

Nelly Custis, Martha Washington’s granddaughter, wrote to Jared Sparks, another biographer of Washington, in 1833 and queried, “Is it necessary that anyone should certify, “General Washington avowed himself to me a believer in Christianity”? (And if so) may we (as well) question his patriotism, his heroic, disinterested devotion to his country. His mottoes were, “Deeds not Words” and “For God and My Country.” (Johnson)

Jared Sparks, whose twelve-volume collection of Washington’s writings made him the best-informed biographer of Washington in the 19th Century (1834-1837) wrote of him:

A Christian in faith and practice, he was habitually devout. His reverence for religion is seen in his example, his public communications, and his private writings. He uniformly ascribed his successes to the beneficent agency of the Supreme Being. Charitable and humane, he was liberal to the poor and kind to those in distress. As a husband, son, and brother, he was tender and affectionate. If a man spoke, wrote, and acted as a Christian through a long life, who gave numerous proofs of his believing himself to be such, and who was never known to say, write or do a thing contrary to his professions, if such a man is not to be ranked among the believers of Christianity, it would be impossible to establish the point by any reasoning.

So we celebrate this week our freedom thanks to men like George Washington. And in spite of those who would seek to revise history, some facts cannot be changed: a cross was erected at the Jamestown settlement, the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock did give thanks to God for their blessings, Thomas Jefferson did make plain references to God in the Declaration of Independence, early Congress did call for the President to proclaim days of prayer and thanksgiving, and the Christian faith and religion did play an important role in the lives of the early American settlers and in the founding of the American Republic.

No rewriting of history will change the fact that this country was born in part to provide a safe haven for Christians to worship freely without government control and/or fear of reprisal by others or the government. But, as you celebrate the freedom you have as a citizen of this country remember also to celebrate the real freedom you have as a citizen of God’s kingdom.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1NIV

Christ lives!
The grave is empty!
Sin has no hold on our lives!
Death has no sting!
The battle is won!
The penalty for your sins was paid!
You are free!
You are free to live!
You are free to worship!
So, Celebrate!

You are free because of Christ. You are held slave to nothing. Nothing!

God loves you and nothing can separate you from that love.

So celebrate this week and everyday the freedom you have through Jesus Christ!
And then ask yourself this question, when my life is over, what evidence of my faith will remain to have let others know that I too was a follower of Jesus Christ?

George Washington Biography Sources:
Paul F. Boller, Jr., George Washington and Religion, 1963
John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution, 1987
William J. Johnson, George Washington the Christian, 1976
John Marshall, The Life of George Washington, 1804-1807
George Washington, George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior, 1746 (reprinted 1988)
Stanley Weintraub, General Washington’s Christmas Address, 2004
William H Wilbur, The Making of George Washington, 1970

Day 176 a note from God: 2 King 5-8

Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

The prophet answered, “As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.
2 King 5:13-16 NIV

Today's passages contain a number of amazing stories as Elijah's promise to Elisha is fulfilled and Elisha does even more amazing things than his predecessor.

A couple observations from chapter 5:

1) We want God to do the amazing. The never before seen and yet most of his miracles take place in the every day activities of life. Don't miss the miracles of each day while waiting and searching for the spectacular.


2) What a contrast Elisha offers in his refusal to accept anything as a result of the miracle. Elisha understood that if the miracle came from God, he had no right to profit from it. A lesson many have forgotten in today's culture.

Day 175 a note from God: 2 King 1-4

When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
2 King 2:1-2 NIV

Elijah leads Elisha on a journey of remembrance and testing. First they travel to Gilgal. The place where Joshua led the nation of Israel into the promised land. Then they travel to Bethel. This is the place where Jacob encountered God. Then they go to Jericho where Joshua led the nation in a great victory. It is here that 50 additional prophets begin to follow the activity. Elijah then leads Elisha to the west bank of the Jordan River. This is one of the nation’s borders and is rich in biblical tradition. This is the river that Moses could not cross and where Joshua led the people to finish what Moses started. Throughout this journey nothing is said about the places. I believe they spoke for themselves. No words were needed to describe the importance of the places. Everyone knew about their significance.

Elisha is in a tough spot. He is the one selected to assume Elijah’s position of leadership. Elijah has been training him, but when will he be ready? Elisha knows this will be a tough spot to fill and asks Elijah for the “GIFT.” Elisha recognizes that a leadership position without God’s spirit will be an empty position of leadership. Elijah’s success had not been based on his ability but rather his obedience to God. The task before Elisha will be impossible without God’s power and leadership.

Elijah has one more important lesson to impart to Elisha with God’s help because the “GIFT” Elisha seeks is not Elijah’s to give. Elisha needs to focus on the God of Elijah and not Elijah, the Man of God.

Wise leaders test the commitment of their followers. John Wesley believed that church membership should include a commitment to Prayer, to be Present, to Give, and to Serve. The church should call all members to accountability. We should be accountable to one another, accountable to the church, and most important accountable to God.

Opportunities to pray, to be present, to give, to serve and to grow are always available. They will not be easy. Will you be faithful to follow wherever you must go? Is this where God has lead you? A Wise leader tests the commitment of his followers. Joining is easy, being a committed member is hard. It certainly was not a easy task following Elijah for the day or for the years. This time of testing and service was hard for Elisha.

When was the last time church was hard for you?