I was upstairs reading and I heard a banging on the window. I walked downstairs and this raven was flying into our window again and again. I shut the curtains so he wouldn’t be able to see into the room and thought that would keep him from hitting the window. A little later, he was doing it again. I walked outside to see if I could figure out what was making him act so crazy. Even with the curtains closed from outside, I could see an almost perfect reflection of the wetlands across the street from us.

The reflection in my window






 
Now I knew why he kept flying into the window. So I took a piece of bright orange ribbon and taped it across the window so it would scare him away.

My window with orange ribbon








It seems to have worked so far. 
It is easy to fall for illusions. When we watch a magic trick, we know even if our eyes deceive us, it’s an illusion. It’s when we don’t know something is an illusion that we get in trouble.

God tells us to watch out for the illusions of this world. He tells us in Proverbs 14: 2 - There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

The world tries to trick you with lots of illusions.
     Illusion - that money brings happiness.
     Illusion – having more possessions will make you happy.
     Illusion – little lies won’t hurt.
     Illusion – as long as I’m nice to people, I will get to heaven.

God has warned us about the illusions of the world,  but everyone has fallen for an illusion of some kind. I wonder how many times we will have to hit our heads before we recognize we are being mislead.

Dear Lord, give me wisdom to see the illusions of the world and teach me to follow you. Amen
Pastor Margaret

Easter Week - the time when kids dream of eggs, bunnies and all sorts of chocolates.  That's okay.  Kids will be kids.  Yet the tragedy is that for most of us, after we leave childhood, the essence of Easter is only a family gathering after church (if we even make it to church).   I'm not against families, and I'm certainly not against family gatherings - I like to celebrate every bit as much as the next person.   However, Easter and Easter Week is so much more.  

When we attend church this coming Sunday, let's remember that Easter has a context.  It doesn't just happen out of thin air.  The week before the resurrection Jesus enters into Jerusalem riding on the foal of a donkey, and the common people gather palm branches to wave before Him and place on the ground.  It puts the authorities on notice: here comes your King!  It was a seditious act (listen to my sermon for April 1).  Furthermore, this riding into Jerusalem was only the introductory event of Easter Week - we call it Palm Sunday.  So what's next?  Answer: read the gospels.  John devotes approximately half of his gospel to Easter Week and the others devote a significant amount of space to the week as well.  

Nevertheless, I want to speak briefly about the next event that John records after Christ enters Jerusalem.  It's the request of the Greeks:

John 12,20   Now  among those who went up to worship at the feast were some  Greeks.  21 So these came to  Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”  22 Philip went and told  Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 

They have a simple request:  "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  What's John's point?  Well, Jesus' ministry has been to Israel, not to the Gentile (non-Jew) world.  Yet now we see that the world, as represented by these Greeks, is seeking Jesus Christ.  This search is precisely the search of every human heart.  All of humanity is filled only in the person of Christ.  The world seeks Him and the world must seek Him, for without Him human beings remain empty.  Without Him human beings are many miles from their point of origin (they were created by Christ)  and many miles from their true home (their destination is supposed to be with Him).  

So what happens?  Jesus says, 
John 12, 23 . . . “The hour has come  for the Son of Man to be glorified."

In other words, Jesus is going to the cross.  He's going to die for you and me.  Easter week must go through that moment - the time of Jesus' death.  Easter is not only about chocolates.  Easter is not only about families.   Rather, Easter remembers Christ's death.  We pause . . . stop . . . and think about these things . . . and we call that day Good Friday.  Yes, Jesus did die.  He died a very bloody, pain-filled death.  Why?  In part so that you would remember.  In part so you would know that He would do, and did do, anything for you.  Why?  Because He loves you.  

Think on these things.  Maybe even read the second half of John's gospel!  In so doing, you will be more prepared for Easter.

Paul 

Last Sunday I opened my sermon with the great Japanese poet Issa.  At a time of great personal loss and at a time when his Buddhist teachers were telling him life was an illusion, he wrote:

The world is dew -
The world is dew -
and yet,
and yet . . . 

Although it has only twelve words, the poem how a greatness about it.  True poetry explains itself and cannot be experienced through Spark Notes or Cliff Notes.  True poetry simply invites us in and somehow . . . somehow . . . we know within ourselves whether it is truly great.  Issa's poem reaches that mark, but it's difficult to know why.  

Perhaps the poem is great because it spoke to Issa's heart.  Despite his many hardships, this man had a vigor for life.  Perhaps the poem is great because as readers of scripture "the world is dew" reminds us of Ecclesiastes.  In that book, life "under the sun" is a life full of mystery and essentially unknowable.  However, I think the poem is great for another reason:  it speaks to the heart of everyone. 

Who reading this blog has not experienced loss?  In the last two weeks three people connected to me (in different degrees and capacities) have left this world for another.  I firmly believe that each has gone to be with Jesus, so I can rejoice for them.  Yet I cannot rejoice for those left here who are close to these three.  Their hearts are broken and when their hearts break, my heart breaks.  

Is this the life of a pastor?  The life of a broken heart?  

The heart is broken -
The heart is broken - 
and yet,
and yet . . .   

. . .  there is hope!  

That's the the way the poem finishes for those of us who wait for Jesus.  His day is coming, and He will return with the clouds in glory soon - very soon.  Look for Him.  Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, and He will not disappoint.


Paul

This is a blog post for all, but especially for those who have been following my preaching through Galatians.  Yesterday was my last sermon through that little book (okay . . . somehow I feel uncomfortable calling it a "book" since it is really a letter, but that's the way it goes).  This little book, only 6 chapters, has changed Christian history.  At it's time, when it was first sent to a few churches 2000 years ago, it must have been a shocking document.  "What?!!  We can be Christians without following the Jewish works of law?  You mean, we don't have to be 'religious?'"  Paul's response:  for freedom Christ has set you free!

Living by faith rather than by works of law did not only change the people of Galatia.  It also changed the Church 1500 years later through the person of Martin Luther.  (If you don't know the person of Martin Luther, and you enjoy following my preaching, consider taking a moment or two and look him up.  Just google his name and you'll find a wealth of information.)  He is a very controversial figure (for a number of reasons), yet we know that God used Luther to institute the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, and it is from that little book known as Galatians that Luther had his awakening regarding justification by faith.  

John Wesley, who was the father of Methodism (the group from which the Nazarenes come), would later have his own awakening - his "heart warming" experience - from a reading of Luther's preface to the epistle to another book:  the epistle to the Romans.  Galatians and Romans are very interconnected because of Paul's discussion about faith and works in both books. 

The point I am making is straightforward:  the book of Galatians is foundational for all Christian preaching and teaching, and my only regret is that I cannot cover it on a more verse by verse basis.  So here's the challenge to all who have enjoyed my preaching:  go back to Galatians.  Make it your own.  There is a wealth of treasures in that little book.  Look up a word.  See how many times that word is used in the epistle.  Ask yourself about the date and setting of the book.  Was the epistle written before or after the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15?  What does it matter?  And how about that "present evil age" Paul refers to in Galatians 1:4?  What could that be?  How does it relate to our lives today?  The questions are endless when you start digging.  Questions breed more questions, and that's the way it should be.   

Now I am aware that this blog post may be a bit "boring" or "dull" to some of you.  It does not have any humor in it, and it may not seem "relevant" to your day today.  However, I believe that sometimes a preacher's blog should be about our foundation:  the Word of God.  

So one more thing for people who want to dig:  Below I list six places where Paul refers to the cross.  What is going on with each?  How does Paul make the cross his own and what significance did it have for his life?  What significance does it have for your life?   Is it "relevant?"  I think we know the answer, but how? 

Cross verses in Galatians:  
2:20   I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. 

3:1   You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was          publicly exhibited as crucified.

5:11   But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

5:24   And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

6:12    It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised--only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ

6:14    May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Paul

It's one of those eastern (and I don't mean the East Coast) ideas that at first tiptoed into our society, but now in recent years has taken confidence and come to a full run.  I am referring to the "harmless and helpful" mantra.  What is a mantra?  A mantra is a set of words that is meant to be repeated in one's mind and on one's lips.  We often think of it as harmless because . . . well . . .  "it couldn't hurt anyone."   We think of it has helpful because it is usually used to identify us.  

Consider mantras in a business environment.  It is said by business gurus that a corporation should have it's own mantra so it's employees can immediately remember who or what their company is attempting to be. 

Example?  Here's Nike's mantra:  "Authentic athletic performance."  

I have no idea what makes a particular piece of athletic equipment authentic and another inauthentic, but for some reason the people at Nike recognize it as helpful.  Okay . . . good for them . . . and as you can imagine, the business examples can go on and on.  Federal Express: "peace of mind."  Mary Kay:  "enriching women's minds." 

Yet today I am not writing about the mantra for business purposes.  Rather, I am writing about the mantra to help us recognize that something else is at work in our society.  According to Wikipedia (the ultimate non-source source - if you know what I mean) the mantra originates in the Vedic tradition of India, which has a formative role in HInduism.  What's going on here?  The purpose of the mantra is not only to help us remember our identity, but the purpose of the mantra is to change us . . . to transform us.  

Hmm . . . on one level we can applaud our Eastern Religious friends because they recognize the power of words to change people.  They are certainly correct in that regard.  Nevertheless, the ease by which we accept mantras in our society raises a fundamental question:   "What are the words we are repeating in our minds?"  Are they purely business slogans?  Are they something more profound . . . perhaps more damaging?  Do they have something to do with our sense of worth?  Do they reflect on the identity of God?  These are critical questions for our daily lives.  

You see, I am convinced that people in our churches are largely living by their own mantras.  They are telling themselves who they are, but they are not telling themselves who they are from God's perspective.  This is precisely what I was referring to yesterday in my preaching when I said that people have either a too high opinion of themselves or a too low opinion of themselves.  When we think of ourselves too highly we make the mistake of forgetting our origin (we are of the earth). When we think of ourselves too lowly we also forget our origin (we are made from the hand of God).  There is much to say about these things, but the point I want to make today is that we  need God's point of view.  

How do we get God's point of view into our minds and on our lips so that they can transform?  We memorize and meditate on the Word of God.

More to come on this subject,

Paul

It's called life, with all its highs and lows.  Some people are happy.  Some are melancholy.  Some are cheerful, yet some are destroyed by anger.  Life for a while seems to go well.  Other times life seems to dish out an oppressive array of circumstances.  A few people  think of others.  Most think too much about themselves.   Every so often a person experiences genuine love, yet so many more live in the bonds of indifference.   We experience healthy relationships.  Just as often a person is spiritually, psychologically or emotionally enslaved by a so called "friend."  

Yes, we call this life.  It's the world in which we live, with all its simplicities and complexities.  Stop and think about the good in this list - from happiness to love.  How do these things make you feel?  Now think of the "not so good" part of the list - from depression to unfaithful friends.  Do you feel hurt . . . even imprisoned?  The fact is, there are many choices and experiences in our lives that enslave us - that pull us down.  Yet there are many good things that set us free . . . or at least they feel like they set us free . . . for a time.  

So here's the question:  how do we attain lasting freedom?  

I listen to talk radio all the time as I take my kids (Heidi and Luke) to school in Longview and Kelso.  It drives them crazy - I know.  Nevertheless,  as I drive I hear words like this:  "we are losing our freedom in this country!"   Hmm . . . could be.  Freedom, at least political freedom, is something we have to fight for and work for in our lives.  It does not come easily.  However, I want to suggest that a more fundamental issue for humanity is not even what is commonly referred to as religious freedom.  Religious freedom, as it is spoken of in our media and classrooms, is the freedom to choose your faith.  That is, religious freedom, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, means you are free to choose your fundamental trust.  These are good things, and we need to fight for them, but there is one freedom that the world cannot understand.  There is one freedom that the world cannot see because the world is in darkness.  

I'm talking about inner freedom - the freedom in the self that cannot be taken away.  This is a lasting freedom.  This is a freedom that endures all circumstances. This is a freedom that cries out, "They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul!"  What is this inner freedom, or to put it another way, what is its nature?  It is fundamentally this:  freedom from sin.  Of course, the word "sin" in the public square has received a bad rap.  People say that sin is just what the Church tells you what to do or not to do.  "Sin is a human construct," they claim.  But sin is not a human construct.  Sin is an inner prison that has come upon humanity to keep people from doing what they want to do or to force them to do what they do not want to do.  It's a prison, and if you have not been set free from it's grip, it does and will control you.  

So because we are sinners, we enslave ourselves.  We cannot do otherwise, because it is far more about "who we are" than about "what we do."  So how do we attain that inner freedom - the freedom that lasts?  Answer: through our Friend who loves us.  You see, I have written of four lessons on friendship, and the truth is, friendship lessons can go on and on.  There are myriads and myriads of them because they are lessons about healthy relationships.  Is there anything more important?  But I want to end this series on friendship with a fifth lesson:  The ultimate Friend is the One who sets us free.  

Why do you think Jesus died?  Do you think it's only about heaven?  No friend, His death is about you.  He died to sin so that you can be set free, and if you don't know what this means, you need to begin to seek. 

One of the most common Bible passages used in wedding ceremonies comes from John 2.  We have two stories in this chapter.   We have the story of a wedding in Cana - where people are invited in - and we have the story of the cleansing of the temple - where Jesus throws everyone out!  You couldn't have two stories more diametrically opposed to each other.  One story is about celebration.  The other story is about judgment.  Who reading this wouldn't choose to experience the first story over the second?!

At the end of chapter 1 Jesus calls to Himself a new set of friends - the first disciples.  We see Andrew, Peter, Nathaniel and Phillip coming to Him and staying with Him.  It must have been an eye-opening experience - just spending time with the "Lamb of God."  Can you imagine the conversation?  What would you hear and see?  

So in this context, we read the wedding story:

John 2,1   On  the third day there was a wedding at  Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with  his disciples.  3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  4 And Jesus said to her,  “Woman,  what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 

John 2,6   Now there were six stone water jars there  for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty  gallons.  7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.  9 When the master of the feast tasted  the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”  11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested  his glory. And  his disciples believed in him. 

On Friday last week I wrote about the necessity of our eyes being redeemed.  Human beings without God's help see the world a particular, but limited way.  For example, the Bible tells us that in reference to human beings we look on the outside of a person, but God sees the heart.  The result?  Without God's help, we are easily deceived.  We do not see the truth about people, nor do we see the truth about various events.  God can do great works before us, but that does not mean we recognize them.  "They happened by chance," we say, or we offer a natural explanation when there is no natural explanation.  We simply do not see without redeemed eyes.   

Consider the Old Testament witness to this truth:

Deuteronomy 29,2     And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:  “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land,  3 the great  trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders.  4 But to this day  the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. 

So what does John 2 reveal to us about friendship?  "Paul, isn't that what you're writing about?"  Yes it is, and remember what I said above:  without God's help, we do not see the truth about people.  The disciples were on the journey toward redemption - they had not fully arrived yet.  They were beginning to see, but could not see clearly. Seeing would take faith, and their faith would develop through the course of the gospel.  So we read in John 2:11  This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested  his glory. And  his disciples believed in him.

What's the point?  The point is that the disciples, Jesus' friends, saw Christ's glory, and they were able to see Christ's glory because they were in the process of being redeemed.  Not everyone in Cana could see or understand what really happened that day - only those who believed.  Think about the friendship sequence based upon John's gospel: 

 1.  Friendship starts with wanting to be a friend

2.  Friendship requires loving and honest communication

3.  Friendship requires risk-taking

4.  Friendship reveals Christ's glory

In other words, when Jesus "manifests his glory," the disciples begin to reap the reward of being Christ's friends.  The greatest friend we can have in life is Jesus, and as we seek Him consistently, He reveals Himself.  Yet the sequence fits in our other relationships.  As we decide to be friends, and as we are loving and honest, and as we decide to take risks, true friendship reveals the glory of God. This is God's way, but it takes redeemed eyes to see God in our relationships.  

I only have one question:  Have you seen Him lately?  He's somewhere in your friendships, but you need to seek Him to see Him.


Paul

This morning when I got out of bed my room was dark and quite frankly . . . a little bit cold.  Kristy likes it chilly when we sleep, and that's okay, as long as I have plenty of covers.  Well, I got out of bed and I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I knocked something off my dresser.  It didn't seem like much, so I didn't pay any attention to it.  I was much more interested in getting into a hot shower than worrying about something on the floor.  Then it happened . . . I inadvertently stepped on the very thing I knocked to the floor. I looked down and couldn't see very well (it was dark, remember?), but my reaction was pretty simple when I felt the object:  "uh oh!"  It was my glasses, and the truth is . . . I need my glasses in order to see.  

Fortunately for me my glasses were bent, but not broken.  "Hey, I have lived with bent glasses multiple times in my life," I whispered to myself.   "And this time it's just the little extensions that sit on the bridge of my nose that are bent.  No big deal."  

As you may have guessed by now, the fact that I had a personal "glasses incident" this morning has directed my thinking toward my eyes. Eyes . . . brown, green, hazel, blue . . . no matter . . . what would we do without them?  Let's face it: they are a miracle of God's creation.  I can't even imagine the complexity that goes on in those two small organs affixed in our heads - miracle of creation.  

Yet eyes are not only miracles of creation.  They are also object lessons of redemption. When Jesus came to the world he did miracle upon miracle.  John, in his gospel, liked to call them "signs."  I've been thinking about these signs lately (I teach a course called Disciple Bible Study in my church every Wednesday night and we've been in John the previous two weeks), and I have come to realize that each sign points to a greater reality.  

Are you familiar with the sign of the man born blind?  I'll give you the first two verses:

John 9,1   As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  2 And his disciples asked him,  “Rabbi,  who sinned,  this man or  his parents, that he was born blind?”  3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but  that the works of God might be displayed in him.

It's a great story and it covers all of chapter 9, but for our purposes in this blog, notice Jesus words: the man was born blind so that the "works of God might be displayed in him."  As you read the story, however, you discover that although the works of God are displayed when Jesus gives the man sight, not everyone sees the works of God displayed.  

Did you hear that? Not everyone sees the works of God displayed. So the question remains, "who is going to see?"  I'm not talking about who is going to see in the story (there's no room in this blog to discuss those details).  Rather, I'm asking the question, "who is going to see today?"  

Do you have eyes?  If you're reading this blog, I know your eyes have been created (wow, that's obvious), but have your eyes been redeemed?  There's a difference!  There's a world of difference, and . . . 

      in the next blog we'll see that it takes redeemed eyes to see and understand friendship's fourth lesson.  


Prayer:  Lord Jesus, we need eyes to see.  It's all too obvious.  But Lord, we need redeemed eyes to see as you see, and if we do not see as you see,  our lives and even the world are out of focus.  Lord, redeem our eyes, so that we can reveal your glory in this world.