61st Street UMC - Goodbye, Old Friend

I had the chance to revisit a very special place today. There was a lunch time, Good Friday service at 61st Street United Methodist Church, a church where I served from 1978 to 1980. This was the first church I served in, other than my home church, and ran the circuit with Bro. Jim Hobgood. It was the church where I rededicated my life on March 25th, 1979, and felt my heart turned within me. I learned spiritual Joy, and learned spiritual warfare. I learned that prayer was more than just words, and that no sin is greater than God's love.

The church history goes back more than 100 years in that same location, and has been a fortress of service for the poor, elderly, and world beaten of West Nashville. Two of their ministries, a Hispanic outreach that serves there, as well as a Christmas Last Minute Toy Shop for parents that wouldn't be able to give to their children otherwise, are highly recognized for their service to the community.

The church's last service will be in June of this year. They are being closed, shut out by the "revitalization" of the neighborhood. The alter where I truly gave my heart to Him, the piano I played for hours are still there, for now. The clock on the wall that Jim Hobgood frequently ignored, still hangs. The stories and tears of over 100 years of saved souls are still in those walls. But where once, families with little income had a chance to at least have a home, they are pushed out on all sides by $400K "Monopoly" houses crammed in two and three to a lot. As these families are pushed away, those the church has served are diminishing in number.

I spoke to the Hispanic leader there, Rev. Miriam Cortez, and shared my memories of the church, and was joined by another member, whose history goes back over 60 years there, and her parents before her as well. I know there are other church locations out there, but this was her home, and to lose that is to lose just a piece of yourself. The pastor said they are still looking for a place to serve, as the ministry is so vital, especially for the multitude of children there. She says they are prayerfully hopeful. I join with them in prayer.

But all is not sad. Many souls were saved within those walls. Many souls were re-claimed, like mine. And for every life reborn, others outside those walls came to know Him, too. Ministries come and go, but the touch of God's hand is forever. Out of death, comes life. This is the Easter Story. Without the Cross, there is no empty tomb. From the passing of this small church on the corner of 61st Street and New York Avenue, may life burst forth. It's Friday, but we pray for Sunday. Amen.

I think I'll just sleep in...

"Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see you. I want to see you." - Paul Baloche

"Stand by me. Oh, stand by me.
Oh, won't you please, stand by me." - Ben E. King

"Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." - Jesus

You know, some days it's just hard to see the good. those days when the debate of getting out of bed or just staying put  with the covers up are real. Those days it feels like you've been put on the crazy mouse ride by force, with out a safety bar. Maybe it's just me, but some days, facing the world is tough, and running seems a viable option.

That's where the verse in John's gospel always comes back to me. (Sometimes sooner, sometime later, depending on how much I resist!)

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart. I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (ESV)

The trouble with fighting tribulation, is that in the midst of the fight, there is no end in sight. the greatest weapon in tribulations arsenal is the despair of failure. But this verse says there is an end. The tribulation in the world, whether global, national, local or personal, HAS BEEN OVERCOME. There is nothing the world can throw at you that Jesus has not overcome. Notice, He's not taking it away, necessarily, but assures you there is an end, you will win, and He's there with you to see you through.

As a person who sometimes can be depressed, I have clung to this verse like a security blanket. Does that sound weak? It's not. Jesus begs us to lean on Him, remove our burdens to take on His (Matt. 11:29-30). Rest in Him, and follow where He leads, even if the going is rough. (Ps. 23) In a time and a world that can be more than overwhelming, it is good to know that our guide, our savior, our Lord, our Jesus, has overcome.

Heroes, Sinners, and Ordinary Folk

"Where love rules, there is no will to power, and where power predominates, love is lacking. The one is the shadow of the other." Carl Jung

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8 (ESV)

I consider myself (somewhat often) to be the average Christian, treading that fine line of in the world not of it, although occasionally a foot may slip off the side, or an arm, or a leg. And then of course, those times I go leaping head first over the side! (As Mr. Jimmy Buffet says "It's a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning!")

Without God's continued grace (and apparently...unending patience) I would be nowhere. None of us would. Without His forgiveness of all, all would be lost. But even if we don't accept His forgiveness, He continues to love us, continues to call us to Himself, to shower us with blessing beyond imagining.

Now here's the kicker. We are told to forgive, as God has forgiven us. (Colossians 3:13) To love others, as God loves us. (John 13:34) Otherwise, God is not in us, and we do not know Him. I don't know about you, but I have been known to hold a grudge or two. And it's wrong. And I say that's just not possible. No one can be that good. And then...

Louis Zamperini. Olympic Runner, POW in Japan during WWII, his story told in the book and movie "Unbroken". Beaten, starved, humiliated. Yet he not only was able to forgive his captors, after a time, he went back to Japan to reach out personally with forgiveness and love.

Betsie Ten Boom. Sister of Corrie Ten Boom, author of "The Hiding Place". She and Corrie were in the same prison, same work camps, same concentration camps. She was beaten, starved, humiliated, forced to sleep on soiled straw filled with fleas, eventually became sick and died without ever seeing freedom. Yet she prayed for her captors, not for their punishment, but that they could be released from darkness to experience the Joy that is Jesus. Her last words were for Carrie to care for them.

And I am ashamed. How can such love exist? I feel completely incapable of such love. Guess what? So did Lewis. So did Betsie. When there was no forgiveness in them, they asked God to forgive THROUGH them. When there was no love to give, they asked God to love THROUGH them. Rather than think others unlovable, let God love them through you. Rather than withhold forgiveness, let God forgive through you. The darkness they put you through is little compared to the darkness that enslaves them, tears at them, drains their hope, and leaves them empty, hopeless, alone.

When opportunity presents itself (and I speak to myself as well), let God forgive when you cannot. Let God love when you hate. Then God can also heal your hurt, turn your heart, and make you both whole.

By the way, I highly recommend both "Unbroken" and "The Hiding Place" as excellent reading. Love and Peace.

Patrick of Ireland

Many years ago, a young British lad of 16, Maewyn Succot, was abducted from his home by Pirates, and treated as a slave for 6 years. Then, receiving a vision from God he was to go home, he escaped. He traveled for miles to finally get to a port, found a ship sailing for Brittan, and came home. His life had changed, however, and he became a Christian, then a priest. Another vision call him back to his captors isle, however, and he returned to share Christ with the people there, using the new name he had taken, Patrick, and eventually becoming Bishop there. While others had already been spreading the Good News, it is his influence that is most often recognized. Patron Saint of Ireland, today is the day remembering his death, March 17th, although the exact date cannot be verified.

The following hymn, in prayer form, is attributed to St. Patrick. I've posted it here before, but it bears repeating. His strength in humility, his peace in total submission to the Triune God he loved and served so well.


St. Patrick's Breastplate

I arise today, Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity
Through belief in the Threeness
Through confession in the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension
Through the strength of his decent for the judgment of doom

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim
In obedience of angels
In service of archangels
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward
In prayers of patriarchs
In predictions of prophets
In preaching of apostles
In faith of confessors
In innocence of Holy Virgins
In deeds of righteous men

I arise today
Through the strength of Heaven
Light of sun; radiance of moon'
Splendor of fire; depth of sea;
Stability of Earth; firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me
God's might to uphold me
God's wisdom to guide me
God's eye to look before me
God's ear to hear me
God's word to speak for me
God's hand to guide me
God's way to lie before me
God's shield to protect me
God's host to save me
From snares of devils; from temptations of vices
From everyone who shall wish me ill
Afar and anear; alone and in multitude

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils
Against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and soul
Against incantations of false prophets
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics
Against craft of idolatry
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards
Against every knowledge that corrupts men's body and soul

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding
So that there may come to me abundance of reward
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me

I arise today, Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity
Through belief in the Threeness
Through confession in the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

Always

"Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

People, at some point in their lives, will face some disappointment. It's just the way things are. That first broken heart. (and the second, the third, the fourth...) The first experience of defeat instead of victory. The desertion of all willpower when confronted with a Krispy Kreame donut. Even the disappointment to ourselves, as time moves on, and our own bodies conspire against us. (If the scales of justice were mine to use, they would be equally balanced between Imodium and Metamucil - my colon cancer buddies will recognize this one!)

Maybe those last two are more mine :), but it's still the same feeling - disappointment. And when disappointment hits, it is almost always accompanied by its old friend - isolation. We retreat with our wounds, and try to close off anything that could hurt. But what really happens is we dwell on the disappointment even more, and use it as the stick to beat ourselves with. The prophet Elijah went through it (1 Kings 19), David went through it (Psalm 22), Jacob went through it (Genesis 32). All men experience that. They feel it is just them against the world. But that is an illusion. We think that because we hurt, God is no longer there. In truth, He is closest when we are hurting, so that He can give peace in our trial. While the wounds may not disappear, He is there to be with us through the suffering.

Reach out to Him. Accept His Love. Accept His peace that comes, even when there seems to be nothing to be peaceful about. It is in this, His greatest healing occurs. In this, His strength comes through in our weakness. Because He is with us, always.

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:19 ESV

"When God says, 'I know you are dust. I made you'. That's when God says, 'I share my grace, my love and my mercy, because I know how frail and fragile you are, and I know that you cannot do it alone.'" Rev. Mark Bryan, senior pastor Glen Leven Presbyterian Church (as quoted in the Tennessean, 3/2/17)

"All we are is dust in the wind." - Kansas

The party of Fat Tuesday has past. Ash Wednesday has come, from the ashes of the celebration of last year's Palm Sunday. Now we enter the season of Lent, a time of waiting and preparing, like Advent. Unlike Advent, however, instead of a birth, we prepare for a death.

We are reminded of our own mortality almost daily. To think that God would come down and subject Himself to that mortality, for the single purpose of a horrible, sacrificial death, seems beyond comprehension. Yet He did, because only in His sacrifice, could we come back to a true relationship with Him. Only by sinless sacrifice, could sin be washed away; removed as far as the East is from the West. Forgiven.

Jesus knew that sacrifice would require His death. But the idea of our reunion with Him and the Father was so wonderful to Him that He willingly suffered and gave life itself to achieve it, because He also knew what was on the other side of that sacrifice. Life everlasting together.

So for Lent we wait, we sacrifice, but knowing that in the end, we rejoice. For He who bore our sins, lives and reigns and loves us beyond our wildest dreams. Amen.

" He knew me then, He knows me now, and He loves me still somehow."
- Dallas Holm

Behold God

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

This is a saying that is used several time in the bible. When Moses crossed the Red Sea, they sang “The LORD is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation.” Exodus 15:2

It is in Psalm 118, which would have been used as a song of praise, especially at Passover, and would have been one of the last songs sung by Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper. Verse 14 sings “The LORD is my strength and my song, he has become my salvation.”

In Isaiah, though, two words are put together as “LORD God”. (LORD is all caps, by the way…LORD!) The name translated LORD is Jah (Yaw), a contraction for the name of God. God is from the word YHVH (Ye-ho-vaw’), also God’s name, but the base word means Eternal. So in Isaiah, he is emphasizing the Eternal LORD is in control. Let’s do a little background. Mr. Peabody, set the Way Back Machine....

The kingdoms of Judah and Israel had been split for some time now, 10 tribes with Israel, 2 with Judah. Ahaz is king over Judah. Ahaz is one of those kinds of people that cries out to God when he needs something, then takes credit when it’s done. You know, a politician. In this case, the Assyrian Empire has been doing an aggressive westward expansion. Think Nationalist Germany in the late 1930s. “All ve vant is peace. A piece of zis country, a piece of zat country…”

Anyway, Syria and Israel (of the 10 tribes) decide to band together for safety, and try to persuade Ahaz to join them in alliance. When Ahaz says no, Syria and Israel try to get more persuasive, by declaring war on Judah.

When Ahaz cries out, Isaiah come and tells Ahaz, that God’s got this. He’s going to have Assyria deal with Syria and Israel, and Ahaz will be just fine. “The LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” Then Isaiah says to Ahaz, “Choose a sign to prove me, as deep as Hell or as high as Heaven.” And Ahaz, true to the coward he was, says, “I don’t dare tempt God!” (He also couldn't have taken credit for it later!) I love the next verses. Isaiah gets ticked off (he didn’t like him much in the first place) and says...

“Is it just too easy worrying men, that you now have to worry God, too?? The LORD himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he know how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy know how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.” (By the time Jesus was born, the 10 tribes of Israel had been scattered, and only the two tribes of Judah remained.) 

What is that for today, though? It was good for Ahaz, and it was good for our soul’s salvation through Jesus. But is that where it stops? I don’t think it is. As an example, the Passover celebration is for remembrance, to remember the deliverance from Egypt. But as time went on, it was also to remember the deliverance from the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Turks, even into modern times with the Holocaust. Deliverance is not a one-time thing, but goes on and on and on, and each time, “God comes through.” And so it is in our lives, God doesn’t come through for us just in our soul’s salvation, but in the salvation of our daily trials and tribulations. He is Immanuel, “God with us”, in every step we take, everything we do, and is our strength and song and salvation.

For me, so many times, so many different ways when there was no way, God made a way.  When the options seemed hopeless, God created hope. When I would scream “Why!” He would say, “Let me worry about that, rest in my peace.” There is no greater strength than total submission to God. Let me say that again. There is no greater strength than total submission to God. That is NOT surrender. That is NOT giving up. God can only come through for us WHEN WE LET HIM! As long as we try to do things on our own (and get to claim them as our own), He will respect our not letting Him in. He won’t intervene where we don’t allow Him to. But when we give control to Him, He can then be our strength, our song, our salvation!

Let me repeat that verse.

“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

May He be yours today.