There is a Step Missing

So last night I was watching this show on PBS. It was midnight and I should know that nothing good comes on after midnight. It was the series "In The Life." Well, I watched it and only saw part of it and there was a UMC pastor on there. I think she probably claimed herself as a victim, although I didn't see all of this story. What I didn't learn until a few minutes ago was that this show is put out by the LGBT community. This woman from the pulpit said "I am in a covenant relationship with another woman." Later on in the show she said "If someone asks me while I am being examined if I am a lesbian I would have said "yes." It turns out that that question was never raised when she was examined, but I would think that there has to be something in church bylaws against such a thing. Sure, I have not studied their church order, but isn't that something that has to be disclosed? The CRC says that you cannot be a practicing homosexual and hold church office. Maybe the UMC is not as clear on this? However, she did get removed from the pulpit because she was a practicing lesbian. It is just interesting what the "church" has become. I tend to think of ministry as a high calling and there are people in this high calling who defy even the denomination that they are a part of? Maybe I am making too much of this situation and possibly someone will say that any problem in any church that causes the pastor to leave or get deposed is equivalent.

No Comprende

I just do not understand why people are so far out there when it comes to belief. Why is it so bad to believe that God exists? Even worse, where does the disposition come from? I have heard many people say that Christianity is horrible because of the people that are allowed in. Isn't that passing judgment? They look at people around them and it is as if people are walking around with this Christian tattoo on their foreheads. Let us not be like the hypocrites who stand on the corners when they pray. Maybe it is this attitude that nonbelievers want to attack. Maybe it is that people are boasting about their Christianity and they go out into the world and do something dumb. Well, we all do things for selfish motives. We all fall, too. If we did not there would be no need for a savior. Ted Haggard got himself into trouble. So, that must mean that all Christians have this problem, right? No, not really. Everyone makes mistakes in this world. That is called sin. However, people make judgments based on a few. Because Ted Haggard did this, Christianity must be wrong. But, this is a false assumption. Man is never clear of all temptation until he reaches the promised land. There are some sins that are more public than others and much more apparent. However, lying is just as much a sin as sexual immorality. There is no level to sin. It does not go 2 lies = 1 sexual immorality. Ultimately, what good does not following God give you? Are there some kind of limitations placed on you when you follow God? Is it as if all your fun is gone? Is having all your indescretions really that much fun? These provide temporary "fun." Yeah, Christianity is not perfect, but it doesn't have to be. It just has to bring forth the message of Christ in the right way. The men speaking God's Word are not perfect, so it is hard to say that Christianity is perfect.

This Hits Home

THE CLOAK2 Kings 2:7-14 (http://www.BibleGateway.com/bible?passage=2+Kings+2:7-14)"[Elisha] picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah ...." 2 Kings 2:13
A cloak, a long, heavy, robe-like coat, was an Old Testament symbol of authority. For a prophet in Israel, it was a symbol of the power of God resting on him. When Elijah first met Elisha (1 Kings 19:19), he threw his cloak around him. I wonder what it was like to feel the weight of the anointing of the Spirit of God. When Elisha felt that, he left everything and followed Elijah.But now, with Elijah gone to heaven, Elisha must go on. Picking up the cloak that Elijah left behind, Elisha goes back the way they came, and he knows God is with him as the water of the Jordan River divides, just as it did for Elijah.Is there a follower of Jesus whom you admire? Often, for example, when an old Christian grandmother dies, her children and grandchildren will speak through tears and with deep warmth about her faith. They'll recall how she went to church every Sunday, loved the old hymns, read the Bible every day, prayed every morning and night, and stayed married to grandpa all those years. They'll speak of how her faith inspired them.But, sadly, in many such families the kids only come to church occasionally - and the grandkids, rarely. Though inspired by Grandma's life, they don't imitate it.Do you know any people who walk faithfully with the Lord? Follow their example. Pick up their cloak.
PRAYERFather, show me some examples I can follow. Give me the courage to be like them. Anoint me, Lord. Fill me with your Spirit to become like Jesus. In his name I pray. Amen.

Some Reflection

You know, it is yet again a sad day. I realize just how precious life really is. I have told the story a few times about Tony and once I mentioned the couple that I went to visit this past summer. I spent a lot of time with both of these sets of people and now comes the news that the husband has died, leaving his wife to deal by herself. She is a very strong lady. I have said a few times before that she only cared how you felt and that would cheer her up. If you were doing fine then she was doing fine also. She had to care for her husband these last few years. Before my internship this summer I wondered if they still existed. I would see her in church every once in a while, but not on a regular basis. When I went to visit this past summer I found out why. It was because she cared about her husband so much and in his last years he had become not only disoriented but he fell often. She was always so afraid that he would fall and she would not be able to pick him back up. The only thing that I can think is "wow." She was a woman who could not weigh more than 120 pounds and she would pick her husband up off the ground and he had to be about 6'4". What a strong woman! But, what makes her even stronger is her faith in the Lord. Sure she could not make it to church every week because she cared about her husband, but she still recognized what God meant. She is a very strong Christian and I know that she realizes that her husband is in a much better place now. It is amazing what people like this can do to you. I am strong because I know that she is holding strong. She had to care for him for these last few years. She will be more lonely now, but she will also be able to go back to church, something that I know will strengthen her. She cares so much when so many others care very little. She realizes the precious gift that God has given to everyone who believes. Her faith is strong, if only all of us had that strong of faith. Her husband is now gone, but his memory stays with us. He was hospitable to me and he too was a guy who cared. When I visited them this summer he would talk of how he knew my grandfather. His mind was not all there, but the memories that he had were great memories.

Bookends

In my reflections over my winter break I began to think. In previous posts I referred to Tony and the other couple that I visited. These were bookends to my summer. Well, deaths that happened to these people were also bookends for my semester. Tony went right before classes started in the Fall and Ralph died right before finals were over for the Fall term. Well, with bookends there is a definite beginning and end. But, as I have learned, times goes on. We face things in our lives and we always say "Why God, he had so much left to do." But, when we step back and look, we realize that it was for the best. A few years ago I was given a choice at the school district. I was told that I would not maintain my job for longer than the summer. I could have easily lashed out at God and said "Why God, I have so much left to do." But, I didn't. I realized that God had bigger plans. After all, after I lost my job I got my bachelors degree in Youth Ministries and am currently studying for my MDiv. Did that bookend of my life mean the end of my life? It meant the end of a chapter of my life, but a new chapter began. Ultimately one day there will be no more chapters to be written. But, that last chapter will be the most glorious. That will be the best chapter, too. But, there are so many people in this world that have "great" chapters now, but will not have that greatest chapter and that is what causes my heart to be saddened. So many people want those "great" chapters to be now instead of later. It is true that as we age we lose more and more. By the time we are 30 we miss the things we were able to do when we were young. When we are 60 we can't move as well as we could at 30, and when we look at the world for the last time we aren't able to act like a kid anymore. These are chapters in our lives, but no matter what afflictions we have we can always be certain that the greatest chapter is still to follow. I am often reminded of my grandmother when I think of this. The woman lost both of her legs, but you know what? Her greatest chapter followed, the chapter that gave her all she ever needed, the great joy of being in the presence of her Savior. We can't bring back our deceased relatives and friends, but we can know that if they had a relationship with Christ they are in the greatest chapter of all. We lash out and tell God that people had so much left to do, but there effect on the world was great enough and we realize that these people are living their greatest chapter even though "they had so much left to do."