Monday Morning After

It’s funny how a verse of scripture you have read many times, suddenly strikes you in a new way.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted… (Matthew 4:1)

On Sunday, we started a Lenten series entitled “Walking with God in the Desert” because so much of the biblical record and its people found their lives tied to the desert. The Mediterranean Sea was on one side and basically desert was on all the other sides. God spoke to people in the desert and we are inviting God to speak to us today. We also are thinking about times when life seems like a desert journey, which brings me to that verse above.

I am fine with Jesus being tempted in the desert. It demonstrates his humanity and helps me think about resisting my own temptations and I become clearer about whose I am. But why would the Spirit lead Jesus there?  The Devil maybe, but not God’s Spirit. I like to think that God is looking out for my happiness in all things. And does that mean that the Spirit may sometimes lead us into desert periods knowing that faith will be required?

This lent we hope to find out more.

On Sunday, we introduced some songs for lent and Darlene & Ralph brought in a tent for the children’s story. The children jumped in and my first thought was that this was a great classroom management strategy, but the lesson was from Moses and the tent of meeting, one of my favorite passages (Exodus 33). You had to be there. Maybe you were.

Monday Morning After

We returned on Saturday night from a week of medical clinics and hospital construction in connection with the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic and our missionary partner, Kristy Engel. While our bodies are home, our hearts and wandering thoughts keep taking us back to the “DR”. We shared some of our experiences on Sunday morning and will again in March, but Doug expressed what was on my mind that morning. There is not one impression you come away with on a trip like this, but what God teaches you is about many things that do and don’t necessarily have to do with the poverty in the bateys (small clusters of homes in the middle of sugar cane fields).

I think of two members of our group, for instance. The way they modeled the Christian life is still haunting my thoughts.

One had this instinctive impulse to encourage and complement people. It was hard to do anything without him coming to you afterwards and telling you what a great job you did and how much it meant to him. The power of encouragement is amazing. It made you want to encourage others, too.

I was also drawn to another in the group who was always in a conversation about the Christian faith. He had an ability to naturally and comfortably and repeatedly get into discussions where people were asking him his thoughts on any number of faith issues, from the Jesus to the end times, from the differences between churches to what it was like to live the Christian life. I want to be like that.

Does God send people into your life who make you want to be a better Christian? He does mine. And he took the opportunity to get my attention when I was expecting something else.

Monday Morning After

The morning after the Super Bowl, I usually find myself trying to remember commercials. Most people commented on the dog trying to get through the door or the new “E Trade” baby (The old baby must be in preschool by now). Instead, I have been thinking about the Clint Eastwood speech at halftime. It was a moving speech that combined national pride, courage to face the future, and subtle references to the game of life, all in the framework of Detroit’s auto industry. It was about life and now everyone is claiming it was secretly about them. It took me back to a book by Bob Buford called Half Time. It was aimed at men and the concept was simple (no comment ladies). There are times in life when we need to stop, head into the locker room to evaluate how things are going, and make the changes needed for an even better second half. There are times in life when a half time experience is transforming. Have you ever headed to the locker room with God?

On Sunday, the stadium was ready for the big game, I mean the sanctuary was filled with expectant worshipers as we dismantled Jesus’ surprising words: “You are the light of the world”. They are only found in the Gospel of Matthew, calling us to reflect God to the world through our good works. We are to be visible with our faith (like cities on a hill) and to be illuminators of God at work in the world (so all may see). This is Camp Month and the Children’s Story was about getting ready. (Next Sunday, Rev. John Buskey, our current head of Outdoor Ministries will be in worship.) Rev. Mary Lou Green led in a commissioning of our short term missionaries by having the children come and lay hands on us while she prayed. And yes, we headed to the locker room, I mean Titus Hall, for soup & sundaes after church. It was a Super Sunday. You had to be there. Maybe you were.