October 19, 2009
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. There is surely a future HOPE for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Listen and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Proverbs 23:17-19

Whenever the scripture says not to do something it means the people to whom the scripture was addressed were doing it. In this case they were envying sinners. And the only reason one might have to envy sinners, or anyone else for that matter, is because they have more stuff or more power or more of whatever it is that you don't have. The temptation was to stop acting with integrity or honesty or being generous in order to gain at the expense of others. It sounds a lot like our time where the root cause of our financial crisis was greed. A desire by many to have more and more on both the lending and borrowing side of the equation and countless innocent people pay the cost. Then as now even the people of God were tempted to envy the lifestyles of the rich and famous and measure their worth by what they don't have rather than who they are--people with a future hope that is guaranteed, not by trust funds or banks or governments but by the One who holds the future.

So be zealous for the fear of the Lord and keep on the right path, the path of kindness and mercy and generosity and love. When you invest in such things the return is peace and joy. And that is an investment worth making.

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Psalm 65 has a global perspective on the work of God in the world. In verse 2 all people will come to the One who hears prayer. In verse 8 those living far away, where morning dawns and evening fades, marvel at the wonders of God. But God also cares for land and water. The meadows covered with flocks and the valleys mantled with grain shout for joy and sing. The psalm celebrates a God of abundance whose awesome deed of righteousness is to restore and renew people and creation. This is not a hope limited to the children of Israel instead it is from Zion that hope will extend to the ends of the earth. And so this is not a hope limited to the church but rather it is from the people of God that the future hope is proclaimed in word and deed. It is a good reminder that while it is true Jesus loves me, it is only because God so loved the world.

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Jim F, Roland, Gus, Intern Ellen and I made almost 35 gallons of Pastor Phil's Smoked Beef Chili yesterday afternoon. Seven pots named after the seven deadly sins ranging from sweet to cayenne pepper hot. There was a lot to prep before cooking and as Intern Ellen was dicing onions I said this is called mise en place which is French for putting in place. What other internship site teaches theology, preaching and French culinary terms. Anyway, the idea is before you start cooking you get everything you need cut up and in place. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain has often referred to mise en place as his religion. I'm not sure about that and I think he might be disappointed in the end, but it certainly makes the cooking process easier and less prone to missing ingredients.

This Sunday is Reformation Sunday. One of the hallmarks of the Reformation was the attention Luther paid to teaching children the faith. The catechism was designed to be used by the head of each household so that the essentials of the faith, the Creed, the Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer would be explained and memorized. It was a faith based mise en place, if you will.

I'm grateful for the role my parents and other adults played in putting in place in my heart and mind the tenants of the faith and shaping my understanding of the God who loves me. It made all the difference for those times when life heated up.
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October 22, 2009
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good HOPE, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Eternal encouragement and good hope seems to me a welcome thought for this dreary day. It is like living in Seattle without the mountains and Pacific Ocean to cheer you up. And when you have as many animals as we do who need to use our backyard on a daily basis encouraged hearts and daily strength can be in short supply. But that is true even when the sun is shining.

It was true for the Christians in Thessalonica who were becoming more and more concerned that Jesus had not returned. When the hope filled expectation of Jesus imminent return was met by the reality of living day after day as persecuted people, good deeds and words were hard to come by. And as time went on they became more and more worried that family members who died before the return of Christ would be left behind. So Paul reminds them of the source of their eternal encouragement and good hope.

It was God's love and mercy that first captured their hearts and minds and that is not subject to change. It was true yesterday. It is true today. Encouragement and good hope are not determined by circumstance or the weather but by God's promise, I am with you always even to the end of the age and even if the end of the age is a long time coming.

So may you be encouraged and strengthened this day in every good deed and work. I trust one day the sun will come out again even as I believe one day the Son will return.

Hopefully you haven’t been waiting breathlessly for this Hope for the Day which by now is hope for late afternoon or early evening. Here’s how it happened. I started this Friday as I normally do playing racqetball from 6 – 7 and then taking Joshua to school. But since I’m serving a rehearsal dinner tonight I went to Sam’s, which may have thrown me off. I also served a chili lunch to the employees of Richland Hills from 11 to 1, something I’ve done for at least five years but not a normal activity for a Friday. Wanting to get some rest I had an hour at home before I had to get the Brisket in the oven. It was only after all of this that I thought I should check email and then I remembered hope. I image that happens in your busy lives as well. We have so much to do and so little time to do it and even our leisure activities allow for little rest. But even hope that is forgotten remains and maybe when we’re reminded we’ll stop and in the waiting moment allow God to speak and our souls to listen. Maybe the gift of this is that we come to realize it is hope that waits for us and if we slow down it might just catch us.

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