Sunrise Season

 I sat in the pre-dawn dark, watched the gathering glow in the east and heard the first bird break the stillness with song. Soon others joined him in the gathering light until the air echoed with a chorus of calls celebrating the break of day. It was as if the birds had waited through the long hours of darkness wondering if the sun would return, and, once it did, they were delirious with joy.

We sometimes feel that way, when we consider the darkness in which our world exists: continued wars in the Ukraine, Israel, Myanmar, and Sudan; Jihadist insurgencies in Niger, Burkina Faso and Tunisia; daily reports of sexual abuse, domestic violence and prejudice.   We sometimes wonder, as the birds seem to do, if the dawn of light and goodness will again dispel the darkness of violence and suffering .

I have watched the sun rise over the snow-covered hills of Minnesota, painting the landscape with crimson and gold, its light sparkling like diamonds on ice covered limbs. I have watched the sun stain the eastern horizon with purple and gray before penetrating the breaking clouds with shafts of gold. I have watched the day dawn over the mountains of Montana and Switzerland. I have seen it transform the sea into pink and purple waves. I watched the sun rise on the first day of the new millennium, bursting above the horizon as a brilliant ball of light in a clear blue sky.

Sunrise is the perfect symbol for God’s intervention into our world at this Christmas season.

When the forerunner, John, was born, his father, Zechariah understood the importance of his birth. For nine months he had reflected on the angel’s announcement in the temple, that he would have a son in his old age. He had remained mute throughout Elizabeth’s pregnancy. But when John was born, his tongue was loosed, and he burst into praise. He said, “And you, child, also will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways;  to give His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79).

Every generation has witnessed the sunrise of God. Darkness cannot conquer it. Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoffer saw it during the dark days of Hitler’s holocaust. Louis Zamparini discovered it after surviving the Japanese POW camps. Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall bore witness to it during the massacre at Columbine. The light from on high refuses to be extinguished by the violence and suffering of this world.   

This is what John meant when he wrote, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:4-14).

The Master Potter

 A few miles north of Waco, Texas on the east banks of the Brazos River sits the Homestead Heritage, an agrarian Christian community committed to preserving nineteenth century craftsmanship.  The community offers shops where visitors can observe “artistry-in-action” complete with a pottery barn, blacksmith forge, grist mill and a carpentry shop.  George and Laura Bush commissioned the Homestead to construct and furnish their house at the Crawford Ranch. This year the annual Homestead Heritage Fair has been extended to 3 weekends through December 9.

 When we lived in Waco, Homestead was one of our favorite places to visit.  I especially liked the pottery shop.  I marveled at the talent of those who worked there. The artists applied water and shaped the clay spinning on the potter’s wheel in front of them. With nimble fingers and just the right amount of pressure, they brought the clay to life and shaped it into the form they desired.

 Pottery is an ancient art.  For thousands of years the trade was passed down from generation to generation in cultures around the world.  Communities developed around clay deposits in India, China and the Middle East.  Archeologists continue to excavate pottery from the earliest sites of civilization.

 Jeremiah must have marveled, as I did, when he visited a potter’s house in ancient Jerusalem.  When he watched the clay spin upon the wheel, he saw the potter’s ability to change the shape of the clay in an instant.  He sensed God speaking to him, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.” (Jeremiah 18:6). 

 Isaiah made a similar observation. “Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay?

That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?” (Isaiah 29:16).

 God has made each of us unique.  We are, each and every one of us, special in His sight.  He never abandons us or gives up on us.  Like the clay, we continue to be molded in His hands.   With every pressure, whether success or failure, joy or sorrow. God is fashioning us for His purposes so that we can reflect His glory, bless others and be filled with joy. He wants us to love ourselves and one another just the way He made us.

 This is what Paul meant when he said, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28).  All things work together for good when we realize the Master Potter is shaping us for His purposes on the earth.

 “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Thanksgiving 2023

 When we think of Thanksgiving, we usually think of Pilgrims and Indians gathered for a harvest feast at Plymouth, but it was Abraham Lincoln who gave us Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Prior to Lincoln, each state celebrated Thanksgiving on different dates according to the discretion of each state’s governor. In 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, Lincoln issued a Presidential proclamation for a national day of Thanksgiving.

After noting the many blessings of God in spite of the Civil War with all its suffering and severity, Lincoln wrote in his proclamation, “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

 We must never take the blessings of God for granted. He holds every nation of every age accountable.  We cannot descend into the chasms of corruption, deception, anger, prejudice, arrogance, greed and immorality and expect God’s blessings to remain upon us. 

 Thomas Jefferson’s words are inscribed on the Northeast Portico of the Jefferson Memorial: “Can the liberties of a nation be secured when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?  Indeed I tremble for my nation when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” 

 Jeremiah counseled, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood … Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness?  Then it was well with him.  He pled the cause of the afflicted and the needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:3,5, 15-16).

 Just over two weeks before his death in 1963,  John F. Kennedy issued a Thanksgiving proclamation on November 5.  He wrote, “Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the ideals of honor and faith we inherit from our forefathers – for the decency of purpose, steadfastness of will, for the courage and the humility, which they possessed and which we must emulate.  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”   

 In an interview with Jeremiah Greever, Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoffer and If You Can Keep It, reflected  on the failure of the German church to confront and oppose the rise of totalitarianism under Hitler. He referred to Alexis de Toqueville’s  assessment concerning America in 1835, “Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith … despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”

 As we enter the 2024 Presidential election year, it is important that we approach this Thanksgiving with humility, gratitude and prayer that as individuals and a nation we might fulfill God’s will in our treatment of one another and the nations of the earth.

For Thanksgiving, my newest book, We Beheld His Glory, free eBook on Amazon November 23-26.

November 22

 Next week will mark sixty years since a rifle shot echoed in Dallas altering the course of history.  It left John F. Kennedy dead and a nation in shock.    For those of us who are older, it is a moment frozen in time.  Each one who experienced it remembers where we were and what we were doing when we heard  that President Kennedy had been shot. This week will be filled with documentaries, flashbacks, stories, and remembrances of that event. But something else happened on that date that the world little noticed.

 On the same day, November 22, 1963, C. S. Lewis collapsed at 5:30 PM in the bedroom of his Oxford home and died one week before his sixty-fifth birthday.  Sixty years later, C. S. Lewis’ death is little noted.  But his writings may be more popular and more widely read than ever.  Both events marked by November 22 continue to shape our world: the traumatic assassination of President Kennedy and the writings of C.S. Lewis.

 An avowed atheist in his youth, C.S. Lewis came to faith in Christ in 1931, partially influenced by his friend and colleague, J.R.R. Tolkien.  By some estimates he became the most widely read Christian writer in history.  He is perhaps best known today for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, a Christian allegory written for children in 1950.  

 I expect both Lewis and Tolkien would be shocked to discover their fantasies, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings have become blockbuster movies in the twenty-first century. And, I expect C.S. Lewis would be even more surprised to learn that he is one of the most quoted authors on social media.  Here are a few of his most famous quotes:

 “A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.”

 "Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done."

 "God has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. You are as much alone with him as if you were the only being he had ever created."

  "When Christ died, he died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only person in the world."

 Millions who have struggled with doubt and disbelief have found a path to faith through his best known book, Mere Christianity.  I first read Mere Christianity when I was a college student  55 years ago, along with The Screwtape Letters and The Four Loves.  Later I added his science fiction books, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.  Like many others my faith and my thinking have been shaped by  Lewis’ writings.

 As the world pauses to reflect on that fateful day in Dallas sixty years ago, we are afforded opportunity to reflect on faith in Christ, as described so beautifully by C. S. Lewis. A faith that can carry us through any crisis, global or personal. 

Changing the Rules

 

It is always important to know the rules in anything we do.  We have rules at school, rules at work and rules at home. We establish laws to govern traffic: speed limits, stop signs, turn lanes and signals.  We pass laws for family, marriage, commerce and civil conduct.  We spend billions of dollars to employ law enforcement officials, judges and lawyers to make sure the rules are obeyed.

 We even have rules for play. Every sport has its rules with umpires and referees to insure that the rules are enforced.  We have added instant replay to make sure their rulings are fair and objective.  Still, arguments erupt and tempers flare when either side believes it has been unfairly judged. Many OU fans are miffed today because of several penalties and a missed call in their loss to OSU on Saturday.  

 Some rules are unwritten. We assume we know them from birth. They are common to every culture on earth.  They are simple rules:  love your family and your friends.  Do good things for them.  Love your country.  If someone hits you, hit them back.  Don’t break in line. Lend only to those who will pay you back with interest. Look out for “number one.”  Protect your property. Defend yourself. If someone wrongs you, get even.  Sometimes we follow these rules even when they conflict with the law.  They are the stuff of most movies and novels.  They are the rules by which the world lives.

When Jesus came, he changed all the rules.  His words sound strange when compared to our natural assumptions about how life is supposed to work. "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-36). 

Biker Believers

 This week, November 2-5, half a million bikers will show up in Galveston for the Lone Star Rally, the largest motorcycle rally in Texas. They come from all walks of life with a shared love for the road, the wind and the machine.  Normally the Seawall hums with the quiet traffic of tourists, the squeal of children playing on the beach and the rumble of waves breaking on the shore.  But this week, it will vibrate with the thunder of Harley Davidsons.

 I have always liked bikes.  I got my first motor scooter when I was 13.  Two years later, my first motorcycle.  It wasn’t much.  I didn’t have much money, only a 175 cc engine.  It would only do 45 mph, that is until I took the engine apart and cleaned out the exhaust ports.  Then it would do 75.  Great fun! 

 After I became a pastor, I found myself serving a church where many of the members had motorcycles.  I bought a Suzuki.  Again, not much of a bike because, again, I didn’t have much money.  But my wife rode with me and I was able to go on some bike rides with my members.  I took my son on a ride and toured Pea Ridge, Civil War battlefield in northwest Arkansas.

 I never owned a Harley, but a few years ago I visited the Harley Davidson plant in Kansas City with a group of church leaders interested in Harley Davidson.  I listened as a young man introduced himself as a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as a Harley Davidson executive.

 Of course, not all Bikers are Christian or gentle.  Eight years ago, on a quiet Sunday afternoon in Waco, Texas, my wife and I happened upon the scene at Twin Peaks Restaurant where conflict between two biker gangs erupted into a shootout.  Nine bikers were killed, and 18 others wounded.

 A few years ago, I served as coach to a pastor who was starting a Biker Church, a church for people who served their community and shared their faith as biker enthusiasts.  The church met on Thursday nights for worship and participated in biker rides and rallies on the weekend. They raised money for those in need and started a Bible-base ministry for substance abuse. Bikers for Christ has more than 100 chapters in 20 countries and thousands of members worldwide.

 When I turned 60, I bought a Kawasaki, again a used bike, but by far the best and fastest bike I ever owned.  I went down on it at 60 mph but my full-face helmet and the Lord saved my life.   I survived with only a couple of broken ribs and road rash.  I still love bikes.

 If the Apostle Peter lived today, perhaps he would be a biker.  After all he was a rough fisherman when Jesus met him and he was prone to jump out of boats.  Jesus loved him and made him the leader of his followers.  When I think about Jesus, the places he went, the people he befriended, it makes think He would love bikers. 

Children of the Kingdom

 When we think about being religious, we conjure up different images.  Some imagine ascetic monks living in desert regions, emaciated and starving, bleary eyed and anti-social. Others picture nuns wearing habits and whispering prayers as they finger their rosaries.  Still others imagine TV evangelists with slicked-back  hair. When Jesus wanted to forge an image in the minds of his followers, he chose a child and stood him in their midst and said, “Unless you change and become as children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” (Matthew 18:2-3). Why would he do this?

 Jesus left the answer to that question up to us.  We can all speculate about the lesson he wanted to teach by choosing a child.  Here are a few characteristics that stand out to me when I think about children and the reason he chose a child to illustrate the nature of Kingdom people. 

 Children live in the moment.  They are not worried about the future.  They are not burdened with guilt about the past. Watch children playing on a playground.  They have little awareness of time. They wear no watches.

 Children become friends fast. Most children have not learned to be hesitant and shy.    They greet one another as if they have already met.  “Want to play?”  And the game is on.

 Children laugh. I love listening to children on the school playground and in the park. Anywhere children gather, the air is filled with laughter.  It is their nature to laugh.

 Children do not know prejudice.  I’m not sure when we learn racial and cultural prejudice, but young children readily accept each other as equals regardless of skin color or clothing.  If they notice a difference between them, they do not hesitate to ask about it.  And, once the difference is recognized and addressed, they move on.

 Children trust.  With their father’s extended arms and a little encouragement, they will fling their bodies into open space fully confident they will be caught. 

 Children are awed by God’s creation.   They are mesmerized by grasshoppers, caterpillars, butterflies, and flowers. They stop and take time to watch an ant wrestle a crumb of bread across the ground.  They notice the spots on a ladybug.

 Children have great imaginations. Give a child a sandbox, a stick, or a can and they can construct unbelievable creations. I watched children recently playing in the sand.  They were digging a hole.  When I asked what it was, they stared at me with a puzzled look, as if I was the only one who did not recognize the obvious.  They patiently explained that it was a grasshopper sanctuary.

 This list isn’t complete.  You can add others, I am sure.  Somewhere within us all is buried the child we once were.  Perhaps if we could re-connect with the child-like simplicity within us, we might take our first steps toward becoming Kingdom citizens as Jesus described it.