Hold On!

I wish is had a blood pressure cuff this past week. I was at home with the family. We had the television on. And a political ad came on. I couldn't believe it. The election was over. Aside from being a wast of money because they aired the commercial at the wrong time it was a waste of my time because, like most people I got pretty sick and tired of those ads and I didn't want to hear one more word about it. I started going into a tirade and wasn't a couple of sentences into it when I noticed the commercial started moving in fast motion. I hadn't realized until that moment that the program we were watching was recorded from the week before and now my loving wife was kindly fast forwarding it to spare me the pain of watching one more moment of it.

A moment of pause would have done me well. A moment of reflection and patience before speaking would have saved me some grief. Fortunately, only my family was around to see this embarrassing display. With out saying a word; with out a gesture or a glance' with the quick action of the remote control my wife said “hold on!”

That's a multipurpose phrase, “Hold on”

“Hold on” can mean to pause as my wife's actions suggested. Its what you say when you are wanting to catch up to someone, getting them to wait. Its what you say when you are challenging someone on an idea. You ever done that? It seems to happen more around election season. Someone is passionate about a subject and they are going on and on and at some point they cross a line that you cannot agree with so you stop them with a “hold on.” I wonder what the criteria is, for some people when forming their political opinions. It ought to be be based on the great commandments of God but I am convinced that's not always the case. What is the line that some one crosses that causes you to say, “Now hold on!”? It's interesting to look inside and investigate where our biases come from.

Jesus gave the disciples a “hold on” in the scripture today.

Jesus and his disciples were walking out of the temple and they were awestruck by the immensity of the place. And Jesus told them not to be so impressed because all this is temporary. Well scripture has Jesus saying, “ Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. All well be torn down.”

These guys were small town fishermen and they were with Jesus in Jerusalem, in the temple which was at that time one of the wonders of the world. And Jesus was saying that this marvel was temporary. Ti must have seemed unbelievable.

This week in history 25 years ago, in 1987 I was a small town boy getting ready to play in the state championship football game in the Pontiac Silver-dome. We came out of that tunnel for a short practice onto that field that two nearly years before Barry Sanders ever did. My coach, taking a cue from the movie The Hoosiers, pulled out a tape measure and measured a yard and, yep, it was a regular ole yard, 36 inches. And now The Silver-dome goes unused.

This is a temporary world with temporary things and temporary problems. Jesus disciples wanted to know when the destruction of the temple would happen. They wanted dates. They wanted a time line. They wanted a heads up or a warning. But Jesus gave them a “hold on.” There will be people who will try to use events to try to claim to be the Christ but don't you listen to them. Jesus in his loving care didn't address their question directly but warned them about the dangers of their way of thinking. We ought not be looking for signs of the end but instead we should be staying true to what God commands us.

Hold on and also mean brace yourself. There is rough road ahead. Its like when I get last second directions in the car to make a turn. I tell the kids, “Hold on!”

Do you other parents instinctively put your hand in front of your child in the passenger seat to protect them? We do that I a lot of ways not just in the car. We try to keep those we love safe in a world that is dangerous and full of things we cannot control.

When we face difficulties, sometimes the only thing we can do is hold on, to minimize the loss or the damage. That feeling of being out of control is not one that we desire. This is a dangerous world. We can marvel at a sunset over Lake Michigan and say that God is good but then we also have to look at the devastation that Hurricane Sandy has wrought and hold on to the same understanding of God. God is still good. There are some who say that this storm or that storm is a judgment by God about this or that action of a people. That doesn't make much sense to me. Does that mean that we northern Michiganders get punished with dangerous blizzards every January and February for our sins? Only to be rewarded with heaven on earth every summer and fall? No its just a dangerous world we live in. Bad things happen. During the good times we rest in God and During the rough times we hold on and rest in God. Jesus said that there wold be wars and rumors of wars. Jesus said that there would be earth quakes and famines. Hasn't this happened many many times in the past 2000 years? Hasn't there been many predictions of the end of time that have come and gone? Has that been spiritually profitable to anyone? The current one that is getting attention is the end of the Mayan calendar. I know its frustrating when you get to the end of the calendar you are using and have to buy a new one, especially when it's been carved out of stone and is centuries old but time marches on and we have something eternal to hold on to.

That's another way to use the phrase “Hold on”. Keep secure what is true and valuable. Hold on to my grandmothers frog that was her door stop for all the years of my life. But even as solid and as permanent as it seems it is temporary so I don't hold to tightly. Hold on to what is eternal. Hold on to what is true: God loves you unconditionally; God took the initiative in saving you the tangle of hell you have created for yourself; Jesus is God in human form and came to give you life; Life in Jesus means life in eternity.

So, how is it with you today? Hold on! Pause and asses your situation. Hold on! It could get rough, but God is there. Hold on! Hold on to what is true and eternal.

On Kinney Down

Jay getting his glasses adjusted AGAIN. The staff at the optometrist know us well. 

Some notes from the Kindergarten Sunday School class for me.  What a delight!

This is the entrance where I get my hair cut.  I now have a barber.  Thought I have
been gong her for over a year now, I finally can call her "my barber" because there is now
that familiarity means little needs to be said.  Its a Zen-like understanding. 

  

Great Hope and Great Trust ("Keep On Askin'")

Mark 10:46-52

Hurricane Sandy is gong to make landfall this evening. We can and should pray for those who will be affected. Will our prayers avert the storm? No they wont. There will be people out of power, there will be damage to property and there may even be loss of life. Does that mean that we give up on prayer? Do we give up on asking God for protection? Do we quit praying for healing? Do we stop praying for restoration?

No! You keep on askin'!

There is one who is in chronic pain. Pain that just wont go away. Pain that is nagging, torturing all consuming in one moment then annoying background noise the next. Always there. Doctors cannot make it go away. There is no therapy that has been able to cure it. So prayers are lifted. Requests are made to God in Jesus name...the pain persists. More prayer. Daily prayer. Dedication to Jesus way of self-sacrifice and service. Study of Holy scripture. Obedience to medical advise. Exploration of alternative healing. Prayer and more prayer. Still the pain lingers.

“What do I do Pastor?” was the question.

Keep on askin'!

You can question your own faith when it is put to the test. You start to ask questions. “Why aren't my prayers being answered?” “Am I being punished?” “Is this a test?”

...Keep on askin'!

Then there are those blessed moments when you fell the presence of God. Through the pain, through the doubt, you know that you are being held in the palm of God's loving hand. I cannot describe to you the feeling I have when I sense the presence of God. I can tell you that its a safe, warm, inviting, peaceful feeling. But that is like describing Lake Michigan as a very large pool of water to someone who has never seen a lake. It just doesn't cover it.

Jesus hears the faithful. Remember the story of the persistent widow and the just Judge? She wanted justice and the judge wouldn't hear her. Kept on askin! She wore that judge out until he gave her justice. Jesus said if even that judge will give justice wont the God give justice to his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” but then he adds “never the less, when the son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Justice, God's justice, whatever that looks like will be granted. Our task is to have faith. When we rely on our own strength and power there can never be true justice or true healing. Its when we boast in our weakness and lean on God's strength, the presence of God is made known in the world.

How do we do that?

We keep on askin'!

We keep on askin' for God's healing and guidance. We ask for God's wisdom and strength. We praise God for being God and we thank God for all things at all times. In our weakness and in our reliance on God, God transforms us. God begins to mold us into God's image. God begins to use us. God begins to put us in positions where we can be responsive to his will.

When we are responsive to God's will we become part of an interconnected part of God's community where we all find healing, justice and restoration.

When we keep on askin', I find that we start asking on behalf of others more than for ourselves. When that happens the right people come into our lives. The right resources become available. Life on earth gets better.

Bartimaeus, the blind beggar. Was on the side of the road in Jericho. Jesus was heading to Jerusalem. The crowds were gathered. Bartimaeus the social outcast forced to make a living by asking people for money or food.

Can you just hear the people around him? “Oh, that's Timeaus' son” I gave him some food once but he just keeps on asking for it. Some people even give him money but you never can tell what he will spend it on.” That's how we talk isn't it? We are reluctant to give ongoing assistance to people. We don't want people to be dependent on the government, yet we don't want to provide for them either. Bartimaeus kept on asking and yet he remained a beggar until one day he had the opportunity to ask the right person.

Jesus was in town. Bartimaeus said “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Now we know that Jesus was not the son of David but the Son of God. Even if we are talking about Jesus earthly fatherly figure it was Joseph not Mary. The term Son of David was a term used to describe the Messiah, the anointed one of God who would save God's people. God had promised that one of the descendants of David would be on the throne forever. Jesus was indeed a descendant of David through Mary's lineage and by adoption through Josephs lineage. So Bartimaeus recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the conquering king of Israel. And he cried out to him. This social outcast. This blind beggar. Dared to cry out to the one he believe do be his king. A very bold move. Others in the crowd thought so too. They told him to be quiet. But shouted all the more. He wasn't getting justice from his neighbors so he had no choice to appeal to a higher power.

He kept on askin'!

Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, on his way to his own death, stopped and said, “call him.”

so they called him. “Oh, man this your lucky day. He is calling you.”

I heard an interview recently of a reporter that had the opportunity to travel with the president for 6 months to observe and to interview and to get a first hand view of the life of the president of the united states. The reporter said that they were traveling abroad and when they got to their destination, the president went to play basketball at a nearby gym. The reporter said that it didn't even occur to the president that these people had built this gym in anticipation of his arrival. When we have power, and get accustomed to wielding that power, in our human weakness we can lose perspective.

Jesus on the other hand heard the plea of the least of these in the crowd and paid him special attention.

Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me do do for you?” Remember this is the same question he asked James and John from last Sunday's scripture when they approached him about being appointed to Jesus right and left had when he came into his glory. The blind man said, “Rabbi, let me see again.”

Jesus said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.

Jesus granted this request but denied the request of his two most trusted Apostles his inner circle. Bartimaeus gained more than his sight. He followed Jesus and became his disciple. James and John did not get what they asked for but they were changed. They were set right. They were corrected. That's what a relationship with Jesus does.

When we pray. When we keep on askin' we will be blessed. We will receive exactly what we need.

So, how is it with you today? We can approach the King with confidence even though we are blind beggars. We can speak our needs and we can have utter confidence that if we keep on askin' we will be blessed. Take heart! This is your lucky day! Jesus is calling you to follow him; to trust in his strength; to follow him in his way.   

Life on Kinney Down

This a new feature that will be a regular part of this blog.  This is where I will add family pics and updates.  I call it Kinney Down because we live on Kinney Road and the word "down" is just a nicer way of saying we live on a hill. 

Eli has attached to every member of the family.
We can scarcely remember what
life was like before he came