Moms

I know all of you were probably looking forward to a blog full of stories on how my mom is the greatest mom in the world, but I also want you share about your moms. God has called all of us to honor our mothers, so share a story with me and others about your wonderful mom.
I will go first. My mom is the best because she never gives up. When my parents divorced I was 3, my sister was 1 and my brother was 5. Mom worked at home offering childcare in order to care for us and pay the bills. When we were older, she was told she could no longer have so many kids to care for, which meant her income would not be enough. So she had to get a job outside the home. This whole time she also had a Saturday job and worked as the handbell choir director at our church.
Mom is a hard worker and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I want to be like her when I grow up.
Why is your mom wonderful?

Work in Progress

The children led our worship services yesterday and their theme was "Kids Under Construction." They focused on the fact that God has a plan for us and that God is working on us. (By the way, they did a wonderful job of sharing God's message with us. I had several people tell me it was the best sermon I ever preached.)
My favorite thought from this construction theme is that as Christians we are works in progress. In those times I fall short, I try to remember that God is not finished with me yet. There is still more work God needs to do in me to grow my patience, my compassion, and my delegating. The list could go on.
There is more work God has to do in you as well. If you ever think you are finished, that God is done working on you, then you better think again. God will continue the work he started in you until you reach perfection. This is a Wesleyan thought. John Wesley believed God will work on us until we reach Christian perfection.
Reaching Christian perfection does not mean we are perfect people who never make mistakes. Rather, it means we act out of perfect Christian love. When we act out of love for others this does not mean everything goes perfect, but it does mean we have attempted to move in love. Even when we move in love we need to be sure it is God's love and not our love that is leading us. Even John Wesley believed very few of us will get to this point in our earthly life, of course in heaven we will be perfected.
With this idea of Christian perfection we need to balance the idea that we are works in progress. So, remember God continues to call you to work and grow towards Christian perfection, that is a great goal to have before us. At the same time, don't get down on yourself because you are not there yet, it does not happen overnight. Just like the kids sang, we are full of possibilities. We can make progress as God's love fills our lives.

Live by Faith

I want to invite you to think about your life and where you live by faith. What I mean by living by faith is where do you believe God is working in your life. Many areas of our life are under our control. We make the decisions of what to do and go where we think we can get ourselves to go. We rely only on ourselves.
When we live by faith, we are going as far as we can go with ourselves and then trusting God will take us the rest of the way. We believe, by faith, that God will do more in our lives then we can do ourselves. And this is not wishful thinking or even hoping God will work, but it is more like expecting or knowing God will work.
What does this look like? Well, United Methodists have a membership pledge they make as they join the church and they renew those vows each time new members join. So I took the five pieces of that pledge and asked what it might look like to live by faith in those areas. The pledge says a United Methodist will be faithful in their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
Prayers - Is your prayer life a place of faith? You know praying is not about you and yet you feel called to be praying specifically for others.
Presence - Maybe just coming to worship is an act of faith for you right now. You are not really sure about this church thing, but you are living by faith that if you show up to church God might work in your life.
Gifts - Do you give faithfully to others? When you look at your checkbook is your faith represented there?
Service - Are you involved in a ministry that you believe God is working in?
Witness - Is your life as a whole an example of living faith? Or are you pretty much in control of everything allowing little room for God to work?
I have felt challenged in my life to be sure that I am giving my all, but also living by faith that God will do more than I ever could. I hope you will look for the ways you are already living by faith and praise God for his work there. Also, look for an area you might need to add some faith to what you are doing.
When we live by faith, God's light shines through us and God will do amazing things.

Skilled Team

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus calls us to be the light of the world and compares us to a city on a hill. As I thought about a city on a hill I noticed Jesus did not call us to be a lighthouse on a hill here. A lighthouse gives off light and would not be able to hide on a hill. But a lighthouse is just one light, where a city is filled with many lights.
This reminded me that we are called to be the light of the world as a city, a community, a team. We are not called to shine alone, but with others. And I love being a part of a team because we can do so much more with a team than on our own.
A few weeks ago I went with a team over to Cedar Rapids to do some flood recovery work. There were 9 of us who went and I was the least skilled person there (which included an 8th grader). If the project had been left in my hands not much would have been accomplished. However, there was a role for me to play. I was the "gopher." I would go for this and that.
I ran to Lowe's and made sure everyone had what they needed so they could do their work. My role felt small at times, but I also know it was a needed role in the group. Because of my help the skilled guys could tear out a bad wall and build a new one. Our group worked together to put in new windows and prepare the home for siding. We got some good work done only because we each did our part, and together we did more than we could have alone.
Part of our Christian faith is letting our light shine with others. We cannot live the Christian life alone. We need to work together because each of us has a part to play in the marvelous plan God has for this world. This plan is too large for just one person, it will take all of us working together to be a city on hill that will shine God's light on the world. Don't forget that you are a part of this skilled team.

Easter Experience

I missed blogging last week because I left for vacation, but I still want to focus on Easter. Of course, we celebrate Easter on that one special Sunday each year, but every Sunday is also supposed to be celebrated like "a little Easter." Easter is the celebration of the empty tomb and the risen Messiah, and that should be celebrated every day.
So, what does Easter mean to you? What does Jesus rising from the grave mean to you?
Easter reminds me that God overcomes all things. No matter the hurdle placed before God he can overcome it, even death. This gives me courage when facing obstacles because I know if God wants me to get over it God will make a way for it to happen. This does not mean I sit and wait for God to do everything, but I participate with God in getting over the obstacle.
Easter also reminds me of the great lengths God went through to prove his love for me. It took Jesus giving his life to forgive my sins and his resurrection to show his ability to offer that forgiveness. Sometimes it is hard to believe God would go through all of that for me, but it is true. It is true for you too.
Easter also reminds me that because Jesus is risen and alive he is present with me every day. I can have experiences with God because He is alive and active today. If I will just keep my eyes open God will be present with me in everything I do. I love seeing God work and experiencing his presence.
Without Easter our faith would not be the same. It is because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead that we can know God and his love and grace in our lives. What does Easter mean to you?

The Cross

We have been focusing on the last 24 hours of Jesus' life and today we go through his final 6 hours, which were spent on the cross. Mark 15:25-39 tells us part of the story of Jesus' time on the cross.
Crucifixion is one of the most inhumane forms of execution. The person is made to suffer terrible pain. The point of crucifixion was to help the person live as long as they could before they died. The Romans used this as a deterrent for crime. People who had seen a crucifixion would not want it to be them on the cross.
As we look at the cross I want you to think about what it means to you.
This past weekend I went with a small team to Cedar Rapids to do some flood recovery work. I am from that area, but had not been into the neighborhoods since the floods and I was amazed at home much work is left to be done coming on two years after the floods. One of the jobs I worked on was to cover the outer walls of a house with green guard. The siding will then be put up over this guard.
The guard comes in a long 4 foot sheet folded every 2 feet, but the total length is probably 40 feet or so. The math geek in me came out as I start to try to figure out the best way to cover the walls without wasting any of the green guard. You have to figure in doors, windows and all of that.
Near the end of the project I was using the small scrap pieces to cover the last part of our wall because I did not want to waste any. I hate to waste stuff. I try to get all I can out of the things I have or use. But then I was thinking this morning that when I use the small scraps I may not be doing a good job of being efficient because I used more nails for each small piece than if it were a larger piece.
Anyway, when I look at the cross I see a great sacrifice. I see a price that was paid for me. And again, I do not like to waste things, so I do not want to waste that sacrifice. I want to live my life to the fullest in a way that brings glory to God.
I see many other images in the cross because it is a powerful symbol of our faith. What is it that you see in the cross?

He Can Take It

We are continuing our focus on the last 24 hours of Jesus' life. Today we are reflecting on the torture and mocking of Jesus found in Mark 15:15b-20.
First Jesus was flogged, which means he was whipped all over his body. Usually they would flog the person's back and then their front. Flogging was not meant to kill someone, but to torture them. It was designed to cause as much pain as possible without killing the person.
Then the scripture said the whole company came out to mock Jesus. This would have been between 300 and 600 men. They put a purple robe on Jesus and a crown of thorns. This was to pretend he was a king.
It is hard for me to fully see this picture in my mind of my Lord and Savior being beaten and mocked. It is hard to image that he endured this pain and suffering even though he could have stopped it if he had chosen to. Yet we do not want to overlook this part of Jesus' final hours.
As we have been putting ourselves into the story it has often been as a follower of Jesus. In this part of the story there is not much room for that. I think we need to see ourselves as one of the company of soldiers. It was our punishment and pain that Jesus was enduring. It is almost like each one of us were represented in those soldiers. The times I sin and go against God's will for me, it is like I have taken a whip or a rod and caused my Lord pain. It hurts him when I hurt others or myself with my thoughts, words and actions.
Those soldiers also represent the cruelty of humanity and show our brokenness. If I continue to live in that brokenness I will continue to be cruel and hurtful. I need to recognize this brokenness inside myself if I am going to change. So I invite you to remember your brokenness, acknowledge it, and then offer it to God. We all have caused our Lord to suffer. But we can give him our brokenness, and he can take it.