Treasure

Do you ever just kind of stumble around randomly, kind of looking for something but without any real sense of purpose?  I occasionally do that, especially online.  I'll be looking at something and then see an ad or link that looks kind of interesting, and off I go.  Sometimes that works out really well, and sometimes you can burn up a whole lot of time, with nothing to show for it. 

Recently I found a song that I really liked, one that I had never heard before and thought would be good to sing in worship.  In the course of trying to figure out how to download it so that we could play it I noticed that it had been viewed about 13,000 times.  And then, on the right side of the same page, I saw an ad that said it had been viewed 11 million times.  It was an ad called "How I make money online."   

The contrast in number of times these two different videos had been viewed struck me.  For every single time the song had been viewed, the ad had been seen about 840 times.  I know it is a kind of apples/oranges thing, as people stumble on a song, or perhaps seek it intentionally, while an ad is meant to be widely seen.  And even 11 million views in a nation of over 300 million is not really that large a segment of the population. 

But it is 11 million people with at least some measure of interest in finding an easier way of making a living, one that probably also includes not having to answer to a boss.  And on the other hand are 13 thousand people who quite likely are servants of one who can be described as the Boss of Bosses.  Thirteen thousand people whose value system is not driven by the way they support themselves, but by the One they serve as they live each day of their life. 

It isn’t quite an either/or proposition.  There is probably some crossover between the two, and if I could support my family through some sort of low time commitment online venture there might be some ways that would actually enhance the work I do in ministry. 

But there is one other way in which these two things, the song and the ad, make clear they are unequal in comparison to each other.  The one is for this age only.  Making money online is something that is designed to appeal to meeting my needs right now, and perhaps into the future until the end of this life, but certainly no farther. But the song, as it lifts up and gives praise to Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord, looks beyond this life, and into the life to come, where the blessings of having faith and serving Christ in this life will be shown to far outstrip absolutely anything else we could achieve or possess while earth is our home.   1 Peter 1:4 describes those eternal blessings this way:

"An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you."

There are the things of the this world, and this world only, and the things promised to all who have salvation in Christ.  Enjoy the one as they come your way, but treasure the reward that is in Christ and of infinitely greater value.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Not On My Timeline

"I'd ask you say a prayer for me, but you don't have time."

"What!?!?!" was the thought in my head as I heard that sentence.  I was at the gas station this morning, talking briefly with someone I hadn't seen for a while.  I noticed him walking past as I was going in to pay for my gas and so I stopped to talk.  We talked a bit and he asked me for some money, "Just a dollar."  I declined, and so he decided it was time to continue his journey, his parting words noted above.

Curiously, he reached that conclusion without asking about my timeline today, which included 20-30 minutes of margin for a trip I was making out-of-town.  I've also prayed with him a number of times over the years, and so he knows I'm not long-winded when it comes to lifting him to the Lord.  Mostly, I think, it's about him having control of the timeline.    

I first met this person in the fall when we moved to Dulce, so our relationship goes back about four years.  Over that time we talk whenever I happen to run into him, or when he stops by the parsonage.  I've given him rides, made him coffee, and Robin and I have both made him sandwiches.  We've shared a fair amount of conversation on some of those occasions, and I've prayed with him most of those times.

And there have been times when he has refused to talk with me, because of something that I asked of, or said to, him.  That is in large part because as I've gotten to know him and some of the things of his life I have at times brought those things into the conversation.  Sometimes that doesn’t bother him at all, but when it does he usually ignores me for a while.

I would gladly pray with this person whenever I see him, even if I truly am pressed for time.  And the truth is that he is someone I pray for almost every day, which included this morning, when I had no idea that our paths would cross for the first time in several months.

I don't know if he has an agenda and timeline when our paths cross.  I know that I do.  But my agenda and timeline are driven by the One I often refer to as Lord and Savior, Jesus, the One who led myself and my family to Dulce as the place to serve Him.

So I take time for this man, and many of the other people who I have crossed paths with in Dulce when the opportunity arises.  I listen, talk, occasionally counsel, and quite often pray, trusting that ultimately it will be on God's timeline when those prayers are answered.  

Not on my timeline, but on the One whose timing is always perfect.

Beauty in Plain Sight

One of the places I run in Dulce is from the parsonage down Narrow Gauge road to the river and back.  Narrow Gauge is so named because that is where the old narrow gauge railroad ran.  The road runs parallel to a small creek, down to the Navajo River, where there is a bridge and the paved road ends.  From the parsonage it is a bit less than nine miles, round trip.  I would guess that I have made that run between 80 and 100 times since we came to Dulce. 

It's a pretty place to run, and also quiet, as there is very little traffic after you get out of town.  Going downhill I can look around the canyon and appreciate the beauty of the rocks, trees, horses, cows, and the occasional glimpses of wildlife.  Coming back from the river is a little different, as it is all uphill and so I am mostly thinking about putting one foot down and then the next, until I'm back home.  I'd run there more often if not for the long hill climb home.

I ran there earlier this week and something caught my eye on the return.  There was a streak of green on a rock wall, running from top to bottom.  It was made by a band of evergreens that grow along the canyon wall.  It was striking and beautiful; something I've gone past many times without noticing before.

As I saw the green of the trees it reminded me of a very similar thing that happened the previous day.  I was doing some home visits and on one of them I opened my Bible to read Psalm 23 before praying.  As my eyes moved to Psalm 23, on the opposite page of my Bible the words of Psalm 26:8 seemed to jump off the page at me.  There David writes,

"O Lord, I love the habitation of your house

and the place where your glory dwells."

I have no idea how many times I've read Psalm 26.  I can be certain that it is more than ten times, but probably not the 80 or 100 times I've run up that hill.  But I don’t recall those beautiful words of David ever gripping me like that before.  In the midst of a Psalm where David proclaims his righteousness before God he changes course to say that he loves God and the place where God reveals His glory to him.

David just seems to be captivated by the place where God may be found, and where none of the flaws and failings of human life exist.  David is someone who was acutely aware of the fallen nature of human life, as the Bible shows both his passion for God and the ways that at times his life was consumed by sin.  And there, for one verse in Psalm 26, he casts his eyes on the future that awaits all who place their hope in God alone.   

It is quite unlikely that the next time I run up Narrow Gauge and see that band of evergreens I will be surprised at their beauty, as I was earlier this week.  But I will remember that in my mind the trees are now linked with Psalm 26, and it's look ahead to the place where God's glory dwells. 

May God give you images that point ahead, towards His glory, and the eternal peace that place of dwelling will hold for all who come to Him through Christ Jesus.  Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

( I went back to take a picture of the hill this morning, but it was  a bit too early and the trees, towards the right side, were still in the shade.)

"How you like it here?"

That was the question I heard yesterday at lunch as I sat down to eat with one of the older members of our congregation.  Given that Robin and I have been in Dulce a bit more than four years, and that yesterday's lunch was something we gave our congregation as a way of celebrating our tenth anniversary, from my vantage point the answer would be obvious.  We like it here quite a lot! 

I could give a long list of the relatively less-important things we like about Dulce, such as the milder winters than in the Midwest, and I could make another list of the inconveniences about living here, such as the physical distance from our parents as they age, but neither list would get to the heart of the matter, which is that the people whom we live and serve among have really touched our hearts. 

When Robin and I are asked to tell the story of how we found ourselves in Dulce we are confronted with the fact that this is just about the most unlikely destination we could have envisioned when our search for a congregation to serve began.  But in nearly every day since coming here we can see at least one thing about ourselves, or our family, or the needs of the people in our congregation, that says to us, "Of all possible places, this is probably the best place for us to serve the Lord."

When our friend asked me that question one of my first thoughts was that four years is a lot of time to look for other opportunities when you are in a place you're not fond of.  But we are very fond of her, and of so many of the people in our congregation.  Four years is also enough time for people to see my weaknesses as their pastor, and perhaps suggest that we move on.  But the many kind and thoughtful words we heard around the tables at lunch suggest that the feelings we have for this place and these people run both ways.

How do I like it here?  I like it quite a lot.  We like it quite a lot, and we plan on staying just as long as the Lord and His people would have us here among them.

Pray With

I like to run. I like to run every day.  And I like to run early in the morning.  If the weather and other considerations would allow I would get out and on the road just before the first light breaks into the sky. 

Sometimes it works out that way and sometimes it doesn't.  Right now, with our recently expanded family, I gladly cede the early time to Robin, so that she can get out for a walk before things get underway at home.  I do some work early, help a bit with the children, and go run mid-morning.

While not my favorite time, it is also not my least favorite time, and it does have its own set of advantages.  And among those advantages is crossing paths, so to speak, with a group of people I may not otherwise see.  The people hanging out at the park.

This morning as I was going past the park I saw a few people sitting on the picnic tables. One of them called out something along the lines of "Run a mile for me!," which I took as my invitation to stop and briefly visit.  I talked with the man, whom I knew, which surprised him, and said "Hi" to the other three, two of whom I also knew by name.

As our visit ended the first man said, "Say a prayer for me" to which I replied, "I'll pray with you."  At that he invited his friends over to join us, one of whom was clearly a bit reluctant.  I said a prayer with them and then went back on my way.  When I passed the park again on my return home, everyone had moved on.

It is pretty easy to agree with someone who asks you to pray for them.  And I think it is a good thing to pray for others.  But I also think there is something powerful in taking that very moment and praying with them.  I think it shows a willingness to be with them, before God, right now, in the moment, rather than on their behalf at a later time.  It helps them see that God cares for them, right now.  And while my motivation is not to make a public display of faith (Hey! Look at me, the pastor!) I am conscious of the fact that my being seen in prayer with one person may spark another person to come to me at their point of need.  Coming to God with one person may lead to coming before God with another.

The park in Dulce is a frequent place for people to meet before and after going to the nearby liquor store.  I already knew all four of the people I saw this morning as people who struggle with alcohol.  Two of them are among those my wife and I pray for daily.  

This morning it was a joy to not only pray for them, but with them.

Whodathunkit?

Four years into this calling to serve as a pastor I find myself in my study doing two very unlikely things.  The first is revising my "method" of sermon preparation, again, and the second is willingly editing something that I'm writing.  Whodathunkit? 

One of the requirements of the preaching class I took in seminary was to have a method for sermon preparation.  We had to write out some kind of process that we would use as we prepared to preach.  That was actually a pretty good assignment, in theory.  It was good to give a bit of thought as to how one would approach the task in an organized way, rather than, say, the alternative of opening the Bible, reading a text and then panicking when faced with the task of  trying to figure out how to bring something of meaning from that text to God's people.

I say that it was a good assignment in theory because my professor did not tell me how very impractical my own intended method was.  I don’t recall how long I was at this before I began to change things and settle into the basic process that I now use from week to week.  It couldn't have been more than two months.

And while I would just as soon have a workable process figured out for any task, when it comes to preaching I have found that as I attempt to improve my skills, I need to adjust various parts of the process.  Last week I attended an excellent workshop on preaching and therefore today I have the unavoidable task of incorporating some new learning into a revised method of preparation.  It's not as easy as I'd like it to be, but I know that it is for the better as I gain competence in bringing God's word to God's people.

Which brings me to the second unlikely thing today, the editing of my writing.  For many years, decades even, from high school in the early 70's to at least the middle of seminary thirty-five years later, I've been the kind of writer who wants to put things down on paper and be done with them.  Writing a first draft was always such a laborious process that I never wanted to go back over my words again.

But as with sermon preparation, I've learned something unexpected. I have come to find the editing process as something necessary, perhaps even something to be welcomed.  It can make the text more readable. It can bring clarity to my ideas as I share them with others.  It can help me make sure I have the right voice for the situation or circumstance at hand. 

If you are one of my more regular readers, this is when I may work in a Bible verse that has been on my mind, and then make a move towards the Gospel.  I hope I'm not disappointing you, but I don’t have anything like that today.  I'm beginning to work on preaching through Amos, and today have thought much more about the process than the content. 

I guess a last "whodathunkit?" is that I think I'm among the most unlikely of people to find themselves in the calling to preach God's word.  Of course I write that full well knowing the stories of many great preachers in history, probably most of whom were as unlikely as I am.  I don't have aspirations to achieve their acclaim, but I do share in their desire to faithfully handle God's word each week, for the strengthening of God's people, and to His eternal glory.