A Stumbler's Walk | GUIDE

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

GUIDE

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials... -- 2 Peter 2:9

My son and I just returned from a guy's trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. One of our adventures was rafting the Poudre River. The river level was down a bit, being late summer. However, there were still several Class IV rapids along the route.

Another product of the late season water level? Rocks! Rocks normally safely under the water were exposed. They were route-changers. To my flat-land, still-pond mind, they were raft-eaters. Paddle-breakers. Trip-enders.

There were six people in our boat: Three from Amarillo (more flat-landers - one of whom apparently liked to swim through some of the rapids rather than stay in the raft), my son and me, and one other. It was this one other that made all the difference.

His name was Guide - though I think that is not what was on his birth certificate. And his job matched his name. Guide knew the river. He knew the rocks. He knew the rapids and the eddies. And Guide knew the route through the turbulence.

Guide told us our job was to 1) Listen to his commands; 2) Paddle hard; 3) Work together; and 4) Stay in the boat. However, Guide said that someone would more than likely leave the boat somewhere along the way. The word he used was ejected.

Prior to hitting the water, Guide walked us through the process of rescuing the ejected. Depending on where we were in the river, Guide might do the rescuing himself; or Guide might position the raft to have someone else do the rescue. Either way, the swimmer became a rafter once again at Guide's direction and positioning of the boat.

Today there will turbulent rapids. Guide knows the route.
Today there will be rocks. Guide knows each one.
Today some will be ejected. Guide has a rescue plan.

Listen to his voice... Paddle hard... Work together... Stay in the boat.

God, you are my Guide.

For now...
D

A Stumbler's Walk | EVERYTHING

(This post is a redo, reminder - I for one, needed to read. D)

Sunday, August 7, 2016

EVERYTHING...

His divine power has granted to us all things 

that pertain to life and godliness...

-- 2 Peter 1:3

We have everything we need.

That is a simple statement, but a hard truth to comprehend.

As I write, I am sitting on the couch in my air-conditioned house, drinking coffee. I am about to head to an air-conditioned church and sit in a padded chair - and drink more coffee. Most who read this will be in similar comfort. My point: I've never known extreme poverty or the desperation of searching for a meal. I can only imagine how foreign the statement, we have everything we need, might sound to a family who is being evicted, having just buried a father, or to a mother combing scraps in the Matamoros Mexico dump to feed to her toddler (which I've seen).

Trite answers don't work. And American Christianity seems to often boil down to triteness and self-focus. I'll take it a step further (since it's my blog), trite and self-serving Christianity is not Christianity. And in my Christian journey, I am often guilty of "unchristianess." (Again, my blog, I can invent words.)

When we read Peter's words above, we often miss some important depth.
His divine power - Whose power? God's. (As in, "God's, period!" Not yours, not mine.)
...has granted - past tense, with continuing and ongoing results. (It's a Greek grammatical tense thing.)
...to us - This promise is given to the community of faith. And though it has individual impact, it is us, not me. (More on this in a moment.)
...all things - we have everything we need (keep reading).
...life and godliness - to live as God intends for us, (for our calling and purpose.)

This statement may sound trite, but it is true: We have everything we need in Christ. 

I have often heard it said that God will never allow me to face more than I can bear. I struggle with the statement, though the fact that I am alive and well (and writing), sings the melody of its truth. That stated, I'd like to amend the platitude: God will never allow us to face more than wecan bear... together and through his strength and presence.

The Christian life is a life lived in community with others from whom and with whom we share strengths, weaknesses, joys and pain. And it is a body (Paul's analogy) that is completely interconnected drawing its strength and power from Christ.

So, with all these concepts in mind I can confidently state: We have everything we need.

I, for one, tend to want more... to look for more. A blog post I wrote in davidmstanleykineticlife.blogspot.com quotes Bono from U2, whose lyric cries, But I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 

But here is a truth I've learned and am learning: The real and worthy search in this life is not about looking for more. The worthwhile search is not the constant desire for something else, something other. The better journey is one that leads us to deeper understanding of WHO IS this one who provides, and who he has made us to be for ourselves and others.

That for which you search is not out there somewhere. It is instead found in a God who is a whisper away.

Keep searching... deeper.

God, I have everything I need... in you.

For now...
D

A Stumbler's Walk | SPIRIT AND FIRE

One is coming who will baptize you 

with the Holy Spirit and fire...

- John the Baptizer, Matthew 3:11

Fire destroys. Fire refines. Fire warms. Fire elicits fear. Fire brings light and life. Fire consumes. Fire regenerates. For better or worse, fire always changes that which it contacts. 

John the Baptizer was a crazy man by outward appearances. His message was confrontational and unpleasant. (Side note: I wonder how we would react if a 21st Century JB stepped onto the stage in one of our air-conditioned, comfortable churches.) 

John had a fire burning within. It attracted and it repelled. His message centered on One whose coming would bring fire - the fire of a Spirit who would live within. Those who would allow themselves would be consumed... refined... regenerated... burned. They would be changed by this One and his Spirit of fire. 

Religion's equilibrium is comfort. But only small controlled fires are comfortable. And there is chasm of difference between comfortable and comforted. The wildfire of God rages and burns away what is un-God in us. That is not comfortable. Yet this same inferno brings incredible warmth, and comforts when we shiver against the cold of life. 

Will I choose comfortable religion? Or do I turn to the fire that consumes? If I choose this fire (that chooses me), I must ask the questions: What in my life is mere kindling? What should be combusted and turned to ash? What needs refining?

One is coming who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire... He is here. 

God, consume me with your fire and comfort me in the flame.

For now...

D

A Stumbler's Walk | THE ARROGANT ANXIOUS

(This one is a redo from 2016. But as is often the case, I need the reminder.)

..casting all your anxieties on him, 
because he cares for you. 

- 1 Peter 5:7

Here is an uncomfortable modus ponens.* (Yes, I do remember something from my junior year Logics course.) Think of it as a word equation of implications.

Anxiety = Lack of trust

Lack of trust = Belief we are in control

Believing we are in control = Arrogance

Therefore, if we are Anxious, 

it is due to our Arrogance. 

Ouch!

Choose to apply (or not) my experience with anxiety: When I am anxious, I project into the future. Though I am in the here and now, my thoughts are in the there and then. And in some way I feel that I can change it; that I can be there/then - that I have power in the future.

But I don't.

In fact, anxiety is not only fruitless, it is also counterproductive. When I attempt to live in the future, I am robbed of life in the present; which, in reality, is the only place I have the power to live. (I am not negating the importance of preparing in the now for the then - this is also a scriptural principle).

It is no coincidence that just before writing, casting all your anxieties upon him..., Peter writes:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God...

-- 1 Peter 5:6 

Humbling ourselves precedes - or is at least a major element of - true faith. God is not bound by your past. By the way, neither are you. And God is the only one who knows the future.

So here is another logical equation:
If God cares for us (and he does)...
And if God is the only one who knows the future (and he is)...
And if this God who cares deeply and knows all, is completely powerful (and he is)...
Then I can trust him.
Wait... allow me to rephrase:

I must trust him.

I have always had a distaste for Christian cliches, (you know, bumper-sticker theologies). One of these is LET GO, AND LET GOD. Cliche or not, there is truth to the idea. Faith is a letting go; a total dependence; a leaning on God.

God, help me to let go, and to lean on you... my arrogance has made me anxious.

For now...
D

*Disclaimer: I vaguely remember my Logics concepts. I take no responsibility for the misuse of Modus Ponens -- after all, it made my point :)

A Stumbler's Walk | MAGI-SEEKERS

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem...

wise men from the east came... 

- Matthew 2:1

The Magi are among the more mysterious characters in scripture. They appear around the time of Jesus' birth, then fade away (only to reappear in second-grade Christmas pageants and nativity scenes).

There are a few traces as to who these men were and from where they came. But really, these aren't so important. What we do know, and what I think is most relevant about these shadowy figures, is this: these wise men were SEEKERS. 

Each of us seeks something. Actually, we seek many things. Some seek reputation; others, meaning. Some seek acceptance and approval; others, power. Some seek material stuff; others, peace. Some seek fame; others contentment. And this list could go on and on. Ultimately, all the things we seek serve as evidence of the MAIN THING that consumes our search. 

Here's the point: Wise men and women are seekers. The wisest are seekers of the right things. 

Wait, that's part of it, but here is the real point: The Wise Men didn't seek the star. They sought that to which the star led. Their ultimate seeking, was the person to whom the heavenly arrows pointed. And sometimes stars get in the way. (Yeah, that last part - that is the point.) 

We have every opportunity to stop short in our seeking journey. These Magi could have said, "We've seen a star no one ever has." They could have been the star-finders, and left it at that. They could have turned back anywhere along their arduous trek. They could have arrived in Jerusalem to an audience with the king and said, "Cool, that's enough." But they knew their star was not the ultimate point. Instead, it pointed toward the ultimate fulfillment of their seeking. 

I've often parroted something I heard a preacher say decades ago: The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing - TMTITKTMTTMT.  Paul put it this way:

That I may know Him... One thing I do: forgetting 

what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the 

upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

- Philippians 3:10, 13-14

Bono (U2) sang, ...but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. The Magi-traveler in each of us relates to this longing... this heart-cry. But we must keep seeking. We must keep following the stars we see; knowing they are indicators, road-signs, but they are not the destination. The destination is a person who provides all we long for.  

Jesus said, "Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened." We've mistaken the heart of his statement. We seek stuff - some good stuff, some self-serving stuff, some damaging stuff; all the while claiming that our cosmic genie has promised it. What we miss, is that in the seeking and the knocking, what he opens to us is more and more of himself. And that's the point! (No, really, this time it is the point.) 

Since I couldn't incorporate a couple thoughts coherently above, I'll just leave them hanging here at the end: 

• The journey begins internally long before the travel takes to the road...
• The commitment must be solid before opportunity is revealed...
• Often, only a general direction is given. Steps of faith are required to discover the next star...
• Wise men and women are - above anything else - still seekers...

God, help me to be a seeker...

For now...

D

A Stumbler's Walk | WHAT'S IN A NAME?

"Joseph, son of David..."

-- Matthew 1:20 

"What's in a name?" asks Shakespeare's Juliet. It is a good question. What's in your name? In mine? 

It is easy when beginning a read of the New Testament to skip over, or at least skim through, the first 17 verses. These begin Matthew's account of Jesus. They are filled with names: fathers, and a few mothers, of sons. Some are recognizable. Some are odd and forgettable. 

As I read this morning though, I was struck with a thought: each of these names carries stories. Some are admirable, even heroic. Some are not. A few of the names immediately bring to mind great acts of faith, and others treachery. (Often, both coexist within the same name.)  

Matthew is moving rapidly through the generations to get to the theme of his first chapter - the birth of Jesus. I planned to do the same in the familiarity of my reading. But this morning the ghost stories attached to the names of genealogy captured my mind. Ultimately, I came to Jesus' (earthly) dad, Joseph. And then, to the way an angel addressed him... "Joseph, son of David..."

Joseph was actually the son of a man named Jacob My guess is Jacob and his wife had huge hopes and dreams for their infant son (and yes, I'm projecting) . They named him Joseph for a reason. There was another Jacob/Joseph father and son way back in the lineage. Their story is a picture of a flawed father of faith and a privileged golden-child son who learns humility and grace. (I won't prolong this post, but it is worth a read: Genesis 37-47). The dreamer Joseph from that ancient story proved to be a man of strength and perseverance. He was a man of faithfulness. 

We don't know much about Jesus' dad, Mary's husband, Joseph. But I believe he too was a man of grace and strength. Faced with an obvious betrayal by the woman he loved, he chose not to retaliate or humiliate her. GRACE. Even more incredibly, when told by an angel that Mary had not betrayed him, but in fact was carrying God's Son to be be born, he agreed to the plan. STRENGTH.

The angel knows what is in Joseph. In addressing the young bewildered man, the heaven-messenger calls him "Joseph, son of David." 

David... as in David the giant-slayer.

David the king.

David the flawed but faithful man after God's heart. 

That David. 

Joseph, you are a son of David. 

Joseph, that is your name. 

And there is a lot in a name. 

Now, Joseph, Son of David... 

Live up to your name!

Children's pageants and nativity scenes have dismissed him to the simple role of inn-door-knocker; a wide-eyed bit player marveling at stars and shepherds and strange eastern travelers. But there is more to this man. He speaks with angels. He listens and acts. He is a man of strength and perseverance. He is a man of faithfulness. He is named in the building tympani swell that preludes Immanuel. 

What's in a name. I guess it really depends on who knows your name; who calls you by name. There is One who knows your name. He knows all the ghost stories behind it - good and bad. And he calls you BY name. He was there, intimately at work in the lives listed in the initial run-on 17 verses of Matthew's account. 

He was there in the cave-stable. 

He was there with Joseph, Son of David. 

He is here with us. 

God, you know my name.

For now...

D

Lessons from Max #10 | PERSPECTIVE MATTERS

I like this PERSPECTIVE of Max

per·spec·tive

pərˈspektiv/

noun

1. 1.

   the art of drawing solid objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other when viewed from a particular point.
2. 2.

   a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.
3. 
   

Perspective is art. Perspective is attitude. Perspective matters.

Perspective is the ability to notice and understand the relationships that exist between things. By things, I mean  tangible and intangible, animate and inanimate. 

I don't think Max knew too much about art. But I think he had great perspective. I'm leaning more toward the second of the above definitions of the word. In reality though, to have #2 correct (attitude), we really need to understand the first. 

Literally, Max's perspective came from about 24 inches off the floor most of the time. He looked up at people. He looked up to people. I don't think he ever thought less of himself because of this. And there truly is a Lesson from Max here... we can lift others up - in our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions - without demeaning ourselves. True humility, I believe, can only be birthed and grow from a healthy self perspective. Perspective does not mean we have to think little of ourselves - though maybe less about ourselves. (Yes, I still have some preacher in me.)

As a matter of fact, I believe Max had a positive and healthy view of Max. He loved and knew he was loved. He gave and received affection more than freely. Max probably never stared into a mirror contemplating the existential reality of his beingness. But more powerfully, and more deeply existential, Max was content being Max. I never heard him wish out loud he were a blonder Golden Retriever. He didn't jealously watch stories of hero German Shepherds, discounting their heroics. Nor did he ever put poodles down for their poodleness. 

I realize I'm stretching it a bit. But hopefully you are catching the point. We choose the angles with which we view people, situations, and ourselves. And healthy perspective breeds contentment, which sets us into position to be the best us we can be. Two things: We CHOOSE our perspective. Secondly, a disclaimer: never confuse contentment with complacency. One is healthy. The other is a choke-hold. 

So perspective is art. Perspective is attitude. Perspective matters. We are the artists.* The canvas of our lives is before us. What has been painted to this point is important, but it does not dictate either what we paint next or the final portrait. 

Paint away. 

For now...
D 

*Note: It is my opinion and belief that the most artistic thing we can do is cooperate with the Master Artist who paints the most beautiful life portraits in and through us.