Attention to Details

“I am the Good Shepherd.  I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

John 10:14

I got caught the other night.  We were talking at the Council meeting about the Sunday School teachers appreciation breakfast.  I made the comment that I did not know that the breakfast was a council sponsored event.  That’s when the person who hosted the breakfast spoke up.  “It was in my email.  You got my email.  Ah, you didn’t read my email.”  Yep, I got caught.  Too often I will skim an email rather than read it in detail.  That often gets me in trouble, when I miss some important detail. 

You can always tell when someone pays attention to detail.    Their emails have no spelling errors.  You send them an email, they read it and respond… appropriately.  They are well groomed.  They pick up after themselves.  They do their homework and do it well. Their desks are organized and clean.  When hosting you, they go out of their way to make sure you are taken care of.  When they show an interest in you, they mean it.  They aren’t just making conversation.  They are getting to know you. They are listening.  They will remember things about you that others forget – your name, things you said to them, what you were wearing and more.  They pay attention to details. 

That’s what Jesus is telling us about Himself.  “I am the Good Shepherd, “ He says, “I know my sheep…”   He pays attention to details.  He knows all there is to know about us.  He knew us before we were born.  While we were still in the womb of our mothers His “eyes saw our unformed bodies.”  Isaiah tells us He brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name.  He calls you and me by name.  Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold or a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  After all, this Shepherd who pays attention to every detail of your life, who listens to every prayer you offer, knows your need.  He has met every detail of your need, giving Himself to die so that you might be made whole.  He rose that you might live with Him forever.  Yes, He pays attention to detail.  He pays attention to you and to me.

You know this.  You can tell.  That’s the second part of what Jesus says, “…My sheep know me.”  That’s why you can trust Him.  I saw a living illustration of this on my vicarage.  We were at the home of the Kirchners for Sunday dinner.  Ken got a call that one of his cows was out of the pasture, standing in the middle of the road.  Ken took me with.  We tried and tried to get that cow to go back through the gate into the pasture.  No matter what we did, the cow did the opposite of what we wanted.  Finally, Ken looked at me and said, “Vicar, why don’t you walk down the road a piece.”  I did as I was told.  As soon as I was far enough away, that cow did whatever Ken wanted it to do.  Why?  Because the cow knew Ken.  The cow knew that Ken made sure she was fed every day.  The cow knew that Ken pulled her calves.  That Ken brought the vet to take care of her needs.  The cow knew Ken and trusted him. She didn’t know me. 

We know Jesus. We have talked to Him in prayer.  We recognize His voice because we spend time in His word.  We have seen Him answer our prayers.  We have experienced His care in hard times and blessing in good times.  He has comforted us when grieving.  He has given us friends and family to stand with us in life.  When we need to be humbled, he sends the right circumstances or the right people to do that.  When we need to be encouraged He is there too.  I remember my last year at Flower Mound, TX.  One of our young mothers had cancer and was in the midst of her treatment.  At one low point, very discouraged she went out for ice cream.  Out of the blue, a man she didn’t know spoke to her.  “You have cancer don’t you?”  “Yes,” she said, “How did you know?”  “My wife has cancer too. I could tell.”  They sat and talked for quite a while.  “You know Pastor, he was exactly the person I needed to talk to today.  He knew exactly what I was going through.  I know God sent him to me to lift me up… to encourage me.”  Those little events in life are how we know that we can trust Jesus.  Our Shepherd pays attention to details.  Like Jesus said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”HiHHH

The Seed that "Springs Eternal"

1 Peter 1:23–25 (ESV)

You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

It’s spring!  The signs are everywhere.  The trees are budding.  People are planting gardens.  The other day Linda sent me three pictures of the flowers she planted on our patio.  My eyes are itching from all the pollen.  One of my favorite signs of spring around here is when the flowering trees have their early spring blossoms.  I call them tulip trees because that’s what their blossoms look like.  They are absolutely beautiful or they were.  That’s why I am here.  The blossoms on this tree are already falling off and dying, leaving a mess.  Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal.  Yet already here we have a reminder that the rebirth of the spring is only temporary.  Soon will come the heat of summer, the old age of fall and the death of winter.  Next December all this new life will be dead. 

So many of the seeds we plant in life, so much of what we invest our time and energy in is only temporary.  You celebrate a success one day, only to be asked the next day, “So what have you done lately?”  The days of having one career or living in the same house, or working at the same company all your life are over. How many jobs have you had?  How many places have you lived?   Many marriages don’t last these days.  People get divorced sometimes more than once.  Even the marriages that last a lifetime, only last a lifetime.  Time flies. You look forward to college yet those four years are gone in a flash.  The honeymoon isn’t forever.  The vacation you planned and saved for is over in a couple of weeks.  Before you know it your kids grow up, leave home and the nest is empty.  Your once young healthy body grows old.  Your hair falls out or turns grey.  One day you die. 

Don’t get me wrong.  Investing in, planting seeds and giving your life to be a good worker, a faithful spouse, a loving parent – all that is important.  There is nothing wrong with working for a better job or buying a nicer house.  However if that’s all you have to give your life to, then your life has nothing in it that lasts.   Peter is right, “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls…”

That’s when Peter adds one of the most important short words you will find in the Bible, the word “but.”  “The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”  That Word is the good news that “God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”   That word is the good news that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”   It’s the good news that “God has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade away...” 

From that seed of God’s word, according to Psalm 1, grows a life “that yields its fruit in season and whose leaves do not wither.”  God’s word is the seed that produces an eternal spring.  That’s why being in worship every chance God gives you… that’s why being a part of a Bible class… that’s why having your own daily time in God’s word… that’s why having a family devotion time… that’s why taking your kids to Sunday School and church is so important… That’s why it’s worth putting up with your teenager’s grousing to get them up and go on Sundays… that’s why time with God is way more restful than sleeping in… This is how the seeds of God’s eternal word are planted in your heart and the hearts of your children.  If you wish to have a full life that lasts forever… if you pray that kind of eternal life for your children then know this - that is what God offers us here in His Word.  By ourselves we are no different than the grass that withers and the flowers that fall.  Only what God offers in His word lasts forever.  His word is the seed that “springs eternal.”

Confessions of a Distracted Walker

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise..."

Ephesians 5:15

We all know that it’s dangerous to drive while texting or talking on your cell phone.  Did you know that it can be equally dangerous to walk while using your cell phone?  I read an article about it the other day.  People are getting hurt, seriously hurt while walking and using their cell phones.  They are walking into things.  They are stepping off of things and falling.  They are walking into streets and getting hit by cars.  It’s called “distracted walking.”

I read that article and I knew right away, I am guilty.  I confess, “I am a ‘distracted walker.’”  No I haven’t gotten hurt… yet.  But I have walked into a light pole.  I have walked in front of a Frankfurt bicyclist and gotten yelled at.  I have almost walked into people walking the other way on the sidewalk.  I have even gotten on the wrong “tram line” here in Frankfurt.  There have been a couple of times, when I missed my U-Bahn stop (that’s subway stop for those not from Germany).  Each time I was texting, reading an article on my phone, having a Facebook chat or just plain talking on the phone.  In short, I wasn’t paying attention.  I wasn’t watching where I was going.  I am guilty of being a “distracted walker.”

The same thing happens to you and me spiritually.  We are all too easily distracted in our walk with Christ.   How many times have you intended to take time to read God’s Word only to get distracted by some other activity?  I intend every day to start the day out reading Scripture.  But far too often I decide to do something else first and then never get back to my Bible.  Too often I am distracted by how busy I am, and use that as an excuse for not taking time for the Word, for not taking time to talk to my Lord.  Have you ever lost track of time surfing the internet? You don’t even have to go look at bad websites.  I sometimes get distracted looking at the news.  Temptation to sin by its very nature is a distraction. Whatever the temptation is, it always leads us off of God’s path and straight into trouble.  If we are being honest, we must all make this confession.  When it comes to following God, we are all easily distracted walkers.

The solution is really simple.  Close the screen on your phone, turn off the ringer and put your phone in your pocket until you get to where you are going.  Paul gives us the same advice when it comes to our walk in Christ.  “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise…”  We read something similar in Hebrews 12.  There the author compares our walk in Christ to running a race.  Walking or running, the counsel fits.  “…let us lay aside every weight and sin that so easily entangles and let us run with endurance the race that is marked out for us, fixing our eyes upon Jesus…”  In other words, just as with your cell phone, stop doing whatever it is that is leading you away from Christ.  If it’s sin – put it away forever.  If it’s just a distraction, set it aside till later and watch where you are going.   Look carefully! Turn. Repent! Fix your eyes of faith upon Jesus!

Looking to Jesus is the cure for distracted walking.  For one thing He forgives us.  By His death He has paid the consequences for our misguided walk.  He rose again to set us back on God’s path.  For another He knows where He is going.  When I came to Frankfurt for an interview, our DCE Kendra gave me a tour of the city.  How did I get around?  I followed her.  She knew where she was and where she was taking me. I didn’t.  That’s Jesus. He knows where He is going.  He knows where He is taking us.  He knows the way. We don’t.  In fact He is the way.  We’re not.  What’s the best way to follow Him?  Open His word.  Study His Word.  Learn to know Him better. After all Jesus is the Word of God made flesh.  You want to walk with Him? Read, listen and He will guide.  After all, the word of God “is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.”  Its only keeping your eyes on Jesus that gets you back on the path and keeps you on the path. Amen.