Doors that Swing Both Ways

"Jesus said, "Come unto Me..."  Matthew 11

Jesus said, "Go and make disciples..." Matthew 28

I have had the hardest time getting out of buildings since coming to Germany.  Typically, I go to the door, turn the handle, push and walk right into the door.  Then I fiddle with it for a while trying to figure out why it won’t open.  Only then, usually with people staring at me, do I remember that in Germany outside doors open inward, not outward as they do in the US.  This makes getting into a building fairly easy but for door impaired people like me, it means getting out of a building is a problem.    

That got me to thinking.  Which ways should the doors swing on the church and in our lives as Christians?  In other words, “Which should be easier – going out from the church or coming in?”  On the one hand, people should have an easy time coming into the fellowship of God’s people… people should feel invited, welcomes and included.  There is nothing worse to hear than statements like these, “I came to your church but no one spoke to me.  Or “At first everyone was so friendly, but after a couple of Sundays I felt like old news.  No one spoke to me.”   Or “I missed church for a couple of Sundays and no one noticed” “I volunteered.  I signed up but no one ever called me. I hear arguments in the church over how much we should cater to those who are new to the church.  Some say we should not expect people to learn a “new Christian language” when they come into a church. Words like “justification, Kyrie, and Sanctus” are like a foreign language to those new to the church.  Others say, “If new people want to come to church then we should teach them the language.”  To both, I say yes.  Coming to Germany Linda and I are trying to learn the language. We want to know this country, its culture and its people.  The language is key.  At the same time, I also love that people here have been more than patients and spoken our foreign language to help us feel welcomed here.  The church needs to be the same.  Yes we want people to learn and grow.  But first we want to welcome them.  We want to invite them in, remember their names, include them in activities, make friends and speak their language.   We want outside doors that swing inward.  After all, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all who are weary and burdened…”  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…”  You and I, our congregations should reflect His warm, welcoming heart.

But then there is the other question.  Should the doors of the church swing outward?   Again the answer is yes.  It’s too easy for us to sit in church like its some kind of private club… as if its mission is only to be a place where people are protected from the world…  to have the attitude that everyone ought to come to us. The problem is Jesus didn’t say “Wait here and make disciples…”  He said, “Go and make Disciples.”  Most unbelievers aren’t waking up on Sunday wondering what church they should go to.   For the most part they aren’t thinking about church at all.  If they are to know Jesus then we have to go to them… be genuine friends and neighbors to them… love and care for them… go out and introduce them to Jesus in our words and deeds.   Our call is reflect our savior… As He came looking for us through the parents and pastors, friends and neighbors, so He sends us out into our neighborhoods and workplaces, homes and schools.  He is the shepherd who leaves the 99 in the open country and goes in search of the one who is lost… We are His search party. Which way should the church doors swing?  Both ways!  

The Little Things

“And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because

He is a disciple,

Truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward”

Matthew 10:42

What I am showing you here I am sure looks to you like nothing more than a simple three ring binder.  For me it is so much more.   To me this is my folder for leading worship.  Every week part of my preparation for worship involves getting this folder ready.  I put a printed out, full copy of the worship service in this folder.  I write out the prayers and place them in here.  I put a typed out copy of my sermon in here.  Any announcements I want to make, I type out and put in here.  Normally, this is all I have to have with me to lead worship.  I have used this folder for leading worship for almost 13 years.   Where did it come from?  Well the leader of Vacation Bible School at Lamb of God gave it to me as a thank you gift at the end of VBS, 13 years ago  To her I am sure this was a small gift she has long forgotten about.  Yet God has used this small gift to help me lead God’s people in worship almost every Sunday. 

This is a pen.   To you that’s all this is.  To me it’s the one pen I have never lost.  The reason I have never lost it is simple.  It sits, or should I say stands on my desk in this pen holder.  When I am gone using I put it right back in its holder.  Thus, whenever I have needed a pen in my work as a pastor, for the past 13 years this pen has been right there on my desk.   Where did I get it?  Thirteen years ago someone gave it to me as a gift.  I am sure this was a small gift that the giver has long forgotten about, but God has used this little pen in His service ever since.

I am sharing this as a way of saying, “Don’t underestimate the little things that God gives you the chance to do.”  Too often in life and ministry we are focused on the big things, the large events – the Easter or Christmas service… singing a solo… building a big building… taking on a huge task… the big project at work that will make lots of money…  that we miss the little opportunities God gives us to help or serve someone.   We run right over people in order to get our important work done.  I remember early in ministry, that I was so caught in my “important work” that I would often not notice or ignore when a little child wanted my attention.   It shames me that too often people had to get my attention and point out the little one following me around.  What was wrong with me that I thought I was too busy, or too important to notice?   Jesus wasn’t like that.  There is one incident that sticks out in my mind.  Jesus is on his way through Jericho to Jerusalem.  He is going to do His most important work of all – dying and rising again for the salvation of the world.  As he walks by a blind beggar named Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy upon me.”  Everyone tries to silence Bartimaeus.  The believe that Jesus doesn’t have time for such a trivial person.  Well the text says, “Jesus stopped!”  He took time for Bartimaeus.  He healed him. 

Too often we are like the Priest and the Levite in the parable, to busy or focused on our big important task we have to do for Jesus, that we go out of our way to avoid helping or even seeing the man who was just robbed and left by the side of the road.    Sometimes the thing God wants us to do is to put off our supposedly important work, to take time to do something that may seem small and unimportant to us.    Who knows how our God will use the little things.

I heard a story about a salvation army volunteer who years ago went out of his way for a widowed mom anher two daughters.  Once a week, on his way home, he would drop off a bag of groceries and play with those two little girls who so missed their daddy.  I am sure he thought nothing of that little time he gave to those girls each week.  Well 70 or 80 years later one of those two little girls remembered that small act of kindness.  In her will this lady left something like a billion dollars to the ministry of the Salvation Army.   Don’t underestimate the importance of the little things.  You may never know how God will use them, but use them H e will.  Jesus said it, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple.  Truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward”

Holy Habits

Hebrews 10:24–25

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Do you know what this is? Yes it’s a toothbrush.  I am about to brush my teeth. But it’s more than that. It’s a habit.  Brushing my teeth is something I do over and over again, at the same time every day.  Habits are an important part of life.  There are good habits and habits.  I am in the habit of leaving rooms and not turning off lights.  That’s a habit that drives Linda crazy.  I am also in the habit of getting up early and going for a walk with Molly, our dog, pretty much every morning.  That’s a good habit.  

Now I know that “developing good habits” is something our mom’s harped on every day.  We probably got sick of hearing them say it.  I know I just hated it when my mom would tell me again and again, “Quit chewing with your mouth open.”  “Mom, I know!” would be my reply.  “If you know it, why don’t you do it?” was always her next question.  But you know as I grew older, I discovered something.  My mom did know some things… well many things.  She was right in wanting me to develop good habits – picking up my room, brushing my teeth, chewing with my mouth shut…  Getting in good habits helps me to make sure I am doing all the things that I need to do to take care of myself, to respect those around me and to live life in a good, healthy way.

All that brings me to this question, “What are your spiritual habits?  Your holy habits?”  Once again, when it comes to spiritual habits there are good habits and bad habits.  In Hebrews 10 we read about people who were in the bad habit “neglecting to meet together…”  They had gotten in the habit of not going to worship.  People who haven’t been to a church service in a while will often say to me, “I have just gotten out of the habit.”  The list of good and bad spiritual habits  is long - having daily devotions or not having them, praying daily or neglecting to pray, participating in a Bible study or not participating in Bible Study, attending worship or skipping worship, encouraging others in their faith or tearing them down.

The thing about habits is that they are developed.  They don’t just happen.  I haven’t always been good about brushing and flossing my teeth.  Like all bad habits, I paid a price for that every time I went to the Dentist.  What changed?  I started brushing my teeth.  It became a habit.  Then Linda got me this electric tooth brush that helps me track how much time I spend on every part of my mouth. My habit got stronger.   I haven’t always exercised.  What happened?  I started walking on a tread mill.  Then I got a dog who gives me a reason to go for a good walk every day.  Now my daughter in law has put together a series of exercises.  Exercise has become a habit.  Linda and I haven’t always had daily devotions together.  But we do now.  How did that happen?  We started having devotions.  Now just sitting down to breakfast together reminds us.  Reading God’s word and praying together has become a habit.

Understand, holy habits are not things we do because we want God to love us more.  He already loves you and me with an everlasting love… with more love than we could ever deserve.  No these are habits God invites us to because He wants to bless us… to strengthen our faith and draw us closer to him.  People ask, “Why should I give time to these habits?” Bonhoeffer and Luther would say, “That’s simple – because God commanded you to.”  But to that I would also add this.  If you were invited to eat a gourmet meal of your favorite foods would you ask, ”Why would I want to do that?”  No, you’d just dig in and enjoy.  That’s what holy habits are all about – an opportunity to dig into and enjoy God’s many gifts.

What are your holy habits?  Pause for a moment today and make a list of them – good and bad.  Then ask yourself, “What do I want to change?  What new habits do I want to develop?  Pick one, pray and start… start today.  Make it one of your holy habits. 

The Day the Masks Come Off

“For when I kept silent my bones wasted away

Through my groaning all day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My strength was dried up as in the heat of summer.

I acknowledged my sin to you,

And I did not cover up my iniquity;

I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.’”

Psalm 32:3-5

On Monday, as I rode the U-Bahn, there were a lot of people on that train dressed “oddly.’  One person wore a bunny costume.  Another had her face painted a kitty.  A third was dressed like a clown.   All these people were on their way to work or school.   I wondered, “What is going on?  It’s not Halloween.”  Then it hit me – Its Carnival or Mardi Gras.  In Germany they call it “fasching.”    They have parades and parties.  People wear costumes.  I understand that the City of Mainz really celebrate big.    “Fasching” is the last big party before Lent, before Ash Wednesday. 

Ash Wednesday is the day when all the masks come off.    What a great spiritual lesson there is for us in this.  After all, we all wear masks.  We all hide things about ourselves.  We try to control what others think of us.  We especially seek to cover up or hide the bad things.  King David comes to mind.  In an attempt to cover up his sin, David wore some pretty grotesque masks.    To cover up adultery he first put on a mask of deception.  Next he chose an even more grotesque mask - murder.    After that he used something good… He used marriage as a mask to hide the truth about Bathsheba’s pregnancy. 

The problem with our masks is that we can fool others. We may even be able to deceive ourselves.  But we can’t fool God.   God saw right through David’s masks.  Listen to David describe what it was like trying to hide from the LORD. “When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My strength was dried up as in the heat of summer.”  (Psalm 32:3-4)  God had a better answer.     He sent the prophet Nathan to bring David’s guilt out into the light.  To us God sends days like Ash Wednesday.  He invites us to take off our masks.  He invites us to confess our sin.  Then He marks us with Ashes to remind us of what sin does to us.  “Dust you are,” He says, “and to dust you shall return.”  The words we speak at the grave side come to life, “Dust to dust and Ashes to ashes.”   

Why can’t He leave our masks alone?    God knows that masking our guilt doesn't make it go away.  He loves us too much to let us go on hiding behind our masks.  After all, He is a God who does not desire the death of a sinner but that he turn from his ways and live.    He is a God who desires to forgive us our sin.  He desires this so much that He gave His one and only Son Jesus.   Jesus gave His life to pay for our sin.  He rose again that we might never have to wear masks again.    What happened to David?  “I acknowledged my sin to you, And I did not cover up my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.’”  So today is the day to take off the masks… to be marked with ashes…to acknowledge the truth about our sins… to celebrate the even greater truth of God’s love in Jesus Christ – that he forgives all Your sins… and He forgives all my sins!

A Mighty Masada is Our God

"The God  of Jacob is our Fortress"

Psalm 46

This post has no printed text to go with it.  We were on top of Masada by the Dead Sea in Israel and this thought came to me which I wanted to share with you.  So you will need to listen to the two videos posted here...one a brief devotional thought and the other is our tour group singing "A Mighty Fortress".... We just wanted to share with you one more thought from Israel... God Bless.

And the hymn

Walking Where Jesus Walked

"Lord, if It's You, tell me to come."

Matthew 14:28

"Lord, if it's You Tell Me to Come"

This post is coming to you from Israel, the land of our Lord Jesus.  Behind me is the Sea of Galilee.  I was sitting here thinking about that one of things people get excited about when they come here is the thought -"I've walked where Jesus walked."  Well I can't say that about the Sea of Galilee.   He walked on to that Sea.  I haven't.  But Peter did.

Have you ever thought about Why Peter wanted to walk on the water.  It's a great illustration of what discipleship means.  A disciple was to follow his Rabbi so closely that he would be covered in the "dust of his Rabbi."  He was to listen and commit to memory all that his Rabbi said.  He was to imitate and do what he saw his Rabbi do.  The Rabbi was to shape the whole person of the disciple.  The disciple was to trust and become like his disciple.  Therefore when Peter saw Jesus walk on the water he wanted to do it too.  And he did.

Of course you know what happened.  No sooner was Peter out of the boat, walking on the water than he was distracted and frightened by the wind and the waves.  Taking his eyes off of Jesus, Peter started to sink.  Now I don't want to be too hard on Peter - I don't think I would have even got out of the boat.  What about you?

This story though provides me with great comfort.  For one thing, I do want to follow Jesus that closely but like Peter I fail.  I sink.  I get afraid.  Notice though that Jesus is right there.  He saves Peter.... Brings him safely back in the boat.  Jesus never takes his eyes off of Peter.  He doesn't turn Peter away.  He brings him back in the boat.  He forgives him.  He still invites Peter to follow.

Think about that.  We are free to try and try again to follow him... When we fail, he never takes his eyes off of us.  He is there to save us... To forgive us... To put us back in the boat... In His grace and mercy doesn't turn back... He doesn't reject.  He loves us . Forgives us... Helps us to grow so that We can keep following... Keep Walking where He walks.

Home is...

"Our citizenship is in heaven."

Phil. 3:20a

"We have here no lasting city, but 

We wait for the city that is to come."

Hebrews 13:11

You know since moving to Germany I have found myself using the word "home" in all sorts of different ways.  Thinking about vacation sometime this year I have said things like, "well when we go home this summer..."  By that I mean when we head home to the USA.  When leaving my office at Trinity at the end of the day I have told my colleagues, "I am heading home."  By that I meant our apartment in Frankfurt...  Today Linda and I are in Tel Aviv and in one sense even here I am home .... Not because I live here but because Linda is here. Home is where she and I are together.

So where is home?   Well I guess it's all those places and yet none of those places.  It's the USA because that's our country.  We grew up there.  We are Americans.  and we love it.  Yet we have no house there anymore.  Our US address is Bethany and Jason's address.  Well then home is the USA because that's where our kids and grandkids are...  We can not put into words how much our kids and grandkids are on our hearts.  We love them.  But not all of them live in the US.... Jon and Dora are in Indonesia and moving to Hungary.  Is Frankfurt home? Yes and no.  We live there. We love Trinity.  Yet everything is still so new and someday, God will move us again.  To the Us?  I imagine but who knows?  

So where is home?  Home is all the places I have listed and none of them.  I guess this move... Having to sell or give away most of what we "owned" has driven home to us that we have no "permanent home" in this world.  All our homes here are wonderful but temporary.  Our real home is with our Lord....   "For we have here no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come". Hebrew 13:11. "Our citizenship is in heaven.   And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."  Phil. 3:20-21.  That is so important to understand.  Without that knowledge of home - we would be wanderers in this life, with no place to go.  Because of Jesus... Because he has purchased a home for us in His Father's House, we are pilgrims on our way home... Inviting other to go home with us.  I guess home is where Our Father is.