The ongoing joy of creation

If you just take a second to look, you'll see wonder.

In order to fully appreciate the nature of the Creator, we need to become students of His creation. We need to take joy in the intricate details of the world around us We need to see the fashion of the rocks, plants, trees and hills around us. Despite man's continued use of the planet, beauty is all around us if only we will open our eyes to it. To watch the master is to learn the master's heart.

 

Photo by David Rupert, Colorado Colors

Creation is amazing, but re-creation is the most spectacular event of all. God is no lonely Maytag repairman. He is a busy Mr. Fix-It, a Jack-of-all-trades, a Handyman of the Human Heart. He can take the most broken piece of pottery and put it together again. No condition, no misery, no failure is too much for the wondrous Creator who knows no end to His touch.

Creation is not finished. At this very moment Scripture reminds us that “He is preparing a home for us." Like a masterpiece behind the shroud, he will one day unveil it to all His children. I anticipate with great expectation climbing the steps to the eternal tree house readied for me.

Care to comment?

Companies love our values, we just can't talk about them

USA Today ran an interesting opinion piece a couple of years ago on faith in the workplace.

The editorial begins like this: “You don’t have to leave your beliefs at home. In fact, some employers see the value of integrating religion and work in meaningful ways.”

Bold stuff from the mainstream press. In fact, the editorial goes on to say “religious people need to practice their faith in the workplace if they are going to pursue their vocations with integrity.”

Ah, here we get to the crux of the matter – and something this blog and others like The High Calling and Made to Matter have been saying. Faith isn’t so much about “proclamation,” rather it is about “imitation.” We mirror the tenets of our faith first – being the best office worker, the hardest construction worker, and the most honest businessmen – as a result of our faith.


Credit Robert D. Brooks / Abe Novy, by permission



The comments to the piece, are not so respectful. They range from fear to jubiliation. Those who are fearful of faith in the workplace don’t want to be "ambushed" by people of faith. “No one else wants any of you, no matter what religion you are, in their faces,” comments one person. Another says “whenever there is an abundance of mindless idiots pushing their views there is also ALL kinds of discrimination.”

It seems that companies would love for people of faith to be more productive and to use their faith to better the company – as long we keep quiet about it.

What is your opinion? Can you talk about your faith at work? Comment here.

Related articles

• Is it Taboo To Talk About Your Beliefs at Work? (highcallingblogs.com)
• Take your pastor to work day (redletterbelievers.blogspot.com)
• Hiding Your Treasure at Work (redletterbelievers.blogspot.com)

• How's Work? (kevinwmccarthy.com)

• Career Couch: Avoiding Collisions of Church and the Workplace (nytimes.com)

What? Me worry?

I admit as a boy, sneaking off to read Mad magazine. I was Alfred E. Neuman, and he was me. Nerdy. Loveable. And a thoughtful realist.

His mantra, “What? Me worry?” became my personal answer to all of life’s problems. Homework. Parents. Siblings. Friends. None of that stuff mattered. I was the teflon kid.

Of course, that’s what I wanted everyone to believe.

The truth is, I worried. And I still do.

I justify it as “concern” or better yet, “prayerful concern.” I’ve never suffered an ulcer, but I’ve lost many hours of sleep. I’ve never been on medication, but I’ve let worry interfere with my life.

Here’s the list: Work, relatoinships, kids, neighbors, money, vehicles, future, retirement and the weather. If I think about it, the list could go on and on, but you get the point.

This much I know. I am so far away from Jesus injunction to not let life get me down.  
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

He used the lilies, the sparrow and field grass as divine illustrations of His provential care.

Part of maturing is trusting Him to follow through. I hope one day to stand up to life, with that silly little grin on my face as I say with all sincerity and truth “What? Me worry?”

Bonnie Gray, at Faith Barista, is keeping faith fresh with weekly discussions. This week’s round up is on letting go of worry. Check it out here.

Could you walk away from it all?

I remember the flames dancing on the next ridge.

A raging forest fire was threatening our little mountain community of Wilson, Wyoming. The firefighters were throwing everything they had at the fire, but the winds whippped the flames into a full fury.

They warned us to be ready to evacuate.

We looked around at our possessions -- at the things we had accumulated over two decades and wondered, "what was worth taking?"

There was surprisingly little we packed for the Jeep that night, in case the call came in. A few photos. My laptop. Some writings. A few favorite toys for the kids. Clothes and toiletries. Everything else could burn and we really wouldn't miss it.

We were spared the destruction, but not the burning question. "How much of this stuff do we really need?"

I've been reading the book, "Radical" by David Platt. It's a call to give up our comfort, our sense of entitlement, for the sake of making disciples in all nations.

The rich young ruler who approached Jesus, all gung-ho to follow him was turned away. "Sell all you have and give to the poor," he was told. Platt pointed out that Jesus often talked people out of following Him, because the price of servanthood is high.

So I'm asking the question of myself. Could I walk away from it all?  How about you? Comment here.

Crouching at your door: The anger that lurks

“Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back -- in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.” – Fredrick Buechner

It seems like everyone is ticked off today.


I was driving a little slow out of my subdivision yesterday at 6:40 a.m. and a woman began honking and flashing her lights behind me all the way to the neighborhood exit.

I thought 20 meant 20. But to her, it was an early morning chance to display her angst. I was stunned that someone could be so angry so early.

I had a coworker just lose it over a creative difference. I sat slack-jawed at the crazy display.

A friend who takes customer calls told me that almost every day, someone dives right in, dropping explitives and name calling to this complete stranger on the other end of the phone.

And the nation is boiling at taxes, spending, dishonesty, corruption, and the establishment. Voters are expressing themselves loudly, often driven out of anger.

Cain was an angry brother. God called him out on it and said this: "If you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door; and its desire is to master you, but you must master it." Anger is certainly a precourser to terrible human disasters. You might not have the propensity to kill, as Cain eventually did, but you might be motivated out of anger to do something with long-lasting effects.

I've been angry at the wrong things. And I've angry at the right things. It's a great motivator. I get angry when I trip over that box in the hall, so I finally move it. I get angry at sin and finally, have enough of it, and start making changes.

But righteous anger is parceled out in very small portions because we simply do not know how to use it properly.

How about you? What role does anger play in your life? Do you get angry at home, but not at work? Or do you get angry at work and not at home? Comment here.

Do I really want to know the truth?

Do I really want to hear the truth? Or do I want others to feed me what I want to hear?

I once had a job that I just wasn't qualified to do. No amount of training or effort would ever make me improve. I just wasn't cut out for it. That ceiling was a painful one to bump into, every hour of every day.

I needed someone to tell me the truth.


There are certain physical features that I can't readily admit. The lines on my face and circles under my eyes are signs of an aging body. For others, it's a growing circle at the top of the heads, or hips that are wider than ever that serve as reminders that we aren't what we used to be.

Can we be honest?

I have character flaws -- things that need to fixed and changed. I have a mouth that flies off the handle, a spirit that gets too discouraged too quickly, and a heart that stays sad despite gladness all around. I have a nature that gravitates toward sin and a restless spirit.

Do I really want to know the truth?

How about you? Comment here.

"Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." Psalm 119:18

Here's what's wrong with the world (and it's not what you think)

Read the newspapers. Listen to the news. Participate in the chatter. This world is in chaos. Terrorism. Unemployment. Uncertainty. It's chaos out there.

And we are quick to find targets: The Democrats. The Republicans. The UN. The corporate world.

What's even worse is the hopeless feeling that we can do nothing about any of this. We are pawns in the power broker's game. Pushed around.

Nearly a century ago, The Times of London asked G.K. Chesterton and several other eminent writers to contribute essays on the theme, “What’s Wrong With the World.”

Chesterton’s response was pointedly profound: “Dear Sirs, I am.”

When I rail at all the trouble on this planet, I must come to face to face that I'm a big part of it. I bristle at the charge that I have something to do about all this. But it's true. I live beyond my means. I don't give to my church or to the poor like I should. I don't share the gospel story, giving hope to others. I live for myself, a pleasure-seeker if there ever was one.

So what's wrong with the world? It starts with me.

Care to comment?

(UPDATE: Check out Ann over at A Holy Experience for a similiar take. "When you have no idea how to fix a broken world." It's amazing.)

Maybe it's God who is looking for a sign

I asked for a sign.

One look in the mirror and I instantly know that I'm human, trapped in the limitation of time and space. I am forced to operate within the confines of what I see and touch. Anything beyond that, I just don't understand. Nor can I comprehend eternity or anything that doesn't conveniently fit on a 24-hour clock.

So this talk, this belief that there is a Divine Being that transcends space and time is amazing, but there are times when the "human me" needs something a little more.


I know there's another world, a place the defies this earthly plane. By faith, I know God is there. But sometimes my soul is weary, my heart is heavy and I need Him right here, right now.

I need a sign.

The struggles in life are real. And I suspect they are for you as well. We all put our game-faces on, pressing on out of discipline or the belief that it's all going to work out somehow, someway. 

Wrestling with decisions is never easy. We want to do what's right, but it's just not clear. We don't know which direction to turn.

God, give me a sign!

If I'm honest, I want fire. I want wind. I want lightening. I want power.

But maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe God is looking for a sign from me.

He's looking for a sign that I'll listen and learn.

He's looking for a sign that I'm ready to obey.

He's looking for a sign that I'm willing to act.

What do you think? Have you ever looked for a sign from God? Do you think He's looking for one from you? Comment?

***

And they came to test Him. They asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied....'A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah' . Jesus then left them and went away.

***
Was this post forwarded to you? Please consider subscribing to get all of them sent directly to your in-box 2-3 times a week. Click here.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

"It's not foresight or hindsight we need. We need sight, plain and simple. We need to see what is right in front of us." -- Gordon Atkinson, Real Live Preacher

It all started when I was a young man.

I spent hours looked at Life magazine, the photos of  men in action, wondering what I would be when I grew up.

Photo by Smiley, with permission

Sure, like plenty of other boys, I wanted to a fireman. Then it was a doctor. After the missionary came to our church, I wanted to be one of them, too. Then I wanted to enter electronics, but someone wisely told me a color-blind dude wouldn't be successful with wires.

I was always looking ahead. Even today, I desperately want to see into the future, to divine tomorrow

Now that I'm well into my fourth decade, I spend plenty of time looking behind me. I look at love that I have lost, relationships that failed, careers that bombed, and broken dreams.

I also can look back at the love that I have found, the friends that I have made, the job that I have and the hopes fulfilled.

But there is something about just looking around, experiencing what God has for me right now. "Taste and see that the Lord is good" the Psalmist says. 

Ravi Zacharias tells this story:

I remember the time an older man asked me when I was young, 'Do you know what you are doing now?' I thought it was some kind of trick question. 'Tell me,' I said. 'You are building your memories,' he replied, 'so make them good ones.'

Rather than looking at the road ahead of me, or the footprints behind, maybe I need to be grateful for where my feet are right now.

Yes, looking at yesterday gives me wisdom. Thinking about tomorrow gives me hope. But most of all, I want to understand this very moment.

Thoughts?

Love your enemies. Yup, He really said that.

Reading the Gospels has a way of tweaking all my emotions. I love the stories about fish and figs, crops and coins. And who doesn't like the healings and feedings and miracles? Personally, I get a real charge when Jesus thumps the religious elite. "Take that you two-faced pompous twit!"

But then, there are those passages -- you know, the ones that you cannot possibly apply to someone else.

"Love your enemies. Do good to those that hate. Pray for those who persecute you."

I don't like it when He says, "you." 
I really wish He would say, "they" or "everyone but you, David."
But this one, I cannot escape.

I recently read this passage from the Sermon on the Mount and thought, “Has Jesus met some of the people I work with?” " Has He met my brother, my neighbor or any of the other characters in my life?"

This is perhaps the hardest of all commands to follow.

Jesus expects us to pray for our attackers, to lift up our critics and to love our enemies – because as Christians we’re supposed to be different, completely transformed and made new by grace.

But, you don't understand, Lord!

Actually, He does. Throughout the Passion, Jesus Christ prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies “for they know not what they do.”


If Jesus could pray for his murderers as He was saving mankind from its sinful existence and marching towards his death on Golgotha, then what can we do to pray for the foes we face in our daily lives?


What do you think? Comment here.


Was this post forwarded to you? Please consider subscribing to get all of them sent directly to your in-box 2-3 times a week. Click here.

Let the Day Begin

To all those who labor, and struggle in life, may you find rest this Labor Day.

I always play this song on Labor Day. It's a happy song of restoration. It's a celebration of work and of life.

 By The Call, whose prolific  leader Michael Been recently passed away, these lyrics speak to all of us with resounding hope.

Here's to the babies in a brand new world
Here's to the beauty of the stars
Here's to the travelers of the open road
Here's to the Dreamers in the bars

Here's to the teachers in the crowded rooms

Heres to the workers in the fields
Here's to the preachers of the sacred words
Here's to the driver at the wheel

Here's to you my little loves with blessing from above
Now let the Day begin.
Here's to you my little love with blessing from above
Let the Day begin

Here's to the winners of the human race
Here's to the losers in the game
Heres to the soldiers of the bitter war
Here's to the wall that bears their name

Heres to you my little loves with blessings from above

Now let the day begin.

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above.
Now let the day begin. the Day START.

Here's to the doctors and their healing works
Here's to the loved ones in their care
Here's to the strangers on the streets tonight
Here's to the lonely everywhere
Here's to the wisdom from the mouths of babes
Here's to the lions in the cage
Here's to the struggles of the silent poor
Here's to the closing of the age

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Heres to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin. The day START

God, down to the very second

There’s a folder in my desk stuffed with letters – some 40 years old or more. Despite the passage of time, the handwritten swirls of ink from friends and family continue to inject wit, understanding and love. Within these folded pages are the annals of people who make an impact in my life.

Photo by Marcy Earley

In these days of e-mails, status updates and tweets, we have lost the meaning of the letter. The impersonal world of the instantaneous leaves us longing for something deeper, something with relationship. Blogs are the closest thing we have to letters today.  Within them are unique perceptions, revelations of personalities and inspirational insights that we can read – and then reread, hopefully tucking them away in our hearts.

Around the High Calling Network last month were plenty of “keepers,” blog posts that keep on breathing. There are so many many writers who spoke to the sands of time trickling out of our fingers. Perhaps there’s the realization that summer was rushing headlong into fall, that vacation can’t last forever.

Few captured the essence of time as well as Jenny Rain did in The Ministry of the Moment.

“When I stretch back the sixty-second rhythms of my day and take a deep look, I am becoming aware that God has shown up in ordinary, yet miraculous ways,” she writes.

Jenny advocates embracing the moment, down to each second as it unfolds. “I am guilty of leaving my minutes behind.”

At first read, I thought about my own wasted moments – like the time I spent analyzing the ingredients in Allspice or sniffing dozens of cantaloupes at the grocery store, pretending like I know what’s the best smell.

But Jenny isn’t talking about wasted moments – she’s talking about finding meaning in the moments, especially the unplanned ones. She’s tired of “compressing them into hurried adverbs of usefulness instead of expanding them into majestic adjectives of praise.”

Read her post from Rainmakers and Stormchasers.Read the rest of the month's best at High Calling Blogs. Say hi to Jenny here,  and feel free to comment here.

Of gold rushes and gold busts: What's going to last?

My grandfather lived just a couple of miles from Coloma, California where James Marshall discovered gold and led to great rush of 1849. I remember riding my bike along the riverbanks where the nuggets first settled in Marshall's pan, making a poor man instantly rich.

Thousands of people descended upon the region, arriving with the expectation – not the hope – of striking it rich and becoming wealthy. Ironically, it wasn’t the miners who generally struck it rich – it was the men who served the miners that became wealthy. Men like Leland Stanford and Levi Strauss were the more typical "get rich" stories.

Over the past decade, these Sierra Nevada foothills -- and the rest of the nation witnessed another gold rush. With the introduction of low rate adjustable loans, ‘no proof of income’ loans and other creative financial products, people rushed to acquire property with the expectation – not the hope – of making a quick fortune.

Buy a home and keep it just a few brief months and then flip it and pocket the cash yielded by an irrational rise in value.

Like prospectors headed East with their heads hanging low, the new seekers are equally disappointed -- and broken.

Home builders and mortgage lenders went bankrupt, opportunistic would-be entrepreneurs who jumped into real estate related businesses are returning to their day jobs and debt laden homeowners are losing their property and their dream homes.

Only one thing is certain as we witness our surrounding economy continue falter and adjust to its new equilibrium point – that a new gold rush is right around the corner. We just don’t know what form it will take.

There is a better way to live out these days. In our workplace, personal lives and families, we often "go for the gold" instead of the more enduring qualities -- faith, hope and love. We need to spend the necessary time and energy on the things that last.

Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:33.

What are you doing in this 'new economy' to build lasting value? Comment here.