Festival Seating

He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, ‘O Israel who brought you up out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” Exodus 32:3,4.

Mike read the above text last Sunday night and then challenged us all to holster our pointing fingers and confess the reality of our own golden calves that we have fashioned carefully with the tools of greed, pride and envy. He identified the golden calves of his own life and affirmed that he knew he wasn’t alone. Mike challenged us to rid ourselves of the stuff we keep overstuffing and make room for the LORD! His resonate confession was: “If we spent as much time as we do watching TV reading our Bibles or working for the church what would our lives look like?”

All this reminded me of festival seating. No, no… not concert seating where it’s first come, first row but rather an important twist in the text above. You see the text says the children of Israel said after Aaron fashioned the golden calf, “These are your gods.” Not this is your god but the golden calf and Yaweh (God demoted to god and lumped in with a calf god) have brought you out of Egyptian slavery. Aaron seeing this tries to sway their allegiance back to Yaweh by saying, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” You see the real teeth of idolatry whether in ancient Israel or in your living room is religious accommodation. That is, making the LORD fit into the many lords that reign in this life. When the Ten Commandments were given, the first commandment (You shall have no other gods before me), is explained by telling us not only is God a jealous God but Yaweh considers idolatry as an act of hate toward Him. An act of hate because idolatry thumbs its nose at God by relegating Him to lucky charm status. He no longer is Creator, Sustainer and LORD! He’s a bit part in our life instead of the way, the truth, and the life. We minimize His presence instead of maximizing it. We take our seat at His festival and celebrate at the altar of self!

So, what should we do? Refuse to be anything less that radically, vibrantly and deeply in love with the one who is the way, the truth and the life! Have no other gods before Him… not Oprah, not Dr. Phil or Dr. Laura or even Dr. Dre. Instead, find that there is festival seating at church every week so the true Israel of God can celebrate the victory of the cross and rest in the grace of God! -DAN

Half-Brained Idea

Our last visit to our beach house in Oregon afforded us an opportunity to see a lot of wildlife including spotting a whale from our deck. Pam in a moment of reflection asked me, “How do whales sleep?” As an air breathing mammal the question of how does a whale sleep without drowning seems like a good question. So I googled. My internet quest revealed a few important facts and scientific speculation based on observation in controlled environments like the zoo as well as in the wild. Scientist would first remind us that whales and dolphins unlike humans are conscious breathers. Breathing for them is a twenty-four seven decision. They must make a conscious effort to surface for a breath. Since sleep is necessary for all living creatures then how does a conscious breather survive the unconscious state of sleep? Scientist have theorized from observation and tests that both dolphins and whales sleep with half of their brain while the other half stays semi-conscious and able to breathe and watch for predators. In fact, they have been observed with just one eye opened. So, what can we learn from this half-brained idea?

The most obvious lesson is that once again God’s marvelous design of creation reveals His presence in all things! The Creator of all things leaves us marveling at His handiwork as all creation sings praises to His name. But I think there’s an even more wondrous lesson. The brain which I believe seats the soul is an organic mechanism that God created with abilities far reaching anything we ever imagined. The old adage is that humans only use 10% of their brains but science and common sense have exposed this myth. The brain is fully functioning but what is true is that the intellectual capacity of the mind has such far reaching potential that some believe the brain has unlimited capabilities. One might want to take a healthy spoonful of humility with such statements yet, also acknowledge that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)! God made us a little lower than the heavenly beings (Psalm 8:5), that is, we have remarkable mental and spiritual potential. There’s nothing half-brained about this idea but rather an awesome and humbling challenge for each of us to grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Let’s take our cue from the dolphins and the whales to keep one eye open always looking to Jesus the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Let’s vow to strive to allow God to use us up in His service and keep us useful to the kingdom even when we are at rest. May God bless our voyage with alert eyes and receptive hearts and may He find us faithful servants! -DAN

Signed

While on vacation I vacated the busyness of routine and everyday expectations to finish reading a book on the “Manhunt” of President Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth… I went hiking and walked our beach to commune with God… I ate all too well… I played phase ten dice with my lovely bride until we rounded off the corners of the dice… and I wrote a couple of poems because the ocean stirs me. Here’s one:

Signed

When I focus with my heart,
In each vista I see His design,
Before me is heaven’s art,
Each one God clearly signed.

The ocean sings its constant roar,
There God forever clearly seen,
In sunset bathing wave and shore,
His presence signed in ocean green.

Upon the mountain top towering high,
The Ancient of Days cathedral lies,
An eagle swoops to perch nearby,
God’s signature streaming in the skies.

From mountain top to ocean sunset,
His majestic sovereignty is cast,
Ruler, Maker, Sustainer, Perfect,
Signs His work future, present and past!

- Dan 2009

Diary of a Wimpy Preacher

On my birthday I received a gift from a creative soul and professional educator who sized me up and selected a book entitled, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” Now one could take that personal but knowing the giver I was delighted because to tell the truth I had been eyeing the book every time I passed it on the bookshelves. Author Jeff Kinney has fun with middle schooler Greg Heffley’s journal (it’s not a diary Greg wants us to know and though he told his mother not to buy a book with “diary” on it she did… but it’s not a diary!). I’ve enjoyed the insightful revisiting of sophomoric days gone by and the reminder that no matter what age you are you don’t want anyone to think you’re a wimp or at least that’s what we might think at first.

The irony of the book is that even though Greg tries his best not to have the wimp reputation he ends up sacrificially rescuing his best friend Rowley from the ultimate horror of being shunned by the entire Middle School. It involves touching some discarded cheese but best understood in the universal untouchable status of those who have cooties. Greg spares Rowley by claiming he touched the cheese and thus takes on the sins of Rowley in an act of true friendship.

I pray that in my life I might be the wimpy preacher who in the spirit of Christ takes on the sins of others so they might become more than conquerors. I want the Spirit of Christ that empties self and takes on the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5-11). I want to be bold enough like Paul to be considered the fool for Christ’s sake (1 Corinthians 4:10). I want to be wimpy enough as a preacher to be found nothing more or less than a clay jar filled with the treasure of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:7). I want my reputation to be assayed by the scales of true friendship (Romans 5:7, 8) not popularity or admiration. I’m ready to go wherever the cross will lead me for it is in weakness not strength that God’s power is delivered (2 Corinthians 12:9)! I guess this is the diary of a wimpy preacher. -DAN

Closer To The Son

Call it global warming, an El Nino effect, or urban radiation from the proliferation of pavement, concrete and traffic… whatever you call it, the reality is that the weather is hot! There are some of you out there that are like the classic movie title, “Some like It Hot.” But most of us gather around the air conditioner sipping cold drinks and fanning ourselves with junk mail. Somewhere between sips and fanning we take a deep breath and confess, “O well, it is summer.” Yes, the reality of hotter weather is and always will be proximity to the sun. The closer we orbit to the celestial incinerating center of our universe the warmer the temperatures. This won’t cool anyone down but I think there’s a wonderful spiritual parody in that the closer we get to the Son the more we are on fire for the Lord! Proximity to the divine heats things up!

I’ve always felt that the challenge of James 4:8 (Come near to God and he will come near to you…) was how close to God do you dare to get. The lifelong quest is how do I accomplish that challenge for my life? O, we know the standard list of: Bible study, prayer, church attendance/fellowship and spiritual meditation. But there’s this spiritual longing that just keeps one thinking, “I’m just not there! I want to be closer but I seem to be in a rut.” Well, I don’t have THE answer but I do think that what helps is a tall cool glass of beatitudes to let one know how high their spiritual flame burns.

Jesus prefaces His role as fulfiller of the law and prophets (Matthew 5:17) by recounting God’s blessings for His people. The surprise is it’s not the spiritually elite or sanctified satisfied nor the religious know-it-alls but rather the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek and those that hunger and thirst after righteousness! Getting closer to the Son doesn’t generate self heat that blinds others with our spiritual brilliance but rather reflects humbly the Lord’s glory (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:6). Spiritual fires burn best with a longing to be closer to God even though we feel poor, lament our woeful nature and cower at the realization that we are not worthy of His grace. Yet all of that is met with God’s assurance that He’s looking for the thirsty and hungry not the satisfied! So brothers and sisters let’s keep on hungering for His word, longing for His presence and parched for the Spirit’s living streams of the water of life… and each day we’ll find ourselves closer to the Son! -DAN

That Got Blown To Bluey

Okay class… if my dog is 9 years old today how old is he in dog years? And the ever so intelligent student on the front row with his hand raised high says, “63… seven dog years for each human year!” And Professor Dan says, “Sorry, the answer is 50 in dog years.” Now, before you question my math let me tell you what blows the 7 to 1 ratio we’ve always heard of to Bluey! It’s simple, Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who lived to be twenty-nine years old, would have been 203 years old in human years by those calculations. The ever so bright Bluey raises his paw high and says, “I was old but not THAT old!” So then, Professor, how do we calculate dog years to get 50? The answer factors in the accelerated growth of puppies over babies in becoming adults… thus, the first year is equal to fifteen human years, the second year would be 10 and the third 7 and each following year would be 3 years for each human year.

Okay, I get the idea and even can see how 110 years old for old Bluey makes more sense… but how in the world are you going to make any spiritual application out of such Bluey? Much indeed Professor Dan responds. Often we are prone to formula, statistics and empirical measurement to determine how we view both physical and spiritual reality. Bluey reminds us that what we need to keep in perspective is the principle not the facts. Principle challenges us to see personal application not sit in judgment of history or galvanize formula driven religion. Let me see if I can illustrate by using a personal experience from my puppy years.

When I was a young teen in Modesto like most young men I was encouraged to participate in services by serving at the Lord’s Supper. One Sunday evening it all fell into my lap and I was sole officiate at the table. Unfortunately I started off by offering a prayer for and distributing the fruit of the vine. Afterwards a “Church Lady” chewed me out for a full ten minutes for messing up the order and then stormed off. My father later told me I should have asked her what the order was in Luke 22:14-20 (cup, bread, cup if you didn’t notice before). You see, the issue here is not formula but principle. It’s about celebration and proclamation of Jesus in remembering Him and His sacrifice and life. The Eucharist is a sacred call to recognize the body (1 Corinthians 11:29) not nick pick its youthful members! It’s about principle not formula… about mercy and grace not law… about God’s will instead of ours! And that’s what counts! -DAN

Singing Bible

Camp is always such a joy for us not only because we are privileged to share a week with young people with eyes brightened by God’s creation but we get to spend time with our out of state grandkids. Our granddaughter Tia is at the age where she is filled with a myriad of questions and overflowing with non-stop requests. One of these requests held the charm of both laughter and rumination. Tia inquired, “Poppy (for some reason this year she chose to call me Poppy instead of Pappy), can you get me a singing Bible?” Now you must understand that I am extremely visual and I immediately picture in my mind a human sized Bible down on one knee with arms spread wide singing, “The B*I*B*L*E, O, that’s the book for me…” Now, of course on second thought I realized that she meant a songbook… but it’s the third thought that crystallized this anecdote in my memory and got me thinking. The Bible really does sing!

It has often psalmed its way into my heart lifting my spirits; commiserating with my misery and reminding me that my doubts are ever embraced by a faith that will not let me go. The Bible has sung to me in moments of reflection when like Moses for the briefest of moments I have glimpsed the glory of my God. My singing Bible has lullabyed me to sleep yet left me in wonder searching my soul. My singing companion has oft left me with the refrain, “Woe, with me for I am a man with unclean lips in the midst of a people with unclean lips!” Yet, it never fails to cheer me up, ground my cynicism and challenge me to sing on key. While I personally sing to the tune of one note selfishness it calls me to harmonize with God’s will and concern for my fellow man.

Yes, my Bible sings with the exuberant and melodic affirmation that Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so! It sings of a homecoming that will right the wrongs and unite the separated. It belts out not a big finish but rather a still small voice that has never failed or left us… but has been singing all along of the wondrous grace of Jesus! It has been an unchained melody that soothes the soul and lifts the eyes toward heaven longing for that great and glorious day when Christ returns! O, yes… O, yes… my Bible sings! -DAN