Traveling Light

I think it was Woodie Guthrie who strummed these words several years back:

I’ve been walking that Lincoln Highway
I thought you knowed,
I’ve been hitting that 66,
Way down the road,
Got a heavy load, I got a worried mind,
I’m looking for a woman that’s hard to find,
And I’ve been doing some hard traveling, Lord.

Some songs are more than “tunes”. The lyrics come from the forge of somebody’s life. I guess that's why some songs attach to our minds so strongly. They tell "our story" too.

Ever read Psalm 42? The writer (probably David) has a heavy heart. He throws open the curtains and lets us peer into his pain. He compares his life to that of a deer that has reached the point of exhaustion. He is faint and desperately in need of cool water. As you read the psalm it is clear that he describing more than the proverbially “bad day”. He is in a phase, a funk, a long stretch of road that has disrupted his life in some pretty major ways. His worship is off center. But he wants to stay true to want he knows about God. He isn’t ready to abandon ship. In fact he wills his mind to reach out for the knowledge of God’s power and majesty that has, over time and because of hardship, moved to the recesses of thought. And yet, it is these great thoughts that keep the thread of meaning sewn into the broken pieces of his spirit. He eventually steals away by himself and sits in nature and just listens. Deep calls to deep, he says. It’s more than soft breezes, the sound of water falls, squirrels chirping and clouds floating along. He hears the voice of God in the created order. The beauty and majesty of it all anchors his restless heart to the bedrock of faith. Although enemies hound him and people capitalize on his vulnerability, he continues to reach out for God. On the other end of what had to be a much longer experience than the length of the psalm indicates, he says:
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
And why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
My salvation and my God.
Some time ago I sat and reflected on things I have heard people say over the past year.
I just want to feel something good. I haven’t felt anything good in months.
I wish I had something to look forward to.
I am so bored right now.
Bitterness has become a way of life for me.
I hate my life.
All I do these days is worry.
I can’t remember the last time I smiled because I felt like it.
My involvement in church – if you can call it that – has been basically just showing up.
I crawl to church.
I feel like I’m invisible. I feel like I’m at the bottom of a old water well. I scream for help but
no one can hear me.
The best part of my life is when I go to sleep.
The smallest thing can trigger my anger. My anger takes me out to the darkest places of thought – to places that I used to never think about. I live with a quiet rage.
There’s a lot of heaviness in our world. Like Guthrie says, we do some hard traveling. That’s why I like Psalm 42. It’s so real. It’s us. It’s life in 3D. We know what it’s like to feel the tension between what we know about God and what is happening to us in real time. We, too, pant for flowing streams and want to know…God! You still there? And yet, this psalm annoys us because it doesn’t say “add water and stir”. Holding it together “in faith” is hard work. We pant, cry, wait, agonize, and quite frankly sometimes wonder if our lives are about to fall apart. Worship gets stale. And, the heaviness we feel is beyond “take two aspirin and call me in the morning.”

Is your heart embattled right now? Is your spirit heavy? I like verse 4: These things I remember as I pour out my soul... I am thankful for the psalmist’s transparency. I continue to be refreshed by his authenticity and his willingness to pour it all out before the Lord. The old tongue and cheek "rub some dirt on it...pull yourself up by your boot straps" doesn't work so great when we find ourselves on one of those rocky stretches of road. It is in those moments that it's great to know songs like Psalm 42. It can soothe and minister to our restless hearts because we know we’re reading words that were forged in somebody’s life who finished the journey.

Gracious Father, you are the only one who can refresh our hearts. Lift the heaviness from our lives and refresh our spirits with the assurance of your presence and care for us. When we feel the weight of life pressing the joy and strength of faith from our lives, help us to know the journey that is Psalm 42. Help us to know its winding road and the good place that it can take us. We ask this through the One who has walked the road ahead of us…Amen.

Randy Daugherty
Stephenville, Texas

Love is Patient and Longsuffering

I really enjoy listening to an audio reading of 1 Corinthians 13. It is such a soothing passage about how people should act toward others.  We hear it read at many weddings, even royal weddings.  I hope Prince William and Kate, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will take the scripture reading from their fairy tale

wedding, and put it into action. The “Love” chapter should not be reserved only for weddings.  It is wonderful guide for all of us.

One of the characteristics of love is patience, also called longsuffering.  There are a few people we know who are patient (it is a virtue, you know), and there are all of the others of us.  It is difficult to be patient, to wait. Patience is a foundation for other moral qualities and it leads to genuine happiness. Love and patience are both fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5; they are linked.

Two friends come to my mind who have been especially patient during their lives, in both cases there were extreme tests of their love and their character. The trials these two individuals endured involved people they loved; one a very self-willed child, the other an alcoholic husband. From the outside looking in, one would think the patient persons have certainly endured more than their shares of difficulties and tribulation.  These were cases that tested Jesus’ directive to forgive your brother not just seven times, but seventy times seven. There are not happy endings for my two friends, but they have both influenced me, encouraged me, were examples to me! If my friends do not have happiness here on earth, they certainly will enjoy the rest provided for them in Heaven. Patience is really a virtue to be desired.

Dear Lord, Help me to be patient, and to encourage others to follow your ways.

Sherilyn Svien

Stephenville, TX

His Love is Greater Than You Can Imagine

 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
With my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever.  Psalm 89:1-2

I want to live out this scripture by sharing with you a time when I heard God speak in a gentle whisper, but with power unlike anything I have ever witnessed or experienced.  One day while I was ironing clothes every scripture that I have ever read from God’s word about His love washed over my mind.  The scriptures were whole and complete as if I had my Bible open and was reading them. They washed over me one after another with such power.  I stood there overcome with emotion for what I was feeling.

There is nothing special about me to be chosen for this experience.  I know that I love God and His Son and I chose to serve Him as I wait for His return. However, I had told God many times that I could not comprehend His love for me. Now I know!

The scriptures affirmed to me in a deep and personal way how deep God’s love is for all of us. As a nurse, I find it interesting to read stories of those whose heart had stopped beating and they passed over to the other side and then are brought back through resuscitation.  I have always found it comforting that some of these people may have not seen anything, but they felt a love that was overwhelming and deeper than anything they have previously experienced. I don’t know if they experienced God, but I know I have. God has placed a desire in my heart to share this with everyone. He wants every single person to know without a doubt that He loves them so very much! He wants us to look forward to being in His presence and experiencing His love.

The song Faithful Love (words and music by Ken Young, Hallal Music, 1993) takes me back to the day I experienced God’s love. The refrain goes like this, “Faithful love from above, came to earth to show the Father’s love.  And I’ll never be the same, for I’ve seen faithful love face to face, and Jesus is His name.”

Prayer: Oh Jesus, you demonstrated your faithful love, flowing down from the thorn covered crown. We praise you for your sacrifice that washes our soul and makes us white as snow. We love you and thank you so much for coming and showing us your love. Tears flow from our eyes when we consider your great love for us. Please hold our hand through this life until we can be with you. In Your Holy name Jesus, Amen.

Terry Smith
Stephenville, Texas

Mad? Really?

I get mad at God sometimes.  Yes, I said it, mad.  Things aren’t going my way.  The A/C isn’t working while it’s 106 outside and not much cooler inside.  The transmission goes out in my vehicle.  Then, to put the icing on the cake, someone does something to hurt me by going back on their word about something very important.  Why God?  Why?

I’ve recently been reading a book titled Leadership and Self-Deception and it has been a wonderful reminder of how I often betray myself by only thinking of myself, how I feel, what I want and I see everything and everyone around me as objects of how I want things to work together.  In that betrayal, I deceive myself by justifying everything I want and see based on what I feel my needs are and when I justify myself, I can make everyone else wrong.  Even God.  

I get mad at God because He doesn’t fix the problems for me.  Oh, sure, maybe they are problems I had a hand in creating.  Maybe they are problems I started by something I did or didn’t do in a preventative way.  And yes, there are people around me who have problems that make mine appear meaningless but I’m mad at God because I’m a good guy, because I’ve done the right things in the past few months, because I’ve been more giving than I used to be, because I’ve turned the other cheek a time or two, because I’ve been telling people how good God is...and now this.

I’m mad.

I’m mad at the one who sent His own son to save me.  I’m mad at the one who has forgiven me while people on this earth refuse to forgive me for a mistake years and years ago.  I’m mad at the one who says He has a place prepared for me that is greater than all I can imagine.  

It sounds silly, doesn’t it?  I know I’m not the only one who has found myself in this place wondering why God isn’t heeding my prayers and fixing my problems.  Is it coincidence I was given this book to read at this time?  It’s good to be reminded that sometimes I deceive myself by painting a picture around me of how I think things should work and forgetting that there is one who sees all and knows all and who loves me beyond comprehension.  I get mad at God because I don’t see others, or God, the way I should, the way he sees his children.  

I’m not mad at God any longer.  In fact, I’m a little embarrassed but we’ve talked and I know I am forgiven and loved.  

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it s the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:8-10

I am God’s workmanship.  Saved by his gift of grace.

I just need to get out of my own way and focus on who I am.  A child, saved from bondage, saved from evil, loved completely and unconditionally.  Who can be mad about that?

Jeff Jones

Decatur, Texas

Radical is Normal?

The word “radical” is so frequently thrown around in Christian communities today. You’ve probably heard it: “Live radically for the kingdom! We are called to a radical way of life!” I think it’s kind of a hyperbole. “Really? An elephant is big? Oh. Wow! Thank you for pointing that out for me. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed.” That’s the analogy that my mind immediately makes when I think of the word “radical” as it pertains to the Jesus-Mission: “Really? The Jesus-Mission is radical? Oh. Wow! Thank you for pointing that out for me. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed.”

Perhaps this is true for those who know nothing of the Jesus-Mission, that is, picking up your cross as you die daily to the desires of the flesh and choose to live the way Jesus did, instead.

The Jesus-Mission is radical and the Jesus-Mission is normal. It’s both. But the question applies to both sides of that coin: Compared to what? If we’re going by the standard set by Jesus Himself, the way our current definition of “radical” calls us to live is actually pretty normal. In the context of our calling, we’re mediocre at best. So, what about in the context of our culture? Well, that requires an even more specific contextualization. All these things that we think are radical—choosing to worship out in the dirt under the trees instead of in a glitzy building, spending minimally on food and clothing and toys, living simply and focusing on delving into true community because it’s all we have to cling to—are everyday life in some other cultures, and not even by choice. In Christian communities outside of middle-class America, “radical” is just normal. In those contexts, you look foolish for commending yourself for your lifestyle, because you’re just…normal.

I don’t really care what we call it, honestly, radical or normal, but we should just shut up and strive for it. You think Christians in rural Africa or Mexico or even the most impoverished areas of the United States walk around talking about how “radical” they are? No way. Paul didn’t walk around bragging about walking worthy of the calling set before him (because that’s the point of being radical in the first place, right?). Nope. He walked it and invited other people to walk with him. He also said that if he does decide to boast, it’ll only be in the Lord, not in his own radical lifestyle. Besides, if we’re really living in a way that is radical within our own cultural context, two things will likely happen. The people within that context who do not know Jesus will think we are insane and will probably treat us like social outcasts. The people who do know Jesus will feel extremely uncomfortable, because in seeing how radically we live, they will not be able to stand their own consciences.

If we haven’t experienced either of these, we shouldn’t be talking so much about living radically, because we aren’t. It’s not about trying to be marginalized; it’s just the nature of our calling. The gospels and Acts aren’t really suggestions or entertaining anecdotes about the kind of lifestyle we should pursue. Our culture today isn’t any less brutal (albeit in a different way) than the one we read about in the New Testament. If they were persecuted, we should expect the same treatment. Because if we’re truly living out the Jesus-Mission, it’s inevitable.

I’m not radical. I’m pretty normal. But, hey, I’m trying, and grace abounds for my weakness and selfishness that calls me back into the former way of things. It abounds for yours, too. So, we can pick up our crosses side by side and keep walking, in hope and joy. Before “being radical,” there was the Jesus-Mission. It’s of first importance.

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it."
"Well, why don't you ask Him?"
"Because I'm afraid He would ask me the same question."

I Corinthians 4:6-17

Father,
Teach us to pursue purpose, not just passion, love in deed, not just word, and lives that look more like the ones that we read about in Your holy scriptures. Give us a greater understand of what it means to take up our crosses, so that when we throw around words with heavy weight, we will not throw them around in vain. Thank you for loving us when we are arrogant and misguided. We want to love you more.
Through Jesus, the one who created the mission that we cling to,
Amen.

Erin E. Daugherty, Abilene Christian University

Like a Potato Skin

Last week, while eating supper with my wife and my daughter (age nine), I had one of those moments where one does a “double-take”. It was an instance that causes one to pause and reflect.

The meal consisted of ribeye steak, green beans, and baked potatoes (I call this a “king’s feast”). The conversation during the meal shifted back and forth between things we encountered that day and anticipation of things to come. Midway through the meal, I heard my daughter speak words that I did not think would ever come from her lips. “You know, the best thing about the potato is the skin.” she exclaimed. While I was pleased with her new found appetite for what some consider the most nutritional part of the potato, I was also perplexed because usually we have to separate the skin from the potato before it reaches her plate because she despises it so. Wow! Just when you think you know someone!

This reminded me of a parable that Jesus once told of two men who went to the temple to pray. One of the men was a Pharisee or “teacher of the law” and considered to be a religious example during that time. The other man was a tax collector and most often viewed as an outcast. At the temple, the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the tax collector or other “evildoers” and boasted of his deeds. The tax collector “would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13). Wow! Just when you think you know someone.

This story interests me because had I been a part of society back then I would have thought that I could identify a person who knew God. I would have picked the Pharisee. However, Christ tells us that because the tax collector humbled himself, he was the one that was justified before God. The tax collector was the one who really knew God!

I wonder sometimes if we are like the Pharisee and lose sight of who God is and what it means to be a disciple. I wonder sometimes if we get caught up in the do-it-yourself mentality and forget that we are sinners and need a savior. Perhaps we don’t want to admit that we are vulnerable and need a family to lean on. Maybe we encounter times in life where being set apart as kingdom people is not appealing to our selfish appetites and can be tough to swallow…kind of like a potato skin.

Christ said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – (John 10:14). “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27).
These passages paint a vivid image of a shepherd leading, feeding, mending, protecting, and providing for his flock as the sheep are seen listening to, responding to, and following his instruction. How grand a picture of love and trust that is framed in a relational context!

To know Christ is to know God. To know Christ is to follow in his footsteps from pasture to pasture.

Father, help me to recognize my inequities so that I can humble myself. Help me to see you as my shepherd. I pray that my pride subsides and I allow you to lead me. Grant me strength to follow. I want to know you. Amen.

Todd Adams – Dublin, Texas

I Am a Disciple

I first ran across this reading about twenty years ago. It continues to challenge and inspire me on a number of levels. When I think about our calling to be in the world as an extension of Jesus Christ, I find myself going back to these words time and again. I pray they minister to you as they have ministered to me on countless occasions.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power.
The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line.

The love of God controls me. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple
of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or back away.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure.

I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning,
smooth and ease, colorless dreams, mundane talking, cheap giving, and
dwarfed roles.

I no longer need prosperity, position, promotion, preeminence, or
popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or
rewarded.

I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk in patience, live by
prayer, and labor with power.

My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is the Kingdom of God. My road
is narrow. My way is rough. My companions few. My guide reliable. My
mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back,
deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of
adversaries, negotiate at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up until I've stayed up, stored up, prayed
up, paid up, spoken up, for the cause of Christ.

I must go until He comes, give until I drop, teach until all know, run
until He stops me.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ

("I am a Disciple" by Ed Cole)

Gracious Father, sharpen our minds with such thinking that we may indeed be in the world as extensions of the living Christ. Strengthen our resolve, focus our hearts and make us instruments for your use in a world that needs to know the gospel. Equip us with what we need, reduce in us what needs to be reduced and, awaken us to the vision of life that you offer until you send your Son for us. Amen.

Randy Daugherty - Stephenville, Texas