Things to ponder....

So the question is, friends:

What are you allowing to keep you from God? From the deep communion and peace that comes from abiding?

Sin?

Stress?

Busyness in life?

Being absorbed into the minutia of the world and her temptations?

Things to ponder....

the rudiments of faith

In the end....the rudiments of faith boil down to a few simple things, at least they do so for me.

Repent of my sins (and they are many) and believe in God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Triune Godhead. Confess publicly that Christ is my Lord and I believe Him to be Risen and seated on the right hand of the Father. That He will come again, to judge the living and the dead, and that all the is wrong will be set right by God.

Love God. That means trying to walk with Him, abide with Him, honor Him and delight in Him.

Love my neighbor. That's pretty much everyone God puts into my path. That doesn't mean I always like someone, but that I must try and act in love. The feeling will follow the action. God doesn't give me exceptions here...just tells me to act in love. Whether I agree with them or not on issues, on faith, on whatever...they are my neighbor, given to me, by God, to cherish and love.

To welcome the broken, the vulnerable, the outcast and the hurting into my heart, and to show them the love of God the best I can.

If I want to be forgiven of my sins, then I must forgive others.

If I want mercy, then I must be merciful.

If I want compassion, then I must be compassionate.

If I want to be judged leniently, then I must be lenient with others. (Which is why I try to leave the whole matter of judgment to God. If we are judged by the same yardstick by which we judge....then Lord, help me to refrain from judging at all, but to leave that to your perfect justice.)

There are a bunch more, smaller, aspects to faith...but these are the big ones. And the good and gracious Lord above knows I am still working on trying to get these down pat, and probably will be for a long time yet. (It is a good thing that He is patient, long suffering and keeps helping me up after I stumble...which is often.)

I don't understand why so many need to take faith and turn it into something angry, something hurtful, something political, or something heavy to carry.

For me, at least, faith is a dance, and God knows how to lead. Faith is a journey, and God leads the expedition and provides for all the needs. Faith is a home, and God is the wise and loving father.

What is faith to you?

In the spring, as we plant seeds, we know a little miracle will take place.

In the spring, as we plant seeds, we know a little miracle will take place.

A kernel of life is put into the darkness, to sprout and struggle through dirt up towards life and light. To grow, flourish, bloom in the radiance of the sun.

Our lives can be like that. The struggles, the pain, the darkness of grief, fear and loneliness can enter into our lives at any point. They are the dark soil that is necessary for our growth. We must push through them towards a resolution, towards light, towards God.

Without such soil, we wouldn't ever really know what we are made of. Without such soil, our faith would be feeble and weak. Without such soil, we wouldn't find out who the helpers are in our lives, that stick with us through the struggles and help us grow into new life.

Sometimes the darkness feels overwhelming; sometimes the pain is deep and the burdens are heavy. But you can do this, my friend. You can turn this struggle into a blessing, God can turn it into a miracle.

Will you trust Him to help you through the necessary trauma that precedes all growth? For when we stop growing, when we shrink from any change, we remain the kernel buried in the soil, inert.

When we say though, that we will use these lessons, this experience, these pains, those losses to grow from, to become stronger from, to give God the glory through....then we find that when we aren't expecting it at all, we'll burst through the soil into new life. Then our lessons and our struggles can be used to help teach and comfort others, and to help them through their bouts of being in the dark.

Remember the seed, and how it must grow. If you are in the process of having to muddle through the toils of life, remember that light is just up ahead. Keep going, you'll make it, and we're here to help.

May you be blessed, and may you be a blessing unto someone else,

This day, this blessed holy day, is all about joy.

This day, this blessed holy day, is all about joy.

The joy of Christ Risen.

The joy of death defeated and sin conquered.

The joy of all things made new, and of hope restored.

The joy of reunions with loved ones, grief turning to exaltation, and broken hearts made whole.

Just joy.

That this life is not the end, but just the beginning of the soul's story and journey into God's Joy. His Kingdom. Home.

That goodbyes are not forever, but can be just pauses between conversations.

The good DOES win in the end.

And that love is triumphant.

A day of many joys. And you, my friends, are amongst the joys in my life. We talk, we share, we cry together and journey together. You are all so precious to Charles and I. We may not always agree on everything, but it is the different threads that make a tapestry pleasing to the eye.  You bring so much richness to our lives, thank you for sharing yourself with us.

May joy be yours this Easter. May the Resurrection live in your hearts and sing in your souls.

Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others,

Buddha, Christ and Easter Morning

Buddha, Christ and Easter Morning

I once had the opportunity to visit a small Buddhist temple in central CA where they were having quite the to-do....a small relic of Siddhartha (Buddha) was on display...a finger joint if I recall. We went, for I have a deep fondness for the Buddhist people I know and if I were not a Christian, I would be either Jewish in faith, or Buddhist. I took my sandals off and went with the Abbot to where the relic was and observed it...a small bone in a glass and gold box, surrounded by flowers.

It was interesting. Not emotionally moving or inspiring, but interesting. A historical relic from a man who did change world history. Siddhartha taught many things similar to teachings of Christianity, to care for the elderly and the orphan, to forgive others, to not place value on the things of this world. He taught many good and noble things, and I feel, as far as a man or woman may be good, he was a good man.

This week is a holy week for Christians....this week commemorates Jesus Christ's ride into Jerusalem, where He knew He would face death but a few days later. He gave some of His greatest lessons this week, threw out corrupt sellers and moneychangers out of the temple (wouldn't we love to throw those who make money off of religion out of our churches today?), ate a last meal with His disciples. He prayed in a garden on Thursday (which is why we recognize Thursday of Holy Week as important, the last supper and an agonizing prayer in the garden) that this cup, this upcoming horrible death would be lifted from Him, yet He accepted God's plan and went through with it. He was betrayed by one of His own followers, arrested, tried- and on Friday morning tortured and crucified. He was buried on Friday, quickly so as not to defile the biggest Sabbath of the Jewish year- Passover, and rose on Sunday morning.

If you like, I can give you a run down on evidence and proof the Resurrection happened. Of how ridiculous the argument is that Roman guards paid to watch the tomb that fell asleep and an impossible stone rolled away without them waking. Of Jewish leaders embarrassment that there was no body to be found- and if there had been you can believe they would have showed it to the world. Of disciples hiding in fear that upon seeing the risen Christ turned bold and proclaimed the Word, going even to death for this truth- and what man will willingly die for a lie? Of hundreds of witnesses, of writings in early scrolls- even from non Christians who wrote of the Risen Jesus of Nazareth.

The empty tomb. No body. Therein lies the difference between Christ and all others. I saw the bones of Siddhartha in that small glass box. There is no relic of Christ to share, no bone to peer at curiously, to remark casually what a good man He had been and to then move on.

It is because He rose that there is a difference. That death was conquered and sin could no more condemn those who trust in the name of Christ.

Many men (and women) taught good lessons. To be kind, to forgive, to be generous in charity. No other makes the claim to have taken your sin upon Himself, none other made the claim that He died in your place that you may live eternally. Other faiths, other teachers tell you to try your best and if you are good enough you shall either: be re-incarnated into a better life next time, or if you have been really really exceptional, you'll blend into nothingness, or that if you try hard enough you might get to paradise, but that involves weighing every deed, every thought, every desire on a scale....how would you measure up? Christ says.....I am God, come in love to save you from your own self....for no man, no woman can ever be good enough, ever be pure enough to share eternity with a God that is holy and pure and cannot, by His very nature, let anything even the slightest bit sinful near Him. If God is that Holy....then the sin you carry as a taint makes God your very worst enemy, for sin must be destroyed. (And we all carry sin...think of today alone...the words you said, the thoughts you thought, the good deed you could have done, but didn't. What you did that you should not have done.) Jesus says to you...I see your sin, and I know you cannot save yourself....so I who am Pure, who am Holy....I took your sin upon myself 2000 years ago....for you I let them whip me and flay me to near the bone, for you I let them drive nails into My hands and feet, raise me up on that cross where I could barely breathe, blood running down, a crown of thorns pushed into my brow. With every agonizing breath...I thought of you. When God the Father, in order to reconcile you with Himself put your sins and the sins of the whole world upon me....I felt the crushing weight. (You know when you have done something wrong...that sick cold feeling, the burden on your mind and back, that darkness in us all we do not like to look at....all of your sins, all of my sins, the cumulative amount placed upon Jesus...I think that must have been the worst thing of all.) And then, because of sin...God turned His face from Christ...the only time where Jesus was not in perfect communion with the Father...where He cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me??" And then, shortly after...death.

For you.

For me.

For all.

Can you even imagine such a death?

And then...the morning, oh Sunday morning, where He rose and death, and sin, had no more power.

Jesus says...I know you cannot save yourself...so I saved you. You cannot reconcile your sin with God...so I did it for you. I paid your price, you may enter into the presence of God now, as sons and daughters, for I, with my death and with my blood, have made you holy before God.

No other teacher, no other faith, can do this for you. They give comforting teachings (sometimes)...but no hope. No way of perfect peace with God, no assurity of Heaven.

You can see Buddha in a box, I did. I gazed upon the bones, and moved on.

You cannot find Christ in the tomb, or in a box. He is Risen. You cannot just move on, you must make a choice...are you for Christ, or against Him? Will you repent of sin and cling to Christ, and be assured of Heaven, or dismiss Him? We will all have to answer for our decision someday.

Go look for the empty tomb, He isn't there. Look instead though..for the Risen Savior.

DON'T skip ahead. It's not Easter yet.

DON'T skip ahead.

It's not Easter yet.

Don't pass over the chance to mourn with the Disciples; their hearts broken, their ideas shattered, their hope dashed....their fear all too present.

Allow your heart to be bruised for Mary, her precious Son horrifically taken from her. Hear the cries and sobs, the "oh whys" from the women who loved Jesus. Gathered together in grief. 

What was to come? The Disciples didn't know, only that it could never be the same again. Their beloved teacher was gone.

Some had extra burdens added onto grief...Peter was consumed with guilt. John had an added new responsibility, the charge given to be a son to a mourning mother.

Haven't we all felt times of grief like this? A spouse, parent, child, relative, friend taken from us into death. The bewildering grief, sour and cold, searing with its icy touch.

The questions. The "whys." The fear of final goodbyes, the anger at the same.

Maybe we too have extra burdens to carry because of grief. Should have beens, might have beens, guilt and obligations. Heavy burdens.

But we, friends, know how the story ends. What the Disciples didn't even know to hope for, we too often take for granted.

Christ rises. And in Him, all things become new. Death is made a doorway, not a frightening end. Sin is thrown off, the Lamb's blood has paid for redemption.

Mary, the Disciples and the others grieving that dark Saturday couldn't know the joy that was coming.

And because that Joy comes, because our precious Lord IS Risen, our sorrows, griefs and burdens can be laid at His feet.

Death does not need to be goodbye forever.

Guilt can be surrendered and exchanged for forgiveness and mercy.

Burdens become lighter, because His yoke is easy.

Taste the grief of Holy Saturday so that the joy of the Resurrection is all the sweeter. Realize that no day of grief, no wake, ever had to be so bitter again. For out of that sorrow came the joy of death's defeat.

Taste the sorrow, the anguish.

The music, the lessons of the death and resurrection, the prayers, The Passion of the Christ, the tears....have left me hollowed out.

Which is perhaps the best way to be filled with the joy of Resurrection Sunday, after the mournful wait of Holy Saturday. 

We must see, in our souls, what was given for us.

We must try and grasp the cost.

Taste the sorrow, the anguish.

My Lord and my God, that You should love me so.

Oh, the heaviness of this day and the morrow. The grief-laced waiting. The tender heart. The quaking soul.

But Sunday is coming.

Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.

Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.

For I am no better than the thief on the Cross, yet You assured him of Paradise.

I am no better than the soldiers who drove in the nails, yet you forgave them.

I am no better than the Apostle who denied You, yet You love Him still.

I am no better than the crowd, who stood watching, yet You went on that Cross for me.

Oh my Lord and my God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and remember me with Your grace in Your kingdom . I have no righteousness but Yours, Lord, and no hope without You.

-Beth Butler

Does it frighten you to think about? A Good Friday Thought...

Does it frighten you to think about?

Do you start to contemplate, and then, guilty and squeamish, look away from that dark place in your mind, at anything, any distraction?

Can you stand to think about what Jesus went through on this day....for you?

The mock trials, the farce, the dragging to and fro, the mocking in the courts and from the soldiers.

The whippings....skin flayed open, blood pouring out.

The calls for His death from the same people that God had shepherded for so long. The Roman cooperation in such a cruel sentence of torture and death. Did the cries of those in the courtyard rend His heard the same as the Roman's whips tore His back?

Did His mother's cries break His heart as He carried that cross down the winding roads? Did His knees bleed from the falls on the rough stones?

Did He think of you, yet to be born yet known to Him before the creation of the world, did He think of YOU as the nail was driven in? Was it your face that held Him there on that Cross?

Can you imagine His suffering as for the only time in history, the Father looked away from the Son, and poured His wrath upon this willing sacrifice? Was that disconnect perhaps the worst of all? The broken communion...and why was it broken?

Because of you. And me. Our sin. You know what sins I mean. The ones that when you look inward you get a cold, uncomfortable feeling about. The ones that separate you from a righteous and holy God, who cannot bear to have sin before Him.

But God loves you, has loved you from time immortal, so what was to be done? His perfect Son, very God of very God, the Word through whom all things were made, was lifted up in your place. In my place. And all the sins that were and would ever be, were laid upon Him, and He paid the price for all of it. So that we might assume His righteousness and stand before God. Accepted. Loved. Adopted.

Because the Son took your place, and mine.

Is it hard to think about the nails thundering through the hands and feet of Christ? Can you imagine being lifted up upon that Cross? Gasping for air. Pain streaming out of every cell. And then the final agony, all of the weight of all of those sins...and the Father looking away.

Think about all of these things, my friends, consider and tremble about all that was done for you. What love was given, so freely yet at such cost.

I feel overwhelmed each time I take communion and contemplate what Christ has done for me. I pray I always will. I shudder and tremble when I think of my Lord and my God carrying all of my sins so that I might be redeemed. I have done nothing to deserve such love, such salvation, such redemption.

I think about this dark day, this Good Friday, and I am humbled and heavy hearted. My sins drove those nails. Yet I am also filled with such gratitude and awe; that His love for me compelled Him to that Cross.

My Lord and My God, that you should love me so.

He loves you, my friend, just the same.

-Beth Haynes Butler

In contemplative prayer over the wonder of the knowledge that at the Lord's Table, He set a place for me. In the Garden, He accepted the plan to save me. At the trials and torture, He took abuse for me. At the Cross, He took my place.

My Lord and My God, that You should love me so.


http://youtu.be/SW743K3yDms

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved."

" As He says also in Hosea,

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
(-Romans 9:25)

For those who feel they have no home, no friend, no strong ally, look to God. For through Christ, He calls to you, "You who were not my people, I will make you mine. You who were not loved, shall be beloved." The God of all, mighty and holy, seeks to comfort you. The God who created the stars listens to hear your prayer. The God who is above all things and from whom all things have their creation is waiting....for you.

He will call you Beloved, and claim you as His. He has already sacrificed everything through the Cross to provide for your salvation and sanctification, so that you might be secure for all eternity. No one else, no good spouse, great friend, loving child will ever love you more. No one will, or can, do more for you than He already has. All because He longs to call you Beloved.

Oh, my friends, go to Him. Tarry not, but instead rest easy in His love. For in Him you have your home, your friend, your strong defender.

Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others.

If we follow Jesus

T

​The "why" of why we follow Christ is infinitely important as to whether our faith is a lasting one, and a saving faith.

If we follow Jesus because we want a more comfortable life, prosperity in material goods and ease; then we are not following Jesus of Nazareth, we are following our own desires.

If we follow Jesus so that we may be self assured and self righteous in our own eyes, and hopefully the eyes of other people, then we are not following the Risen Christ, but have only become puffed up modern Pharisees.

If we follow Jesus so that we may belong to a proper social club, and so it fits with our own political ideology and how we want to see the world run, we are not following the Word Made Flesh​, but merely repeating the mistakes of those, such as Judas Iscariot, who thought they could use Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom.

But...

If we follow Jesus Christ, very God of very God, part of the Triune Godhead, because He is worthy to be followed, worthy to be praised, worthy to be called Lord, then we are His.  

If we follow this Good Shepherd because He laid down His life for us, His sheep, and we cling to the promise of the salvation His blood has bought, then we are assured He will keep us and present us before His Father.  

If we do as He commands, both in times of comfort and in times of persecution, then we are His disciples. If we know that there will be times when standing for Him *will* cost us, be it friends, a job, a business, our lives, yet we remain firm, then we know that His promise is true and that He will never forsake us. His peace and grace shall lay upon our hearts even in the worst of storms.  

If we pick up our cross and follow Him, we will find out that He carries the greater weight of our suffering and cross; always shouldering the worst.

Why do you follow Jesus?

be blessed, my friends and may you be a blessing unto others.

Oh friend, in all things look to the Cross

If you think you are a good person. righteous and moral...look to the Cross. Your sins as surely as nails hung Him there.

If you think that what you have, what rules you follow, and who you associate with are important....look to the Cross, they mean nothing there.

If you think you're above all others...look to the Cross. He had to be lifted up so you would not be cast down.

If you think you are lowly, unloved and worthless...look to the Cross. For love of YOU He died, so that He could be with you for all time. No one who has a God who went to such lengths to secure their salvation is anything less than utterly loved and adored.

Oh friend, in all things look to the Cross. If you should think too highly of yourself, the Cross will remind you of the sins you had to be saved from. If you ever doubt your worth, the Cross will remind you at what cost you were purchased.

Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing to someone else,
-Beth Haynes Butler

O Lord my God,

O Lord my God,
Teach my heart this day
where and how to see you,
Where and how to find you.
You have made me and remade me,
And you have bestowed on me
All the good things I possess,
And still I do not know you.
I have not yet done that
For which I was made.
Teach me to seek you,
For I cannot seek you
Unless you teach me,
Or find you
Unless you show yourself to me...

- St. Theresa of Avila 

we're heading towards home.

The almost perfect beauty of a spring day reminds me that at its best, this world is only almost perfect.

The searching, the restlessness, the elusive focal point that my soul longs for reminds me that I'm not quite at home here... that I'm designed for a perfect home. 

There will come a day in which I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The first day of an eternity of perfect days, of perfect beauty, of perfect peace, of perfect love.

Oh friend, aren't you glad we're journeying home? However long that journey takes us ...we're heading towards home.

He created the world in love.

We spend so much time trying to make God small, to make Him like us, when we should be trying to become like Him. His love, His grace, His mercy, His power....they are all so vast, so un-measurable by our standards. 

Yet we can know this: He created the world in love. 

He came to us as a child, in love. 

He taught us, in love. 

And He died for us, in love. 

The God of all power could have come in wrath and anger to straighten us out; He could have shocked us all by mighty acts sprung out of vengeance; yet He came in vulnerability, and died as a willing offering to reconcile us to Him.

If God made every effort to come to us in love, cannot we try to respond in kind to Him...and to each other?

Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto someone else,
Beth

Some favorite quotes

“I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present. We do not need the sheltering wings when things go smoothly. We are closest to God in the darkness, stumbling along blindly.” 
― Madeleine L'Engle


“We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes.” 
― Madeleine L'Engle


"The number of people who have fled the church because it is too patient or compassionate is negligible; the number who have fled because they find it too unforgiving is tragic."
Brennan Manning ( Abba's Child )


“Those who believe they believe in God, but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at times without despair, believe only in the idea of God, and not in God himself.” 
― Madeleine L'Engle


“Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (see Revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me that she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son. I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last 'trick', whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school.

'But how?' we ask.

Then the voice says, 'They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'

There they are. There *we* are - the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to faith.

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace.”

― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out



“Lord, when I feel that what I'm doing is insignificant and unimportant, help me to remember that everything I do is significant and important in your eyes, because you love me and you put me here, and no one else can do what I am doing in exactly the way I do it.”
― Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude: Finding Rest in Abba's Embrace



“I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery. ”
― Brennan Manning



" What makes the Kingdom come is heartfelt compassion; a way of tenderness that knows no frontiers, no labels, no compartmentalizing, and no sectarian divisions. Jesus, the human Face of God, invites us to deep reflection on the nature of true discipleship and the radical lifestyle of Abba's child."
Brennan Manning (Abba's Child)



"I think God might be a little prejudiced.
For once He asked me to join Him on a walk
through this world, and we gazed into every heart on this earth,
and I noticed He lingered a bit longer
before any face that was
weeping,

and before any eyes that were
laughing.

And sometimes when we passed
a soul in worship

God too would kneel
down.

I have come to learn: God
adores His creation."

- St. Francis of Assisi





“How I treat a brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street, how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day may be a better indication of my reverence for life than the antiabortion sticker on the bumper of my car.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out



“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.
To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God's grace means. As Thomas Merton put it, "A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God."
The gospel of grace nullifies our adulation of televangelists, charismatic superstars, and local church heroes. It obliterates the two-class citizenship theory operative in many American churches. For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift. All that is good is ours not by right but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. While there is much we may have earned--our degree and our salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite and a good night's sleep--all this is possible only because we have been given so much: life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe where others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is sheer gift; it is not reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, or our heroic life of prayer. Even our fidelity is a gift, "If we but turn to God," said St. Augustine, "that itself is a gift of God."
My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out




"We should be astonished at the goodness of God, stunned that he should bother to call us by name, our mouths wide open at His love, bewildered that at this very moment we are standing on holy ground."
Brennan Manning


“The Christ within who is our hope of glory is not a matter of theological debate or philosophical speculation. He is not a hobby, a part-time project, a good theme for a book, or a last resort when all human effort fails. He is our life, the most real fact about us. He is the power and wisdom of God dwelling within us.”
― Brennan Manning, Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging


My trust in God flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or fair, whether I'm sick or in good health, whether I'm in a state of grace or disgrace. He comes to me where I live and loves me as I am.
--Brennan Manning

If we maintain the open-mindedness of children...

“If we maintain the open-mindedness of children, we challenge fixed ideas and established structures, including our own. We listen to people in other denominations and religions. We don't find demons in those with whom we disagree. We don't cozy up to people who mouth our jargon. If we are open, we rarely resort to either-or: either creation or evolution, liberty or law, sacred or secular, Beethoven or Madonna. We focus on both-and, fully aware that God's truth cannot be imprisoned in a small definition. ”
― Brennan Manning

We don't have to agree with everything we hear, nor should we, but we should be able to listen to the viewpoints of others without name calling or demonizing them. We should be able to entertain an idea and then accept it or discredit it based upon our own studies and beliefs, without malice.

If you only love people when...

If you only love people when it is convenient, when they do what you want, think as you think, and believe as you believe....then you don't really love them at all.

The cracks in our lives...

The cracks in our lives are what enable others to see the light of Christ within us.

We're only bound by love.

Grace can be a hard thing to grasp. We, who are so filthy and torn and muddled.....that we should not only be allowed to approach the throne of God, but even more than that, that He longs for us to do so. That He calls to us, woos us, waits for us with eager eyes and open arms.

I was around 15 or 16 when I had the epiphany (after reading Screwtape Letters) that I knew I was wretched, but that God knew every thought, every sin, every fault and folly that I had committed to that point...and that I would ever commit. And He loved me anyway. That He cherishes me even when I hate myself. That He delights in me even when I dismiss myself.

I know I don't deserve it, that nothing I will ever do, could ever do, would earn me that mercy, that grace, that wondrous enveloping exulting love. And that frees me.

It frees me from feeling like I have to toe up to a line, to measure up, to make the right people happy. The law is a heavy burden, a soul breaking burden, a constant game of :Can I do enough?

That's why I don't understand why people make faith so difficult; when it is so easy. Yes, it has challenges that demand we follow Christ instead of the world, but once you're in love with Jesus, that's not that hard to do. I like a formal church and the aura of worship what comes with liturgy, but I know that is just a way that I express my love to God, those rituals don't do anything to save me. Anymore than the service at any other church is what saves anyone else. We're not bound by such things anymore.

We're only bound by love. And thankfully, it is Christ's love, which is so much stronger, that holds us.

Baseball

Baseball is all about moments. Each play is set on a stage: the pitcher against the batter, a duel, a match, mental games and physical skill.

Baseball is about the impossible catch, the dramatic throw, the heart stopping home run.

Baseball is poetry.

A Christian without love isn't really a Christian at all.

Nothing you do for Christ will matter if it is not done with love.

No good deed, no witness, no stand or stance taken, no discourse in apologetics, none of these will matter in the end, if they are not done with great love. 

If we do deeds and speak words of kindness without love, if we do them to impress others or to "rack up points", or as a front....then they are hollow and meaningless in our Christian walk.

If we hold to stances, and debate on behalf of the Word, but do so without great love ....then we but argue for the sake of divisiveness, and our stances are no more than petty soap boxes.

If we witness to our faith, but do not do so with gentleness, respect and great love, then we do more damage than good.

If we have not love, then as Christians we have nothing. As Christ loves us, so we are to love.

In a world of angry, political and divisive pew sitting Pharisees, be more. Be the embrace and voice of love. Seek out the vulnerable and hurting. Cherish the "least of these." Forgive. Be kind, be generous. Not because "you have to" or to build up "brownie points" but because the people you come across are made in the image of God and worthy of love.

Be the hand that reaches out. Be the one who weeps with those who weep, and rejoices with the rejoicing.

Live in the abundant, overwhelming love of God...and then share that love with others.

Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others.

Not all are given the same gifts

A while ago, while in discussion with Fr-Charles Butler on various tactics people have used historically and in modern times for evangelism, I was left feeling self critical. I thought of the brave missionaries who had been martyred for their faith, or the good men and women today who anchor call lines or pray in the rain outside sordid locations, or who work tirelessly at ministry by traveling with their show and testimony.  I even admire the dedication of those who stand on street corners and engage people in discussion (though whether or not I agree with their bent of theology depends on what they are teaching, lol.) And I do none of those things. In a moment of quiet prayer I relayed my feelings of being ashamed to the Lord, that I did not do as these people do, that the very idea of preaching on a corner, or in a traveling ministry, or in a foreign land makes me quake. What was I doing wrong? Why wasn't I a good enough Christian, why wasn't my faith strong enough?

Then a sense of calm, and light chiding, came to me. "Child," I heard deep within my heart, "not all are given the same gifts." An image came into my mind of the many birds of the air (though none were birds of prey)...of the noble cardinals and blue jays, who go fearlessly about, always with their songs before them. Of the swallows who migrate so far to reach a destination planted within them by time and nature. Of the cheerful sparrows who are found in the most urban of areas, going about their work, oblivious to all the dangers around them. And then of the small wren, who lives safe in a hedgerow, always singing her song, doing her daily business with such a cheerful, contented yet lively demeanor, never straying far from home. I understood then that I was made as a wren, to nest in the community and space which God had placed me, to be content doing what He put before me, with His song in my heart. That I am not the bold blue jay or striking cardinal, to loudly and boldly preach. Or the swallow to travel as God directs. Or the sparrow, to find my work in even the worst of urban areas, tirelessly casting light in that depressed climate.

I'm sharing this today because I imagine there are many of you who watch what others do and think, "Why aren't I doing that?" ....even though that activity may be directly opposed to your very nature. You may be contrasting and comparing your personal life and ministry (for every Christian has a ministry, we live it in our daily lives) and feeling as if you don't shine in comparison to others. But we are not supposed to compare ourselves to others, only to examine ourselves and see if we are doing what God has called us to do. If you have the personality and abilities to publicly preach or sing, then do it! If you have a heart for the urban neglected, then go! If you are the swallow who will travel for the Lord, then travel. If you are the sympathetic soul who will listen to endless calls, or pray outside sordid places, then do so. And if you are a wren, who wants to work locally with food banks, clothing closets, community and home ministries and with endless prayers then be content in that you are where the Lord placed you, and you are how the Lord made you. We are not all made the same, nor given the same gifts; be who God made you to be and do you work, whatever it is, for His glory....and be content and grateful.

Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing to someone else,
Beth

Pondering a thought on faith and politics

Pondering a thought on faith and politics today, and it has left me thinking of how little has changed in some ways since Christ's day.

Christ's disciples wanted Him to establish an earthly kingdom, to be a militant messiah and overthrow the much hated Romans. He told them (and the Pharisees) in Luke 17:20-21 that the kingdom was of a spiritual nature. He reiterated this to Pontius Pilate during His trial; His way was not the way of war and blood, or of coercion and politics. It was a hard, and bitter I think, lesson for His ambitious disciples to learn. They wanted God to answer things in just their way, not in a manner of gentleness and meekness.

Today, even though believers have the Holy Bible to read and study, concordances to ponder and research, tomes of theology to pore through...many believers are still focused on making a "Kingdom of God" here on earth...if not through force, then through politics. It is as if they are trying to repeat the disciples struggles and heart ache as they realize God's way is a different way. God's way is above our political scrums.

It is one thing to have a political viewpoint and then go vote; but so many today are claiming God endorses their party's platform, and thus their own personal political viewpoint, and those who disagree are wrong, sinful or stupid. (I am seeing a distinct lack of Christian love, understanding and compassion in this realm.) God's people aren't meant to be focusing all their time and energies trying to force an earthly Kingdom of God here in the good ol' USA; we are meant to be spreading the Gospel and God's love to all corners of our neighborhoods, communities and the world. We are meant to aim for higher things than name-calling, angry discourse and political taint. Because....when you step back and look at it, both main parties in this country fall far short of God's "platform" and neither are righteous. Both parties have liars, exploiters, sexually immoral and hateful people among them. Both parties are of this world, and thus are dingy and heavy with the world's baggage.

We, as believers, are meant to think on things "lovely and pure." Politics surely isn't that. We are to help bring the Good News of Christ's abundant love and sacrifice to the lost and hurting, not use our personal "platforms" in life to shout out political arguments. (It is one thing to have a good, civil discussion amongst people concerning politics, but people don't do that- they hold onto their standard and then shout it out to the world- either through facebook posts, emails, angry encounters with neighbors.) We are meant to be feeding the hungry, visiting and aiding the elderly, seeking out the broken and hurting to offer solace, to stand up for the vulnerable and to show our joy in the Lord.

If we are known more by our political posts than by our love of the Lord, what does that say about our priorities? What does it say about who we really serve?

So step back a minute- realize you can't by embracing your political platform create God's kingdom in the here and now- that's not how God works. God can take care of setting up His earthly Kingdom when He's ready. We are meant to be doing the footwork- to show His love, to reach out, to care. Consider that your political focus is taking away from your focus on God, and probably driving wedges in between you and some of your friends and family. (I'm pretty sure politics is a tool of the devil actually- it divides people, causes anger, inspires lying, can be corrupted by money and ignores the weakest....it surely isn't of God!)

Don't let politics become your master, it offers nothing but what the world can give, and promises a life of discord and agitation. The Lord God has invited you to help build His Kingdom instead- one based on love, compassion and joy.

Be blessed friends, and be a blessing to someone else.

-Beth Butler

What belongs with love?

"In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” St. John of the Cross.

We are told by Jesus there are two commandments above all others- to love God and to love our neighbors. (Matthew 22:37-40) All else is secondary. If we focus on loving God and loving those around us through the love of Christ, all else falls into place.

What belongs with love? Compassion, kindness, understanding, sympathy, gentleness, wisdom. Passion for the hurt, the broken, the outcast and the lost....that all springs forth from love.

Judgement, condemnation, self righteousness....those have no place in love and are not found within it.

We should engage in the actions that further love, and avoid the ones that dampen love. If we rest in love, we draw near to the heart of Christ-- and where better is there to be?

Be blessed friends, and be a blessing to someone else.