Abide in Jesus

Sometimes those of us who profess to be Christians need to be reminded that we are human beings, not human doings. The Christian life is not about what we can do on our own, but allowing Jesus Christ to bear his fruit through us. In John 15:5, Jesus tells us that if we will abide in him then he will abide in us. We must nurture the Holy Spirit within us through love, worship and obedience. This is what it means to abide. Lately my life has seemed full of crisis and worry. More than ever, I need to abide.

Unfortunately, taking the time to abide in Jesus is somewhat of a lost spiritual discipline. Much like silence, it is so intimate and so foreign to us that we do not pursue these amazing moments with our Savior. To help us along that path, today I'd like to suggest 10 ideas to help us focus on knowing Jesus, loving Jesus, experiencing Jesus and being linked to Jesus. Remember, John 10:10 teaches that Jesus came to bring us not just life, but abundant life. Let's seek it together. Let's try one of these each day for a while and see if we feel a stronger connection with the Christ.

1. Listen to 3 of your favorite worship songs (consecutively) with your eyes closed, picturing Jesus in the room with you. Sing to him. Worship him.
2. Fast for a meal or a full day and focus the time you gain on love, obedience and worship.
3. Apply John 15:12 to your life by asking Jesus to show you who needs your unconditional love today.
4. Make a list of the Top 10 Reasons You Love God.
5. Do an Alphabet Worship Time. Write down a prayer of praise, thanks or intercession for each letter of the alphabet.
6. Read the 5th chapter of the Gospel of John, highlighting any verses that speak to you about love, worship and obedience.
7. Set aside time for a silent prayer vigil- at least 30 minutes. Be still. Know God.
8. At 10:27 (AM or PM) prayerfully read aloud Luke 10:27 to be reminded of the love of God.
9. Memorize The Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5:3-11. They are the condensed version of everything Jesus taught.
10. Take time to focus on the love of God by writing a letter or e-mail to someone who needs to know that you love them unconditionally because Jesus loves you that way.

Fall into the arms of a Savior who loves you more than you can imagine and who will carry you when you need him. Spend time with him. Abide in him.

Because of Jesus,

Doxology

Happy Sunday! I just wanted to take a minute today to thank everyone who offered such kind and encouraging support to myself and my family upon reading yesterday's post. Despite the occasional setback, I continue to know that I am blessed beyond measure to have such a wonderful family and such amazing friends. God is still good all the time. And these words are seldom more appropriate in my life than they feel today:

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye Heavenly Hosts;

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

                                                              AMEN!

Have a blessed day, and live knowing you are loved!

Because of Jesus,

How Marvelous, How Wonderful!

I am old enough that I have spent more of my life singing from hymnals than from video screens. I have been in many more church services with organ music than I have with praise bands. Needless to say, there are many of the great old hymns of the church that are near and dear to my heart. One of the ones I find myself humming most often begins with the words, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean." In fact, as I sat down to my keyboard to start writing, I found myself humming it again. And I started to wonder- How often do we really grasp the amazing love that Jesus came to bring us? Do we really understand that it is only because of the grace given to us through the love of God whose name is Jesus that we do not remain "a sinner, condemned and unclean?" How often do we really stand in His presence it total awe of what He has done for us? For me, the answer is clearly "not often enough."

So today I ask you this question- when was a time that you stood "amazed in the presence?" Was there a time when you were overwhelmed with awe and wonder at the majesty of our loving God? Remember- and then share your experience in the comment section if you would like. Then join me and sing along today with the amazing chorus to this great hymn:

How marvelous! How wonderful!

And my song shall ever be

How marvelous! How Wonderful!

Is my Savior's love for me?

                                                          

Because of Jesus,

Thank You, My LORD!

A few years ago my Canadian friend Tom asked me to write a guest post for him for "American Thanksgiving," I admit the sound of those words hit me a bit funny. I knew that Canadian Thanksgiving is in October (I just saw an old episode of How I Met Your Mother in which the very Canadian character of Robin comments that Thanksgiving in November just seems odd). But truth be told I never really think of Thanksgiving as "our" holiday. I know the history of it all- the Pilgrims and the Native Americans sitting down over a feast to celebrate surviving another year. I, like so many others, will enjoy sitting down today with family and friends for a feast- and I will eat way too much. There will be parades and football games to watch, and there will be the happy realization that the Christmas season is now officially welcomed in my house. I realize that many USAmericans (technically, Canadians are Americans too.  So are Central & South Americans. I'm just saying...) manage to turn most every holiday into an excuse for patriotism, but I do not think of Thanksgiving as a day that belongs to God and country. It simply belongs to God.  It is a day to give thanks for the many blessings in each of our lives, even in times when we do not feel as blessed as we might hope.  

I have always used a very simple exercise to help keep me focused on the meaning of this day, and I thought I would share it with you all today.  We used to sing a song at camp and youth group that went like this:

"Thank you, my LORD for the day, 

Thank you my LORD for they day.

"Cause you've given me your Son 

and you know I've just begun,

Thank you my LORD for the day."

We would sing those words over and over again, but each time through we would ask for suggestions on words to substitute for the words, "the day."  For instance, we might substitute "friends" or "turkey" or "family."  The list of things we were thankful for was usually endless. Each year on Thanksgiving I use this song as my morning devotion, taking time to list many of the things I am thankful for.  Taking time to thank God for our blessings is at the very heart of this day, whether you live here in Tampa, Florida or you live in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  Today, even more than usual, we should remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 118 when he tells us that "this is the day that LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Live today in God's glory, filled with the love and grace of Jesus Christ, and no matter where you are or what you are doing it will be Thanksgiving Day! Be blessed! And thank all of you for your efforts to praise God in every day life and #SaveThanksgiving!

 "Thank you, my LORD for Jesus!!!"

Kick-Start Your Week!

                        Psalm 33 (The Message)

    Good people, cheer God!

    Right-living people sound best when praising.

Use guitars to reinforce your Hallelujahs!

    Play his praise on a grand piano!

Invent your own new song to him;

    give him a trumpet fanfare.

For God’s Word is solid to the core;

    everything he makes is sound inside and out.

He loves it when everything fits,

    when his world is in plumb-line true.

Earth is drenched

    in God’s affectionate satisfaction.

The skies were made by God’s command;

    he breathed the word and the stars popped out.

He scooped Sea into his jug,

    put Ocean in his keg.

Earth-creatures, bow before God;

    world-dwellers—down on your knees!

Here’s why: he spoke and there it was,

    in place the moment he said so. 

God takes the wind out of Babel pretense,

    he shoots down the world’s power-schemes.

God’s plan for the world stands up,

    all his designs are made to last.

Blessed is the country with God for God;

    blessed are the people he’s put in his will.

From high in the skies God looks around,

    he sees all Adam’s brood.

From where he sits

    he overlooks all us earth-dwellers.

He has shaped each person in turn;

    now he watches everything we do.

No king succeeds with a big army alone,

    no warrior wins by brute strength.

Horsepower is not the answer;

    no one gets by on muscle alone.

Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him,

    the ones who are looking for his love.

He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times;

    in lean times he keeps body and soul together.

We’re depending on God;

    he’s everything we need.

What’s more, our hearts brim with joy

    since we’ve taken for our own his holy name.

Love us, God, with all you’ve got-

that’s what we’re depending on.  

  It's all about you LORD....it's not about us. Use us to change our world in your name this week.  Amen & AMEN!

Because of Jesus,

A Day of Blessings

Every day come with its share of blessings. Some days seem to have more than their share.  Saturday was one of those days.  I was honored to officiate the wedding of a young woman who was last in my youth group in 2004, Jenn Gastler, and her fiance Sgt.Will Chan. Not even a rainy afternoon for a planned beach ceremony could take anything away from a very special day. Here I am leading them in the sharing of their marriage vows.  

This was followed by a wonderful lunch at The Chart House, at which time Jenn's father Hal surprised everyone - including his own wife, Joanne- by singing for the couple's first dance. Hal sang an amazing song called "I Loved Her First" that brought the room to tears- and I was blessed to be part of that as well by playing guitar for him. Here we are!

But the blessings the day were still not done. Our son Will spent the day at the hospital with his girlfriend Michelle as her sister went into labor for the birth of her first child. He made an appearance late in the afternoon and everyone is doing great. And Will can't stop talking about the little guy...

Later, we attended worship at Van Dyke Church and had dinner with our friend Lisa Jewett and her friend Doug. An amazing day, full of many blessings. And so many reasons to take time to stop and thank the God of the universe for being such a great God and covering myself, my family and our friends in a blanket of love. May the first song I sing today sing praise to God as well!

Because of Jesus,

A Sunday Song of Praise

Read these words, inspired by Psalm 150 and written by the wonderfully gifted Matt Redman. Soak in them. Practice them. Let every nook, cranny and corner of your soul sing praise to LORD on this Sabbath. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the LORD

Let everything that, 
everything that 
Everything that 
has breath praise the Lord

Let everything that, 
everything that 
Everything that 
has breath praise the Lord

Praise You in the morning 
Praise You in the evening 
Praise You when I'm young 
and when I'm old

Praise You when I'm laughing 
Praise You when I'm grieving 
Praise You every 
season of the soul

If we could see 
how much You're worth 
Your power, 
Your might, 
Your endless love 
Then surely we would 
never cease to praise

Praise You in the heavens 
Join with the angels 
Praising You forever and a day

Praise You on the earth now 
Join with creation 
Calling all the nations to Your praise

If they could see 
how much You're worth 
Your power, 
Your might, 
Your endless love 
Then surely they would 
never cease to praise

I will worship, 
I will worship 
I will worship 
You with every breath

Because of Jesus,

#SaveThanksgiving

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I love Christmas. I love the music, the movies, the decorations, Santa, the traditions and the trees. I love that for many people it is still about the birth of the babe of Bethlehem and what that means in each of our lives. I even love shopping on Christmas Eve, one of my grand traditions! I love the Christmas season. But I have to tell you,  what "Christmas" has become in our USAmerican society is really starting to make me a little crazy. Christmas and I have a problem...it's killing Thanksgiving!

Maybe it is the faulty memory of an aging man, but it seems to me like Thanksgiving used to be an actual holiday, one we could enjoy and savor as families. But increasingly it is become the red-headed stepchild to Christmas.  Stores have their Christmas displays out before Halloween is over. The TV commercials have already started. A house in my neighborhood already has a frickin' wreath on the door! Thanksgiving used to be the kickoff to the Christmas season. Now it is just a blip on the radar as we scream full speed ahead towards December. It's Black Friday: The Prequel. And I think it's time to do something about it.

I suppose it would help if there were more cultural landmarks associated with the holiday. Eating, The Macy's Parade and football in Dallas and Detroit (plus some other random city from the "can't leave well enough alone" minds of the NFL) are the first things that come to most people's minds. There are few Thanksgiving movies (Planes, Trains & Automobiles is the only GREAT one, although my son Will recommends The Hoboken Chicken Emergency!), no one sings Thanksgiving carols, and even Hallmark doesn't really push the holiday. A couple of years ago I wrote down a few suggestions on how to change all of that (see The Holiday That Time Forgot) but I don't see it happening anytime soon. 

The bigger issue to me is that with all of the attention given to the "Holiday Season," Thanksgiving has lost its meaning.  People fight all the time to keep the "Christ" in Christmas. I am fighting to put the "thanks" back in Thanksgiving!  When the pilgrims and Native Americans sat down at that first feast, they weren't there to kill time before the Cowboys played the 4 o'clock game or Walmart opened with two big screen TVs on sale for 10,000 shoppers to fight over. They were there to give thanks to God for the simple reason that they were still alive! They could have starved, frozen, been killed by wild animals or killed each other- but they hadn't. They sat down to share in a bounty provided by God and to praise Him for all the many things they had to be thankful for in life. They gathered as family and friends to count their many blessings. It was from those beginnings that the Thanksgiving holiday was born. And it is by returning to those roots that we can #SaveThanksgiving.

Every day in November (through the 28th) I will be sharing something I am thankful for in the upper left-hand corner of this blog. You can see I have started today. I will also be tweeting my blessings using the hashtag #SaveThanksgiving. I am asking Marilyn to do the same on Facebook. And I am asking all of you to join us.  Share with the world through social media the things in your life that you need to thank our loving God for providing. Let's remind our friends of WHY we have a Thanksgiving holiday. And if you are not the hashtag type, then share with your family and friends around the dinner table or in the car on the way to school, work, dance lessons or wherever you may be headed.  The point is that we GIVE THANKS. 

So by all means, look forward to the turturkeykey (a shout out to all the HIMYM viewers) and the trimmings. Remember the Mayflower and the history of the day.  Make an elaborate styrofoam cornucopia for your table centerpiece. Boycott shopping on Thanksgiving Day and by all means take the day to be with your family and friends.  But all along the way, remember the reason for the season (stole that one from Christmas- HA!). "Count your many blessings- name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done!" If we do that, my friends, we just might accomplish something heroic. We just might #SaveThanksgiving.

Because of Jesus,

Psalm 150

Psalm 150  (The Message)
Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship
      praise him under the open skies;
   Praise him for his acts of power,
      praise him for his magnificent greatness;
   Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
      praise by strumming soft strings;
   Praise him with castanets and dance,
      praise him with banjo and flute;
   Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
      praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
   Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
      Hallelujah!


King David has given you your orders.  Now get out there and get your praise on!  Have a blessed Sabbath, my friends!


Because of Jesus,

Youth Sunday, 1999

I am sure that many of you are aware of "live blogging," the act of attending an event and blogging while you watch.  Such blogs usually contain reports of the actual event as well as opinionated comments from the blogger.  Today I introduce you to "retro-blogging."  This is the act of watching a VHS tape from over a decade ago and creating a blog post from the event.  As with live blogs, this post will contain actual information about the event as well as lame comments from the writer.  I hope you enjoy!

The tape I am watching is from a Youth Sunday at FUMC-K in the Spring of 1999.  We did at least one of these youth-led Sundays each year while I was serving the church in Kissimmee;  they were always well received and the students loved doing them.  This tape was made for me by the great Pat Pribyl during the 8:30 AM service;  we actually did all three services that day.  So let's get started!

Cathy Thacker (former Youth Counselor who was by then on the church staff and is now a UMC pastor) did the announcements (John and Pat Willis were away) and had the honor of breaking the news to many unsuspecting elderly attenders that the youth were in charge of the service.  She also mentioned that the United Methodist Committee on Relief was seeking money to help with the influx of refugees from Kosovo.  Seems like a lifetime ago.  I am sure there was still some confusion in the congregation at this point, for after Cathy sat down...nothing happened!  There were no youth sitting in the choir area, which is where the youth always were on such Sundays.  The only people upfront were Andrew Lewis and the Youth Praise Band, and they were not playing.  Eventually, Kristen Landry and Lindsey Lupfer came down the aisles, serving as acolytes, and brought in the "Light of Christ."  Then they left as well.  It seemed as if we had forgotten what came next...

Suddenly the silence was pierced by the sound of a lone flautist (I believe it was Sara Kohl?)  playing Prepare Ye from Godspell.  The flute was then joined by a lone voice (the camera is not showing the congregation, it is showing the platform, so I don't know who sang first) from the crowd, and after one time through the chorus another voice joined in.  And then another.  My memory tells me it was the Reep twins and Jill Souther who were the first three voices, but I am not certain.  After the three voices had joined as one, the Praise Band kicked in and all of the youth and Youth Counselors- about 50 people total- who were hiding in the congregation begin to stand, sing and make their way to the choir loft.  There is clapping, shouting, smiling- mostly from the participants.  The congregations still looks a bit confused.  Finally the whole group is in place.  It was a great (if I may say so myself), albeit under-appreciated, opening to worship.  (Full disclosure:  I just had to pause the tape so I could move clothes from the washer to the dryer.  This retro blogging thing is hard work!)

We opened the next part of worship with what was referred to in those days as a Praise Block.  For us it was a chance to sing some of our favorite music in worship with our church family.  For many others, it meant standing for a long period of time singing songs they didn't know and/or didn't care much for!  I introduced the first song, I Found Jesus, by acknowledging this fact; I said "You may not know this song, but sing it anyway!"  There was loud laughter.  The Praise Band cranked it up. The band featured Jacob Lupfer on keyboards, Jay Lynes on bass, Tommy Weaver and Jason Fry on guitars, and Josh Fry on drums.  After the first song, Colleen Martin gave the congregation an official youth welcome, telling them that "this might get a little weird, and it's not going to be what you are used to."  A wonderful understatement.  The band and Andrew then led us through great versions of Lord I Lift Your Name On High and Lord You Have My Heart.  The band sat down and Andrew led us in a rousing chorus of Step By Step ("Oh God, You are my God..."), and then I took over and led our favorite youth group worship tune, Sing Alleluia to the Lord.  I've said it here before and will do so again at some point, but when that group sang that song it was like the angels were joining in- and this time was no exception.

The old folks finally got to sit down so that Sara Autrey and Jay Lynes could do the Children's Moment.  They used an apple to talk about the Fruits of the Spirit, and how having God in our lives makes us do good things.  The fruits theme continued with a skit featuring Adam Hill as a thorn bush who thinks he is a fig tree, and Nate Kern as a passer-by.  Adam tries to convince Nate to try a fig; all Nate could see were thorns.  Adam tries a dozen different arguments, including seeking to convince Nate that his thorns are in fact spiked figs.  It is a very well done, hilarious skit that hopefully illustrates that you aren't truly a Christian if there is no fruit in your life.  To make certain everyone "got it," this is followed by Teresa Reep (one of our seniors) reading the scripture about fruits from Galatians 5:16-26.  At one point while reading, she stumbles on the phrase "sexual immorality."  I cannot prove it, but it sounds as if she was about to say "sexual immortality" and caught herself.   A shame, really...THAT would have stirred some discussion on scripture!

Next up were three more seniors who were delivering the Message for the day.  Jill Souther was first, talking about  how she only had 30 days of high school left, and about overcoming doubt and obstacles in her own life with faith.  She told several good stories to illustrate her point.  (I went to get a bottle of water and left the tape running; you know, that Jill could really talk!!!)  Once Jill was done, Cyndi Reep (only 25 days left) took the pulpit and talked openly about feeling as if she had slipped away from God in her senior year.  She then pointed out, quite brilliantly, that our spiritual journey contains both mountains and valleys, and that we tend to grow in our faith more in the valleys.  Jacob Lupfer went last, and spoke from the heart to his church family.  He estimated that he had "met God in this place" over 900 times in his life, which he deduced made him an elder at age 18.  Jacob, who had bright red hair, also questioned if as he got older and his hair started turning gray would it, at some point, be pink?    He encouraged people to reach out and share their faith with the community, chiding himself for not having done a better job, and exulting some of his peers for being master evangelists.  All three speakers were excellent that day; I am still proud of them as I write this today.  They were not just "cute youth;"  they said important things!

We were now headed down the home stretch of this service.  Melissa Lynes took Joys and Concerns from the congregation and led us all in prayer.  Celia Thacker and myself presented information about Compassion International to the crowd, explaining that we as a youth group were now sponsoring two children, and that we had 19 others we hoped that different families, Sunday School classes and small groups in the church would sponsor.  Erica Souther then called our Youth Ushers forward and prayed over the offering.  As the special music while the plates were passed the entire youth choir sang dc Talk's Into Jesus.  I loved that song then,but looking back, it needs to placed in the Youth Group Jukebox of Cheese.  It was not much a group singing song...   The service closed with the entire congregation singing Pass It On (I managed to play it without laughing), which featured rousing shouts of PRAISE GOD from the youth at the appropriate times.  And looking back this morning, I do indeed praise God for days like that one.

I didn't know it at the time (I certainly do now), but in many ways that day marked the end of an era at FUMC-K.  In a few weeks John Willis would be moved (A bad memory-I just shivered and broke out in a cold sweat!) to another church; this important group of seniors would graduate; and I would enter a summer with an intern not named Jerry Hanbery.  A cold wind was about to blow through the church.  But on that day, God was smiling on us and the Holy Spirit was moving among us.  This retro blogging is pretty cool-  but in all honesty, you had to be there!  Have a blessed weekend!

Because of Jesus,

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Psalm 100 (The Message)

A Thanksgiving Psalm


On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn't make him.
We're his people, his well-tended sheep.

Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.

Today, I encourage you to act on the words of the old hymn:  "Count your many blessings, name them one by one; Count your many blessings, see what God has done..."

Because of Jesus,