Stumbling Block

Have you ever been walking down the road and tripped over something?

Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians says, “we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles,”

The cross of Christ is a stumbling block and folly.  Stumbling blocks are things that impede our progress or cause us to question what we believe or understand. Folly is a foolish act or idea.  It is something that just does not make sense.  How is Christ crucified a good thing?  Why is the day the “savior” died on the cross called Good Friday?  What is so good about the death of your teacher?  How is it that you are suppose to continue on if your teacher is dead?  It really does not make sense.  And the cross is not where the messiah is suppose to be enthroned.  The messiah was suppose to come and clean out the enemies of the Jews and bring about power and rule that would put the Jewish nation back where they belonged as the highest most chosen people, so Jesus coming to die in our place on the cross, the most humiliating death is not what is suppose to happen.

But what happens when you trip or stumble over something as you are walking?  I mean other than you falling wildly and look around to make sure no one is looking…

Paul continues in his letter to the Corinthians, “For consider you call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth;”  God calls those who have the gifts for ministry.  Usually knowledge leads us to question faith, power causes us not to want to submit, and nobility gives us a place of honor, which we do not want to humble ourselves from.  “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,”  God uses every resource to make known his love. He called the shepherds to be the first witnesses of the birth of the savior of the world.  He then sent the Gentiles from the East to come and pay homage to the King of the World.  Jesus chose as his disciples fishermen, a tax collector…  Men that were not the most dignified or looked up to people in society.  God uses us where we are when he needs us.

So when I stumble, I stop and look and try to figure out what caused me to trip…  The cross is that which we need to ponder and focus on this season as we walk with Jesus to that same cross.  Look at that which is the wisest and most profound thing to us who believe, but to those who don’t is one of the greatest hurdles to get over.  The cross is that place where our death was taken away, and our sin paid for.  Focus on this cross, and stumble no more!

Walk on Water

Now we all now it is not physically possible to walk on water.  It goes completely against the laws of Physics to walk on water.  If you do not know how to swim, and the water is deeper than your head, then you are going to sink.  Yet in the 14th chapter of the gospel according to St. Matthew we see 2 people walk on water.  Jesus is walking on the lake to the boat with the disciples.  The disciples are struck with fear and terror at the site of the ghost coming to them on the water.  Suddenly Peter realizes it is not a ghost but it is Jesus.  He goes from terror to courage in an instant because he saw past the physical world he knew so well as he was a fisherman.  He glimpsed the reality of the kingdom of God, and so he boldly proclaimed, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”  He knew he could not walk on the water on his own, but with Jesus he could do anything.

Do we believe this?  Do we think it is possible to walk on water if we only see Jesus as the reality of the kingdom of God?  Peter walked on water, for a moment lived in the reality of God.  He then focused on the world around him, and lost site of the kingdom, so he sank.  Are we so bold and courageous to call to Jesus to call us out of the boat?  Are we ready and willing to live in the kingdom of God, beyond the bounds of reality?  Jesus is waiting to say come.  Are you ready to step out if the boat?

If you are?

This is the first Sunday in Lent.  I love the readings for this Sunday, especially the gospel.  In today’s reading we get the story of Jesus being driven out into the wilderness. The place where people did not usually go, because wild animals lived there and there were no provisions, no food, probably very little water…  It was not a desert hot spot or the top holiday destination.  The wilderness was avoided at all costs.  Bad things happened to people there.

The interesting thing to these texts is, it is God who puts Jesus there.  Which makes me think of the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation”  Jesus said this in the prayer as a request, because he knows God will lead us into temptation.  He asked that we ask we not get lead there.  However he then adds, “But deliver us from evil.”  It is as if Jesus knows we will be tested, and yes sometimes by God, and when we are we will need God’s help to be delivered from evil.  It is not that the test is bad, we have the power through God to make it out, by his deliverance.  His deliverance is seen all through the Bible…

The best thing about these texts for today for me though is something hidden.  Satan asks Jesus 3 questions after he has been fasting in the wilderness for 40 days.  He tries to tempt Jesus into turning from God and follow Satan.  So Satan asks, “If you are the Son of God…”  This is interesting to me.  Does Satan not know who Jesus is, or is Satan trying to get Jesus to wonder or doubt who he is?  “If you are the Son of God command these stones become bread.”  You are hungry, so make yourself a biscuit and then follow me.  But we know that food is not the only thing required for us to live a long and healthy spirit filled life.  “If you are the son of God, throw yourself from the pinnacle, because God’s angels will come and rescue you.”  If, if.  The littlest biggest word in the English language.  Meant to cause doubt or reflection.  However the interesting part to this text and this word is its multiple meanings in the Greek.  ei is the word in Greek and yes it does mean if, but it also means since.  Now was Satan asking a question or making a very bold statement?  Was it “If you are the Son of God,”  or was it “Since you are the Son of God?”  See the difference? One questions Jesus very nature, one defines who he is and what is is able to do.  One sets him up for doubt, one assigns him a role in all of the cosmic reality.  You have to believe that Satan knew he was the Son of God, otherwise why ask the questions he did.  If Satan believed him to be one of us, he could have just brought some food along and offered it to us if we would follow, and most of us after not eating for 40 days would have said, “give me those brussels sprouts, and where are we going?” Satan knew who Jesus was, is and will always be…  Do we, or do we know the Jesus we want him to be?

The Nail

For many years now I have carried a nail with me during Lent.  It is a model of a chiseled nail that would have been used to crucify Christ.  Now I have no idea if this is really what the nail would have looked like, but to me it represents the pain I put Jesus through as he was nailed to the cross.  I carry it as a sign to me these 40 days of the path we are all on, as we go with Jesus to the cross.

This morning I took a picture of the nail to place here as I spoke about it today in this devotion and here it is.That is my nail.  Well I went to worship at a conference meeting this morning with my nail and while at worship, the nail broke.And now here is my broken nail.

I was sad that my nail broke.  I had not carried it many years, but it had been something I looked forward to as a reminder of the journey.  I was wondering where I had gotten the nail, and if I could get another nail.  But as I sat in worship and held the broken nail in my hand, I realized that I was broken.  I realized that this nail represented the pain I put through Jesus through and he took that from me and broke it.  He is not held to the cross by the nail I hold in my hands.  My sin may and did put him there, but it did not and can not hold him there.  His grace is more powerful than any nail.  He broke the power this world has over him and me.  He called me to follow and cleansed me of all my wrongs and sinful ways.

My broken nail reminds me that even though I am broken, the Lord has claimed me, and he has broken the power of death. The power of this world that thought they put him in the grave.  He has won the battle, and I no longer have to worry about being broken.  I only have to worry about following him.

Cross Eyed! – Ash Wednesday

I have a new coffee cup, that I got at a Senior High Youth Event in Austin.  It reminds me every day about the trip, but it also reminds me the purpose of my life.  It also has a reference to Hebrews 12:2.  I also had a shirt a while ago that referenced this verse.  It is an interesting verse.  The shirt said, “Cross Eyed.”  The logo on my coffee cup can be seen here:

Peter Eide TasteWorship.com

Do you see it?  The catch phrase on the coffee cup is, “keep your eyes on the cross.”  if you see 2 “i” s then look at the white space.  Keep your eyes on the cross, or as Hebrews 12:2 says, “fix your eyes upon Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.”  Jesus is the perfect model of what is means to be a Christian, and this season of Lent to be focused on the cross, will help us to see the meaning behind the season, and the person we come to worship.

Gracious God help us to focus on the meaning of this season.  Guide us to follow you to places we may not want to go, to do things we may not want to do, knowing that you have gone before us and walk with us through the places we go.  Help us to be cross eyed and focused on you. Amen.

Where are you running?

I don’t know about you, but this first month, which has spilled over into the second month of 2010 has been hectic.  It seems I am running every where and doing everything and making progress but in the wrong direction.  It seems for every step I take forward I am going backwards 4 or 5.  Not good.  It seems the stacks of paper are getting higher, and the mounds of work that need to be done are never ending and about to topple down upon me…

Last night my family and I watch Akeelah and the Bee.  A wonderful movie about a girl who pulls together a community in the hopes of making it to the national spelling bee.  As we watched this movie, Akeelah’s coach had her read a quotation.  I pondered it all last night, and then this morning I was hit by my devotion.  Isn’t it amazing how good God is, even when we think he is not around, he is always there, to give us the help we need and to show us the way.

My devotion this morning was on John 6:60-71, where Peter says, “Lord where would we go, you have the words of eternal life.”  You have all that we could ever need.  And then a reading from Andrew Murray about where are you running, or on what are you focusing…  Are you running to Jesus, or away?  Are you focusing on the piles of paper on your desk and the endless amount of work in front or you, or are you looking into the eyes of Jesus, knowing he has given you the tools to make it through everything that is before you.  Jesus told us, “be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”  The quote from Akeelah and the Bee is a quote from Marianne Williamson’s poem Our Deepest Fear. This poem I believe is a wonderful way to look at who we are, and who we should be.  We are not to get bogged down in life, but live for the life that is in us, Jesus Christ.  We have been given gifts to us, we are part of the puzzle, and we can not be less than who we are.

Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Ever been somewhere and wondered how in the world you got there?

Have you ever been some place in a situation and wondered how you got there and how you were going to make it out of it?

It is moments like these we seek to use our faith.  And what is faith?  Hebrews 11 tells us that Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  We are assured of the things we hope for, and can rely on the things we do not see.  We can be assured that Jesus is with us and that he will hold us and help us through any situation we may be in.

We can see this in the Hebrew Scripture story of  Debra. We See Debra’s story in Judges.  She appointed Barak to lead the army of the Israelites into battle, however his lack of confidence pushed Debra into the role of leading the army into battle.  She did not worry about this, because she relied on God to give her the tools she needed to make it through.  So never be surprised by the place you find yourself.  Be the leader God has called you to be, and rely on Him to see you through.

I’ll end this blog today with the prayer for today from For all the Saints: a Prayer Book For and By the Church Volume III, this prayer is by Philip Doddridge (1702 – 1751). “O Thou ever blessed Fountain of Life, I bless Thee that Thou hast infused into me Thine own vital breath, so that I may become a living soul. It is my earnest desire that I may not only live, but grow; grow in grace and in knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May I grow in patience and fortitude of soul, in humility and zeal in spirituality and a heavenly disposition of mind. In a word, as Thou knowest I hunger and thirst after righteousness, make me whatever Thou wouldst delight to see me be. Amen.”

STUPID goals « Running Agile

STUPID goals « Running Agile.

This is great. Meant to be for business managers, but I saw huge impacts for church leadership.  So many times we want to do what is attainable and going to produce positive out comes.  But we have the power of the creator of the universe behind us.  He is calling us to be fools for him.  Lets be Spiritual Fruits and put it all in his hands with Stupid Goals!

February 2010 Front Page

I sit at my desk pondering the newsletter and what is happening around here. There is a lot of talk about education and confirmation and I ponder as we go into Lent what education and confirmation mean. I wonder when it is that confirmation begins. Most of us would probably say that confirmation is 7th and 8th grade. I know some congregations that do 6th and 7th grade. I also know some congregations that do 7th, 8th and 9th grade. There are many different ways to do confirmation and age groups that can participate. However none of these answers actually answer the question of when it is that confirmation begins. Confirmation is a process of learning that does not begin when we start confirmation classes, nor does it end when we are confirmed. Confirmation begins at baptism. When the water roles over us and we are named and claimed as one of God’s children heirs to the kingdom of God that we start confirmation. We from this point on are learning about our faith and how our lives interact with God and each other in this community. The Rite of Confirmation is something we celebrate as an acceptance of the baptismal promise made by our parents and God parents at our baptism. We choose to live a life of discipleship. A life of learning. A life of being at the feet of Jesus and trying to live life the way he calls us to and teaches us to. In order to do this it takes a lifetime. So remember no matter what your age is 13, or 6 or 38, or 82, or anywhere in between or before or after you are in need of confirmation. We are able to learn and should seek out new knowledge that will help us in our faith journey. Grasp hold of God this coming Lent and after by delving into His Word and becoming overwhelmed by the grace and love there in, letting it permeate your lives and become a part of you. Live in the mercy of God that allows us to fall at His feet and learn all the days of our lives, and be his disciple. Remember your baptism and constantly strive to be His disciple.

Standards set…

This morning I participated in a Bible Study on Acts chapter 6.  We talked about the appointment of the 7 to do service for the widows and those who were being overlooked.  In doing this we took a side step to talk about the apostles…

The apostles took it upon themselves to create, or continue, the structure Jesus had put into place with the 12 disciples.  The apostles said they needed to replace the spot left vacant by Judas.  Could you hear one of them saying, “this is the way it has always been, we can not do it any other way.” So they decide to choose a replacement, and they start to list the requirements for the person to replace Judas.  They said the person must be someone who was with Jesus and stayed with him from his baptism through his ascension.  Does any one see or hear a problem with this?

Who among the 12 did this?  The 11 when Jesus was arrested, the 11 scattered and left him. Peter the one who is speaking at the beginning of Acts, denied Jesus 3 times.  They all left him and did not stay with him.  They locked themselves in the upper room, after they knew he was raised from the dead.  They are placing standards on the person, that they themselves did not fulfill.

Is this not what we as the church do all the time.  We expect people to live up to a standard before they are welcomed, or a part of the community.  Everyone is welcome, and everyone is needed.  Standards of inclusion would exclude all of us.  God does not judge us as we deserve, but through the eyes of Jesus, who sees us through the grace of faith that flows through the cross.

Let us not set standards on who is welcomed, but help each other to see the other through the standard of grace through faith.