It has to increase! I need more, I can not go on with this being this way it has to be more.

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it consumed your very life? Have you ever though about something all the time, that it completely takes all of your energy and time and strength?

Money is usually the thing we put in this place, we need more because the bills are mounting and we have to get the new TV, and a stereo system with surround sound. Or my kids need a new bed and clothes, and wouldn’t it be nice to get them that new toy they have been asking for…

Is this really what our lives are about? Getting more so we can need more, so we can find a way to work more, so we spend less time with our families, because they need more than I can give, so I have to do something to get more so I can give them more…….

Our lives become a run on sentence that never ends, because the cycle keeps turning back on itself. When is enough enough? When do our lives hit that magic break point when we have finally arrived?

Or what really needs to increase? John the Baptist said “He must increase and I must decrease.” Jesus must increase and I must decrease. The only thing we need to increase is the amount of Jesus we have. How do we do this, by letting go.

Just let go of the worries and the troubles. Let go of your joys and the wonderful blessings in your life. Let go of everything and believe that God is walking with you and loves you more than His own life. (this is true He did die on a cross for you!)

So trust God that He is with you and guides you through life. Let Him increase and the rest will fall into place.

What is it that drives us? What is it that makes us go?

It is really easy to say that Jesus or God is our driving force, but is that true? Does that fact that the fire of God burns deep in my soul really drive me to do what I am doing?

It is easy to say, but hard to follow. It is easy to set out to do, but hard to follow through. Our minds and hearts get in the way. God wants us to love Him in the way that an infant loves his/her mother. Unconditionally and simply. Simply believe that God will provide for you. Simply come to Him with child like wonder and simply open your heart and mind to Him.

Simply read and believe these words of Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380):
“Our sin lies in nothing else but in loving what you hate and hating what you love. I confess, eternal God, that I have constantly loved what you hate and hated what you love. But today I cry out in the presence of your mercy: grant that I may follow your truth with a simple heart; give me the deep well and fire of charity; give me a continual hunger to endure pains and torments for you. Eternal Father, give my eyes a fountain of tears with which to draw your mercy down over all the world, and especially over your bride. Amen.”

Glory is an interesting thought. We think of it in terms of high status. In something that is better than something else.

I was thinking of the Bon Jovi song Blaze of Glory which talks about the person going down in a blaze of glory. He is an old western person, who is killed in a gun battle, and he goes down in a blaze of glory.

Glory is something attributed to God. A higher status than the rest of us. We talk about the glorification of Christ.

Just how and when was Christ glorified? What is the glory Jesus speaks of?

We would think of him being elevated as the son of God. Sitting at God’s right hand, creating the universe.

Well it is in His elevation, but not to sit at God’s right hand. Jesus is glorified in his being lifted high on the cross.

His glorification brought him death and us life. So rather than shot down in a blaze of glory, Jesus was raised up high in a blaze of glory!

Mother Teresa once said she was nothing more than a pencil in the hands of God. What a profound statement of faith and undying devotion. It is a statement of who is in charge, a statement on why everything is done in her life.

Can we say the same? Are we the instrument that helps to create a beautiful picture, or are we the one trying to yield the utensil to draw the picture? Are we trying to be in control?

Is it enough to say that God can use us to do His will? If we say we follow God and do not dare to do the things He has placed within us to do, then are we really allowing God to have control of our lives?

Is our ministry driven by our desires or by God? Is our discipleship truly an emptying of self to follow or our way of trying to maintain control?

Can you say you are a pencil in the hands of God? Does he have control over your life, so much so that you are willing to go up against anything to do what he places in you to do?

Dare to allow God to work through you and be ready to be impressed and shocked and awed by the picture God creates through you.

We have been traveling this past week with our girls, and they really have not been asking that much are we there yet….

BUT….

The other day I said we were there. We were sitting at a red light on the corner of two streets. And I said, “OK we are there.”
One of my daughters said, “no we are not there.”
I replied, “where is there?”
She said, “I do not know.”
I said, “Then how do you know we are not there?”

The problem with most of our outlooks on ministry is that we want to be there, with out first defining where there is. We put so much stock in how we are going to do the ministry, how we are going to get everything done, who we are going to get to help, and who we are going to help, that we miss the most important thing. Where are we going? If we have no defined location to arrive at, how are we going to know when we get there.

We can not go on a trip and not know where we are going. OK some of the people may not know, but one of the people on a trip has to know where the final destination is, otherwise, it is haphazard and is messy and takes a long time. Life and ministry are like this, but if we have some clue of where we are going, then we may actually make it.

So I wonder where is there? Where are we going?

How will we know when we have arrived?

Yoda once said to Luke Skywalker that there is no trying to do something. We either do it, or we do not. We either commit to doing something or we are not committed to it.

This week we look at the death of our savior, the death of a man who has committed no sin, innocent of all charges. The death of our savior, that brings us life. We obtain life from the fact that Jesus was committed to the task before him. He went to the cross with out waiving from this task, even in the questioning he had, that the cup be removed, yet not my will but yours be done Father.

What if you had been Jesus and were trying to be the savior of the world? Would you have been unwavering? Would you have followed through on the will of the Father?

I can say I would have questioned more than Jesus did. I would have fallen short. My humanness would have gotten in the way. That is where Jesus and I differ. I can try to follow him, but in the words of Yoda, I can not try, I either do it, or I do not.

I do both, in my humanness, I fail to follow in times of weakness, but Jesus never fails me. He is always with me and walks with me, and helps me on the way. As Philippians 4:13 says Whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

So we do not have to do or do not, Jesus does it for us, giving us the strength to be what he has called us to be. Rest in the strength that God has given us, and allow him to work in and through you. do not try to be anything other than what God has called you to be. Do what God has called you to do, trusting in Him who makes you who you are.

As we approach Holy Week, I have been thinking a lot lately about the Palm/Passion Sunday service. I wonder when did our congregations start needing a Passion Sunday? Well in out Lutheran understanding it has been a while, as Passion Sunday is a part of the Lutheran Book of Worship, the green book, the old book.

What has our society done to our understanding or discipleship? Our understanding of adoration? Our understanding of Worship?

We have easy macaroni and cheese, and quick hot dogs, already on the bun to be zapped in the microwave, and that is exactly what Pals/Passion Sunday is. It is a give it to me quick, because I can’t possibly come to church on Palm Sunday, then on Thursday, and then again on Friday, and then again on Easter Sunday. I mean do not even think about doing an Easter Vigil service, there is no way I am going to be coming to church on Saturday night too. What do you think I have all the time in the world? Palm/Passion Sunday is the way our society has made us think we have to do our services in adoration of God during the most Holy part of the year, the time when Jesus celebrated His last supper with His disciples, who went to crosses and martyrdom for Jesus, and did not complain about the time commitment. This Holy time of the year we celebrate the hours Jesus spent on the cross, hung there at 9:00 in the morning and then at 3:00 in the afternoon was pierced… not an easy day if you ask me. We need Palm Sunday, to celebrate as the people of that time did, the one who will set us free. The one who triumphantly entered the city of Jerusalem, to be hung outside of it only 5 days later under the most vile of forms of death. We need to celebrate the upside downness of God and how our society needs to be turned on its head, not our worship life.

God has called us to be a part of this world, yet separate from it. We are to be in the world, not of it. We are to be different from the world, so much so that they see us and see Christ and wonder how they can be a part of what we are, the body of Christ.

So as we enter Holy Week, I ask, where is your commitment? are you committed to giving God the time He has given you back in worship and adoration over Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter? Jesus was committed to you, never swerving from His task of redeeming us to a relationship with the father. He already hung on the cross, all he is asking is a little time.

Are you preparing for rain?
I recently watched the movie Facing the Giants. In it there was a pastor who told a story about 2 farmers. Both of them prayed for rain to help their crops, but only one of the farmers actually prepared his fields for the coming rain. The pastor then asks, who trusted God?
Are you preparing for rain?
Or I guess a better question is what are we preparing for? Or even better yet is what do we want to do? We can not possibly move forward if we do not have a focus, a vision, a place to look to to see how we are doing. We can continue to be the church, and not do ministry, but is that why we are here? In the movie, Facing the Giants, there is a football team that can not win a game. They have had losing seasons for 6 straight years. The coach asks God to show him where he should be, and after the above visit form the pastor and some prayer, he devises a new team philosophy. From this he asks the players why they are their. Is football only about winning games? Does God care about football? Does god care about teaching? Does God care about healthcare work? Does God care about electrical/plumbing/carpentry work? Does God care about learning? Does God care about basketball? Does God care about anything other than us being in worship? Of course God cares about all of these things. God cares about you, and has called you to be His own, so He cares about the things that we all do.
Are you preparing for rain?
We are all called by God in our baptisms, to be His children. We are all called to be co inheritors with Jesus of the kingdom of God. We are all called to be a part of the body of Christ in the world. We all have a part to play that no one else can in God’s plan. Just as Jesus bridged the gap of the chiasm that separated us from God. We all have our calling.
I am not the only person called at Hosanna. While I have a piece of paper that says I have been called by Hosanna Lutheran Church to your pastor, each one of you has a piece of paper that says you were called by God. Your baptismal certificate. In this document god called you to be His and to do His work.
Are you preparing for rain?
Are you ready for the ride of your life? Do we trust God to take us to the next level?
Bob Reccord and Randy Singer in their book Live Your Passion Tell Your Story Change Your World: a Challenge to Fulfill Your Calling on page 112 say, ““He (God) asks, “Do you think I can successfully guide your steps and order your life?” and we say, “Sure!” But when He says, “Then get in,” we start backtracking. He asks us to do something outrageous and exciting, and we start walking away from the Falls. Could it be we are really saying, “I believe you can guide my steps, as long as it makes sense to me. But there are more choices out there, and I want to keep my options open.
The bottom line is we either trust God or we don’t. We’re either willing to be obedient or we leave our options open. Yet He continually invites us on the ride of our lives!”
Where are we going Hosanna? Are we allowing God to guide our steps, to be the permeating force in our lives, or are we coasting along as a gathering of the body?
I am ready for a wild ride, with God leading us to new and wonderful things, are you with me?Let’s get preparing for rain!

Passion is a very interesting word. We do things everyday that play into our passions, but do we have one all encompassing passion that leads us to do everything else that we do?

I guess we first need to know what passion is. The Passion of the Christ is a movie about the crucifixion of Christ from Mel Gipsons directing. Is this what passion is? Merriam-Webster online has 5 definitions, one being the Passion of Christ, and #4 is emotion and #5 is ardent love.
I think these are the ones I am looking for. What is your passion, the thing that drives you emotionally, and the one thing you would do anything for because of love?

The gospel lesson for this coming Sunday is John 12:1-8. It made me think of 2 songs My Passion by Sammy Ward and Mary’s Alibaster Jar by Solomon’s Wish.

Passion is that thing that drives us to do the things we do. Why did Mary wash Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume? Why do you do the things you do? Is your addoration of Jesus what it should be?

My Passion – Sammy Ward
When I stray from my destiny,
You put me back on course,
My struggle is not to better my life,
It’s uniting with it’s source
I want you to be my passion
And not myself
For I have found that seeking you
Is greater than all wealth
I want you to be my passion
Deeper than the sea, yeah, yeah
And wider than the heavens
Like your love is for me
The disobedience I have in me
Has dimmed my life today
Lord let your light shine through me
So the darkness will run away
I want you to be my passion
Deeper than the sea, yeah, yeah
And wider than the heavens
Like your love is for me
I want you to be my passion
And not myself
For I would rather die with you
Than to live in sinner’s health
I want you to be my passion
Deeper than the sea, yeah, yeah
And wider than the heavens
Like your love is for me

We are so task oriented and results driven. We have our set of initiatives to complete. Our appointments are set and we live and die by the calendar. If something does not go by schedule, it throws everything out of whack.

God calls us to intimacy with him. God calls us to stop the bustle of this world and to rest in his undying love and care. To be in the shelter of his being. To rest calmly and surely in his loving spirit.

God Calls us to chill-n-hang with him. He names us as his children, claimed to be his in the waters of baptism. He brought us from slavery to sin to being heirs of the kingdom. He names us as his children, then as all parents hope, he calls for us to be friends. We can be the best of friends with God. Telling him all of our innermost secrets, desires, letdowns. He then calls us to the next stage after friends to intimacy. To fully know him and to be known by him. A person who knows your very being and loves you in spite of that. God calls us to complete his sentences, to have us complete his. He wants us to chill-n-hang with him.

So for a few minutes, or the whole day clear the schedule and chill-n-hang with God.