Jesus Wept.

Perhaps one of the most powerful verses in all of the Bible is one with the fewest words, found in John 11:35 where it says, "Jesus wept." The statement is in reference to Jesus' visit with Mary and Martha to see Lazarus. Word had come to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, and when Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus had already died. When Jesus went to see the tomb, he found Mary and her friends weeping, and when Jesus saw this, he was deeply moved, and wept with them.

Often when this story is referenced attention is given to the display of Jesus power when he raised Lazarus from the dead. Some even see this event as a foreshadowing of the story's upcoming events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. But don't let get lost the emotion that ocurrs before Jesus display of power. Jesus had great emotion and he wept. Jesus was not only a man of great intellect and wisdom, who taught as one who had real authority. Like us, Jesus felt deeply about people.

To know Jesus is to know him with your heart, in that places where emotions run deep. Today, I encourage you the read the story of Lazarus' healing in John 11. When you do, read it with your heart and not just your mind. If you do, then you too may weep as you read, and a whole new meaning may emerge when you read Jesus' words, "I am the resurrection and the life."

How To Be Perfect

I've just started a new book that came out this year in 2011 written by Daniel M. Harrell called, "How to Be Perfect". It tells the story of 19 members from Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts who joined with their pastor in a month of obedience, living the life of faith as outlined in the O.T. book of Leviticus. What an experiment that must have proved. I'm looking forward to finshing the book. There is one comment I ran across on page 111 where the author Harrell writes, "To obey God's commands is to be like God." I found this both inspiring, challenging, and interesting. In the creation stories, the presumption of human sin is in our desire to believe we can be as God. There is a difference between "as" and "like".

To be "as" someone is to assume you can be that person. To be "like" someone is to try and imitate that person. When Jesus said to "be holy as God is holy" he was commanding us to be like God, to let our character reflect his holiness; but always with the knowledge that God is God, and we are God's creation. Too many of us live as if we are the god of their own lives, but too few of us live as if we are striving to be like God. Let the Holy Spirit be at work in all of us. Perhaps the words of our Communion liturgy will have more power when we say - "make this bread and cup be for us the body and blood of Christ that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood." We can learn how to live like Jesus - in grace.

Dennis

One Wish

Perhaps you have heard the story about a man who found a lamp on a deserted beach. He rubbed the lamp on its side and out popped a genie. The genie told him that normally he had three wishes to grant, but two of them had already been used up. He had only one last wish to grant. The man thought, then asked for the New York Times Paper - stocks update edition, dated one year from today. The genie said, "Granted" and the genie disappeared and in place of the genie was a copy of the New York Times dated one year later. The man turned to the stock section and said to himself, "Now that I know what stocks will be a year from now, I can make my investment now and be rich in just one year." The man was feeling pretty good about his wish until he dropped the paper by accident. When he bent down to pick the paper up something had caught his attention that made him stare in disbelief. The paper had fallen open to the obituary section, and the man's name was on the top of the page. Life is ironic to say the least, but it does give new meaning to Proverbs 3:5 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

What Do You Think About?

Perhaps you are familiar with Descartes famous quote, "I think therefore I am." This quote reminds us that what we become grows from the seeds of what we think. Much of what comes out of our mouth, along with the values we embrace, is first shaped by what we spend our time on in thought and meditation. Perhaps this is why we find Philippians 4:8 to read, "Beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." In time, what you think will find a translation in how you choose to live. For years, we know that our physiological systems are a product of our food. Hence, we really are what we eat. This is no less true for a soul than for a body. We are what we think. Let's know what we should put our minds on. It can make all the difference in the kind of world we help to build for ourselves and for others.

Dennis

Thought on "Heaven is for Real"

I've been reading the book, Heaven is For Real, by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. It's a fascinating book, based on a true story of a four year old boy who,during an emergency,falls into an unconscious state, and when he awakens, says he has been to heaven and back. It is a fascinating read and not complicated. No matter what you think of the book, its worth your time to read. For some, they will read the book with doubt and skepticism; while others will read it for inspiration and hope. As for me, what I found most intriguing about the book is the one constant phrase the little boy kept coming back to in saying, "Jesus really cares about the children." Interesting that this comes from the voice of one who is a child himself. I'm sure everybody will have a different take on it, but for me, I like to think this affirms the amazing, personal love that God has for each person. The creator of the cosmos loves each one of us. God really does. Perhaps the key is in what Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them,for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Maybe the key to knowing God is in learning to become like children - or to put it another way - to become his child once again.

Dennis

Perfect Love

Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 to "be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." It appears at first glance that Jesus is asking us to do the impossible. After all, human perfection is an oxymoron. The problem is that we tend to interpret every verse in the Bible as if it requires immediate gratification, but much of scripture is written to show direction in life, and what we are called to become is often more gradual in nature than instantaneous in act. This truth is most evident when we speak of our salvation in God's way.

In John Wesley's "A Plain Account of Christian Perfection" he writes, "Neither dare we affirm, as some have done,that all this salvation is given at once. There is indeed an instantaneous as well as gradual work of God in his children; and there wants not,we know,a cloud of witnesses who have received in one moment, either a clear sense of the forgiveness of their sins, or the abiding witness of the Holy Spirit. But we do not know a single instance, in any place, of a person's receiving, in one and the same moment,remissions of sin, the abiding witness of the Spirit, and a new, a clean heart."

Wesley's point is that it takes a new and clean heart to grow in perfect love, and this perfection is a gradual work and takes a lifetime to achieve, but the joy is in the journey. As you further your walk with a risen Savior, ask God to make your love for him perfect. It won't happen overnight, but if we commit ourselves to the task of loving God and loving our neighbor as we are called to love ourselves, then we will once again rediscover the joy of falling in love - falling in love with God and with his call to love ourselves and one another in grace. We can not be perfect like God, but we can grow in his perfected love.

Dennis

Just say "Thank You"

As of today, we are in day 7 since we lost power last week due to the extreme storms that plummeted our area with high winds,hail and tornadoes. My wife and I were fortunate in that we only lost power. Our house was not damaged, no trees down, and we have given thanks for small little blessings like gas operated water heaters. Our inconvenience is nothing when compared to the destruction of private propetry and the loss of human life that occured last week. Our prayers continue to go out to all individuals and families impacted by this terrible storm.

Now is the time to show patience and gratitude as well as prayer. The service crews continue to work around the clock as they chop up and remove down trees as well as repair broken power lines. As the days drag on, it is easy to complain about what is not done "at our house" when you see the lights on at "the other house". Let's not become self-centered in time of clean-up. Service crews are doing all they can, working as hard as they can, for everyone's benefit. So, please say "thank you" when you see a service crew today. Say a prayer of thanks for all they are doing for us. Just say "thank you".

Dennis