Getting into the Olympic Spirit

I love Pig...

Bible Reading for Lent...and beyond!

Our family has agreed to read through the Bible during Lent this year.  The concept is to simply read the Bible like we would read any other book.  You pick it up and start reading - and if its really good you don't stop til you're done.  That's the concept for us and I got my start today getting up to Gen 12 this morning with more to follow later. (that's my plan anyway)  I have chosen to read the Message since I have never read through that completely before.  I like it!

Also, I found (thank you Brenda) the following reading plan online from Mark Batterson and the National Community Church.

http://fromgardentocity.com/home/

It looks like a good way to spend more time in God's Word. (always a good idea)  So if you want to - you can sign up to read along (I did) and just spend a little computer time in the Bible each day.  They put the day's reading right there on the website for you!

Anyway, for the one or two who read this, I strongly encourage you to read the Bible.  Whether you use of of these two plans or come up with something all on your own, do something.  It's always good to have a plan! And it is imperative to start.  You can never finish if you never start.

So DO IT!  NOW! And as a very wise man once said, "If you do it now, it will be done."

A Loving Memory

“Mem’ries, light the corners of my mind. Misty, water colored mem’ries of the way we were…”

Be glad, be very glad, that this is in print and you don’t have to hear me sing love songs like Barbra Streisand.

In February the big red heart decorations start showing up which remind us of Valentine’s Day which causes us to think about LOVE. And love makes us remember old songs sometimes that cause us to think about when we were once young and in love.  But the problem is that often our memory isn’t all that good.  I’m not talking about me forgetting to do whatever chore I promised Brenda I would do either.  I’m talking about memories that light the corners of my mind – it must be very dimly lit.  I (and you can feel free to include yourself in this as well) often have; what’s the nice way to say it; a distorted view of the past.  What I remember may not necessarily be exactly how things occurred.

For instance, I can honestly say that I have no memory of my children flagrantly, defiantly disobeying me.  Did that ever happen?  I feel certain it has, and if I tried real hard, i might could come up with something. But iIdon't want to. Once they move out of my house and are well on their way to being responsible young adults who love the Lord, my memories of them get more and more pleasant.  It may be senility, but I think it’s more like what the Psalmist wrote. "Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You, Lord, are good." Psalm 25:7  I love them SO MUCH!

David was asking God not to remember all the times he screwed up or all the times he willfully disregarded Him and His directions. Instead, “according to Your LOVE remember me…” is David’s prayer.

I DO have pretty clear memories of the sins of my youth, and my young adulthood, and middle age, last year and last week.  It seems those memories are way too clear for me.  You don’t have to argue with me to convince me that I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  I know that full well. And God knows that even better than I do.  But how nice is it that God is a loving parent! Jesus, the dearly loved Son, took my sins and died to remove my sins as far as the east is from the west. Because I’m with Jesus, God remembers me according to His LOVE. You, Lord are GOOD!

Happy Groundhog Day

Tomorrow (Feb. 2nd) is Ground Hog Day and I realized that there are no ground hogs - Marmota monax - in Wyoming. (see map)

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as high as 40,000 gather in the early morning darkness (they start to show up at 3 AM!) to get a look at Punxsutawney Phil! If you are not familiar with the legend, it works like this. Basically if Phil sees his shadow he will return to the burrow and there will be another six weeks of winter. If he does NOT see his shadow, he comes out to play because there will be an early Spring.

So what will happen here with no ground hogs? I predict at least six more weeks of winter! Just because winter never ends in WY until May!

Hope all your ground hogs are happy!

Glory, Grace & Truth

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

I have been thinking about this verse since before Christmas.  That last phrase keeps running through my mind. (probably because there is so much room to roam there) The description of Jesus with obvious glory and full of grace and truth. The glory is easy to understand - He is GOD after all.  But full of grace AND truth?  Aren't those two often seen as opposites?  Truth is absolute, grace is more subjective. One focuses on the law and the other on love.

Jesus said Himself that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.(Mat. 5:17)  so being full of truth fits. Jesus represented the absolute truth of God's Law. But He also lived His life expressing the mercy and love that is grace. (think, eating with tax collectors and sinners, associating with prostitutes and pagans) He was full of both grace and truth, which is exactly what man needed.

Sometimes people lob bombs at each other - "You're liberal!" or "You're legalistic!" In the Church we fight over how to deal with people which is, in general, a very messy business indeed. But add sin into the mix along with the dispute of whether it should be met with truth or grace and it can get downright gory!

So it is VERY good news that Jesus was full of both grace and truth! It's a balance man and the Church in particular has struggled with all through history. Understanding how to LIVE that balance is what we really need. Just talking about the balance of grace and truth, love and law, hasn’t really worked for us. Is it any wonder that God sent Jesus to SHOW us how it looks? To show us how HE (God) looks?

The answer is, and has always been, less about our religion and more about our relationship with our God. Getting to know Him and a desire to become more like Him is what we need to focus on. The relationship begins (salvation in Jesus) and ends (Heaven!) the same for us all but the journey will look different for each individual - that's what makes it really fun!

So this year I will be exploring with my church family the glory, grace and truth of our God that we find in scripture in an effort to get to know Him better so we can become more like Him in our relationships with one another.  This should be great!