It's a Sawmill Evening

There is something about the quick glance at the red horizon in the NW, with the last remnants of the day peeking over the hills against the clear indigo skies and the stars beginning to break through behind me that carries me back. It is 1965. I’m just leaving my brother’s house and heading to work the graveyard shift at the saw mill. It’s been a hot day, but the cool of the evening is refreshing, and the last embers of the day redden the sky above the hills. I’m living in God’s provision for my education.

There is something about our recent visit to the Methow Valley that took me back to my childhood valley. The wet spring had left a tinge of green on the brown hills. I’m taken back to standing at the head of the Grand Ronde Valley, near one of my childhood homes, and looking toward the hills. There are only 2 weeks in June where they have a tinge of green. By the time the Elgin Roundup hit, the summer sun had baked them a nice golden brown. This summer, standing on the hills high above the Methow, I’m standing on the hill of my youth.

There are mornings when I’m up early, and the angle of the shadows from the sun shining through the neighbor’s trees, the chirp of the waking birds, and the stillness takes me back to heading to the bean fields as a child. Or, when it is drizzling a June drizzle, and the clouds are doing their ghost rider thing against the hills, I’m on my way to the berry patch. Or, perhaps the shadows take me to a stump in a grove of firs on British Columbia's Thetis Island…a stump in 1966. I was there, meeting with God for grace to handle another day with active First Nation Junior Highers.

This morning as I jogged by the golf course, my mind took me to Kennewick in ’69…when I lived on the Schlagel farm and worked as an intern youth pastor at a local church. The cool of the morning against the coming summer heat took me back to playing a round of par 3 golf beside the Columbia before even the groundskeepers were there …playing alone, because it was cheap (actually free if you started early enough).

Sounds, sunsets, green hills, all trigger memories in me…memories of past provision, past experiences. They make me thankful for those whose lives intersected with mine…parents, brothers, pastors, generous farmers, all God’s gifts to me.

The other day, after we had watched our grandson for several hours, our daughter texted us that she had asked her son to share something for which he was thankful before he went to bed. His little 22 month face looked up and immediately, unprompted, he said, “Nanna and Grampa!” That will melt a grandparent’s heart!

It’s nice to be God’s provision for someone! I’m thankful for those who were His provision for me.

Quieted by Singing!

Recently I had one of those grandparent moments that melted my heart. Our grandson had taken a really good nap…2 plus hours. However, when he awoke, he was just the opposite of how he had gone to sleep. How can you put down an angel and somehow they change character when they wake up?!! He was not a happy camper when he awoke. He cried inconsolably. Wailing!

So, I tried our normal routine. When he wakes up, I pick him up (getting more difficult now that he is nearly 22 months old), sit down in the rocker, take a blankee and rock him. Even this didn’t help. So, I tried my secret weapon. I started singing.

I am famous for my singing ability. Or, maybe it is infamous. I remember in my freshman year of high school when I suggested to the Bible Club leadership that I could sing a solo for club. They said, “Dave, you don’t sing!” I still have emotional bruises in my side where our son placed his elbows when he was a teenager in church and I was belting out one of the songs. And, our youngest once awoke in a fear-filled night, and I started singing “His sheep am I.” After a few bars, she said, “OK, Dad. You can go back to sleep!”

So, you can imagine my amazement as I launched into “Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly, Lavender’s green” and the little guy in my arms instantly went quiet. At last, someone appreciates my singing! It can even calm a tearful grandchild. Or, maybe it was silent amazement on his part about what he was hearing. Maybe I scared the child into stillness?

Whichever, it does remind me that God sings to us… ZEP 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

And, his song can quiet our grumpies…if we listen well.

On Moles, Trojan Horses, and Sleeper Cells

Sometimes we are put in a situation for one purpose. We are planted like a “mole” for a specific task. We go along through life uneventfully, doing our routine, being faithful to our task, and then, like a Trojan horse virus on a computer, God activates us for the task. This is not to say that what we do everyday is not significant. It is. Everything we do for God is potentially significant, impacting things beyond what we can see. But, sometimes, we find ourselves in places where we have the opportunity to save the day. This happened once to Paul’s nephew in Acts 23. We don’t even know his name. We don’t know what he was doing there. But, somehow, he became aware that 40 men who wanted Paul dead were planning to manipulate the system to get Paul on a path where they could overpower his guards and assassinate him. We don’t know how old Paul’s nephew was, but he was old enough to know that his uncle was in serious trouble. So, he went to the prison and told Paul. Paul sent him to the Centurion in command, who, aware of the danger, whisked Paul away to safety in Caesarea under heavy military guard.

This is the only mention of Paul’s nephew in the Bible. He was strategically placed and had one significant thing to do…and he did it faithfully. Like a “mole”, or a “sleeper cell”, when the time was right, when the opportunity came, he acted. It is not difficult to conclude that God has placed us as “moles” in the lives of those around us. We never know when our opportunity will come, we seldom know our strategic importance in someone’s life, but our word, our sentence, our hug, our action might just be significant for them. What we say or do might just make a difference for them.

This is why Carol always leaves a note to the maid along with the good news in written form in every motel room we use…along with a tip. You never know when it will make a difference in someone’s life. This is why some people smile at every clerk or waitress who serves them. You never know when your smile will encourage. This is why I like to carry my family story, THE FOUR STORMS in written form. You never know when it will be significant for someone you meet. While landing in Kansas City a few years ago on a ministry trip, I leaned across the empty seat beside me and re-engaged the man I had met earlier. He was just awakening from his nap. I offered him something I had written about a difficult experience in our family. Taking it, he put it in his briefcase. Then I asked him how I could pray for him (he knew I was a pastor, so it wasn’t too weird to follow God’s Spirit and ask this question). His answer made me realize why I was traveling to Chicago that day. His family was experiencing the same pain our family had experienced. I don’t know what significance my story had for him. But, when God pulled back the curtain and let me peak into his life, I realized that, even though we had self-selected our seating on that Southwest flight, Someone else had strategically planted me.

Be aware. You just might be a “mole” for Jesus!

The Person in Our Picture

We have this Mary Englebreit tear off calendar on our kitchen table. It has Mary Englebreit’s pictures and quotes for each weekday and weekend. It was a particularly difficult and gloomy day in my house. We were sitting at the table pretty much dealing with sickness and despair. I was looking at the picture you see here, of a little girl planting a garden, and suddenly saw something that wasn’t in the picture. Can you see someone in the picture that isn’t in the picture?

No, the little girl is not alone in her garden. The fruitfulness of her plantings and cultivations are not just from her efforts alone. There is someone you can’t see in the picture who is in the picture. Someone else is involved in helping her flowers bloom.

You can’t see the person, but you do see just the nozzle on the watering can, watering the plants behind her.

There is someone in the picture you can’t see; the child is not alone. And, neither are we. There is Someone just outside our sight who is holding the watering can of our lives and making fruitful our efforts.

“You are near, Oh Lord, and all your commands are true.” Psalm 119:151

And, that is faith—believing in the Person you can’t see, but Whose work (water) you can see! And, sometimes, you aren’t even aware of the water…you just see the results!

Never Enough

It was the beginning of the Civil War. President Lincoln was just cutting his teeth on directing the effort to maintain the union. An army of rebellion had taken up residence near Washington DC and soundly defeated the Union’s first foray into battle at a stream named Bull Run. Lincoln needed a general that would lead the growing army and thought he had found the general in George McClellan. McClellan was qualified. He was a leader. He was popular with his troops. He had experience. He had studied the art of war, even observing the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War. The troops had the best equipment. They were practiced. But, the one important thing that was needed to restore peace to the union was missing: They didn’t move on Richmond or the Confederate armies.

Lincoln suggested. McClellan ignored. Lincoln asked. McClellan deferred. “We’re outnumbered. We can’t do it. I need more troops. I need more equipment. I need more.” McClellan’s excuses and recalcitrance frustrated Lincoln. Finally Lincoln ordered McClellan to move, to do something. Landing on the James Peninsula, McClellan’s army advanced toward Richmond until they contacted the Rebel trenches, only to stop and wait until the Rebels had recovered and transferred troops to meet the threat. Overall, during the time McClellan commanded the army, he had a bad case of what would be called “Sitskreig” in World War II…immobility.

In many ways, I sense a parallel to efforts to free our neighbors, family, and fellow workers from slavery to find freedom in life in Jesus. Church leaders often find themselves asking for more budgets, more staff, more disciples before they can move outside our walls and impact our community and free some of the slaves. We sit in our services, sit in our meetings, and complain (explain?) that we don’t have enough. If we just had more…more money, more staff, more people, more time, we could reach out. Meanwhile, we are no closer to Richmond. Meanwhile, our friends, neighbors, and fellow employees and students are no closer to freedom.

It is easy to identify others who complain about not having enough. But, then, am I any closer to Richmond myself? Guess I better look at my own need to step out and free the slaves. I am that general! Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." I guess I have enough! Let’s march!

Bulbs or Beauties

What are these? Right…flower bulbs! What kind of flowers?
Daffodils
Tulips
Iris?
If you are a master gardener, you might be able to tell from the bulb, but mostly we have to plant them to find out what kind of flower will grow and bloom. I’m not sure which will bloom, but I do know it will look beautiful.

The bulbs contain a lesson about our future body, as explained in I Corinthians 15. One version paraphrases it… 35-38Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
39-41You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds"—who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like!
42-44This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality! (MB)

We don’t actually know now what our body will look like in heaven when God raises us. However, we do know it will be something like the tulip. Like the Tulips in Skagit Valley, there is something that has grown inside the Tulip bulb that will produce a beautiful bloom. The earthly body is like the bulb. What we are doing in this body, before we die, determines what kind of flower we will be forever…for what goes on inside of us will come out in our heavenly body…developing in kindness, patience, goodness, peace, joy, thankful spirit…it will show up forever. Most of the time now we can’t tell character by our physical appearance. But we will in eternity because our heavenly body will be a perfect container for the character we are developing this side of eternity. That’s the whole idea of resurrection…what we do now, what kind of “seed” we are becoming, will determine what kind of bloom we will be forever.
So, are you a bulb or a beauty? Only eternity will tell!

Night Songs

Dad!

The cry came in the middle of the night from the next room. Stumbling into the dark, I made my way into the hall and into her room. I find her eyes wide open in fear. Some anxiety had wrestled her awake. She needed comfort, soothing. I needed sleep.

So, what’s a dad to do? This one tried singing! “In God’s green pastures feeding, by His cool waters lie, soft in the evening walked my Lord and I. All the sheep of His pastures fair so wonderfully fine…His sheep am I. Waters cool, in the valley, rough the way, on the mountain…” I warbled on. OK…warble is a gross exaggeration. Maybe croaked is a bit closer to the truth. Let’s just say my tune bucket had a hole in it. I am part of a musical family…the part that appreciates!

So, I’m croaking away, trying to comfort my frightened child when in mid verse a little voice says, “That’s OK, Dad. You can go back to bed now!" Evidently the anxiety was preferable to my tuneful torture…or else I was just waking her up rather than soothing her back to sleep.

I’m often awake in the middle of the night—processing yesterday’s problems or planning tomorrow’s adventures—when I really need to sleep. That’s when the Heavenly Father sings the words to me from Psalm 23. I don’t tell Him to stop. I just drift off in the confidence that He will perfect that which concerns me (Ps. 138:8 KJV). After all, like with our daughter, it’s His presence, not the song that comforts me in my night.

PS 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

Dadeee

I’m working away. In the background are sounds: “Dadeeee,” sirens, freeway flowing in the distance, train whistles, birds singing, even the buzz of a bee (or is it a mosquito?) on a spring day, or is it a summer evening.

I’m not even thinking about the sounds, but then I hear one again, “Dadeeeee” echoing down the ravine. I still don’t think about the sound, but I do think about another place and another time and another little voice calling “Dadeeeee.”

I’m not sure if it is a call that says, “Dadeeee, help!” or, “Dadeeee, wait up!” or “Dadeeee, I want you to come to me and look at this!” or “Dadeee, I want you here right now!” I just remember the little voice echoing through the trees that surrounded our house.

That “Dadeee” fills me with warm memories of a little girl who wanted her Dad for something, a little girl full of affection and life. That “Dadeeee” carried me back to a time I’ll never have again, a time when the children were dependent on me, needed me, and were close to me. Times have changed. Our children are no longer dependent on me. They are not as close geographically. And, they need me in a different way. And, they no longer call “Dadeeee”. Now it is Dad.

“Dadeee” music to some dad’s ear. “Dadeee” still music to my ears, if only in my memories.

How it must make God feel good for His children to call on Him from the midst of their lives…to help, to look at what they’ve done, to just be close.

12 Then you will call upon me…and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13-13)

Staying Positive About Those On The Other Side of the Aisle

My friend turned and made a sour face at the very mention of a Christian leader with whom he disagreed. I was saddened. While I understand some of the weaknesses of the leader in attitude and action, I still sensed that God was using that leader powerfully in many lives. It seemed like my friend was “putting down” the leader, diminishing him in the eyes of those around by his non-verbal communication.

As I thought of how sad it made me, I heard a whisper in my heart, “Don’t you do the same thing toward those with whom you don’t agree?”

Flashing across my mind were my comments and thoughts about political figures, religious leaders, and others who don’t do things my way. It’s easy in this world of political satire and cartoons to classify a person by their actions or beliefs, characterize them by the parts with which we disagree, and then caricature them in that partial view. By highlighting the parts we disagree with, we negate any good that God has placed within them. We actually stop seeing them as a whole person, one of God’s instruments, and see them only by their faults.

The truth is: none of us are without fault. None of us have it all together. By caricaturing other leaders by their negatives, we actually join them in negativity. We slip close to slander…for, while what we criticize might be true, it is not the whole story. And by leaving out the positives in the person, we paint them differently than God is painting them.

Responding to this tendency to speak evil of others, Jude says, even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10 Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand;

And, Paul, in Galatians 5 highlights that this kind of attitude drifts from the love the Holy Spirit wants to produce in us… GAL 5:13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
So, I am asking for God’s grace to see the positives in presidents, senators, televangelists, and those who don’t walk on my side of the street. And, I’m asking for God’s grace to speak about the positives and refuse the temptation to camp out on the negatives. After all, while Jesus could speak directly to people about their failures in a very graphic way (see Matthew 23), about the most inflammatory thing Jesus said about others was calling Herod a fox.

Free as a Bird

…release the live bird in the open fields” Leviticus 14:7

One bird went free. The other one gave his life to cleanse a person from contagious skin diseases like leprosy. Deep within the Jewish ritual that marked a person free from eczema, psoriasis, or just teenage acne, there is this startling statement: …release the live bird in the open fields” Leviticus 14:7

Skin diseases were a serious thing in ancient Israel. They made you unclean, untouchable, isolated, ostracized. You had to warn other people to stay away from you because you were potentially contagious. Skin diseases made you an outsider. Those feelings of ostracism, isolation, and unworthy of love still hang around our lives. And, many of those feelings are tied to our appearance. We feel defective when our skin looks weird. Even though there is no spiritual stigma attached to eczema, psoriasis, or acne, we want to cover up. And, sadly, many without a skin disease still feel isolated, unworthy, unclean.

God had a solution for those feelings. One bird goes free. The person who had suffered from a skin condition but was now better had to bring two birds. The priest took one bird and killed it over a pot of clean water, and then washed the other bird in the bloody water along with cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. This would mark the person free from any contagious condition.

And, the bloody bird went free.

I don’t know if this is the source of the saying, “As free as a bird.” However, I do know that the symbolism in the Scripture really points to the fact that I’m the free bird. I’m as free as a bird because Jesus, the other bird, died for me. It is Jesus who is God’s solution to free us from our feelings of uncleanness, isolation, and ostracism. EPH 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… Jesus died to take away our isolation and put us into a place where we will be loved, accepted, and forgiven. It is called the Body of Christ. He died to show we are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6 KJV). His death, His blood, marks us as belonging to Him.

I’m free as a bird.

Name in Lights

Mattathias, Amos, Nahum, (not the prophets), Esli, Naggai, Maath, Semein, Josech, Joda! I’m sure they were all very important people, but we know next to nothing about them. They lived, loved, and served, but their lasting impact is limited to only one thing. Their names appear in history in only one place…and it is not to record their exploits, accomplishments, or impact on life. They are remembered for only one thing…their descendent! These names appear in Luke 3 as some of the human ancestors of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Many scholars think that this is Mary’s geneology…but that is beside the point. They are only important because they kept it going.

As a young pastor, I secretly wanted to see “my name in lights”. I wanted to be the next great preacher, to preach great sermons that would impact people and make them want to listen and bring their friends. I said secretly, because, frankly, that desire felt a little egotistical. It seemed counter-intuitive to a servant leader to want to be recognized. And, while it could have been all those things, now I sense it was that I wanted to accomplish something significant. I wanted to make an impact on people, to change their lives, to see them learn new ways to live in harmony with God and how He designed life to work. I suppose that my desire to write is similar…I want to leave something behind that will encourage people to move closer to God. Gradually I realized that preaching was probably the least effective way to impact people for the long term. More lasting impact happens when I spend time with people. And, over the years, I’ve become more willing to stay in the shadows, behind the scenes, influencing individuals rather than the crowds.

I guess that’s why this long list of names stood out to me while I was jogging this morning. Some people are important enough to be mentioned, even if you know nothing about them. For some people, it isn’t you that will do something significant, but your descendent. All these people are only known because they are in the lineage of Jesus…all had lives, all did something, but their sole memorable accomplishment was a descendent. They kept it going. You see, our significance may not be in what we build or what we write, but more in who follows us, or, even, in who follows the one who follows us.

It may not be you, but it may be your disciple!

Keep it going!

The Joseph Principle

When we live in vital connection and dependence on God, we bless people around us...like Joseph did in the house of Potiphar. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. Genesis 39:5

You are the everyday miracle for people around you in your family, your class, your work, your neighborhood. You make life better by being.

BE!

Cars I've Owned

I don’t know what it is about me…but cars have never been a desirable status symbol! Perhaps it was that I grew up riding in classics…like a ‘48 Nash Rambler (that broke down in New York on our 1956 road trip) or the 54 Studebaker that looked like an F8 fighter jet…but smoked like one being shot down. Maybe it was that I valued people more than things, or maybe it was that I took seriously Matthew 6:33… But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

So, I never made owning a “hot” car a status symbol. Cars have always been a tool to get me somewhere, not to make an impression on others. Because of this, I’m famous for buying ugly. I’ve owned some beauties in my day. There was the ’69 Plymouth Valiant that I bought…country green. It was so bad that a friend who worked at a dealership volunteered to have it painted. I asked for Robin’s Egg blue, but because it was a VW dealership, I got Rabbit Blue—you’d never miss me in town! And there is the vehicle I own at present…with a topcoat that looks like a peeling sunburn.

Yet, I’ve owned some fantastic cars in my day: a ‘57 Chevy; a ’79 Pontiac Trans Am Firebird (platinum gray with the red and black bird on the hood and a huge engine); a ’68 Mustang. The Matthew 6:33 thing about them is that I never bought a single one of them. They were all pretty much given to me.

When I became a pastor, I pretty much gave up having things because of Mathew 6:33. Yet, God has given us a very nice home with a view and this continual string of nice cars, just to keep His word in that verse.

Some of you would notice, however, that for most of those vehicles the ownership is past tense. This is because of my practical and conservative nature. The ’57 Chevy morphed into a ’64 Valiant because it was a big V8 with an automatic transmission. The ‘79 TransAm became too expensive to insure and was transformed into a Dodge Caravan, much more practical for hauling around a family of 5 (and much to the chagrin of our son). Now, the ’68 Mustang…it still lives in our garage and is waiting for a new engine!

I’m not completely brain dead!

The Joseph Principle

I call it the Joseph Principle or the Spill-over principle: God’s blessing on our lives spill over into the lives of those around us. God blesses the person who doesn’t follow Him because of His blessing on the lives of those who do. A corollary is: God blesses our families because He blesses us.

Actually, this was true before Joseph. Isaac had been a blessing to Abimelech in Gerar—God provided many wells for him through Isaac’s efforts (Genesis 26). Laban realized that God had blessed him because of Jacob’s work on his ranch (Genesis 30:27). And in Genesis 39:5 it says, 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field

Of course, this spillover principle in Joseph’s life is seen also in Genesis 45.. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, `Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, 18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.'

God blessed just about everywhere Joseph went and whatever he did, and this blessing spilled over into many other lives around him.

It’s all about spillover. God blesses people around us because He blesses us. They get blessed because we are in their lives, their businesses, their neighborhoods.

Christian employees bless the companies in which they work because they are working for Jesus, not the boss (Ephesians 6:5-8). Christian bosses bless their employees because they recognize that God is the real boss (Ephesians 6:9). And, even though we may not have an answer to whether God will answer the prayers of those who aren’t Christ-followers, we, as Christ-followers, can certainly spill over into their lives by bringing their needs to God…and God does hear the prayer of the Christ-Follower.

Several years ago a young wife began attending church with her husband. He was a Christ follower. She was not. Carol engaged her in conversation and discovered that she was concerned about her horse’s health (she did dressage). So, Carol said she would pray for her horse. A couple weeks later, Carol asked her how her horse was doing. The young wife was so moved that Jesus would lead a Christian to pray for her horse that she began to follow Jesus right then.

Apply the Joseph Principle. Find a need for your not-yet-following friend and begin praying for it. God just might pour enough of His love into your life that it spills over into someone else.