Moments

  Weeds.  What are the weeds that come between us and our vision of the cross and what it means in our lives?   This stump was fitted to have a cross put on it.  However, it was hard to mow close to the stump and weeds grew high around the cross.  In a way it was emblematic of the cross rising and protruding among the weeds of the world, standing higher to give us hope in a weedy world.  Sometimes our lives are a weed patch of our failings, our turning aside from our called purpose to yield to the way of the world.   Out of this weed patch  of a  world, the cross rises boldly proclaiming the Love of God and the eternal hope in the resurrection.   I need to see that cross clearly.  I need to clear the weeds between me and God to get the full impact of that Hope offered in the cross.   Jesus said, " I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoev...

  Ever had a bad patch with God?  Seems that here, right on the eve of Easter, I find God distant.  Looking for causes I wonder if it is because my athletic life went south, or that we have been sick for a month, or that the church has been a disappointment?  I am not sure.  I just know God and I are not as close as once were.   Funny thing though,  I don't believe in Him any the less.  I still love Him and know He loves me.  I will still celebrate the resurrection in a few days.  I believe.   Yes, I believe but I can't seem to touch Him and He touch me where it hurts.  So, I guess this is where faith comes into play; when we believe in the dark when we can't see or feel God; like Jesus on the cross - "my God why have you forsaken me?"   The feeling of being forsaken did not stop His obedience to God.   So there it is.  My calling- believe and obey in the dark.  The light will come. ...

 

    So much fuzzy emptiness at this age.  The older I get the more I realize I don't know.  Finally having wisdom enough to know that I don't know, faith comes much easier.  Earthly life seems like the train that left the station without me, leaving me holding on to my suitcase, watching a younger world clank away noisily down the tracks without me.   Oh, it isn't bad.  I have my suitcase of valuables, my friends, family, but supremely, my relationship with God.  And, that relationship grows more and more intimate watching the train that once was my life, disappearing down the tracks without me.   Of course, I often wish for what I once had and will never have again, Of course, I wish I had a little more life to live, a little more time on the train, though I am not sure why. It's natural, I guess. Sure, there are things I wish I had done, and things I wished I had done better, bu...

This cross is in a field very near my road to the house - easily seen by visitors.   A visitor once asked me who is the cross for.  It must have looked like sort of a makeshift graveyard.  I said the cross is for me.  Now there are several crosses on my place here just as visible.  And, all the crosses are for me.  Selfish behavior? Just a moment. The crosses are not some sort of ornaments celebrating my faith in Jesus, or my allegiance to the Gospel.  Those crosses are not to be as billboards to advertise what a great Christian I am.   No, the crosses are for me, because I am just a man, weak and fragile on my own.  I easily forget about Jesus and succumb to the world's temptations, of self-seeking, consumptive behavior.  I too often yield to the pride that could so easily destroy my witness.  I need Jesus.  I need the cross to get me through this gauntlet called life until He takes me home.   When I s...

                    "What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer." How blessed we are in these uncertain times to have a sure and certain God.   How blessed we are to be in a position to stand against the wind for God.  Not everyone has a cause to wake up to.  Not everyone has a reason that makes sense to keep on keeping on, when all looks wasted and lost.   Not everyone has that infusion of heavenly minded vitality added to their lives.   Of course, the course and the calling are no easy road.  There are so many naysayers out there and then there is the tough job of working on yourself, to be more like Jesus.  We can't do that ourselves and have to humbly acknowledge where the real power comes from.  God gives us the strength to face our own stuff and in doing so make a live worth living and worthy of giving away.  We have such a great opportunity to se...

  Is it real or is it just me yearning to complete an unfulfilled dream? The ironman effort seems so far away now, with so many obstacle in front between me and completion.  I want to go peacefully into the night but a light keeps coming on.  It's like a fire I can't put out and I pray for guidance, full knowing I should NOT go after another ironman.  But, it seems I keep getting those answers everywhere I turn.  "Don't quit,"  "God equips you with what you need."  "God is calling you to trust Him that He will see you through."  And on and on it goes. Everywhere there is a "God wants this" message and I don't know if it is Him or from below and bent on my destruction and my family's as well. What a risk that would be?  And too, perhaps it is what I want to see and hear so I can blame God on my poor decision?  That kind of self centered self deception would not be serving God but only myself.    I feel like Gideon hearing from ...