April 27, 2010 - Trust Me
I’ve discovered that the older I get, the more I have to fight the tendency to be cynical. I don’t think I’m alone in this either. As our 43rd President so famously quipped, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me…you can’t get fooled again.” Although Bush misquoted this saying, we know what he was saying. Only a fool gets fooled by the same trick twice. Cynicism is a safeguard against being gullible and naïve. When a person says “trust me”, it’s understandable to step back and think about it for a moment. But there are some people that we trust without a moment’s hesitation. These people are tried and true and although they may occasionally let us down, we know that they would never intentionally do so. I very much admire the trust that young children place in their parents. They don’t have to learn to trust their mother or father, they just do it naturally. I think in part this is what Jesus was getting at when he told us that we had to become like children to enter the kingdom. Jesus was inviting us to put our trust in his Father just as he had already done. Of course we know where Jesus’ trust led him. – Shay
March 30, 2010 - On the Edge of Your Seat
We’ve all probably watched a movie, play, or television series that was so riveting, so exciting, so full of unresolved tension that we were literally on the edge of our seats (or couches). Juli and I have enjoyed watching the television program Lost the past few years and with only a few episodes remaining, we are eager to finally see what the whole point of the series has been. Just being along for the ride and simply enjoying the journey is fun, but we still like to see things come to a fitting climax and conclusion. With the life, ministry, death, and especially the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the long story of God’s work in this creation came to its climax. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, the new creation broke into the old, but the story has yet to come to its completion. We are in the already, but not yet. We are, as many describe it, living between the times. We know how the story will end, but we haven’t yet experienced its final resolution. When Christ returns, we'll finally get to experience what we've all been waiting for. – Shay
February 10, 2010 - Strength in Weakness
People in our culture and probably most cultures throughout the world and throughout time have tended to pride themselves in their strengths, while doing the best they can to cover up their weaknesses. We do it at the macro level throughout society and we do it at the micro level in our individual lives. No one wants to admit that they are weak. And yet, we all know that every single one of us struggles. We endure trials, we have weaknesses, and on multiple levels, we wrestle with these vulnerabilities. But, we tend to wrestle with them alone and society tells us that we have to overcome them through our own effort and strength. In 2 Corinthians the apostle Paul boldly declared that instead of covering up our weaknesses, we are better served to be open and honest about them so that Christ’s power might be clearly demonstrated in our lives. He stated that when he was weak, then he was strong. Like so much of the gospel, the idea of strength emerging out of our weakness is counterintuitive. We would rather go from strength to strength. But the gospel itself is an illustration of power and strength emerging out of weakness. As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, “…we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.” May we the people of God learn to allow God’s strength and power to overcome our weaknesses. – Shay
January 20, 2010 - When Will He Get Here?
We’ve all been there before…waiting on something to come in the mail that never seems to arrive. At first, we might have an eager expectation, but as time goes by, we begin to doubt if our desired item will ever show up. The earliest Christians lived with an eager expectation for the arrival of their King Jesus Christ. But 2,000 years down the line, it’s easy for people to lose hope in the return of the Lord. Even if they still believe he will return, they may figure it won’t be in their lifetimes. We really don’t know when Jesus will appear. But we do know that he will appear. It may be unrealistic and even unfruitful to live in eager expectation of Jesus’ imminent return, but it would be a gross oversight to live with no expectation of his eventual return. If the Lord doesn’t return in our lifetimes, we’ll all eventually die. We know that we cannot live in this mortal body forever. But unlike so much of the rest of the world, those who mourn our deaths will not have to mourn without hope. Because Jesus Christ is resurrected from the dead, we too will one day come out of our graves when we hear his voice. For the Christian, the question isn’t if he’ll ever get here, but when? - Shay
May 25, 2009 - 13 Years Ago…
A dozen and one years ago, I stood where our graduating seniors now stand. How many years ago was it for you? I had the vision of becoming a broadcast journalist. God had a slightly different vision. I bet God’s vision for your life was somewhat different than your own. The older we get, the more we realize that God seems to always have a slightly different, if not radically different vision than we have. God’s way of doing things is not our way of doing things. We tend to operate on a system of time management, task orientation, grades and wages earned. God operates out his goodness and his grace. We tend to seek achievement, whereas God seeks to give good gifts. Hopefully the class of 2009 will be more impressed with God’s way of doing things than our own. May we all be reminded that life in God’s kingdom is far different than life in the kingdoms of this world. – Shay
April 21, 2009 - Good News
I quit reading the newspaper on a daily basis sometime ago. It’s not that I want to simply put my head in the sand and live in ignorant bliss, but I’ve come to realize that I only have so many years on this earth, and so instead of learning the details of horrific happenings thousands of miles away which I can do nothing about, I’d rather spend my time reading more uplifting literature. I’ve often wondered why a major news organization hasn’t tried to corner the market on good news. If people had the opportunity to wake up each morning and read about faith, hope, and love while they drink their morning cup, I think their day might be a little bit brighter. It’s important for Christians to remember that no matter how dark and dangerous this world may appear, the new creation has already begun to break in with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We not only have the ability to fill our hearts with the hope of this good news, but we have the opportunity to share this message with those around us. As we wrestle our way through these trying times, may we live such lives that the people around us would see Jesus and want to know more about the hope that we have in Him. – Shay
January 26, 2009 - Don't Believe Everything You See
In delivering his first speech as President of these United States of America last Tuesday afternoon, Barack Obama spoke of a hope for a better future. At a time when our country is involved in two costly wars and our economy is not as strong as it once was, this message of hope to some may seem like nothing more than so much pie in the sky by and by. Yet, even in the direst of times, there's reason to hope. At times our nation has enjoyed remarkable prosperity and an almost naive since of peace. At other times, when things weren't going so well, we've waded through the waters of pessimism and cynicism. In both circumstances, time moved on and things changed for the better or worse. It's reasonable to assume things will probably get better again. But, even if things don't get better in our nation, for the Christian, there's always good reason to hope. Christians are not immune to the ups and downs that life inevitably brings. We experience these ups and downs in every arena of our lives, probably especially in our spiritual lives. But even when we're down, we're not out, because we've put our hope in the One who is always trustworthy and faithful. It's the times when the answer seems to be no that we need to remember that all of God's promises are answered yes in Jesus Christ! When everything we see seems to slam the door shut on any hope, we need to lift up our eyes and see beyond our present situations. Our God is saying yes and at this very moment is working to transform our present circumstances into a glorious new reality. - Shay