Preparing for a Feast

Good morning all,

Today is preparation day for our annual Cajun Christmas Feast at Bryantsville. I am not sure what I like better, cooking or eating. The real truth is along the lines of both equally! As I have sat here this morning having quiet time and praying the meal keeps interrupting my thoughts as I think about all of the things I need to do, but those thoughts have led to other, more spiritually productive, thoughts that I wanted to share real quick this morning.

We joke at Bryantsville about everything we do seeming to involve food; and while we say that in jest, there is a great deal of truth to it. The thought I had this morning is that we really are not all that much different than Jesus. As we read the Gospels, time and again we find Jesus and the disciples doing something that involves food. Every time we have Holy Communion we talk about looking to the time when Christ returns and we feast at His heavenly banquet table. When we eat at church, especially big feasts like this one, it serves as a reminder to us of Christ and the hope we have of His imminent return.

Tomorrow night we will feast on lots of yummy food, but it pales in comparison to the feast we will share with Jesus upon His return; but no good feast happens without a lot of preparation. Today I begin all of the preparations so I can focus on cooking tomorrow, but the same holds true for Christ's heavenly banquet table. The day is coming when we will dine with Him at the feast He has prepared, but in the meantime we have a lot of preparation to do. Advent is a season of preparation, so it is appropriate that we focus on this. While the Cajun feast involves the preparation of food, the heavenly banquet table involves the preparation of our hearts.

We must do the work of spending time with God in worship, fellowship, prayer, service and scripture to be prepared for His return feast. When we make those preparations God does the incredible work of transforming our hearts from something Grinchish to something that is bursting with joy and hope and is ready to sit at a table with Christ.

In the days to come we are all going to find ourselves at some point preparing a feast, be it Cajun feasts or Christmas dinners, or Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, as we do let us all allow that to be a reminder to us to make sure we are doing the work of preparing our hearts for the greatest banquet of all.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

The Prison of Bitterness

Good morning all,

Let's start with a couple of scripture readings:

NLT Acts 8:22 Turn from your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23 for I can see that you are full of bitterness and held captive by sin." 24 "Pray to the Lord for me," Simon exclaimed, "that these terrible things won't happen to me!"

NLT Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

I was reading The Grapes of Wrath again this morning and Steinbeck was describing the process the tenant farmers were going through of selling off the stuff that they couldn't transport to California for mere pennies on the dollar it was really worth.  The comment kept arising as people took advantage of their bad situation that the people were not just buying stuff because the stuff came with bitterness as well.  The chapter ends with the pointed statement that while they thought they had sold their bitterness they got back to the truck to discover that it was still alive and well in them.

That is the funny thing about bitterness, it can become all consuming.  Distorting the lens through which we look at life, making us feel angry and full of hate.  Stripping us of hope and joy.  In our scripture this morning we first find an encounter between Peter and Simon the magician who is trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit.  Peter tells him the only way to get such power is not with money but with repentance and calling on the name of the Lord.  What struck me in the passage is that Peter describes Simon as captive to sin, but first he says that he is full of bitterness.  The first thing Peter notices about him is that he is trapped in a prison of bitterness and then that he is captive to sin. 

Our second passage is from Paul as he writes to the Ephesians telling them how they should live in Christ. Like Peter's description of Simon that begins with bitterness, Paul's list of things to put away begins with bitterness, followed by rage, anger, harsh words, etc.  It is the first "sin" in a chain, but in many ways it is the root of the other sins as bitterness can lead us into all of the things Paul describes just as it can lead us to being held captive to sin.  Bitterness is a prison; a dark, dank, depressing prison that makes us feel like life is hopeless and without joy.

The good news is that while it is a prison, unlike most prisons it is one to which we hold the cell keys because it is a self imposed prison.  No one but ourselves can put us in the prison of bitterness and no one but ourselves can let us out.  It is God's desire that none of us be trapped in such a prison and God wants to give us hope and joy and peace, but even God cannot turn the key in our cell door of bitterness.  He can give us assurance that He will always be with us, that His love knows no end, that in Him we can finally know peace.  He can and does send the Holy Spirit to empower us to be able to make such a decision to open the cell door, but only we can choose to turn that key and walk out of the cell. 

Christmas time tends to be a polarizing time as we generally inhabit two ends of the spectrum; joy and happiness or bitterness and hurt.  If any of us are stuck in that cell of bitterness this year, let's make a deliberate choice not to be consumed by it and to step out of the cell.  The good news about being part of the body of Christ is that we never have to do this alone.  When we choose to turn the key, open the door and walk out, if we will simply ask those around us that love us to help us open that door and hold our hand as we walk out, THEY WILL!  This year let us, together, make sure none of us are trapped in a prison of bitterness and let's share the keys of the cell with the world so that all may walk out into a life in Christ!

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Momma's

Greetings All,

I want to share with you this morning the description that John Steinbeck writes of Ma from The Grapes of Wrath.

"Ma was heavy, but not fat; thick with child-bearing and work.  She wore a loose Mother Hubbard of gray cloth in which there had once been colored flowers, but the color was washed out now, so that the small flowered pattern was only a little lighter gray than the background.  The dress came  down to her ankles, and her strong, broad, bare feet moved quickly and deftly over the floor.  Her thin, steel-gray hair was gathered in a sparse wispy knot at the back of her head.  Strong, freckled arms were bare to the elbow, and her hands were chubby and delicate, like those of a plump little girl.  She looked out into the sunshine.  Her full face was not soft; it was controlled, kindly.  Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding.  She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken.  And since old Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt and fear, she had practiced denying them in herself.  And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials.  But better than joy was calm.  Imperturbability could be depended upon.  And from her great and humble position in the family she had taken dignity and a clean calm beauty.  From her position as healer, her hands had grown sure and cool and quiet; from her position as arbiter she had become as remote and faultless in judgment as a goddess.  She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone."from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck pgs. 99-100

I read this a couple of days ago and it just struck me as it so aptly describes so many women that I know.  Women whose trust in the Lord has placed them as family back bones, the key that holds the whole family together.  Women who experience pain, loss, doing without, and hurt yet choose to trust God that it will all work out in the end; women who can always be counted on for that smile of hope, that twinkle of joy, that look of unconditional love.  Women who make you believe that God really could love someone like you because they love someone like you. 

This morning take a moment to reflect on the women in your life and consider who are the "Maws" of your life?  Who are those women that you depend on no matter what because you know you can?  Who are those women that love you no matter what you've done?  Who are those women who make you know that God is real because He is fully present in them?  When you have identified them, give them a call, a hug, write them a card, take a moment to acknowledge what their faith, hope, joy and love have meant in your life.  Thank them for allowing God to use them in such a subtle but mighty way.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

The Absence of Holy

Greetings All,

Our men's group devotional book is one by Dr. Dennis Kinlaw who used to serve as president of Asbury College.  This morning he made a statement that really caused me great pause and continued reflection, "The problem is not that evil is so powerful; in fact, evil only works in the absence of that which is holy."  I have always heard that darkness is not an actual state, it is merely the absence of light.  I hadn't taken that thought the further step that Dr. Kinlaw did this morning to apply it to evil.  On one hand I cannot affirm that evil is merely the absence of holy, because there is some evil so insidious and unthinkable that it is completely independent of the holy, but to suggest that evil only works in the absence of holy is a wholly separate thing.

Where holiness is present, active and flourishing it is much harder for evil to raise its ugly head, not that it can't but it is much harder; however when there is no holiness present, active and flourishing it creates the perfect opportunity for evil to be all three of those!  On one level this makes me a little uncomfortable because it refuses to allow me to merely stand back and point at evil and say, "look, there is evil; we should do something about it;" rather it forces me to look at myself and ask, "Where am I failing to grow in holiness and spreading holiness thus enabling evil to be active and working?"  To suggest that evil only works in the absence of holy is to force us as Christians to become even more determined to spread the love of Christ throughout the world, because where the love of Christ is growing, evil is shrinking.  Will you join me today in pursuing holiness, spreading hope and sharing love towards the vanquishment of evil?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

A Christmas Song

Greetings All,

I picked up a James Taylor Christmas album at 1/2 Price Books the other day and it has become one of my absolute favorite Christmas albums.  His rendition of Go Tell It on the Mountain is spectacular and the entire album has a real spiritual feel to it.  What I wanted to share with you all this morning is his song Some Children See Him.  By far it is the song that has touched my heart the most this Christmas season.  The only youtube video I could find is one someone put together for a Christmas Eve service, but the words are what matters.  Enjoy!



Some Children See Him
by James Taylor

Some children see Him lily white,

The baby Jesus born this night.
Some children see Him lily white,
With tresses soft and fair.

Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
The Lord of heav'n to earth come down.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
With dark and heavy hair.
Some children see Him almond-eyed,
This Savior whom we kneel beside.
Some children see Him almond-eyed,
With skin of yellow hue.

Some children see Him dark as they,
Sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray.
Some children see him dark as they,
And, ah! they love Him, too!

The children in each different place
Will see the baby Jesus' face
Like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace,
And filled with holy light.

O lay aside each earthly thing
And with thy heart as offering,
Come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!

Your Brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: A Better Freedom by Michael Card

A Better Freedom
by Michael Card
published in 2009 by Intervarsity Press

Summary: Michael Card, singer and songwriter of hit Christian songs like El Shaddai and Immanuel, is also an accomplished theologian and Biblical scholar.  He has attended an African-American church for years and in doing so has observed their practice for referring to Jesus as Master.  As he inquired as to why, he discovered that it was a practice that tied back to times of slavery when slaves would call Jesus Master to make it clear that the master they had on earth was not their true master!  This exacerbated Michael's interest in slavery: ancient slavery practices, pre-Civil War slavery practices and the reality that there are more slaves in the world today than at anytime given time in history.  His study took him to the various sources, but his primary lens was the Bible as he considered what life in Christ means when we view it as a servant/master relationship. 

Review: Card is as accomplished in writing as he is in music.  The book while covering an emotional topic is presented in an appropriate, stimulating manner.  There is scholarship from real sources to support the beliefs he puts forth and there is an authentic wrestling with the Biblical text, especially those he believes are related to slavery in any way.  The subject matter and theology presented is deep, but it is presented in a way that makes it accessible to all and while he may not convince you to completely alter the manner in which you live out your Christian walk, he will at least give you pause to think about how we currently live out that walk.

Reading Recommendation: YES, great read, easy read, really provides a new perspective.  It is worth your time.

Jimmy Carter's Theological Lens

Greetings All,


Having finished Michael Card's A Better Freedom yesterday I was switched to a book by former president Jimmy Carter, Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith. The book is divided into 52 different Sunday School lessons he has taught over the years, nine of them are from when he was the sitting President. What caught my attention this morning came from his introduction to the book. His goal in the introduction is to help us understand why and how we should read the Bible. He also realizes how much our theological beliefs are going to affect just how we read the Bible. Towards that end, he shares his primary theological lens for Bible study and life. It is a lens he copied from a Cuban pastor named Eloy Cruz. The lens is simply this:

"We only need to have two loves in our lives: for God, and for the person who happens to be in front of us at any time."

And there is the most profound summary of how we are supposed to live as Christians in a simple sentence. Two loves, God and the person who happens to be in front of us. Do we live that way? Sure we love God, but do we really interact in love with whoever is standing in front of us? How would our lives, our church, our community be different if we adopted this theological lens for living? While I disagree with much of President Carter's politics, I can find no fault whatsoever in how he has chosen to live out his Christian walk. Perhaps we should wear his theological glasses for a season.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Felicity

Good morning all,


This morning my Psalm was the sixteenth and I have been reading it out of the New English Bible translation. Here are the first two verses:

"Keep me, O God, for in thee have I found refuge. I have said to the Yahweh, 'Thou, Lord, art my felicity.'"

The Psalm goes on to affirm God as the fullness of the psalmist's joy and the one who shows him the path of life. The word that jumped out at me this morning was "felicity," I remembered a television show with that name and I had heard it before, but I realized that I didn't know the definition. A quick trip to the Google and I had it. Basically it means "the cause of happiness." The psalmist is saying, "Lord you are the cause of my happiness." What a beautiful way to describe God, the cause of our happiness. We talk about Him as being the source of our joy and hope, but how often do we use that phrase, "Lord you are the cause of my happiness?"

Perhaps there is a bigger question, "Is God the cause of our happiness?" Or even bigger, "Are we happy?" If the answer to either is "no," then we need to ask ourselves, "why aren't we happy?" and "what are we looking for to make us happy?" If we look outside of God for something to cause us to be happy it will fail us every time. Sadly the Christmas season has become such that we are looking to the giving and receiving of commercial gifts as a cause for us to be happy. It may work for a while, but it will always be temporary. The only lasting cause for happiness is God!

Is God your felicity? If not, can you make Him your felicity for today?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

A Pause Amidst the Rush

Good morning all,


I read somewhere the other day that the earth spins at 1,000 miles per hour. I double checked and discovered that it does in fact spin, at the equator, at approximately 1,038 m.p.h., at the poles almost 0 m.p.h. and in the United States between 700 and 900 m.p.h. depending on where you are which would put Kentucky in that 750 to 800 m.p.h zone. Do you feel like you are traveling at 800 m.p.h.? I am sitting at the counter typing this post not moving at all, but the reality is that I am traveling way, way over the speed limit! It is amazing to really think about, that God created the world in such a way that it moved at great speed but that speed was undetectable to a person standing on the earth. The earth is moving whether we want it to or not, but amidst the movement we can stop and rest and reflect. When we stop we are still in motion. The earth is still moving, life is still moving forward, we just don't sense that movement.

Isn't that how life should be in God. Life moves forward at a pace that sometimes feels blinding, but God has created us in such a way that amidst the movement of life we can pause and focus on Him, resting, relaxing, connecting, just being and for a moment it seems as if life has stopped and we are not moving. The earth is constantly moving and we are on it so we are constantly moving, but we do not live as if we are in constant motion. We need to make sure that our lives in God are not lived as if we are in constant motion. Yes, life is constantly moving forward, "Time marches on" as they say, but we do not have to live where we are in constant motion. We can be deliberate about finding time to sit down, relax and focus on God. It is in those times of motionless motion that we find peace, hope and joy and have our empty cups refilled so that we can go back to that life of motion.

Today let's find a moment to live as if we are not moving; to live unaware of the pace of life for a moment in the same way that we are unaware of the fact that we are moving at 800 m.p.h.; and in that moment take a minute to seek the face of the Lord.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Duty or Affirmation?

Good morning all,


Michael Card never ceases to provoke, nudge and flat out stomp on toes at times. As a brief reminder this book A Better Freedom: Finding Life as Slaves of Christ is Card's attempt to repaint our walk as disciples from simple discipleship and friendship to a relationship of slave to master. I ended up with this book by accident, but like many other "accidents" this has proven to be an incredible read as evidenced by the number of posts related to this book. This morning he has been exploring slavery related parables and he ends with a personal story about a dear departed friend who was always there for him and never expected or even wanted thanks. Card ends the chapter with these words:

"Servants don't stand around and wait for thanks or affirmation when they do their duty. Everything they do is a privilege when it is done for their Master." From A Better Freedom page 118

Wow, or should I say "OUCH!" How often do we serve in the church waiting for someone to acknowledge, praise or lavish us with thanks rather than simply being content to serve unnoticed but effectively? I remember walking through the living room one time when the kids were watching Maury Povich. There was a deadbeat dad on the program that was upset because no one praised him for getting a job and supporting his child. Maury, who I am not a big fan of but who impressed me that day, looks at him and simply asks, "Why do you expect praise for doing what you are supposed to do?"

Perhaps that is one of the problems the world faces today. We have lost all sense of duty and replaced it with a sense of entitlement. I deserve; you owe me; it is my right! Duty demands sacrifice without praise or acknowledgement. Duty demands doing things because it is the right thing to do and not because there is reward or affirmation at the end. Duty is a word that has been lost not only in the world, but perhaps also the church. How often do we think of discipleship as duty rather than something that ends in reward or makes us look good? How often do we think of discipleship as obedience, doing something simply because God told us to and for no other reason?

Card is right, when we begin to shift our understanding of discipleship to a slave to master relationship suddenly we cannot avoid issues of duty, obedience and sacrifice. When we recognize that we are slaves to the Master Jesus praise is no longer required, it is merely a privilege to serve. When we serve at church are we doing it out of duty to our Master or to accommodate our desire for praise and affirmation?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Sermon: Sunday, December 4, 2011

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file from yesterday's sermon. It is the 2nd sermon in our Advent series and it is title The Promised Coming: Warrior! Shepherd. Baby? and the primary text is Isaiah 40:1-11.


Your brother in Christ,
Faron

It Will Never Happen With Me!

Good morning all,


I had one of those "duh!" moments this morning reading Matthew chapter 23. Here is the portion that struck me:

"NLT Matthew 23:29 "How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed and decorate the graves of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, 'We never would have joined them in killing the prophets.' 31 "In saying that, you are accusing yourselves of being the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead. Finish what they started. 33 Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? 34 I will send you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. You will kill some by crucifixion and whip others in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. 35 As a result, you will become guilty of murdering all the godly people from righteous Abel to Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered in the Temple between the altar and the sanctuary. 36 I assure you, all the accumulated judgment of the centuries will break upon the heads of this very generation."

This comes in a series of warnings to the hypocritical Pharisees in which Jesus constantly points out to them that they have obeyed the letter of the law but failed mightily to obey the Spirit, they have traded justice, mercy and compassion for exactness in their rule following. In this passage that struck me Jesus tells them that they try to make up for what their fathers did in killing the prophets by making memorial tombs and decorating graves and proclaiming that had they been alive they would not have killed them, not even been a part of it. Basically they say, "Nope, it will never happen to me!" Yet this audience is the very same audience that will ultimately scourge and crucify Jesus; and in that is the message to all of us in the world today. As we look at people struggling in sin and life, we can be tempted to get a superior "Christian" attitude and begin to proclaim to ourselves and others that we are above all of that having reached a spiritual place where we do not have to worry about sin, or brokenness or failing. There is no place more dangerous!

Jesus tells the Pharisees, not only would you have killed the prophets long ago but that He is also about to send prophets in there midst now which they are going to kill. They can not atone for what their fathers did and worse they will do the same thing. He finally tells them that there is nothing they can do to escape the fires of hell.

That is the truth for all of us. There is nothing we can do to escape judgement; nothing that is except surrendering our lives to Jesus. It is Jesus and Jesus alone that causes us to escape judgement and brings us forgiveness of our sin. While we all strive towards holiness and perfection in love, we all have the carnal nature dwelling within us and it can raise its ugly head up at the most inconvenient times. What we must always be on guard for is that attitude of the Pharisees, "It can never happen to me," because the moment we start to think that is the moment we become seriously susceptible to it definitively happening.

It was true for the Pharisees and it is true for us. Left to our own accords we will repeat the sins of the fathers, but if we will break the chain of independence, or relying exclusively on self, and place ourselves in a relationship of dependence on Christ, we can find freedom.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Called to the Impossible

Good morning all,


Once again Michael Card has struck my imagination and shared words of wisdom that connect and inspire. For years I have talked about how God calls us to things that are beyond our own natural gifts, talents and abilities because when they come to pass our only possible response is "look what the Lord has done." When we accomplish things that we are capable of within our own strength, gifts and resources we face the very strong temptation to say, "look what I have done!" God doesn't want us lost to self pride but equally He wants to work through us to grow His kingdom so when He calls, He calls to things that are impossible without God.

In my own life I find this to be true when I compare preaching and counseling. I have always been a capable public speaker, so when I have a fortunate day of preaching a good sermon, while I know it is the work of God I could be tempted to think, "look at what a good preacher I AM!" but when I am fortunate enough to be able to help someone through counseling that temptation doesn't exist because I know I have no natural aptitude for counseling. In fact, that was one of my concerns about becoming a pastor. My background had stripped me of empathy and created a mindset towards counseling along the lines of "suck it up; get over it; and get back in the game!" While there are times that needs to be said in counseling, it cannot be the paradigm from which you do it all. When I see words of compassion and support and understanding come out of my "counseling" mouth, I cannot help but think, "look what the Lord has done!"

Today Michael Card shared the same sentiment but in the terms of us being slaves to Jesus specifically talking about Mary. Read his words as they are much more eloquent than anything I could type.

"Mary is a slave to an impossible demand, for the virgin to bear a Son. The call of God is always impossible. To impotent Abram and sterile Sarai he says, 'Make a son.' To the young virgin who sees herself simply as a slave kneeling at the feet of an angel he says, 'You will have a Son.' To become obedient to his call always means becoming a slave to the impossible. He asks us to do the impossible (like loving our enemies) knowing that the impossibility of the task will always drive us back to him, our Master, without whom even Jesus would say we can do nothing." from A Better Freedom: Finding Life as Slaves of Christ by Michael Card

God calls us to the impossible, because the impossible is only possible with Him. A call to the impossible forces us to expectantly depend upon Him to do something incredible and to give Him the glory when it comes to pass. What impossible thing is God calling you to today?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
originally published in 1952 by Scribner Paperback Fiction

Summary: More than anything this is a bit of a character study of an old fisherman, his relationship with the ocean, a young boy and a fish.  We don't even learn his name, Santiago, until the very end of the story.  He is a fisherman who has not caught a fish in 85 days, but just like everyday he gets up in the morning heading out with the hope of catching one today.  He decides to go into deep water and hooks the biggest fish he has every caught.  Man and fish battle for days on end, but the meat of the story isn't about whether or not he actually catches the fish.  It is about him and his life, his faith, his relationships with others and the ocean.

Review: This is by far Hemingway's most acclaimed book having been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and it playing a large part in his award of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.  To this day it is required reading for many high school and college students, as it continues to open a window for us into brilliant writing, a captivating view of a culture and a resounding commentary on life.  One cannot help but connect with the old man as he puts one foot in front of the other to get through this day of life.  Even though he has not caught a fish in 85 days, he continues to go out because he is a fisherman and fisherman fish.  Our lives are the same, we do what we do, day in and day out, because that is who we are.  Like the old man we worry about God, calling on His help and looking for His blessing; we look at our past and wonder if we have made mistakes along the way; we dip deep inside ourselves to find the reserves to accomplish what we need to accomplish and in the end we discover the futility of it all when all we do is pursue life for the sake of life.  As I have re-read this masterpiece, especially through a theological lens, what I have found is a modern day Ecclesiastes.  This is a book that masterfully captures the futility that life seems to have, but leaves us with the hope of tomorrow.

Reading Recommendation: Yes.  Really this is probably a recommendation for most of us to re-read this classic.  The first time I read it was high school and I muscled through it to get it done only because it was required.  The second time was in college, same scenario; but this time, reading for no other purpose than enjoyment and reconnecting with such a classic I found the book to be engaging in a way I had never experienced before.  Give it a first, second or third look; you won't be disappointed. 

Book Review: A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett

Greetings All,

I have long been a Jimmy Buffett fan, in fact Margaritaville was the first real song I ever learned to play on the guitar.  I have loved the spirit and the stories behind each and every one of his songs.  I was in Half Price Books the other day, perusing the clearance section where you can find hardbacks for a mere $1 and after my exciting find of five Southern Living Annual Cookbooks for a $1 a piece, I ran across something I had never before seen.  A novel by Jimmy Buffett, when I saw it I vaguely remembered something about him writing a book years ago, but I had honestly never paid attention.  My love of Buffett and the lure of it only being $1 caught me and I bought the book.  Buffett is as good of a storyteller in prose as he is in song and I think I have a new favorite book.  Here is my more formal review, but I recommend Buffett to any one be it as a book or as a song!

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

A Salty Piece of Land
by Jimmy Buffett
published in 2004 by the Little, Brown and Company

Summary: Tully Mars, a character from one of Buffett's Margaritaville short stories is back.  He is a Wyoming cowboy whose heart lies in the ocean.  The ranch he has worked all of his life is bought out by one Thelma Barston and turned into a poodle ranch.  Cowboys don't take well to poodles and a quick toss of a massage table through a plate glass window later, Tully is on the lamb, headed beachward with his trusty horse Mr. Twain.  This begins a journey towards a lighthouse on Caya Loco that involves fishing guides, country music singers, ex-girlfriends, bounty hunters, shaman and an eccentric 102 year old woman named Cleopatra who is the captain of a classic schooner named Lucretia.  She travels the oceans of the world in pursuit of adventure and a light for her recently acquired lighthouse on Caya Loco.  It is a journey that carries you through the Caribbean and Central America and connects you with some of the most genuine and compelling characters you will have read in a while.

Review: I can't tell you the last time, if ever that I have been on the verge of tears when finishing a book but that was truly the case with this one.  Buffett has weaved a fictional masterpiece with characters that have depth and wisdom, humor and hope; with a compelling storyline that draws you in and makes you want to be part of the story, with a pace that makes you want to keep reading.  I think I have a new favorite book and it has made me want to read everything else Buffett has written, which it turns out is quite a bit.  The book is well researched, but equally well connected with what is I think the life that Jimmy Buffett has lived.  It is a book rooted in a love and passion for the ocean, for lighthouses, for fishing and for the tranquil moments of life that can only be found in the company of dear friends. 

Reading Recommendation: Absolutely Yes, Yes, Yes!!!  And when you are finished look up the song A Salty Piece of Land and listen to it!

The Wake of Grief

Greetings All,


I just finished A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett and I think I have a new favorite book! Once again he has tossed out a little piece of life wisdom that we all need to hear when it comes to grief. Ix-Nay is sharing his shaman wisdom with Tully as they are overlooking the ocean from the point above the fresh grave of their friend Cleopatra Highbourne.

"'Old friend,' Ix-Nay said, 'grief is like the wake behind a boat. It starts out as a huge wave that follows close behind you and is big enough to swamp and drown you if you suddenly stop moving forward. But if you do keep moving, the big wake will eventually dissipate. And after a long enough time, the waters of your life get calm again, and that is when the memories of those who have left begin to shine as bright and as enduring as the stars above.'" from A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett, pg. 431

Grief is a funny thing. At times it comes to us when a loved one or good friend dies, at other times it comes with changes in life like a divorce or the loss of a job, and at still others it comes with moving to a new place and a new station of life. At its most basic, it comes with change. The change of no longer waking up with that person you have loved for so long; the change of only having your kids half of the time, the change of a new city, new job or new life. With that change we have a choice, to sit still and let that change overwhelm us like the grief wake that Ix-Nay describes or to put one foot in front of the other and move forward into the change. With that forward movement comes the gradual lessening of the grief, the dissipation of the fear of change, and the smooth waters of the boat of life as it comes up on plane in the water. Thank you Jimmy Buffett for the wisdom hidden in your songs and books.

Always putting one foot in front of the other, your brother in Christ,
Faron

Eye Slaves and Lip Service

Good morning all,


Once again quiet time catches my attention from various sources as God merges them into a coherent thought. Let us start with two quick pieces of scripture, the first from Colossians and the second from Matthew.

ESV Colossians 3:22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

NEB Matthew 15:7 What hypocrisy! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 "'This people pays me lip-service, but their heart is far from me; their worship of me is in vain, for they teach as doctrines the commandments of men."

The first was brought to my attention through the Michael Card book A Better Freedom. As a reminder, the books premise is that we are all slaves, we just get to choose who will be our master and that a better life, a better freedom is found when we choose Jesus as our Master. The chapter today was about eye-slaves. This is a term we do not have in English, there is a single Greek word ophthalmodoulia, we need a phrase to translate it, "working only while being watched," the Greeks needed but the one word. In essence an eye-slave is one who only works while being watched. Paul is encouraging the slaves in the Colossae not to be eye-slaves, but the encouragement is to all of us as Christians. When we choose Jesus as our Master we must make sure that we are not eye-slaves, that is only living God honoring lives when people are watching. We must live our lives in a way that makes it easy for people to believe in Jesus 24/7, all of the time, regardless of being in public view or completely alone.

As further support for how important this is for how we live as Christians, we turn to the Matthew passage where Jesus is chastising the Pharisees for only giving lip-service to God. He is accusing them of worshipping God in word only while their hearts are far from God. He says it is not enough to just give lip-service to God, we must give Him our whole hearts and when we do He will transform them and make us whole. It is out of that transformation and wholeness that we can live our lives as devoted followers and not just as eye-slaves giving mere lip-service to God.

In this day and age where we have so many public figures professing their Christianity, whether it is praying after scoring a touchdown, or wearing a cross around a celebrity neck, or making a Presidential spectacle out of going to church, it is so important for all of us ordinary Christians to make sure that we are neither eye-slaves nor lip-servicers because we are the ones that truly impact the lives of people around us for the Kingdom. People see these folks on television and at times become suspect, but as they watch us live out God honoring lives, lives that by definition and design are meant to make it easy for others to believe in Jesus, their hearts become strangley warmed to the joy that is life in Jesus.

Will you join me today in living lives that are neither lip-service nor eye-slavery but are intentional about making it easy for others to believe in Jesus?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Sermon: Sunday, November 27, 2011

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file from yesterday's sermon.  It is for the first Sunday in Advent and is titled The Promised Coming: Near not Here!   The primary text is Mark 13:24-37.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Recipe: Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns

Greetings All,

This is a recipe I modified a bit to suit the tastes of my children.  The good news is that these are really yummy, the bad news is that my children seem to be cinnamon roll purist only wanting cinnamon and icing.  I would like to tell you that these are healthy and calorie free, but they are not; they are waste expanding, cholesterol rising, diabetic coma inducing buns of yummy goodness.  Eat sparingly, but eat!

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns
Ingredients:
1 c. milk plus 2 Tbls
2 pkgs of fast rising active dry yeast
2/3 c granulated sugar
24 Tbls softened butter or margarine
3 eggs (at room temperature)
5 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp maple extract (or imitation maple flavoring) divided
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 c. chopped pecans
1/3 c. caramel topping sauce
1 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

Directions:
1. Scald milk (heat to steaming) and mix in sugar until dissolved.
2. Mix flour, salt and yeast in a bowl set aside.
3. Add eggs and 12 Tbls of butter to the milk and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Beat with the paddle attachment until blended.
4. Gradually stir in bowl of dry ingredients.  Beat approximately 2 mins.  Scrape sides of bowl, switch from the paddle to a dough hook and blend for an additional 3 minutes until dough ball starts to form.
5.  Lightly grease a bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Set aside in a warm place until the dough has risen to approximately double its original size.  This will take 45 minutes to one hour.
6. Place paper cups in two 12 cup muffin tins.  Spray the inserts with cooking spray, set aside.
7. Melt 6 Tbls of butter and stir in 1 1/2 tsps of maple flavoring.  Set aside.
8. Mix brown sugar and chopped pecans in a bowl. Set aside.
9. When dough has risen, gently punch it down and divide it in half.  Roll each half into 12 by 18 inch rectangles on a lightly floured surface.  Using a brush, spread the maple butter mixture on each rectangle.  Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar/pecan mixture on each rectangle.
10.  Working from the 18 inch side, tightly roll each rectangle into a log and pinch the seams.  Cut each log into twelve 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Place the pieces, cut side up, in the muffin tins.  Cover the muffin tins and allow to rise an additional 30 minutes. 
11. Bake at 325 degrees for 22 to 25 minutes.
12. Melt 3 Tbls butter, mix with caramel topping and 1 1/2 tsps of maple flavoring.  Set aside.
13. Melt 3 Tbls butter, place in mixing bowl with 2 Tbls milk and gently beat in the confectioners' sugar.  Set aside.
14.  Remove muffin trays from the oven, then remove the buns from the trays and place on a clean baking sheet.
15.  Drizzle the caramel mixture of each bun, followed by the icing.  Serve warm or cool. 
16.  These can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days after being cooked.  Or if you don't need 24 buns, before you let them rise the second time freeze them in the tray.  Once frozen, they can be removed from the tray and placed in a zip-top freezer bag.  To cook simply thaw and allow to rise to double the size and then cook as originally directed.

Wisdom is Revealed in the Results

Greetings All,


My quiet time this morning took me into Matthew chapter 11 and I wanted to share a thought with you from it this morning. Let's start with the scripture:

NLT Matthew 11:13 For before John came, all the teachings of the Scriptures looked forward to this present time. 14 And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. 15 Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! 16 "How shall I describe this generation? These people are like a group of children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, 17 'We played wedding songs, and you weren't happy, so we played funeral songs, but you weren't sad.' 18 For John the Baptist didn't drink wine and he often fasted, and you say, 'He's demon possessed.' 19 And I, the Son of Man, feast and drink, and you say, 'He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of the worst sort of sinners!' But wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it."

Historically I have always found great comfort in this pericope of scripture as a recovered alcoholic because it gives me a window into the life that was Jesus' and how He would have been likely to have hung out with someone just like me. When you feel beat up and tore down by life, to have a place to go and read that the Son of God would be right there with you in your brokenness is both comforting and ultimately healing.

Something struck me a little differently this morning as I read the end of the 19th verse, "wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it." Jesus has just finished describing this generation as one that is never satisfied, the won't be happy at a wedding or sad at a funeral, they wouldn't accept John as the Elijah rather calling him demon possessed and they wouldn't accept Jesus rather calling Him a drunkard and glutton for behaving in the exact opposite way of John. They will only accept what they want and nothing else.

They have so narrowly defined what they are looking for that they are missing the complete big picture of what God is doing in the world. This is an important message for us today as we look around at a changing world and a changing church. We must be careful not to look for only our narrowly defined view of what God is doing, rather we must look for the evidence of the working of God in even unexpected places. "Wisdom is revealed in the results," is how Jesus put it; "God is revealed in self-sacrificing love," is how we might put it today. When we find that kind of love, even if it is in the most unexpected of places we can be sure that God is at work. Don't define the presence of God at work based on a person's behavior, define His presence by the love that comes out of that behavior. Let's keep our eyes wide and our definitions of God's work broad as we look for His transforming presence in the world and the church.

Your wide-eyed brother in Christ,
Faron

Dissatisfaction with Life?

Greetings All,

I hope everyone has had a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday and that you all survived Black Friday shopping! Amidst the chaos of family, food and Christmas shopping frenzy it is good to slow down for a moment and glance back towards God to be reminded what this life is all about. Let's start with a piece of scripture and then an observation.

"NLT Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" 2 "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him. 3 "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die." 4 "You won't die!" the serpent hissed. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil." 6 The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too. 7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves. 8 Toward evening they heard the LORD God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees."

This is familiar scripture. We all know the story of the serpent and Eve, the conversation, the hope of something better, the sweet taste of the fruit in the moment and then the shame and fear at the realization of what has been done. What struck me recently is how this isn't just Eve's story, but all of our story. So often we focus on this passage of scripture through an interpretive lens of Adam and Eve wanting to be like God, but what happens when we change the lens to one of dissatisfaction with their current lifestyle. I would venture to guess that most of us do not envision our lives and think, "we want to be like God;" but I would make a large wager that many of us look at our current lives and feel a great sense of dissatisfaction, so much so that we will try just about anything when we think the grass is greener on the other side.

That really was a driving force with Adam and Eve, the serpent told them something that made them feel like their current lives were not enough, that something more was out there to be had and that something would make their lives better and more fulfilling, if they would simply eat this fruit their dissatisfaction would be replaced by a deep sense of fulfillment. This is starting to sound like modern day advertising and marketing, and having been in that industry for years I would know. That is what marketing does, it paints a picture as if our current lives are somehow lacking to create in us a false need for their product. It doesn't matter if we need the product or if it will even improve our lives; we listen and think we have to have it. Most times we discover that the product does not live up to the hype and our pocketbooks are a little lighter and in fact our lives might be a little more stressed because we should have used that money for something else. True satisfaction can never come from materials or even human relationships; true satisfaction can only come from God.

Satan's product was disobedience to God's command and distrust of the person of God. At face value, we would never buy a product like that, but with his deliberate packaging and marketing message, he had Eve and Adam buying it hook, line and sinker. Their lives end up in shame, fear and banishment. We are just as susceptible; it is important that we pay close attention to this because we can so quickly find ourselves in the same trap. This weekend and even this entire Christmas Season is a time when we are being hit with marketing messages left and right to make us feel dissatisfied with life. Don't buy into this mentality! Equally though we get these messages from other more seemingly innocent places where we get the same "grass is greener" message and we need to be on guard. Facebook is a good example, as it has proved to be a detriment to many marriages today as one spouse begins to reconnect with old high school friends, to reconnect to a time without responsibility and sacrifice. Suddenly the memories of that life and those people makes the grass look much greener than a life of sacrifice, responsibility and discipline that marriages and family require, but let me assure you that there is no green grass in divorce court! Satan woos us today, just as he did Adam and Even in the garden. We must be vigilant! Facebook is just an example, there are so many places we can encounter the message that we should be dissatisfied with our life and we need to be constantly on guard.

Let's be clear, there is nothing wrong with setting goals to change our lives for the better; like pursuing an education, or learning to play a musical instrument, or going the extra mile to make sure we are in line for that promotion. All of those involve deliberate planning and work and can lead to a better life and a deeper material satisfaction; it is the illusion that we should be dissatisfied with this life and pursue something that involves no sacrifice, discipline or even work to attain true satisfaction. Again, true satisfaction can only be found in God!

Be assured that it is God's intention for all of us to be satisfied and deeply fulfilled with a life that has Him at the center. When we embrace that life, we will no longer look for greener grass because we will be satisfied that God will take care of and provide for us and we will find our satisfaction in places of service, worship and love. Let's not forget that this weekend or this season.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

The Great Divorce
by C.S. Lewis
published by HarperSanFrancisco in 1973
originally published in 1946

Summary: This is Lewis' first person, fictional account of a fellow who finds himself boarding a bus to travel from the gray city to a destination unknown.  It turns out that all those traveling on the bus are ghosts seeking the possibility of entering paradise.  The narrator wanders in the new land encountering different ghosts until he finally happens upon a guide who can shed some light on the strange nature of the landscape and the strange behavior of both the ghosts and solid people.  This is a fictional account of what one might encounter after they die.

Review: This book is a quick read as it is short, only 146 pages, and it is in a story format which compels the reader forward much like Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.  That being said, it is a bit of a challenge to follow the line of the story or the train of thought.  Lewis is trying to use the novel format and metaphors to elucidate his theology on life after death, but on a first read it is complicated.  Being that this is a book review and not a theological review of Lewis I will stop there, but offer this suggestion to readers of Lewis.  He is one of the most influential and profound theologians of the 20th century, always worth reading, but I would encourage those reading to understand his theology to read with a companion book of a Lewis scholar who has studied and can make clear his theological positions.

Reading Recommendation: Yes, mainly because it is a Christian classic and we need to read those authorial greats of the past to remember upon whose shoulder's we stand and that there is nothing new under the sun.

Slaves

Greetings All,

Well I finished The Great Divorce yesterday amidst my Bowling Green travels and started a new book this morning by Michael Card called A Better Freedom: Finding Life as Slaves of Christ.  Michael is a song-writer and scholar.  Perhaps you know the song made popular by Amy Grant El Shaddai, that is one he wrote.  This book is rooted in his scholarly side and comes out of his experience with the African-American church, to be clear Michael is Caucasian.  In his worship he was continually drawn to their practice of calling Jesus master as it was something he had not seen or heard in Caucasian church.  What he discovered as he inquired was that it was a practice rooted in the times of slavery as the slaves made a point to call Jesus Master so they could be clear that their human master wasn't actually their master.  Michael's goal with the book is for us as Christians to begin to rethink our relationship with Jesus as one of slave to master and to embrace the new kind of freedom that can be found in such a relationship.

The thing that struck me in my reading this morning comes from an early chapter where he is telling the story of one of the earliest martyrs of Christianity, Ignatius.  He is also one of the earliest writers after those that penned the New Testament, so we have some of his letters to his churches.  He addresses them as "fellow slaves."  The reality of that statement is that many of them were actual socio-economic slaves, but all of them were slaves to Christ.  Michael made the observation that Ignatius recognized that the choice we face with Christianity is not between slavery to Christ and freedom; rather it is simply a matter of choosing who or what we are going to be enslaved by.

What a powerful realization!  We are all slaves.  Some of us to our jobs.  Some to our families.  Some to our past mistakes.  Some to our circumstances or addictions or our perceived realities.  Many of us are slaves to the acquisition of stuff.  All of those can be brutal task masters with whom we find no freedom, even though we thought we were choosing freedom by serving those.  The truth remains that the only real freedom we can ever have is when we embrace Jesus as Master and become slaves to Him.  In Him we are free to simply be, to receive His love, forgiveness and will for our lives.  In Him we do not have to be driven to acquire stuff, or titles, or status because in Him our status is all the same, children of God, beloved, forgiven and free.

So today we are faced with a choice.  As we realize that we are all slaves, who will we call master?

Your fellow slave to The Master,
Faron

Quiet Time

Greetings All,


You all know my love of music, especially jazz and songs about the beach, and my knack for hearing real truth in the words of some troubadour, but imagine my surprise when I discovered that Jimmy Buffett of Margaritaville fame is also an author. Turns out the little life truths you find like hidden gems in his songs are in his book as well. Sometimes folks that are just writing as opposed to writing Christian books get it more right. I wanted to share a quick passage from the book about quiet time that the hero, Tully Mars, is sharing with another fishing guide, Ix-Nay.

"Every good fishing spot had a nickname, and Quiet Time was properly named. Just off the beach, I spotted the tails of a small school of bonefish swimming lazily in a circle near a crescent-shaped sandbar. Not far from them, a medium-size barracuda lay motionless, his black eye on the fish. Normally this would spell trouble for the bonefish, but not at Quiet Time at this phase of the tide.

Ix-Nay had revealed the secret of the spot the day after he had saved me from the crocodile attack when we met. We had climbed into the branches of a tree to eat lunch. As we were propped up in the shade enjoying our ham-and-cheese sandwiches, I spotted two huge snook sitting motionless in the water. Right nest to them, a six-foot shark inched his way along the edge. I thought for sure the shark would lunge instinctively at the fish and join us for lunch, but he just cruised by the snook and disappeared over the turtle grass.

'That's odd,' I said, referring to the lack of predatory behavior in the ocean.

'Not really,' Ix-Nay told me. 'It always happens a the slack tide. Most of the time fish are swimming around either eating or avoiding being eaten.'

'I know a lot of humans that do the same thing.'

'But fish know they need a break from the cycle of the food chain, and that happens at slack tide.'

'So it's kind of a universal time-out?'

'I call it Quiet Time,' Ix-Nay said. 'People would be better off if they did the same.'

'How so?'

'You have to think more like fish than a man and look for the slack tides and the pools and eddies in life so you can catch your breath and reflect on the good moments.' from A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett, pages 206-207.

A fictional Mayan fishing guide and a on-the-lamb cowboy from Wyoming in one simple conversation just defined a truth of the Christian life that most of us miss. Will you join me today in looking for a pool or eddy from which we can catch our breath and reflect on the good moments of life?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Every Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker

Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time (The Every Man Series)
by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker with Mike Yorkey
Published in 2000 by Waterbrook

Summary: This is the authors' attempt to present a solution for men to the growing issue of sexual temptation, specifically as it relates to visual imagery like pornography. Fred is the originator of the book as he related his personal struggle with sexual temptation in a manuscript he submitted to editor, Mike Yorkey.  Stephen is an "experienced and widely respected counselor" that the publisher invited to be part of the project to offer a professional foundation rather than simply anecdotal stories addressing the issues.  The book attempts to define the problem both practically and theologically, connect that problem with "every man," and then present a solution to have victory over the problem of sexual temptation.  This book has become prolific in Christian men's circles and is in many ways a standard by which men use to address this problem.  In the books defense it is at least an attempt to address a growing problem at a time when the Church wasn't really talking about it.

Review: In a phrase, I absolutely, unabashedly, without reservation hate this book!  It frightens me to think that Christian men and pastor's are using it as a standard to help men with this problem and it sickens me to think of the damage we are doing to actual sex addicts who turn to this book for help.  The problem begins with the title Every Man's Battle, this is a premise that I hope is not true.  Does every man have issues of lust and the objectification of women?  Or more likely are the authors presenting a cultural myth as an absolute?  Clearly our culture in marketing and life objectifies women and men for that matter, particularly from a sexuality point of view; but I would argue that lust and objectification is not the natural state of every man's heart.  From a philosophical standpoint it is the fallacy of moving from the particular to the whole, if it is true for some it must be true for all.  So I reject the premise of the book from the outset.

To build upon the problem the author's then do a very poor job of delineating between the simple issue of lusting versus actual addiction.  They present stories as if they are representative of every man's problem, but they are stories that are much more representative of a sexual addict.  Two that come to mind are a man who is watching TV with his sister-in-law and a fellow at the bank.  The first man decides to masturbate on the couch behind his sister-in-law after she falls asleep and he can see her underwear; the second man upon leaving the bank having been helped by a beautiful young lady has an overwhelming urge to pull over and masturbate.  These are not every man's situations!  These are men with a much deeper issue.  The problem here is that it begins to cause men to categorize themselves into potentially false categories.  The man who doesn't really have a problem might begin to categorize himself with actual sexual addicts while the addicts may dismiss their problem as something far less than it really is.  The addict, who has deep issues of which the viewing of pornography our "lusting" are but mere symptoms, finds himself frustrated and hopeless as the technique of "bouncing your eyes" fails him time and again.  The man who occasionally finds himself captivated by a beer commercial with beautiful women, much like the first year college psychology student, begins to think he has a very serious problem, thus creating issues of self image and self esteem.

A further rant of mine is that this book is basically written to married men yet is called "every man's battle."  The authors solution for a single man to overcome lust and their "male urges towards sexual behavior" is to bounce your eyes and have wet dreams.  Seriously, this is what we are putting out there as a standard for men?  The authors even suggest that women need to help men by dressing modestly.  So suddenly women are given part responsibility for "every man's lust?"  I don't think so!  Okay, I could go on and on and write a review that encompasses pages but I will stop here as I am guessing you have gotten the idea that I do not like this book.  I would welcome comments and input from any men or women for that matter who have read this book.  It would be nice to engage in a healthy dialogue around this book over healthy views of Christian sexuality and the issues we are being faced with regarding the oversexualizing of our culture particularly as related to pornography.

Reading Recommendation: Run away, do not read this book!

Sermon: Sunday, November 20, 2011

Greetings all,

Here is the audio file from yesterday's sermon.  It is titled Who Will We Serve? and the primary text is Luke 12:31-21.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

The Tension of Grey

Good morning All,


The rain is falling, the sun is rising and silence fills the house as all of the munchkins and their friends are still sleeping soundly. For a moment there is peace. This is that place in between, between the sweet oblivion of sleep and the constant urgency of children's demands, between no stimulation for a while and over stimulation as a half dozen different kids seek your attention, between rest and work. Between it is where we live and frankly where I think God intended for us to live. We hear all of this talk about Christianity being black and white and that these is no grey, that color in between; but it has been my experience that Christianity like life is mainly gray! Before I slip off that slope and end up somewhere I didn't intend to this morning I am going to abruptly change directions.

Well not so much change directions but take control of the wheel. What I wanted to share this morning was a different revelation about that gray tension, that space between than simply a moral understanding or a theological understanding. You see this morning has been quite wonderful and I have found myself in a new kind of in between. As I was journaling about God in my life today at this moment I became acutely aware that His presence not just today but always lifts my shoulders in a state of hope and drivenness. That state carries me forward to serve the Kingdom, to serve my family and friends, to serve my community which are all things that should lead to tiredness and unrest as I seek to serve more and more, but at the same time that my shoulders are being lifted in hope they are equally being relaxed with contentment and joy.

There is that other understanding of grey, that tension of inbetweenness. How can I be lifted and driven by hope, while at the same time find contentment. If I am content shouldn't I not be driven? If I am being lifted to a state of service shouldn't I not be relaxed? That is the funny thing about life in God. He defies our understanding at time and gives us that privilege of living in between. The tension of the grey doesn't always have to be a stressful tension, it can be a peaceful one that knows both driven hope and contented joy. This morning I have had the privilege of experiencing both and I just wanted to share the observation with each of you. May your day today be marked by both hope for the Kingdom and how you are going to serve it and contented joy at the sheer peace that God brings to your life.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Recipe: Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies

Greetings All,

Sometimes you find recipes in the most unexpected places.  This one was posted on Foxnews.com the other day.  I had been in bed for two days sick at the point I ran across it, so realize my mind was a little cloudly when I thought, "yum, that sounds good."  I saved the recipe and opted to make it today and much to my delight these are wonderful cookies! 

Enjoy!
Faron

Ginger Molasses Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
• 4 1/2 cups of flour
• 4 tsp of ground ginger
• 2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 sticks butter - room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs - room temperature
• 1/2 cup molasses
• White granulated sugar for rolling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light a fluffy. About 5 minutes.

Next, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in molasses. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry mixture until incorporated.

Make 2 inch rounds (I like to use an ice cream scoop to insure the cookies are the same size), roll in sugar and bake for 12-14 minutes.

The total time will depend on your particular oven.

Are We Like God?

Good morning y'all,


I have been away for a few days down with a sinus infection, but I am back at 100% and ready to go. As I was preparing stuff for our stewardship campaign a couple of weeks ago I was reading a book called Enjoying Intimacy with God and the author tossed out an observation that really struck me in regards to the way we live our lives in regards to our finances. Basically he said since we are created in the image of God, thus being like God, then our lives should be marked by generous, liberal and abundant giving. God in His very nature gives all that He has to us. In the Garden He gave us the entire Garden with the exception of the fruit from one tree; on the cross He gave us everything up to and including His life; at the empty tomb He gave us eternity. He gives more abundantly, more generously, more liberally than anyone ever in the history of the world. We are created in His image, we are called to be like Him; therefore the way we live our lives should have others talking about our abundant generosity. The question for us today is simply this, "In regards to the material and financial resources in our lives, does the way we live look like God who is the most generous giver ever, or does it look more like Scrooge before his ghostly visits?"

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Confidence!

Good morning all,


The rain is falling softly, Clapton is playing, and I am having this strong desire to crawl back under the covers, but I have way too much to do today. I wanted to share a quick thought from the Psalmist. Let's start with the scripture, Psalm 27:1-3.

NRS Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes-- they shall stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

I love this passage because it sheds light on the balance we need to find amidst the reality of life. God is our light, our hope, our joy, our salvation; who takes away fear and gives our lives purpose and hope. That is absolute truth that is completely independent of the circumstances of life. Just because life rises up and overwhelms me, like it is prone to do, it does not in any way alter the truth of who God is for each and every one of us. Sometimes life will feel like it is standing against us, shouting at us like Goliath saying, "Just give up it is hopeless!" It is at that moment that each of us has a choice. We can listen to the giant and give up, crawl back under the covers and let the rain of life fall down on our heads or we can do like the Psalmist and stand confidently in the absolute truth of who God is in our lives and press forward towards the end He has for us regardless of the challenges of life. Will you stand confidently with me today?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

Crocodile Tears (Alex Rider)
by Anthony Horowitz
Published in 2009 by Philomel Books

I have been a bit remiss in posting my book reviews, despite having been reading voraciously so I have opted to start over from here forward. Time permiting I will go back and post some of the older ones, but for today we push forward with a quick review of the 8th installment of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series. From the opening nuclear disaster in India and Alex's decision to no longer have anything to do with MI6 the book moves along another happenstance adventure that lands Alex once again in the throws of danger and manipulated by Blunt to serve as the teenage spy. Horowitz has done his research into the science of genetically altered plant life to introduce a new disaster brought about by another larger than life villian.

This book like the rest in the Rider series is geared towards teenage boys, but it is another fun read for this father/son pair who enjoy reading the same books. The science behind the disaster is complex but presented in a way that is compelling and can inspire a young mind to want to know more. Alex as always is larger than life while still wrestling with common issues of a soon to be 15 year old young man. The villian, while a bit of a characature of a reformed Christian, is fitting for the day as he is driven not by world domination or revenge but sheer greed as he seeks to make a billion dollar payday.

Reading Recomendation: If you are a young person that likes to read about larger than life teenagers, or someone who enjoys a well spun espionage tale, or simply a parent who enjoys reading books with their kids spend the time reading not only Crocodile Tears but any of the Rider series. You will find it a quick, enjoyable read!

Sermon: Sunday, November 13, 2011

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file from Sunday's sermon.  It is titled Pineapples, Watermelons or Limes? and the primary text is Matthew 25:14-30.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Confidence Amidst Despair

Greetings All,


The Book of Habakkuk ends with what is in essence an Psalm, a prayer of trust in God despite the challenges that life is bringing. I share it this morning knowing the reality that most of us do not choose Habakkuk for devotional reading. Heck the only reason I did was because it was up next on my journey from Genesis to Revelation, but sometimes in monotonous discipline we find unexpected joy! May Habakkuk's prayer be our prayer today!

NLT Habakkuk 3:17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains. (For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Selah

Good morning All,


SELAH. Have you every noticed this little word when you are reading the Psalms? If you haven't then you haven't been reading the Psalms because it shows up 71 different times. It only shows up in three other verses in the Bible and all three of them are in Habakkuk. If we are being truthful we have no idea what it means. It is one of those words that only exists here, so instead of translating it we simply transliterate it, that means we convert the Hebrew letters to English letters and make that the word. Some argue that it is a direction for the musicians, others suggest it is a command meaning to lift up your voices or exalt. All of those folks are way smarter than me so I will leave an exact definition up to them, but what I find with Selah when I am reading the Psalms is a moment of pause, of rest, of abrupt silence. It is not a word that flows, or is part of a sentence or that even connects with any other words. It is just there and when you read it you can't help but pause, slow down and rest if even for a second. It is like a very mini Sabbath in the Psalms. A reminder to us all that amidst the busyness of what ever we are doing we need to take those moments to slow down and pause, those moments just to stop and appreciate the moment be it the colors of a sunrise, the beauty of an eagle soaring over a river valley, or the innocence of a small child. We must find those times in our life to just stop and appreciate the majesty of God and the truth that the one who created all of this loves each and every one of us. Will you find a moment today to pause and appreciate?

Selah
Faron

Facing Evil Without Fear

Good morning All,


My morning Scripture reading includes a Psalm everyday, so I end up reading through the book of Psalms 3 to 4 times in an 18 month period. Not to long ago I started back at the first one again and quickly found myself at the 23rd. As many of you it is one of my favorite Psalms, part of it is because it is one of the earliest pieces of Scripture that I truly knew by heart but the other part of it is a product of Texas A&M and the Fish Drill Team. For those of you who have never heard of the drill team, it is a precision rifle drill team made up entirely of Freshman much like the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team. At Texas A&M all freshman are called fish, hence the name Fish Drill Team. Before every competition we prayed the Fish Drill Team prayer, which was a modified PG-13 version of the 23rd Psalm. I can't recall the whole prayer today, but the phrase I do remember is "yea though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, because I am the meanest, baddest, ?#@%&$# in the land." We were national champions. We were tough. We were bold, arrogant and obnoxious. We were in no way Godly, but we did pray this prayer before every meet, but we did understand this part correctly. We were not afraid to confront any evil, any competition, any challenge that life presented us because we were confident in ourselves. Where we failed to understand is that self confidence only goes so far, true confidence must come from a trust and love of God that transforms our hearts.

I bring it up in this post because as I was re-reading the 23rd Psalm for the I don't know how many hundredth time this is the phrase that really caught my attention.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4

What struck me was the confrontation of evil. David doesn't ask God to help him escape evil or to protect him from evil, or to make sure he never encounters evil in his life. He just confidently states that because God is with him, comforting him, he will fear no evil. There is evil in this world. It was in the garden with the serpent, it is alive and well today. If you are unsure about this truth, simply watch the five o'clock news and you will have it confirmed in the first two minutes. As Christians we could try to insult ourselves from that evil by building isolated communities, walled away and hidden from the "evil" world but to do so would be to fail at the mission God has called us to which is the transformation of the world.

God has called us to live in the world, evil or no evil, because He knows that we have the power within us through the indwelling Holy Spirit to eradicate the presence of evil in this world. God is not going to have us escape such evil, He is going to comfort us amidst it so that we will not be afraid. With God confidence we can face any obstacle, challenge or evil this world throws at us and overcome. When we have no fear and are confident in God's love for us, we become free to love and it is the love of God that truly eradicates evil and transforms the world.

God is with us. We need not fear. Can we walk together through this world eradicating evil with love?

Your brother in Christ,
Faron