The Lord is my Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake
Psalm 23:1-3

This is such a familiar scripture for so many of us and yet because few of us have had any experience with actual shepherding we miss so many of the nuances of the passage. I’m reading a book by W. Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 and it is opening my eyes to the concept of contextual reading of the scriptures. When David wrote the 23rd Psalm the readers or hearers of his day would understand the correlations between them as followers of God and the sheep that so many of them had daily contact with. Jesus used common every day illustrations that were so very relevant to the people of His day but are somewhat lost on us today. If we don’t take time to delve deeper into the context of the day when it was spoken or written, we could miss out on some really enlightening lessons. Let me give you an example, what do you think people will think of in a few hundred years when they read about Twitter or texting or iPods or one of a zillion techo-terms that we use today in our language. They won’t know who Seinfeld is or what tailgating is so what kind of trouble would they have understanding what we were referring to in our books. I want to challenge you to dig a little deeper when you are reading the Bible, study it, go online, read what other students have come up with, you will probably begin to see the scriptures in a whole new light! -pc

One Thing I Do Know

“One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see” John 9:25In this Gospel passage the religious leaders ask Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents causing him to be born blind?” To the religious elite, the man doesn’t seem important except to make a philosophical/theological point. Jesus in contrast had compassion on the man and healed his blindness. Organizations, governments even churches too often become insulated from the needs of the individual and get caught up in the agenda rather than the person. This mentality holds the hurting at a distance, far enough to keep us from getting our hands dirty. Jesus, He who created the universe has the ability to see the big picture, but is still willing to use His own hands to bring hope, help and healing. “Lord, give us your hands to heal this hurting world, today!”

pc

New Life?

July 30, 2009
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s kingdom.”
John 3:3 (in response to Nicodemus)
Have you noticed how often Jesus and the apostles refer to the new life that we can experience in Jesus? Why would Jesus say this if the people weren’t missing out on something important… like life, but surely they were alive if they were listening to Him? Over and over again we are reminded that the life that we experience in Christ is different than the life we experience outside of the life of Christ. We are told to be born again, saved, rescued, transformed and many other examples of the radical life change we can experience when we are totally immersed in the love and life of Christ. What is holding you back today? Let’s walk wholly in His life!

-pc

Effectiveness of Prayer

I frequently have the opportunity to encourage people to develop their communication skills with God, we call this prayer. If we did a survey I am pretty confident that we would find that the majority of people we know pray, many on a regular basis. With so many people praying, don't you wonder why more folks don't have a more satisfying prayer life? I have taught people to pray for years and have found that when there is a block in communication it is always an issue on our end of the conversation, not God's end.

God is waiting to here from us, the only thing holding us back from an incredible conversation with the Lord is our hesitancy. Spend some time talking to your Lord today!

Blessings!

pc

Trading Off

Have you ever noticed how often in life we have to compromise? We have a pop up camper which requires a certain size vehicle to pull, we also have 4 kids at home so when we go somewhere together we need seating for 6 or more if they bring friends. When our minivan was totaled we had a dilemma. We had two little cars, both very economical but they only seated 5 people and neither was big enough to pull our camper, what to do? A new minivan would cost well over twenty thousand dollars and we already had a loan on one our cars. So, I did it, I bought a used SUV, not just any SUV, a Chevy Suburban (translation- a small ocean liner). Found a great deal, low mileage, good price and I have to confess, I love my new used TRUCK! I love all the room, I love sitting high above the traffic and I love the safety such a well engineered vehicle provides my family. But, there was a trade off, the gas mileage is pretty abysmal, a Prius it's not. Our other car gets 25-32mpg so we can drive it the most but when we need the room and the power, the Suburban is ready to go.

In life we have to make sacrifices, mpg for size is just one example; how about some more? Less fatty, salty, yummy junk food for a slimmer waist line and healthier heart. How about patience in our purchasing so that we pay with cash rather than getting ourselves deeper in debt and paying those crazy interest charges. Try this one on, listen more and talk less then have more friends than you have ever had before!

In our walk with the Lord we make sacrifices to deepen our relationship, sacrifices like giving up a little of our sleep so we can spend some time in prayer and Bible study before we face the struggles of the day. In our service to God we may give up some of our precious time to go and bless someone else; whether we are feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, teaching English as a second language, or whatever God may lead us to do. At first it may seem like a bother but I can almost guarantee that after serving God's children you will be even more blessed than they.
What are some areas that you might want to sacrifice to grow closer to the Lord?
pc

He is Risen!

Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia! As I look back over this day I am grateful for the celebration that we experienced as a family of believers. This year I was especially moved by the Holy Thursday and Good Friday gatherings. When we walk the Holy Week journey with Jesus, we experience Resurrection Sunday in a more powerful way. I am so grateful for the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross and His victory over death. A victory that we share in as we trust in Jesus as our Savior. Just as our church celebrated Christ's resurrection, so did believers all over the world, all of us rejoicing in the common theme of an empty tomb. Christ is alive, let all the world rejoice!

God's Blessings!

PC

The Pressure to Connect

Well, it has been awhile, sorry... wait a minute why do I have to apologize, blogging is not a job responsibility, family chore, friendship requirement or is it? Do I really need to check my Facebook twice a day, three times a day, hourly, is it really necessary? What if I have a life away from my laptop? How often do I need to look over my emails, is it absolutely crucial for me to have a Blackberry which allows me to check my email continually through the day? Is it rude for me not to get back to the 50+ people that email me every day, what if I don't get a response out to them for 3 days, does that mean I don't care or does it say that I am overwhelmed because I am trying to keep connected with 300 other people at the same time.

This staying connected can be a blessing and a curse, I was talking to someone recently who practices a weekly electronic sabbath, no email, no Facebook, no computer, no TV (sports too?), no video games. What a great idea! I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.

Hey, here's a challenge for you, turn off the computer and go spend some face time with a real person.

God's Blessings!

PC

To Facebook or not to facebook

About a month ago, I mentioned Facebook and MySpace in a message, not really snotty but maybe I was a little schnarky. I was saying how often we try to find approval, self esteem, even our place in this world through these shrines to self. Kind of like writing a blog, as if someone would really care what we have to say...hey wait a minute :). I took the plunge just for the heck of it and have actually found Facebook to be pretty cool, mostly in becoming reacquainted with folks from college, high school and even middle school. What is really weird is how old my contemporaries look. You see I remember them from who they were twenty or thirty years ago, it's hard to imagine them balding, heavier, grey and wrinkly. After all I look exactly the same as when I was 20 except for the balding, extra weight, greying and wrinklingthat seems to be taking place.

So, for me, Facebook is not a shrine to me, but rather a connection, a connection to people who were important to me at one time. I now realize that they are still important to me. But because of human limitations, I have moved on without keeping in contact with these people. The wonders of creative technology have opened a door bringing the past to the present and for this I am grateful.

pc

Trophy Kids

I'm on my fifth kid, three of my own and two nephews. The youngest is 8 and the pressure is off. What a difference between my 8 year old nephew and my 24 year old daughter when she was his age. I know that when my daughter was little there was pressure for her to perform, whether it be in sports, academics, dance or popularity. Part of it was because of who she is, part of it was the society but a lot of it was because of who we expected her to be or who we expected her to become. Now, high expectations are not necessarily a bad thing if they encourage and help a kid to become all that is possible for them. But I know that too often I was pushing her because I felt it was a reflection on how good a parent I was.

Parenting, the ultimate sport; after all, we are competing with all those other parents out there to see who is the best. And if we do a really "good job" our kids will continue to push themselves even when we aren't there to "motivate" them. It seems to me that today it is even worse, kids are sometimes trophies for parents to display as an example of their parenting prowess. Are you competing in the parenting games, training one of yours to be a future medal winner? Before we answer too quickly, let's ask ourselves a few questions.

Do I find myself saying, "my son/daughter is better than him/her why are they ahead of him/her? Do I worry about what people will think of me if my child fails (if you just said to yourself, 'my child doesn't fail', you are definitely headed toward the games if not already training)? Do I find myself running my kids all over the place, spending tons of money on extra curricular activities that will give them "the edge" over their peers? There are bunch of other questions you might ask, in fact why not include them in a post following these remarks.

Certainly, our kids are extremely important too us, we love them tremendously, but we need to let them also enjoy life. Let them be kids, we should encourage them, but how much pressure should we put them under to always be the best? Maybe a better way for them to be happy and we as parents to be content is to encourage them to do "their" best and then be satisfied with that accomplishment.
pc

Asking for help

It seems to me that when we place most of our hope in another person we have begun to lose our way. First off, for the believer, our hope primarily should be in the Lord of Creation not in some political or religious leader. Within ourselves there is also reason for hope, you and I have the capability of making great things happen in our own environments and even on a grander scale. God has created you in His image, an image that is brimming with creativity, inteligence, wisdom, humor and problem solving expertise.

My father grew up in deep poverty in Southern Illinois, his father died when he was a small child, so his mom raised his sister Garnet and he without any federal support and little help from anyone else other than family. I think it was because of this upbringing that my dad taught himself how to fix things. I don't ever remember as a kid my dad calling a plumber, electrician or anyone else to come in and repair anything. A few years before his death I helped him replace the roof on his home. Why hire someone, it's not rocket science, we'll do it ourselves and we did. It's a great memory that still lives in my mind, those hours we spent together hauling and hammering. Some may say that it was because he was cheap, maybe so but I think it had more to do with that old self reliant spirit that drove him throughout his life.

I am so grateful for a father who nurtured that "do it yourself "mentality in me, but I've also found over the years that is also ok to ask for a little help when we're not sure how to proceed with a project. Often I will call someone just to get a little advice when I'm stuck; that call usually produces positive results. We can also call on God when we need a little help, actually we can call on Him anytime!

pc

Hanging out with the homeless

Last night I went and spent the night at a homeless shelter for men in a nearby city. It was not my first experience with folks in this situation but it was the first time I spent the whole night in a place that literally saves the lives of those that may freeze to death without shelter. My friend and I were greeted warmly by the folks waiting to go inside and they eagerly helped us bring in the clothes, food and supplies that we brought along. We were able to give them all a good meal before bedtime at 10pm and breakfast before they headed back on the streets at 6am. This is the only shelter in this moderately large city and it is run by a Christian group, made up mostly of volunteers like my friend Henry who give of their time sacrificially. We also met three other volunteers who helped get things going last night. One of them had brought a bunch of socks and underwear for the men (she had purchased herself), her assistant shared with me that he had been on the street homeless for a year but by the grace of God he was there volunteering to help others out of this terrible cycle that they are trapped within. May God bless all those that are getting their hands dirty for the Gospel. Matthew 25, when you did it for one of the least of these you did it for me (Jesus)

God's blessings!

pc

Why the Labyrinth Log

A friend of mine encouraged me to start a blog just to give folks a forum to discuss their hearts and thoughts. I was listening to someone talking about a prayer labyrinth and it dawned on me how much life with God can be like wandering through a maze or labyrinth in which you can't see over the top or around the corners. Yet, someone from above can quickly discern the way around dangers and snare and if they could communicate with us, they would be able to easily direct our path. God can see around the corners and over the top. God knows present, past and present as one, and when we are in tune with His Holy Spirit, the Lord will guide our steps into the wonders that He has in store for us. Remember, you don't walk alone.
pc

Labyrinth Log

Welcome to the Labyrinth Log!

It is hard to see what is in the future and around the corner, so we need some direction. This direction can come from people that we trust and respect, it can also come from The One who can see over the walls and hedges that obscure our vision. As we connect with The One Who Sees, we can then follow the directions that we are given. I have found life much easier since I made prayer a primary focus of my life, I depend less on my hunches and try to seek the Lord's direction in those decisions that have more important consequences. As life goes on I find that my decisions affect more and more people so I want to have the best guidance possible. For me, the best advice I have ever received is to take all my concerns and worries to the Lord in prayer. How about you?

Chris