Unsettling the Settled

To be totally honest I loved it when our pastor was "unfocused." He spent some time in the desert earlier this year and his messages, while still good, were not the unsettling, challenging, thought provoking messages I had come to expect. I should have known that a man of God will recognize something is amiss and correct it. He has. Last Sunday the message came from Matthew 20: 1-13 and I was all set with my good old western understanding of scripture to hear a standard sermon. Wrong! The parable must address us not we bringing our understanding to the parable. The justice seekers (fairness people), of which I tend to be one, don't like this parable so we try to explain it away. I had to face the fact that I don't like it if someone does less and gets the same. I didn't like it if someone made a death-bed conversion to escape the fiery furnace. That wasn't fair. Those who worked all day should receive more, those who came later should receive less. It's a very simple concept, why does God have to mess it up? I am afraid I had always held the idea that my relationship with God was about my goodness and not His grace. Is God fair? Nope, if He were fair, where would I be? I don't deserve anything, no one does. If not for His unmerited favor none of us would have the hope of eternal life. In Matthew 19, Peter asks about who would be saved? The answer is about the endless possibilities of who will be saved. Am I doing my part? Saying no to this world is the part I must start with. I primarily live to serve myself. May that change in the days, weeks, and years ahead.

Citizens of the King

In the fifth chapter of Matthew the disciples came to Christ and "He began to teach them." He reminded them to be "gentle" (v. 5), to "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (v. 6), to be "merciful" (v. 7), to be "pure in heart" (v. 8), and to be a "peacemaker" (v. 9). If I am bound to Christ these are characteristics that must describe my life in the world. Why? Verse thirteen answers that, "you are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?" We have become "tasteless" and need to be made salty. In this election season we must remember that it is not who is the next president because our reasons for who we want to be the next president are probably wrong. One group wants a particular person because they think their economic policies will make them wealthy through a more open market. Woe to you who are investments because you usually are not upright and honest. One group wants a particular person because they believe they will take money from the wealthy and hand it out to those who don't have as much. Woe to you who make mankind dependent upon hand-outs. Where is the candidate who is saying the truth, we have no money, we are not going to continue to borrow at the rate we have been borrowing, we are holding the line here? Why will no candidate speak the hard truth? Of course, they would not be elected. Believers must remember that we are called to serve a Ruler not of this world, we are called to be different and bring a different message. Our message must be one of hope, our lives be lives that are different. My challenge to every believer..........in one area..........housing...........build no house larger than 2100 square feet of living space.........I'll even exclude the basement. Donate the difference between what you were going to build to your local church, for example, you were going to build a 3,000 sq. ft. house, take 900 sq. ft. x cost per sq. ft. = amount to donate to your local church.

Wonder

As God created the Hummingbird for a purpose, so too are we created for a purpose. Watching this little character arrive for nourishment was an amazing opportunity. We sat in comfortable rocking chairs at the Funk's Grove Nature Center reading the paper and waiting for this example of creation to appear. Time and again they returned for a brief moment and then moved on. It was truly an amazing experience.

History

Elkader, Iowa is a wonderful community built along the Turkey River. The bridge in the photo was constructed early in the 20th century by the same methods used in ancient Rome. Wooden arched forms supported the stones until a keystone was dropped into place and filled in the pressure point providing a stable, nearly maintenance free structure. Any community that needs bridges, has access to a quarry at a reasonable distance should consider this method. The bridge was originally built in 9 months but has required almost no follow-up maintenance. We, in the Midwest, typically build using concrete piers with iron beams and a concrete deck which are all constantly hammered by our use of salt, the iron rusts and needs painting, the concrete rots and needs replaced, the taxpayer continues to support the ever growing cycle. Anyway, if you are ever near Elkader, stop and see this bridge.

Thoughts on the Bat

Went to see The Dark Knight, what a thoughtful film. We left really thinking about what could cause us to give up our beliefs? Is security worth spying on everyone? Does spying on everyone insure security? Did the Joker's role put an already fragile individual over the edge? Who do you choose to save? Is a vigilante no different than the criminal?

Blessed????

Faith is a fuzzy thing. We think we see something very clear and we advocate that everyone see the same clear picture. The UMC held its General Conference earlier this year and some interesting statistics were presented:
1. 96% of people living in the U.S. believe in God; 2. 53% of the 96% say it makes no difference in their living; 3. 60% have no Christian relationship; 4. 80% of 18-30 year-olds have no relationship with the church whatsoever. If you think, as many do, that the UMC would intentionally skew their research I would invite you to read UnChristian which goes even further in explaining what a poor job believers do in modeling Christ to our culture.
It sure seems that the evil one has figured out how to lure believers in America to sleep. . . . .abundance. We want for very little, it will be interesting to see how faith surveys change if the "recession" we aren't in hangs around for another year. Abundance does not increase faith, easy lives with plenty to eat, every electronic gadget on earth, the latest car, homes large enough to house the entire extended family, and lives so busy we have no time to build a relationship, a true deep, meaningful relationship with anyone. I am not advocating returning to life in the early 20th century or late 19th century but having visited a culture where relationships are first and foremost does make one think about the direction our country has taken. If all your material needs are met in abundance why would you need to trust the unseen God? I can do all things but it doesn't appear that I need Christ to strengthen me. Adversity seems to bring about deeper faith. I have written about my nephew who is, as I write, in Pittsburgh recovering from major surgery. I have learned more about a deepening faith in God through he and his family as they struggle, not only with the present but with the future, to meet the decisions of the day. They take each day as it comes and are thankful for everything God has done, is doing and will do. To watch the relationship that Daniel has built with his nurses, that is Christ working through us and that is how we will impact the world. The latest praise song may make our heart twitter and our eyes mist but in the end it is how we relate to those around us. It appears that Americans don't really want to do the next step in their faith, the hard step, which is to develop a relationship with someone who may not think like they do on every issue. That is the only way we will change the statistics mentioned earlier.

Pickwick Mill, Pickwick, Minnesota

This 19th century mill really impressed me. The design, the construction, the product and now, the people involved in restoration. If you are ever near Winona, Minnesota the mill is about 10 miles away and well worth the drive. I hope my editing isn't so bad that you can't follow what I am trying to show. Comments are always welcome.
What would have been like to work in this mill? Smells, heat, cold, safety, pay, the hours, benefits, retirement, etc.