I am thinking today about reputation or character. Living above reproach. What we think is a good laugh one minute can become laughing "at" instead of "with". There is a fine between the two and I think the line is a line of love for the person. I don't mind laughing with those I love about something I have done or said that may prove to be silly or embarrassing. Yet if someone who I don't know or I think has little regard for me, little love for me, laughs as well, then that is different.
Is that true for you?
Webster dictionary: rep∙u∙ta∙tion \ noun
[Middle English reputacioun, from Latin reputation-, reputatio consideration, from reputare]
(14th century)
1 a : overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general
b : recognition by other people of some characteristic or ability -has the reputation of being clever.
2 : a place in public esteem or regard : good name
In the MESSAGE by E. Peterson, book of James it says:
A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell."
"Temptation often comes not at our strongest, but our weakest moments. When we are at the limit of our patience, love, etc., we are tempted to be unChristian. Beware, Jesus' temptation began after 40 days of fasting. "- Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations
These words may seem abstract today. But it is what is on my mind.
How do you protect your reputation or the reputation of others??
Do you think the amount of love you have for a person measures how far you will go to protect their reputation?
Just some thoughts.
Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible Communications: Garland TX
Peterson, E. H. 1995. The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs . NavPress: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
Old friends
I went to a funeral today. I didn't really know the officer that was Promoted to Glory, although I was impressed with all they said about her. I was there because one of her grandsons has been a friend of mine since I was around 9 years old. There was a group of us. We were all officer's kids.
This was the group in no particular order:
Kevin Miller, Jimmy Shotzburger, Heather Smullen, Robert Smullen, Lynnette Psaute, Beth Baker, Johnny Payton.
I no longer know where Heather, Robert, Beth or Johnny are. I know Heather and Robert don't go to the Army. I am not sure about Beth or Johnny.
Kevin and Lynnette married but recently divorced. They also don't go to the Army.
Jimmy died not so long ago (suicide) and I still think about him and our little group.
From the age of 9-14 we were inseparable. There were others who came and went but this was the core group. We shared our years of innocence and discovery together.
So, I went to the funeral to support Kevin. I , in some way feel like it is my way of being loyal to him, to those friends, those memories.....who I am....who we were.
I wonder what happened to all of us. All of us officer's kids, all sharing the same childhood experiences......not one that I know of goes to a corps. What is up with that? I could go and make a stronger statement but I don't know where they are at physically or spiritually. Did we "drop the ball" so to speak with officer kids? What are we doing today to ensure that we are not saving the world and loosing our own? Where are they??
How can I call them friends after all this time? After not seeing them, not communicating with them? I don't know.......but I do. Some memories in life are deep. Moments when you knew you were accepted, you knew you belonged.
It was great to see Kevin. He is a great guy. My fear is that he doesn't know that. I have lost contact with all the others.....except for Lynnette and Kevin. Lynnette was my maid of honor in my wedding. She is a great person and a good mother.
I wish we all had kept in touch through the years. I wish I had known Jimmy as an adult. He was a great kid.
Each of us have our own stories, our own heartaches......how much easier would the load be if we carried it with a friend? I am guilty of not keeping in touch as well as I could have.
Do they remember?
I remember them all, as 12 year old kids......silly, smiles, laughing together, worshiping together.
Even seeing Kevin today....all grown up......in his eyes....he is still that 12 year old boy who called me a friend.
May God's grace cover them all.
2 Timothy 2:13 "If we are faithless, God will remain faithful, for He cannot disown himself."
I don't know who reads this. If you read this and can tell me about any of them that I have mentioned....please let me know. I would love to be in touch!
This was the group in no particular order:
Kevin Miller, Jimmy Shotzburger, Heather Smullen, Robert Smullen, Lynnette Psaute, Beth Baker, Johnny Payton.
I no longer know where Heather, Robert, Beth or Johnny are. I know Heather and Robert don't go to the Army. I am not sure about Beth or Johnny.
Kevin and Lynnette married but recently divorced. They also don't go to the Army.
Jimmy died not so long ago (suicide) and I still think about him and our little group.
From the age of 9-14 we were inseparable. There were others who came and went but this was the core group. We shared our years of innocence and discovery together.
So, I went to the funeral to support Kevin. I , in some way feel like it is my way of being loyal to him, to those friends, those memories.....who I am....who we were.
I wonder what happened to all of us. All of us officer's kids, all sharing the same childhood experiences......not one that I know of goes to a corps. What is up with that? I could go and make a stronger statement but I don't know where they are at physically or spiritually. Did we "drop the ball" so to speak with officer kids? What are we doing today to ensure that we are not saving the world and loosing our own? Where are they??
How can I call them friends after all this time? After not seeing them, not communicating with them? I don't know.......but I do. Some memories in life are deep. Moments when you knew you were accepted, you knew you belonged.
It was great to see Kevin. He is a great guy. My fear is that he doesn't know that. I have lost contact with all the others.....except for Lynnette and Kevin. Lynnette was my maid of honor in my wedding. She is a great person and a good mother.
I wish we all had kept in touch through the years. I wish I had known Jimmy as an adult. He was a great kid.
Each of us have our own stories, our own heartaches......how much easier would the load be if we carried it with a friend? I am guilty of not keeping in touch as well as I could have.
Do they remember?
I remember them all, as 12 year old kids......silly, smiles, laughing together, worshiping together.
Even seeing Kevin today....all grown up......in his eyes....he is still that 12 year old boy who called me a friend.
May God's grace cover them all.
2 Timothy 2:13 "If we are faithless, God will remain faithful, for He cannot disown himself."
I don't know who reads this. If you read this and can tell me about any of them that I have mentioned....please let me know. I would love to be in touch!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Mercy given, Mercy received
Did Noah shout from the Ark that day,
"I told you so!", then sailed away?
Have you ever felt like Jonah that night,
Who saved the city but lost the fight?
Have you ever thought, "Sons of Thunder, they had it right!
Let's destroy the wicked with God's great might!"
Mercy and grace are great to receive,
God's compassion, His love, they're what we need.
When its for us, its justice rung true,
But those we find deserving are very few!
They say it is better to give than receive
But showing God's kindness can cause one to grieve.
Yet its His great mercy that saved you and me,
Now let us be honest, how deserving are we?
God takes no pleasure in loosing the lost,
He came to save them, He paid the cost.
We would always do well to remember our place,
How much we need Him, His love and His grace!
"I told you so!", then sailed away?
Have you ever felt like Jonah that night,
Who saved the city but lost the fight?
Have you ever thought, "Sons of Thunder, they had it right!
Let's destroy the wicked with God's great might!"
Mercy and grace are great to receive,
God's compassion, His love, they're what we need.
When its for us, its justice rung true,
But those we find deserving are very few!
They say it is better to give than receive
But showing God's kindness can cause one to grieve.
Yet its His great mercy that saved you and me,
Now let us be honest, how deserving are we?
God takes no pleasure in loosing the lost,
He came to save them, He paid the cost.
We would always do well to remember our place,
How much we need Him, His love and His grace!
Monday, October 17, 2005
Last sermon preached at Montclair's old building- Bringing down the walls.
We have been remembering today ways in which God has met with us through the years here in this place. In these walls. God has moved here….in lives, in families. It is right for us to pause and reflect on those times.
Many other memories have also been made in this place. If the walls could talk??? What would they say?? What stories would they tell?
As sacred as this place has become….it really isn’t about the building. It is about a body of believers living out their faith though life…..side by side. The Church is not bricks and mortar but the Body of Christ preparing the world for His coming again.
Joshua said to the commander of the army of the Lord: Are you one of us, or one of our adversary’s? ² The Commander of the Army of the Lord replied Neither!² The battle of Jericho was not their battle but it belonged to the Lord.
The mission of the Corps is not ours to live out as we please or on our own strength and thinking. The mission of this Corps must be the Lord’s mission! No matter what the walls look like around us!
In our Scripture today we will see a battle that belonged to the Lord…He promised to bring the walls down, to take them into the Promised Land. He called the next generation of believers to step out in faith.
In this battle they would face more than just the thick walls of Jericho. They would have to first have to face some invisible walls in their own lives before the victory would be theirs.
Sometimes our invisible walls seem thicker than those of Jericho.
I. The first wall is the wall of fear
· Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.
· Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
· Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.
· Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.
· Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings.
· Odontophobia: fear of teeth.
· Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.
I think the fear we find in this passage has more to do with………”Fearing of what others will think of us”
Imagine Joshua’s fear 6:13-15, 7:1-5---some game plan! Imagine having to tell the priest…or the people.
What about the people’s fear---7:8-11- stepping out and marching around with no immediate results. Just a lot of trumpet noise!
---- vs. 11 that night?? What were they thinking as they went to bed that night.
Why are we doing what we do anyway?
For who?
II. The second wall is the wall of cynicism…….” Nothing is going to change, nothing will happen, nothing will be different.”
· A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. H. L. MenckenUS editor (1880 - 1956)
· Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try. Peggy Noonan, in Good Housekeeping US speechwriter for George Bush (1950 - )
· A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future. Sidney J. Harris
7:12-14 ---2nd to 6th day…same thing, nothing different…no signs, no changes….monotony.- I wonder if the trumpets were blown with less enthusiasm on the 4 or 6th day then they were on the first.
There is often a creeping cynicism which attacks the vulnerabilities of the people, getting them to succumb to temptation, providing the illusion that God’s word is no longer relevant despite past victories. This perhaps this is the highest wall--- the wall of cynicism, of unbelief, of a weakening faith in the gospel, it’s power, it’s healing and redemptive possibilities.
We see no immediate results, we feel like we are going through the motions. We start to doubt the validity of it all.
7:15-21------it works! God keeps his word. They didn’t bring the walls down….God did.
III. The third wall is the wall of exclusiveness…..” God calls us to reach out to others and accept them fully into our community; our circles……invite them to be part of God’s family. Not just marginally.
7:22-25—Instructions about Rahab and her family.
God calls them to accept those who are most unlike them. To invite them into the family.
The Israelites found a place out side the camp-vs.23
No longer acceptable to be exclusive…Every ministry, every program, every social outreach that we have in our corps should be a path to acceptance into our corps family and ultimately acceptance into the family of God. Finding places for people outside the camp…is not God’s plan.
We do what we do so people will come to know Jesus. The mission of the corps is- ( not should be- BUT IS!) an all-embracing one.
This is how the kingdom of God is to look like and it will only occur when we beak down every last wall of exclusiveness.
Sometimes we act like “they” should be content, happy and thankful they are saved…God calls us to not only to bring them out of the rubble but to bring them into to the fellowship.
God outlines this perfectly in his own family tree.
Matt. 1:5…Mentions Rahab….no longer outside the camp but….God brought her into the family into his blood line.
Conclusion:
This year will be a year of many changes. We will not be surrounded by the familiar. God is calling us to be ready for battle…He is going to do a new thing….walls will come down, visions for the future of the Army in Montclair will become a reality. May we go forward….with no fear of what other’s may think or say. May we go forward….leaving the doubt, the cynicism behind us, May we go forward with the sole purpose of honoring God and bringing others into His Kingdom. Gives us a vision Lord for the future of this corps.
The strongest and highest walls cannot hold out against omnipotence! ²- Mathew Henry
Many other memories have also been made in this place. If the walls could talk??? What would they say?? What stories would they tell?
As sacred as this place has become….it really isn’t about the building. It is about a body of believers living out their faith though life…..side by side. The Church is not bricks and mortar but the Body of Christ preparing the world for His coming again.
Joshua said to the commander of the army of the Lord: Are you one of us, or one of our adversary’s? ² The Commander of the Army of the Lord replied Neither!² The battle of Jericho was not their battle but it belonged to the Lord.
The mission of the Corps is not ours to live out as we please or on our own strength and thinking. The mission of this Corps must be the Lord’s mission! No matter what the walls look like around us!
In our Scripture today we will see a battle that belonged to the Lord…He promised to bring the walls down, to take them into the Promised Land. He called the next generation of believers to step out in faith.
In this battle they would face more than just the thick walls of Jericho. They would have to first have to face some invisible walls in their own lives before the victory would be theirs.
Sometimes our invisible walls seem thicker than those of Jericho.
I. The first wall is the wall of fear
· Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.
· Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
· Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.
· Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.
· Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings.
· Odontophobia: fear of teeth.
· Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.
I think the fear we find in this passage has more to do with………”Fearing of what others will think of us”
Imagine Joshua’s fear 6:13-15, 7:1-5---some game plan! Imagine having to tell the priest…or the people.
What about the people’s fear---7:8-11- stepping out and marching around with no immediate results. Just a lot of trumpet noise!
---- vs. 11 that night?? What were they thinking as they went to bed that night.
Why are we doing what we do anyway?
For who?
II. The second wall is the wall of cynicism…….” Nothing is going to change, nothing will happen, nothing will be different.”
· A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin. H. L. MenckenUS editor (1880 - 1956)
· Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try. Peggy Noonan, in Good Housekeeping US speechwriter for George Bush (1950 - )
· A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future. Sidney J. Harris
7:12-14 ---2nd to 6th day…same thing, nothing different…no signs, no changes….monotony.- I wonder if the trumpets were blown with less enthusiasm on the 4 or 6th day then they were on the first.
There is often a creeping cynicism which attacks the vulnerabilities of the people, getting them to succumb to temptation, providing the illusion that God’s word is no longer relevant despite past victories. This perhaps this is the highest wall--- the wall of cynicism, of unbelief, of a weakening faith in the gospel, it’s power, it’s healing and redemptive possibilities.
We see no immediate results, we feel like we are going through the motions. We start to doubt the validity of it all.
7:15-21------it works! God keeps his word. They didn’t bring the walls down….God did.
III. The third wall is the wall of exclusiveness…..” God calls us to reach out to others and accept them fully into our community; our circles……invite them to be part of God’s family. Not just marginally.
7:22-25—Instructions about Rahab and her family.
God calls them to accept those who are most unlike them. To invite them into the family.
The Israelites found a place out side the camp-vs.23
No longer acceptable to be exclusive…Every ministry, every program, every social outreach that we have in our corps should be a path to acceptance into our corps family and ultimately acceptance into the family of God. Finding places for people outside the camp…is not God’s plan.
We do what we do so people will come to know Jesus. The mission of the corps is- ( not should be- BUT IS!) an all-embracing one.
This is how the kingdom of God is to look like and it will only occur when we beak down every last wall of exclusiveness.
Sometimes we act like “they” should be content, happy and thankful they are saved…God calls us to not only to bring them out of the rubble but to bring them into to the fellowship.
God outlines this perfectly in his own family tree.
Matt. 1:5…Mentions Rahab….no longer outside the camp but….God brought her into the family into his blood line.
Conclusion:
This year will be a year of many changes. We will not be surrounded by the familiar. God is calling us to be ready for battle…He is going to do a new thing….walls will come down, visions for the future of the Army in Montclair will become a reality. May we go forward….with no fear of what other’s may think or say. May we go forward….leaving the doubt, the cynicism behind us, May we go forward with the sole purpose of honoring God and bringing others into His Kingdom. Gives us a vision Lord for the future of this corps.
The strongest and highest walls cannot hold out against omnipotence! ²- Mathew Henry
Saturday, October 15, 2005
The girl is alive- The women is healed
I kept thinking of one particular woman in Scripture. Her story is in Matt. 9:18-26 and Mark 5:22-43.
Matthew has some good words, but Mark gives more details.
Read the scriptures I gave you, then read this....
The girl is dead.
The woman is sick.
Things get worse instead of better.
The crowd closes in around Him and He doesn't see her.
She wants to touch Him.
She wants to be healed but,
She is ashamed.
She is a disgrace.
She is in pain.
No one seems to notice.
People are all around and inside herself she is screaming.
"Who am I to seek His healing?"
No one can hear her.
"He is going,
Do you see Him?
He is on His way to help someone less fortunate than myself.
I am no one.
Too many people.
I am too ashamed.
Maybe, I can just touch him and then sneak away.
No one knows how I have suffered, no one has seen or felt my pain...
Emotionally,
Physically,
Or spiritually.
I am left an outcast, alone and trampled.
He's too busy!
What he must do now is more important than me..
He is going to help a child.
Her father has come on her behalf.
No one would or could ask for me,
Especially not my father.
Why has this gone on so long?
If I could just touch His hem.
Such little faith...
Such great power flowing through me!
What has happened to me?
He knows I am here.
What if he sees me?
He knows I am here.
What if he is angry with me?
He knows I have taken from him.
Then he speaks.
Do you hear his words?
He speaks to me,
To my soul,
To the deepest part and says..
"Take heart Daughter!"
Daughter!
Daughter.
The word sounds new,
Fresh,
Pure when He speaks it.
To be called Daughter
By the son of God!
To be HIS Child.
To be a child.
To have childlike faith, hope and trust.
But wait!
The little girl is dead!
I can still hear the mourners’ voices.
The noise, the depression..
Death.
Death is in the air.
I follow Him to her house and hear him say..
"She is not dead!"
Laughter fills the air from all who are there.
Sometimes it is just easier to laugh.
Can't He see death?
Can't He smell it?
He says she is asleep.
In a coma?
Does she even know He is there?
Then He speaks and says to her..
"Little girl, I say to you get up!"
And immediately the girl stood up!
She came alive!
Before my eyes,
In the deepest part of my being,
In my soul.
The girl awoke, she stood, she walked,
She breathed, she smiled.
The child was alive!
The child within me awoke."
The little girl is alive!
The woman is healed.
___________________________________
Matthew has some good words, but Mark gives more details.
Read the scriptures I gave you, then read this....
The girl is dead.
The woman is sick.
Things get worse instead of better.
The crowd closes in around Him and He doesn't see her.
She wants to touch Him.
She wants to be healed but,
She is ashamed.
She is a disgrace.
She is in pain.
No one seems to notice.
People are all around and inside herself she is screaming.
"Who am I to seek His healing?"
No one can hear her.
"He is going,
Do you see Him?
He is on His way to help someone less fortunate than myself.
I am no one.
Too many people.
I am too ashamed.
Maybe, I can just touch him and then sneak away.
No one knows how I have suffered, no one has seen or felt my pain...
Emotionally,
Physically,
Or spiritually.
I am left an outcast, alone and trampled.
He's too busy!
What he must do now is more important than me..
He is going to help a child.
Her father has come on her behalf.
No one would or could ask for me,
Especially not my father.
Why has this gone on so long?
If I could just touch His hem.
Such little faith...
Such great power flowing through me!
What has happened to me?
He knows I am here.
What if he sees me?
He knows I am here.
What if he is angry with me?
He knows I have taken from him.
Then he speaks.
Do you hear his words?
He speaks to me,
To my soul,
To the deepest part and says..
"Take heart Daughter!"
Daughter!
Daughter.
The word sounds new,
Fresh,
Pure when He speaks it.
To be called Daughter
By the son of God!
To be HIS Child.
To be a child.
To have childlike faith, hope and trust.
But wait!
The little girl is dead!
I can still hear the mourners’ voices.
The noise, the depression..
Death.
Death is in the air.
I follow Him to her house and hear him say..
"She is not dead!"
Laughter fills the air from all who are there.
Sometimes it is just easier to laugh.
Can't He see death?
Can't He smell it?
He says she is asleep.
In a coma?
Does she even know He is there?
Then He speaks and says to her..
"Little girl, I say to you get up!"
And immediately the girl stood up!
She came alive!
Before my eyes,
In the deepest part of my being,
In my soul.
The girl awoke, she stood, she walked,
She breathed, she smiled.
The child was alive!
The child within me awoke."
The little girl is alive!
The woman is healed.
___________________________________
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Romance
Blossoms in springtime
Stars in the night,
Bouquets of flowers
And diamonds so bright.
Songs sung by voices that
Know your heart well,
Reach for me
Touch me
My God loves me still!
Lilacs of “thank yous”
Breath of fresh air
Whispers in darkness
Warm summer air
These are my sonnets
My answers to prayer
These are the things
that lighten my care
Stars in the night,
Bouquets of flowers
And diamonds so bright.
Songs sung by voices that
Know your heart well,
Reach for me
Touch me
My God loves me still!
Lilacs of “thank yous”
Breath of fresh air
Whispers in darkness
Warm summer air
These are my sonnets
My answers to prayer
These are the things
that lighten my care
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