upward & inward

OCTOBER 1   2 Timothy 2; Ps. 118 2   2 Timothy 3; Ps. 119:1-24 3   2 Timothy 4; Ps. 119:25-56 4   Titus 1; Ps. 119:57-80 5   Titus 2; Ps. 119:81-104 6   Titus 3; Ps. 119:105-136 7   Philemon 1; Ps. 119:137-160 8   Hebrews 1; Ps. 119:161-176 9   Hebrews 2; Ps. 120 10   Hebrews 3; Ps. 121 11   Hebrews 4; Ps. 122 12   Hebrews 5; Ps. 123 13   Hebrews 6; Ps. 124 14   Hebrews 7; Ps. 125 15   Hebrews 8; Ps. 126 16   Hebrews 9; Ps. 127 17   Hebrews 10; Ps. 128 18   Hebrews 11 19   Hebrews 12; Ps. 129 20   Hebrews 13; Ps. 130 21   James 1; Ps. 131 22   James 2; Ps. 132 23   James 3; Ps. 13...

  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”    Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”    Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18:36-38a In a culture that stresses having the “right” identity, you and I have many.    For example, I am a son of my parents, husband to my wife, father to my children, grandfather to their children, a neighbor, a friend, a pastor.    You get the idea.    All of these relationships mark us – identify us.    While we might like to consider all of these identities equally, there is a hierarchy whereby one identity overshadows ...

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13   Listen, loved ones, and let me tell you about my friend, Randy.   He and I were about as opposite as two friends could be.  I worked in technology and he built buildings out of brick.  I loved to run and he loved to hunt.  While the towers fell in 2001, I sat dumbstruck with the rest of the country wondering what would happen next.  Randy would learn of it two weeks later because he was up in the Canadian tundra, near the Arctic Circle without cell service, hunting musk ox, and avoiding grizzly bears. Yet, when he and I would sing together, I felt I could sing better because it was us singing.  He included me. He encouraged me to play guitar, sing, and lead. For several years, leading our church’s worship team together, we were a team. He would lead the congregation and I would lead ...

Happy Good Friday? How can we describe as “Happy” a day that was so very sad? Also   called Black Friday, Holy Friday, and Great Friday, we celebrate this  day on the Friday before Easter.  The Scriptures tell us that on this  day, nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus was arrested, accused, condemned, and  killed. If anyone was there to be His   advocate, we do not know of it.   There is no report of such advocacy in the Biblical accounts. But   in this account of this day we read of darkness having its way.  Everything that could “go wrong” did. Or did it? As Bob Goff says,  “Darkness fell. His friends scattered. All hope seemed lost. But then  heaven just started counting to three.” Looking   at this story from the end backwards, we know what the disciples and  those who killed Him did not - that He would indeed rise again!  How can   we then look at this story with a freshness our world desperately  ne...

Have you checked the mirror this morning? I ask you this not to have you look over your shoulder or remember the guy that was following too closely behind you in traffic this morning. No, as you prepared for the day this morning and looked in the mirror, you probably looked   closely at your own face.  Take a moment and remember through your mind’s eye: what face held your gaze as you looked in the mirror?   Now, before you are overly critical (or overly admiring) about the face you remember, read this: So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 You may want to sit down as you read this next, often overlooked, incredible truth:   You bear the image of Almighty God. Have you pondered that lately? Last weekend, I had the opportunity to consider this anew: each of us bear the image of the Almighty God, creator of the universe - the One who loved enough to die for us so that we would ...

Over the years, I have had the privilege of a nearly 30-year relationship with a dear friend of our family who Sherry and I met early on in our marriage.  Jack White, and his wife Nadine, spiritually adopted us as their kids soon after we married and moved to San Jose, California. Jack owned a business that provided industrial sandpaper and other abrasives. The business was aptly named Abrasive Supply with it’s motto: “It’s a rough old world without Abrasive Supply”. We met Jack and Nadine at the church we began attending, Valley Community Church. Jack was the lay-leader of the congregation along with the choir director, worship leader, and Sunday School teacher.  He and Nadine often invited us over to their home for dinner or movies or just hanging out by their pool. Their kids were older than us and had started families. But of course, they also welcomed us as part of the family. Even...

By now, most if not all of us have heard or read of the violence that has gripped this country and this world.   Men and women destroyed – some because of the color of their skin or their faith or lack of faith.   Others lost their lives because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time - at the whim of evil men. The media fuels the furor with non-stop coverage while division reigns as people take sides and demand justice.   And, maybe you’re feeling what I’m feeling: we want to take action.   We want to do something! What can we do?   What does God ask of His people? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Notice the requirement: to act!   Emerson said: "What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." Actions speak louder than words! Do you want to do something? Then, be purposeful about ‎acting justly...

On Sunday morning, we awoke to the ongoing coverage of a national tragedy. As of this writing, 49 families lost a loved one, killed in cold blood.   53 other families are still waiting for their loved ones to heal and recover from life-threatening wounds.   Still others are wondering how they made it out alive.   All affected by this tragedy will never be the same. And a nation mourns.   Now is the time to pray. Pray for recovery – both physically and emotionally – and that all would feel the healing and comfort of Christ Himself. Now is not the time for blame. Now is not the time for hidden (and not so hidden) agendas to take priority over the care required for the hurting.   Now is not the time to presume upon God whatever motive suits us. And, now is not the time to score political points for our preferred politicians. There will be time for remedial action but in the near term, we have a healing role to play in our fa...

--> In addition to having our children, my bride and I have enjoyed the privilege of sponsoring children internationally. But, what does it mean to "sponsor a child"?  Through the Church of God's Children of Promise ministry ( www.echildrenofpromise.org ), you and I have the opportunity to literally change lives through financial and spiritual means. For just $32 per month (about a tank of gas in the US), you can sponsor a child and immediately affect his or her life through schooling, clothing, food, and spiritual nourishment. And, this is not just for the child but also his or her family, too. When a child is sponsored the ripple effect is dramatic. In addition, sponsoring a child means establishing and developing a real relationship. Through emails, letters, gifts, prayers, and personal visits on mission trips, sponsors can play an invested role in a child's life that is so very fulfilling. We have sponsors in our church who ...

…Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:12b-13 Merry Christmas! What do you want to accomplish this Christmas? Give the right gifts? Get the right gifts?   Just make it through the season? Here’s an idea! Let’s just be different this year.     How different?   Consider the quality of… Compassion.   Let’s open our eyes and ears to those struggling among us.   By helping in whatever way we can, we show… Kindness: putting others’ needs ahead of our own. Whether in listening more closely, smiling more often, or providing warm meals, kindness requires us to seek… Humility. There is so much of “self” in the world, “self-serve” has a whole new meaning! And, when we’re humble, we show… Gentleness: “Power under control”. Speaking words that lift up, not tear d...

Merry Christmas! For those uncomfortable with that greeting, maybe you prefer...   Happy Holidays! Either one works for me.   Why? When someone says “Merry Christmas”, it’s as if she says,   “I'm celebrating the birth of Christ! I hope that your celebration is merry!” When someone says “Happy Holidays”, it’s as if he says, “I'm celebrating the Holidays! I hope that your celebration is happy!” Essentially, I believe these phrases are one and the same. Why? What’s a holiday? It is a Holy-Day .   A Holy-Day is a Day set apart for Divine (that is, Godly) purposes. In these Holy Days, we celebrate the first arrival of the Christ – the Son of God. The plans for this arrival began at the very beginning.   After creating the world, God simply wanted to have a relationship with His creation: with you and with me – with the whole world.   He s till does. And although that plan was interrupted by the rebellion of those cre...

Today is the day which has been set aside by our nation to give thanks.  Organized declarations of thanksgiving have been a part of cultures for thousands of years.  So, we gather to give thanks to God, not to celebrate a simple pilgrim meal that happened long ago.  Although not the first leader to do so, Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, made a proclamation of Thanksgiving in 1863.  After describing the "bounties" of harvest, new frontiers, and natural resources of a country still struggling in a time of war, the President goes on to say, [These] are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who ...