Devotion: A Flaky Pastry?

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Robert Franklin

Some years ago I decided that I needed to learn how to make Danish pastry.  I had little idea of what was required.  Only after I had passed “the point of no return” did I realize just how much effort is required to make these delectable treats.  Suffice it to say, the next time I purchased a Danish from the bakery I appreciated all the more the flaky sweetness and the bakers craft and time I knew were invested in providing me this favored delicacy.

Many approach the idea of daily Christian devotions with the same mindset I possessed about the making of a Danish.  We may think spending time with God, enjoying a bit of His character, and being encouraged by His direction would be sweet to taste.  We may have purchased some prepackaged devotional material to sample in the past, found it satisfying and enjoyed it without the least idea of the work necessary to produce it.Now we are trying to read our Bible on our own and find it difficult (maybe even dry or boring).  We feel a little guilty, so we either quit daily devotions or we rush down to the local Christian supermarket and peruse the aisles for a quick fix.

If I may repeat my wife’s encouragement to me when I complained about Danish being so much more complicated than my signature oatmeal raisin cookies.  Don’t give up, the end product is worth it!

I have practiced daily devotions for about thirty years now, and I have some helps I learned along the way. [Not one of the following are unique to me; I tested each suggestion provided me by others and found these helpful and made them part of my daily devotional practice.]

Be Awake. Daily devotions are far more helpful when the brain is active.

Begin by talking to God.  I ask God to reveal Himself to me through the reading of His Word and to show me how to apply His Word to my present situation.

Choose a place to begin, and park there a while. I suggest the Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, or Ephesians for starters.  I love the narratives of Genesis and Exodus 1-20, of Joshua, Judges, the Kings and Chronicles and Acts, but not everyone is patient enough to begin with these involved and sometimes complicated stories.  We know God meets us along the way, however the, “open the Bible and read whatever is there,” devotion is the least helpful method.

Ask three simple questions about whatever passage you read:

What does the passage say?  Allow the obvious and direct language used in the Bible to speak first.  Don’t fall into the trap of making the Bible into metaphors about whatever the imagination will inspire.

How is the passage connected to other passages of Scripture?  A lot of the nonsense people take away from reading their Bibles is the result of disconnecting a particular passage from its Biblical roots.  Pay attention to the immediate context of a passage [It is advantageous, however, to ignore the chapter and verse divisions as often as possible].  Many Bibles have “cross references,” look some of them up to see how a thought or statement is connected to other portions of Scripture.

How does the passage apply to life presently?  Not every passage will immediately apply, but the reader will be pleasantly surprised how much of God’s Word will speak to the need of the day.

Jot down some notes. When we keep some kind of a record of our daily devotion we leave behind a “trail of crumbs” to serve as testimony to our spiritual journey.  I regularly go back and read what I wrote last year, or last decade, in order to remind myself of things learned previously, to be challenged by lessons still unlearned, to be encouraged by the faithfulness of God.  I have no desire to leave my children the riches that will cause strife, that will be stolen or decay.  I do deeply desire to leave them a legacy of honest interaction with the Creator who met with me day-by-day.

Don’t quit. Because I have journals from years past, I have written proof of periods of time (sometimes months) where I drew from a dry well.  Maybe I wasn’t listening, maybe God wasn’t talking (I suggest the former to be more true than the latter).  Either way, even the a trek through the desert gets the traveler to the other side.

If you find something particular meaningful to you, share it with others. Yes, people will think you weird if you talk about what you learned from God in your daily devotions.  You will most certainly freak folks out if you speak about God speaking to your heart through His word.  Still, God has an uncanny way of making sure that those who need to hear from Him through you will be around to hear you speak about the time you spent with Him.

“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.” (Psalm 19:7–11, NLT)

I think I am going to go home and make some Danish!

Posted in Bible Study, Devotional | 5 Comments

The Gift that is Me!

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Robert Franklin

Once upon a time, arrogant persons were oft met with the insult, “Who do you think you are, God’s gift to [fill the blank]?” It was an odd thing to say.  The words not only cast into question the character of the person being chided, but also the God who would give such an unwanted gift.

Since our culture no longer really believes in God, I no longer hear the phrase.  We have moved on to the newer insult, “He thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips” which I also think odd, but I will leave further comment to someone else.  Even though the “God’s gift” insult is arcane, its impact reverberates still.  If I were to poll people who do believe in God and ask them the question, “Do you believe you are a gift from God to the world?” the response would not be in the affirmative.

Unless they were arrogant.

Or Biblically literate.

It is a great tragedy that the Church stopped teaching that every person bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus and adopted into God’s family is a gift from God to the world.  It is even a greater tragedy that Christians stopped believing this simple truth.

God did not rescue us from slavery to sin and the eternal penalty of death just so we could hang around for a few years, accumulate heavenly treasure by being “nice” and then abandon this orb for “a better place.”  God did not graft us into his redemptive story so we could plant our backsides at “Church” once a week, give some money, and volunteer some time to keep His organization going for another generation.

No, God had far better things in mind when he took residence as Sovereign in the hearts of those who receive by grace through faith.  God makes each of us a gift to those we call neighbors and God also places us where he would have us participate in His continued work as His priests.

Modern Christians don’t like this.  If each individual is a gift from God to the world (specifically to the Church) then no individual would have excuse to excuse themselves from being a fully functioning part of the body.  Christians would be forced to discover what God intended when He spoke through Paul,

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6, NLT)

Such behavior would simply be uncomfortable.  Christians believe it is far more prudent to claim ignorance or inability or whatever pretense at hand to leave the work of the Church to the obviously “gifted”: the singers, the preachers, the teachers and so on…so long as it is someone else who bears the responsibility.

Paul believed each individual belonging to Jesus is a gift from God to humans, even as he singled out those whose responsibility it is to repeat this truth to those willing to listen.

“That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:8–13, NLT)

If you belong to God, be His gift to the world, you may be surprised how valuable a treasure He gave.

 

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Dink, Dink

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Robert Franklin

Dink, dink: the unmistakable sound of emptiness at the bottom of the consumed pot as the ladle is pressed down for one more drought.  Oh, if only I knew how to spell the scraping sound of hope as that same ladle is willed to produce something by its owner.  Tilt, roll, swish and whirl, even the best manipulators cannot produce what is simply not there.

Our cultural preoccupation with looking backward and forward across the plains of time so often misses the importance of thoughtfully considering the present.  The past is only helpful if it educates and informs the “today” and the future is promising only if we submit the contemporary to the Lordship of the One to whom the future belongs.

Yes, it will soon be a New Year and we will pretend like the worries, challenges, needs and obstacles of the year prior will somehow be mitigated by the ticking of the timepiece.  Just like so many other fables by which we comfort ourselves, this one will also prove to be ultimately ineffectual.  The best amongst us will be able to shed our “Christmas weight” and remaining majority will deal with the frustration of good intentions unrealized.

Yet hope renews year to year,  “Surely the days in the storehouse of the future will be better than the days in the garage of the past.”

What joy!  An unfriendly and impersonal world cannot offer such encouragement.  If all humans possessed were the deductions of the Science of Self, then what hope?  Even though we reject the rule of the Creator God, we Westerners depend on His idea of sustaining grace, of renewed strength, of regenerated mercies, and an end far better than the beginning.  Without His idea then we would be relegated to being a day older, susceptible to the dangers of the present and frightened of the uncertain realities to come.

So, how shall we get to the end of 2011 (God willing) with something left in the pot?

Wait on the Lord. Begin each day in God’s word.  Allow enough time in the busyness of preparing for work or school to listen to what God will say through his word.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. ” (Lamentations 3:25, ESV)

Converse with God throughout the day. I am so amazed I can express my frustrations, exult over my victories, plead for assistance, anytime and anywhere, tax and toll-free.

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.” (Luke 18:1, NLT)

Be obedient.  The greatest life-drains of my “pot” come when I do what seems best to me as opposed to what God ordained.  My way always leaves me empty.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5–6, NLT)

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Alexandria United

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Robert Franklin

A new thing is happening in the community in which I live.  Since I believe in an active and sovereign God, I will attribute this creation to His hand, but will leave it to the observer as to what to make of the events of the past few months.

In May of 2010 Main Street hosted James Baldwin, a Youth with a Mission Impact World Tour missionary.  We heard about James through a friendship connection with a congregation in Covington, KY.  James promoted the upcoming Northern Kentucky Impact World Tour and invited Main Street to join as support.  With the opportunity to connect to literally thousands of youth and young adults in the schools, we jumped at the offer.  The next few months were peppered with all sort of labors and congregations from different Christian denominations joined together for the sake of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through this event.  Hundreds responded to the call to turn from self-rule and surrender to the forgiveness and authority of Jesus Christ.

Even a casual observer of the Church would raise an eyebrow, for the Church long ago lost any sort of shared passion for unity, even for the sake of God’s kingdom.  In decades (indeed centuries) past the Church exchanged agreement on the crucial truths of man’s sinfulness, Christ’s sacrifice, and God’s grace and rule in the hearts of individuals for separation by programming, liturgy and familial loyalty.  In spite of the fractured nature of the Church, the good news took root in the hearts of enough people for the Church to remain present in a culture fully enveloped in the worship of Self.

Then something happened I had long desired and yet had not anticipated.  A Methodist pastor and Assemblies of God pastor and an Independent non-denominational pastor and a Baptist pastor all agreed to set aside their predetermined message series in favor of a “United” series.  Yes, 2011 will begin with the same topics taught from the “pulpit” in a trans-denominational, simultaneous manner…for five consecutive weeks.

I know the dead are not yet raised and there is no leper running through the streets screaming, “I am healed, I am healed” but this is a miracle none-the-less.  This group of Alexandria area pastors are not great friends, nor have we held a secret meeting and broke out into a chorus of some sappy campfire song.  It is simply a few among many who desire more of God’s rule and less of petty differences.  More of God’s grace and less of territorial protectionism.  More of God’s love and less of enmity between persons who are required to love one another.

So this Sunday the different denominations will tackle the question of authority by teaching about the Bible and explaining how it came into existence.

The following Sunday will address the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?”.  The Sunday afterward will answer the question, “What is the Church and why do we assemble?”.

The last two Sundays in January 2011 will focus on the topics of a Christian’s personal devotional life and a Christian’s responsibility to share Jesus with others.

What a great privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters and agree that these things are important and worthy of the attention of the Church regardless of the label on our meeting house signs.

Are greater things yet to come?  Time will tell.  In the present it is like we are actually fulfilling Jesus’ prayer for once:

…And the glory you have given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, just as we are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that You sent Me and Loved them, even as You loved Me…(John 17.22-23)

 

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Standing on a Sandbar with the Tide Coming In

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Robert Franklin

The ebb and flow of the oceans often create long stretches of quasi-land we call “sandbars.”  For the adventurous, a sandbar is an open invitation to stand far from shore and to enjoy the view from a perch normally reserved for those on the deck of boats or ships.  The rugged and rocky shores of Maine and Oregon or the heavily forested beaches of the Carolinas or the long white sands of Florida Gulf coast are even more extraordinary when viewed from midst of the waters.

Until the tide returns and the sandbar disappears.

What was once a leisurely walk, now is a frightening challenge.  There can be no wishing a rescue from the shifted sands.  Only firm resolve to get back to the beach without succumbing to the water’s power will now suffice.  Panic is appropriate but not helpful.

Not even one generation ago, I stood on the sandbar of time and watched a culture celebrate the holiday long attached to the birth of Jesus, who was called “Savior of the World.”  My family received mail from those who did not believe in Jesus’ claims to be “God with us” with good wishes that come only from that peculiar expression of God’s love: that He would come to us.  “Merry Christmas” was appropriate even in the public marketplace and there was no offense taken.

I stood and watched a culture enamored with the coming of Spring mark with religious fervor the hope of resurrected life.  People who confined God to the limits of the spectacular nature they saw all around them would come to church services to hear just one more time the story of sacrifice and death and the power of love conquering the grave.

I watched football games through a carbohydrate-induced haze and enjoyed the interruption of commercials reminding the Nation to give thanks in the tradition of our Pilgrim forefathers.

I felt the waters cover my feet, then sensed the quick movement of the sand beneath and knew almost instinctively the focus of my energy must be on survival.

Today Christmas is not about anything.  Christmas is the season beginning sometime in late October where retailers try to make enough profit to keep their doors open and their shareholders happy.  Christmas is the season when office parties are arranged (now on a much smaller scale due to the crummy economy) and when families are forced to endure their own company.  Christmas is the season where the pressure to produce wonder is foisted upon parents who wonder themselves what it is they are trying to accomplish.  Christmas is a big gripe-fest of unhappy people resentful of the “Happy Holiday” that really is not happy at all.

Easter is about bunnies and chocolate and eggs and bright colors and family meals.  On balance it is a much more well-liked holiday because it is so much cheaper than Christmas and does not require the hanging of lights on the gutters in sub-zero temperatures.  I remember quite well listening to a father berate his son for bad behavior one particularly warm spring day a few years ago.  It was the Easter season and I was on the tennis court with a friend.  Dad said to his 11 year old, “If you don’t %$*&#! straighten up so help me God I’ll make you go to church.”

Then there is Thanksgiving.  I know most have not paid much attention to the shift in nomenclature.  The holiday is now “Turkey Day.”  The change in name is come because we know in our hearts being thankful requires two main ingredients:

The first ingredient is we must have something to be thankful for.

The second ingredient is we must have someone to be thankful to.

For me Thanksgiving is the last piece of firm ground as I desperately make my attempt to reach the safety of firmer sands.  It is a yearly opportunity for me to declare that I am thankful for a place to call home, a family to love, friends, food for my stomach and clothes for my back, for labor to accomplish, and an environment stable enough that I do not consider whether today is the day I will be shot or blown up or will capture some communicable disease that will brutally and painfully end my life.

For me Thanksgiving is the yearly opportunity to publicly declare my daily practice of being thankful to a God who loved enough to become incarnate and to tell my species face to face, “I love you.”  I am thankful to a God who remains sovereign over everything, yet allows me the authority to wreak havoc on my life and the life of  others.  I am thankful to a God who suspended the penalty for the destruction of the choices I make “as my own god” by paying that penalty Himself.  I am thankful to a God who saw fit to give me more than enough for me and my family and who makes room in my heart to learn to share His resources with my neighbor.  I am thankful to a God who is so big, so deep, so wide that even all our scientific advances cannot do anything but illustrate why God is all the more necessary if we are to be anything more significant than some speck of space dust.

It is my prayer that those who call themselves “Christian” scoop up these shifting sands and together we stand a thankful people on firmer ground.

Posted in Current Events, Devotional, God Questions | 2 Comments

Building Barnes

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Robert Franklin

Barnes is skin-bone.  His rib-revealing torso rests precariously on spindle legs and feet too small to traverse the shadow of his balding head.  How Barnes got to be in this pitiable shape seems to be a mystery.  It is a well documented fact that Barnes’ daily caloric intake equals that of a collegiate football lineman and yet he gains not one ounce.  Some think Barnes fell ill sometime in the past and never quite recovered, but Barnes swears that his life is one of perpetual health.

Barnes is often overlooked in conversation.  Even when in close proximity and part of an animated group, Barnes is invisible unless one is standing face-to-face.  Barnes has far fewer friends than he thinks he does.  Most of the time Barnes’ needs and opinions are ignored by those not directly vested in trying to help Barnes.

Some think Barnes is Don Knotts reincarnated, but that cannot be true since Barnes’ eyes are set deep in their sockets and Mr. Knotts’ eyes were bugged.  Mr. Knotts’ stage voice was strained and pitched high.  Barnes’ voice is a deep and resonant bass; so low it is often difficult to separate the syllables within the sentences.  He should demand respect with just his voice but he speaks so slowly that boredom soon sets in and the listener daydreams or ignores Barnes all together.

I have made it my personal mission to see what can be done to build up Barnes.  It is simply wrong to have at hand the enormous resources of this fine land in which we reside and to see one of my neighbors suffer in this manner.  I am carefully researching what kind of solutions may be applicable to his condition and will happily share the results if they turn positive.

I have invited my friends at Main Street to join me.

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