“Transformation by the Spirit”

Lately we have been talking a lot about the power of God and how that power can transform us. Spiritually, many of us want to know and experience God more powerfully. We may hear a lot about "personal transformation” or “congregational transformation” but sometimes when we look at our own feeble attempts to improve ourselves or our circumstances, we wonder just who truly changes and how this transformation can happen. We may also feel frustrated and disappointed that God doesn't seem to be doing more to help, and we desperately want to know if there is any hope for us.
Many of us want a better relationship with God and a more fulfilling life, but are we also willing to admit our limitations, struggles, disappointments, and longing? Spiritual growth is truly possible; God is already at work drawing you closer to him and transforming you, whether or not you can see or feel it. The love, joy, and peace you are longing for is not reserved for a few special people but is available to you as well, as you learn to better recognize God's activity in your life and how to flow better with the Spirit's leading day by day.
What can we expect to have for a Spirit-led living and personal transformation? I read recently an article on how we should think of the Spirit as the wind of God it may help us in our perceptive of the Spirit. As a cool breeze may bring relief in the summer, or as a strong air current may fill a sail, the Holy Spirit can suddenly change our perspective, our feeling, or our capacity to respond to any given situation. Through the Holy Spirit, our experience with the grace of God becomes active, and we are able to sense what was not accessible to us otherwise, and to respond in often surprising and life-giving ways to others.
The Holy Wind breathes new life into us, transforming our thinking, feeling, and behavior even while our basic nature remains flawed and limited. Spirit-led living means just what it implies: we live out our God-given purpose in life by virtue of the Spirit's ongoing work within us. This happens moment by moment, as we follow the Spirit's leading, and not by becoming permanently and irrevocably transformed. Our basic human nature is not changed as much as we are enabled to grow in our ability to let the Spirit have its way in us and to keep in step with the Spirit's prompting. We do in fact mature, but we never stop being flawed, limited human beings. Over time, we will become more gracious toward ourselves and others, accepting our human limitations and failures better. We will learn how to become more attentive and responsive to the Spirit's prompting and leading, more helpful to others, and, as a result, more fruitful in our ministries. Spirit-led living provides us with a way to move from unhealthiness to the life God intends for us not as a permanent, complete transformation, but as a tool for living out of our best self in the moment.
Feel the breeze, see ya in church but until then take care of yourself and one another.
Peace & Grace,
Tommy

Love vs Action

It has come to my attention lately that I use the word "love" a lot. I freely express my love for my wife, my children, my family, our church, music, my dogs, ice cream, BBQ ribs, and even basketball. I think there is nothing wrong with verbally expressing my love for things. But it comes with a danger. My father would say, “Don’t tell me you love me, show me.” What would my relationships look like if I only said I loved things? How would my relationship with my wife if I just said I love you. What kind of adults would my children become if I only said I loved them? No actions, no hugs, no time to listen to their struggles, pain, confusion, and thoughts. Not attending their sporting events, school functions, and walking through each transition in their life with them. What kind of marriage one would have if you never celebrated your spouse’s accomplishments, spent time talking, dreaming, and planning for the future. I believe what my father was saying was that if we say we love someone or something we must be willing and ready to do whatever it takes to back it up.
Jesus asks the same question. In the gospel of John, we hear the words of the resurrected Christ ask Simon Peter do you love me. After seeing the risen Christ, after experiencing the realty of our risen Lord, Peter quickly returns to fishing. As soon as the Easter lilies were taken back up into the attic, Simon Peter has returned to the life he left to follow Jesus. He went backwards to the life he knew before he met Jesus. Instead of reading him the riot act, Jesus just ask Peter one question three times: Do you love me? When Peter replies a resounds Yes! Jesus responds that it is our actions that declare our love, not mere words. Jesus elegantly asks each of us, if you love me, your actions will illustrate to all that you are willing to do whatever it takes to back it up. If you recall I stated over two years ago the secret of getting people into the church. I said it is not a real big secret it is just hard to do. I said you love them, you love them into the church. Maybe the question in light of the risen Christ is not “Do you love me?” but “Who have you shown it to?”
Peace & Grace,
Tommy

Life is in the Details

Life is details -- phones that keep ringing, email that has to be returned, computers that crash, copy machines that jam, and children who are sick when we need to be at work. We struggle with the details of bodies that don’t work as they should, with doctors, specialists, medical tests and pills. Our children juggle homework, athletics, orthodontists and guitar lessons. Then we all go to church on Sunday, and what do we find but more details? Duties of the church has to be done, Sunday School roll, offering counted, bulletins folded, teaching children's Sunday school, and many more unseen details have to be done. Worship is filled with hymns and prayers, sacraments and readings, more details. How can we become more spiritual with attending to all these details?
Luke describes Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as full of details. We are given specific details, the exact location: the Jerusalem suburbs of Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives. Jesus then pulls two of his disciples aside, gives them specific detail instructions that fulfills the exact Old Testament prophesy. He knows exactly what type of colt he wants -- one that had never been ridden. He knows exactly where the colt is. He’s even worked out a response to the public relations problem of swiping a colt. "If anyone asks you . . . just say this, ‘The Lord needs it."’
During Lent we all feel the need to become more spiritual. We tend to think that spirituality means escaping the concern with detail. Spiritual people, we think, live simple lives. They don’t worry about mortgages and dentist appointments and going to church committee meetings. They wear sandals, meditate and feed the birds. But that is not the biblical understanding of spirituality. According to the Bible, the hindrance to our spirituality is not that we pay attention to the details of life, but that we pay too much attention to the wrong details.
There are a lot of details that Jesus ignored. He didn’t worry about the detail of urgency. He didn’t worry about the detail of effectiveness. Jesus didn’t worry about the detail of recognition. He didn’t worry about the detail of popularity. He didn’t worry about the detail of tomorrow. Details that consume us never crossed Jesus’ mind. And we easily overlook the details he was concerned about. Our souls are dried out because we have tried so hard to save ourselves by controlling the wrong details that we have no energy left for the detail of finding a savior.
We know the details of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, Good Friday and Easter. We’ve gone through them year after year. Why do this again? For the same reason that we go through the details every Sunday. It’s the only way we can take our eyes off the things that do not matter and set them upon the arrival of the Savior. The best news is that once we’ve learned to look for Jesus, we’ll find him in every detail of our life.

May God Bless you during this time of self reflection and self examination known as Lent.

Do something nice for someone and take care of yourself and one another!

See ya at Wrestlemania- Tommy

“Love is a Very Powerful Thing.”

Over my life I have found that there is nothing more powerful than love. I have witnessed parents love their children through sickness, tragedies, celebration, disappointment, failures, and triumphs. I have watched couples overcome huge life obstacles because of the love they hold for each other. Sadly enough I have also observed individuals do tremendous harm, destruction, and damage under the name of love. Either for good or for evil, love is a very powerful thing. Love can cause us to continue on, when we normally would have given up. In Luke, Jesus tells us three parables about love. The first parable tells of how the seeking shepherd travels into the wilds to bring home the lost sheep because love is not gooey, otherworldly, and removed from reality but it's logical and practical, and, because of that, sometimes hard. In the second parable, the old woman and the lost coin we see another wonderful quality to love: Love is persistent: This woman in Luke 15 loses a coin and looks...and looks...and looks until she finds it. When she finds it she rejoices with her friends. The third parable tells of the loving father whose young wayward second son went off to a far country and whose life ended up in a downward spiral until he came to his senses in a pig pen and turned back towards home. It tells us that no matter how far we have traveled from God there is always a way back home because of God's love and the cross on which God's only begotten Son, Jesus, died in our place.In each we are reminded that love is persistent. Love does not give in or give up. Even when times are hard, God promises to love us not matter what.
In his novel, The Testament, John Grisham paints a powerful word portrait of one man's surrender to God's will. Nate O'Reilly, a disgraced corporate attorney, is plagued by alcoholism and drug abuse. After two marriages, four detox programs, and a serious health crisis, Nate acknowledges his need for God. Grisham describes the dramatic transformation in these words: With both hands, he clenched the back of the pew in front of him. He repeated his list, mumbling softly every weakness and flaw and affliction and evil that plagued him. He confessed them all. In one long glorious acknowledgment of failure, he laid himself bare before God. He held nothing back. He unloaded enough burdens to crush any three men, and when he finally finished Nate had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered to God. "Please, help me." As quickly as the fever had left his body, he felt the baggage leave his soul. With one gentle brush of the hand, his slate had been wiped clean. He breathed a massive sigh of relief, but his pulse was racing. Perhaps like Nate, you need to make a list of things to bring before the Lord. When you do, you will find Christ waiting and ready to hear and forgive. Take it from Jesus Himself, "There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents/changes."
See ya in church but until then love one another and take care of yourself and your neighbor.
Shalom, Tommy

“A Time to Produce”

Have you ever wondered when you examine your life, what you produce? I mean when you truly examine your daily words, thoughts, and actions, when the day is over, you lay down your head, what have you produced? Production is the key to anyone survival. Any society that does not produce anything will truly perish. In Luke the 13th chapter Jesus tells a parable about production. There was a fig tree that did not produce any fruit. After waiting patiently for three years the tree does not produce fruit. The land owner orders the gardener to cut down the tree. The one who tended the tree begged for one more year and pledged to take radical steps to tend to the tree’s needs. He begs for one more chance for the tree to produce.
Jesus told the parable of the fig tree to call his listeners to turn towards him and to change their minds and their hearts. The result for the fig tree and for the listeners is the same: to bear fruit. As Jesus tells the story, the hope for the changed fig tree is that it will bear fruit. He has the same hope for the human beings who would listen to his words, that they would bear fruit. The ultimate sign of our changing of the mind, our repentance, our turning in a new direction is the action of our life. It is not words. It is not opinions. It is not feelings. It is action, bearing fruit, doing some new things in our lives. The fulfillment of the call to change and repent is new action of faith in our living. As individuals, we are called to do actions of generosity, compassion, service, peace making, justice, witness and respect. These are the fruits of a life turned to God, of a mind and heart changed by the Spirit of God. As communities of faith, we are called to bear fruit as well. We are called to produce.
How do you produce you might ask?
This season of Lent is a time to take stock of our own hearts, souls and life in God. There are some steps that help us to do just that; here are some of them:
* First, acknowledge your need for God, in prayer and in your heart, acknowledge the reality of the living God and recognize your own yearning and hunger for that God in your life.
* Second, confess your sins. Tell God about the things that you do regret and want to leave behind as you turn to a new direction and embark on a new journey in your living.
* Third, accept God's forgiveness and lay claim to God's love. Truth is, God is much more ready to forgive than we are to receive that forgiveness and much more ready to love than we are to own that love.
* Fourth, change your mind, re-examine some things about your life, your priorities, and your patterns of activity. Let God renew your mind with God's grace and love.
* And finally, finally, bear fruit. Show some new actions, some new practices, patterns and behaviors that reflect the love that God has for you and the love that you have for God.
Bear fruit, produce, and take care of yourself and one another.
Tommy

In the wake of the tragedy of last week, it is times like these which test the deepest part of our souls. Many questions arise of “why”. Why did God let this happen? Why were so many killed? Why did it happen in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere? Why should I even care, I have my won problems? Why were some lives spared and not others? The list can go one and one.
Having traveled and worked in Haiti, I too have had more questions than answers. I too get so frustrated when people like Danny Glover and Pat Robinson make ignorant comments for their own selfish gains. Amongst the confusion, devastation, and pain, in any time of devastation, no matter how big and how small, the best thing to do is focus on the facts not the speculations.

Here is what I do know:

• The God we serve is a God of love and forgiveness. It was not God’s punishment on people of Haiti.
• God answers specific prayers. While our friends Dr Glen Stewart and a group for Tennessee were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, we prayed without ceasing for their safety. By God’s grace and harm, they returned home without physical injury. We continue to pray for their psychological healing that is needed after such an ordeal. We pray for those friends that lost there life while serving God in Haiti.
• I am proud I serve a church that responds immediately. Week of Compassion sent fund within 24 hours of the quake to begin the process of saving those who were trapped. I am proud that Week of Compassion continues to offer several areas of support.
• I am forever grateful for the special gifts God places in my life each and every day. The gift of a loving healthy family, a wonderful church family, a place to live, a place to worship, something to eat, and friendships. I am grateful for the time I have and realize it can all change at in a split second.
• God brings about healing by helping others. I am encouraged by those who have already responded in various ways. I look forward to the opportunity in the future to serve the beautiful people in Haiti. We can begin the healing process by serving people here in Centralia. All God’s children need our attention, when we put others first, we are the ones that receive the greatest inward reward.
• God is good all the time. I’m the midst of any tragedy we will begin to see God’s grace and mercy shine. We will witness the Light of Christ shine through in the darkness wither it is in Haiti or Centralia. We will see God’s people react with compassion, zeal, and extraordinary feats.
  We continue to pray and worship the God of mercy, grace, and love through all time both good and bad. It is now; we praise God for all those who can’t find their voice at this time.
  Together with the power of a sovereign God turn a tragedy into everlasting hope.
  See ya in church but until then take care of yourself and one another.
  Shalom,
  Tommy

A Man and His Stretchy Shorts

I am not sure if you are like me but I have a favorite pair of shorts I wear all the time. At then end of the day, I can not wait to get home and put on my stretchy shorts. As soon as I put on these shorts I relax, unwind, and feel at home. They are riddled with holes, paint splatters, and extremely faded. They share the scars of many life events. To most people my stretchy shorts are hideous looking, so I stopped wearing them in public. Kellie has thrown them out several times but I fish them out of the trash and put them on again. They are comfortable, they help me relax, yeah, they may be just warn out fabric, but me and my stretchy shorts have been through a lot together. We both have weathered the storms of life together. We are like two old friends. We use to jog, workout, and play basketball together but as we both aged we now just eat, watch basketball games, and take naps. After eating a huge meal, I and my stretchy shorts find relief in one another. Yes, I have many other pairs of shorts, but nothing can bring me comfort like that one special pair. I just can not seem to part with them. They are apart of me and I am apart of them, I just can’t see myself parting with them.
Maybe you have a special pair of clothing that brings you comfort and relief. Maybe a favorite warm sweat shirt, T-Shirt, dress, blanket, that the moment you put it on brings you relief from the stress of the world. It is more about the peace it brings that the actual fabric. Sometimes we may find our spiritual life like that as well. When we find something that fits right, bring peace, helps us connect with Christ; we want to hold on to it forever. Just the mere routine of church can bring about this same sensation as well. We find an overwhelming sense to keep things just the way they are, not matter if they are tattered and worn out. Jesus calls us to experience something new. At a wedding in Canaan, when the host was about to be embarrassed, the reception ruined, Jesus brought about new wine. He turned ordinary water into a wine much better tasting, much richer, fuller, than what was served before. He does not ask us to throw out what connects us to Him, just experience something new that will enhance what we have already experienced. He has the power to turn the ordinary water into the richest of fine wine. Christ has what we need if we want an enriched relationship with God and one another. Christ is not saying throw out your stretchy shorts, just add a new shirt to go along with what you already have. Take the traditions of the past, the routine of the now and jump into the future. If we take that approach, He will transform our ordinary into an expensive precious commodity. Then we will experience comfort and peace like never before.
See ya in church but until then take care of yourself and one another.
Shalom,
Tommy