Sometimes it takes days, months or longer to put two sets of conversations together to make one good one. One conversation that I have had many times as a Pastor - "Pastor, the doctor tells dad he has to eat better or he won’t gain strength. I remind dad of what the doctor says, but it just doesn’t do any good. He won’t listen to me and he is getting weaker."

The other conversation is one that I often have with other persons who have disabilities and rise above them. By the way, I like the word disability as long you don’t forget that I do have disabilities.  It is important for me that you recognize my disabilities and are able to know when I need help and to see my abilities and let me go as far as I can with them.  These conversations usually include statements such as, "I know that I need to follow a better diet of healthy foods, or get more or less sleep so that I have the strength to keep going. It is hard to do something that you don’t want to do, but I know that I have to, so I do it."

The point is that I have to make the first conversation as positive as the second one.  If I visit with the dad in the first conversation, I have to say, "You know what you have to do; why don’t you do it?" We don’t understand why they won’t do what they know they should do.  But wait a minute, maybe we should understand why they are not doing it.  Do you hear the voice of God saying to you - "I have told you in so many ways and so many times what I want you to do. You know what you have to do. Why don’t you do it?"

God’s Peace. See You At The House.

12/22/06

On one of those five minute news bits on the radio, I heard a commentary of procrastination. Using the facts and figures from some research organization, he reported that many millions of dollars are lost each year because of procrastination. I assume that he is talking in the business world alone.

We know that procrastination costs in our personal life also. Did you ever put off getting a birthday or anniversary present for your spouse?

Then all of a sudden you remembered that this is the day. You rushed off to the store and bought what looked good, regardless of the cost. You spent more than you had planned, and that cost you. Have you ever had a $25.00 credit card bill that you set a side until later? When you get around to it, you realize that you are not going to meet the due date. Yes, that cost you as you receive a $29.00 or $35.00 late payment fee for your $25.00 payment.

I worked at the funeral home tonight. People were coming to grieve with the family of a man who had been in church Sunday, and his visitation was today (Friday) and the funeral is Saturday. I heard several of his friends say, I was going to see him this week, but I didn’t get there.

How do we deal with procrastination? A Pastor friend in Colorado answered this question by saying he practiced the "ART OF SELECT NEGLECT." When asked what he meant, he told us that he made a list of things that he wanted to do that day. This list included eating, recreation activities, social, and work. Then he went down the list and arranged them in importance. Then he SELECTED to do the things at the top of he list and NEGLECT those he could not get done.

Procrastination is a danger in our Spiritual Life also. How many times have you put off prayer, Bible Reading, volunteering to teach Sunday School, invite a neighbor to church and so forth? Where would these things fit on your SELECT NEGLECT list? We often recognize the sins of commission, but seldom give a thought about the sins of omission.

Yes, procrastination is costly. But think of the cost if your procrastination cost a child, a member of your family, a neighbor, or a friend the opportunity to know that Jesus really did die for him or her that they too might have Life Eternal.

The next time you catch your self procrastinating, stop and find a way that you can eliminate procrastinations one at a time.

God's peace. See You At The House.

In my morning Bible reading, I came to these words, "And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.’" Hebrews 1:7 (NKJV). As I read these words, I was immediately reminded of a real hero and strong example in my past, The Rev. Dr. Julius H. Bodensieck. In 1958, at the age of 64, he was my Wartburg Seminary New Testament Professor. He made this statement with great excitement one morning as he began to teach, "As I reviewed the Bible passages that we are going to study this morning, something new was revealed to me. It has always been there but I have never understood it before." I thought to myself, how can that be? Since then, and again this morning, as I read anew the first four chapters of Hebrews, the words I read held new meaning for me.

Dr. Bodensieck was "all fired up" to tell us of the new Truth from Scripture that was now his. It didn’t make any difference if any of us had found meaning in the passage before; the important thing was that Dr. Bodensieck wanted each of us to know that he had a new understanding, and he wanted each of us to remember that no matter how long we live, no matter how many times we read the Bible from cover to cover, there is always something new waiting to enrich and empower our lives.

How often do we see a flame of fire in ministers today? Remember that the word minister includes more than just Pastors--it includes all who seek to share God’s Love with others, and I am sure that includes YOU. Remember that there are three kinds of fires and fiery people. First there is the fire that is close to going out. There is a little glow but not enough to give light or warmth, not enough to draw people near.

Second there is the fire that blazes away, flames shooting high and every which way. The sap in the wood pops and from time to time there seem to be small eruptions within the flame. People can’t get near it. The flames are too hot and they go every which way without warning. The roar of the fire is almost too loud to hear anyone speak. Right in between these two is the fire that is just warm enough to bring people near; flames going just high enough to give light and warmth. It is inviting, welcoming, and warming.

WHERE IS THE FIRE among your friends and mine and among the Pastors we see on TV or in our local Church? When I want to hear a sermon or a Bible Study, I don’t want it to be from someone that is jumping, yelling, shouting, waving their arms, and telling me what they know.....they will scare me away. I don’t want someone who seems to be almost afraid to tell me that God loves me... if they are that afraid to tell me, can it really be true? I WANT someone who will draw me to them with flames of love, compassion, and care, regardless who I am. Then a glowing fire will warm my heart with the words that Jesus wants me to hear, even if sometimes those words are NO. The wild, raging fires of HATE are destroying so many and so much today.

The ebbing flames of fires of indifference allow the fires of HATE to grow even stronger.

The fires of LOVE that God has given to us through the Holy Spirit are the ONLY HOPE for the world today. It is this fire and ONLY this fire that can draw people to the "Peace that passes all human understanding."

WHERE IS THE FIRE? IS IT IN YOU?

God’s Peace. See You At The House.

01/17/07

Cleaning house is usually a love or hate kind of a thing to do. Some people love to clean house and spend hours seeking to make everything just right. Others give what they call a lick and a promise, meaning they will do as little as possible and promise to do better next time. The exception to this is when they have invited company and, therefore, the house needs to look nice.

What about the cleaning of our hearts? Some say they did that at Baptism. Some say they do that when they receive the Sacraments. Some say they do it when they pray the Lord’s Prayer. Some say that there are many years yet before they have to worry about it because they are young.

If we pray daily, we are inviting God into our lives. Isn’t this a good time to use the cleansing power that God has for us? No matter hard we might try to scrub and cleanse, only the Blood of Christ can wash away those sins.

"I lay my sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God;

He bears them all, and frees us from the accursèd load;

I bring my guilt to Jesus, to wash my crimson stains

White in His blood most precious, till not a stain remains."

I LAY MY SINS ON JESUS from Cyberhymnal.org

God’s Peace. See You At The House

01/22/07

In the second of my recent series of Devotions on the 2nd Epistle of John there was a reference made to the deceiver who comes to your door.

John says that if the deceiver comes to your door, turn the deceiver away. We don’t think about this today, but maybe we should. Many have wondered about the religious group that often comes to the door representing a faith that does not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, True Man and True God. As you read stories of the Amish people you encounter the practice of SHUNNING. In this context SHUNNING does not refer to those who do not accept Jesus as their Lord. It refers to those who have abandoned the Amish practices of faith and life to join the call of the world. When they SHUN someone, from that point on they act as if that person is dead and no longer exists. I think you understand that the Amish, a people of strong faith, are not the ones I refer to as coming to our doors today.

My question is, after reading 2nd John and related passages, is SHUNNING a practice that God would have us use today? Is it right for us to patronize a business where the people who receive the major profits, do not accept Jesus as Lord? Is it right for us to vote for one who does not place our Lord in the center of personal life? Today, more and more non-Christians are entering the field of big business ownership; is it right to support them? If the words that John wrote were true when he wrote them, aren’t they also true today? Would the cause of Christ be advanced and the inroads of non-Christians in our life be set back if we listened to God’s Word as God inspired John to write it, and resumed the practice of SHUNNING? Some would throw up their arms and raise their voices in shouting Discrimination, Discrimination. Remember, "My ways are not your ways, says the Lord."

GOD’S PEACE. SEE YOU AT THE HOUSE.

02/06/07

Once again, an observation from the Mall Parking Lot:  I was again bothered by something I saw, as there was nearly an accident. As I thought about it, I realized that what I was upset about was something that I often do myself.

I parked this morning, and settled in to drink my coffee and take time to think and reflect. The only people at the Mall were the regular morning walkers and the employees arriving to prepare for the day of business. The people had parked in such a way that none of the parking aisles were filled and there were many spaces between parked cars. As I watched, the majority of the drivers drove the proper way up and down the aisles, obeying the one way directions.

Not all of the drivers drove properly as they chose to drive across the parking lot instead of up and down the aisles. They would dart between parked cars, cross the aisle and then turn a little to dart between the next cars until they found the perfect parking place. My guess is that by darting between parked cars instead of driving in the proper lanes, the driver might have saved anywhere between one and three seconds.

So, how does good driving pay off here? There were vans parked where the darting car went through, and the driver did not see the car driving in the proper lane. The driver of the darting car did not see the little child because the parked cars shielded the child from view. The driver of the darting car did not see the law enforcement officer who was watching. The good driver who drove in the proper driving lanes would not have caused the driver of the car to slam on his brakes, become nervous and angry, and that is a good payoff. The little child would not have been nearly hit and would not have been in tears out of fear, and that’s a good payoff. You would not have received a ticket for reckless driving, and that’s a good payoff.

GOD’S PEACE. SEE YOU AT THE HOUSE.