It is only God’s opinion of us that counts or will prevail.
September Mourn: Last week I lamented the arrival of September. I’m not alone. A pastor friend told me that every September he likes to go to the train station to watch something that he doesn’t ave to get behind and push to get it moving.
The Desert Fathers: In the third century, Christian-ascetics moved into the desert. Those who have heard of the Desert Fathers assume they did so in order to escape the corrupting influences of society and more successfully pursue God. This is partly true. But those who’ve read the Desert Fathers writings know that what these nomads understood quite well was, when they were alone in the desert they would be forced to face the fact that their real problems were inside them. Jesus said as much in Matthew 15.
Running and Walking: A WSJ article on “running as you age”, explained the need for “reverse fartleks”. After noting that one can tell a runner from a non-runner by their response to the word “fartlek” (non-runners snicker, runners do not), the author explained that those who want to keep running into their 70s, should break up their runs with periods of walking – i.e., a reverse fartlek. I have no idea if I will be able to keep running in my 60s, to say nothing of my 70s. But I am glad to learn that walking during my runs puts me on the cutting edge of science. And that is the only reason I do it. I am not walking because I am old and tired. I walk during my runs in order to comply with the latest insights from science.
Aretha Franklin didn’t have a will. I’ve mentioned this before, but as a pastor, I attend to families where people have prepared for death (i.e., talked about it, had a will, etc.) and I have walked into the chaos that can follow those who died having given their death no thought. Do everyone a favor – including me if you’re thinking I will do your funeral: face your death, make provisions for your family and have a will.
Silence: I recently heard an interview with Erling Kagge, an adventurer, philosopher, and the first person to walk to the North Pole, South Pole and summit Everest alone. He said that for the first few days, the silence is awful. But after that, you settle down and the silence is wonderful. For what it’s worth, Kagge finds the visual noise of modern life more disruptive than the auditory. He also reports that one of the things he stops doing when he is alone is swear. He has heard others say the same thing and the common theory is that swearing is too negative to be part of any solo adventure in a high risk area.
Money Really Can’t Buy Happiness: An article in the New York Times reports that, “Real per capita income has more than tripled since the late 1950s, but the percentage of people saying they are very happy has, if anything, slightly declined”. Why? A Harvard study tracked a group of men for close to eighty years. Their findings? “It’s not money or status but strong interpersonal relationships that led to the greatest life satisfaction”. This is not surprising considering we were made in the image of a God who has always existed in the perfect fellowship of Himself. By the way, I keep reading about the great wealth creation that has happened in the last thirty years. This week I read that US stocks have increased from $5 trillion in ’88 to $31T today. Really? I’m sure the math is right, but I’m skeptical. Have we added $25 trillion dollars of value to the US economy in the last thirty years?
Quote Worth Requoting:
- Most couples don’t choose to drift apart, they just fail to plan to keep growing together. Gary Thomas
- What marks out God above all false gods is that they are not capable and ready for humility. In their otherworldliness and supernaturalness the gods are a reflection of the human pride which will not unbend, which will not stoop to that which is beneath it. God is not proud. In His high majesty He is humble. Karl Barth
- Nothing has contributed to the progress of the superstition of the Christians as their charity to strangers… the impious Galileans provide not only for their own poor, but for ours as well. Roman Emperor Julian, who despised the Christian faith, complaining about its spread.
Prayer Requests:
- After watching a bit of the Kavanaugh hearings, I am again asking for prayer for our nation and her leaders. Holding things together will take God’s wisdom and favor.
- We are about to launch the fall series, What If: Conversations for a Better World. I will set things up this weekend and then we dive into Ten Commandments one at a time. The start of a new academic year is one of the times some are open to discover life with God.
- By the way, all kinds of things are kicking off right now. I am finishing this up on Thursday AM, where the folks at the Crossroads campus are gearing up for MOPS. They are expecting over seventy women, which means probably that many two and three year olds.
Closing Prayer: Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life. Amen. (Francis of Assisi