Month: August 2023

As I was putting my chickens in last night — I’m down to two — I thought about how they’ve really not changed over the years. Even with only two left, they still fuss and squawk at each other. When I put them in last night I gave them a little talkin’ to on how they need to be nice to each other because they’re all they’ve got. I told them they shouldn’t peck at each other, they shouldn’t cackle at each other, or bump each other around. They shouldn’t steal each other’s food or edge each other out of this bug or that. I also told them, most of all, they needed to watch how they spoke to each other — it’s not always the peep that is peeped, but it’s sometimes the tone of the peep, and the loudness of the peep, and the attitude with which the peep is peeped that matters. The below log was first published in 2018. I needed another reminder in 2020 (election year…hmmm) and I need another reminder today.

WHEN DID IT GET OKAY?

You might have heard about my girls – my chicks – there are seven of them.  I love those stinkin things.  We do a lot of chicken watching at our house.  During the day they run amuck – they cover every inch of our 12, every day, and where they go, they go all together.  They’re flockers.  They stick together unless someone’s sitting anest.

During the day they wander and at night they’re cooped up – it’s one of those two story jobs.  Settling in for the night is a process, which doesn’t voluntarily begin before darkish.  When dusk hits they instinctively head for their coop.   Settling in for the night is a process for them.  They take turns going in and out before the doors close.  They run in and think about roosting then they run out for one last bite.  In.  Out.  Bite to eat.  Drink.  Hop up.  Hop down.  Jostling.   They chase each other and squeeze each other out, jockeying for the best roost position.  If one tries to go up the ladder before another thinks they should, they get a peck or two on the head.  Maybe even a pluck.  Ouch Georgie Girl!  Poor Ethel is always the last to ascend she’s most often pushed, pecked and bullied.  It’s a tough crowd.

After finally ascending to the coop, the jockeying for position is not yet over.  They move, they ruffle, they peck, they squawk.  It’s constant.  I try to intervene, to restore calm, but I’m reminded that it’s what chickens do.  They’re animals – fowl, technically.  They have a pecking order. 

One thing I’ve noticed is that we, me, I, have chicken-tendencies.  We, me, are not so different from them, really.  We do the same sometimes.  I know I do.

After watching the news the other day, I started thinking how very similar we are to my girls.  We treat each other the same way my girls treat each other, and it’s permissible and acceptable.  I wondered to myself – when did it get okay?  When did it get okay to be mean?  Push.  When did it get okay to call people names?  Squawk.  When did it get okay to degrade other people?  Bump.  When did it get okay to mistreat others?  Peck.  When did it get okay to speak our minds without care for others’ tender hearts?  Pluck.  When did it get okay to say what we want, regardless of the cost to someone else?  Scar.  When did it get okay to bully?  Jostle.  When did it get okay?

Clearly, my chickens have not heard about the Greatest Commandment.  Sometimes I act like I’ve not heard it either.

The most important commandment is this:  Hear, O Israel! 

The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,

All your mind, and all your strength.

and your neighbor as yourself.

Mark 12:29-31

According to Jesus, this is the most important commandment.  Notice He gives us a few directions before we are to love each other.  His directions are just that – listed in order of importance.  First, he gets our attention.  Then He identifies Himself.  Next, He tells us exactly what we must do.  He says:

Listen up folks!

I am the only God!

You must love Me with absolutely everything you have – heart, soul, mind, strength,

Only when you do that can you love your neighbor as you should. (Beth’s paraphrase)

Only by putting God first in our hearts, in our souls, in our minds, with all the strength that we have, can we love others as we should.  He knew we would struggle with love because we are human, that’s why he gave us the directions – He’s shown us how to work this love thing.

God did not tell us to love our neighbors if we want to, if they love us first, if they’re loveable.  He said love your neighbor as yourself.  Do we do that?  Do we love each other as we love ourselves – maybe.  Maybe that’s our problem.

Paul tells us living in the Spirit – heart, soul, mind, strength – produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  We can pretty much tell if we’re living in the Spirit or living in the world by the fruits we produce.   Will they know I’m a Christian by my love?  By my words?  By my deeds?  By my eyes?  By my life?  The fruits are not to be practiced occasionally, they are to be how we live our life.  They are to be practiced consistently.  What a wonderful world it would be if we all immersed ourselves in the fruits.

We peck.  We bump.  We shove.  We squawk.  We pluck.  We scar.  We jostle.  We act like animals.  We act fowl.  That’s the truth.  Ugh!  We need a Cross check.  We are sinners living in a fallen world but that doesn’t excuse our actions.  Because we are His we are to be of the world and not in the world. When did it get okay to peck, bump, shove, squawk, pluck, scar, or jostle each other?  It didn’t.  It never did.  It’s just not okay.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him.  I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me.  For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.  As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.   I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!  Philippians 3:8-11

This scripture was referenced in a book I was reading recently.  Seen it a million times.  Today it stopped me in my tracks.  You know me.  I have this running dialogue in my head.  Some of you do too.  Maybe one of the reasons it stopped me in my tracks is because the author asked if this passage described me (you) and if that’s how other folks would describe me (you).  Wham!  Right upside the head.  I fall to my knees.

Piece-by-piece.  Bit-by-bit.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. 

Wow, complete surrender.  Surrender of thoughts.  Surrender of lifestyle.  Surrender of things, even good, but ungodly.  Is that true for me?  In the verses before, Paul laid out his life, a mini-autobiography.  You see, Paul was quite the man before he met Jesus on that road.  He was living the good life.  He was the ultimate Jew – from the tribe of Benjamin.  His tribe, along with the tribe of Judah (who came from there?) were the only tribes that returned to Israel following the exile.  One of the “it” tribes.  Paul was a Pharisee, a learned man, highly esteemed, highly revered.  He knew the law inside and out, moreover, he lived the law – to the strictest letter – to a T.  Paul was the real deal.  So, when Paul’s life did an about face, complete surrender, and he made the claims that “everything else is worthless,” he’s saying that his knowledge, his power, his position, his life, were nothing compared to knowing Christ – priceless.  Remember that commercial?  What’s in your heart? 

What does complete surrender look like to me, to you?  Am I willing to chuck everything I have so that “I may have Christ and become one with him.”?  That’s a toughy isn’t it?  Let’s go around back – what am I willing to chuck?  Am I willing to toss out anything that keeps me from becoming “one with him”?  You see, we do get to pick and choose what we will and will not take to the dump.  He gives us free will.  Here’s the thing though, until we lay it all down, not just the things we’d like to get rid of, we will not be “one with him.”  Some things in our lives and our hearts are easy to toss on the heap, some things not so easy.  What’s in your heart?  What do we need to kick to the curb? 

I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God’s law, but I trust Christ to save me.  For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Paul’s transformation revealed to him that he simply couldn’t be good enough.  He couldn’t count on himself, by following all the rules, towing the line, doing the right things at the right time.  No matter what Paul did, or what we do, we simply cannot be good enough to inherit the kingdom.  There is not one thing we can do – Christ has already done it.  God used His only Son to make us right with Him.  Believing on the Son, faith in the Son, is the only way.  Even rule followers cannot enter the kingdom without faith, not even Paul, not even us. 

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  John 1:12

As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.   I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead!

Paul trusted Christ, he had faith in Christ, and as a result he was reborn.  Paul experienced the resurrection power of knowing Christ and his life was transformed.  The things Paul previously thought were important were no longer important.  I feel certain that before his transformation, Paul used the same absolutes we use.  I will forever be a Pharisee.  I will always follow the law.  I will never follow this Jesus.   But, Paul surrendered and look what happened – just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of God the Father, he was living a new life, a life that will be resurrected from the dead to live for all eternity. Remember, Paul thought he had it all before.  After meeting Jesus, he knew he had it all.  So, what are we hanging on to that is worthless compared to Christ?  What do we need to discard, take to the dump, get rid of, throw out? 

Canadian Geese. For some of you, I need say nothing more. Over the past three weeks, they’ve started landing in our front field, our soy bean field. They swoop in about 7:00 pm. They swoop out some time during the night because they swoop back in starting at 6:15 am, or so.

There are many recommendations on how to move them on. So far the repeated foot chase with arms flapping, a git holler, and waving scripture cards has not been successful. Oh, they move when the Worst-Best comes close, but only about 10 feet. They’re diligent about the claim they’ve staked.

Despite our frustration with them, their swooping in is interesting. The other morning, while walking the Worst-Best, I watched as they gathered – party time in the soy bean field. The first dozen or so came a honkin’, circling, and then they picked a spot in the field. I guess they were the ones who planned the vacation itinerary and they were told to go and grab a table. The Farmer has assured us that they don’t eat too much and they are just passing through — we shall see. Anyway, after they’ve gotten a table, they then start arriving from all different directions, north, south, east and west — a group will come honking in and get settled, then another group will do the same until we’ve got 100(?) or so buggers.

The thing I noticed when they came swooping in, what I thought was dangerously close over my head, was the sound they made. Not the honking, but the sound of their wings and the sound of the air as they cut through the sky. Even when they’re not honking, they sound like a rush, their flapping wings, their angles, their formations, generate a powerful force, an undertow, a sound. Aside from the obvious honking, they generate this loud hum, they generate a buzz.

It fascinates me that they may not be announcing their arrival with their honking, but you can hear them moving, you can hear them in action, at work. It reminded me of that saying: Preach the Gospel. Use words if necessary.

As believers we should live our lives so that they point to Christ, always. Sometimes we can create a hum, or a buzz, without using any words at all, with just our actions — good or bad. Every one of us is called to preach the Good News — don’t get hung up on the word preach, it simply means to tell others about Christ, that obviously takes words. But sometimes, we think we have to have a big long speech ready in order to do that, we think we have to honk-honk. Not so.

Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well’–but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? James 3:14-16

Yes, we must use words for telling others the Good News, but sometimes we need to create a buzz with our actions too. We have to remember there’s an undercurrent, or an undertow in the world, it is spinning pretty fast, and there are many voices vying for the attention of those we want to introduce to Christ. The audible hum or buzz of our lives, can create a powerful force in people’s lives that gives us opportunities to talk about Christ, to use our voice, to honk, if necessary.

David Clarkson, the prayer writer, was a theologian born in 1622 in the UK, Bradford. Suffice it to say he’s no longer with us by about 300+ years, but his impact is still felt. Clarkson was what was considered a nonconformist — that’s exactly what it sounds like — he did not conform, fall in line, keep in step, with the Church of England. He was not obedient and did not comply with those teachings. Many years later there were others who were nonconformists who escaped the Church of England and that’s why we’re right here in the good ole USA.

I’ve said before — I just love these dead men — eeeeewww, you say. I don’t mean that in a creepy way, I say this with complete reverence and honor. The Puritan Fathers had a way of putting things that just struck right to the heart of a matter. Maybe I like them because they spoke of Our Lord in a way not spoken today, they didn’t beat around the bush. Maybe I like them because they held Our Lord God in such high esteem, in a world that tramples His blessed name. But, I probably most like them because they spoke absolute truth at a very tumultuous time — boldly, directly, and unapologetically, they called a spade a spade, without remorse. So concerned were they that all people accept the salvation of God, that people repent of their sins (yep, we’re sinners), that people enter into His Kingdom for all eternity, that they really didn’t care about political correctness, couching phrases, softening the blows, presentation, or hurt feelings.

I just love this prayer. I’ve been meditating on on it for a couple of weeks and each time I read it I gain more and more understanding. I don’t know about you guys, but I need grace every second of every day. Grace upon grace.

This prayer is such a greater reminder to me of exactly who I am, absolutely nothing without Him. I know because I’ve highlighted all those things in that prayer that I am (ouch!). But more importantly, about exactly who He is. I’ve underlined and exclamation pointed all those things He is (Amazing!). The Spirit Giver, The Mind Transformer, The Vision Giver, The Obedience Giver, The Wisdom Giver, The Heart Transplanter, The Out With the Old — In With The New God, The Light Giver, The Soul Seeker, The Clarifier, The New Creator, The Chain Breaker, The Peace Giver, The Lover of My Soul, The All Powerful, The Door Knocker, The Life Changer, The Grace Giver.

Who doesn’t need every single attribute of God in their lives. I definitely do. I need things I don’t even know I need. He is willing, certainly able, and desirous of our call to Him. He knocks, we need only open the door a crack and He will break it open with almighty power and come in and bless us with His presence and renewing grace.

Try printing the prayer and marking it up — you, Him. Then maybe praying, Lord, give me this heart, put this new spirit into me. Lord, open this heart that has been too long closed against you. Break down these strongholds that keep you from me. Amen.

I had a party on Monday for some of my dear friends, some I’d worked with for 36 years, some only a handful of months. I wanted to honor them and do something special so we had a picnic at a nearby pavilion. It wasn’t a practical picnic — I took the good China. Gasp! Yep, I took real flatware and glasses. We even had cloth tablecloths too. Practical picnics have paper plates, plasticware and disposable tablecloths because they’re…practical, sensible.

You see, I like pretty things. It may not always seem that way because I’m also very practical and life’s practical doesn’t always lend itself to pretty. But I love flowers, and glass, and sparkle, and sometimes I just like being practically impractical.

I went early to the party to set up. Anybody remember how the wind was blowing on Monday in these here parts? As I’m trying to put these 15 foot tablecloths on the tables with gale force winds blowing, I’m sinking a little inside. I wanted everything to be just right, I wanted it to be special for my guests. Eventually, the wind died down enough to get the cloths on and the table partially set. It was pretty.

As I stood there looking at the glassware sparkling in the sun, I thought for an outdoor gig with lots of wind, it was pretty. Everything wasn’t exactly where I had planned because heavy stuff had to be strategically placed to hold it all down, but it was still pretty. As I’m looking across the tables the thought came to my mind that this is exactly what the Lord has done for each of us. He has set the most beautiful table for us, His honored guests.

He has brought out the very best of everything for us. Everything is exactly where He’s planned. There’s nothing disposable at His table, because His guests are not disposable. And to be honest, His table setting seems a little impractical to us, it doesn’t quite make sense to us. But it does to him. We think why, how, it’s not practical for someone to die in my place. But it makes perfect sense to Him.

God has brought out the best of the best, the most beautiful. The place settings of love, hope, grace, mercy, comfort, peace, and so much more. You can look at the table and see such things. But most importantly, He has provided the food and drink for us to feast on, Manna from Heaven to sustain us, and Holy Water to quench our thirsts, eternal salvation, His Son Jesus Christ.

You see, we have all been invited to this beautifully set table. A table set for us by God. Whether we come, sit and partake is completely up to us. Are we tired of trying to feed ourselves with absolutely everything this world has to offer – careers, money, relationships, running, sports, children, busyness, etc., etc. — only to be hungry for more? We cannot satisfy our hunger and quell our own thirsts. There’s only one way to do that, and it is to pull up to the beautifully set table and feast on the Lord.