Four Footsteps

It was so cold & more windy than it was cold yesterday that even I ran indoors. Yes, "I'm not a hamster" intrepid Aaron, did time on the treadmill at the gym.

My gym's a nice place to be, although I think they keep it to warm. (Why is it that gyms where you'll be sweating are too warm & hospitals where you lay around are always way too cold?) Anyhow, it's a balmy 72 degrees in the middle of midwinter Nebraska inside there with all the shiny equipment & sweaty people. I finish my run. Head to the locker room. Dry off. Sweaty person as I was. Put on all my layers. Feel too hot walking to the door. And in the four footsteps it took me to walk through the revolving door into the subarctic blast I lost 75 degrees. It was negative 3 outside.

It is hard to describe a four footstep 75 degree plunge. Bone-chilling is too weak. Breathtaking falls short. Maybe heart-arresting. Thought-halting. Don't forget to add, or is that subtract, a windchill of more than 20 below!

I hardly remember my walk to the car. My thoughts were at full halt. Maybe my synapses were temporarily frozen. I just don't see how Canadians do it. Maybe that's why they say, "eh," so much. They just can't think of something else to say. Frozen synapses. Thoughts halt.

A 75 degree drop in four footsteps can do that.

When is the last time you were shocked like those four footsteps? Inconceivable announcement? Doctor's diagnosis? Employment termination? Death pronouncement? Relationship implosion?

God spoke into the halt, through the cold, to me.

"Aaron, if you were to see your sinfulness as I see it... this is how you would feel. I love you. I am Jealous. I am Holy God."

Four humbling footsteps.

African Jacob

Below are the thoughts of a missionary friend, Travis Jones. Travis & his wife, Charity, have served eight years in Tanzania. They will be returning to a new ministry in the States with their infant son, Zethan, next month.

Listen to Travis' heart. Consider what God is saying to your heart.

I feel, like Jacob, that I have wrestled with the Living God. I feel small. I feel loved. I pray that I am worthy of the call. His grace and love have been poured over me like never-ending, crashing waves. And in the middle of all of this love and grace, I have continued to sin and rebel and repent. The sovereign creator God has loved me to the utmost. It is this love that compels me to relentlessly pursue Him. We will finish the race.

Africa has taught me many things. But one of the greatest lessons I have learned is to have no sympathy for the person who believes that God is hard or conversely takes great delight in our comfort. God is more tender, more generous, more loving than we can even begin to fathom. I did not pursue God; He pursued me. I did not love Him first; He loved me first. And I have seen both men and women in the deepest grasp of poverty and pain come to the Cross and bend the knee. I have seen both men and women give up family, friends and all they have in order to follow Jesus. I have seen families try to kill and burn family members who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. No our God is neither hard nor overly concerned with our comfort. And anyone who would attempt to persuade you otherwise is in error.

Earth's crammed with heaven;

And every common bush aflame with God.
But only those who see take off their shoes,

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries!
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Poor Ostriches

Change is the new national buzzword. Some want change they can believe in while others may not believe the changes that have taken place. Churchfolk sometimes treat change within the church like it’s the four-letter-word that they don’t want the other churchfolk to know they holler when they smash a thumb. As a provoker of change toward Christ I’d grown fond of saying, “Change is not a four-letter-word,” until a dear Deacon Brother panned, “Preacher, it’s got six letters & that’s worse.”

Better or worse it’s part of life. It’s natural & expected. Who wants to be stuck in second grade forever or eat even the cheesiest of macaroni & cheeses for every meal? My second grader wouldn’t abide either of those options, would you?

Churches are poor ostriches however. We try to hide, deny, & avoid change while we should be expecting it as long as we’re still kicking. Lack of change equals death, right?

Challenging responses to change include: hand-wringing; past-preoccupation; denial; blaming; dividing; rationalizing; talking about others; checking out for self.

Christ-like responses to change include: anticipating change; prayer; Bible study; resisting sin; more prayer; talking to others; uniting; even more prayer; checking in to serve.

Ach Nee

Afrikaans: pronounced, "ahk nee-uh." Choke out an "ach" furball. Then mutter, spit, holler or cry the "nee" depending on emphasis.

English: translated, "alas, no." A phrase foreign to our tongues even in our language. Alas, we rarely intone such interjections.

How well do we express our true feelings? How deeply do we truly feel? Our unhappiness goes unuttered. Our sorrow is shallow. Our pity is petty. Our concern is less than.

Ach nee, People. Be honest. Have courage. Be real. Risk. Love. Talk to one another & not about one another.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love...

Be kind and compassionate to one another,

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:2 & 32, NIV.

Now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth,

love one another as if your lives depended on it.

1 Peter 1:22, The Message.

Correction

Seen it in the newspaper. "The above photo was mislabeled in yesterday's edition. The correct... "

Accept it in life? "The previous action was inappropriate. The correct... "

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise.

He who ignores discipline despises himself,

but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.

Proverbs 15:31&31

Correction, as biblical rebuke or reproof, is the exposure of a sin or a shortcoming.

It is a call to repentance & change as well.

Am I humble under correction?

Do I respond in repentance?

The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 15:33