For Christians Only

      O Star of Truth shining through clouds of doubt and fear, I ask but beneath your guidance, my pathway may appear. However long the journey, how soe’er hard it be, though I be lone and wary, lead on, I’ll still follow thee. Though loving friends forsake me, or plead with me in tears; though angry foes may threaten to shake my soul with fears. Still to my high allegiance, I must not faithless be. Through life or death forever, lead on… I’ll follow thee. Words to an old hymn that capture the resolve and commitment that are necessary for any relationship to endure. All lasting relationships call on us to trust and stay the course, to remain, and this from our own marital relationships. For better or worse, we say when we say our wedding vows, seldom knowing at the time what for better or worse means. Looking back however, we see that our journey together was filled with valleys and hills, with long stretches that made us wonder “is this all there is?” and with radical twists and turns that made us cry out, “what’s going on around here?” Our marital relationships are based on resolve and trust- all intimate relationships are- and although they're both tested now and then, we stay the course, we don’t quit, we surrender to the relationship without surrendering our soul… and we remain, which is what it means to “abide.”

      The Greek word for abide is “meno” and we encounter it in the New Testament over 100 times. Sometimes, it’s meaning is as simple as staying with for dinner or staying overnight, but sometimes "meno" carries a deeper meaning. For instance, when Jesus was suffering at Gethsemane, he asked his disciples “to remain” (abide) with him while he went to pray. Abide we me, he said, in my hour of need. Be present to me. Likewise, when Jesus encountered a man who was possessed with a demon living among the Geradenes, he said, this man doesn’t live in a home, but abides among the tombs. Some people, you know, do abide among the tombs. They remain there. Others remain in their sins and there are those who won't let go of their addictions. Some people are like McScrooge, they abide in their vaults, counting their money again and again. 

      We can abide in whatever we choose. It's up to us. But when Jesus said, "I am the vine, abide in me," he wasn't speaking to those who weren't interested in following him. He wasn't speaking to those who were opposed or apathetic to him. Nor was he speaking to those who little more than an idle curiosity about him, who sometimes thought about following him. He was beginning a farewell address to men and women who wanted to carry on, who wanted to bear fruit for him, who desired to please him, and he said, if you want to be fruitful, if you want to endure, abide in me and let me abide in you. 

      Love… is the stuff that relationships are made of …and relationships are the stuff that make our Christian journeys possible. We are called to love God with all of our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves, but we can’t do either one unless we are in relationship. We are commanded to love one another as Christ loves us… but we can’t do that unless we’re in  relationship with Christ and with His body. Strength for the journey comes from loving relationships and this is especially so with God. And so, we come face-to-face with John’s last I AM “ego eimi” statement, “I am the Vine. Abide in me and I in you (because) a branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in me.” Christians who want to be Christians need to abide in Christ. They need a relationship with Christ and his followers. They need to nurture that relationship in several ways and keep it at the top of their minds. 

      And so, how do we do it? How do we abide in Christian? Well, let me suggest the following ways. There are others, I'm sure, but 7 is a good Biblical number: 1) Decide to strengthen your relationship with Christ. Make it a priority. Choose to do it because it won't happen otherwise; 2) Talk to Him. Pray. Talk to him in the morning and at night, at mealtimes and throughout the day. You don't need a theological degree to share your praise, your joys and your concerns- so talk to God. If you aren’t talking, your relationship is in trouble; 3) Open your Bible. Learn God’s word and let it speak to you. Join a group, have someone explain it to you, start a daily devotion. Allow the word of God to affirm, direct, challenge, and sometimes correct you. Listen as you read and your relationship with God will grow;  4) join a church because it is the body of Christ. Being a Christian is a community affair. There are other people on the road too. We walk with them, they walk with us, and together we serve and grow in our relationship with Christ. They may be short or tall, black or white, talkative or reserved, burdened with issues or free from worry, charming and witty or not so much, sincere or insincere… but they are our brothers and sisters in Christ; 4) increase your God-consciousness. Be a practicing Christian. Consciously look for ways, people and events in which God is speaking to you. Sharpen your vision and your hearing, soften your heart and open your mind... so that you will see and experience Christ in others; 5) start each day with a gratitude list and end each day with an honest assessment. How did I live as a Christian today? Did I bear fruits of kindness and gentleness? Did I witness to anyone in word or deed?  6) Forgive as if there is no tomorrow. Forgive until you feel a bit silly about because forgiving is the most Christian thing that you can do; and 7) don’t quit. Abide! Don’t let your doubts get the best of you. Don’t let your pride or a bad church experience get in your way. Don’t give in to the tempters who call your name along the way, and when the going gets tough, remember your baptism, as Martin Luther used to say.

      Make a decision to be a Christian, nurture your relationship with Christ and his followers, and stick with it. Abide. Do this and you will bear fruit. Let this be your creed: I am a Christian. I march to a different drummer. I’ve embraced a new identity and a greater truth. I measure success in a different way now and I see others in a new light. I have decided in live in Christ and to love those whom He puts in my life. I invest at least as much effort in my relationship with Christ as I do with other relationships that are important to me. I talk to Christ and listen too, I read His word and let it speak to me, I hang out with his people and take part in his community. I live as a Christian in all phases of my life and I let my light shine. These things I do to glorify God and I won’t change course for anything in the world… because He is the truth and, in Him, I am free. Amen!

      

THE EASTER SURPRISE!

In the fall of '94, my little brother passed away and with heavy hearts, Sherry and I made our final trip to Anniston... to pay our final respects. We gathered and grieved. We noticed that Randy didn't look like himself and we greeted people whom we hadn't seen in a long time. Mostly though, we gathered to express our love for this "angel who flew too close to the ground,"to borrow a phrase from Willie Nelson. We gathered to express our love and we certainly didn't expect to see an empty casket. And it was much the same when my brother, Larry, died in 2010. I was blessed to spend some quality time with Larry shortly before he passed on, but still, it was with heavy hearts that Sherry and I drove to Plano, when he died. We gathered with heavy hearts to pay our respects. We didn't expect to find life in the graveyard. We simply wanted to say "goodbye" and "we will always love you." It's always the same. I've conducted a 100 funerals during my ministry and I've seen them their sad faces as they paraded by their loved one's body... just to pay their respects and maybe to reach out cautiously touch him or her one last time.
      

In the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, God asked his eccentric prophet one of the Bible's many great questions: can these dry bones live? You're standing in a valley of dry bones, son, he seemed to say. They're up to your waist and their very dry. They're not dying, or nearly dead- they're dead, dead- and my question to you is this: can these dry bones live? Well... can they? And many would say, of course not! Dry bones can't live. But the old prophet had more faith than that and he replied, "You know, Lord. You know. I don't know, but you do." Yes, God knows, but Mary Magdalene hadn't seen any dry bones come to life. Nothing is too hard for God. With God, all things are possible. So, with a heart filled with memories of her dearest friend, she made her way to Jesus' tomb, just outside of Jerusalem's gate, 1985 years or so ago. She made the journey because love demanded it, She was drawn by love to do the right thing. That's all she wanted to do and that would have been enough, but when she neared the tomb, her worst fears were realized! The heavy wheel-shaped stone had been rolled away from the entrance and she was overcome with the fear that the Jewish authorities or just grave robbers... had taken his body!                                                                                               

She wasn't thinking resurrection or that somehow he hadn't really died. She knew the score. She had seen them take his dead body off of Calvary's cross and lay it in this very tomb. So she ran to tell Peter and John, who confirmed that the tomb was empty and returned home, leaving Mary of Magdala weeping outside of his tomb. Then, as the passage goes, she spotted a man whom she took to be a caretaker, and she cried out, "Sir, where have you taken him? Please tell me so that I can do what I came to do." To grieve and pay her respects and say goodbye- that's all she wanted and all that she expected,  But instead of giving her the directions she sought, the man said: "Mary!" Mary, he said and her heart nearly burst because she recognized the voice immediately! When she heard her name, Mary cried, "Rabboni," and reached out to hug him. She wanted to embrace him! But he said, "Noli me tangere," (don't cling to me). Don't cling to me. Mary, because I have to go to my Father and besides, you have things to do!

Go and tell them, Mary, that I live! Tell them, Mary, and all of you who are Mary, that you have seen me and that those who believe in me will never die! Tell them, Mary. Tell them in your own words, from your life experience, in ways and with words that they understand... that I am risen! Tell them that death has lost and that life has won. Tell them that, Mary, and tell them that Easter is much more than candy and bunnies, more than families and friends, even more than hope itself. Tell them that Easter is more than anything they've ever expected and more than anything they can completely grasp or understand. Tell them that I am alive and that because I live, they will live-fully, abundantly, purposefully and eternally. Mary, and all of you who are Mary, Peter, John, Dave, Jack, Barb, or Ginny, go and tell them that. Tell them that death is simply a moment in time because dry bones live!      

After we buried Randy, Sherry and I received a bulb garden in the mail from him, which I planted, although I planted some of the bulbs upside down. And come Easter, of 95, his flowers were standing tall in the sun and I found myself saying, "Who's the preacher now?" Thank you, Lord, for being an Easter God and for giving us the faith to believe that neither our loved ones nor we will ever perish! Show us how to live as Easter people, Lord, and give us the courage to tell others that you live! Open our mouths and loosen our tongues that, even when our own hearts are filled with grief and our eyes are filled with tears, we might bear witness to the greatest truth that there is and ever could be- He lives! He is risen and He lives! Amen!