BARUCH

I have been doing a little reading on a Biblical character lately named Jeremiah. As an Old Testament prophet he is a fascinating character study. He told people what they did not want to hear, so almost no one wanted to be associated with him in any way. He experienced humiliation and agony for trying to make his point to people who were not even listening. All the other "prophets who were around in his day were presenting messages that contradicted his, which really made him look foolish. He was ridiculed, imprisoned, black listed and ignored for his very unpopular messages but for some reason he kept on going. Why??

There was one person who stood by his side - a little known character named Baruch. Baruch was the guy who wrote down Jeremiah's messages. When Jeremiah was in prison Baruch even carried the messages and read them aloud to their intended audience. Baruch is at least partly responsible for giving us the book of Jeremiah. Even though Baruch was just the writer/messenger he, at times, suffered side by side with Jeremiah. He experienced punishment he did not deserve because he chose to be associated with someone who was constantly pushing the envelope; he chose to be associated with someone who dared fierce obedience to God. Jeremiah suffered through some tough times, but he always had Baruch. I dare say that without Baruch, Jeremiah would not have been the prophet that we know today.

Moses had Joshua, Ruth had Naomi, David had Jonathan, Paul had Timothy, Jesus had twelve guys around him. It seems only right that we should not try to do this thing we call life on our own - separated from people who could carry us in those times when we cannot carry ourselves. We all need a Baruch in our lives who is there when no one else is willing to be there. Who do you have??

Just a Meandering Thought...

DADDY

I am a dad...
There is another person on planet earth who is completely dependent on me. This is what I have learned so far:

• He prefers being held to being put down.
• He cannot clean himself up and needs me to do that.
• Sometimes he poops while I am holding him.
• He has peed on me while I was cleaning him.
• Neither of the previous two scared me away, I still loved him and cleaned him up and held him afterwords.
  
• He is the cutest baby I have ever seen (because he looks a little like me and mostly like my wife) yeah, he bears my image.
  
• He is incapable of earning my affection because he already has it.
• He has nothing to offer me that I need, but I can't get enough of him.
• His value is not in what he does (pee and poop) his value is in the fact that he is mine.
• I love it when he looks at me.
• It breaks my heart when he cries.
• I love this time but I also look forward to the day when he will talk to me.
  

Suddenly I understand the love of God a little better.

Just a meandering thought...

RAINS

The Summer rains are falling

They fill the dried up streams
The parched earth drinks it in
And dusty paths now are mud

Blue sky masked in shades of gray

God wrings out the clouds
Droplets form like buckets
And rain like puddles falls

Lakes and oceans merge
Rivers connect them all
The Summer rains are falling
The plush green grass returns
The babbling brooks are swelling
Liquid life on a sojourn

CROWD

Do you remember when you were in elementary school or maybe even junior high (or perhaps last week), when there was one kid or maybe a group of kids that would get some kind of cool gadget and soon everyone had it or at least wanted it. Yeah, they call that crowd mentality. Crowds draw crowds.

Most of us, perhaps even all of us, are part of some kind of crowd, Seth Godin would call it your "tribe". Your tribe gives you a sense of an identity, it shapes your worldview. One man alone does not a crowd (or tribe) make. But when many people gather around one man, or one idea, or one worldview, or (insert point of self identity), then for better or worse you have a tribe.

Some will fight viciously to preserve their tribe because this is what gives them a sense of identity and purpose. In places in the world where your tribe is your family, it is not uncommon to see bloody feuds continue for decades. In America it is not quite this bad, usually; but our crowd is still very important to us. This video has been circulating around the internet for a while but it helps make my point. If you have not see it yet, you have to watch to the end.

When you consider the crowd that you are a part of, do you think about what people outside of the crowd think of your crowd? What do you do to attract outsiders?

It has been said that the Church is one of the few institutions that exists for those who are not a part of it. Even though this is true, the reality is that the Church has not always acted this way.

When Jesus walked the earth there were throngs of people who followed him, to the point where a few times he had to sneak away in order to have some peace and quiet. Do you know of any place where people thronged to church?

The funny thing is, tribes are being formed everyday, and crowds are thronging to them.

Some observations on Crowds based on the above video:

1. The crowd you belong to determines the person you are becoming.
2. People follow passion.
3. One passionate individual can draw a crowd but that does not mean he knows what he is doing.
4. No one wants be a part of a crowd that is not excited about what they are doing.
5. One passionate person who thinks he is drawing a crowd, but is standing alone is just an idiot on the side of a hill.
6. When one idiot on the side of a hill is surrounded by people, he is suddenly cool.
7. Always have a video camera with you
8. It is easier to act out when you are surrounded by people who are acting out.
9. If this guy can draw a crowd why can't you?
10. In the moments before they thronged the lone dancer, what do you think was going through the mind of those people who sat and watched him.

What is keeping you from doing something so unique that people might stare at you for a while... before joining you?


Just a Meandering Thought...

TENTS

A while back I was working a Saturday shift at the REI. A guy came in and asked if I knew anything about setting up tents. I thought it was an odd question given the store we were in but I answered him affirmatively. He went on to vaguely describe a four season, two person, mountaineering tent that was designed for Denali. He said he had not been able to figure out how to set it up and wanted someone to help him get it straight so he would be able to do it on his own. He brought the tent in and we proceeded to set it up in the store, as we did he told me the story behind the tent.

It turns out he bought the tent about five years prior to coming in the store that day. When he got it home he tried to set it up but had some difficulty with it, put it away and had not used it since. By the way, the day he walked in it was in the first couple of days in July and we were on the verge of a record setting heat wave. So here I have a guy with a tent that is made for extreme conditions in the mountains and it has never been set up beyond his backyard because he cannot figure out how to properly use it. I could not help but think, what a waste. To have that kind of equipment and never use it even remotely close to its potential, to never use it for its intended purpose. Then I thought how much am I like that with God??

As followers of Christ we have both the responsibility and the capacity for extraordinary demonstrations of a Christ centered life - things like: extravagant grace, reckless love, incomprehensible acts of service, just to name a few. Many times, however, we shortchange these biblical standards of excellence in our lives. We don’t want to take the time to have these lifestyle attributes molded into us, or we want to but there are so many other priorities that take precedent, or perhaps we are just not aware that they are needed. It is not until we are faced with a crisis that we realize we are forgiving with strings attached, or loving when it is convenient for us, or serving begrudgingly rather than cheerfully. Somehow many followers of Christ have become okay with doing exceptional acts with great mediocrity.

It is like boarding a jet to taxi two doors down and thinking it sure was a good thing the jet was there to go that far distance. The jet can go to a totally different continent but we are content to go two doors down. Its like owning a four season mountaineering tent and setting it up once in the backyard and then never setting it up again because we have forgotten how to set it up. As Christ followers, our actions and our attitudes in the world should be such that they are an improvement on the world, but we for one reason or another never get them beyond our backyard, or beyond our church.

Which tent set up do you think has a better story behind it?? This one... Or this one?? Which one would you want your life to look like?

That guy spent at least five hundred dollars for something a twenty dollar tent could do. We are only shortchanging ourselves when we don't pursue something deeper with God and for the world. We are only asking God for five minutes when he is the one who holds eternity in his hands. It has been said that some people believe that the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. I believe life is an adventure best lived on the front lines.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Summer

In Summer times
The sun does rise
And the breeze caresses my face

The long warm days
and starlit balmy nights
seem to slow the reckless pace

Long roles the thunder
bright the lightning strikes
and rain drops each other they chase

Sky is bluer and ocean warmer
the air humid and heavy
it seems this is always the case

When finally the sun goes down
and late the stars come out
It is then that the moon give chase

In long summer days
The light lingers late
Evokes a smile that winter cannot erase

BUDDHISM

I have been reading about the Buddhist teaching on hell lately and it hit me... Hell. Buddhists believe in a hell as punishment for not living up to the standards of their teachings. After spending time in one or more of the hells you are then reborn lower on the reincarnation scale to try and make up for the mistakes of your previous life. It is more complicated than that depending on the form of Buddhism that is being practiced by any given individual. I don't know when the teachings on hell developed because it was not part of the Siddhartha's original teachings but in what I have read, hell is seen as a place of fire and torment. Sound familiar?? How or why are Christianity and Buddhism so similar?? Why do they have the idea of Hell in common?? Incidentally Judaism and Islam have very similar teachings on Hell as well.

All religions teach some kind of morality. They have some kind of definition for what is right and what is wrong, and teach about rewards for right actions and punishment for wrong actions. All religion is essentially a moral code and teaching on how to life within that moral code where your reward or punishment is experienced in whatever life is to come. It seems that all of humanity throughout all of history has known this on some level, and formed religious constructs around this idea.

Is it possible that the knowledge of something else out there beyond the here and now is hardwired into humanity? Is it possible that even a Buddhist who does not believe in God, believes that if you do not follow the teaching of the Buddhas you will spend time in one or more of eight hells. Is it possible that all of humanity understands this at some level to be true because it is true and even if you do not call God "God", you still understand that there is something else out there that is beyond our understanding.

The paintings pictured here are depictions of the Buddhist texts on hell and torture. In reading these texts it sounds pretty horrific. If you live a life in contradiction of the Dharma, you will spend a lot of time in these places. It seems that on some level humanity understands that there needs to be some kind of retribution for evil; there needs to be some way to be made pure.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." If I believe what this verse says, I believe that all of humanity understands that there is a life that continues after this life is over and the context for that life is directly connect to the context of this life. This is why a Buddhist, or anyone else for that matter understands that eternity is an extension of reality in this life; they have eternity on their heart. A Buddhist understands that living a moral life is what brings us into right relationship with our eternal destiny. They also understand that if they live a life that contradicts their precepts they deserves punishment in hell, yet a Christian is considered close minded or hateful for believing these things.

The Bible teaches that almighty God became a man, lived and died and came back to life all because of his love for mankind, many of whom would refuse to acknowledge him. The Buddhists have some great things to say and moral teachings that are equal with Christian moral teachings. However, the purist in Buddhism live by abandoning their desires and emptying themselves of any desires in this life, including love. Christians live by embracing the unending love of a God who knows us inside and out and is somehow still crazy about us. So embracing or desiring the God who created and loves humanity allows us to come into relationship with Him, giving us access to Heaven in Christianity. Doing the same thing in Buddhism sends you to Hell. So we all believe in Hell, we just believe in different ways to get there.

Just a thought...

SUMMIT

About a Week ago I hiked up my favorite mountain in the North East, Mount Adams. It is not high compared to the mountains you read about in magazines, or see in news reports but it is an intense mountain. The reason I like it is because along with being the second highest peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and part of the Presidential Range it is the only one that comes to a "pointy" summit. At 5,799 feet it peaks about 1,200 feet above treeline which means that the last mile or so of the hike is very exposed to the elements. As we approached the summit my comrades and I experienced winds sustained at about 60 to 70 miles per hour. What added a mystical element to our experience was that once we emerged from the trees we were above the clouds... yeah the skies were "under-cast" where we were. As the sun set it lit up the clouds. It was beautiful. What some people don't realize is that these mountains are some of the most dangerous in the U.S. The reason is because many people under estimate the conditions there in the Whites. Until a recent cyclone off the coast of Australia, the fastest wind speeds in the surface of the earth had been recorded in the Presidential Range.

As I stood there braced against the wind and biting cold on the "Airline" ridge I thought for a moment that there have been very few people who have stood where I was standing and have seen the view that I was seeing. Then I looked at a sign post and was reminded why so few people make that hike in the middle of winter to experience was I was experiencing. The high winds and extreme cold temperatures create ice formations like this one. What does it take to have experiences like this one. What does it take to have an experience that so few people have? The Answer is quite simple, by going where so few people go. By being willing to do what so few others are willing to do. By doing something difficult, that takes some effort, perhaps to the point of exhaustion.

One of the writers of the New Testament, Paul, writes about how perseverance will bring about character. "...we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4. So few people are interested in Character these days so few people persevere. Anything that involves our own sweat or effort or sacrifice is the sort of thing we put effort into avoiding. We would rather have someone else do it for us. The only draw back to that approach is that whoever does the work eventually gets to enjoy reward, or in my case the view at the top. Whoever perseveres gets the character growth. Not always right away but in the end your efforts catch up with you. No one can grow your relationship with God other than you. No one can put in the effort and get results for you other than you.

I could have sent some one else to the summit of Mount Adams and had them take pictures all the way, but I would not have seen it for myself, I would not have felt the wind on my face, or touched the snow laden branches with my own hands. I would have to settle for pictures. The real thing is so much better yet many times we settle for a two dimensional experience rather than a four dimensional experience. It is four dimensions because the real thing involves time and space, whereas three dimensions only involve space. The real thing with God is the kind of thing that can only really be experienced in person; temporally and specially. We cannot do it through someone else, not even our parents our friends, our religious leaders, or anyone else. Doing that takes personal character, to get character we must learn from and work through difficult circumstances. In order to learn and grow we must experience difficult circumstances... kind of like trying to stand up straight in 60 to 70 mile an hour winds.

So if you find yourself there, in difficult circumstances, and wishing you were somewhere else, like anyone would, hang in there, keep going, persevere. The view farther ahead is most certainly worth it.

Just a thought...

FIRST

Just a little while ago we had our first snow fall of the new year. I was of course thinking about Christmas time and having a white Christmas. You see, we had about six inches of snow on the ground but the day after Christmas it all melted away. All of it. As the snow disappeared what was left was an unattractive mix of brown sand from sanding the previously icy streets, and dead leaves, just a remnant of the once brilliant colors of Fall. Over the course of about 24 hours the world here on the north shore went from mostly white to browns and muted greens. It was pretty depressing the way a white Christmas on Friday became a brown Saturday afternoon.

Then it happened... a couple of days later little fluffy white flakes began to slowly drift to the ground. Before long there was a gentle white layer of snow covering the cold, dull colors of winter. It was the FIRST snowfall of the new year. What was once quiet and colorless, muted and silent, drab and dull was soon dressed in mystical white. The snowfall is a transformation that is hard to describe to someone who has never experienced a New England winter. There is something about the blanket of white that falls from the sky that somehow makes things seem to have new life. Take a look next time it snows at someone’s back yard before anyone has walked through it. The unbroken snow cover just after a winter storm is a sight to see; part of you wants to dive in, and part can't help but to stand in awe as you take it in.

Haven't you had dull or muted moment in your life at some point? I have. When the choice you made did not work out the way you thought it would, a relationship goes bad, a business partnership turns out to cost you the money you thought it would make you. Maybe you lost the job you thought was stable. Whatever it was it feels like the colors have faded. Everything seems to exist in muted shades, the prospects seem dull and drab.

In the Old Testament of the Bible there was a King whose name was David. This King who was a shepherd as a boy, and the leader of a militia as a young man was also a poet and song writer. He was a pretty intense guy who lived his life somewhat impulsively. One time after making an impulsive decision he realized that he had made a huge mistake. He basically looked after he leaped. Have you ever been there?? If you are breathing on planet earth you have. Maybe you made a quick decision you wish you could unmake; you made a comment you wish you could take back, you commit to something or someone you wish you could get out of or away from; the result?? You lose a job, you burned that bridge, you dropped the straw that broke the camel’s back and now the colors of life are dull and muted.

Well guess what... God controls the weather! He’s the one who sends the fluffy white flakes. This king who was a poet wrote these words: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” - Psalm 51:7. Whiter than snow!! What a metaphor to describe what happens when we allow God into our space. Often we try to keep God at a distance but the reality is that once we allow God into our lives, those places that are dull and muted and seem to have no life at all are somehow covered and made beautiful. Those painful areas, those places where we have been hurt, those places where we have been let down or stabbed in the back., the places where we have royally messed up, the places we hide from everyone else because of fear of what some might say or think when they saw how colorless, how lifeless, how empty we can be. Somehow, God can look at those things and say, “I have something for that. I have love for your lifelessness, your dullness.” God takes those places and covers them with beauty that is whiter than snow. If we will allow him close enough to wash us he will cover us with a brilliant shade of whiter than white snow...

Just a thought...