Listen

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” -1 Kings 19:11-13

Do we really listen to each other these days or do we get lost in all the noise and clutter that surrounds us? What gets our attention? I’ve heard it said that the “squeaky wheel” gets the most grease or in other words the things that are the loudest or most annoying get our attention. Ever have a battery go out in a smoke detector at 2am? We tend to gravitate to that thing or behavior that grabs our attention and ignore the lesser which may be more important. We don’t listen to what is actually going on and try to address the symptoms and not the cause.

Elijah was experiencing that very thing. He was fleeing from Jezebal after God disposed of several of her followers. He was afraid and was actually fleeing from God as he did not trust that God would protect him. He had given up and pleaded with God to let him die. God even sent an angel to comfort and strengthen him. Finally, after a journey of 40 days and nights, he came to Mount Horab and hid in a cave. When God inquired why he was still hiding, Elijah still did not trust God. So God spoke directly to Elijah but not in a way one would expect. There was a great wind, an earthquake and even a fire but God was not in any of these. He spoke to Elijah in a low whisper. How difficult would it have been to hear God with all that other noise all around. Elijah would have had to really listen to hear what God had to say.

In this demanding world we live in, there are many things calling for our attention. Listen for the whispers and hear what is really important. God is speaking to us all the time. He never leaves us to face the world alone.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!  -Psalm 34:3

 

Hidden Treasure

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  -Matthew 13:44

I like to go treasure hunting. No, I don’t mean pirate’s treasure or treasure chests buried on some lonely desert island. I like to go to thrift shops. Some of the things I’ve found are some really nice items of clothing, old beanie babies that I can use to comfort a student in crisis and other assorted odds and ends. One of my favorite items to search for are old vinal records. Yes, vinal records. In this era of steaming music services, there is still a place in my world for hearing an actual record played on a record player. In a recent excursion to my favorite thrift store, I came across several records containing songs by Nat King Cole. I am listening to one of these records as I am writing this. If you don’t know who Nat King Cole is, we need to talk.

Matthew chapter 13 records many parables that Jesus shared including the one I shared with this article. In these parables, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to many different things. In the text, He compares it to finding a hidden treasure. The person finding this treasure sells all he has in order to possess it. For us, the kingdom of heaven has already been purchased by the blood of Jesus. He is our hidden treasure that we cannot keep hidden. His treasure contains the living water in which when we drink of it we will never thirst and we are heirs of the kingdom.

Got to go. Time to flip the record!

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! -Psalm 34:3

 

How about a Game of Catch?

 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; -Ecclesiastes 3 (Selected verses) ESV

One of my favorite movies is “Field of Dreams.” In the movie, the main character, Ray Kinsella, talks about growing up and growing apart from his father, John, and just when Ray is ready to make peace with him, his father passes away. Ray moves to Iowa and buys a farm. Of course being in Iowa, he inevitably has to grow corn. If you're familiar with the story, Ray eventually hears a voice one day while walking in the cornfield. The voice convinces him that plowing under his corn and building a baseball field will allow Shoeless Joe to come play baseball again. As the story unfolds, the field is built and Shoeless Joe does come to play, bringing many other players long since departed to come and play also. Later, we find out that it wasn’t Shoeless Joe who the field was ultimately built for but the chance for Ray to reconcile with his dad. It gives him time to spend with his father playing a game of catch. The ultimate father and son game.

God gives us time and we get to use that time in any way we choose. Time is one of the most important gifts we have from God. How many times have we said, “I don’t have time! I’ll do it later!” or my favorite, “There are not enough hours in the day.” God does give us all the time we need. Unfortunately, we choose to use that time in ways that we shouldn’t. But like Ray in the “Field of Dreams” God also gives us time to reconcile us to Him, our Father. We don’t have to build a baseball field. He provides us His Son, Jesus, as the way for us to come back to Him. We have the time to spend with Him. It’s ours for the taking! Once time is spent, we cannot get it back so use it wisely. So, how about a game of catch?

I don’t know about you but the scene at the end of the movie when Ray and his dad play catch makes my eyes water just a little. You know what I mean?

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!  -Psalm 34:3 ESV

 

 

Let’s Talk

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. - Colossians 3:12-13

We live in some rather tough and uncivil times. It seems that everyone has an idea of how things should be done and if they are not done in the way they think it should be then we take to social media to air our differences. How about when we are wronged or perceived that we have been wronged? Once again, something gets posted to Facebook or Instagram or various other outlets.

Have we lost the ability to actually meet someone face to face and talk over our differences? Do we really have to let the whole world know when we feel we have been wronged? As the verses above say, we are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. Do we have compassionate hearts? Do we forgive one another as God has forgiven us?

What does Martin Luther have to say on the subject? In Luther’s Small Catechism, he writes concerning the 8^th Commandment, “We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.” In his explanation concerning the Lord’s Prayer and forgiveness, he says, “So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.”

Maybe we should talk to each other face to face and work out our issues in kindness and humility, keeping in mind God’s grace toward us as His chosen ones. We are all given His free gift of salvation and are His children. Let’s show His love toward others and let them return it to you.

 Save Facebook for posting funny cat videos! It may put a smile on your face.

 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! - Psalm 34:3

 

 

Welcome to my blog. I've thought about starting one of these for a long time. So here goes! Let me know your thoughts and ideas for topics. Stop by for a cup of coffee anytime!

Tom

Fishing in the Wrong Spot

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.  -John 21:3-6 ESV

Do you have a favorite place to go fishing? I always knew of a few that I could count on to at least yield enough fish to make the trip worthwhile and usually there were one or two spots that the location you kept so guarded that you even James Bond wouldn’t be able to find out from you where they were. However, no matter how secret you thought it might be, there always seemed to be someone walking by and asking, “How’s the fishing? Catching any?”

After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to the disciples on several occasions. The account in the text was the third time He appeared to them. Seven of the disciples decided to go fishing. Since they were fishermen by trade, I suppose this gave them some comfort to be able to do something familiar that they hadn’t done in a long time. They spent the entire night fishing but didn’t catch a thing. Then in the morning, some joker on the shore asks them, “Where’s your fish?” I can only imagine the frustration they felt. Then this person tells them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. Really, so you mean they were fishing on the wrong side all night! Come on fella! So they did as they were told. Do you think they believed for one second that it would make a difference? Then when they pulled up the nets, they almost sank the boat due to the size of the catch. Only then did they realize it was Jesus on the shore.

How many times have you tried to do things on your own, only to come up empty. When we listen to Jesus and let Him guide us, can we find the right place to “fish.” He is in control and we just need to believe in Him. He knows us and knows our needs. He is waiting for us on the shore. Let’s go fishing!

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!  -Psalm 34:3 ESV