Reflecting the Savior

2/19/2012 - Winds of Change

REFLECTIONS

February 19, 2012

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:5

Winds of Change

At least a little happens every day. A hair falls that is not replaced; another one turns gray. Wrinkles form; others deepen. New relationships are made, and others are broken. Fresh opportunities are presented; some are missed.

Buildings that once stood as landmarks lose their place to modern design; business institutions that once seemed invulnerable fail or become absorbed into even stronger ones. And relationships with people are changed by circumstances and the end of life. Winds of change blow through our lives. What once was is swept away and replaced by innovation, fresh looks, and advanced knowledge. Sometimes we like the new; but we still try to cling to what once was. Sometimes we cling too long.

Most of us resist change, yet it is a reality of life. Besides, memorializing the past has its benefits. Relics from times of yore remind us of moments lived, journeys walked, and of how far we have come from eras past. Photographs help us relive beauty seen, lessons learned, love held, and joy felt. But clinging too much to the past is to resist change. Resisting change is to relinquish hope for a better tomorrow. It may also signal a loss of faith.

God does not ask us to cling to the past or even extend the present. That was the lesson Jesus taught in the parable of the talents.

"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' (Matthew 25:24-25)

He encourages us to build on what we have and to grow from where we are. He asks us to make discerning choices, but He doesn’t want us to stand still.

Change does not mean that we must accept it with no discernment, or that we must turn loose of cherished memories. Those carry on to relive their joy and to provide their valuable lessons. There are mistakes to learn from and there is joy to replicate. Pain we have suffered heightens awareness of dangers to avoid. Joys we have had inspire us to share them with others. But avoiding change is to deny hope.

The winds of change sweep into our lives with threats to our ways of life, but alongside the winds are beams of hope. And hope does not disappoint.

“You are the light of the world.”

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

2/12/2012 - A Kingdom and Priests

REFLECTIONS

February 12, 2012

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Revelation 1:5-6

A Kingdom and Priests

Billy Graham stood on a large stage before a crowd of thousands. His message that day was direct and clear just as one would come to expect by watching his crusades on TV. At the conclusion of his message Dr. Graham looked out to the capacity crowd and he extended an invitation to come forward and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was amazing to watch the parade of people make their way to the floor of the stadium to give their lives to Christ. It was amazing to see his gift of persuasion and influence at work in the lives of so many. But the work with them had only begun.

God used Billy Graham to send the message, but as the thousands made their way to the center of the stadium to receive Christ, there were hundreds waiting to receive them, to pray with them and to help them map the next steps in their lives. And those next steps involved hundreds more to teach them, to meet their emotional needs, to love them and to prepare them to eventually go into the world to make disciples themselves.

Most of us are not blessed with the giftedness of Billy Graham. Few of us will ever have an audience of thousands or the influence to lead large numbers to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. But some of us have the gift to receive them when they come; some of us have a gift to teach them God’s holy word; some of us can encourage them as they face the daily trials of life. And some have gifts to equip them to go into the world to make disciples just as Jesus commanded.

The Lord has made us a kingdom and priests to serve God. Our kingdom is our sphere of influence. We all have one, only the size and nature of them makes them different. Dr. Graham had a kingdom of large stadiums and TV audiences, but yours may be simply your home where you are called to bring up a child in the way he should go. Or your kingdom may be your workplace where you are called to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Or it may be an athletic field where competition is fierce, but you play the game with the call to love your neighbor as yourself.

Each of us is a kingdom and a priest—a unique sphere of influence with unique gifts that we carry into all the world and make disciples. That’s why Jesus said,

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

2/05/2012 - Separation of Time

REFLECTIONS

February 5, 2012

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

he heard my cry for mercy.

Because he turned his ear to me,

I will call on him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1-2

Separation of Time

Years had passed, twenty of them. I felt anxious about seeing everyone again after all those years, but I also felt excited about it. I wondered how everyone might have changed. I wondered how changed they might find me to be. I wondered if those old feelings we had for each other, some warm and some tense, would be the same.

Most of us can recall such an experience, the meeting with a once good friend, or classmate, or old flame who from the separation of time had become a stranger when next you met. Whatever had connected you with them before did not connect you still.

Yet the meeting would neither feel like meeting a present-day friend nor meeting a stranger for the first time. There was uneasiness that both of you felt, but neither would mention it or quickly overcome it.

Time, the effects of it, is hard to explain. It often serves as a great healer, overcoming grief, pain, and hopelessness. But it also brings about separation. With the passage of time feelings reduced almost to memory, both bitter and sweet, are not quickly or easily rekindled.

So that class reunion, the first one for me, introduced all of those feelings. With some of my classmates it didn’t take long to pick up where we had left off. But others were more like tip toeing across a sensitive surface, trying to find a place to begin—not knowing how to start fresh, but hoping not to begin where it was before.

Separation from God can be like that too. Most of us go through a time, fueled by self-sufficiency, when we are consumed by matters of life, and God is not a part of them. After separation of time from him, a meeting will feel as that of a stranger, uneasy, distant, unworthy—wondering how changed He might find us to be. And though the bond with God is easily restored, it is much easier to stay connected and not allow there to be a separation of time in the first place.

But either way, say a prayer today—even if it is only to say I love you.

Especially if it is to say I love you.

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

1/29/2012 - The Race

REFLECTIONS

January 29, 2012

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:2-3

The Race

It was a rainy day and the track was mired in mud as we prepared to race for the district championship. But one full lap with poor track conditions would not be my greatest challenge that day. My lane position was. I had drawn the outside lane and that placed my opponents in staggered lanes behind me where I was unable to see them. With my competition blocked from view I was unable to measure my pace against theirs. So coming out of the first turn, I could hear Johnny breathing at my left shoulder. At the time I didn’t fully realize how far behind him I was, but soon it became a stark reality.

The race must have been exciting for the spectators as Johnny and I raced in perfect step down the backstretch and into the final turn. It was there that I kicked my pace into a higher gear to emerge from the final turn with Johnny and I still stride for stride. The spikes on our shoes were slinging mud onto our backs as we both strained to hold our positions, but in the final few yards my endurance failed. Johnny won the race.

There is not enough space on the page to tell all of the lessons I have taken away from that day. I am learning from it still. But the lesson that lingers in my mind is the resemblance of that race around the track with our life journeys through this world.

The race with Johnny was run on a mud mired track. We ran hard and gave it all we had as if the only thing that mattered was who finished first. But later I realized that when we reached the finish line, the oval track had returned us back where we had begun.

Too often we live life like it is a track meet. We race about on the surface of the earth as if our lives depend on the order of finish. But the track condition doesn’t matter; and it doesn’t matter whether we run, east, west, north, or south, the surface only takes us back to where we started. The only point of the race against our fellow runners is who among us finishes first. But there is another dimension we can choose.

Just as the ocean is deep, so is the world we journey through. We seem to avoid going deep maybe because it is not popular to go there, or because of what it will reveal about us, but there is a source of life beneath the surface. Only by going there can we find it. Going deep into life may not be popular and it may reveal our human failings, but if we picture life in the shape of our planet, then once we reach the deepest point, we begin to rise again to come up on the other side.

And that is what the journey through life is toward.

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

1/22/2012 - Inspiration

REFLECTIONS

January 22, 2012

let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Inspiration

Each day offers something to learn. Something new will happen, or we may hear a story that we have not heard before, or an old one that has a lesson that was overlooked the first time. Sometimes what we learn may change our lives. So it was one day in a college English class so many years ago.

“I am a part of everyone I ever met,” were the poet’s words as I remember them now. They stated a truth that struck me with a thud, but it was many years before they became an inspiration to me. The inspiration did not come from the sum of those whose lives indwell me. Rather, I was inspired by the reality that my life will become a part of the lives of others.

If I am a part of everyone I have ever met, then a little part of me indwells everyone I meet along my journey through this life. And that assignment carries with it a formidable responsibility; yet it also offers an engaging opportunity. Everyone I ever meet offers a possibility to bring something meaningful into their lives, to add a new dimension, to reveal Christ.

So, today as I think of those I have met along my pilgrimage, I shudder at the opportunities missed and even worse, that many of them carried away nothing good. But I pray that some of them have. And I pray for my life to reflect the Savior so those I have yet to meet will one day welcome Jesus Christ into their lives.

The words from a poem gave me a fresh meaning for my life. They gave me inspiration for the way I try to live. From them it was easy to see that our lives are intertwined in ways that make us one, and how God can use each of us as a light in the world. But the poet had a message I previously overlooked.

The words came from a poem I do not otherwise recall, written by a poet I never met and whose name I can’t remember. Yet the poet reached into my life and helped me see that the glow of our light in the world lingers longer and reaches further than any of us will ever know. It shines into the lives of everyone we ever meet.

And it shines into the lives of many we will never know.

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

1/15/2012 - Wonders

REFLECTIONS

January 15, 2012

I AM WHO I AM.

Exodus 3:14

Wonders

If a definition of wonder is something of nature that can’t be easily explained, then Giant’s Causeway must rank high on the wonders list. It would be a wonder even if it was manmade; but it isn’t. Almost perfectly hexagon-shaped columns rise out of an area of the Northern Ireland sea coast to form one of nature’s phenomena. Some columns rise only to heights just above the water’s level providing the appearance of stepping stones into the sea. Thousands of other columns rise to varying heights presenting the image of stacks of poker chips waiting to be put in play.

Places like Giant’s Causeway put me in a state of wonder, and I seem to find myself in that state a lot. A state of wonder is to gaze into the unexplained and the unexplainable. I wonder how nature can create the symmetry of Giant’s Causeway. And I wonder about such things as why/how/what makes children grow? I wonder what makes them stop. Both are natural; both are expected. Neither is easily explained or understood. The growth of children is a wonder. And it is a wonder that their growth comes to an end. Both are true. We see it every day.

All of God’s creation is a wonder. The life we see around us seems ordinary because we see it every day. Sometimes science offers explanations; but there is wonder in science too. How did science come to be? It is all a wonder. But it is true. We see it every day.

Wonders are unexplainable. But they are true. Wonders often exceed the ordinary. But wonders may also be common simply because there is no clear explanation why, or how, or what made them be. God is one of those. His being is beyond understanding. But God is true. We feel his presence every day. He is the answer to all wonders of the world. And as for the wonder of him?—well, it begins with his ever-present name.

His name is I AM.

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

1/08/2012 - Mission to Planet Earth

REFLECTIONS

January 8, 2012

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Mission to Planet Earth

It all began as a remote scene in Bethlehem at a place intended for animals, not people. Except for a select few who saw the star and followed it, the scene went mostly unnoticed. Even those few who came to see the newborn seemed to soon forget what they saw, especially who they saw. But those who witnessed the child and spread the news are not the story. Jesus is.

God sent Jesus on a mission to planet earth. He came as a man because that is the only form he would be understood. Only in human form would people stop to listen to his teaching. Only in human form could the impact of his suffering on the cross be felt. Only in human form could his death and resurrection bring hope that death will not prevail.

God sent Jesus on a mission to planet earth. But do we ever pause to wonder if He has assigned us a mission too? Like Jesus, our births drew little public notice. Most who did notice soon forgot what they saw, and many of them, who they saw. But obscurity from the public eye does not diminish the importance of the mission God has for us on planet earth.

Yes, we seem to be much like everyone else. But equality among men is what makes people listen to what we say. Equality among men is the reason people watch the way we worship God, reveal love, and respond to suffering. And though our lives may be small in relation to the world, there is an audience we play to and that audience is paying close attention.

God sent Jesus on a mission to planet earth. He is still the story. But God has sent you and me on a mission too. He sent Jesus to die for us. God sent us to live for him.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)

God has sent us on a mission to planet earth. It requires the gifts of each of us to get it done. May we all do our part.

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org

1/01/2012 - New Year's Prayer

REFLECTIONS

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

Psalms 118:14

New Year’s Prayer

Gracious and loving God, we come to you today at the beginning of a New Year. We enter it with the freshness of a new birth. It is a time when much of the old has been washed away and in some ways our slates are wiped clean. But everything is not new.

We carry into it illnesses that weaken us, broken relationships that divide us, and wars that place many in harm’s way. Even still, the New Year brings with it our hope for a better world.

Our needs exceed our abilities to meet them without your power to heal, shelter to protect, and love to bring us peace. So Loving God, even with all our human frailties, scars, and uncertainties at this new beginning, we come to you as newborn children.

We come to you to ask for peace in our war-torn world. We ask not only for the end of the wars that threaten the lives of so many, but also for a peace that can only come through your loving hands. Help us to release the pride that causes us look to ourselves as the source of strength; and to rid ourselves of desires for possession, position, and power that have crept into our lives as the gods we worship in place of you.

Gracious God, we seek your forgiveness for the wrongs we have done to you and to our fellow man. We seek your help to release our resentments toward those who have hurt us and to seek forgiveness from those whose lives we have wounded by word or deed. Help restore broken relationships through a reconciliation that will help us love each other as you have called us all to do.

We ask you for healing of the diseases that reduce the quality of life we seek and threaten the breath of life you have so graciously given. Yet, even as we ask for good health, we submit to your will fully knowing that you will not ask more of us than we can bear.

But most of all, Loving God, we seek to live our lives as you would have us live—to love you with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind; and, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Help us to turn our lives toward your Son, Jesus the Christ, for only by facing toward him can our lives reflect the Savior. And it is in his holy name that we pray.

Amen

“You are the light of the world.”

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

12/25/2011 - Christmas Story

REFLECTIONS

December 25, 2011

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

Christmas Story

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:4-7)

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. (Luke 2:21)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace. (Micah 5:4-5)

Merry Christmas,

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

12/18/2011 - Treasure Unnoticed

REFLECTIONS

December 18, 2011

He will stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.

Micah 5:4

Treasure Unnoticed

The road was rugged and long. Travel up it would be uphill, burdened by threats of inclement weather and dangers imposed by both man and beast. It would be a demanding walk for any man; but for a young expectant mother whose child could be born any day, the road would be especially difficult even riding on a donkey. And the trials would not cease when the destination was reached. There would be no room for them in the inn.

The story is familiar, but the wonder of it never ends. A baby was born and He was Christ the Lord. Only a few came to celebrate, some lowly shepherds from nearby fields and some magi who traveled from the east. Otherwise the child born that day was a treasure unnoticed.

It was three decades before Jesus would reveal himself as the Son of God, and close to a century before very many took note of who He really was. The unnoticed treasure was long awaited, but when He came into the world as a baby and placed in a lowly manger, no one really paid attention.

So, as we enter the season to celebrate the birth God’s son, let us prepare ourselves and those around us to receive the Lord Jesus into our lives. Never again, should we allow God’s son to come into the world as a treasure unnoticed.

You are the light of the world. Let your light shine so all may discover him as He shepherds his flock in the strength and majesty of the name of the Lord God.

Merry Christmas,

RichardÌ

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

12/11/2011 - Uniquely Made

REFLECTIONS

December 11, 2011

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

Uniquely Made

Yesterday I looked to the sky and saw rays of golden sun splashing from behind clouds that covered its face. It was mostly gray but clouds were broken just enough to allow streaks of sunlight to brighten the hope for a beautiful day, for the setting before me was already beautiful.

Today will be different. Each today always is. Like people, no two are ever quite the same, even if some may appear so. The infinite variety in God’s creation is a wonder to me. Just look at the sky today. What you see is unlike any other time, and when you take another look, it will be different still. Unlike the claims of the writer of Ecclesiastes, everything is new in God’s creation—all uniquely made.

Pause to look at people around you. Observe the lines on their faces, the shade of their eyes, shape of their noses, and color of their hair. Something about the combination of those features is different than anyone ever before. And if the similarities are too close to tell apart as with identical twins, then there will be something else that makes them unique. Their voice will not have the same pitch, their skill levels will not be identical, their knowledge and ability to gain it will not be equal. And no one shares exactly the same perspectives of life. The life experiences that shape them are uniquely made.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made, for God has prepared no two things the same. No one else has wrinkles exactly like yours; God designed yours just for you. No one else has a nose exactly like yours; God crafted yours just for you. And that bald spot that began to appear over the years. Well, for you it has been uniquely made.

I look at the sky today. Through damp and heavy air all I can see is its grayness. The scene is quite familiar; but I know that something makes today unique. Today is one the Lord has fearfully and wonderfully made; and you are too. For [you] are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10). And it doesn’t matter what anyone else may think.

You are the apple of his eye.

You are the light of the world,

RichardÌ