Month: December 2016

It’s that time of year when college teachers really do work.  Finals, essays and other projects pile up in a seemingly endless heap.  While pondering what grade to give a particular student I suddenly remembered being on the receiving end of zero grade.  There was attached note from the prof.  “This was an exceedingly interesting five pages worth the above grade.  Thanks for the entertainment.”  It was the only time I have ever struck out so poorly.  Usually one hits a foul ball or two before being out.  This was three whiffs.
 
Now decades later I would like to speak on behalf of the value of a zero.  A zero stops you from continuing on a pointless path.  A zero is a great place holder.  I love zeros in my checkbook when they follow a prime number.  The more zeros the better as long as they are left of the decimal point.  When I was little I loved the equation “x divided by zero.”  It meant I got the whole pie.
 
There is a zero all of us should covet.  It is a capital zero at the top of the list of our sins.  Each of us has tallied up an impressive record of misdeeds, but not to worry.  God has promised “”I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”  Isaiah 43:25.  That’s a great zero.  If you are looking to receive a truly marvelous Christmas present this year, please take advantage of this offer.  It doesn’t come wrapped in pretty paper.  It comes to us blood stained from Calvary.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1

Long I stood pining over the Oreo section.  When I was little there were only Oreos.  Now the selection is wonderful. There are double stuff, triple stuff, orange flavored, mint flavored, thin ones (Why would anyone want a thin one?) vanilla flavored and then I saw it – Mega Stuff.  Wow – instant salivation.  But, Christmas is almost here with all its sweets.  More sugar is NOT what my house nor my body needs.  But it was MEGA STUFF!  What if they were only for the holidays?  Maybe it’s now or never!  (My family doctor is going to read this and just shake his head in frustration.)
 
I never ever dreamed there could be too much stuff between those two wonderful cookies whether chocolate or vanilla.  Perhaps it’s my age. But I twisted off the top cookie. (Either could be the top.) and went for it.  Instant satisfaction followed by “Ohhh, that’s too much.”  Alas, I should have known.  There can be too much of anything except one thing.  (I’ll get to the exception in a moment.)
 
I am so dull.  I should have remembered Proverbs 25:16.  I just read it about a week ago. “If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit.”  And there is Titus 2:2.  “Teach the older men to be temperate.”  Why not the younger men and women?  You don’t have to teach older women to be temperate.  Grandmas are wise.
 
Now there is one thing we can always have in excess.  Yea, two things.  Love and mercy can never be overdone.  “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2   Awesome!

This evening in my Child Development class one of my students presented a paper on sensory perception disorder.  It manifests itself as a process that sends mixed and often times offensive sensory data to a child’s experience.  To a degree all of us have this disorder.   Classrooms today no longer have blackboards but most of us remember to our horror the sound of chalk screeching its spine-chilling sound.  There are things we cannot bear.  For me it is green smoothies made with kale.  For others it is the thought of eating jack cheese because it is made with goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk.  I actually threw up one night when my mother made me eat turnips.
 
As my students (elementary teachers) were sharing their experiences and how to be sympathetic to children in their classrooms, it occurred to me that God, Himself, has sensory perception disorder.  He is revolted and horrified when He sees us do things He knows will harm us.  We get so used to certain kinds of sins they have little or no revulsion to us.  However, our heavenly Father is repulsed, revolted and nauseated while watching us harm ourselves. He cares so much for us and He knows the extent of damage that we are inflicting upon ourselves and/or others.
 
Proverbs 6 has an interesting list of things God especially hates.  “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”  These things are to Him as the sound of chalk on a blackboard.

While Japanese diplomats were in Washington D.C. pretending to negotiate, a Japanese aircraft carrier was being positioned to launch a devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.  On December 8 an incensed President Roosevelt began his declaration of war with the following words.  “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”  Ever since it has been a Day of Infamy.
 
As terrible as it was there was one day even more infamous.  Human beings took the Creator of the Universe, unfairly and illegally tried Him, twice beat Him, stripped Him, crushed the nerves in His hands with nails, ruptured Him with a triangle of wood placed between His legs, mocked and berated Him, spit on Him, and literally stabbed Him in heart.  This was the One who knelt in the grass in Eden and breathed life into man.  This was the One who restored fingers and lips on lepers.  This was the One who spoke and a rotting corpse lived again.  This was a day that will forever live in infamy.  For centuries and millennia we will speak of that infamous day in hushed tones.
 
Though forgiven never will we be proud to be human.  All our pride will be focused on the One who became one of us. Forever we will be overwhelmed by His love.  That He would have creatures like us enter His presence speaks nothing about us and everything about Him. Never will we wear a badge proclaiming our humanity.  Instead we will forever wear a badge proclaiming our redemption.  But He goes further than merely forgiving us.  He declares us to be sons and daughters, princes and princesses.  How can this be so?  I doubt I will ever understand.

Don’t you hate it when someone comes up to you and says, “Do you remember me?”  Chills run up your spine.  Well, actually, it depends on the tone they use.  If they aren’t smiling and lean in too close, that makes me want to run.  Maybe they have some sinister motive because of a perceived terrible memory of a dreadful encounter. But even when their demeanor isn’t threatening I hate it.  I don’t want to say, “No” and hurt their feelings inferring that they are not important enough for me to keep them in mind.  Sometimes I am tempted to lie and say, “Oh, of course, now give me a moment to retrieve those marvelous times we had together.”  But that can just dig you in deeper.
 
It happened to me yesterday.  I hadn’t seen this person in ten years.  He had gained at least 40 to 50 pounds.  He had shaved his head and was sporting a goatee.  Our appearances can change so much through the years.  I sometimes look at a picture of myself taken 50 or so years ago.  Wow.  That person doesn’t exist anymore.  He didn’t die.  He just evolved into someone else.  He evolved into me.  The people I have known, the books I have read, the movies I have watched, the sermons I have heard, the classes I have taught, the jobs I have lost, all have contributed to this person I see in the mirror.
 
Yet, He knows me.  We never have to say to God, “Do you remember me?”  While there are moments I want Him to forget, I’m happy He always knows where I am and what I am doing.  He even said to Jeremiah, “Before you were I knew you.”   That kind of care is amazing!

The little wise men and the shepherds were ready.  The designated donkey jockeyed his hat bearing long ears.  The little boy shifted his camel hump.  Joseph was bearded and standing tall.  The manger was waiting and the congregation was wondering why the delay.  All were antsy as the clock on the wall ticked away the day.  But something very important was happening.  Baby Jesus wasn’t finished eating.  Mommy was so warm and nice. Finally there was a coo.  It was time to go.  It was a grand program.
 
All I ever saw of baby Jesus was the top of a tiny head with a swirl of new-born hair.  It was all I needed for my memory to hear Mahalia Jackson sing Sweet Little Jesus Boy.  “We didn’t know who you was.”  We know now.  Those tiny hands grew big and strong and were calloused from the carpenter shop.  They were to hold nails so differently from what He learned from Joseph.
 
The angels and the universe are ready.  The world strains with pain.  God’s children pray. The clock in the throne room ticks away the centuries.  Jesus is not yet ready but will come at the exact precise moment when all is right.  He waits. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9.  Just as when our baby Jesus finished his lunch so our King of King Jesus will finish His heavenly duties and as Paul describes, “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  I Corinthians 15.   Not long.  Not long now. 

I have a confession to make.  My favorite store is Dollar Tree.  One never knows exactly what will be available.  When wandering about I stock up on things I know I will eventually need.  If I see my usual kind of toothpaste I will get a tube even though I’m not in an immediate need. 
 
I do the same thing with memorizing verses from Scripture.  Not always is a text needed for an immediate problem.  But it’s good to have just in case.  The Psalms have texts about enemies.  I don’t have any.  (Oh, I know there are people that don’t wish me well.  That makes me their enemy.  It doesn’t make them mine.)  David seemed to have several enemies.  It must be the price one pays for being important.
 
But back to the idea of storing up things for future needs.  One can’t have too many verses tucked away.  Modern poems are like that as well as Psalms.  When I was in high school our English teacher had us memorize many poems by Robert Frost.  Now decades later as I ride around New England I see rock walls, woods and many things that bring them to memory.  I love it.  It adds so much to an afternoon drive.  I have even stopped by a wood on a snowy evening to watch it fill up with snow.
 
Treat yourself.  Exercise your brain.  Learn some memory verses.  Just one a week will next year at this time put 52 new arrows in your quiver.  They also create pathways for God to talk to you.  I realize He can talk to you anytime but it doesn’t hurt to make it easier for Him by storing up His Word in your heart.  Psalm 119:11.

Today is a day from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.   There are no birds, there are no squirrels.  My bird feeders hang dormant.  The suet feeders are untouched.  Normally when this happens it is short lived because our neighborhood hawk is present.  But this has been all day.  Could there be an owl on my roof that I cannot see?  It is rainy and gray but that alone should not explain the total dearth.   I feel like singing Peter Paul and Mary’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone and swap the word flowers with the word birds.
 
Just as I miss the birds so would God miss us if we were not part of His family.  Perhaps that’s not true.  While the absence of birds leaves me vacant, God’s missing us is a thousand times more devastating to Him.  One of the most poignant passages of Scripture is Matthew 23:37.   Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem.  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”
 
When Jesus told us to pray “Our Father” He revolutionized our approach to God.  God is not merely the all powerful, all knowing force in the universe.  He is the head of a family. The universe isn’t just about galaxies, solar systems and worlds unnumbered.  It is about family.  We just had Thanksgiving and not everyone was blessed to sit at a table with all their children and grandchildren.  Those not there were missed.  Revelation 19 tells us about the wedding feast of the Lamb.  It will be a glorious event with all of God’s children in attendance.  If you are not there you will be missed.  For sure – you will be missed.