Storm Clouds, BT Article, Sunday, September 15, 2019

It has been about 10 days since Hurricane Dorian visited the Lowcountry.  Here in Bluffton, God shined upon us as the rain did not come, and the winds remained below destruction levels.  As chaplain for the Bluffton Police Department, I found it relieving to venture out on Thursday morning and to find very minimal damage and no loss of life.  

While the hurricane itself did not pack a big punch for us, the waiting process was unnerving.  Somebody joked that it was like being stalked by a turtle.  For others it was pure misery.

The Bahamas took the full force.  As well as remembering them in prayer, consider how you or your church may assist in any way possible to meet  needs of the battered population.  They will need assistance for a long time to come.  

While we did not suffer greatly from the winds, rains, and tides, we suffered from anxiety and worry.  The many spaghetti models will drive a sane person completely crazy.  One thing for sure about Dorian…it was unpredictable.  Only the living God knew where it was going and how fast it would get there.  As we waited we worried.

The general population surprised me with their response.  Of the last 4 hurricane scares, I believe on this one we had the least amount of people evacuate.  Even when the predictions called for a worsening situation, possibly on the level of Hurricane Matthew, there seemed to be a bit of malaise with this one.  

I went to Old Town Bluffton to take some pictures and became amazed that none of the businesses on Calhoun Street or the Promenade were boarded up.  On the other hand, half of my neighborhood shuttered, and some even put sandbags around their doors.  We are a community that has never seen high water, even during Hurricane Matthew.  Some left as soon as the evacuation orders were given, and some won’t leave no matter what happens.  It would be an interesting social behavior study.  

Stress causes all sorts of issues.  Jesus said that worry does not add a day to our lives.  We now know it not only doesn’t add a single day to our lives, but, it probably takes a few off.  Without question, the name “Dorian” will cause anxiety for some time.  On top of it all, we still have at least 6 more weeks of hurricane season.  

Our hurricane scare resembles life.  We can’t avoid the storms of life.  They are going to come.  There is no evacuating life.  Storms come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  Sometimes they get us all worked up.  The big storms like Dorian might not cause much change in our life. Other times a small storm can pop up and cause tremendous damage to our soul.  It’s life.  

How anyone reacts to a life storm is unpredictable.   We like to think we have life all planned out like our evacuation plans.  However, we don’t really know what might go on inside of us when the pink slip comes,  when our closest relationships fail, when the doctor gives horrid news, when the stock market plummets and recession sets in big time,  and when we face the forces of death.  Will we respond with a sense of “who cares” or will we be sandbagging our hearts and egos?  

Jesus and the disciples were in a storm while traveling by boat to the next town.  It was pretty bad.  The disciples were anticipating death.  Jesus was asleep.  When they woke him up, Jesus called out, “Peace (Shalom), Be Still,” and the waves and wind went calm.   Everybody focuses on Jesus calming the storm.    His response was classic.  He asked them, “Why are you so afraid?  Have you still no faith?”  Believing and following Jesus is much more than buying hell insurance.  It’s about losing our lives and literally putting them in the hands of Jesus, even when we feel we are going to die.

We all have our favorite news station.  We all have our trusted weather man or service (mine is Ventusky).  We do the same with our health.  We actually do the same with the critical issues of life.  Instead of putting our lives in the hands of people, Jesus wants us to put our lives first in his hands.  That does not mean we don’t board up our windows.  It doesn’t mean we never go to the doctor.  It doesn’t mean we don’t seek a new job.  What it means is to call upon Him when the storm clouds begin to appear instead of waiting till we are on the roof, waiting for the helicopter to pull us off the roof. 

Jesus calmed the storm ,but who he really calmed were the excited disciples.  They went from screaming for Jesus to wake up to whispering to one another about Jesus’ ability to make good out of bad.  As a believer, shalom.  The good news is like the disciples, we are in the boat of life with Jesus.  He didn’t promise no storms.  But, he does promise to be with us through the storms.  With him ,we can claim the same as King David in the Psalms.  “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”  Why?  Jesus is walking right ahead of me.  That’s the place of the Good Shepherd. 

Shalom, BT Article, Sunday, November 11, 2018

This is one of the maybe four times a year I have to preach a sermon.  Those who are close to me know I prefer the private ministry of the Word over the public ministry.  While there should not be a difference between the two, I am much more comfortable talking to one or a few than a bunch.  It’s not that I can’t.  I enjoy the interaction.  Conversation is engaging.  Preaching is far from a conversation.  It’s too one-sided for my personal tastes.  

This week I’m going to look at the Hebrew word “Shalom.”  I paid no attention to the word for most of my life.  I’ve heard it referenced from time to time, and, occasionally, when I am in the presence of my Jewish friends it is spoken.  For the most part, it’s like saying “hello” to me.  Thinking about it deeply…that’s a different subject.

I thought it would be best to talk to some of my Jewish contacts about the meaning of the word.  They have been using it a lot longer then we Americans have.  As I asked around, I was surprised.  This is one of the Hebrew words that does not translate well into English.  I’m not sure it translates well into any language.   It is a Hebrew word that has a meaning and expression that takes a lot more words than the standard, “peace,” to gain it’s meaning and understanding.  “Shalom” has something few American words have.  It has depth.

A better translation, as far as I am concerned, is “harmony.”  Harmony requires multiple parts.  When applied to music, it’s a four-part harmony.  When they gel there is a unified tone where not one part dominates the other but they are heard as one.  Ahhh, Shalom.

Now I am musically deficient.  When I think of “shalom,” I think in baseball terms.  By the way, congratulations to the Boston Red Sox and their fans on winning the World Series.  Back to baseball.  I loved to play baseball.  I could field and throw above my peers.  However, I could not hit all that well.   There was this one time, when I was using a wooden bat that the fastball met the sweet spot and sprang like a rocket deep into centerfield.  I remember the feeling.  I remember everything about that moment.  It was like everything came together for an incredible moment.  Shalom…the fastball hitting the sweet spot to dead center-field. It was beautiful.

As I look into the Word of God, I find the word in the Hebrew Old Testament, but the depth of the word is hard to find in the New Testament.  In a sense, the only time man experienced pure shalom (peace, harmony, safety, wholeness and a lot more) was in the Garden of Eden.  There, man was in “shalom” with God, fellow man, and nature.  Shalom’s even deeper meaning is “lack of conflict.”  All was a living harmony.

I see “shalom” as being an element of holiness.  It is when all of man (body, soul and spirit) are at peace in wholeness, without conflict with the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  We thought perfection was the demand.  No, holiness is.  It is when our motives are in line with our actions and peace at all levels is in accordance with the Will of God.  Now I don’t know about you but I get brief glimpses and that’s about it.

Shalom ended quickly with one decision.  The decision was to eat the fruit of the tree.  Since that moment, man has struggled to find any sense of shalom.  Man was made at all levels to be at shalom with the Godhead.  Instead that harmony has been plagued with sin and depravity.  God told his people “stop your sacrifices.  I want your heart.”  Obedience is not the goal.  Being in a state of shalom with God is.  

Do you have a feeling we are left with an impossible goal?  You are right!  The sin plague has left us way short of the glory of God.  Yet, that’s the whole basis of belief in Jesus Christ.  It isn’t that I can somehow be at shalom with God.  It’s that God is at shalom with me through the blood of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus made it possible to get those few glimpses of shalom.  One day they will become complete when we are on the other side of glory.  In the meantime, I worship the living Jesus who made it possible for me to have shalom.  We don’t have to check off the boxes.  We don’t have to do whatever, wherever.  Christ did it all on the cross.  

As we creep closer to the Christmas season, the angels cried out, “Peace on Earth, Good Will to man.”  Shalom at it’s best! 

Stressed? BT Article, Sunday, October 21, 2018

This past week I had the honor of attending a training on Critical Incident Stress Management.  Sounds complicated, doesn’t it?  Not really.  We all face stress.  I personally believe that all the technology we have does not alleviate stress.  It probably adds to it.  We do not have to personally experience a major event to be stressed.  Watching a shooting, terrorist attack, or anything that disrupts our personal shalom (I love that word) causes stress.  Right now, reading this article on stress can cause stress.  

We were made to be at peace, or better yet, shalom.  In shalom with God, man, and creation.  Well, that didn’t last all that long.  Man chose to go his own path, and shalom was totally disrupted.  Now we wrestle with God instead of walking with him, hate our fellow man instead of loving him, and cannot seem to be in harmony with the creation God gave us.  Shalom is more like STRESS!

We often associate stress with certain events.  Avoid them or make changes in our lives and we can be functional again.  If we can’t avoid it, we medicate it.  I don’t think we can stay isolated, nor is there enough medication to bring us shalom.  It’s a state of being we were made to have but will not find  this side of the glory land.  We might think we can obtain such a state, but we really can’t.  Don’t let a preacher tell you otherwise.  In fact, studies have shown that the three professions with the most stress are:  1. Military,  2. First Responders, and 3. Ministers.  If they are not stressed, they aren’t doing their job.  

Talking about all the stress, the teacher made a profound statement.  He said, “Hurting people hurt people.”  I knew that desperate people do desperate things, but his statement hit me like a ton fo bricks.  

The person screaming at you is expressing his hurt, and it might not have anything to do with you.  The individual who constantly is a thorn in your side is either poking you where you have past hurt or is expressing her hurt by poking somebody else.  The one pulling a gun, wielding a knife, bringing death and destruction is hurting others in his own hurt.  We know this!  We don’t know what to do.

The more I read psychology, I see a diagnosis of hurting people who have adapted to their pain in certain consistent forms.  We aren’t necessarily plagued with brain damage.  We are finding ways to find a sense of shalom.  Add relativism to it and the only peace we are concerned with is our own.  Add more stress avenues than ever before and it’s a mess.

No wonder people don’t want their doorbell rung once they enter their peaceful home.  No wonder moms want help.  No wonder dads are stopping to get a beer or escaping on their smart phones even when it isn’t very smart to do so.  No wonder no one wants to engage anyone anymore…they are trying to survive their own stress in their vain attempt to discover the long lost shalom.  

Jesus talked a lot about unity and shalom.  I love the story of the disciples thinking they were drowning when they had the Prince of Peace asleep in the boat.  They wake him, and what does he say to the creation?  “Peace, be still.”  Look at it another way.  The word “peace” is translated in some versions as “silence.”  Silence.  Peace.  Shalom.  There isn’t very much anymore, especially when we carry a source of noise, chaos, and destruction right in the palm of our hands.  

So what are we to do?  In some respects there are ways to minimize some stress.  We can exercise, turn off some of the external sources of stress, and studies actually tell us to drink more water.  Some need to take their preferred lifestyle and drop it back a level or two.  We all tend to live over our heads.  But with all the “answers,” we will still have stress in our lives.  This is where the church comes in.  

This is where Jesus instructed constantly, and the disciples carried it forward.  He taught us and encouraged us to “Love one another.”  That love was to be expressed with great grace and mercy.  Instead of inflicting more pain, we were to be the givers of grace and mercy, knowing that the love of God is the only thing that can truly help mitigate the stress of this fallen world and fallen people.  By incarnating Christ, we extend a hand, offer an ear, give a shoulder, and offer words of shalom.  It’s kind of interesting.  When we purpose to walk with another in his or her hurt and stress, it softens ours as well.  

Jesus said, “Come to me all who are stressed and I will give you shalom.”  As we go to Him, we, as his people, incarnate his teaching.  Are we bearers of calm or chaos in these crazy days?  

Holy Week Is Upon Us, BT Article, March 18, 2018

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. It begins Holy Week as those in the Christian faith consider and remember the work of Christ on their behalf beginning with His dramatic entrance into Jerusalem. Some remember with Lenten services during the 40 days of Lent. Others focus on the Holy Week with either a Maundy Thursday or Good Friday memorial service. Often these remembrances focus on our need answered with the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter or Resurrection Sunday.
As I move into the latter years of my life the Holy Week focus has been much more special. For the longest time I associated Easter Sunday as the day we dressed up in new clothes and sang songs we didn’t sing the rest of the year. Holy Week was the week we had to go shopping for the colorful clothes along with just about everybody else who went to church.
As the Holy Week gets closer I lean more toward celebrating Lent. In the past few years I often wonder aloud why we celebrate Christmas more than Easter. In several of the ancient religions that have come and gone there was often a claim to virgin birth. There are some 32 claims to virgin birth before and around the time of Christ. In many respects and for several reasons virgin birth, while it is a cornerstone to the deity of Christ, is not what necessarily sets Jesus apart from other religions. It’s the resurrection that makes the difference.
The resurrection of Christ is so very important to the Christian faith. In my life (58 years) there are two men who claimed some sort of association as the Christ. There was Jim Jones and David Koresh. Koresh claimed to be the final prophet of God and Jones believed he was the reincarnation of just about every major religious figure including Jesus. Last time I checked neither one of them rose from the dead. There have been 0 sightings since their death. Jesus is the only one to suffer, die and rise from the dead for the sins of man.
It is offensive to consider belief in Jesus Christ as one of the major religions of the world. No other religion has man’s hope based on the work of God bur rather on the work of man trying to appease God. Jesus paid the price with his blood and was laid in the grave. He defeated death with his resurrection guaranteeing that all his words were truth. Without the resurrection Jesus could be in many ways associated with Koresh or Jones. Instead he stands alone! Alone indeed.
It is the faith of sinners! We do not put our hope in what a man can or cannot do. Instead we place our faith on the one who defeated death and is alive. The story of Jesus does not end at the resurrection. His ascension to heaven and gift of the Holy Spirit to his believers is almost just as profound as his birth. With the Comforter God is present with us at all times. As a believer our lives are sacred all the time. I don’t have a sacred and a secular life. I only have one life. It’s all sacred because the Holy Spirit (third person of the Trinity) lives in and through me all the time. The Scriptures say, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Not even my sin and failure.
As we move closer and closer to celebrating the resurrection of Christ consider developing family tradition that places a high emphasis on this incredible work of Christ. We can have Shalom. Our faith is not in a man’s ability to be good but on a Redeemer who knew we couldn’t. As he came out of the garden His words to the sleeping disciples revealed our nature, “The spirit is willing but the body is weak.” Celebrate the next two weeks on the One and Only One who was our sacrifice calling us to follow him not out of duty but out of love. “No greater love has a man then he lay down his life for the sake of his friends.” John 15:13.