What?

     We know now who we are dealing with as we begin to study the prophets of the divided kingdom. I must make passing reference here to the fact that the men we are discussing are not the only prophets mentioned biblically. Prophecy and prophets are recurring themes throughout the Bible. These men are not even the only Biblical prophets mentioned in the histories of the divided kingdom. I have intentionally left out Elijah and Elisha because they were not writing prophets though they wore the prophet’s mantle.

      But the men  we will study have the unique ability to speak into our current world situation across the ages as few others do.

     As we begin we must not only know who they were but what the world they lived in was like. In that way we have a basis for applying the words of judgment they spoke to their country to ours. It is logical to say if God judged Israel for… then He may also judge us for….

      So what was the world of the divided kingdom like?

      With Solomon’s death in 931 B.C. the strength and unity of the Kingdom of Israel quickly began to fell apart.

       The Kingdom fell into a state of civil war which persisted in one form or another for the next two hundred years. Just for  comparison’s sake the Civil War in the U.S. lasted 5 years. While there was not constant warfare there was at least civil tension as existed between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War for that entire period.

     Morals declined greatly during this period:

    The society quickly became pluralistic promoting the worship of other gods. At certain points God was worshipped as one among a pantheon of gods and at other times the worship of Jehovah was outlawed completely. His Ten Commandments were removed from public life to the extent that when a copy was dug out of the archives during the reign of young King Josiah and read Josiah was awestruck at how far the nation had fallen from their National God. He had not heard the Ten  Commandments read in his entire life! Further many of the Jews began to believe the true god of Heaven was a goddess and worshipped “The Queen of Heaven” as the primary deity.

      Money and prosperity became the determining factor for political decisions instead of morality. The Sabbath was discarded so that trade relations could be improved. Years of Jubilee in which creditors were supposed to return the property of debtors freely into their hands and in which slaves were to be set free were cancelled. Cheating patrons out of their money became so commonplace most of the prophets make at least some allusion to the treachery of businessmen and the exploitation of the poor.

     Unsavory political alliances were made to protect the national interest instead of trusting national safety to God. When Assyria and Babylon threatened neither Israel nor Judah turned to God. Instead they turned to Pharoah in Egypt the very country which had enslaved them in the past.

     The priesthood and the monarchy became corrupted. Scandals concerning religious and political leaders became commonplace even expected.

     The fabric of the family began to fall apart. Sexual promiscuity encouraged by pagan worship practices resulted in the breakdown of marriage. At certain points ritual infanticide took place in order to worship false gods in a practice called Molech. At one point even King Manasseh of Judah allowed his son to be burned alive in worship to false gods in the valley of Hinnom. Over all there was a general lack of respect for human life.

     Now where have I seen a society resembling this one?

     Tomorrow we will begin with the first of the prophets of the divided kingdom to see what he has to say to us!

      Tomorrow don’t miss Amos!

Pastor Wrinkle’s Corner- The Abraham Label (Answers)

Let’s review what we have learned so far:

1. Noah Cursed Canaan

2.Canaan’s people built Babylon

3.Tower of Babel

4.God confused languages

We move forward from the tower of Babel about ___200___________ years.

Shem’s family has moved to a place called ___Ur_________ of the Chaldeans. Here the people begin to worship the false gods __Nergis_______ and ___Ningal______. They are gods of the moon and are worshipped by ____human_______    ___sacrifice__________.

 One of Shem’s grandsons Terah  grows up in this culture. but indications are that his family did not worship the false gods but down through the years refused to follow the way of Ham and worshipped the true God of Heaven.

    Terah is told by God to go to ___Canaan____________. He takes his son Abram and his daughter-in-law ___Sarai_________ and goes but settles instead in the land of Haran.

     Terah dies and God chooses to speak to Abram

     When Abraham is _______75____________ God visits him.

 and says “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.  will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”Ge. 12: 1-3 NLT

 Abraham __obeys_______ and __leaves________.

He has a series of adventures along the way.

1.Abram travels to Egypt: Sarai is taken captive

2.Abram grows to large. He and Lot separate

3. Abram goes to war against 4 kings

Finally though he settles in the land. But he is concerned because God has given him no children and he is __old_________.

God responds by making a covenant with Abraham.

“But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since I don’t have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir.” Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.” Then the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, “Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that–too many to count!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith. Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that you will give it to me?” Then the LORD told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon Abram took all these and killed them. He cut each one down the middle and laid the halves side by side. He did not, however, divide the birds in half. Some vultures came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. That evening, as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. He saw a terrifying vision of darkness and horror. Then the LORD told Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. But you will die in peace, at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, when the sin of the Amorites has run its course.” As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River–” Ge. 15:2-18

This is called the Abrahamic covenant. God offers Abram a __bargain___________. And Abram takes it by faith. God seals the covenant with a ___sign_________.

The bargain is that ______Abraham_______ will have a __son_______ and through that ____line___________ a great nation will be birthed.

The sign is a _sacrifice___________ and a __dream__________.

Almost 15 years later Abraham has a son whose name is Issac. Issac has a son Jacob who earns a second name late in life. That name is _Israel___________. Abraham is the father of the __Jewish_________ people.

Who?

I possess two purposes firmly in my head as I write tonight: First to relate to you the story of the prophets of the divided kingdom. For in understanding how God worked in their time we can better understand how God is working in our time; Second to relate to you the foretellings of these men so that you might understand what predictions they made about our days and the ones to come.

   In order to begin I want to tell you first who these men were. In knowing them perhaps you will understand better why they said the things they did.

     First a prophet is a man or a woman to whom a spiritual being reveals a plan. In this case the Spiritual Being we are speaking about is the One True God.

     Now the prophets of the divided kingdom rose to their work during the time of Israel’s decline as a world power. After Solomon’s death the Kingdom of Israel was divided into northern and southern states. The North was called Israel and the South was called Judah. Each of the prophets was sent to one or the other states of this divided nation or to one of the surrounding nations.

     Here are the characters of our play in sort of synchronous order:

Amos- Lived sometime between 800 and 750 B.C./ Was a prophet to northern kingdom Israel/ Was born in Southern kingdom of Judah/ By trade a shepherd and fig farmer.

Jonah-Lived sometime between 800 and 750 B.C./ Was a prophet to Assyria/ Was born in southern kingdom of Judah/ Seems to be a professional prophet by trade

Hosea- Lived sometime between 800 and 725 B.C./ Was a prophet to northern kingdom of Israel/Was born in Israel/ Occupation unknown but possibly a professional prophet

Note the ministries of Amos Jonah and Hosea all overlap.

Isaiah- Lived sometime between 750 and 650 B.C./ Was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah/ Was probably born in Jerusalem/ Was a member of the royal family

Micah- Lived in the same time frame as Isaiah/ Prophet to both Israel and Judah/Was born in Moresheth in southern kingdom of Judah/ Occupation unknown but may have been a professional prophet

Note that the ministries of Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah overlapped

Nahum- Lived sometime between 650 and 600 B.C./ Was a prophet in southern kingdom of Judah prophesying against Assyria/ Occupation unknown but a very graphic writer

Zephaniah- Lived sometime between 650 and 600 B.C./ Was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah/ Birthplace unknown/ Was a member of the royal family of Judah

Habakkuk-Lived sometime between 650 and 600 B.C./ Was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah/ Birthplace unknown/ Occupation unknown may have been a professional prophet

Jeremiah-Lived sometime between 650 and 550 B.C./ Was a prophet to southern kingdom of Judah/ Born in Anathoth in Judah/ Was a member of the priestly sect

Ezekiel- Lived sometime between 650 and 550 B.C./ Prophesies to Israelites in exile in Babylon/Born in Judah/ Was a professional prophet

Daniel- Lived sometime between 600 B.C. and 500 B.C./ Prophesied to Israelites in exile in Babylon/ Born in Jerusalem/ Professional magi in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar

Obadiah- Lived sometime between 600 and 500 B.C./ Prophet to Edom Judah and Israel’s neighboring country/ Not known where he came from/ Profession unknown may have been a professional prophet

Note that the ministries Nahum and Zephaniah overlapped.

Note that the ministries of Habakkuk, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Obadiah overlap.

Haggai- Lived between 550 and 500 B.C./ Prophet to Israel after they were released from captivity/ Most likely born in Babylon/ Professional prophet

Zechariah- Lived sometime between 550 and 500 B.C./ Prophet to Israel after they were released from captivity/ Most likely born in Babylon/ Professional prophet

Joel- It is unknown when he lived/ He was a prophet to Judah/Place of birth is unknown/ Professional prophet

Malachi- Lived sometime between 500 and 400 B.C./A prophet to Israel after they were released from Judah/ A professional prophet

     Something to note about these men is that they did not live their lives in prophetic bubbles. Many of them probably knew each other at least by reputation and may have actually spoken to one another about the things they were receiving from God.

     They also all had the common bonds of loving God and country. They prophesied with the hope of getting some of their loved ones to turn back to God.

     Tomorrow We will discuss the culture in which these men lived.

Tell me what kind of personality did these prophets need to do their jobs?

Like Men Of Issachar

As I begin I want to thank everyone who stopped in and read “The Twelve Ways of Fall” this weekend. I was greatly humbled that so many would take time to check out something I had penned!

     I truly consider this world an amazing place. The  longer I walk upon the mortal sod the more I come to be surprised by the way things turn out. That a man like me would walk in the blessings I do is beyond comprehension!

    You see, I know that the universe is governed by a tapestry of intricately woven laws administrated and held together by the word of Christ’s power according to  Colossians 1:17. Those laws bend and twist around one another sometimes superseding then submitting as men live their lives before the eye of God.

    So the law of gravity at once holds us to the earth superseding all other powers and then recedes as men and women board planes to put themselves under the influence of the law of lift. Likewise the law of sin and death governs the fate of all men binding them over to increase of wickedness. Yet even this law, stronger than gravity, must submit when a man surrenders his life to Jesus and is placed under the control of the law of the spirit of life (see Romans 8).

     In this great tapestry we call life there is a powerful thread called the law of sowing and reaping. It winds its way all through the history of mortality and shows itself both dominant and unbending in the web that makes up the picture of mankind since the fall. It is this law that makes me marvel whenever I experience the prospering hand of God. For I know that what I have sown does not match that which I reap. It is grace, the power of God in me to do that which I cannot do myself, that brings such a great prosperity along with salvation. So I am humbled and amazed when such a blessing as this weekend comes along because I know I cannot take the credit.

     Now this thing called grace is a living and active power, throughout this age of Earth, in the lives of every Christian. It is this power that brings us into blessing when the curse of sin and death plies its trade upon our lives.

     Every change in life is an opportunity  to experience grace in a new form if only we are like “the men of Issachar who understood their times” (I Chon 12:32).

     The changes which are taking place in our world, are indeed unsettling many in the Christian community.  Misunderstanding our times is causing us to block the power of grace. As with all things the key to understanding can be found in the Word.

     Through this next series of blogs we will be turning to the Word , to discover a time in biblical history that was very much like ours, the time of the prophets. In so doing we will begin to understand our own time and release the power of grace to bring blessing even in the midst of great  judgment.

Pastor Wrinkle’s Corner: The Abraham Label

Dear Readers, For those of you new to “Reinventing the We’ll” Monday is the day set aside for “Pastor Wrinkle’s Corner”, and interactive Bible study designed for youth. Answers to the fill-ins will be given Wednesday morning. I would love to hear your responses to the questions!

Let’s review what we have learned so far:

1.

2.

3.

4.

We move forward from the tower of Babel about ______________ years.

Shem’s family has moved to a place called ____________ of the Chaldeans. Here the people begin to worship the false gods _________ and _________. They are gods of the moon and are worshipped by ___________    _____________.

 One of Shem’s grandsons Terah  grows up in this culture. but indications are that his family did not worship the false gods but down through the years refused to follow the way of Ham and worshipped the true God of Heaven.

    Terah is told by God to go to _______________. He takes his son Abram and his daughter-in-law ____________ and goes but settles instead in the land of Haran.

     Terah dies and God chooses to speak to Abram

     When Abraham is ___________________ God visits him.

 and says “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.  will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”Ge. 12: 1-3 NLT

 Abraham _________ and __________.

He has a series of adventures along the way.

1.

2.

3.

Finally though he settles in the land. But he is concerned because God has given him no children and he is ___________.

God responds by making a covenant with Abraham.

“But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since I don’t have a son, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth You have given me no children, so one of my servants will have to be my heir.” Then the LORD said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own to inherit everything I am giving you.” Then the LORD brought Abram outside beneath the night sky and told him, “Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that–too many to count!” And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD declared him righteous because of his faith. Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that you will give it to me?” Then the LORD told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon Abram took all these and killed them. He cut each one down the middle and laid the halves side by side. He did not, however, divide the birds in half. Some vultures came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. That evening, as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. He saw a terrifying vision of darkness and horror. Then the LORD told Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. But you will die in peace, at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, when the sin of the Amorites has run its course.” As the sun went down and it became dark, Abram saw a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River–” Ge. 15:2-18

This is called the Abrahamic covenant. God offers Abram a _____________. And Abram takes it by faith. God seals the covenant with a ____________.

The bargain is that _____________ will have a _________ and through that _______________ a great nation will be birthed.

The sign is a ____________ and a ____________.

Almost 15 years later Abraham has a son whose name is Issac. Issac has a son Jacob who earns a second name late in life. That name is ____________. Abraham is the father of the ___________ people.

Now In your groups answer these questions.

1. Read Genesis 11: 27-32 Why do you suppose Terah did not fulfill God’s command to go to Canaan?

2. Read Genesis 16. Why do you think Abraham slept with Hagar when God had promised he would have a son through Sarah? What do you think of Abraham’s faith? How would you have don things differently?

3. What do you think of Sarah in Genesis 16? Sarah was a person of faith? What does her reaction teach you?

Question of the week:

In Genesis 19 God destroys a whole race of people in Sodom and Gomorrah. How does this make you think of God? Is He still a God of love? Why or why not?

4. Read Genesis 19. How do you think Lot ended up in the situation he did? How could he have done things differently? How would that have changed his family?

The Shaky One

      In one of my posts last week, “Meet the Messy”, I confessed what a disaster my office was in. Well it has gotten worse.

     My office is getting a face-lift. All the old wall paper has come off and fresh paint is going up. I even get to pick the color! In short I am completely in charge of this change.

    In addition for the duration of the work, which will probably take our volunteers a couple of weeks to complete, I have been given a beautiful replacement office to work in one door down from mine.

This is a wonderful blessing! I have an opportunity to weed out all the junk while the room is getting refurbished. Further I get to make my office what I want it to be and I don’t even need to do the work. SO WHY AM I SO WRANKLED BY IT?!

    The  church secretary came into my new office the other day and said “Isn’t this a beautiful office you have for the next few weeks? Maybe you would want to make it a permanent change.”

    “No way” I griped. “I just want my office back!”

     Here I am putting myself out there as this “change guru” or something and I can’t even take a positive change which moves me ten feet across the building without being stymied!

     The truth is change of any magnitude, big or little, change in any direction, positive or negative elicits certain visceral reactions which we can do little about.

      Change is going to cause a rise in blood pressure, stress level, and inner anxiety even when it is happy change because it launches us into the realm of the unknown.

      That is why God loves change. The unknown is the realm of faith and He is always trying to get us to move deeper into faith. But I am the shaky one who doesn’t want to move in faith. So when change comes, any change, instead of my first reaction being one of embracing , I brace myself against it. I Dig my heels in and say “Oh God here we go!”

     We all have our own methods of reacting to change. Some refuse to let change happen blocking it at every turn. Others let the change come but take it out on the people around them. Still others retreat into a world of fearful depression, waiting inside the cave of their own malaise until change has passed away to become everybody else’s “old hat”.

     I have learned though that while I may initially be put off by change I do not need to stay that way. Nor do I have to feel guilt about those initial reactions because they are not mine. The real me is the guy who responds logically to the change and does not let his emotions dictate his life. So here’s what I have learned to do:

1. I have come to recognize that my initial reaction to change is not the right one or the one I want to have.

2.  I try to say nothing negative about change when it is first laid out. Usually I say something like “That sounds awesome.” When I fail in this area I try to admit it and change my tune.

3.  I look to the blessing in every change. “For God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.” Romans 8:28

4.  I begin to frame positive responses even to negative change. If I have to talk something out, I use one very close friend and ask him to just let me vent and not to say anything to anyone else about it.

5.I accept that I am a work in progress. I give myself a break when not every one of my responses is appropriate and move on to better responses. “No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” Phil 3:13,14 NLT

Tell me how you deal with changes, big or little.

The Twelve Ways of Fall

     Just like there are twelve days of Christmas there are twelve ways of fall. Did you know that? Probably not because I just made it up on the drive to my computer! Dear reader here it is for the first time in print, “The Twelve Ways of Fall”.

      “Oh the first way y’ know fall is here”, My true love said to me.

       “The Canadian Geese start flying in a v”

       “Oh the second way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me “school bells start ringing and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

   “Oh the third way y’know fall is here.” My true love said to me

“trees change their colors, school bells start ringing, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

    “Oh the fourth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me

“Gram makes her jelly, trees change their colors, school bells start ringing, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

    “Oh the fifth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me

“WALMAAAAAART’S CHRISTMAAAAS  AISLE!!!!!!!”

“Gram makes her jelly, trees change colors, school bells start ringing, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

    “Oh the sixth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me,

“Friends bring zucchini, WALAAART’S CHRISTMAAAS AISLE! Gram makes jelly, trees change colors, school bells start ringing, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”“Oh the seventh way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me

“people go to craft fairs, friends bring zucchini, WALMAAART’S CHRISTMAAAS AISLE! Gram makes jelly, trees change colors, school bells start to ring, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.” “Oh the eighth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me “pumpkins in the fields, people go to craft fairs, friends bring zucchini, WALAAART’S CHRISTMAAAS AISLE!  Gram makes jelly, trees change colors, school bells start to ring, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

 “Oh the ninth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me ” morbid decorations, pumpkins in the fields, people go to craft fairs, friends bring zucchini, WALMAART’S CHRISTMAAAS AISLE, Gram makes jelly, trees change colors, school bells start to ring, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

     “Oh the tenth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me

“people pick their apples, morbid decorations, pumpkins in the fields, people go to craft fairs, friends brings zucchini, WALMAAARTS CHRISTMAAAAS AISLE! Gram makes jelly, trees change color, school bells start to ring, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

     “Oh the eleventh way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me “acorns start to falling, people pick their apples, morbid decorations, pumpkins in the fields, people go to craft fairs, friends brings zucchini, WALMAAARTS CHRISTMAAAAS AISLE! Gram makes jelly, trees change color, school bells start to ring, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

     “Oh the twelfth way y’know fall is here,” My true love said to me (big breath)  “Grampa starts his raking, acorns start to falling, people pick their apples, morbid decorations, pumpkins in the fields, people go to craft fairs, friends brings zucchini, WALMAAARTS CHRISTMAAAAS AISLE! Gram makes jelly, trees change color, school bells start to ring, and Canadian geese start flying in a v.”

     I love the fall! What are some ways your family celebrates autumn?

Meet The Maturing

      As a New Englander I have lived my life, as all New Englanders do, according to the rhythm of our seasons. Texas slams from summer into winter and back again with out a second glance at spring or fall.  North Carolinians start putting their pansies into beds in February. But in New England we are keenly aware that God  has made four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

       Spring is the time for preparing the ground and planting seeds. Summer is the season of growth. Autumn is the time of harvest. Winter is the time of waiting.

       All New Englanders know that autumn is a time to celebrate what has been and what will be again. It’s the time to look back on what you have accomplished and forward to what lies ahead in the cold of Christmas and New Year. New Englanders also know that this middle time of the year, this time of releasing the past and readying for the future is the brightest time of life. As the cold of winter death begins to steal over the landscape its harsh breath pulls forth the vibrant colors of life for one last explosion among the forests.                   

I am now in the autumn of my life. I have come to the realization that I have now lived on this earth probably longer than I will live upon it hence forth (particularly with my genetics). Now to some that may seem morbid. But not to me. You see this world is not my home. My Lord has promised me a place in the New Heaven and the New Earth and the time I spend here is only “training for reigning”!

     Autumn, I am coming to realize,is a time to rejoice over what has been accomplished. It is a time for rejoicing in what yet can still be.

    Understand I don’t look at my life and say its half over. I am saying that the brightest days are yet to come! Much has been done. But much has yet to be played out. There is a full half of this life yet to live and then a beginning of another life that will make this existence seem like seconds in time.

     I tell you while I love the colors of this world I cannot wait to see the colors of the one which I truly call my home!

Meet the Music

     A thread winds through the cosmos, a thin golden fiber of sound called “the song of the redeemed”. It has resonated from eternity and will vibrate on until it reaches eternity again.

    The sound gets lost in the cacophony we call fallen existence and rises only at points to the surface of our attentions. We can make what we call music, even God music, and never once touch the song. But lay even a tentative unintentional finger to that string through any craft of man and you will no longer play music. The music will play you.

     When I was little, Saturday was my day at Grandma Lillie’s. She and Grampa lived in a little winterized camp on Packard’s Pond  under the shadow of Tully Mountain.

   On winter mornings we would eat our soft boiled eggs and toast before going grocery shopping.

     On the long Massachusetts winter  afternoons Grandma Lillie would take us for a walk on the hardened lake water or we might go down into the cellar to learn children’s hymns while Grampa Lillie watched his bowling shows.

     She had an old McMillan upright she would play as my sister and I sang. It was on that piano I learned middle c and touched the song for the first time.

     In fourth grade I decided I wanted to play an instrument. My family was all about it until they learned I wanted to play flute. Mom stayed on board with me. Grandma was good with it. Dad ,though, you see it was the age of Archie Bunker and Dad was a kinder gentler version of that guy. In his mind male flute players came with a complete set of concerns apart from learning how to play a high B flat. Truth be told I had a crush on Ms. Wood, the elementary music teacher. I had heard her say that the flute was her favorite instrument.

     It turned out though that God had chosen the instrument. He just used my secret crush to get me going in His direction.

     All my life I had lumbered through the boy stuff. I had all the grace of a water buffalo on the sports field. Getting me to tie those knots in Boyscouts was like asking me to commit ritual Hari Kari. I remember once my dad had me help him with the manly task of stacking wood. I was passing the wood to him and he would stack. I think we got through ten pieces before I beaned him in the noggin with a log.

     But put a flute in my hand or give me a song to sing and I could touch Heaven (at least in my own heart). I was good with music. I could find the thread.

     Mostly I have stumbled across the song by accident. I took piano lessons for five years but dropped the instrument during college in favor of singing. Then in 2001 I was forced to take up the keys again when the pastor I was working under fired the church organist. That forced mishap was again a God thing. He knew the skill set I would need to be a music pastor at Cornerstone (my current church).

      I have a little plaque in my garden that says “The purpose of life is a life on purpose.”  Somewhere along the way figuring out my purpose became an important step in my walk of grace.  At my life coach’s urging I even boiled that purpose down into one statement:     

     “I am to create a culture of worship.”

       Music has been the best expression and the strongest magic in my life. But its strength, its magic is in touching the thread, touching God. For me one way I touch His heart is to make music. I realize that is not how everyone sings their song. 

    Some see the song as a path. For others it is a color or a light. Still others see it as a kingdom, a goal, a contest, a puzzle or a project. But for me it will always be a sound, a word to be sought, a melody to be mimicked, a poem to be set to rhythm and harmony.

Meet The Muddy

     Almost a decade ago now I disowned God. I remember My life at the moment felt like a game of fifty-two pick up which had been disbanded before the pick-up part. I believed I had lost my ministry.  My future seemed shrouded in a thick cloud of opaque nothingness. Emotionally I was probably close to being certifiable.

     I cannot remember where I was. It may have been my office. It may have been my car. For all I know I may have been walking through the forest. But I do remember my stance.

     I was defiantly shaking my fist at Heaven yelling, “You call this a plan God? I could do better! I’ve had it! I’m done!”

     I want to offer a context for my writings, a frame that may help you to understand why I say things the way I do. Very little in life is random. Nothing in God is.

     We are all coming from somewhere. We are all on our way somewhere else. Sometimes ,though, even we do not discern where we have come from or where we are going. Yet our personal geneses and our personal revelations always press us to an obedience of our destiny whether we understand their influences or not.

    It is easy for me to write, “Pastor Wrinkle’s Corner”. It’s easy for me to write devotionally. In those writings I am dealing with objective truth. My own spin on that truth comes through the lens of my experience automatically. I don’t  sit and wonder why I think the way I do. From my vantage point there seems to be no other way to understand the Scriptures.

     When  I decided to step back from the devotional blogs in order to write this “Getting To Know Me” series, I did not realize how much of a challenge I was extending to myself.

     “Meet the Messy” was hard to write. It was even harder to review because I did not really see what the rest of the world was seeing until I looked at what you all are looking at.  When I did see it, I wanted immediately to go back to talking about the Bible and get all my personal stuff back under the blanket of self-effacing verbiage. I don’t want anyone looking at me. I don’t want anyone to know me! Just take what I am saying at face value and if you don’t agree, well then you can…. Ah there it is; the reason I don’t want to be known. I want to be right. I want my context to be right all the time. I don’t want to accept that there may be times when my understanding is tainted by my experience and so I might be, dare I say it…WRONG!

     Ephesians says that it is through the body of Christ that the manifold wisdom of God is made known (Eph. 3:10). Now in part that means that there is not any ONE of us in the church that has a corner on the truth. However we all through study and experience hold a piece of that many-fold wisdom.

     This is why I believe it is important that you meet me a little. In understanding my context you can better understand how my little piece of wisdom fits alongside your little piece of wisdom.

      I love the demolition derby. I bet you didn’t see that coming.

      It was a tradition that my wife’s family would make the trip every year up to Keene during the Cheshire Fair to watch the derby and the mud bogs.

     The first time I went I was pretty sure I would hate it. Sitting for hours watching a bunch of beaters bounce into each other sounded almost as fun as chewing glass. But I loved my wife and she was excited. So off we went.

     When we got to Cheshire we went right to the viewing stands. I kind of wanted to see the world’s oldest lobster but we had to be sure to get good seats. So in we went.

       The sun was hot. The smell of beer and sweaty people mixed with dust in the wind making my nose tickle.

    I remember to our left was a guy with earrings and a long grey beard sharing his Budweiser with his girlfriend. She was a grey blond wearing red leather pants.

     To my right was a lady in her eighties. Her hair was dyed that strawberry blond old women wear sometimes. She wore thick glasses and her lips were painted with bright pink lipstick that rose around her lip lines to color the skin just under her nose and just above her chin. Her gnarled fingers sported matching pink nail polish. She drank beer from a coke glass as she bantered good naturedly with my wife.

      We had about an hour to wait. So I opted for a hot dog with the works and a glimpse at the lobster.

     As I returned to my seat I noticed the little old lady had donned a rain slicker with a rain hat. She looked like a wizened version of Paddington Bear. I  also noticed that the derby arena was covered with puddles.

     “It’s starting!” My wife said enthusiastically tapping the seat next to her for me to sit.

      Soon the cars were revving around the track. I have to admit I was filled with a certain sadistic pleasure every time I watched one driver smash into another. As round after round progressed I chose my favorites.

     Soon I was yelling with the rest of the crowd, “Crush ’em! Watch out behind you!”

     As the cars sped around the derby track they kicked up the mud and Tina and I were splattered with thick gobs of brown pasty demolition poo. At first I thought about mugging the little old lady for her Paddington Bear outfit. Then there came a point where the dirt no longer bothered me. I stopped feeling it, but it was there. After the derby ended and the mud dried I began to get itchy. I was pulling chunks of dirt out of my hair all the way home.

 It took me the better part of an hour to chisel off the grit in the shower, but the experience of seeing the derby was well worth it.

     On that day when I disowned God I was covered with spiritual mud and did not even realize it. I had become caked with spiritual poo and when it dried I could no longer sense anything of my God.  with only the bitterness of soul that comes with disillusionment to guide me I made a decision that would cause me weeks of pain afterwards. But God was ever faithful and He kept washing me with the water of His word which I had hidden for so many years in my heart.

     Two weeks after leaving God I was back on my knees. Again I cannot remember where I was, but I remember my words:

     “God, You are everything to me. I have served You too long and everything I am is now tied up in You. If I am to leave then I have nothing: No purpose, no identity, no life. Please forgive me.”

      Friends, I have gotten spiritually muddy since then but with much different results. I will never leave God again no matter what happens. My love for Him is based on decision not feeling.

    Now my love for the demolition derby…well that’s all about feeling. But I think that at least is O.K. with God.

JE