We just can’t look at one more sad face, one more orphaned child, one more man that lost his wife and kids. We cannot watch one more mother hold her children as they wait for food and water. It hurts something in our hearts. Somehow our soul gets damaged. The problem is that tuning it out doesn’t really help. We are still overwhelmed, and worse, we ignore the suffering.

Sometimes we think find the answer to the question of why it happened will help. Smarter people than me have tried to answer those questions, so I’m not even going to try. For me, it really doesn’t matter why. I don’t care why the earthquake happened. I don’t care if it was a deal with the devil. I don’t care if it was because of what didn’t happen in Copenhagen. It happened. It was devastating. Lives were torn apart. People that God loves were devastated. God weeps.

In times like these, life is not a theological question to answer. In John’s gospel, the disciples asked why a man was born blind. They asked if it was the man that sinned or his parents. The disciples knew that someone had to have sinned. Jesus said it wasn’t the man or his parents. Jesus says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:3 NIV). But it could be translated, “Neither this man or his parents sinned. Let the works of God be displayed in him!” In other words, Jesus said that there is work to be done and we better be about doing it. You and I have the ability to do something about the suffering in Haiti and it will demonstrate the power of God.

That power is not only demonstrated to the people in Haiti, but for us as well. When we are overwhelmed by suffering as in Haiti, we can question God and the way the world works. We can get depressed, angry, or frustrated. We can sit around and try to figure out how all of this happened and what it means for us and them. That won’t help.
If we want to start feeling hopeful again, there is one thing we can do: We can start by giving and serving. When we give to people that need our help, we are participating in the work of God and somehow through that participation, we are filled with the Spirit of God. We become hopeful because God is hopeful. When we give we receive. That is powerful both the people in Haiti and ourselves.

When the man born blind was given his sight, he saw the Light for the first time in his life. Our sacrifices can bring light into the Haitians darkness and our own.

What do you say? Would you give to the people of Haiti so they could see the light? You may not think you can do much, but it will make a huge difference for both you and the Haitians. I promise.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. On these winter days, when the sun goes down too quickly, Christmas lights brighten our otherwise dreary drives home. The occasional carolers sing songs of hope and good news in the frosty night air. People greet each other with phrases that have ‘Merry’ and ‘Happy’ in them. And the music of this season is particularly wonderful to brighten any mood. Yes, Christmas is just around the corner and I am pretty excited about it.

This excitement is not normal for me. Normally around this time of year I manifest the image and likeness of both the Grinch and Scrooge. I get tired of the crowds, the expectation of gift giving as a sign of love, and the general hostility of people insisting on their right to say “Merry Christmas” in stores and restaurants.

You may be asking why this Christmas is different than Christmases past. I have discovered that there is a power to Christmas “presence” instead of Christmas “presents”. The Wise Men gave Jesus presents. Jesus gave us presence.

That very first Christmas was the Christmas when God came down to earth and lived among us. In the middle of all the chaos and ugliness that is the world in which we live, God made his home with us. The greatest gift ever given as not a BB gun or a pony, but Emmanuel “God with us.”

If we take our cue from the Bible, we will recognize that the greatest gift we can give to anyone is our time and attention. The greatest gift we can give is to hold the hand of someone that is invisible to society and let them know that they are seen. We give this gift to people that no one listens to by listening to them. We give this gift when we calm a friend who is facing death and is afraid of what happens next. We give this gift when we spend time with the lonely, comfort the hurting, console the mourning, and encourage the discouraged.

This gift of presence is also the most costly. The gift of presence costs us our time. We know that we cannot save time in a bottle; we cannot keep it to ourselves because time steadily marches on. When we give our time to someone other than ourselves, we are giving something that cannot be regained and will never be able to spend on ourselves. This fact makes that gift of presence the most precious of gift of all.

This year, instead of an iPod touch, Wii, or an HDTV, give the gift that is more precious than silver and gold. Give the gift of your presence. It will make the season brighter and it will make Jesus more real to you and those with whom you share. I promise.

I go to a buffet restaurant to eat. I go because there is always enough food and that it is a good quality. I don’t have to bring anything to the party except my appetite. Basically, buffets are all about me.

A lot of folks look at church as a buffet. They go to it because it has all of the things they are looking for in a church: great preaching, children’s ministry, teen group, music ministry, friendly people, and ministry to singles, college and career, and senior citizens. There is a little something for everyone and everyone gets something they like.

But churches aren’t really buffets. Church isn’t about being served, it is about serving. You see, when some folks find the church that meets their needs they stay, but as soon as the ‘favorite’ thing isn’t there, they leave. Thankfully, there are some awesome churches out there that do a great job at meeting people’s needs like that. Seriously, they have it all and I applaud them for it. Often, when my church doesn’t meet people’s needs or expectations, I am thrilled to have a few churches to which I can point them.

However, if church isn’t a buffet, what is it? That is a great question and I am glad you asked. I would say that church is more like a potluck. It isn’t about what you get, it is about what you bring that counts.

For a successful potluck to take place, everyone needs to bring something. Maybe it is your best dessert or casserole. It might be fresh baked bread, or your best fried chicken. Regardless of what it is, you have to bring something to the party.

In a church setting that means that each of us bring something to the service. It could be enthusiasm. It could be your musical talent. It could be encouragement. You bring whatever you have to the party and that is what makes church sizzle.

When each of us brings something to the worship service, or the work of the church, we all enjoy the experience, and we have plenty to go around when a visitor or two shows up.

So instead of looking for a buffet, why not look for a place where you can bring something for everyone to enjoy? It will increase your enjoyment and make it a much more fun place to be. I Promise.

Rhetta comes over to Grace’s house. She says:
“How can you live with yourself? Do you have any idea how much pain you’ve caused? How many marriages you’ve damaged, all because [yelling] you don’t care if the men you sleep with are married?
[scoffs] Well, now you have to care, Grace. We both have to care, because now it’s happened to me, and it hurts! I am in so much pain I can’t breathe, I can’t… pray. And I can’t love you, knowing this is how you make other women feel.”

Sin is just a concept until it gets personal. Sin is just something that happened to someone somewhere and yes it sucks, but hey, we’re okay, right?

Rhetta knew what kind of life her friend lived. They talked about Grace’s conquests several times. But now, Rhetta feels the sting of betrayal. Now she can identify with how other wives must have felt. Now, it isn’t just some example in a text book somewhere. Now it stings.

That is what makes Jesus different. Jesus doesn’t just know about sin, he experienced it. Sin isn’t just something they talked about in heaven; it is a real experience, with real pain, and real consequences. Sin hurts and Jesus knows that full well.

Jesus said to Saul, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me” (Acts 9.1-5)? Jesus wants us to stop sinning, not because it is a bad thing to do, but because it hurts him to see us take advantage of each other.

John Donne, a 16th Century metaphysical poet, wrote:
“All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated…As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness….No man is an island, entire of itself…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

As each death diminishes each of us, so too does sin. There are no victimless sins.

To repeat the words of Rhetta, and to maybe hear them as the words of Jesus,  “We both have to care, because now it’s happened to me, and it hurts.”

In Bible college, students would say that they felt that God was telling them to do any number of things. Some said God was telling them to leave school, drop a class, add a class, go into the ministry, or get out of the ministry. Here in Oxford, I have had married people tell me that they were leaving their spouse because they finally found the person God wanted them to marry.

God has told folks to kill their children, start fires, divorce their spouse, and any number of other things.

God sure gets a bad rap.

And how do you argue with someone that says God told them something. It is a way to end the discussion not start a one. Anyway, one of the administrators at Bible college would say, “If it is okay with you, could we leave God out of the converstation and talk about what is going on in your life?”

I would probably ask the person to quit hiding behind God and let’s talk. Either way, you get the point.

What would happen if we quit blaming God and started to take responsibility for our actions? Why don’t we?

This week, take some time to listen to what you are feeling and thinking about a situation and what is going on in your life. Then, when you need insight, go to some trusted friends and get their take on the situation at hand. Finally, when you make a decision you can be honest about your motivations and you won’t have to hide behind God anymore. And, God’s rep will not get so beat up…

1900 found freedom in the limitations. We often look at limitations and restrictions as inhibiting our creativity. According to 1900, that just isn’t the case. Look at all the music that has been created on a piano, with only 88 keys. Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Debussy, to name only four have created breath taking beauty with only 88 keys.
Maybe 1900 has a point. What if freedom is found in limits? We are free to drive on the roads because there are limits to how we drive on those roads. We are free to travel because of the laws and restrictions to our driving. The alcoholic finds freedom by not drinking. We don’t find freedom by engaging our every desire, but restricting our desires.
Imagine for a moment that we eliminated gravity. It is our ‘bondage’ to gravity that gives us the freedom to move. If it were eliminated, we would be free, but unable to move. In order to move, we would have to invent ways that would allow us to live without drifting aimlessly into space.
What would happen if you and I looked at God’s limitations differently? What if we decided to look at them like 1900 looked at a piano’s keys? Would we still feel that God is limiting our freedom because God’s one desire is to make sure we have little of no fun? I think 1900 might teach us that God is showing us how to have an abundant, beautiful, and creative life.

Taking a laptop would have been a good idea. Maybe one of those little ones would be great for a trip like this. Anyway, the updates were far fewer than I had intended.

Over the last week some pretty cool things happened. Here are some highlights:

I was riding through White Springs, Florida when I saw the Suwannee River Church of the Nazarene. I took a picture of it and then went looking for the pastor. He was in the parsonage next door. I knocked, he answered, and invited me in.

We talked over a cup of coffee for a about 20 minutes when he started to talk about how hard things were going for him. The church was trying to get rid of him and in the process they were wounding him and his wife.

Hollis and Gloria were beaten and battered people. This kind of stuff frustrates me. How do Christians justify this kind of thing? Paul thought he was doing God’s work and found out how wrong he was on the road to Damascus. Maybe each of these people will have an Damascus road experience.

We prayed and I tried to be an encouragement to them. Hollis told me that I had no idea how timely and important my visit was to him. Later that week, after Sunday service, I called to tell him I was praying for him. He told me that he had been telling everyone that he was visited by an angel that looked like a biker.

On Monday, June 22, I was starting to head home from Decatur, GA. I wasn’t going to take the back roads for two reasons: I was tired of the heat and I was ready to be home.

Even though I sort of thought I would miss the adventure, I was ready to be home. On I-75 I was passed by a guy on his bike. The only reason I remembered him is that he was so happy and gave a big thumbs up as he passed.

We end up at the same gas station and started talking. He offered to take me the back roads up to Lookout Mountain and then to Chattanooga. So off we went into the mountains. After we got to the top he asked me if I would want to go find a cave with him. Evidently this cave was something he found 30 years ago and wanted to take his son and grandkids to. I wanted to say no, but said yes.

We hiked in the woods for about 40 minutes, it was hot, humid and we were sweating like it was raining, but it was a riot.

John is an interesting character with a great life story. I was glad I went.

Finally, I had been to Florida and back. I was about 90 miles from home and my tent and bed roll fell of my bike. Really? Fell off? Yep. Some guy tried to tell me, but I could figure out what he was saying until I stopped for gas. Oh well…

Anyway, the trip was great. I will write more later. So it isn’t really the final entry…just the beginning of a new adventure.

The bike was checked out by a really good mechanic. I had saved all the money I was going to need. And, my folks let me borrow a gas card as an early birthday present (thanks Mom and Dad!). So off I went. As soon as I got into Toledo, I got lost. Trying to avoid highways requires a lot of turns and, well, that was all I needed to get lost. Getting back on track took me off schedule, but hey, I’m having an adventure. Anyway, back on the road, a big storm was coming through. Something flew into my eye and it wouldn’t wash out. I couldn’t find my goggles for driving at night, and my left eye was swelling shut. I was putting on my rain suit at an abandoned gas station, with nothing else for miles. I couldn’t find my night goggles so I was driving down the road with a swollen eye, at night, in the rain, on the highway (yes, I know…what was I thinking?) I find a hotel and get set for the night. Which, by the way, caused me to spend almost all the money I had alotted for the week.

That was just the first 150 miles. Since then my battery died and I had to walk a mile and a half to get a new one, the spring fell off my kick stand, and my place to stay in Key West fell through.

Another thing that I noticed was I got focused on the destination and not on the journey. I didn’t stop for pictures. I didn’t stop along the way just to look around. I just kept going and going and going. I felt like an energizer biker bunny or something. One of my friends told me to slow down and enjoy the trip. It was good advice. Now I stop to take pictures and smell the roses, or hybiscus. And, I am taking the time to enjoy all the things that make an adventure an adventure.

What is keeping you from going on your adventure? Is it not knowing what will happen down the road? Trust me, all the preparation and you will still not be ready for all the things that will happen. Heck, everyone told me to take an extra clutch cable, they never mentioned an extra spring for the kick stand. Problems are going to come up and you will deal with them. Over the course of these miles, I have had to ask directions and get help from strangers. It’s hard to go on an adventure without letting people in to help. That’s part of the fun.

So what’s keeping you? Everything I was freaking out about happened, and more. And this is the greatest trip I have ever taken. I have gotten to be in downtown Jacksonville, on the James River, with great friends at night. I have met and stayed with complete strangers that cooked me breakfast. I have seen alligators swimming in a canal, iguanas running across the road, and a huge variety of birds I never knew existed. None of which I would have seen if I didn’t take the first step and get going on my trip.

I stood at the end of US 1, mile marker 0, and there are two signs right across from each other. One says, US 1 End. The other says, US 1 Begin. Every journey begins somewhere. My goal was Key West, but then another journey began where the other ended.

If all of this happened on a simple trip to Key West, what kind of things can you expect on your spiritual journey? Probably a lot of the same things. You will have troubles, trials, and tribulations. You will have to trust strangers and ask for help. But, you will have the time of you life, if you just get going on the trip. It will be a riot, I promise.

The Journey Begins

The heroes in residence at NAPA Auto Parts

There wasn’t a lot of activity on Sunday. Cody had to go on base for a five hour stint. It wasn’t expected, so it threw a little crimp in their departure plans. While Lindsay was packing, I told her that I was sorry we didn’t do more (I was feeling a little like I didn’t do much with her). Lindsay looked at me and told me the visit was awesome. She said it was great to be able to relax and not be alone. In my line of work we would call this the Ministry of Presence. Just being available and present is healing and good.

I checked on my bike and it was dead. Cody gave me a jump, I took the bike for a short ride, started it later, and thought we were good. Also, I had Lindsay take my tennis shoes back home as I wasn’t going to need them. At this point you should be hearing some kind of ominous music, like someone was making a big mistake. Well, about an hour after they left, I checked on my bike. It was dead. I started trying to find places that would carry a motorcycle battery.

Well, I found one that was .8 of a mile away. I took out my battery, and walked to get the new one. I sure missed my tennis shoes. But, I was thankful that I didn’t have to take a car battery back.

One interesting thing I found. I have VZ Navigate on my phone, but it is really hard to trust. It is trustworthy, but it is just hard to trust it. At one point it told me that I had arrived at my destination. Well, if Di’ Shekinah is a Georgia code word for NAPA Auto Parts, then I was there. I asked a guy if there was a NAPA store around. I couldn’t see any street sign, so I was nervous. Well, I was just a half a block away. So, while it is reliable, it is just hard to trust.

Now, it’s on to Jacksonville to see my friends, Al and Lisa Lewis. Al was my roommate in Flight School. Woo Hoo!