You Know Me

“Lord, you have examined me.
    You know me.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
    Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
You study my traveling and resting.
    You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.”
Psalm 139:1-3

   I was stopped going through security two weeks ago, about an hour before time for the flight back to Atlanta was supposed to depart from Chicago. I had removed my belt, slipped off my shoes, and placed my wallet, keys and phone into a basket that was being scanned. Nevertheless, the full body scanner showed something that I had failed to remove! It was a single mint in my left front pocket that showed up as a flashing yellow square on the screen.  The airport security officer looked me dead in the eye and said, “It doesn’t miss anything.” He was right and I snapped this photo as evidence!
   We sometimes think of God as this Divine Scanner in the Sky, waiting to catch us holding onto or doing something wrong or dangerous. Instead, God's power is intended to open us up to being loved. Consider that Psalm 139 ends with, "Look to see if there is any idolatrous way in me, then lead me on the eternal path!" When we go to God in confession and prayer, it is about more than coming clean and admitting we're caught. It is about removing the layers of weight and sin that cover up the best of who we are. This is the essence of Genesis 3 and Hebrews 12. Let us not hide or be weighed down.
   As we draw closer to Easter, may the routine of daily readings from the Praying for 5 booklet, your attendance in worship, and the powerful grace of God all together prepare us for what God is revealing to us. Grace and peace, Scott

BANG...that made me jump!

   It was already in the third inning of the baseball game when it happened the first time...BANG! The report of the gun bounced across the stands where we were sitting and caught most of the crowd by surprise. The sound came from a starting pistol and marked the start of one of the first races being run at the track meet on the other side of the high school campus. The sound-waves had already traveled 300 yards by the time they made all of us jump. It was not the last time. The starting pistol went off another dozen times before the game we were watching was over, and each time caught folks off guard.
   Most of us are used to being caught off guard from time to time. How high did you jump the last time the sonic boom of an F-15 came just as you stepped outside on an overcast day?
   Jesus was doing his best to prepare the disciples for what was to come in the days leading up to Holy Week. In Mark's Gospel he literally starts in the middle, the eighth chapter of Mark's sixteen chapter book, with the first of three predictions or words of warning about what will happen to him. They don't understand. I can imagine that in the closing weeks, as they journeyed to Jerusalem for the last Passover they would attend together, they had little idea of what was coming.
   Who among us like to be caught of guard? No one. We would rather know now, what lies ahead, that be surprised tomorrow. But, life rarely unfolds like that. The story of Easter is one of surprise, sadness, sorrow, and then something else.
   Like the starter's gun the other day, the Book of Hebrews likens the journey of faith to that of a race, pleading that we would continue to run and not give up (Hebrews 12). As we draw closer, keep praying for your friends and yourself: pray that we would all be caught off guard, this Easter, by the sheer joy of God's love for us. Grace and peace, Scott

Offer (Yourself) Grace

   These things are true...
1) we love it when someone says something that sounds like something we've said before, because we all like knowing that others share our thinking.
2) we love it when someone says something that applies to me in a positive way.
Both of these truths come together in a little note that my friend, Jay Hanson, and his team included in the Praying for 5 devotional book we are reading through as we prepare for Easter. On page 13, they instruct us to

"Offer Grace. We often think about offering grace to others or whether or not others are offering grace to us, but it's really important to remember to give ourselves grace as well."

They were writing to encourage each of us to develop and stick with a routine of praying, specifically, for others as we read through each days' brief devotional entry. I love this instruction because I need it and I try to practice it with myself. I get into great habits and routines, and then fall out of them just as fast. Let us be clear, the world is not working to help us keep our good routines, but our God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 103)!
   I love the fact that we take time out of worship to greet each other with words of grace and peace every Sunday. It is who we are, and it is something we need. So, this Monday through Saturday, do your best to keep the routine of reading the Praying for 5 book and lifting up 5 people (or more) by name that you are traveling through life with. God is surely calling you to encourage them to receive the grace and peace found in the body of Christ, if they are not already. Pray about ways you can share your story and invite them to see for themselves.
   Much grace and peace to you and me, Scott