Around the Table

Seems a fitting end to our Thanks Giving Study and to Give Thanks Give Hope.  My wife has always been a better writer than I... or is it me...  anyway... 

As I write this, I’m at our dining room table, the fire flickering, the children playing a board game, and my tea mug almost empty.  Tim has just left the table, but what a joy to sit this morning as we both lingered, talking, giving thanks on this Thanksgiving morn.

As the table is central to the Thanksgiving feast, the table has been a central place for us during Gifts of Hope.  We sat one evening with Bishop Andrea DeGroot, Dr. Ed Maliski, and a table full of others.  We all talked about malaria.  The energy and the ideas and the means to truly save hundreds – thousands – of lives was coming out of this conversation.  All of the sudden I had this sense that I was on the sidelines, gazing at this lively table of possibility, and my eyes swelled with tears.  I knew the Spirit was there.

A week later, we sat with Pastor Benyam Kassahun at the table where I now type.  A small group of six of us broke bread together and prayed and talked and dreamed about an Africa where children weren’t dying each minute from preventable and treatable diseases.

The table is a powerful place.  This Thanksgiving weekend, we pray that you feel the power of Spirit upon you.  We pray that you are blessed with good conversation and good food.  We pray that you say a word of prayer for those who have no feast today.  And we pray that the many table-conversations surrounding Gifts of Hope will bear much fruit.

Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest,

and let these gift to us be blessed.

Blessed by God, who is our Bread;

may all the world be clothed and fed.

Chamie

By the way there is still plenty of time to take part in the Gifts of Hope campaign.  You can pick up order forms at Ascension and turn them in (through December) at the church office or at church on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings.  God's abundant blessings to you. 

Pastor Tim

Is there a Malariaologist in the House?

A malariologist? Is there really such a thing? Yes indeed there is. His name is Ed Maliski and he is coming to speak here at Ascension on Sunday (11/21) in the Library at 9:30 and 11am. He has a wonderful, Christian perspective on how it really is possible to contain malaria.



Be sure to ask him what this is.

 Come hear him speak, bring your questions and your imagination. Come also, and check our gifts of hope fair. It is the last chance to be a part of and there are a lot of great products for great causes.

Creating a Legacy of Hope

Amanda Miner is a member of the Gifts of Hope team and a parent of a 1st grader...

Joan

Since I was asked to give a parent's perspective on buying gifts through Gifts of Hope, I really wanted to explore exactly why it is I choose to do this with Kate each year. Simply because it helps somebody and is a 'good' thing to do just doesn't cut to the heart of my motivation - although it may have started out that way. We've done several things over the last three or four years - including buying chickens and rabbits and maybe a goat or two at prior Gifts of Hope fairs. Kate's first response at opening a Christmas card at age 4, and learning that part of her gift was a pair of rabbits (for someone else, no less), was one of puzzlement - but what it did do was initiate a conversation that has been going on in various forms and activities for the following three years. Shortly after, we learned (together) about exactly how rabbits are used in Ghana, and how children are involved in the family livelihood-- so that parents might pass a legacy of hope down to them. We've written to Joan in Uganda, and now Jithendra in India. Kate's curiosity has been contagious - and in very specific ways. She wants to know names, ages, where they sleep, what they eat, what they like. Go figure - she wants to know them as a person. The realization that we have distanced ourselves as adults was quite profound to me. Yes, we have outreach and ministries and offerings, which are extremely valuable - but let's come out from behind those safe little boxes for a moment and remember that it is people's lives we are getting involved in.

Jithendra

Many hands have made the things you will see at the Gifts of Hope Fair, and many hands will use the goats, rabbits, chickens, pigs (and maybe even a water buffalo) that you may generously provide. Those hands each belong to to a unique individual, with a name, a family, a talent or skill, and a million other attributes. Imagine that in your mind, as a child does---or better yet, with your child - and give thanks for the opportunity to help someone else's family legacy. This can sometimes feel awkward for us adults (and by us, I mean me) - but I am suggesting that we need to more purposely present our children with things like these that make us uncomfortable, lest we squander their curiosity to learn about all God's children, in all places. Let's build their courage and excitement in doing that, and ours is sure to follow. It's a legacy worth passing on.

"If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."  1 Corinthians 13:3



Abundance vs. Scarcity

Ephesians 1: 17: I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.


Abundance vs. Scarcity. What is your mindset? Do you think about your possessions in terms of abundance or scarcity? In other words, do feel like you have got to hold on and protect what you have because there is precious very little of it? Or do you feel like you can be free and generous with what you have because there is always plenty of it? I guess it might depend on what it is. Nonetheless, it is a good question to ask because the answer to it reveals a mindset. Knowing our mindset might help us to figure out what we need to ask God for in prayer.

I tend to have a scarcity mindset. One of my kids doesn’t and he amazes me. He teaches me much about being generous. When he gets something that he really likes (a treat, a toy) his first impulse seems to be to try and figure out how to share it, give it away or at least to make sure that others have gotten some sort of treat too.

Sometimes I worry that he is going to regret giving his stuff away. Sometimes part of me even wants to discourage him from being so generous. Is that crazy?

But then I realize he does is because as he has told me, “It makes me feel good.” There is a difference between the two of us. He is naturally generous. He enjoys giving to others without having to think about it. He believe that the world is an abundant place and that the most important things, the things that he really needs are readily available all the time so he does not have to worry about keeping a tight grip on his stuff.

He is right.

I suspect the more we get to know “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,” the more we will realize this.

From Generation to Generation

Marcia Koenig is a member of our Gifts of Hope team here at Ascension.  In this article she tells the story of how she made a joyful connection with the idea of giving alternative gifts for Christmas and how that idea has caught on.  By the way, our Gifts of Hope fair beging at Ascension this weekend and will be open in Founders Hall after each service. 

As we dried dishes after our family Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago, my sister-in-law and I jested about the unpleasantness of holiday shopping in crowded malls and about what we did NOT want for Christmas: more sweaters, more gadgets, more casserole dishes, more etc.

From our playful banter emerged some thoughts: Our gracious God gives to us abundantly. We give Him thanks! He also raises before us brothers and sisters who suffer poverty and the diseases of poverty. How can we not "be openhanded" (Deut. 15:11)? How can we not provide others justice and hope?

I told my sister-in-law about Ascension's alternative giving project: Gifts of Hope. And we made a pact for Christmas future: instead of exchanging the usual presents, we would give thanks by giving hope to others.

The two of us initiated this tradition, sometimes adding a book, like The Fever to share information about malaria, or a fairly traded coffee product or craft item from the Gifts of Hope Fair, for members of our family. In the last two years, several of our nieces and nephews, the "younger generation" families, have embraced the idea and joined our pact -- heartwarming indeed! Give thanks. . . .

Marcia Koenig

The Body of Christ

Pastor Benyam Kassahun works at ELCA Churchwide office Global Mission Unit as Program Director for Southern & Eastern Africa Regions. We are honored to have him come to Ascension all the way from Chicago and share his extensive experiences in Africa. He is passionate and articulate. I encourage you to come and check him out at either 9:30 or 11am in the library. Here are some thoughts that he wrote down for the blog:


“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Rom. 12:5)


What does this mean for Christians, in particular, for those of us who claim to be Lutheran in a world stricken by disease, conflict and hunger? What does God call us to do?

Over the past several years, I traveled through West, East, and Southern Africa region to do my work as assigned to me by the Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I had several conversations with women, men, and children who were severely impacted by diseases such as malaria, HIV & AIDS, T.B. and hunger (malnutrition). I knew some of them would not be alive during my next trip to their villages. Deep down in my heart, however, I knew that with some intervention many of those women and children could have lived.

I remember a woman I once met in Mozambique. I arrived at her place at about 6:30 P.M. She was lying on a small mat outside of her hut. She was approximately somewhere between 23-25 years old. But she looked like a 13 year old child. Someone from her family came and helped her to sit up. She had difficulty talking because of her severe cough. She was HIV positive (she had no choice there), she has T.B. and malaria. To make matters worse, she only ate a small bowl of porridge that morning. That was her meal for the day. She was so frail she couldn’t continue our conversation—she kept quiet for a few minutes—finally, she lay down on her mat.

If we are the body if Christ, and individually members one of another, therefore, the body of Christ is HIV+, inflicted by malaria, T.B., and poverty in general. The question is what does this mean? What does it mean to be Lutheran Christians?

Benyam Kassahun

Preventable and Treatable

Amanda Berg and Chamie Delkeskamp are two women who are passionate about helping God develop the faith of children.  As the co-directors of Childrens Ministry at Ascesnion Lutheran Church they are using Gifts of Hope as a faith nurturing opportunity.  These words are from Chamie: 

Every 45 seconds, a child dies from malaria. This may seem like a scary or difficult number to say to our own children. But if we want to raise a generation who will be compassionate, who will be wise, and who will make the world a better place, then we have an incredibly important role as parents, grandparents, and teachers, adult role models.


During the next few weeks, children and youth at Ascension Lutheran Church and School will be learning about malaria and our response to this disease. We are focusing on two words: preventable and treatable. On November 14, during Sunday School opening, we will be presenting a skit with a mosquito net as we talk about prevention. On November 21, we will do a skit that is set up as a clinic as we focus on the word treatable. In addition, the junior and senior high Sunday School classes will be doing Bible studies around this theme and upper division students at the school will be playing “Malaria Dodgeball” as they grow in their understanding. The Sunday School offering and the school chapel offering from now through December will go to Gifts of Hope.

There are two wonderful books you can purchase at Ascension for your children. For younger children, we recommend Little Things Make a Big Difference: A Story About Malaria by Rev. John Nunes. For preteens and teens, we recommend Generation Change by Zach Hunter.

We are passionate about raising kids who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (just like the Old Testament prophet said in Micah 6:8). You can learn more at “Raising Micah,” www.raisingmicah.org. If you click on “Monthly Essay” you can read another story about malaria. And if you want to be in conversation with other adults about how to raise children to be thankful for what they have while also being compassionate to others, join us at our home on Sunday afternoon, November 21, 3:30 to 5:00 PM. The kids can play in the backyard while the grown-ups sip some apple cider and talk about raising “Micahs.” Please RSVP to revchamie@mac.com.

Love Struggles With

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”

Wow.   This sentence from by Paul (Romans 15:30) from our reading in the Giving Thanks curriculum rocked my world.  I have never really thought of prayer as a way to join somebody in their struggle.   Yes, I pray for people who struggle.  I pray for them a lot.  I pray for them because they are struggling and I don’t want them to struggle.  So why would I want to join their struggle?  Why would I want to struggle?

But then I think of the times that I have struggled.  The people who helped me were not the people who merely offered advice or felt sorry for me, the people that helped me were the ones who were present with me in the midst of it- struggling along with me because they loved me.

Love struggles with. 

By the way praying for other people is one of the ways that we can give hope.  This video helps us to understand what ELCA is doing for people who are struggling in places where Malaria is endemic.  As you watch it, perhaps you can join in their struggle by praying for them. To watch it, click on this link: ELCA Malaria Film 

Pastor Tim

Conejo Valley Cares

J.P. Gorham is the director of Conejo Valley Cares. Conejo Valley Cares’ primary purpose is to “assess the needs of the Conejo Valley community and work in partnership with local churches and organizations to help reorganize and repair the lives of clients.” I have personally witnessed CVC do a wonderful job at working to help re-establish people who have been hit hard by the economy. For this reason we are so excited to have Conejo Valley Cares be the focus or our local Gifts of Hope project this year. Below is a note from J.P.:

As we at Conejo Valley CARES start to prepare for the holiday season, we're very much aware of the fact that we've never seen needs like this before and certainly have our hands full. So many of the families who come to us now have never been in this critical position and as we work on improving their situations, our thoughts and prayers also turn to making sure every family has a wonderful, spiritual Christmas this year!

Depression is unfortunately a large element in the process of crisis intervention and to help these families enjoy the holidays will help provide an anchor they desperately need as they feel they are drifting on the ocean of life. As we provide the basics to these families, something else inevitably happens. They can stop worrying so much about the simple details that suddenly seem so overwhelming, turn their attention back to God, and then have a freer ability to allow the holidays to be a time of worship and family bonding as it should be. To see the blessings provided by the community to make all of this possible is to look into the heart of the Lord and fully understand how much He truly loves us.

God Bless!!!!

J.P.

For more info on Conejo Valley Cares you can go to: http://www.conejovalleycares.org/

Give Thanks: Week #1: Study Reflection

2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
I read these words of the apostle Paul and I have to admit that I am convicted. Part of me really doesn’t believe that he was so thankful all the time. That perhaps he was just trying to convice himself. Nobody is that thankful, right? He would say things like “give thanks in all circumstances” and talk about how he had learned to be content no matter what his situation was whether he just baptized a new believer or being beaten in jail. And here I am complaining because my computer is running a bit slow today.

This quote from Professor Alan Culpepper gets to the root of my conviction:

“Gratitude may be the purest measure of one's character and spiritual condition. The absence of the ability to be grateful reveals self-centeredness or the attitude that I deserve more than I ever get, so I do not need to be grateful.”

I forget that deep down I truly believe that I don’t deserve as much as I have. And I struggle to remember that all that I have, I mean the things that are really important to me, are a gift given to me by the grace of God.

But then I think about those things. My family, my friends, my faith and I realize that I could never have put these things together myself. I think of them and I don’t even have to force myself… it just happens- my heart starts to beat again with love and joy and well… gratitude.

Maybe Paul has something there.

Pastor Tim
P.S. For those of you who are doing the Give Thanks study and are doing some Malaria research… here is a great place to test your knowledge: http://solidfoodnews.blogspot.com/p/take-malaria-challenge.html

A Holy Opportunity

Mary Wennes is a member of our Gifts of Hope team here at Ascension.  She also is has been a leading advocate in the national church for many years for the cause of hunger.  Her passion the "the least of these" that Jesus talks about in the gospel of Mathew 25:40 is contageous.  Here is a reflection from her about the holy opportunity of our Gifts of Hope project: 

As I reflect on this past year, I give thanks for a family that has been blessed with excellent health, meaningful work and a host of good friends. But on top of that is the knowledge we have of a loving and compassionate God.


This grace filled God has given each of us a “holy” opportunity through the ELCA Malaria Campaign. We are able to express our thanks by sharing our gifts with the people of God in Africa. Our gifts will give hope and healing to those afflicted with malaria as well as to prevent millions of children from contracting it. A $10 mosquito net will protect a family or 4 from the deadly mosquito.

I have a BIG birthday coming up very soon. My birthday present request is for a net for every year of my life---and that’s A LOT. If I get my wish the nets will protect almost 300 children & adults from getting malaria. Now that’s a “holy” opportunity.

Our Gifts of Hope will provide all of the members of Ascension the opportunity to think about “holy” Christmas gifts that can bring life and hope to those in need.

Our gifts can be “holy” when they bring hope to others.

Mary Wennes

What do you say?

Carrie Leonard is a leader here at Ascension and has a passion for putting together people in small groups.  She sees how the Spirit transforms people when they get together in Jesus' name for the sake of care and personal growth.  She has written many of the small group curriculums that we have done here at Ascension, including the "Give Thanks" one that we are encouraging you to be a part of.  Here's Carrie...

Remember when we were kids and our parents had to remind us (sometimes) to say “thank you”? They would say that familiar phrase, “What do you say?” And do you remember being frustrated when you were just about to say “thanks” and they were quicker with “What do you say”? It seems like sometimes we just didn’t have a chance to say thanks fast enough!

How quick are you to say “thanks” to God? I know sometimes I can get lazy and start taking things for granted and I forget to thank God for all He has blessed me with. The two things that get me back on track are the Word and my friends.

So that is why I am excited about the small group study for next month, “Give Thanks”. It provides a terrific opportunity to get back on track with our giving and thanking by getting into the Word and studying it with friends. All you need is a friend or two, the Study Guide (found on http://www.alcto.org/ or in the Narthex) and a Bible.

What do you say?





Carrie Leonard

I write this a as a balding male…

As we focus on responding to God’s grace during this Thanksgiving season, one of the projects we will be taking about is malaria.
Malaria is something that I have been thinking and reading about for a while, so I wonder where to begin…

I could, for instance, talk about how malaria is one of the “diseases of poverty” identified by the U.N. in its Millennium Development Goals. It is a disease that is preventable and treatable except for the fact that most who suffer from it can’t afford its treatment. I could talk about how, in Africa, 1 in 5 children will die from malaria at the rate of one child every 45 seconds. Or I could note how in 2008, nearly one million children died due to malaria.

Yet one statistic really struck me this week. It was the one that Bill Gates pointed out in a speech that he was making on behalf of the Gates Foundation which is committing over a billion dollars to the care, treatment and prevention of malaria. He said that ten times more money is spent developing a cure for male baldness than developing a cure for malaria, despite the fact that malaria kills 1 million children per year. The reason he said is incentive. There is a profitable market for male baldness, but no such market for malaria drugs.

So I believe if we can raise awareness about malaria, we can actually help create that market, that incentive. I also think that doing this on behalf of the people who suffer from malaria is a great way to respond to God’s grace.

I also want to say on behalf of my own balding and to my bald brothers everywhere: Bald is beautiful. God made a few perfect heads… the rest He put hair on.

By the way if you want more info about the ELCA Malaria campaign you can go to www.elca.org/malaria

How We Live Our Lives Is How We Live Our Days

Part of being human is marking time. We wear watches. We live by clocks. We consult our calendars before committing to yet another obligation. We mark birthdays and anniversaries and national holidays. As much as we try to control time, we are often swept away by it.
As a people of God, we are called to live in rhythm to God’s Story. That means that in the midst of calendars and clocks and holidays, we are called to order our time intentionally in God’s Story. This means neither that we try to be rigid with our time nor carried away by it, but that we place our time intentionally into God’s Time. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 90, “Oh, Lord, teach us to order our days.”

On the yearly calendar, November marks a season of thanks-giving. On the Christian calendar, everyday is to be a day marked with gratitude. As Paul says in Thessalonians, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” On the yearly calendar, December marks the season of gift-giving. On the Christian calendar, everyday is to be a day marked by giving to those who need our love and care.

We mark Gifts of Hope once again on the November calendar. But the prayer is that this yearly practice will remind us to live each day with gratitude for the gifts that we have as well as to live each day with compassion for others. As author Annie Dillard wrote, “How we live our lives is how we live our days.”

Pastor Chamie Delkeskamp

Blessed to be a Blessing

Question: How does a blog, a mosquito net, a small group Bible study, a malariologist, a gift card for a local family that is struggling to make ends meet, and a Christmas gift all fit together?
Answer: Only God can bring all these things together for a significant purpose. And that is the point. God wants to do something with all of this. Here at Ascension, He wants to get a movement going. Mainly, I suppose, He wants as many people as possible to step back and reflect on the blessings that He gives to us so that we can, in gratitude, be a blessing to others who are in need. And, in the midst of doing this together, we become a part of a movement that will go beyond what any of us could do on our own. So, would you join us this Thanksgiving season? Would you:

- become a part of this blog that will be updated 2-3 times a week through the end of November? Will you read the blog and respond occasionally with your questions or thoughts?

- get involved in a small group study called “Giving Thanks”? Find some friends and go through it together. You can download it by clicking this: Giving Thanks or going to Ascension’s website (http://www.alcto.org/)?

- consider participating, as we reflect on our own gratitude and determine our response, in Ascension's alternative gifts fair called Gifts of Hope on November 13-14 and 20-21 in Founder's Hall?

The goal of all of this is growth. We want to grow in faith, grow together as a community, and grow in our ability to bless others out of our own blessings.

Still don’t understand completely? I don’t expect so… but there is more to come.

The power of a story...

I am really excited about church this weekend.  I will be preaching at all the services but I am not excited about what I am going to say so much as I am excited about what somebody else is going to say in my sermon. 

By this I mean that I have invited a very wonderful, gentle, wise older man name Roy to come and share a story that he shared with me a few weeks ago.  It is a story about well... hmmm... jail. 

But it is not really about jail so much as it is about God's presence in a jail that he visited while volunteering at for a prison ministry gig.  It is a great story. 

Its not a great story because doing jail ministry is a great thing (which of course it is).  It is a great story because as Roy humbly discovered, what Jesus says about the Gospel and how it can make a difference in peoples lives, about how it can set people (even people in jail) free, and how that is pretty much what Jesus is currently in the business of doing, is all true.

It is also a great story because the person who God transformed in this story is not just Oscar... the guy who Roy was ministering to, it was not just Roy the person who was doing the ministering... it was me... the one who heard the story.  Isn't it amazing how it works?  That's why you should hear the story too.

I invite you to come to Ascension this weekend and hear the story.  If you can't... we will post it online next week at our www.alcto.org website. 

Peace be with you.

Pray Boldly

This last Sunday as we were talking about the Jesus sending his 70 followers out to heal and proclaim the kingdom of God, (Luke 10) I gave the assembled congregation an assignment: to go out this week and find somebody (even if it is a scary thing to do) and ask them this (or some creative variation of this) question: “how can I pray for you?”


There are two important aspects to why, as a pastor, I give this assignment.

The first is most basic to the reason the church exists in the world today. Jesus created his church to fulfill his mission of salvation and redemption in the world. Going all the way back to the 12th chapter of Genesis, we are called to be a blessing to the world in which we live.

The second and related point is that when we experience doing his mission, when we reach out to others in Jesus’ name, we discover how joyful and life giving our faith truly is (read Luke 10:17).

If you weren’t there to hear the sermon, I want to encourage you to carry out this assignment anyway. Challenge yourself. (Maybe you already do this). Think and pray about who God might be calling you to ask and then ask them, “how can I pray for you this week?” Then, of course actually pray for them.

It works. I venture to say that almost all of us can think of a time when God answered our prayers in some amazing way.

I was reminded this week of my friend Bruce Quick, who, 4 years ago, was facing the end of his life because of a degenerating heart. He needed a new heart but wasn’t sure if he would get one or if it would even work. For some reason I decided to pray boldly and in the midst of the prayer, I had a picture of Bruce playing with his grandchildren in the future. He didn’t have any at the time.

Well, Bruce’s story is an amazing one- too amazing to tell in a few words. But let me say that Bruce is a wonderfully graceful and faithful man, and to make a long story short, about 4 years after this prayer, he got to hold his granddaughter for the first time as she came into town for her baptism.

I am not taking any credit for saying the prayer that caused the miracle of Bruce’s healing and new heart. There are many whose story dooesn’t turn out like Bruce’s. But what Bruce and I can say is that we did pray and it worked and we both know God made it all happen. It is wonderful to watch God work!

So, pray boldly. Give God some room to work and you might just find some of the same joy those disciples did as they put their trust in Jesus and went out and ministered in his name.

Sunday, April 4th- Easter Day

On behalf of Ascension's Adult Ed. Blogging Team- I thank you for journeying with us and letting us journey with you this Lent.  We pray that you experience the power of Jesus' Easter transformation this year.

- Pastor Tim

The Lazarus Life in Easter (by R.S.)


Lazarus heard the call, “come out”.
And rose from his bed of death
His spirit and his soul revived
And his lungs filled with breath

He heard the Word of God
The voice of the Holy One
The healing power of God
God’s only begotten Son

And from the tomb he came
Into the arms of His Lord
Freed from the chains of death
And fully, completely, restored

To live an eternal life
In joy and peace and love
To dwell with the Almighty
In the eternal realm above

Do you hear the call of God?
“Be free from the bonds of life
Be free from all fears and foes
Be free from terrors and strife”

Then Believe the Lamb of God
Believe in the Holy One
Heed the call “come out, come out”
Be freed by the Eternal Son

John 8:36

Saturday, April 3rd

I am Lazarus and it is a bright, bright sunshiny day!

My family was driving through Kansas during a trip back to the Midwest. The land was very flat with no place to turn into. The sky was turning ominous and my wife turned on the radio for the weather report. The sky grew darker and darker as they traveled on. In front of them appeared a heavy wall of water falling from dark overhanging black clouds.

The radio announcer said that there were tornados in the area. The dark wall of water hit the car and they heard thunder and lightening. The car was rocked with wind. Then suddenly they passed through the darkness and the water into a bright and clear day. The sun was shining radiantly and they heard from the car radio a song with these lyrics.

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone. All of the bad feelings have disappeared.  Here is the rainbow I have been praying for. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!

Lazarus emerged from the tomb and he saw the radiant face of Jesus. All the dark obstacles to his transformation disappeared and he was entering into a bright, bright sunshiny day.

With Jesus shining in our hearts, we can enter into bright, bright sunshiny days. With the Holy Spirit working in us, we can be empowered to forgive and be freed from the rags of hate and revenge, and we can gain the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:6-26, NIV.) With Jesus, we can enter into eternal bright, bright sunshiny days.

R.S.

Friday, April 2nd

It’s Good Friday. Have you been transformed yet in our Lenten journey of transformation together?


Not yet?

Well, here’s a thought . . .

Good Friday provides one of the most remarkable examples of God’s power of transformation ever seen – the cross.

In a culture where the cross was a cruel, crude, feared method of execution, Jesus turned it into a symbol of love, hope, salvation and victory.

Writing about the significance of Christ’s dying on the cross, Luke Timothy Johnson, a professor at Emory University, writes, “God’s wisdom and power is revealed through foolishness and powerlessness, so that the power can be seen as God’s and not as human.” Did you catch that? God uses the foolish and the powerless to reveal his wisdom and power? Sounds like he’s talking about God using you and me.
The cross would never be seen the same way again. Neither are we when we allow ourselves to be transformed today by the living Christ.
That seems to be what Paul is getting at when he writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or she!) is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Ed Klodt

Thursday, April 1st

Who am I?


I am not the person I was and am not yet the person I will be. In view of God’s great mercy, in the presence of God’s great grace, in the community of His great love, I have been transformed. I am made new by the life and death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. I continue to change because God’s love never has, and never does, and never will.

As John – the fisherman, the “son of thunder,” the chronicler of Lazarus’ story, the beloved disciple – writes, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…We love because he first loved us.” {1 John 4:10 & 19}

Amen.

Jennifer Shaw

Wednesday, March 31st

Not many people know this . . . But I was born prematurely.


I wasn’t fully formed in the womb.

Only instead of an incubator, I needed a church.

While nature and nurture helped form me physically, I was spiritually malformed well into my thirties.

Ascension Lutheran Church was – and continues to be – my spiritual incubator.

Surrounded by a congregation of loving people – saints, really – about 20 years ago I began to take baby steps of faith.

As my stride increased, I began testing the waters upon which Jesus invited me to join him. My wife and kids joined me in that adventure. They, too, were undergirded by a loving congregation, my children both having attended Ascension Lutheran School.

As my faith journey progressed, I persistently tested those waters, trying new, more challenging things in service to our Lord. Teaching, preaching, leading, interceding. Continually pushing the envelope in following what I believed Jesus was calling me to do.

Most of the time my efforts were successful; other times I failed miserably, sometimes embarrassingly so. But my congregation stood alongside me, celebrating my accomplishments (like when my book, The Jonah Factor®, was first published) and dusting me off when I crashed and burned (like the time I delivered a men’s breakfast devotion that involved using a big stack of charcoal briquettes – don’t ask!).

Transformation is not a solitary process. It requires the life-changing help of Jesus and of people who traverse the sometimes difficult pathway of faith alongside of us. It requires the community of God.

I’ve been transformed by the great love of my Savior, the wise mentoring of my pastors and the caring incubator of my congregation.

Forever changed. Changed forever.

Lord, help us to be a people always on the lookout for others to come alongside of as you work in them to transform their lives. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Tuesday, March 30th

“When we move forward out of our tombs, we take steps toward becoming generous and grateful…As the money, energy, and time flow out, God becomes a richer presence in our lives.” - Stephen Smith, “The Lazarus Life”


One Sunday morning during an Adult Education lesson on the Gospels, Dr. James Kallas took a moment to discuss the geography of the Holy Land. The Sea of Galilee, he explained, flows into the Jordan River, and the Jordon River flows into the Dead Sea, which has no outlet. The Sea of Galilee teems with life, and the Dead Sea…is dead. Dr. Kallas compared this to faith. If we share what God gives us, if we “continue the flow,” we will be full of life; if we don’t…we won’t.

It’s a compelling analogy. Giving of our time and talent and treasure is not an obligation or duty but the simple outpouring of, as David puts it, a cup that overflows. Paul speaks to this in his request of generosity from the church in Corinth: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8)

We have all that we need to give.

Lord, create in us grateful and generous hearts. Amen

Jennifer Shaw

Monday, March 29th

Of all the parables that Jesus tells my favorite is the one that he tells in Matthew 13:44:


“The kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

Not only am I impressed at Jesus’ ability to tell a story in a verse but for me this little story is the story of what the life of transformation is all about.

Life is worship. It is a radical, voluntary realignment of my values to his values.

Why would I do this? Because His way is better. It just is. Loving my enemies, for example is the better (not easier) way than hating them. Being a servant is the better way than being selfish. Seeking understanding and forgiveness is the better way than living with anger and contempt for others. Honor and humility are better than lust and pride.

And why is Jesus’ way better? There are many reasons. The world just works better according to his way. Jesus way is life giving. But really in a word, to honor the One who could tell a story in one verse… it is joy.

Lord, may I live today as the one who, in his joy went out sold all his possessions so that he could purchase the field which contained a treasure like that was like your kingdom. Amen.

Pastor Tim

Saturday, March 27th

Hello, my name is Lazarus and I am a recovering sinner.


Because of sin, I died and was buried in a dark and empty tomb. The tomb was sealed by a rock and I was left there alone to rot. I heard the voice of Jesus calling, “Come Out” and I answered “yes” to the Lord and called upon His Name and He saved me. I was born again into the family of God. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit which began to work within me that I might have life. Awakened by the call of Christ, I staggered to the tomb door.

I emerged from the tomb still wearing the grave clothes of the old man, the old self. Then Christ ordered the small group of people around me to remove those tomb rags. I began to be transformed through the unwrapping of the grave clothes: the rags of pain and distress, sin and separation that had bound me in the tomb.

The family of faith into which I was born loved and accepted me. In that safe surrounding of family, I was able to be honest about my life and confess and work out the hitches and glitches of my transformation. In fact, we were all able to help one another in reaching our goal of being transformed more and more into His likeness. Our small family group has been a blessing to ourselves and others. I am looking forward to the day when we shall all be completely transformed in a twinkling of an eye and we will all be “clothed with …immortality…” and live with Him in His Kingdom completely and forever.

R.S.

Friday, March 26th

We have a number of clocks in our home.

One’s an antique German regulator clock from the late 1800s. Another, larger timepiece was assembled 20 or so years ago. A third is a cuckoo clock my parents brought back from the Black Forest in Germany. (Pity the poor guest who spends the night in our house and hasn’t learned how to tune out the different chimes, gongs and cuckoo calls.)

Each timepiece is different, but they share one thing in common – all need to be wound up and reset regularly. Even the most precise of our clocks – oddly enough the 100-plus-year Teutonic timepiece – loses a minute or two every month and needs to be reset.

That speaks to our faith walk and the importance of Christian community, as well.

Day in and day out we do pretty well. We don’t notice the seconds we’re losing or the fact that we’re slowly becoming unwound in the midst of demanding jobs, piled-high schoolwork, the challenges of raising children or in the caring of elderly parents.

It’s not until we come together in worship, prayer, celebration or Bible study that we realize how much we really need the fellowship of other believers. And we walk away from those experiences refreshed, energized and, well . . . reset.

Surely that’s why Paul in his letters continually reminds us of the importance of Christian community. In 1st Thessalonians he exhorts us to “encourage one another and build each other up . . .” (1 Thes. 5:11).

Winding up and resetting the clock. That’s what he writing about.

Prayer for those currently enjoying being in a strong Christian community: Lord, thank you for the encouragement I receive from those believers you have surrounded me with. Please bless me through them so that I can bless them, as well, and invite others into that community. Amen.

Prayer for those seeking Christian community: Lord, please guide me as I seek (a church, a Bible study, a small group, etc.) so that I can be nurtured and grow in my relationship with you. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Thursday, March 25th

“And Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind, and with all they strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these’.” (Mark 12:29-31)


Love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul…mind…and strength. Give to God your first and full devotion. Seek His will and glory in all you do.

Love your neighbor as (you do) yourself. Desire the good of others as consistently and earnestly as you desire your own good. Be as patient and understanding and kind and gentle with them as you are with yourself. Know that we are all God’s beloved.

Love your neighbor as (you are) yourself. Be who you are - not who you might hope or pretend to be, not who others might expect you to be, not who you wish you were. That person doesn’t exist, and can’t love. Know that you are treasured.

Love everyone you know with everything you are.

Lord, let us know and share your love. Amen

Jennifer Shaw

Wednesday, March 24th

I’m tapping this blog into my laptop as I sit waiting in a terminal at O’Hare International Airport.

I’m on standby for a flight home.

I’ve been traveling on business all week, and I’m learning patience in what I thought would be a simple check-in, flight and landing. However, I’ve been on standby now for two flights to Los Angeles, both of which were full. People got on, the planes pushed back, and they took off without me.

So I wait. I wait to go home.

Spiritual transformation occurs while we wait – while we wait to go home. Only instead of the crowded waiting area of a terminal, we wait in life to board a flight that will carry us to eternity.

The transformation can occur in many ways. Forced to wait, as Lazarus in his tomb, we learn godly patience, starting to see God’s plan in kairos time as opposed to our chronos time. We discover godly compassion, becoming aware of the needs of others and then slowing down to attend to them. We get peeks at godly wisdom, lingering in prayer, Scripture reading and worship, providing sufficient time to hear God speak to us instead of jabbering on about our needs and disappointments.

The important thing for me is that while I wait, I don’t do so alone. I wait and become transformed alongside others – my family, the members of my congregation at Ascension Lutheran, the people in my weekly small group Bible study and the countless fellow believers I’ve come to know during my years in ministry. How cool is that.

In the process of waiting, I’ve been called out of the tomb. And through the love and help of the Christian community that surrounds me, I’ve come face-to-face with Jesus.

Prayer: Lord thank you for surrounding me with people who model your love, compassion, generosity and grace. I lift them up to you today (think of at least one or two people you especially want to lift up in prayer today) in gratitude for all they have done and for all that you have done for me through them. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Tuesday, March 23rd

I found this picture in on the internet as I was thinking about the phrase “no man is an island” that comes from John Donne’s Meditation XVII. The idea I get from reading Donne’s meditation is that God created us as an interconnected community. As community we all need support, encouragement, and accountability. Sometimes we need help and sometimes we need to help. And God works through us to accomplish his purposes when we do. I suppose a picture is worth a thousand words though.

Gracious God, may we know and be true community.  Amen.

Pastor Tim

Monday, March 22nd

A few months ago at a family gathering, we asked my nephew, who is two and a half, if he wanted some milk. He said, quite resolutely, “no.” Then we asked if he wanted to do this or that, and the response was repeatedly the same. More humorous questions ensued, culminating with “Are you a human being?” “No.” “What are you then?”


“I’m just Max.”

If only we could answer grown-up questions of identity with such easy confidence. Who am I? What should I do with my life? What do I really want? Am I a good parent…child…sibling… worker…boss…friend…neighbor…human being?

These questions are important. It matters deeply what we do and how. It matters because of who we are. It matters because of whose we are. However else we may define ourselves, we are quite simply those whom God has created and loves. It is in Him that our true and only identity rests. It is in Him that we shed sin and weakness, false assumptions and misguided expectations, and become purely ourselves. Just who we are.

Lord, let us hold in our hearts that we are your children, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Jesus appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. {1 John 3:2}

Jennifer Shaw

Saturday, March 20th

I have been in a bad mood lately. I have been short with my loved ones. I have been a bit disconnected. I have not been as joyful as I usually am.


Here is why: I have recognized some grave clothes that I now need to deal with. Lent, this book, well let’s just come out and say it… Jesus has caused me to have to look at my life and as I have done so, I have discovered some things that if I am going to grow into the person God wants me to be, I know I need to change. I have also discovered it isn’t going to be easy to do. In fact, it would be much easier just to avoid.

It’s easy to avoid stuff. I can just pretend that it’s not that important. Or I can pretend that I am too busy. Or I can say it’s not my fault. But when it comes down to it, if I want to heal, if I want to grow, if I want to talk off these particular grave clothes I have to change. Dang.

Here is a paraphrase of a prayer that I heard once. I don’t even know who originally said it. But I like it and it seems a good first step:

Lord, I don’t want to change. I don’t even want to want to change. But Lord, I want to want to want to change and I pray this is enough for you to work with. Amen.

Pastor Tim

Friday, March 19th

I Am Lazarus: I am going from rags to riches!


Like Lazarus we are often bound with the rags, residues or remains of life. Sometimes just one rag wraps around us and binds us and sometimes many. Sometimes we obsess on one thought or one feeling, some times on many. We can be bound in part or in full by guilt and sorrow over sins, by the feeling that life is unfair and unjust, by feelings of unworthiness, by the fear of loss, by the fear that our secret sins may be exposed, or by the fear of illness and death. There are so many hurtful, harmful and binding facets of life that can impinge on our thoughts and feelings and either keep us from doing that which is good and joyful, or drive us to doing that which is bad: into seeking revenge, hiding ourselves, stealing, mocking, hating, blaming others, or blaming God. This is death. This is the tomb. This is darkness. And Jesus said, “I have come into the word as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (NIV John 12:46).

With belief in Jesus, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who works in us to unwind the rags that bind our lives and to transform us into the children of God. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13 NIV). God works in us “to will and to act according to his good purposes. (Philippians 2:13)”: to change our rags into His Riches. The process of transformation begins when the rags that bind us are unwound. This unwinding process may happen quickly for some rags and slowly for others. Some rags will come off with a little tug and others will require great effort. Our many rags of sin and guilt can be stripped away from us by the power of the shed blood of Christ. All of our sins can be hung on the Cross of Christ, since we know that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV). The rags of fear can be stripped from us by receiving the perfect love of God, for perfect love drives out fear. (1 John 4:18). Our feelings that life is unfair can be stripped away from us when we understand “…that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV). We must take hold of these truths and forgetting what is behind, press on toward the goal ahead, the goal of transformation. (Philippines 3:12-13).

Because Christ died for us while we were yet sinners and the Holy Spirit works within us, we can clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14) and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12). We can seek to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12). We can put on the whole armor of God, including the breastplate of His righteousness, which gives us peace; the shield of faith, which can extinguish the flaming arrows of evil, of anguish, of self-doubt, of fear; the helmet of salvation, which can protect our minds against thoughts of guilt and unworthiness; and, the sword of the sprit which is the word of God, which can guide us as we become the sons and daughters of light, the children of God.

Lord help us to exchange the rags that bind our lives, our grave clothes, for the riches that you have prepared for use. Amen

R.S.

Thursday, March 18th

“It’s one thing to become a Christian. To be a Christian is more challenging. To be a Christian means to be continually involved in the transformation process.” (Stephen Smith, The Lazarus Life)


Faith is a daily affair. The manna God gave to the children of Israel did not last the night. Joshua challenged his people to “choose this day whom you will serve.” We ask for our daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus instructed his disciples not to worry about tomorrow. Paul forgot what was behind and pressed on.

In the aptly titled A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, William Law writes, “Do not therefore please yourself with thinking how piously you would act and submit to God in a famine or plaque or persecution, but be intent upon the perfection of the present day; and be assured that the best way of showing a true zeal is to make little things the occasions of great piety.”

The perfection of the present day. We are daily transformed by this effort. We seek this by God’s grace. We have this day because of His great love for us. Because of His great love for us, we have all the days to come.

Lord, thank you for the blessing of this day. Amen.

Jennifer Shaw

Wednesday, March 17th

It was a popcorn question meant as an opening at our group’s recent Tuesday night Bible study.


“In your faith walk in recent years, what kinds of things have held you back from moving toward or deepening your relationship with Christ?”

The challenge opened a flood of responses around the table.

“Fear!”

“Money!”

“Friends!”

“Career!”

“The culture!”

In the course of the evening, several people shared how important this Bible study group – which was formed through Ascension and has been meeting weekly for more than 20 years! – has been in their faith walk and in helping them deepen their relationship with Jesus. It has helped all of us overcome obstacles that previously distracted us or held us back.

That’s the blessing of community, the ability to gather, be lifted up, encouraged, strengthened and better able to discern God’s will in our lives.

It’s also the reason the early church flourished. Small groups, usually gathering in homes, ministering to one another. Iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17).

Do you participate in a small group? Perhaps it’s just what your faith walk needs right now.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the encouragement of and fellowship with others. Please bless those (specific names?) who have been such an important part of my faith walk and have shown me your love in sometimes remarkable ways. Bless them, and please bless me today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Ed Klodt

Tuesday, March 16th

“There is always an enormous temptation in all of life to diddle around making itsy-bitsy friends and meals and journeys for itsy-bitsy years on end...... We are making hay when we should be making whoopee; we are raising tomatoes when we should be raising Cain, or Lazarus. "


— Annie Dillard

I put this quote by Annie Dillard in the blog knowing that it might be misunderstood. But it is an important quote to me and to my wife. It is our reminder that life is meant to be lived boldly and out loud. Some of the grave clothes that cling to me are the grave clothes of itsy-bitsy. In other words: “don’t take a chance,” “be safe,” “take no risks.”

And yet the Christian life is about taking a chance, stepping out of our comfort zone. That is why it is called faith. That is why I have always enjoyed the title of one of John Ortberg’s books: “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat.”

Pastor Tim

Monday, March 15th

I’m not much of a dancer. Just ask my wife.

In fact, at weddings and other get-togethers when the band cranks it up, I’m usually on the sidelines. When people ask why I’m not out on the dance floor, I often wink at them and say, “That’s why men get married . . . So they don’t have to dance anymore.” I know; bad joke.

It’s not that I don’t love being arm in arm with Lyn. It’s just that I’m embarrassed by my dancing.

Those times that I do glide by the bandstand with her, I always feel like I have to hold back. I don’t know how to lead. I’m concerned about stepping on her shoes. I’m afraid I’ll look silly. I’m fearful that people will find out what a klutz I am and that I have three left feet.

To relate it to the story of Lazarus, the graveclothes that wrap me up and hold me back are my unwillingness to risk looking ridiculous.

That says a lot about my relationship with my Lord, as well. To me, a deep relationship with Jesus is like a dance with him. When he leads and I follow, it’s a wondrous thing to experience and to watch. Yet, to do so, I have to be willing to look ridiculous to others. I also have to hold him close, very close.

King David wasn’t afraid of looking silly. In 2 Samuel we read that once, in front of a large crowd, this powerful king “danced before the LORD with all his might” (2 Sam. 6:14). Nothing held back – just dancing like a fool because he was so in love with his God.

It’s time to get back onto the dance floor.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thanks for your grace and for your incredible love for me and for humankind. Let’s keep dancing. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Saturday, March 13th

“Never, never, never give up.” Winston Churchill


Perseverance doesn’t get a lot of play nowadays. We live in a culture accustomed to the first flush of love in romantic comedies, the instant gratification of Google and Wikipedia, the convenience of wireless technology, and fast food, and fast lanes, and fast passes at amusement parks. We expect instant results with minimum labor.

We are often disappointed. While everyone knows “good things come to those who wait,” we don’t really want to believe it. Concentrated investment, hard work, dedication, patience – by their very nature these things are not quick or easy. But they are essential.

Joseph persevered while a slave and a prisoner. Abraham kept traveling. Joshua wondered though the wilderness. Elizabeth awaited a child. They may not have seen all the good ends God intended in the midst of their confusion and heartbreak and suffering, but they kept going, because they saw God. It is in Him that we live…and have our being…and move…

We “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us.”

Lord, may we “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection of the dead.” {Philippians 3:10-11}

Jennifer Shaw

Friday, March 12th

I AM Lazarus: I have seen the Light, and I want to glow!


When Moses came down from Mount Sinai his face was radiant (Exodus 34:29). On a high mountain, Jesus was transfigured so that His Face, “shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2). People who have experienced the transforming power of God are often shown as glowing. In the picture of the Rising of Lazarus by Giotto di Bondone, we see Lazarus, Jesus and many of the people around them encased in light. An outer glowing is a reflection of an inner transformation. Those who have been transformed by God become “the sons of light“(John 12:36).

Our journey to Jesus is much like the Journey of Lazarus from the tomb to Our Lord: We begin in bondage to sin and death. We hear the voice of Jesus who calls us “come out”. We struggle to follow the leading of that voice. When we reach door of the tomb, we suddenly become aware of an awesome light. This light can be blinding and our eyes must adjust so that we can see. Then we see Jesus. Our faces are unveiled and we behold Him. We receive Him as Lord and Savior and are imbued with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Christ becomes the model, the ideal, the transforming figure which we seek to emulate. We then realize that the old self must be shed and a new self, formed in the image of Christ, must be put on. We know that by ourselves, we are unable to change, to become what God would have us become. But through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit works in us to perfect us so that we may become like Him. “…he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (NIV Titus 3:5-6.) “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lords glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (NIV, 2 Corinthians 3:18). The journey to Jesus is a stumbling journey filled with repentances and renewals until we finally reach Him and are completely transformed by the power of God in mind, in spirit, and in body.

Lord, we ask you in every way and during every day to increase your presence in our lives. Change us through the Holy Spirit so that we may be more like You: that we may increase in love, increase in hope, increase in faith, and increase in the fruits of the Spirit so that we may more fully reflect You in our lives. Transform us Lord, so that the lights of our lives may so shine before men that they will glorify You. Amen

R.S.

Thursday, March 11th

The apostle Paul must have been a gutsy poker player.


Why else would he write in his letter to the Philippians “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ . . .” (Phil. 7-8).

In poker parlance, Paul was “all in.”

He bet his entire stack of chips in the hopes of winning one important hand – to know Christ and to live a life pleasing to him.

The desire for wealth, power, earthly adornments and even the admiration of others had been squelched by his profound experience of the living Christ on the road to Damascus.

He was willing to lay a wager that changed his life – and the lives of countless others. In fact, his hand-scrawled letters are still changing lives today.

He risked everything in his pursuit of being Christ’s ambassador – in chains, no less (Ephesians 6:20).

Am I willing to go all in?

Ed Klodt

Wednesday, March 10th

It is hard to admit but… sometimes staying inside the tomb is the more comfortable option.


The reason for this is that the One who calls us out of it is calling us into His life. And His life is not easy. It is joyful but it is not easy. It is real but it is not easy. It is abundant but it is not easy.

Jesus’ heart broke for the poor and the outcast. He calls us to have the same heart. Jesus spoke the truth in love and He calls us to do the same. Jesus stood by his convictions in wonderfully graceful ways and we are all called out of our tomb to do the same. Oi!

Can you feel the tension? Can you understand why not coming out of the tomb might be the more comfortable option?

And yet, at the end of the day or week or…well… really long periods of time those who have followed Jesus’ call out of the tomb get to know something that those who don’t never understand. It is the power of resurrection.

Dear Lord, today with its challenges is a good day to walk in the light of your love. Please help me do it. Amen.

Tuesday, March 9th

Our faith journey isn’t a tightrope; it’s a river.


For too long my faith walk had me thinking of myself as a high-wire aerialist. One misstep and I’d plunge into the chasm that would lead to my destruction. An ill-timed expletive, a blunt push for a promotion at work or even laughing at a Bart Simpson taunt were among what I thought would derail me from the tightrope of faith I had placed myself upon.

I put other Christians on that same high-wire, often evaluating them by how well they walked that rigid tightrope. After all, as fellow believers we were all on the same narrow path, right? In fact, didn’t Jesus say “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction . . . (Matt. 7:13)?

Over time I’ve come to understand Jesus’ words as being far more profound than I had first imagined. If Jesus is, indeed, “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6) then it’s my faith in him – not how well I cling to the high wire – that allows me to enter through the narrow gate.

In that way, our faith journey together is less like a tightrope and more like a river.

In the river, there’s lots of room for all of us to swim around, and each of us are in different areas of the waterway. While some are swimming with the current, others are still in the shallows testing the depths. Some are momentarily caught in whirlpools of doubt. Others are in murky seasons of life, temporarily drifting in muddy waters or under dark bridges. Still others are simply trying to learn how to swim or simply goofing off in the cattail reeds.

Shores provide the boundaries. Keep away from them. Stay in the water. As long as we keep swimming and probing the river of faith together we’ll do fine.

Chances are that you’re a little farther down the waterway than many of us are. That’s the beauty of faith journeys – we’re all in different places. Will you extend grace to the rest of us as we learn to navigate the awesome river of faith that flows through that narrow gate?

Perhaps it’s time to turn our personal faith walk . . . into a faith swim.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your grace, in which you allow me to learn and make mistakes. Please help me to extend that same grace to others as they engage in their own faith swim. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Monday, March 8th

Lord, thank you: “I am not what I ought to be.

I am not what I want to be.

I am not what I hope to be.

But by your grace, I am not what I was.”

(a paraphrase of a prayer of John Newton’s)

Last Saturday was a funeral for one of my heroes of the faith, Ward Rineman. I had the privilege to speak at it. Preparing for speaking was a good exercise for me because it forced me to put my thoughts together on why he was such a hero to me. I remembered various times that I interacted with him. I remembered him doing what he did so well which was welcoming new people to church. But as I thought about it, the common theme in all of my memories of him was his perseverance. It was the fact that I could count on him to have the same passion, the same love the same care for others, day in and day out. It did not matter whether it was a good day or a bad day, I just knew that if Ward could be there welcoming and reaching out to others then there was no question that he would- even when he was 96 years old. It was no act. It just was who he was through and through.

That is the way I want to be. I don’t feel like I am that way yet but Ward gives me a marker, a target, a hero in the flesh to emulate. I thank God for the privilege of knowing Ward.

Saturday, March 6th

I Am Lazarus: God Loves Me


Lazarus was in a death and life situation. He was in his tomb and his old life was gone. The grave had robbed him of his being and his aspirations. There was only cold emptiness and stillness. Then God said “come out”, and within his lifeless corpse there was a spark, a life giving light in the darkness which grew and overcame that darkness until Lazarus was changed from death into life. Within the darkness of the tomb, he became a new creation by the hand of God. Behold, “he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). He became what Christ wanted him to become, a living example of the power of God to bring life out of death and light out of darkness.

I have learned over the years that my aspirations, the things I wanted to achieve had to die in order for the aspirations of God for me, the things He wanted me to do, could come to pass. I had to learn to do what God put before me, to undertake the opportunities He gave me and respond to His callings. By doing so, I have participated in a great many exciting, amazing, and wonderful live experiences. There were many “tomb experiences” in my life where I have had to give up things that I wanted to do in order to earn a living, perform a duty, be a parent or friend, or respond to a call to serve, Thank God. I have also learned that, when I am experiencing a “tomb experience” and do not give it over to God, I simply remain in the tomb!

In order to give up my aspirations and self directed control over my life’s activities, I have had to learn to trust God and surrender myself to what opportunity He has given me or what call He has made on my life. I am still learning to do it “His Way” rather than “my way”. I have also found out that the term “my way or no way” simply means “no way”. I am engaged in a life long learning process with God. I am learning that “God loves me”, I am learning that “God provides,” and I am learning to overcome fear, or rather to let God overcome the fear that is within me.

When I become afraid, I find that I am bound in the tomb of worry and care. However, since I have experienced the love of God in my life and have come to know that, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…(1 John 4:18)” I have found “the peace that transcends understanding.” Because God loves me, I trust him and know that “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)”. These are some of my Lazarus experiences.

R.S.

Friday, March 5th

Are you still having trouble understanding how much God loves you even in your mess? How crazy He is about you even if you don’t stand out in the crowd (or if you do stand out for all the wrong reasons)? If you are, have you considered:


Matthew, the hated tax collector who sold out Israel to Rome by becoming a tax collector but who God turned into a disciple?

Jacob who was a swindler until God in his steadfast love got a hold of him and gave him a new identity as a patriarch of Israel?

Saul the murderer who God transformed into the great apostle Paul?

The unnamed woman in John 8 who was in adultery and who (though everybody else wanted to condemn and even kill her) Jesus just could not condemn but instead forgave and loved?

Or how about Peter who betrayed Jesus in a deeply shameful way but who Jesus forgave and turned into Peter, The Rock.

Somehow people still seem to think that they have to be “good” Christians in order to be worthy of God’s transforming love. But they don’t.

Father may we know your radical, graceful, call of love in our life today. Amen.

Thursday, March 4th

Before introducing us to Jean Valjean, the central character of Les Miserables, author Victor Hugo details the life of Monsieur Myriel. He is “an upright man…well-read, even learned…a sage.” He is well-versed in Scripture and wise. He is respected and eloquent. He is “one of those strong, tested, and indulgent souls, where the thought is so great that it cannot be other than gentle.” This is a man who knows God.

But he also knows God. When Jean Valjean - out of prison after nineteen years with no friends, no resources, and no place to stay - needs shelter, M. Myriel takes him in. When Jean Valjean steals his silverware in the middle of the night, M. Myriel accepts this as a contribution to a poor man. And when Jean Valjean, captured by the police for this crime, is brought back to M. Myriel, the priest not only forgives him, but gives him the candlesticks as well. Then he says, “Do not forget, ever, that you have promised me to use this silver to become an honest man.” The rest of the story is Jean Valjean’s attempt to do so.

M. Myriel acts in love, and changes a stranger’s life. This learned man, this eloquent priest, is also a man of heart. As Hugo writes, “He did not study God, he was dazzled by Him.”

Lord, help us to truly know you.

Jennifer Shaw

Wednesday, March 3rd

During my sophomore year in college, I was on the new student orientation team under the leadership of a Resident Advisor. I’d worked with that same Advisor during my freshman year, which was for me, as it is for so many adjusting to college and what lies beyond, a tough one. He knew this, and one day, when we were discussing the new student handbook, he stopped and said, “You know, Jen, God doesn’t just love you. He likes you. He chose you.”


I carry those words in my heart. I carry them along with the words of love, and encouragement, and correction, and guidance that people in my life have been kind enough to share. And I carry with these the wise words of C.S. Lewis, and William Law, and Dallas Willard. And Psalm 23, Jeremiah 29, Romans 8, Galatians 5, Matthew 7. And that still, small voice that stopped me in my tracks on a morning hike to tell me “it’s okay.”

I carry in my heart the Word, Jesus our Savior and Lord, who calls to us as surely as he called to Lazarus. He is the messenger and the message that God wants His children to hear. God doesn’t just love the world. He loves you.

Lord, we pray that being rooted and established in love, we may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. {Ephesians 3:17-19}

Jennifer Shaw

Tuesday, March 2nd

Self-esteem gets a lot of air play as an essential way to feel good. Make people proud of their accomplishments and give them a sense of self-worth, we’re told, and their outlook on life will improve dramatically.

That’s never worked for me. It misses an important, very biblical, first step – allowing ourselves to be loved. Springtime only enters the winter of our lives once we open the gates to allowing others to love us and then returning that love.

In fact, author Smith in The Lazarus Life tells us – at least twice – “the crucial step in being transformed is learning to let yourself be loved. Skip this step and transformation will not happen” (pg. 73).

He’s right, isn’t he? Until I open myself to God’s love – as scary as that can be sometimes because it’s such a huge, gaping, pulsing heart of love – I cannot be transformed into the image of Jesus. And at the core of that image is love.

In fact John tells us, “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In other words, our ability to love our God and one another is built on our ability to first open ourselves to the agape love that God has for us.

Frankly, it’s this concept that sets Christianity apart from every other religion – ever. That God so loves humankind that he sacrifices his own son so that we can have life with him today and forever. That’s the guts of John 3:16, right? No other religion or faith system professes that kind of love between God and humankind where God reaches out purposefully to initiate that loving relationship. It’s as unique to Christianity as spots are to a leopard.

I love that God loves us so much. Sure improves my self-esteem.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for continually reaching those big, ole’ loving arms around me, even when I don’t realize you’re doing it. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Monday, March 1st

“Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God's being present in the mess of our unfixedness.” (Mike Yaconelli, Messy Spirituality)

I love this quote because it reminds us that God isn’t looking for perfect people. Instead, He is looking for open hearts. He is looking for people who are willing to make a little room in their lives for Him. It is why the spiritual life can truly be called the “Lazarus” life because “Lazarus” is a good Hebrew name that means “one whom God helps.”

I think it was author Ann La Mott who said that she really has just two prayers when it all comes down to it. The first prayer is “Help me, help me, help me, Lord. Amen.” The second is “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord. Amen.”

Help me, help me, help me, Lord. Amen.

Saturday, February 27th

We operate in “chronos,” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year…chronological time that is fleeting and elusive, and we know it. Still, we try to manage time with day planners and appointment books and smart phones. We try to hold time by dwelling in the past or bracing for the future. We attempt to trick time, often we waste time, we speak of “killing time,” we wish to go “back in time.” We have a difficult relationship with time as we know it.


But there is something outside of time as we know it. There is “kairos,” the “fullness of time” when God acts. It is, as author Stephen Smith describes it, “the ‘time in between’ sequential time when God breaks through.” The author of Ecclesiastes puts it this way:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.”{Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 11-14}

Amen

Jennifer Shaw

Friday, February 26th

Behold the Eiffel Tower. 

Built in the late 1880s, it’s a marvel of human innovation, engineering and artistic achievement. Yet it almost was never built.

Renowned architect and builder Gustave Eiffel faced years of delays and red tape. As the plans were drawn, Parisians complained that its height – at more than 1,000 feet the tallest structure on earth at that time – would present incredible dangers. The structure would change weather patterns, attract supercharged lightning bolts, cast shadows that would stunt nearby plant growth and be too massive for the ground to support, they protested.

Eiffel placed his considerable fortune at risk – personally guaranteeing any losses of life, limb or property – to make his dream come true.

Girder by girder, beam by beam this masterpiece started coming together in a very slow, purposeful process. Such a structure had never been built before. There were successes and setbacks throughout its more than two-year construction. Yet, on March 31, 1889 the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated, and it transformed the Paris skyline forever. Today it’s the most visited structure in the world, with more than 200 million visitors since it opened.

Transformation is difficult. It takes time. We can’t rush it. It can be painful. We have to let Jesus in. We need to let go of old things and embrace new ones. But in the process our skyline is forever changed.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I place myself at your feet, opening my heart to all you would show me and allowing you the space to transform me. Amen.



Ed Klodt

Thursday, February 25th

I Am Lazarus


God builds a mosaic of life with joys and sorrows, and we do not often see the entire picture or understand His plan until it is complete. God assembles rough edged grays and blacks, smooth and shining bits of yellows, passions and pieces of red, and elements of green and orange with emotions and tones of blue into a complete and wonderful mosaic of life. At some point in time we may be privileged to glimpse a portion of the mosaic being created or understand His unfolding purpose in life’s events. We may be able to see a revelation of His mysterious wonders, His bringing together of life’s events as when Lazarus emerged from the tomb.

The Fullness of Time

The fullness of time had come

With Lazarus’ healing completed

For he emerged from the tomb

With death and destruction defeated

Mary’s joys were fulfilled

With every tear wiped away

Martha’s faith was sustained

On that glorious resurrection day

The bystanders were filled with faith

And joined the Messianic throng

The evil priests were ensnared

And the way to Calvary begun

Revelation 7:14-17 (New International Version):

“…“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

RS

Wednesday, February 24th

I’ve lost over 100 pounds, nearly half of it recently. When people ask me how I did it, I could say I started running, I went (mostly) vegetarian, I count calories, I chew sugar-free gum at night in front of the television when I’d rather snack. All of these answers are correct, but they’re not entirely true.


The truth is I didn’t do it. I gave it to God. He did it. No matter how hard I tried, how diligent I was, how much I wanted it, I simply could not do it on my own.

When people ask me how long it took, I could say I lost about 45 pounds in about 7 months. Correct, not entirely true. It took me 23 years. Years of gaining and losing and losing and gaining and failing and trying again.

That’s a long time to struggle and wonder and wait. A long way to accept that my Savior will carry this burden along with every other. And part of my journey toward knowing God loves me without condition, and that He will direct my ways when I seek to follow Him.

This is my path. I’m not saying everyone should be a runner…or a vegetarian…or a gum-chewer…or any certain weight. I just know God wants us to be free…and joyful…and truly ourselves…and, most of all, His.

And God’s timing is perfect.

Lord, help us know “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” {Isaiah 40:31}

Jennifer Shaw

Tuesday, February 23rd

A half hour can last forever. Just ask my now adult-children, Matthew and Hannah.


When they were younger, typically a “time-out” for misbehavior meant spending a half hour or so in their rooms. It was an eternity for them. Yet, for me, that time flew by.

It was the same 30 minutes. Yet our perceptions of that period were completely different.

Different ways of looking at the same thing: time.

So it is with God and us. In The Lazarus Life, Stephen Smith, introduces us to the concept of chronos (literal time that can be plotted) and kairos time (the appointed time in the purpose of God). In a sense, although both terms relate to the same concept they refer to very different perceptions of it. Clearly my kids were on the chronos timeclock where every second would bring them closer to being sprung from their bedroom prison. I, on the other hand, was on kairos time, baby – less concerned about the actual 30 minutes than ensuring they understood why they had been placed in isolation.

Normally we’re fine with God taking his sweet kairos time. “Sure God,” we say, “no hurry. I’ll wait for your answer.” That is, until we hit a rough patch. That’s when chronos time kicks in for most of us. “I need that job now, Lord. The bills are coming due” . . . or . . . “I’m lonely and want a new relationship – now, please!” . . . or . . . “My wife’s cancer needs to be cured. Hurry!”

It’s that way with transformation, as well . . . isn’t it? We invite Jesus into our lives and we expect things to change immediately. Yet for most of us that change occurs slowly, deliberately. And it’s only when we look back that we understand transformation takes place in kairos, not chronos, time.

God’s timing, not ours.

Chronos time? I think I like kairos better.

Prayer: Jesus, today I throw open the doors of my life that you would transform me – all in the timing you think best. Amen.

Ed Klodt

Monday, February 22nd

I am not a patient person. You would know that if you are in the car in front of me and not going the speed limit. And yet so much of my time is spent doing exactly what I don’t want to be doing- waiting for something. Waiting for the dinner to be done, waiting for it to rain, waiting for it to be finished raining, waiting for my day off, waiting for my friend to call me back, etc.

And in so many of these instances I ask why? Why do I have to wait? Why can’t what I want just happen now. Especially if it is a “good” thing that will help make life better.

I have discovered that why is sometimes a maddening question. Even if I get the answer to it, it doesn’t usually make what I want to happen actually happen any faster.

So I am learning to ask a more helpful question. Like the question “what now?” In other words, God, what might you do with me while I wait? How are you trying to shape me and teach me in this time? What illusions and expectations do I need to let go of? What does my impatience teach about me, about my faith?

Dear Lord, in this Lenten journey toward Easter trasformation, teach me see you at work in my waiting. Amen.

Pastor Tim

Saturday, February 20th

Who AM I! What part of the narrative of Lazarus is mine?


Am I Lazarus? I also have a perishable body subject to disease and death. Some day I too will enter the grave. Am I a friend of Mary who came to comfort her in her grief? A friend who accompanied her to the tomb and witnessed the Glory of the Lord in the resurrection of Lazarus? A friend who heard the voice of the Lord call out. “come out” and saw Lazarus arise from the tomb alive? Am I the friend who saw and heard the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, and put my faith in Him on that day, the very day when my whole life was transformed by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ?

We are those who have heard the Word of God. We are those who have put our faith in Jesus Christ. We are those whom God will raise up in a twinkling of an eye with imperishable bodies, changed by the power of God. We are the witnesses to the healing power and glory of God. We are his beloved.

Lord, let us see and comprehend Your glory. Let us experience Your healing power. Strengthen our faith and help us be faithful witnesses to the Eternal Son of God through whom we receive abundant life. Amen

R.S.

Friday, February 19th

I am Lazarus, desperately in need of transformation.

I keep a note tucked into my Bible to remind me of that. The note is actually someone’s shopping list. Onto the back of it is scrawled the name and license plate number of the young woman whose gold Saturn hit me one evening while I was in the drive-through lane of our nearby In-n-Out burger.

I was just sitting there, waiting for my turn to inch forward to talk into the squawk box and place my order. All of a sudden . . . BANG!

I bounded out of my car to check the damage and make sure the scofflaw didn’t just drive off. I was angry. She noticed. In fact, my first words were something like “DIDN’T YOU SEE ME JUST SITTING THERE? WEREN’T YOU PAYING ATTENTION????” She apologized repeatedly.

There wasn’t any visible damage to either car. But I was ticked off enough to demand that she write down her name, phone number, insurance information and her car’s license plate number. Unnecessary, really, since there was no damage. But I was steamed and was going to make a point.

After a few minutes, she returned from her car and handed me a note – her shopping list, presumably the only piece of paper she could find – on the back of which she had written the information I had asked for. Only then did I notice her personalized license plate, which read, “AGAPAY.” I asked her if it meant what I thought. Indeed, her response and the cross hanging from her rearview mirror confirmed that it did.

“Agape,” Greek for the greatest, deepest love that exists anywhere. Agape, the love that God has for me, even when I lose my temper with others. Agape, the love Jesus lifted high as he was being pinned to the cross. Agape, exactly what I didn’textend to this young driver, even though my Lord and my faith require it.

I am Lazarus, desperately in need of transformation.

Only, now I know it.

Ed Klodt