Keep It Simple

Keep it simple.
Keep it light.
Keep it true.
Keep it kind.

Be forgiving.
Listen carefully.
Hold your tongue.
Look up now and then.
Listen to the birds.
Feel the wind on your cheek.

Don't underestimate your silliness.
Or, your sin.
Relentless self-interest is all too real.

Say, "Jesus my Lord" a lot.
Keep the compass of your soul pointed to God.
If you swing away, that's okay.
You can always come back.
God will help you.

Serve God in small ways.
But if something really big comes your way, think about it.
Don't say yes too quickly.
But if you need to say yes, say it clearly.

If you're in jam, you will find a way out.
Be patient.
Wait.
Google your first name in quotes.

Today is but one day among them all.
It really counts, but not that much.
Don't be too serious.
Just try to be consistent.
Know when to let up.
When to bear down.
When to forget it.
When to try again.

Think of something really funny that happened to you.
Where and when?
Who and what?

And if you feel like crying, that's okay.
Go ahead.
Tears cleanse more than the eyes.

Take a deep breath.
You're doing fine.
You've made your share of mistakes; who hasn't?
But you've won the game a good many times, too.
You've got trophies in your heart.
Maybe even in a room.
You're a good and decent human being.
Every day, you give it a good try.

If you're just surviving, that's something.
Be proud.
Grateful.

If you're on top of the game, well, there ya' are.
Feel good.
Buy something beautiful.
Don't get uppity.
Remember when you weren't.
Help someone else along the way.
Say, "Jesus my Lord."

And go to bed tonight in peace.
You did your best.
Yup, you really did.
Maybe tomorrow, it'll be different.
Maybe not.
But you did it.
You made another day.
And just because you showed up, it counts.
It really does.

Sleep tight!
Don't let the bedbugs bite.

© Tom Eggebeen, July 13, 2009

Calvin's 500th Birthday - July 10

It's helpful to know where we come from (okay, you grammar mavins, "It's helpful to know from where we come" ... or for those who love the cadences of the King James Version, "from whence we cometh").

Anyway, like our biological family of origin, we have a spiritual family of origin located in Geneva, Switzerland. Though we can trace our faith-roots all the way back to Abraham (we are the children of the promise made by God to Abraham - see Romans 4:16-16 - Jew and Gentile alike), our immediate "church" history begins with the Reformation and specifically with John Calvin, a Frenchman who was converted to the Protestant way of things under a Paris Law School professor who had been reading Luther's tracts (Calvin was trained as a lawyer).

Both Calvin and his professor fled Paris in the night when Roman Catholic authorities mounted a fierce campaign against the Protestant movement, and by fierce, I mean, the possibility of being executed.

Ultimately, Calvin goes to Geneva, a city of refuge and freedom; there, he begins to write and teach, ultimately framing his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" or commonly called, "The Institutes" (1536-1554, in its various editions).

A Scottish gentleman by the name of John Knox fell under Calvin's teaching and upon Knox's return to Scotland, formed what would come to be termed "the Presbyterian Church."

In turn, Scottish immigrants brought the Presbyterian Church to America, and the rest is history.

In the way we think about God and the way we govern ourselves (with Elders), we are descendants of John Calvin - and can rightly be called Calvinists, though what this means exactly varies widely among his descendants.

In sum, Calvin's greatest contribution is "peace of mind and heart" with regard to God - that is, in Jesus the Messiah, we have a clear and perfect representation of Yahweh, the Lord Almighty, and we see God favorably and lovingly dealing with us - to forgive our sin, to overcome the snares of death, to help us fulfill the original mandate to Abraham (to be a blessing to the the nations, to creation itself - see Romans 8:20) with eternal assurance, as well. God's perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

In his extended discussion on "Justification" - that is, "God putting us right with God," Calvin writes:

Here, indeed, we are especially to note two things: namely, that the Lord's glory should stand undiminished and so speak, in good repair, and that our consciences in the presence of his judgment should have peaceful rest and serene tranquility (Book 3, Chapter 13, Sections 1).

In a world where fears run high, it is a good thing to be anchored in Calvin's grasp of God's goodness and faithfulness to us! For body and for soul, in life and in death, for this life for the life to come. In Jesus the Messiah (our spiritual location - "we are in Christ"), we are safe! Though this life has its share of perils, "we fear no evil" (Psalm 23), and though death awaits all of us, Christ has conquered death in his resurrection from the dead. In Christ, we make our journey through time with confidence, liberated from the spiritual craziness of a desperate world and freed from the material consumption of a frightened world.

In Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, we are right on track!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, I give myself to you in faith and obedience.

Amen and Amen.

Happy 500th Birthday to John Calvin

Pastor Tom

Live for Christ Today

Live for Christ for today.

Live in his grace, that we might be gracious.
Live in his love, that we might be loving.
Live in his forgiveness, that we might be forgiving.
Live in his peace, that we might seek peace in our time.
Live in his awareness, that we might truly notice others around us.
Live in his compassion, that we might seek the welfare of our neighbor.
Live in his sorrow, that we might feel the pain of the world.
Live in his cross, that we might not be afraid of spiritual burdens.
Live in his death and resurrection, that we might face the end of our life with hope.

Live for Christ today!

A Prayer

I'm chuckling as I read a poem by early 16th Century poet, Sir Edward Dyer:

My mind to me a kingdom is,
Such perfect joy therein I finde
As farre exceeds all earthly blisse
That God or nature hath assignde.

Yes, all the spellings are correct, for the 16th century.

Might have been written by most anyone of recent times - Ha!

How different the Kingdom of God - thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Let our prayer be:

O Christ my Lord,
Help me to live within your world,
That I might be a light to my world.

While others try so hard to love themselves,
Help me to love you all the more.

Remind me daily that I am yours,
And none other can suffice for the needs of my soul.

Help me to see that my hunger is nothing less than a hunger for you.
That my thirst is assuaged by the Living Water you gave to the woman at the well.
That my life makes sense only in your grace and love.
That life consists of all the duties of equity - to love the neighbor as I love myself.
And that such love is You ...

For love is God, and God is love ... and to abide in you is to live the grace of daily love.

Help me be this, O Christ.
Help me do this, O Christ.

Help me, I pray, O Christ.

Amen

Ten Thousand Graves

Ten thousand graves ...
Tended with care ... lush grass precisely trimmed.
Crosses mostly ... and Stars of David ...
Young men and women cut down in the prime of life.
They were brave and they were afraid ...
Their pictures reveal that haunted look ...
Of soldiers too tired to be afraid,
And too frightened to find sleep.

Seasick and wet,
They hit the beach …
Under the cover of …
Steel and smoke.
Death and tears abound …
Ahead, my friends, ahead.
There’s no going back now.
No stopping for any of us.

A continent enslaved awaits the charge.
Nations, yes, and then some, to be unshackled …

And the years pass us by quickly …
Memories roll beyond the reach of words …
Silent tears still shed …
By those who made it home.

Slowly, now, they join their comrades,
As we all do … with the passage of time.
Hand-in-hand; arm-in-arm … a band of brothers …
A chorus of sisters …

Smoke and steel …
And a victory in hand.
And may those
Ten thousand graves remain ever well-tended!

Copywrite: Thomas P. Eggebeen, 2009

Sense, Sight and Spirit

I took a shower this morning and thought, “Wow, this is amazing.”

Drove around the city yesterday with some errands and thought, “What an incredible city – life, culture, buildings, song and dance – the whole nine yards.”

Moderated Session last night and thought, “So many good and decent folk, servants of the most high God, working hard to be faithful.”

And, then I thought about my thoughts – and what it is to have eyes that see, senses that feel, and a heart for the things of God.

Pray that my eyes remain good, my senses appreciative and my heart devoted to the things of God.

I’ll pray that for you, too.

Count Your Blessings ...

As the hymn puts it:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Ordinarily, we “count our blessings” by noting what God has done for us … and they are many, of course: from the breath of life to the hope of eternity, from the smell of freshly brewed coffee to the delight of a pepperoni pizza – and the gift of the church of Jesus Christ, the Bible, pastors and missionaries; sun rise over the mountains, the crash of ocean waves; the arc of gull’s wing, the buzz of a bee, and a couple of billion other things, great and small.

But I’d like to take this notion of counting on a slightly different tact.

Count the good and decent things YOU’VE DONE over the years, and will likely do today: kindly words spoken to a friend in need; a more than generous check given to the LORD's work; every prayer you’ve said for family and friends; a smile given to the young lady behind the counter; a dollar bill given to a homeless man on the street; the mission trip you went on; a time when your shared your faith with a friend; all those times when you walk humbly with God, when you do just things for the folks on the other end of the stick, when you stand tall for Christ and let his light shine through your life; when mercy and love and tenderness pour out of your heart – these and a couple of million other things, great and small.

So, count your blessings today, name them one by one, and it will surprise what the LORD hath done THROUGH YOU!