Confirmation/Memorial Day

Yesterday was Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember and honor our nation’s war dead. I wrote a little something about Memorial Day last year, and since you can reference that entry here in the blog (May 24, 2008), I’m not going to repeat myself. Thinking of Memorial Day, I recognize and salute the commitment of every man and woman currently serving in our armed services, and I pray that their training will help protect them from the dangers and enemies they face… but I’m not writing about them.

Instead, I’m going to write about those young men and women who, with only the most “basic” of training, are sent out to engage a fiendishly clever enemy who is only intent on their destruction.

This Sunday was Confirmation Sunday at Messiah Lutheran Church here in Yorba Linda, California. We follow the traditions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), so most children are baptized as infants, and then receive instruction in their faith as children in Sunday school (preschool through 6th grade). In 7th grade, they begin their Confirmation instruction, which is completed at the end of their 8th grade year. Confirmation instruction usually consists of (at most) a couple of hours, one night a week. In really committed families, that might include an hour of worship each week. Toss in some community projects, group outings, and other fellowship opportunities, and the most committed of them will have… at best… 6 months of training spread over 2 years. All of this culminates in a public “Confirmation” of their faith, the beginning of their adult walk with Christ, and the stirring up of God’s Holy Spirit in their hearts.

While our 10:15 service was in progress, they began to arrive, get into their robes, and mill about with the excitement and enthusiasm of youth. Having been the storyteller for Sunday school for a very long time, I knew most of these young people; I had watched them grow up in the church. A few asked me, and then were genuinely pleased when I told them I was going to attend the entire Confirmation service. It hit me that our fellowship community was making an impact, when I saw young people as excited to have members of their spiritual family come to their Confirmation, as they were about members of their biological family. Then it hit me that we couldn’t make an impact unless the Holy Spirit was active in our fellowship. Then I realized that God’s Holy Spirit is only alive in us when we are open to being led by the Spirit. These 25 young people were saying: “YES, I’m open to be led by God’s Spirit.”

These are young people who know who they are: children of God, marked by the cross of Christ, and sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit… ready to make their own decision to profess their faith and to begin their own adult walk with Christ.

How many of these young people realized that they have just been transported to the front lines of a spiritual war? A war they are hardly aware of. A war the enemy wages 24/7/365 with lies, propaganda, and empty promises. I looked at their faces before they filed in for the service and I saw the faces of children… ill prepared to face such a cruel and devious enemy.

But then, after publicly professing their faith together, each confirmand came forward with their family. As each confirmand in turn came forward, they knelt, and their family laid hands on them as Pastor Bob took hold of each one and asked God to stir up the Holy Spirit in each one of them. No doubt, God’s Holy Spirit can protect them far better than anything I can do, but I also know that in fellowship, God’s people are stronger.

What are we doing to draw them into regular fellowship at Messiah? That is a question we ask ourselves all the time, but I wonder… how relatable is our regular fellowship to those who are 14 to 25? Are we alive in the Spirit for everyone? How can we get the young people to be a part of fellowship on a regular basis? Hmmm… we just asked God to stir up the Holy Spirit in each of them… perhaps we should ask them?

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

PUSH

I first bumped into the following sometime around 2004. I have been (thus far) unable to determine who authored it. I’d like to give proper credit to the original author, so if you have information about who might have written the piece, please contact me.

PUSH

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and the Lord appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.

The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. The man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might.

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, worn out, and feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing signs of discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it," thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible, and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough." And that is what he planned to do, until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, using all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back is sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.

When a friend disillusions you… PUSH
When you lose your job… PUSH
When you are tired and battle worn… PUSH
When you are accused and are innocent… PUSH
When all looks dark around you… PUSH
When you are weary with the world… PUSH
When all hope seems to be lost… PUSH
When you feel like giving up… PUSH

P.U.S.H. - Pray Until Something Happens!!!!!

What is it that is on your heart where YOU need to PUSH?

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Your Faith Story

Last Saturday, May 09, 2009, Messiah hosted another in our Equipping Workshop Series. I’ve written about these in the past, and continue to encourage you to do whatever it takes to attend this wonderful ongoing workshop series. This one was titled: “Finding YOUR Faith Story” and it was facilitated by Dr. Ron Baesler (better known to us at Messiah as Pastor Ron).

Ron is a great teacher, and a wonderful storyteller. He challenged us in many ways throughout the workshop. Don’t we all love stories? We’re quick to talk about our children or where we went on vacation. There’s so much in our lives we’re anxious to share with others. But how often do we speak of our faith? Many people don’t even touch the subject of faith outside of church. YOUR faith story has been developed specifically for YOU by God. It may be a simple and ordinary tale or a complex and extraordinary adventure. Just think for a moment: How have you experienced God’s love in your life? Who has made a difference in your faith journey? When have you been surprised by God? Everyone has many unique and beautiful stories to tell.

As part of being a Christian, it is vitally important to have YOUR faith story “in your heart” ready to share when the opportunity presents itself. Ron led us through a morning of self discovery, we shared our faith stories with one another, and I believe that all of us came to a greater realization of just how active God is in our lives.

The workshop finished up with the testimony and singing of Stacey Baltes. Stacey is an incredibly gifted singer/songwriter who received Jesus as her Lord and savior about ten years ago… and He has ROCKED her world ever since! As Stacey poured out her faith story, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. What a fantastic story of redemption and love; what a wonderful testimony she shares. She then pulled out her guitar and performed “Walk by Faith”, a song that is part of her faith story. I was so moved that I determined I was going to include her singing in the blog somehow. It wasn’t easy, but after a week of file hang-ups and crashes here it is:

http://www.staceybaltes.com/audio/STACEY_BALTES-Walk_by_Faith-2.m3u

Be patient, it sometimes takes a minute or two to load music files. I’ve included the lyrics for Walk by Faith, so you can sing along if you like (or just follow along… LOL!).

Walk by Faith
©2006 Stacey R. Baltes

If you can’t see where you’re going
If you’re not sure where you are
Don’t be afraid Jesus is with you
A light in the dark He’ll lead the way

We walk by faith not by sight
He is our hope in the darkness
Jesus is there right by your side
We walk by faith not by sight

If the road looks rugged and rocky
If you have never been there before
Don’t be afraid Jesus is with you
A light in the dark He’ll lead the way

We walk by faith not by sight
He is our hope in the darkness
Jesus is there right by your side
We walk by faith not by sight

There’s a cloud of witnesses
Surrounding you today
Moses and all the rest
They’re calling out your name

Run, run your race
No one can run quite like you
Run, run your race
Run your race run it through

One more thing: don’t forget that your faith story is continuing to evolve every single day. Be attentive to how God continues to be active in your life, and be ready to share your faith story. You never know when you might meet an Ethiopian… like Philip did (Acts 8: 29-40).

Your brother in Christ,

Dave

Love One Another

On Wednesday (4/29/2009) we dedicated the new fountain and sculpture. It was a beautiful spring day, and several hundred people came to share in free food, live music, and the blessing and dedication of Messiah Lutheran Church’s new face to the community. I had an incredible day. From the comments I heard, and the smiles on all the faces, apparently a whole lot of other people had a great time during an extended lunch hour.

It was incredible… to see the dream of one family become a reality; from their dream, to a shared vision, to planning, to presentation, to permits, to construction, to dedication, and finally to a reality in our community. It really was incredible to experience!

It was incredible… to see the naysayers in our own church community come to harrumph and scoff and complain, and then leave shaking their heads and murmuring: “It’s not bad.”

It was incredible… to listen to the stream of people from the community, who are not members of our fellowship here at Messiah, as they left the dedication. I was on the street, working parking (what else is new), and I heard visitors say things like:

“I saw it being built, and had to come see; it’s beautiful!”
“Pastor Bob's dedication moved me."
"Now I understand the inscription.”
“The cross and the fountain move me.”
“Thanks you! The fountain challenges me to love more.”
“This is now the favorite part of my commute.”
“This is great! Are you sure you guys are a church?”

In letters big enough to see from a passing car, the street side of the fountain says:

“LOVE ONE ANOTHER”

While the side that faces our campus, the side we see when we leave our campus and return to the world, reminds us to:

“LOVE GOD – LOVE ONE ANOTHER”

When the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris, there were plenty of people who complained that it was too big and that it was ugly. When the Getty Museum was being built in Los Angeles, I remember how people wailed and complained that the 5 billion dollars it took to build it could have been used to better purposes. Today, both of those places attract millions of people every year. People are attracted to fountains, sculpture, and architecture. For the most part, those that come are moved. They find that their hearts are gladdened, and that their souls are lifted. Certainly, we didn’t build an Eiffel Tower or a Getty Center. We built an attractive fountain to present a beautiful face to our neighbors… rather than just another bleak parking lot. And we topped our fountain with a sculpture of a cross; a reminder of who we are, and who we follow.

Jesus commanded us to “Love God, and love one another.” With our fountain, we share that bit of good news with our community… and the world. I had one visitor ask me if I thought that the fountain would attract more people to our church. I chuckled, and told him:

“Having a beautiful fountain doesn’t attract people. Neither does having a new Community Life Center, or a remodeled sanctuary, or anything else our campus has to offer. What attracts people is a fellowship that is alive in God’s Spirit… that’s what attracts people. Why not join us this Sunday, and see for your self?”

If he does join us this Sunday, are we ready for him? I believe so. I believe that we have been living the words we so boldly placed on our fountain. I believe that we truly do love one another!

Your brother in Christ,

Dave