Practice, Practice, Practice...

Psalm 33: Practice, Practice, Practice

There is a really old joke about a young musician that was asked to play in New York City. He had never been there before, so when he got to the city, he stopped an old man on the street and asked him, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?".  The wise old man, just shook his head and quietly answered, "Practice, practice, practice."

One of the tasks I have set for my retirement days is to improve on my musical skills. When you play for worship, there is a certain anointing that comes. When all goes well, the anointing takes the various skills of the worship worship team and produces an atmosphere of praise and worship for the congregation. However, each musician must bring a certain amount of skill to the band to be able to blend into the whole worship experience. Now my problem is; musical skill requires practice, and there doesn't seem to be any anointing for practice!

I searched the scriptures, but the word "practice" is not used in the sense of repeating and exercising to improve a skill.  The closest I could find is in Hebrews 5 where it talks about the spiritually mature person practicing to be able to discern good and evil: 

Hb 5:12,14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ... 

14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Other scriptures encourage us to practice discipline, like an athlete preparing for a match:

1 Cor 9 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave,

(See Lk 18:5)

The scriptures do talk about skillful musicians. For example, David was called to King Saul's palace because he was a skilled musician and his harp playing was able to sooth the king's bad moods.  

1 Sam 16:16b Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp;...

1 Sam 16:23 So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

What it doesn't say is how David became a skilled player.  There are stories about how David watched the sheep and killed the lion and bear, but nowhere does it say that he practices playing the harp.  Certainly, he must have spent hours playing for the sheep. Now when you think about it, sheep would make a pretty good practice audience. They can't boo or hiss, they can only “baaa, baaa” their approval!  

This is not unprecedented in our times. One of my Bible teachers, Ern Baxter, was called to ministry as a young man in the wilds of western Canada. There were not many people there, so he practiced by preaching to the cows. He says he is not sure if any of them got saved, but they did listen intently! I'm sure David's sheep listened as well. I mean, what else did they have to do?

So, where does that leave us? I think we just have to assume that practice is required; it’s just one of those things you have to do. Some things require discipline and don’t seem to have any particular anointing until the end result is realized. My hope is that I will be able to keep at it and practice every day so that I will be able to play skillfully, and thus participate with the Psalmist in Psalms 33 as we participate in the eternal praise that flows up to the throne of God.

Ps 33:2-3 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings. 

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

Amen

Waiting

Waiting and Psalms

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 37:34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

Waiting rooms... Beep, beep, beep of medical instruments... Hospital smells... Doctors and nurses are reassuring, but still you wait...

Why is waiting so hard? Even when you have faith in God and confidence in the doctors, still waiting is hard. What if something goes wrong? What if it really hurts?  What if... what ifs are never good for your confidence, but hard to avoid none the less.

We used to sing Psalm 27 in the early days in the church. Of course then, we didn't really know much about waiting and patience. Forty years later we've had a lot more experience at waiting, but it is still not easy. And patience... that is the virtue that you don't want to ask for, because the Lord might answer your prayer!  Psalm 40 promises that the Lord will hear our prayer if we wait patiently, but what if we wait impatiently? (That is actually my wife's contribution as she was waiting for the anesthesiologist to put her under for surgery) That's actually a good question though. I think it is possible to waste our suffering by being impatient, by grumbling and complaining, and worst of all, by becoming bitter. Hebrews 12:15 tells us be be careful that no root of bitterness take hold because that can cause all sorts of problems.

To me, the sign of a true believer, when they get older, is how they respond to the inevitable difficulties of life. We all know those older saints who react to every problem with a smile and a prayer and always seek to encourage those around them, even when they are in pain. On the other hand, we also know too many older people who have grown bitter and resentful. They are a sad case and you can never do enough for them; they are never happy. Lord help me to age with grace and humility and protect me from that root of bitterness. I have heard it said that bitterness can not only ruin your attitude, but can actually cause diseases such as arthritis.

So waiting patiently seems to be a really good thing, and is something that is worthwhile mastering. We don't like the process, but the end results are worth the wait. So Lord, help me to wait patiently, and to be an encourager to those in pain, and a support to those in need. Help me to appreciate, on this Good Friday, the suffering and pain that you endured on the cross for us, and help us to be a comfort to those suffering around us

Inheriting the Land and Psalm 37

Psalm 37 - Inherit the Land

Psalm 37:9b... those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.Psalm 37:11But the humble will inherit the landAnd will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.Psalm 37:22For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,But those cursed by Him will be cut off.Psalm 37:29The righteous will inherit the landAnd dwell in it forever.

As I was saying in my last blog, we've had a little setback in the Brillhart household this week. We had planned to be in Texas preparing to occupy family land. But instead, we have been spending the week in hospitals and doctors offices. Is there a message in this for us? I was praying about it today and Psalms 37 came to mind. Now that is not at all unusual, as that is one of my favorite psalms, but I noticed something different in it today about inheriting the land.

First of all, in verses 9, there is that dreaded phrase "wait for the Lord". When was the last time you were glad to hear someone tell you that you needed to wait for the Lord? If you are like me, waiting is not your favorite activity. "But wait! There's more..." to quote a famous commercial line... verse 9 continues by saying that those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land. Now it is my father-in-law's intention that we inherit his land, and it is our intention that we should be close to family to take care of our aging parents, but what about the timing?

In verse 11, the Psalmist continues saying that the humble will inherit the land and will have abundant prosperity. There is something about waiting that encourages humility. Taking over our family land is a great blessing but also a great responsibility. There is a price to pay, not only in dollars and cents, but also in time and effort. We will have to humble ourselves in order to serve and care for our parents in their latter years, and even preparing the house for the move will cost a great deal. Maybe falling from a ladder is a sign that we need to proceed cautiously, though not fearfully. Passover is a good time to remember that the Israeli people were delivered from Egypt and inherited a good land, but it cost them a great deal to occupy the promised land. Those who grumbled and complained instead of being humble and grateful perished in the desert and never made it in.

Verse 22 tells us that inheriting the land is a great blessing from the Lord, but to be careful, since there is also a curse for those who don't measure up. We need to be careful to put the Lord first and acknowledge that the inheritance is His land and to treat it appropriately. Joshua led the people into the promised land, but they needed to inquire of the Lord before every battle to learn the Lord's strategy and plan for each encounter. Likewise, we need to proceed humbly, letting the Lord lead us a we proceed to occupy our destiny.

Finally, in verse 29, the Psalmist tells us that the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. Think about it a minute. I want to occupy the family land in Texas, but I don't want to live there forever. My forever home is elsewhere, and the Psalmist is reminding us of that fact here.  We are just sojourners in this land, as beautiful and blessed as it is, it is still temporary. The land we want to dwell in forever is a heavenly land where we can worship the Lord continually without end. Therefore, we need to keep our eyes focused on the ultimate goal and live our lives here accordingly. We need to possess the land of our inheritance with patience, humility and wisdom, but with an attitude of worship to prepare us for our eternal inheritance with our Father who is in heaven.

Psalm 6, My Bones are Vexed

Psalm 6, My Bones are Vexed

Psalm 6:2-3 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak:O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.3 My soul is also sore vexed:but thou, O Lord, how long?  KJV

We had a little setback in the Brillhart household this week. We've been sorting and cleaning out things in preparation for our move. My wife was putting a bin up onto a high shelf when she fell from the step stool and broke her arm. We are both grateful that she wasn't hurt worse, but this is definitely a vexing situation.

King David describes some dire situation that he went through in Psalm 6. How often do life's circumstances make us feel week? Do we question the Lord like David did: "O Lord, how long?" Is our soul troubled along with our physical troubles? If so, we are in good company, as good King David expressed the same thoughts and emotions.

Is there a reason that we get injured and our plans are disrupted for eight weeks or do these things just happen? Is there a purpose for our pain and suffering or is that just part of life? And most importantly, how do we react when bad things happen?

The psalmist continues to moan and complain some more, but in the end he concludes:

9 The Lord hath heard my supplication;the Lord will receive my prayer.10 Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed:let them return and be ashamed suddenly. Psalm 6:9-10 KJV

I am no expert on pain and suffering, but I think we will do well if we finally come to the same place and thank the Lord for hearing our prayers. We don't always know the details of the process, but in the end we know that our enemies, death and disease, will be defeated and it will be this enemy that will be vexed. But in the meantime, even though we have pain and are vexed, we can hope in the Lord and pray for comfort and healing. So we say "Thank you Lord", even when our bones are vexed and things just aren't going our way. Maybe that's all we were meant to do anyway.

Retirement and Parents

Retirement and Parents

1 Timothy 5:3-4 (NKJV) 3 Honor widows who are really widows.4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.

Leviticus 19:32 (NKJV) 32 'You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.

Baby boomers are a sandwich generation. Our children are somewhere in the generation X to millennial generation groups, and may or may not be entirely self sufficient. On the other hand, our parents, those who are still living, are in the Greatest Generation. They are very proud and self sufficient; but now are getting to the age where they can no longer be self sufficient. What to do?

On the first item, hundreds of books have been written, and I don't have anything to add. You just have to "train up a child in the way he should go" and be ready to let go and trust God when it's time for them to grow up. That sounds simple, but it's a lot harder that it sounds. Too many of us have been "helicopter parents" and it comes as quite a shock to us when it comes time to let go. That's why it takes faith to be a parent. Only God can keep an eye on those precious ones as they fly off on their own.

Now aging parents are a different case. You look up to them and rely on them for decades, then one day you turn around and everything is different. The can-do dad suddenly becomes the one needing help to get anything done. The forever comforting mom is the one that needs care and comfort. That in itself is hard enough to adjust to, but is made harder when the parents don't realize, or perhaps just don't accept, that they are the ones that need help now. How do you help the one who has always helped you and doesn't realize that they are now the ones needing help?

Paul instructs Timothy to teach the church to take care of parents: "... show piety at home and to repay their parent; for this is good and acceptable before God." This is in accord with the tradition of Moses who taught that "you shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man...". Thus we have it on good authority that taking care of our aging parents is the right thing do do, but this doesn't necessarily give us any guidance on how to do that. 

Maybe there is a key in the way that Moses uses the word "honor". A child in diapers and an incontinent old person need some of the same kind of care, but the elderly one is due a measure of honor and respect that you wouldn't necessary accord to the child. That's where it gets hard, continuing to give honor when it gets difficult to help, and especially when that help doesn't seem to be appreciated. The parents probably will even resent the fact that they need help from the very ones that they have loved and cared for for decades. Growing old can get messy!

As I said earlier, I don't have any answers, I just pray that God gives me the wisdom and patience to be able to render tender care and honor at the same time. It's hard but I think the Lord will reward any efforts we make to take care of our parents... with honor.

Proverbs and Retirement Planning

Retirement Planning- Proverbs

Pr 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone,
for they surely make wings for themselves,
and fly off into the sky like an eagle!

Pr 25:33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,
34 and your poverty will come like a bandit,
and your need like an armed robber.”

One of the most stressful things about retirement is financial planning. You want to be able to enjoy your retirement and do the things you’ve been wanting to do, but you don’t want to outlive your money and end up penniless either.  I suppose it’s all a matter of balance… and faith, of course.

The writer of Proverbs tells us that this is not a new problem. In Pr 23:4-5, the wise man tells us not to work yourself to death since riches are just going to sprout wings and fly away anyway. This pretty much sums up the worries we have about wanting to rest from our labors but still have enough money to live off of. It sure does seem like money can take wing and fly away like the eagle, or in our times, like the Wall Street bear and bull.  You just never know when they are going to take it all away!

On the other hand, the wise man says in Pr 25:33 that you shouldn’t be lazy. “A little sleep, a little slumber.. and your poverty will come like a bandit.” So work is a good thing, just not too much of it. But wise King Solomon does enjoin us to rest in Ecclesiastes:

Ec 4:6 Better is one handful with some restthan two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.

So let us work to get one handful, trusting in the Lord that it will be provision enough, and then rest.  We don’t want to be like the foolish man who chases after the wind to get two hands full, but ends up exhausted and, in the end, just sees all of his riches sprout wings and fly off anyway! As in most things in life, it all boils down to faith and trust.  Do  you really have faith in the Lord and trust Him to provide your daily bread, even when you don’t go out and labor for a paycheck any more? I hope that I have that kind of faith, but if you hear me worrying or complaining, just slap me up side the head and tell me to go read Proverbs. 😉

Work, Toil and Rest (Day 7)

Gen 2:2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.
Gen 3:17b ... cursed is the ground thanks to you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
Heb 4: 9-11 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 10 For the one who enters Godʼs rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works. 11 Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, ...
NET Bible

God rested from His work on the seventh day. Then he curse the ground and sentenced man to toil all the days of his life. But finally, in the new covenant, there is a Sabbath rest available, but it takes effort to enter that rest.  There is a mystery here.

The first point is that work is good. God worked six days to create the world. Every meaningful accomplishment requires work. In the technical sense, work is force applied over a distance, which means that effort is required to move forward. From various accounts of heaven we also understand that there will be work for us to do in heaven. I'm not exactly sure what it will be, but there will be something useful for us to accomplish there. So work, in itself, is good.

Second, after the fall, man was sentence to a life of toil and labor. There is something about having to scratch an existence from the ground that reminds us of original sin and the fall of man. So toil is difficult and is not intended to be pleasant. Even Saint Paul admonished that "If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” (2 Th 3:10). So if we are to eat, we must work.

Lastly, the Lord provided a sabbath for us to experience rest. Every seven days, we are to rest from our labors and worship the Lord. The writer of Hebrews also indicated that there is an additional sabbath rest that is related to redemption. Jesus was crucified, died, and rose on the third day to redeem us from the curse of the law. This is a mystery in the sense that it was hidden until the time that Jesus rose from the dead. But an additional mystery here is that the writer of Hebrews also indicates that it takes effort to enter that rest.  What are we to make of that?

Perhaps retirement is in some way a representation of this process. We must work to provide for our families, and it is toil and labor. But after a suitable period of faithful work, it is permitted to us to rest and enjoy the fruits of our labor, a sabbath rest, as it were. Even so, it requires some effort to dedicate that time of rest to the glory and worship of God.  I'm new to this retirement business, but I'm learning as I go along. So work, toil and rest... and we will understand the mystery of it by and by.

Wisdom and Boasting- 1 Cor 1 (Day 6)

1 Cor 1:30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written,“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

One of the advantages of being of retirement age is that you have accumulated a certain amount of wisdom. By living and working and experiencing life for over six decades, one accumulates things.  Some of those things are like the barnacles on the bottom of a ship that only serve to slow us down. Others are things that we have learned that have served useful over the years. Wisdom is actually formed by combining some of both. It is often said that knowledge is the learning of facts but that wisdom is learning how to apply that knowledge. It is on life's long journey, where we accumulate some barnacles, that we learn patience and understanding.  Without storms, we would not learn how to sail into the wind, and without resistance, we would never come to have strength. We learn from both the good times and the hard times.

I like to think that I have learned a little wisdom over the years.  I certainly have picked up lots of facts, both useful and useless. Maybe it's just wisdom to know which is which! Anyway, true wisdom comes from God, as Paul points out in his epistle to the Corinthians. To attain real righteousness, sanctification and redemption, we need to acknowledge that all wisdom comes from God. We have our accomplishments in life, but “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” True wisdom comes when we  develop a relationship with Christ Jesus.

Psalm 93- Testimony (Day 5)

Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength;Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.2 Your throne is established from of old;You are from everlasting.3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,The floods have lifted up their voice,The floods lift up their pounding waves.4 More than the sounds of many waters,Than the mighty breakers of the sea,The Lord on high is mighty.5 Your testimonies are fully confirmed;Holiness befits Your house,O Lord, forevermore.NASB

Sunday afternoon is testimony time at the Outback camp. It's always encouraging to hear the testimonies of the campers. All of the work that goes into putting on the camp is worthwhile when you hear the stories of what God has been doing in the lives of the campers. There are always many relationships healed, lives changed, souls saved and fears released.Though we were working hard, the Lord was working harder to save and change lives.

Which brings to mind my own testimony. We have been talking about retirement, so let me share a little of what God has done for me through my work experiences. The first point, the most important point, is that I have always faithfully given my tithes and offerings, and the Lord has always provided for us. Since my first job teaching at Triangle Tech in Pittsburgh, there has never been I time that I was without a job except for the couple of months that we took to move to Mobile in 1978. Even then, when we moved without having secured a new job, the Lord provided an excellent position for me at Scott Paper within two months of our move. Ten years later, when that company was just starting to have difficulties, a former boss offered my a better position at International Paper. The next year Scott Paper completely collapsed.  The Lord had rescued us before we even knew we needed to be rescued!  Through all of these years, we have been blessed both financially and with interesting work.

 Another aspect of my career that has been a great blessing is that I have had many opportunities to learn and to serve. I have participated in interesting projects, that were both intellectually challenging and produced a positive benefit to both the company and to individual employees. To me the most rewarding part of my career has been the many opportunity to help people solve problems. It was very gratifying in these last weeks to receive the thanks from many coworkers who were appreciative of the help that I provided to them over the years. It's tempting to get a big head over being the company expert in certain issues, but I give God all the glory for giving me the ability to understand complex issues and to solve problems that are perplexing to other folks.

A third blessing is that throughout my career, I have worked for companies and supervisors that have respected my beliefs and given me time to pursue ministry opportunities. The many mission trips to Central America would not have been possible without the  finances and time off provided my my employers. I have heard that some people have been criticized in their work place for their faith, but I have always been supported and encouraged by my supervisors and coworkers. That is indeed a blessing. In particular, International Paper has traditionally forced employees to move from mill to mill to advance in their career. For whatever reason, IP allowed me to remain in Mobile for 28 years, where I not only could participate in the ministry in the Gulf Coast area, but could also continue to advance in my career. God is good.

I'm sure that there are many other blessing that I could include in my testimony, but this is enough to demonstrate to you that God is good and He provides for His servants. If you are faithful to serve the Lord He will never let you down.  As the Psalmist says, 

I have been young and now I am old,Yet I have not seen the righteous forsakenOr his descendants begging bread. Ps 37:25

Gratitude - 1 Thessalonians 5 (Day 4)

1 Thes 5:16-18 Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is Godʼs will for you in Christ Jesus.NET Bible

This morning I was listening to my friend Bill give the Gratitude talk at the Outback camp. I was reminded of the importance of an attitude of gratitude. He told several stories of people who went through hard times; found God in those dark places, but were grateful none the less. Most importantly, he told the story of our friend Mike who gave the Gratitude talk last year, even in the midst of a battle against cancer. 

Mike had a wonderful attitude, and was always careful to be thankful to God in the midst of his struggles. Mike would say that he was grateful for cancer because it brought him closer to God. Not that he was glad to be sick, but through the struggle, he was able to come closer to God and his family than he ever was before. Mike was grateful and encouraging, even though he was in great pain, and indeed went directly to the hospital a few days later, and passed on shortly thereafter.

The next week, hundreds of people gathered at the same camp ground to celebrate Mike’s life and to share the encouragement that he had been.  His attitude of gratitude, even in the midst of terminal cancer, affected hundreds of people for the good.  His infectious attitude drew many hundreds of people to a closer walk with Jesus. What a testimony of a life lived for God, a life lived in gratitude.

What does that have to do with retirement you may ask? Well, retirement is just one of those important events in life; one in which there are gains and losses.  But even where there are losses and maybe even pain, it is important to be grateful to God the Father who leads us and guides us through all of life’s trials. We are grateful for the changes (and “all people regard all change as loss”, to quote a former pastor of mine) and are thankful for the changes that are worked in our life. We remember that all things work together for good for those who love Him, and are grateful. There are things about working at IP that I will miss, and people that I won’t be as close to, but I’m looking forward to the changes the the Lord will work in my life as I strive to face this transition with an attitude of gratitude.

Psalm 92- Retirement and Music (Day 3)

Ps 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,and thy faithfulness every night,3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery;upon the harp with a solemn sound. KJV

Retirement is about time. You're not on the clock for "the man", but have time to get in sync with eternity. Time and eternity; which brings me to worship. We talked yesterday about art reflecting the glory of heaven. Music and worship also reflects a bit of heaven, but in a different way. In my mind, true worship is opening your ear to the sounds of heaven and singing in harmony with the angels. We can't truly appreciate the heavenly worship though, since we are trapped in space and time, but Psalm 92 gives us a way to blend time and eternity; to show forth his love in the morning and his faithfulness at night, first one, then the other. For just as our earthy music is bound by rhythm, tempo and measure, our worship can be timed to alternate between the eternal aspects of heavenly praise: love, joy, peace, faithfulness, glory and awe. While the angels sing all the glorious attributes of God continually and eternally, we can sing one, then play another in it's turn, and in harmony. The ten stringed instrument is ten sounds in one, but is only music if all ten strings are in tune with one another. Thus we can blend the worship of all the magnificent attributes of God in harmony and in time.

It may seem like a small thing, but to me, the time to spend in praise and worship is a great blessing. In many ways, this life is just choir practice, and the more we get in tune with the heavenly choir now, the more easily we will slip across the great divide into heaven, when that time comes. The American way is for retirement to be a time to enjoy yourself, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, retirement is time to enjoy the Lord and to prepare to spend eternity with Him. Singing and playing Psalm 92 is a great way to give glory to the Lord. Can you sing along with me?

Psalm 92 has been much beloved through the years and has been set to music in various styles.  You can find many versions on YouTube.  Some examples:

70's Charismatic: Maranatha Singers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUk7LwKaLk

Israeli: Micha'el Eliyahu BenDavid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gayuWirxkY

Gospel: Wanda Barnes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9dwAzfQ-bI

Art in Retirement- Ex 31 (Day 2)

Ex 31:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in skill, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, 5 and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship.The NET Bible

The Scripture of the day is Exodus 31. In that passage, the Lord is explaining how to construct the ark and the tabernacle, and He begins by saying that he given certain individuals certain gifts to be able to create the beautiful fixtures. These artisans would be given the task of creating the tabernacle and all of its fixtures and implements which would, all together, form a representation of the great throne room in heaven.

This reminded my of a passage from C.S. Lewis’s, The Great Divorce. In this wonderful book, C.S. Lewis portrays a series of conversations between some recently departed spirits and their heavenly guides as they decide whether they would prefer to go to heaven or hell. One particular spirit had been a famous artist on earth. He was inspired by the sights he first say as he gazed into heaven and exclaimed “I should like to paint this.” His heavenly guide then explained to him that there was really no need for painting in heaven. 

The Spirit shook his head, scattering light from his hair as he did so. "That sort of thing's no good here," he said. "What do you mean?" said the Ghost. "When you painted on earth-at least in your earlier days-it was because you caught glimpses of Heaven in the earthly landscape. The success of your painting was that it enabled others to see the glimpses too. But here you are having the thing itself. It is from here that the messages came. There is no good telling us about this country, for we see it already. In fact we see it better than you do."  

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, Chapter 9

In my case, I will be doing a photo shoot for the Outback camp here in Mobile this weekend. In photography, as with working in gold and silver or in painting, these passages remind me that the goal to to represent heavenly beauty in an earthly form.  If we can catch a snap shot of the beauty of the earth in such a way that people get a glimpse of the true beauty of heaven, then we can inspire them to contemplate the goodness of God and the beauty of His creation. Just as the ancient artisans in Exodus were able to create a tabernacle the gave the people a place to worship that was a representation of heaven, so should we strive to create works of beauty that inspire worship of our heavenly Father. So there you have it.  Being retired for the second day now, I don’t have any work objectives, but I do have a task laid out for me.

Psalm 92- Thoughts on Retirement (Day 1)

Ps 92:12 The godly grow like a palm tree;

they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Planted in the Lordʼs house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

14 They bear fruit even when they are old;

they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.

15 So they proclaim that the Lord, my protector,

is just and never unfair.

NET Bible

I retired today, after 40 years, give or take, working in the paper mills... That sounds like a Biblical trial. But what are we to make of retirement? It's the American way, but what does the Bible have to say about retirement and old age? Consider Moses. He spent 40 years herding sheep in Midian until he "retired" and was called to be the deliver of Israel, and was the leader of the people for another 40 years. Or Joshua who spent 40 years following Moses around, until he "retired" from being an assistant and became the leader that led Israel into battle to take the promised land. So what to make of my 40 year journey and this transition?

In Psalm 92, the psalmist likens a godly old man to a tree. Given enough years, a palm tree can grow strong and lush in the desert, and a cedar can grow into a mighty and magnificent tree. Planted in the courts of the Lord, they grow true and strong. The promise here is that such a one will bear fruit and be filled with vitality even after growing old. I once had an older pastor friend who would often say "I'm not retired, I'm re-fired!”, and "the best is yet to come". Of course, I was young then and didn't pay enough attention to what he was saying. So now that I'm at that point, what is my story?

My sincere hope is that I will be one that bears fruit and has vitality in this season, and that I too will be able to proclaim that the Lord, my protector, is just and righteous. My life's calling has always been threefold: minister, musician and scientist, so I don't think that my purpose will be different, just a different balance. These last 40 years I've spent most of my time in the scientific arena dealing with computers, but in this next period, I will be able to focus more on ministry and music. If I'm able to abide in the courts of our God, like that palm, perhaps I'll see some of that abundant fruit.

What is Truth? Discourse in America

I was educated in the liberal arts tradition of public discourse, and I was trained in the scientific method. Both of these depend on all parties starting with a set of facts, or observations, and an agreed upon set of rules. With this foundation, you can argue either for or against the theory being proposed, but without this foundation you don't have a discussion, you just have an argument. In America today, I think we have lost the art of polite debate. George Orwell predicted this when he described a society in his book "1984" in which the meaning of words were reversed so that the people couldn't even think rationally about the issues of the day, never mind debate them in an intelligent and friendly manner. In “1984”, the "Ministry of Truth" was the propaganda arm of the government, much like the main stream press today. So if we can not even depend on the words being used, how can we know "what is truth?"

I have been very disturbed by the political discourse in this current campaign season. Much of it I have written off as "just politics", but lately I've been disturbed by the many lies being propagated against a local man that I've know, at least by reputation, for many years, who has been nominated for a high office. The arguments used to oppose his nomination do not line up with the facts of the matter, which are known to all in this community who have observed his lengthy career in public service in this community and state. How can you stand up for truth when the opposition refused to agree on the actual facts of the matter?

One critic, I encountered online, stated that the facts that I stated could not be true because I am a “straight, white, christian male”. What do race and gender have to do with the truth or falsehood of historical facts, you might ask? But I will acknowledge that religion may have some bearing on perception of truth.  I can’t speak for all religions, but the Judaeo/Christian tradition the only religious tradition that I am aware of that encourages one to ask the question “what is truth”.  This was the exact question the Pilot asked Jesus during his trial, described in the gospel of John 18:38. Jesus was not disturbed by the question in the slightest, but gave him an answer! In fact, a diligent search of the Bible will enable anyone to discover the answer to the question “what is truth”.

It is those in our society, who have rejected the Judaeo/Christian foundation of our society, who have trouble defining truth. We see this in scripture also.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul discussed those who “exchanged the truth of God for a lie”, and describes their fait in great detail. So we can see that the nature of people hasn’t really changed all that much in the last 2000 years, there are still those who seek the truth, and those who reject the truth, and even refuse to believe that their is a truth!

My plea then, to those who don’t understand me, or agree with me, is to at least be as open to discussion as those ancient greeks who congregated on Mars Hill to discuss the issues of the day.  In the book of Acts, chapter 17, we see where Paul was able to debate with them.  Not all agreed with him, but some among them were persuaded by his arguments and came to believe in God, as Paul did. But the starting place is to acknowledge that there is in fact objective truth, and we must begin by asking “what is truth?”.

John 18:38a Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”...

Rom 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen

Act 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. 

Act 17:20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)