Exciting News.

We have exciting news! Our son (Chris), daughter in law (Alicia), and our precious grandson (Andrew) will visit with us in Sioux Falls June 1-4. We can hardly wait till Thursday. And then, we can hardly wait till Sunday so we can introduce Andrew to you. You prayed faithfully for him during those very hard days when we were unsure about his future. I asked you in December to pray for a miracle--and we believe we have it. He is now ten months old and for the first time is a healthy and happy little guy.

At one point in recent months, Brenda and I named people and/or churches in fifteen states who were praying for Andrew. I have heard other people over the years share how needed encouragement came as the result of such prayer efforts. It is a true testimony. We were, and still are, blessed by the persuasive energy that comes when believing people raise to God needs and thanksgiving.

Years ago I read Dr. George Buttrick's very fine volume entitled, "Prayer." I was impressed with his defintion. Prayer, he said, is developing 'comradeship' with God. Herein lies the entirety of our faith. Our God is One to whom we can draw near. God has revealed Himself to us through Christ and Scripture. And this Great God wants a personal relationship with each of us. Is that mindboggling--or what?

Have a great day. Talk later. LM

Quiet Time

I mentioned in an earlier missive my spiritual habit of a daily quiet time. Years ago, I heard from others of the joy such a discipline brings. Yet it has only been in recent years that it happened for me. What I have discovered is that I am more of a mystic than I ever imagined. I truly enjoy, yea need, a time each day for quiet reflection. I have to admit that the quiet time has never erased the difficulties of life I have faced. Hard times have still been hard times. But even on the most difficult days, the quiet time has been like an oasis of refreshment.

Here's how I do it. I rise early each day...before anyone else in our home is up. A cup of coffee is prepared and then I settle into my study at home. I begin with a relaxation exercise that was taught to me by Dr. Edward Thornton, my pastoral care professor at Southern Seminary some years ago. The few moments of relaxation help calm the spirit and create within a readiness for introspection. I then begin to read the Bible--at times in a systematic approach and at times randomly. The reading time will vary. And here is where my theology comes in. I believe the Bible truly is the Word of God to us. As such, the Bible is constantly speaking God's message. As I read, I am listening intently to hear what God is saying. After listening to God's Word, then I respond to what I sense God has said in His Word. Thus, my prayer life seeks to hear God speak first and then I respond--rather than I speak first and expect God to respond to me. It just works better that way for me.

I also have on the piano a number of hymnals...some that go back to childhood days. A hymn is chosen each day, one that has appeal to my spirit, which I sing "in my heart" (which means silently so as not to arouse the sleeping family...nor to disburb the chickens!). The words of the hymn, and its melody, touch deep chords of memory that daily bring back to mind experiences of faith in the past. Such memories, and reflections on them, have become true joyful resources for my living. The classic hymns of faith simply can't be replaced!

Toward the end of my prayer time I collect thoughts around all the persons on my prayer list. This list is quite lengthy. And I pray for each person and/or need with an honest request to God about what I want to happen, what I want God to do. God expects honesty from us. If I ask for anything less than what is in my heart then I am not honest.

The quiet time is ended with a brief time of listening again. Is there something else God wants me to hear today? Is there something God wants specifically for me to do today?

Each believer needs to develop a unique quiet time. Mine isn't what yours needs to be. But you can develop your own discipline of quiet--and I hope you will. Great rewards are there.

Blessings. Talk later. LM

Some Balance in Life

As I continue reading the "code" book, which has drawn me into its story line filled with action and intrigue (and at neck break speed), I am also re-reading the old classic by Henry David Thoreau about his two-year stint (1845-1847) at Walden Pond. Had not looked at, or even thought about Walden, for many years. But it is a great read and helps put in perspective this driven and sometimes crazed world in which we live. Perhaps it is nostalgia but the call to a more simplified life has always held a certain alure to me. I admire Thoreau for forcing upon himself the contemplative life.

I think at times that our world could stand a bit of slowing down. It's not that I want to slow it down so much that it would stop, but just enough to allow our minds, emotions, relationships, and purposes in life to be rethought...and settled. But I realize such a thing isn't about to happen any time soon. The speed of modern life will go on--despite my objections.

And so, for me, if I am to live in the driven world of the 21st century, I must have some quiet time each day. Quiet time isn't wasted time; instead, it has become an essential ingredient in the balance of my life. I'll write more about this another day--and let you in on my quiet time routine.

Talk later. LM

Brenda is home. After 5 1/2 months away, during which she provided care for our infant grandson in Arkansas, she has made it back to Sioux Falls. These were tense and difficult days, especially when we were uncertain that Andrew would survive. Now it appears that he is finally a healthy little boy...and we are thrilled. Sure is good to have Brenda, my best friend, back by my side.

We will make one other trip South this summer. Our former church, Parkview Baptist Church in Monroe, LA, has invited us back for the 60th anniversary celebration on July 2. We were with that marvelous congregation for sixteen years. Our children were baptized there and grew through their teen years under the loving influence of many good and godly friends. It will be good to celebrate with them once again.

I came away from last evening's Church Council meeting thrilled at the level of energy emerging from that group. First Baptist Church of Sioux Falls is a marvelous congregation, with a grand history of ministry, and with a developing sense of its future. I look forward to the days ahead.

Well, that's enough for today. Talk later. LM

Jason Folkert's posted comment is interesting. Of the three sermons in the "Fact or Fiction" series for June, Jason suggests that the last on the nature of the church is most significant. The three-part series, in response to questions rasied by "The DaVinci Code," declares Jesus is truly the Son of God, that the Bible is truly the Word of God, and that the church is truly the Body of Christ in the world today. These three issues appear to me basic to the nature of Christian faith.

What about the church? There are some that I know, including some pastors, who see the church as only an avenue to address the issues of life most important to them. It provides a venue, a pulpit, from which to speak and a salary. Beyond that the church seems problematic to them. The matter of church as Christ's Body seems not to enter in.

Here's a thought. Is it too much to ask that as believers we are not only servants of Jesus Christ but also servants of His Church? Does yielding to the church stand in opposition to yielding to Jesus? And does a valid definition of "church" include the oft suspicious "institutional" church? After all, how would we who believe today even have a gospel to believe if not for the church's centuries old institutional existence?

Food for thought. Any comments?

LM

"Fact or Fiction?" That's the title of a three-part sermon series I will deliver the last three weeks of June. After watching the national news media go ballistic about the "discovery" of the Judas Gospel a few weeks ago, and in light of the voluminous sales of "The Da Vinci Code" and the opening next week of the movie version, I thought it would be good to address the major questions these media promotions are asking. There are, in my opinion, three major queries being raised and I will attempt to address one each week in the series. Here are the questions:

First, is Jesus Christ really the Son of God and the Savior of the world--or is he not? The historic creeds of the church declare he is, but how do we know? How has God revealed to us the nature of His Son? What of the so-called Gnostic gospels, and how we understand the myriad images they present of Jesus?

Second, is the Bible the Word of God--or is it not? It would be helpful if we Christians knew more about how we got our Bible. Did it just drop out of heaven one day leather bound and in gold leaf? Why do we consider a document from antiquity, the Bible, our sole source of authority for contemporary life and theology?

Third, is the Church the Body of Christ--or is it not? For many people, the church (especially the institutional church) has a credibility problem. Some suggest the church has a hidden agenda which is self-serving. How do we see ourselves as servants of Jesus Christ--and simultaneously servants of the church?

It should be fun. Talk later.
LM

Mother's Day is Sunday. Over the years, the celebration has taken on different looks. As a youngster at Boughton Baptist Church, Prescott, AR, those of us with living mothers wore red carnations. Those whose mothers were deceased wore white carnations. In worship,we sang, "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again." Speeches were made by children and youth expressing gratitude to their mothers. Acknowledgment and gifts were awared to the youngest mother, the oldest mother, and the mother with the most children. We celebrated motherhood.

In later years, however, Mother's Day was for Brenda and me one of the saddest days of the year. It forced us to face squarely our perdicament of childlessness. That hurt is unbelievable to those who have never been there, but to us (and to thousands of other couples across the country) it defined our very existence. Our first thirteen years of marriage were without children. After several years of infertility treatment, one miscarriage midway through a pregnancy, and two failed adoption attempts, we were at wit's end. You can see why our three children, Chris, Ashley, and Nick, mean so very much to us today. We celebrate Mother's Day, and all the good things about family, but are always mindful of others who we sense are suffering, as we were, the hurt that day brings.

Mothers and fathers, let's rejoice that God has given us the opportunity to share in the ongoing work of creation--and to nurture the life God has brought to us as gift!

Talk later. LM

I'm reading "The Da Vinci Code." Thought I should read it, along with the other 40 million who have done so, especially if I am going to talk about it in days to come. I put off reading it as long as I could--mostly because I have an aversion to spending money on something that funds idologies I oppose. (That's why I don't see many movies--can't see the sense of supporting the overpoweringly influencial Hollywood industry that has done more to marginalize traditional values than any other single thing, in my opinion.) I was loaned the book by Denise Kjesbo and have enjoyed the read so far.

Back to the topic at hand. This is an exciting book. I can see how it will be a blockbuster movie. It is filled with mystery and intrigue, is well written, and mixes just enough factual material to make it appear to be more than the fictional novel it is.

I'll speak more about it in the days to come. Suffice it to say that any book, movie, sermon, etc., can carry with it a level of authority equal only to the credibility of sources from which the communication derives. "The Da Vinci Code" is imagnative fiction founded on sources centuries removed from the days of earliest Christianity--and many of those interpreted wrongly.

I'll not condemn the book. Instead, I think it may lead to opportunities for learning for the Christian community. This may open needed discussion among us as to how we arrived at the canon of the Bible we so honor, the matter of the Bible's authority in Christian living, the true nature of 'spiriutality,' and the place of the church in the 21st century. It may also open opportunities for our witness to unbelievers as these same questions are asked, probed, and answered.

Talk later.

Blogging? Me?

Blogging? Me? Who would have thought it! But here it is. This is quite a feat, a humbling moment, for one who entered into the computer and internet age involuntarily--actually I entered kicking and screaming in opposition. But thanks to the gentle encouragement of others, especially Scott Aseltine here at First B, I have ventured, albeit awkwardly, into this bold new world.

Herein lies the theme for today. My experience of faith, I think like most believers, has been the pilgrimage out of the comfortable and familiar and into new arenas of challenge and unfamiliarity.

Take for example the past five months during which my dear wife, Brenda, has been absent from Sioux Falls while providing care for our infant grandson, Andrew, through these crucial early months of his life. Brenda's lengthy stay has been in response to his health needs arising from being born 10 weeks early. I'm glad to report that at the age of 9 months, he is as far as we know a healthy little guy. Brenda will return to SF after our daughter-in-law graduates from Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, on May 13. During or 36 years of marriage, we have never been apart for more than a day or two at a time--but this has been something else!

These past months have taught me a lot. I'm tempted to boast about my newly aquired domestic skills: cooking, washing, cleaning house, and ironing. Yet I realize that after one substantial blaze in the kitchen, several scorched shirts, and unnumbered fabric stains from the wash any boast would be hyperbole. I have learned that I can get along in life under such circumstances, but just getting along is hardly a life of joy.

I miss my wife. And what I really miss is not the household concerns but the companionship we have had over the years. Sharing the events of the day via cell phone is hardly the same as sitting down at table together and talking heart to heart. There is within me a new and deeper appreciation for Brenda--not for what she does but for who she is! Her absence has affirmed the significance of one of my favorite Bible verses, this from Genesis 2:18, "The Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man be alone.'" I want to add my amen.

But the greater learning has been elsewhere. When I held Andrew's tiny hand in the early weeks of December and looked intently into his beautiful eyes, I felt myself gazing into a holy place. I felt very near that frightening precipice, very near death, and on the edge of eternity. When I flew out of Little Rock in mid-December, I thought I would never see him again alive. Two things. First, I came to say in my heart of hearts that I would rejoice in the gift of this precious baby's life regardless of what happened. I loved him and would continue to love him. Life and love, I came to know, are stronger than the threats that come against us. Secondly, I discovered again, at quite an intimate level, that God's grace truly is sufficient. This was not my call. And without knowing how this would end, I came to repeat over and again the powerful words of Romans 8:28: "In all things, God works to bring about good to those who love him...those called according to his purpose." Perhaps the good has not yet been realized in full, but I give thanks for the good that has come this far!

Well, that's what is on my mind just now. Talk later. LM