restoration

This morning I read the words of Paul penned to the church in Galatia - Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 

My mind went to the religious elite of Jesus day. The example set by their actions opposes the words of Paul. Several times we find them eager for judgment, not caring a whit about the one caught in sin. At least twice they attempted to use someone in bondage as a tool to trap Jesus. Their concern seemed to be more about religious protocol. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Should we stone a woman caught in adultery as the law of Moses required? Furthermore, when Jesus ate a meal with the sinners, the religious leaders complained about His association with those who were "less than".  

The title of my last post several weeks ago sums it up pretty well - Some things don't change. Beverly recently had a conversation with a person who finds herself in the midst of a web of deceit and sin. Her comments to Bev was this - the church does not know what to do with people who have become entangled in sin. She also spoke of people, people that she knows, that struggle for freedom from sin. The judgmental attitudes of the religious hinder the open confession of sin that brings healing. As a result, their bondage strengthens.

I believe our attitude toward sin ought to be more like Jesus attitude. Jesus spoke harshly to the religious elite. Why? Because they attempted to hide their prideful judgmental attitude behind a facade of godliness. They were more interested in the preservation of their religious systems than in the restoration of people. In their mind, people that threatened their appearance of goodness were expendable, people to be discarded and rejected. Jesus rebuked them for the fact that they were a hindrance to people entering the realm of God.      

On the other hand, the "sinners" elicited a differant response from Jesus. While Jesus always freely pointed out their bondage, He also always spoke of restoration. He had no interest in the appearance of goodness. He had no concern about His reputation with religious elite. His stated purpose for coming was to seek and save the lost.

Since the sinners freely admitted their "lostness" they became candidates for abundant life. Conversely, the religious elite, in their smug goodness, had no need of a Savior. Anyone whose actions violated their religious code became a candidate, not for restoration, but for rejection.

In the past number of years, Bev and I have been involved in the restoration of a number of people. In every case, instead of working at restoration, the religious elite in the church opposed the restorative work of God. As I read the words of Paul this morning, I had to think of the words of almost everyone with whom we have been involved with God's restorative work. To a person they have communicated with us that it is the church that has been most hurtful and judgmental toward them.

Truly the harvest is ripe - If the realm of God is to be expanded, then let us heed the words of Paul.

some things don't change

This morning I read the account of Jesus' interaction with people as recorded in John chapter eight. Interestingly, these were people who believed Him.  As Jesus speaks words of truth, the interaction begins to deteriorate rather quickly. His words began to expose the condition of the heart of the listeners. In the place of exposure they searched for a way to discredit His words, for an excuse to discount the truth He spoke.

Their excuse for discounting the truth of which He spoke was his out of wedlock conception. Initially their comments rather vaguely alluded to the fact that Joseph was not his father. As the conversation progressed and Jesus words of truth continued to prick them, they became more pointed, accusing Him of being a Samaritan. (The implication was that He was not even a full-blooded Jew; that his mother had slept with a Gentile.) Instead of embracing the truth that could transform their heart, they chose to attack Jesus in an effort to validate their rejection of the truth.

And so it still is today. When pricked by transformational truth, people frequently look for a reason to reject the truth. Usually the reason for rejection is that the messenger is flawed, therefore his flaws allow for the rejection of the message. The flaws of the messenger do not change the truth in any way. Truth is truth. If we are to be transformed, then we must embrace the message in spite of our perception of the messenger

Posers

Jesus tells an interesting story in Matthew 13. As a read it today, once again I was struck by the severity of His words.  He starts it by saying “the kingdom of God is like…” He tells the story of a farmer who plants seed in his field and of the farmer’s enemy who sowed tares (literally “false grain”) into the field while the farmer slept. The tares grew along with the wheat and in the process raising questions about how to deal with the situation.


Jesus goes on to explain the meaning of the story later in Matthew 13. The field is the world. The wheat plants are the sons of the kingdom. The tares are the sons of the wicked one or the sons of wickedness. There will come a time of reckoning, a time of separation. In the meantime however, the two types of plants grow simultaneously.

We must understand that the two plants, while sown almost simultaneously and grown simultaneously, are fundamentally different. They have two completely different sources and two completely different destinations. At the core, at the root of their DNA, a basic dissimilarity exists.

I have noticed recently how fashionable it has become in Christian circles to use the following phrase – “he is still a brother in Christ” or “she is still a sister in Christ”. Really now?? Jesus clearly and repeatedly states that not everyone who names His name abides in His kingdom. The wheat and the tares have nothing in common except being in close proximity to each other. Wheat is wheat. Tares are tares. The kingdom of God has no fellowship with the kingdom of darkness.

Interestingly Jesus, in His explanation of the story, told the disciples that the tares are those who “practice lawlessness”. The implication is that the tares are those people who do things outside of ways of God. This is not talking about people who become ensnared in sin and need and desire restoration in their place of brokenness. Based on other scriptures where the word is used, it indicates that this lawlessness is most likely a conscious choice to live and act outside of God’s ways, usually while still attempting to put forth a façade of goodness. For instance, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were full of lawlessness.

If it quacks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, it is a duck. Posers are still posers, regardless of their efforts to present themselves as something else. Tares are not wheat. In the same way, those whose self-centered attitude keeps people from entering the kingdom of God are neither brothers nor sisters to the children of the Kingdom.

discipline

The older I become, the more I recognize the truth of Jesus' words as they apply to life in general. This morning I read the following in Matthew 7:

 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

The word "narrow" implies focus and discipline. Interestingly, in Proverbs, we discover the following wisdom:

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

The phrase "train up" in the original Hebrew means "to narrow". Parents have the responsibility to bring raise their children in a disciplined (a narrow, focused place) manner. Now before you react to word discipline, let me explain the concept of discipline. Discipline is not arbitrary punishment although at times punishment may be part of discipline. Discipline is usually painful in some manner but the purpose of discipline is not to inflict pain.

My daughter coaches high school girls soccer. During preseason, the coaching staff worked on conditioning. The forced the girls to do sprints beyond what they thought possible. Was the coaching staff cruel in their requirements? It would have been cruelty had there not been a goal in mind - to prepare the players to outlast the competition in a soccer match.

In the second and third games of the season, the painful conditioning drills paid off. They had a game on a Friday evening against a team that they had never beaten. The game ended in a draw after two periods of overtime. At the end of the game, the girls still had the stamina to play well. The very next day they had one of the most important matches of the season against the team picked to win the league. Once again they went into overtime, this time to come away with a win.

In August, the coaching staff provided a narrow, disciplined place for the players. Of course there were complaints, without a doubt there was pain. The coaching staff could have been considered mean-spirited, forcing the girls to abandon what they wanted to embrace the rigors and pain of disciplined conditioning. Yet the discipline was for a purpose.

The realities of high school girls soccer parallel the realities of the kingdom of God. Far too frequently, people miss the supernatural realm of God and his overwhelming goodness because His way of discipline feels too narrow. If we are to discover life, we must submit to the disciplinary hand of God. To the god of self, the hand of God feels far too restrictive. The broad way feels much more comfortable. Unfortunately, it never leads to life.       
 

ny mens weekend

The first weekend in October (1-3) we will be hosting a men's weekend at the Lodge in NY. We plan on being together from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. During the weekend, we plan on watching The Band of Brothers together. The Band of Brothers is the documentary of Easy Company during World War II.

There will be time for other "guy activities" as well. Kayaks and a sixteen foot aluminum boat with an outboard motor are available. The fishing is normally good that time of year. A woodpile begs to be cut and stacked. Or one can simply do nothing!

We will provide two meals per day. You will need to bring your bedding and any snacks and drinks you want. The cost for the weekend is $75. If finances are a problem for you, please let me know. There are a few scholarships available to help out.

The weekend will be a great time to both relax and grow personally. Sorry ladies - it's guys only! However, it would make a great gift for a man in your life!

If you want more details, email me directly at glenpeachey@embarqmail.com       

between the calling and the choosing

Lately I’ve been thinking about something Jesus said. In the Gospels, twice we find Jesus making the following statement – For many are called and few chosen. Both instances follow a story, a story of invitation and offense.


And so it is today as well; Jesus’ words still ring true. I am frequently saddened by the reality of the words. Far too frequently people hear the call and excitedly respond. Somewhere between the calling and the choosing we always encounter a test. Our response to the test either qualifies or disqualifies us. It determines whether we are chosen.

Even Jesus experienced the testing that either qualifies or disqualifies. Before He ever began His public ministry, he yielded to the plan of the Father and submitted Himself to baptism. That however, led to a more intense testing. The Holy Spirit compelled Him to go to the desert for more intense testing. Each test dealt with a specific realm of temptation. The first test revealed whether He would use His power to do things beyond the desires of the Father. The second test was directed at the need for self-validation. The third test offered a shortcut to glory that avoided sacrifice.

That point of trial instigated by the Holy Spirit reveals the condition of the heart. For Jesus, His devotion to the Father and His purposes shone through. His heart was revealed. I believe that not only was His heart revealed, but His resolve to do the will of the Father was strengthened.

One of my greatest disappointments has to do with people who hear the call but then disqualify themselves from being chosen by their response to the testing. So many people, at the verge of being significant in the Kingdom of God, disqualify themselves. They choose the way of human wisdom and understanding instead of embracing the ways and purposes of God. The ways of God seem too difficult.

So they settle for something less. They may become busy in church or ministry activities. However, everything they do is a faint shadow of what could be. They heard the call but were never chosen.

the realization of a dream

It was in February of 2004 at a Spirit2spirit retreat that I first saw it. During a time of worship and reflection, I saw a log cabin in my mind. I dismissed the picture as a self-centered desire and put it out of my mind. I never mentioned it to anyone. Three months later at another Spirit2spirit, the music had barely started to play when I saw it again. Once again I was about to dismiss it when I sensed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to allow the vision to take root.

I shared the idea/vision with Bev later and she immediately affirmed the validity of it. Throughout the summer we began the process of clarifying the vision. We wanted to build a place where we and others could connect with God in a tangible way. Because of our own experiences of connecting with God through nature's revelation of Him, we felt like we needed to build on a lake, somewhere among the trees. We prayed about it, waiting for God to do something to make it happen. As summer turned to early fall, we realized that instead of us waiting for God to do something, God was waiting for us to do something. We put a "for sale" sign at the end of our lane, having decided to downsize and take the equity from our spacious home to purchase land on which to build a cabin.

By the end of 2005, we had purchased 4 acres in Upstate NY on Black Lake. It was an area with which we were a bit familiar, having spent our summer vacations on the lake for the previous ten years. In our finite understanding of reality, we assumed that we would build the cabin in 2006. It turned out to be a much longer process than we anticipated.

In 2006, we purchased a camper, cleared brush, and put the lane in off the right of way. With the help of family and friends, we built a pathway and steps down to the lake. One night as I sat by the fire outside of the camper, I felt the temptation to relinquish the dream of building the cabin, choosing instead to stay at what felt like a safe place on the journey. We had the camper, we had a place from which to enjoy the lake. Why should I risk financial failure by pushing ahead? However, deep in my heart I knew that I would be trading the God-birthed dream for my selfish desire for safety. And so we forged ahead.

During the summer of 2007, we installed a septic system, and drilled a well. Finally we no long had to haul water from across the lake! We cleared more brush and seeded some grass. We also began to realize that the process was going to take longer and cost more than we ever imagined. When confronted with the normal fears that occur in the unfolding of a vision, we realized that we had come too far to turn back.

In 2008 we installed the electrical service. We cleared more land, preparing the actual site where the cabin would be built. It was in 2008 when suddenly the final design came together for us. Up to that point we had difficulty incorporating everything we felt need to be in it into our design. By the fall of 2008, we had the strong sense that the only thing left to do was to build. At that point fear began to confront me regularly. How would we ever get financing for the project; who would give us the needed funds? And believe me, the estimated final cost was rapidly growing. To make matters worse, the economy took a massive downturn. To keep myself afloat mentally, I continually reminded myself of how up to this point, at every crisis in the process, it seemed as if God had arrived before we even got there.

By late winter of 2009, I knew I had to contact some banks in NY. (Our local banks in PA could not use a property in NY as security.) In late March, Bev and I made a one day trip to Upstate NY to share the vision and plan with several banks. I had spent a good deal of time drawing up a plan to present to the banks. Much to my surprise, the banks were very receptive to the plan. Within six weeks we had our funding.

Our good friends, Jim and Deb Dressler, had plans to be in the USA for the summer of 2009. (For the past number of years they have lived in the mountain regions of India, partnering with God in His work there.) They agreed to help with the construction. In late June we dug  the footers and basement. By the middle of July the basement walls were completed. (One advantage of the poor economy was that it was easy to find contractors to do work immediately.) The log cabin kit arrived on site in late July. The following weekend a group of us began building. And it rained...and rained. We would have several sunny days that were always followed by the rain. By October when Jim and Deb left for India, the cabin was weather tight. In November we brought the camper back to PA. We no longer had a need for it in NY.

Throughout the fall, winter and into early spring, Bev and I made numerous weekend trips to work on the interior. Once again, friends volunteered to help, doing the things about which I had no clue.

We celebrated Easter of 2010, with Bev's parents in NY. What we saw that weekend was a foretaste of what we believe will occur on a regular basis. A month later, my parents and my siblings spent a weekend at the lake. Once again, the restorative work of God touched me to the point of tears.

And here we are, five and a half years after the initial picture in my mind. We made mistakes, we didn't always follow God's leading, we struggled with fear, and we continually felt completely overwhelmed. It took longer than we thought. It cost more than we imagined. It took perseverance, pain (literally), and an incredible amount of labor. We've mortgaged everything we have for the realization of the dream. Yet God provided continually, and I might add, in miraculous ways. The actual lodge (my father-in-law insists that it is not a cabin but a lodge and so that is what we will call it.) has turned out much more glorious than I could imagine. We built it, not just for us, but for others. We desire people to experience the re-creative power of God through creation, to join the water, the rocks, and the trees in the declaration of His goodness.