Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Speeding Tickets (August 23, 2020)

Even though it happened over 20 years ago, I still remember my first speeding ticket.  

I had been in Ohio visiting family, and I was on my way back to PA.  I don’t know that I was in a huge hurry for any particular reason, but I wasn’t dilly-dallying either.  I was by myself, and I wanted to get back home at a reasonable hour.  So, I was pushing it a bit.  You know…save a few minutes by going a little faster.  There I was zipping down a hill on I-70 in West Virginia when I saw the flashing lights.  I knew I was in trouble.  I had been caught.  Here came the ticket.


Now, I don’t harbor any ill will towards that officer.  They were just doing their job.  However, a 45mph speed limit on a major interstate, on the downgrade of a large mountain, just before it turns into 70mph?  They are setting you up to fail.  Regardless.  I was speeding, and I got a ticket.  A couple hundred bucks to a guy fresh out of college working as a counselor was no small chunk of change.  It was a big deal.  I remember that occasion.


The next ticket came within a year or so.  Similar situation.  This time, I was headed to my grandparents in New York.  I was driving backroads up from Latrobe to Lakewood, NY, enjoying the view, but going fairly slow because the roads were windy.  Eventually, I hit a straight stretch going downhill.  I let the car speed up, I felt the wind through the sunroof, I was enjoying the ride…until, I saw the lights.  Again, a 45mph zone.  Again, going downhill.  Again, an officer doing their job.  Again, a couple hundred bucks for a guy who was working hard to try to cover expenses.  It was a big deal.


Speeding tickets.


They affected the way that I drive.


After I received a couple of them, I decided that driving that fast wasn’t really worth the risk.  Sure, I could get places quicker, but it would come at the risk of owing money that I couldn’t afford to pay.  The tickets would not just dip into the ice cream fund, they could put a damper on the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as well.  After those couple of tickets, I slowed down (especially in downhill, 45mph zones…police like to watch those things).  I slowed down because I feared the consequence.  I didn’t want any more tickets.


Now, I won’t say that I drove or drive perfectly.  I won’t say that I’ve never pushed the speed a bit since then.  I won’t say that I no longer like going fast.  All of that would be untrue.  But, for the most part, I slowed down.  I didn’t want another speeding ticket.  I was fearful of the police handing out a consequence, so I modified my behavior.  I changed my driving patterns out of a desire to avoid consequence.  In some ways, you could say that my behavior changed out of fear.  I was afraid of getting caught, so I drove slower.


I think that we often approach our relationship with God in this manner (or at least I have approached God in this manner).  We really want to speed.  We think it would be better if we went faster.  We really want to act in a certain way and say certain things, but we don’t.  Why?  Because we have fear.  We try to “live right” because we fear the consequences of a heavenly police officer coming down on us.  So, we come to church, we present our tithes, we try to quit swearing, we are faithful to our partner in marriage, we don’t drink like we used to, etc…all because we don’t want to get caught again.  We know the ticket is large.  It’s a cost we’re not willing to pay.  And so we smile, we behave, we go forward all the while wishing we could just speed along at 100mph (I wasn’t actually going that fast…even though I probably wanted to).  We know there’s a God, that God has established rules, and so we try to follow the rules so we don’t get pulled over by the Great, Big, Police Officer in the sky.  We live the way we live to avoid consequence.


Fear of consequence can change behavior, but it rarely gets to the root issue.  


I may not speed in a 45mph zone downhill because I don’t want to get caught, but how fast do you think I’d go if I knew all of the officers were on vacation?  If somehow I knew that it was an open road with no limitations, do you think I’d go slow if I was just worried about escaping punishment?  Of course not!  I’d see how fast that puppy could move.  I’d push whatever ride I had to the max and wish I had something a bit faster.  Once the fear of consequences had been removed, I’d return to my previous actions.  Fear of consequences can change behavior, but it rarely gets to the root, to the core.  It rarely gets to the deeper issues.


Do you want to know what has a deeper, more lasting effect?


Love.


I remember another driving experience even better than I remember those tickets.  The first time that I drove Silas home.


Christa and I were first leaving the hospital, and we had to get Silas loaded into the car.  He was in a blue car seat with a handle that you could carry, and we were responsible for getting him home.  No experience.  No qualifications.  No real training.  Just, “Here’s your kid.  He’s your responsibility now.  Take him home.”  We quadruple-checked to make sure we had that car seat fastened correctly.  We prayed and prayed and prayed some more.  Thoughts flashed through my mind.  “How could we be responsible for this life?  How am I supposed to get him home?  You mean he doesn’t come with an instruction manual?”  


Do you know what else happened?  I drove slow.


All of the sudden, I wasn’t just responsible for my own well being, or the well being of my wife in our car.  I was responsible for Silas.  I was responsible for this precious little baby who had his entire life ahead of him.  I was charged with driving and getting him home safely.  I drove slow.  I drove slow out of love.


In that moment, I no longer wanted to go fast.  I no longer wanted to see if I could shave a couple minutes off of the trip.  My main goal?  Get this baby home, and it honestly changed me.  My driving now compared to my driving pre-Silas is significantly slower…not out of fear of consequence, but out of love.  You see, I’m still tasked with the responsibility of getting my son home, and saving a couple of minutes isn’t worth it.  I drive slower, now, because I love that kid a ton, and I want to get him home.  I drive slower out of love.


Just the other day we took a trip into Pittsburgh to buy a some stools for our newly remodeled room.  Things happened, the place we were headed to for lunch was closed, the trip took longer than expected.  By the time we were headed home, I was a little tired, and I was wanting to get home as quickly as possible.  We were driving on the turnpike, and the thought occurred to me, “You could speed up a bit more.  You could go faster.  You could push it a bit here to make up some time.”  There weren’t police officers that I could see.  It was a nice, straight stretch, the car was capable of greater speeds, everything was lined up nicely for me to be heavier on the gas, I was ready to go faster, but then I looked in the mirror.  I saw Silas’s smiling face.  I saw the face of my nephew, Tommy, of my niece, Grace.  I saw the face of my beautiful wife, Christa.  I even saw the face of my father-in-law, Boyd.  (We had a full load.)  I didn’t speed up.  I drove slow.  I drove slow out of love.  I was responsible for getting these people whom I love dearly home.  Shaving off a couple of minutes wasn’t worth it.  I didn’t want to go fast.  I wanted to go slow.  I have been changed out of love.


1 Corinthians 16:14 says this:


Do everything in love.

 

That’s a challenging passage, isn’t it?  4 words.  One command.  Do everything in love.


Not out of fear of consequence, not out of fear of getting caught, or not getting to heaven, or owing some huge amount of money that you can’t pay, or for any other reason.  Do everything in love.


Follow God in love.

Speak kindly in love.

Serve others in love.

Drive the speed limit (or close to it…) in love.

Perform at your job in love.

Make dinner in love.

Do the dishes in love.

Go to Walmart in love.

Have that conversation with your neighbor in love.

On and on and on and on and on and on and on.


Do everything in love.


Love changes things.  Love can get to the root and transform the entire plant.  Love can get deep within your soul and work within you to transform you into a completely new being.  Love.  Do everything in love.


Do everything knowing that you are loved by God.  (John 3:16, Galatians 2:20, Romans 5:8)

Do everything out of love for God.  (Matthew 22:36-40)

Do everything out of love for others.  (John 15:12, 1 John 4:19, 1 Peter 4:8, Ephesians 4:2)


Do everything in love.


Just yesterday, I was reminded of this truth, to do everything in love.  I had been at the church doing some work, and I planned to head to Walmart to pick up some things on my way home.  Walmart is not my favorite place in the world, but I knew we needed things, and I was happy to be able to stop.  Then, I remembered…the mask.  Wearing a mask is not my favorite thing either.  Wearing a mask in Walmart?  That somehow makes Walmart and the mask worse.  Still, I was reminded, “Do everything in love.”  I could go into Walmart and be cranky and upset that I was walking around there with a mask.  Or, I could put on my mask in love and walk through Walmart in love.  Fortunately, yesterday, I chose love (sadly, I recognize that I have not always chosen this path).  I made a conscious decision to choose love.  As I put on my mask, I told myself that I am doing this in love.  As I walked into the store and saw the person in charge of monitoring those entering, I greeted her with a smile (hopefully she could see it in my eyes), and the love of Christ in my heart.  As I walked through the store, I tried to keep this word of God in my mind, to do everything in love.  Do you know what?  My experience of Walmart, and my experience of my mask was more pleasant than normal.  


Do everything in love.  


What might you do in love this moment?  Today?  Tomorrow?  Next week?



~ Pastor Chris

A Time for Everything (August 16, 2020)

Speaking of time, I thought it was time that I wrote the devotional.  It’s been awhile since I asked Chris if I could write one to all of you.  It is a blessing to feel connected to you through this message and through God’s Word.  This is a very different season where relationships take on a whole new dynamic, but please know that our prayers and love are with you during this time.  


There is that word again.  Time.  I’ve been thinking a lot about time.  Silas turned twelve on Sunday, and I am amazed how fast those twelves years flew by.  


Every year, Chris and I write in a journal for Silas.  We write about the new things Silas is doing, memories we made during the year, our hope and prayer for him as he grows…and we write in this journal year after year.  This year, I was flipping through the pages and thought about how those pages represent twelve years of his life.  I could flip through them so quickly, the pages just shuffling by…and it reminded me of how life is.  Quickly shuffling by.  


The funny thing is that some of those memories in the pages of Silas’ journal did not feel quick.  


Changing diapers seemed like it would last forever.

Sleeping through the night was a distant memory.

Carrying Silas on my hip seemed never ending.

The colic years had no end in sight.

Even the 9 month pregnancy felt like 9 years!


Do you know what my wise mom told me when I was in the midst of these hard days?


The days are long, but the years go by fast.


It sure didn’t feel like it then!  But as I now look at Silas’s journal - a journal representing twelve years -  and my mom’s words echo in my ears.  Indeed, the days were long but the years went by fast.


The pages in Silas’s journal hold a milestone…the day he took his first steps or said his first words.  The pages contain great joy…the day he prayed the salvation prayer!  The pages record family memories…the time we spent in Vietnam.  The pages speak of hardship…the day Silas broke his first bone.   The pages tell of hope…how much Jesus and his mommy and daddy love him.


What would your journal say?  


Clearly, it wouldn’t have the same experiences or the same memories.  But I bet all of our journals would tell about times that were good and bad.  The joy and the pain.  The hope and the sorrow.  No matter who we are, our “pages” will have some of the best times and some of the worst times.


Even King Solomon, the richest and wisest king to ever exist, had his ups and downs.  Many Biblical commentaries believe he is the author of these words in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:


There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 


a time to be born and a time to die, 

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh, 

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 

a time to search and a time to give up, 

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate, 

a time for war and a time for peace.


I would add:  There is a time to change diapers and a time to potty train.  Okay, so maybe that wouldn’t work.  But the message here is that there an ebb and flow of time…a flow of good and bad, happy and sad, peace and turbulence, planting and harvesting.  There is time for everything.


I find the verse  “a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing”  very fitting during our current status of social distancing.  And I bet if you slowly read through these verses that you would find a lot that is fitting for your personal life.  Times that you mourned but also times that made you want to dance.  Times of financial hardship and then a season of stability.  Times of division, maybe in the church or in your family, and then a time of peace and unity.  Times of celebrating births and times of grieving a death.  


We all have these times, these seasons in our lives.  The ups and the downs.  The hard part is when we our journal page consists of the downs.  The trials and hardships.  The days that feel long and never-ending.  


Maybe you feel that way right now.  Maybe you are going through a season of grief.  A time of pain.  Or maybe you just don’t see how we are going to get through the Coronavirus.  


King Solomon continued and says this in Ecclesiastes 3:11:


He has made everything beautiful in its time.


Wow.  This tells us that every time and every season can be beautiful.  Even the bad, the ugly, the worst of the worst.  God can make it all beautiful.  


Do you know what I would give to go back and hold baby Silas again?  I don’t think as much about the diapers or the crying…I think about how I will never have my baby boy again.  I have asked myself thousands of times, why did I not enjoy those years more?  Why was I so focused on the hardship that I didn’t see the blessing in it????


That time was hard.  But it was also very beautiful.


Maybe we need to remind ourselves that right now, and ask,  Are we so focused on the hardship of this season that we aren’t seeing the blessings?  Are we not enjoying these days given to us?


Because someday we will look back in twelve years and these “pages” will have shuffled by.  We will realize that even though the days were long, the years went by fast.  Seasons might be hard, this season might even be the hardest year some of us have ever experienced…but God can make it beautiful. 


Go now and “write” your journal.  Your pages might fill up with joy mingled with tears. But because of Christ, your pages will always be beautiful.



~ Christa

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Blackberry Pie (August 9, 2020)

If you’ve known me for a while, or even if you are new to reading the devotionals or hearing me speak, there’s something that you probably know…I have a sweet tooth.  I try to keep it in check.  I try not to talk about it every single time that I share something.  I try to eat a fairly balanced diet.  But, the fact remains, I like my sweets.  Included in my fondness for sweets is a liking of pie.  As my friend Pastor Tom used to say, “I like two kinds of pie…hot & cold.”  (There’s a good chance you’ve heard that from me before…but, come on, it’s still funny…and true…except for coconut cream pie…I don’t like that in any form.)


Pie = Delicious.


Ok.  So I like the pie hot, I like the pie cold, I like a bunch of different flavors of pies, but do you want to know one of my favorites, especially at this time of year?  Great!  I’ll tell you.


Warm, wild blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream.  


Oh man.  That’s some good stuff right there!  I’m starting to salivate as I’m typing.  It’s delicious, and now is the perfect time to get some.  This is the perfect time of year to get a warm, fresh, homemade, wild blackberry pie.


Why?  Why is this the perfect time for me to get a warm, fresh, homemade, wild blackberry pie?  Right now, as I type there are wild blackberry plants bearing ripe, delicious blackberries.  Right now they are hanging on the bushes, plump and juicy, ready to eat.  Right now wild blackberries are ready for consumption, ready for a pie.  They’ve been that way for a little while, and the season won’t last long.  Right now is the perfect time for a warm, wild blackberry pie (one of my favorites) and yet…no pie for me.


No pie for me?!?!?  


No pie for me.


I know at this point you’re wondering why I’m not getting a pie.  Let’s go through some possible answers.


  1. I’m not close to the aforementioned blackberries.  Nope!  There are some right on my driveway and there are more within walking distance.
  2. I’ve given up sweets.  Nope!  I’ve done that before and will do it again but right now I’m enjoying the sugar.
  3. I don’t know how to make one.  Nope!  I’ve made pies, and I enjoy it (mostly).  I even have a new pie crust recipe that I’m excited to try.


So what’s the problem?  


It’s two-fold.


One…I’m busy.  Like busy, busy.  There’s a good deal of stuff happening in a lot of different areas, and I’m doing my best to try to prayerfully keep on top of everything that needs done.  Pie making?  Not much time for that.  As much as I would enjoy a pie, it’s not going to happen right now.  Too busy.


Two…I keep eating the blackberries before they get home.


Christa, Silas and I have gone on walks, we’ve seen the delicious looking blackberries, we’ve picked the delicious looking blackberries…and we’ve eaten the delicious tasting blackberries…with me consuming the largest amount.  Not one single berry has made it home from our walks.  Not one.  (Granted, we didn’t take any containers and the goal wasn’t to pick berries, it was to walk…but still…every ripe berry that has been picked has been consumed.)


Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sorry that we ate the blackberries.  They were delicious, and I had no real intention of bringing any home to make a pie (see reason number one as to why I’m not getting a blackberry pie anytime soon).  But, as much as I like fresh blackberries, they’re even better in pie form!  I know that if I had held off from eating them, if I had brought them home, if I had made a pie, I would have enjoyed them even more, the blackberries would have been even better.


Granted, all of this really isn’t that big of a deal.  It’s just a pie, and I’m perfectly fine without it.  I’m not going to starve, and I have plenty of other sweets available to consume.  However, it does make me consider more important issues.  I wonder, how many times do I miss out on the blessings of God (or miss out on God) because I am too busy, or because I am too caught up with eating all of the berries before they make it to the pie?


There are times in life when we get busy, and we decide to cut things out.  For me, right now, being busy means no time to bake a pie.  It cannot mean no time for God.  No matter how busy, how hectic, how jam-packed and crazy my life gets, I need to make certain to make time for God.  This needs to be a priority.  My relationship with the Lord needs to get top billing.  Number one spot.  Sometimes it doesn’t, and I can suffer because of it.  It’s OK to cut out pie…even if I miss wild blackberry season.  It’s OK to cut out a lot of things that we enjoy.  It’s not OK to cut out God.  We need God more than the air that we breathe.  We need to make God a priority in our life.  Other things may be removed.  God may not.


Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  We know this as the first commandment, but it also applies as the first priority.  God comes first.  No matter how busy life gets, no matter how many “have tos” are piling up, God can not be skipped over or passed aside like a blackberry pie, some sweet thing to enjoy if we are able.  God is foundational, essential, non-negotiable.  We cannot put other gods before the Lord.


There are also times in my life when I eat the berries early and they don’t make it to the pie.  There are reasons for this.  I’m hungry.  I’m tired.  I don’t have a container.  The berries look so good…right now.  


But, I wonder, “Does this happen with God?”  Sometimes, I think that in my life with Christ it can be even worse.  Sometimes, I can grab blackberries that haven’t ripened or that have ripened too much.  I can eat fruit that is unworthy of a pie.  Other times, I can grab fruit that looks good to eat, but it turns out to be poisonous.  All along I should be collecting the ripe fruit that God has given and be waiting for the pie that God provides.


Life with Christ involves patience.  It involves waiting.  It involves putting off what may seem good, now, for what is better, later.  It also involves avoiding fruit that might look good on the surface but is poisonous when eaten.


Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”  


If only they could have waited for the pie made from the fruit of the Lord!  Instead, they ate the fruit that “looked” good and promised “good results” but came up way short.  


We are called to live lives faithfully unto the Lord.  No snacking on trees that are prohibited, and yet sometimes we find ourselves munching on things prematurely or on things that we were never meant to consume.  


Wait for what God provides!  Wait for the good fruit that God gives!  Wait for the pie and don’t settle for less.




~ Pastor Chris