Climbing Higher

What a beautiful hike we had in the mountains last week. The splendor of the fall colors never cease to amaze me. Rachelle, the girls, and I decided to hike up a trail I hadn't been up in almost 20 years. I felt like I hadn't exercised in almost 20 with the challenge of moving up the side of a mountain.

I think the greatest part of a nice hike is the change in perspective. We all need it from time to time. I don't know where I would be if it were not for the mountain top experiences that helped shape and re-shape my perspective over time. Obstacles just don't seem so imposing when you rise above them.

One of the great tragedies of getting older is that we miss out on too many mountain experiences. We lose out on opportunities to give our faith a fresh perspective. We need to get to the mountain every now and then. Its an important climb. Every climb takes us higher than our challenges and obstacles into the very center of the power of God.

Psalm 104:31-32 (NASB)

31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever; Let the LORD be glad in His works; 32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

The decent will likely be a quick one back to the valley and the challenges, but to be able to face them with a power from God...not much could be better. Get out and find a mountain and experience the presence of God.

Have a great week.

Peach Tree

When we moved into our house last year we were excited to have a Peach tree with fruit on it. We love peaches and to have a very nice tree is great. Last year I did some pruning on the tree and as the peaches finish ripening this year, the results are undeniable.

The branches of the tree are overwhelmed. There is so much fruit that the branches are a bit stressed. I've been able to go and throw out the rotten fruit early. I've been able to toss the half bird-eaten fruit, and I am looking forward to a lot of peaches.

We recently started a class for people where we take a big look at John 15. John 15 is the passage where Jesus tells us he is the vine and we are the branches. We read that if we remain in him we will bear much fruit, after all it would be absurd to think of a detached branch being able to produce fruit. On the challenging side of the discussion is the talk of pruning and destruction that the caretaker of the vine goes through to keep the vine healthy.

God is our pruner, and while I am convinced that the tree doesn't have any feeling when I cut off a branch, I feel differently about those things God prunes in my life. It hurts to have an unhealthy part of yourself cut off, but my health requires it. There is simply no way to be pruned delicately...so God prune me, break me, heal me, make me fruitful.

What is it about the fruit that is so awesome...I know my peach tree produces incredible white peaches. I know that a grape vine produces grapes. So does that mean that a Jesus vine produces little "Jesuses." We read in Acts that at Antioch, believers were first considered Christians, or little Christs. Apparently the description fits. So we are left to think about the fruit hanging on the vine. What's there? Is the fruit plentiful or is it sparse? What pruning needs to take place in your life?

Have a great week!

21 and the Judges

Rachelle and I watched the movie 21 which is based on a true story of some brilliant colleges students who take Vegas for millions with their ability to count cards.

The main character, Ben Campbell is a shy, poor, hard-working student who sees no way to go to Harvard medical school apart from a scholarship until he is asked to join a team of card counters. Weekend trips to Vegas begin to change Ben; while he said he would quit when hed had enough for college the allure of money and the fun of being a person he had never been become too much.

The movie is really about a guy who loses himself. I think that describes the Israelites in the time of the Judges. They get lost in who they really are and who they are created to be. The Judges were far from perfect, but they were available to be used by God so that God could communicate His desires with the inhabitants of the Promised Land.

Looking at the Judges and their availability for God will be our primary task through our series, but for a moment think about how easily we lose ourselves. The Bible teaches us that we are made wonderfully and have a purpose. But there is competition for our identity... I think that's what Jesus said to His disciples:

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
Matt 16:24-26 (MSG)

We lose ourselves when we neglect and forget about all that God has done for us. God demonstrated his grace by sending these judges to remind people of His power so that they might find their identity in Him and not in their own efforts.

Stay focused, stay alert, and never lose sight of who you are.