The Valley of Fear

Psalm 23:4 (NIV)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

[Though this story isn't directly from my experience, I'd ask for you to indulge me in the re-telling in the first person perspective. In light of our walk through Psalm 23, and my preaching on verse 4 (see above) last night, I thought that this might help us to see just what it means that God leads us through such valleys in life. - Matt]

He told us that he would take us to where we needed to go. This wizened old shepherd, with ragged clothes on his back and what I suppose you could once have called boots on his feet. His steps fell with a confidence that echoed through the hills, though the mosses and lichen made the actual footfalls silent as night. There were two loyal dogs that hovered loyally around him – their tails un-wagging and their eyes searching his; keenly aware that this was a hike for business, and not pleasure – and they awaited his word of command.

We’d wandered far over the course of the day, our party following a map that had been adequate for the area’s many hikers for centuries. But somehow, amidst our wonderment and sidetracks for photography, we’d found ourselves lost and at the bottom of the world – with no discernable way back to the safety and visibility of the high ridges surrounding us.
It was a lush land, and apart from the cooling temperatures and our emptying stomachs there was little concern for our long-term safety. Still, the afternoon was long past and our little group couldn’t even offer a decent argument for a locale.
In a day when our youthful exuberance thought it highly unnecessary to go through the expense of a GPS unit, and our new hiking poles made us feel far more confident than we should have allowed for… our last resort had finally realized itself, and we had disturbed ‘our’ shepherd – the only human we’d seen for hours – and he’d consented to lead us out of the lowlands and back onto our map.

As we began to ascend an unworn and un-grazed hillside, our feet slipping from underneath us in surprising contrast to his steady cadence, we looked one to another in questioning glances; “Where were we going?” “Who were we following?” And “How could this be the way?”
Occasionally we took a moment to look away from the treacherous footings of what was now becoming a rocky slope and we observed nothing but a wall of ancient stone pockmarked by rebellious tufts of greenery grasping to fissures and ledges with the skill of a true climber. There was no visible outlet, and our fears began to realize themselves.
Nearing the wall, one of the dogs ran ahead to disappear behind a corner that we’d not been able to see – His steady pace never changed, and the shepherd led us through what must have been this familiar route in his memory. This simple corner opened up to an expanse – a narrow ‘V’ in the landscape – equal parts of rock and plant aiming us straightway toward the heavens.

“Thank you so much!” I said, breaking what had been nearly forty minutes of silence, “If you need to get back to your sheep, we can probably figure it out from here.”
‘Our’ shepherd paused for only the amount of time for us to take the five steps to come even to his progress, and he simply said, “We’re not there yet. I’ll see you to the top.” And He continued up the way.
As the walk drew itself out much longer than we’d anticipated, the sun continued its course – and the last of its rays were only touching the tip of what we realized was the Eastern half of our ravine. The dogs lagged back now, dutifully keeping their charges on the best path as laid out by their master – and we, the ‘sheep’ tried not to stumble as the rocks grew larger. As odd as it seemed to us, we realized the shepherd’s commitment to us only in its fullness when we looked down to realize that we were barely finding our way and we were as of yet only halfway up the valley.
And what an odd valley it was! Without the shepherd in our sights it seemed as a yawning mouth, wanting nothing more than to swallow us down to its belly. Looking back, it was almost hypnotic for its terrible nature.
A sharp sound of wood rapping on a rock woke us from our moment of weary delirium, “Well, shall we finish the journey?” the old man asked.

Cresting the hill at the top had taken us nearly to darkness, the last flecks of the honest part of sunlight were disappearing over the Western rim of the hills. Looking back one last time, the chasm appeared as little more than blackness.
“What you just walked up,” said our noble guide, “is on your map, though you didn’t know it. Its on the very bottom edge, well away from any main trail – and that’s for a reason. We locals call it ‘The Valley of Fear’. I do apologize, because its not the easiest way out of the lowlands, but it is the fastest – and for you, it leads directly to where you needed to go.”
He gestured vaguely over his shoulder to lights that were turning on, not two-hundred yards away at the very place we’d planned to spend the night.
“I’ll ask you not to come back here exploring on your own tomorrow – there have been some bad things down here for those without a guide …or a dog” he added, his hand on the head of the older of his two canine servants.
After the few words of thanks that he allowed us to give him, he and his two helpers turned their faces back down to the valley and instantly were lost from our sight as they descended into the shadow.

We turned ourselves toward the welcoming lights that He had led us to – each one of us silently wondering how often he’d led the lost safely through the Valley of Fear.


And how much more, does our God lead us through the valleys in our lives? David knew of great stresses, anxieties, dangers and despair - and yet he knew that God, the Divine Shepherd, would not leave us on our passage through such low points.

The valleys of our lives are NOT the destination that the Shepherd leads us to. Instead, His goal is to take us to the safe places; whether those consist of safety for the time being, or the pleasant revival of eternal rest in heaven. ...and sometimes we don't even realize what we've come through until we look back over our shoulder at what He's led us safely past.

Thanks be to God for His guidance through what would otherwise be a lonely and terrorizing journey - but with Him, is just another hike for a weary traveler!



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Green Pastures

Tonight, as we continue our look at Psalm 23, I've been given the responsibility and privilege of considering verse 2 of the famous Psalm...

Ps. 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

Wonderful words from the Psalmist, beautiful imagery and poignant comparison to God's love and care for His people...

And all I can think of this morning is this:

For those of you who were not blessed, such as I, to have experienced a LOT of Nick-at-Night as you grew up (and don't misunderstand; it was usually my choice and my parents the ones who endured it) - we're talking about one of the more hilarious examples of absurdity that CBS ever produced. (that is, until the onset of the Survivor Series)

GREEN ACRES

What a joyous show!

What a silly cast!

"What!?! You're considering comparing 'Green Acres' to Psalm 23 IN CHURCH?"

Well, sort of, yes.

More of a Compare/Contrast type of situation, really. And perhaps, if you'll indulge me I can get it all out of my system and nobody else will ever have to hear about it. - Then again, if this 'works' the world will soon hear of it.

My premise is this:

Of course you can understand how the name 'Green Acres' might remind someone of the green pastures of Psalm 23. That makes reasonable sense.

But there's a bit more...

The premise of the TV show was that a successful New York City lawyer, decides to give up the stress and strain of 'city life' in favor of some 'fresh air'. So he buys a farm. Accompanied by his socialite wife who has an already humor-inducing Hungarian accent, he finds himself in the most backwards of rural towns... and is (relatively) happy to have found "it".

As we hear of the green pastures, we find ourselves thinking, "Hey, that sounds nice." As well we should. The idea is that God leads His flock into places that are hospitable, pleasant, and something of a respite for us from the daily existence. And even more than that, we dwell there safely under His protective gaze so long as is appropriate to the season.

Its kinda as if God has fulfilled a lifelong dream, without our asking or putting forth effort, and has provided us with the life that we've needed all along.

He's given "it" to us... that thing that we so deperately need as humans.

Peace.

Not to say that the oddities of life will subside - the strange neighbors literally became the backbone of the Green Acres plotline - and we'll certainly not be without such a thing as trouble.

But we can be sure that what we need will be provided.

And we've got a Good Shepherd to watch over the farm.

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Mission Month

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts) chapter 1, verses 6 through 9.



6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Its Mission Month at our church.

We're going to dwell for a while on Acts 1:8; the idea of being witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the Ends of the Earth.

That's a lot of witnessing!

I imagine that it would've been pretty imposing for the disciples as well.

They get this command to do all this work (with the help of the Holy Spirit... which they currently do not fully understand) and then they have to watch Jesus leave them! And He does so in one of His miraculous and amazing ways... ascending into heaven.

So there they are - as we are today - literally stunned into silence and staring up at the sky. Too afraid to lower their eyes, for fear that they'll have to get a gameplan together in order to get that job of witnessing done. When along comes one of my more favorite moments in scripture (the angels always have the fun jobs) ...

10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

If I'd been one of the disciples, caught up in the momentous awe and wonder, I would've jumped out of my skin!


So why do we stand there and look into the sky?
He's just told us that the times and the dates aren't for us to know... so we might as well get a move on. ... Commence the witnessing!!!

But that's not easy or fun, is it?

No, not on our own.

But we're not on our own...

May God's Holy Spirit be with you and with all of us, as we seek to make good on the opportunities to witness that God provides for us this month!

(more to come later... maybe.)

Noah's Rainbow - the promise of hope

Tomorrow's Old Testament lesson is about the end of one of the most harrowing,uncertain and terrible 150 days in the history of the world. (roughly Genesis chapters 6-9) I can barely attempt to imagine the emotions that Noah and family went through as they built the infamous 'ark' and boarded it with all those critters, knowing all the while the fate of the rest of the world - their extended families, friends, neighbors... everyone and everything!

...

I wrote a while back about the mouse crossing the road, and how scary and treacherous that experience must be - for a mouse or for a man - and there are men (and women) living that experience all around, believe me.

Personally, I've not yet been asked to endure such things.
But I have been privy to observe the resolve that is given by the LORD to those who have been!

Its impossible to apply logic to tragedy.
The explanation for grief is too simple to be satisfactory.
A 'bad' thing cannot be justified, no matter how thick the silver lining.

But at the end of the floodwaters' rage -
near the moment of utter despair -
...there comes the Rainbow, a promise of hope!

It isn't merely a pretty thing that is made from the refraction of the Sun's light; the scientific understanding of God's rainbow could never compare to the fact that with it God has attached a promise - a covenant declaring that He would never again do as He (justly) did in Noah's day.

This leaves us the opportunity to revel in God's other promise...
...that He would save us from the terrible sin which we'd brought into this world.

The sin that brings despair.
The sin that causes hurt.
The sin that makes our bodies maliciously impair themselves.
The sin that would otherwise cause not only our earthly deaths, but keep us that way forever.

...

The rainbow promises hope through sustenance and opportunity.
The Cross of Christ promises salvation through the perfect blood of God's Son.



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What happened to Jesus' hiking stick?

Its a little odd to think about, but I'm looking at the gospel lesson scheduled for this Sunday, Mark 6:1-13, especially verses 8 and 9:

These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic..."

So my question; Since this statement assumes that the disciples (who were being sent out for missionary practice) had staffs/walking sticks, what about Jesus? Did Jesus have a walking stick? What happened to it? and Why don't we put that into our paintings of him more often?

I think it's plausible that Jesus could've had a walking stick. I mean, he did a TON of walking - and the terrain wasn't just flat and smooth by any means! I would have a walking stick if I were Jesus!

And if anyone has ever had a walking stick/cane/staff/etc., you know that those items become sort of special to you. And EVERYONE who's ANYONE had a walking stick: Moses had one, Elijah had one, Gandalf had one... (um, forget about that last one... sorry)

So who got to keep Jesus' walking stick? Or did it just get left behind when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethemane? Or maybe John grabbed it and Jesus ended up taking it back into heaven with him as a memento of his travels...

The point of thinking about this today is really to take a moment to consider the fact that, yes, while Jesus was amazing and authoritative and awesome as God's Son incarnate... he was also, in a very 'normal' way, fully man. A man like us... a man who would've appreciated having a walking stick to lean on.

How 'bout that?


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Noah... and Bill

Well, it was really only a matter of time before we had an illustration of the first successful pigeon in the Bible. Tonight at New Member Class we're talking about Noah... and in my research for illustrations, I came across this...

(Courtesy of Noah, Bill Cosby and LEGO)

Easter Sunrise

The forecast as of last night on weather.com said to expect a chilly start...

Well, see for yourself: (as of 9 p.m.)

Our 'sunrise service' is held at 7 a.m. - you'll note that its actually 8 minutes late, but that's ok as far as I'm concerned. So I'm thinking that its going to be a chilly scooter-ride tomorrow morning when I head over around 5:30.

(What!?! You're going to take the scooter? Silly Preacher!)

Well, I think I just might. There's nothing quite like riding the scoot on open roads on a morning that's meant for rejoicing. (Even if I wimp out tomorrow and take the car, the sentiment still applies.)

John 20:1-4

The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

See? If Peter only had a scooter, he'd have made it to see the empty tomb first.


(...more on the resurrection of the Lord later.)
...

Baby got Book!

Maybe this is old news for some, but I'm trying to get myself back into the posting after a couple strange weeks... someone shared this with me and it NEEDS to be shared!

I'm thinking that our confirmation class wouldn't quite "get it" but I hope that you all enjoyed the fun!

Heeeere Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!

I was surprised and saddened this last weekend, when I used an illustration from Sesame Street and none of the kids who'd come forward for the children's message were familiar with it.

Oh they knew who Bert and Ernie were, but they'd never seen this...

(Please pardon my abuse of YouTube videos over these last two posts now...

I'm trying to keep things interesting - but my life is too busy to be interesting.)

I used this "fish calling" to illustrate the strange and uncomfortable way that calls often happen in our lives. Jonah was our reading from the Old Testament for the day... not a comfortable calling (for Jonah or the Ninevites). The calling of the first disciples from their boats was our Gospel lesson... though followed more willingly, probably no more comfortable.

Times aren't always comfortable for us either, and God's call often seems to come at the most awkward of times and in the least comfortable situations.

Its not always a LARGE call... more often than not He speaks in a still, small voice that just tugs at our heartstrings until we listen. Then again, sometimes He lands a whale in our laps!

Personally, I've got a whale knocking on my office door. (Not to go anywhere else, move, or change MY "Call" in any way... in case you were worried.) But at least for now this whale is knocking politely and waiting for his appointment.

I shared a little of this large and somewhat uncomfortable calling with the congregation this Sunday - because it takes a village to deal with a whale properly!

[I wonder how many people are going to stumble on this posting when they're looking into all those terrible things happening in the world regarding the whaling industry...?]

Anyhow, I'm taking comfort in the fact that even Bert can call a fish... and even Jonah can be effectively used by God...

...bring on the work, Lord!

Reading through the Bible

One of the things that's been taking a lot of time has been my organization of a Bible Study.

We've been working on getting this on-line discussion going for our Today's Light Bible group. The plan is to follow the Today's Light Bible and read through it in the two years worth of daily devotions and readings that its divided into.

Just to show that there's legitimate stuff happening in my little world, here's the public link to the discussions... you're welcome to read along with us, though you'd need to be a member of our church to comment. (Something that I could arrange.)

God's Blessings!