The Thick of Trouble

Good morning, Loved Ones,

Sometimes this discipline becomes truly a discipline. When times are tough and expressions of gratitude are most needed, those are the most likely times when we choose not to give thanks. But we are called to give thanks in all circumstances. So in the shadow of all we face that would inhibit our gratitude, let's not fail to give thanks.

Psalm 138 (The Message)

A David Psalm

^1-3 Thank you! Everything in me says "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks.
I kneel in worship facing your holy temple
and say it again: "Thank you!"
Thank you for your love,
thank you for your faithfulness;
Most holy is your name,
most holy is your Word.
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.

^4-6 When they hear what you have to say, God,
all earth's kings will say "Thank you."
They'll sing of what you've done:
"How great the glory of God!"
And here's why: God, high above, sees far below;
no matter the distance, he knows everything about us.

^7-8 When I walk into the thick of trouble,
keep me alive in the angry turmoil.
With one hand
strike my foes,
With your other hand
save me.
Finish what you started in me, God.
Your love is eternal—don't quit on me now.


Today I thank God for . . .

. . . work to do.
. . . family and friends.
. . . daily bread.
. . . a home.
. . . rest.

Gimme cinco!

Rick Behrens

Grace Before

Good evening, Loved Ones,

My day has been a bit too busy to get to my Gimme Cinco for today. But I suppose it's not too late, is it?

Here's our inspiration.

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. ~G.K. Chesterton

Has your day been Grace-full?

Here are my Grace-filled moments:
. . . a bucket full of paint, a fresh clean brush and a french-paned window ready to be transformed
. . . a perfectly comfortable breeze to cool my fearful soul on the 40 foot ladder
. . . a sweet packed lunch
. . . Bernie, Conan and Mark
. . . 14 people at soccer practice

Gimme cinco!

Rick

Gimme Cinco

Good morning, Loved Ones,

Psalm 118:21-25 (The Message)

^21-25 Thank you for responding to me;
you've truly become my salvation!
The stone the masons discarded as flawed
is now the capstone!
This is God's work.
We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!
This is the very day God acted—
let's celebrate and be festive!
Salvation now, God. Salvation now!
Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

Thanks be to God for . . .

. . . another day to try and get it right.
. . . forgiveness
. . . patience
. . . work
. . . a green world

Gimme Cinco!

Pastor Rick

Straight from the Easter People

Good Morning, Loved Ones,

The old Avery and Marsh song is our meditation for today.

Every morning is Easter morning from now on!
Every day's resurrection day, the past is over and gone!

Good-bye guilt, good-bye fear, good riddance! Hello, Lord, Hello, sun!
I am one of the Easter People! My new life has begun!

Every morning is Easter morning from now on!
Every day's resurrection day, the past is over and gone!

Daily news is so bad it seems the Good News seldom gets heard.
Get it straight from the Easter People! God's in charge spread the word!

Every morning is Easter morning from now on!
Every day's resurrection day, the past is over and gone!

Yesterday I was bored and lonely; But today look and see!
I belong to the Easter People! Life's exciting to me!

Every morning is Easter morning from now on!
Every day's resurrection day, the past is over and gone!
Every morning is Easter morning,
Every morning is Easter morning,
Every morning is Easter morning,
From now on!

Thank God for proofs of the resurrection all around us.

. . . for Youth, like Angeles, Alan, Max, Karina, Diosselyn, Richard, and Lucas who are full of life and ready to take on the world.
. . . for leaders like Pastor Alfonso, Jennifer, Greg, David, Randy, Javier, Carmen, Gely, Ricardo, Dedric, Stephanie, Maria, Dede, Martha, Lisa, Jean, Kent, Ruben, Bump, Linda, Pastor Tom. Pastor Terry and so many more who keep on keepin' on, overcoming all kinds of obstacles and challenges to serve.
. . . for babies like Everardo's who bring fresh smiles and joy and purpose to our striving.
. . . for children like Alin, Johann, Angelica, Christian, Regan, Lola and many more who ask the questions that keep us on our toes.
. . . for parents like mine who love and support at all times and are even willing to change when life calls for it.

What proofs of the resurrection surround you today? Gimme cinco!

Pastor Rick
http://gimmecinco.blogspot.com/

The Seed of Life

Isaiah 25:6-9
April 4, 2010

At prayer group on Wednesday night, Pastor Alfonso asked the question of the week.
How do we know the resurrection is true?
What are our proofs?

We went around and answered to the best of our abilities.
Most of us quoted scripture stories.
I gave the safe, theologically appropriate answer.
With reformation surety I said “only scripture, only faith, only grace.”
This was my answer for proofs of the resurrection.
And of course I was right and silenced everyone else.
All were in awe of my astute and profound answer!
Not!

The voice of a young woman uttered something from the corner.
We tried to ignore her.
But she kept saying it quietly.
Pastor Alfonso asked her to speak up.
What is your proof of the resurrection, Angeles?
Timidly, with her characteristic smile, Angeles said . . .
Life.
What is your proof of the resurrection, Angeles?
Life.
Life.
Life.

Scripture is great.
Faith is an incredible gift.
Grace is amazing.

But the best proof of the resurrection . . .
The proof that inspires us to live in hope . . .
Is the living proof . . .

The life that we share every day can prove the reality of the resurrection . . .
Or it can deny the resurrection.

When Sam came home from the travel seminar for his border studies program last week he told us about a living proof.

On December 22, 1997, gunmen came in to a church in Acteal – Chiapas, Mexico.
They gunned downed, murdered, destroyed the lives of 42 children, women and men.
This town had been a center for the Zapatista liberation movement.
The death squad came in to try and put the movement to death.
So they massacred 42 followers of Christ who had gathered for worship.
The worshippers were members of Las Abejas, the Bees - a pacifist group that supported the Zapatista movement.
The government was suspected of complicity in the attack because a nearby military post did not respond to the attack that lasted for hours.
The following morning soldiers were found in the church trying to wipe away the bloodstains.
Some of the pregnant women, part of the prayer group, were stabbed and shot in the belly intentionally to kill their unborn children.
It was a horrible, life denying, resurrection-denying event.

But Las Abejas still exists.
And, despite experiencing such heinous violence, Las Abejas are still a pacifist organization.
They pray and they fast for peace and justice.
They share tons of food, water and medicine with others in the region.
They now have grown to represent 48 different indigenous communities in Chiapas.

What Sam experienced in Acteal, what he saw at the church where the massacre occurred was not despair.
Sam experienced hope, life, hospitality, peace, joy and love in the lives of the people he met there.

Julio Cesar, the bus driver for Sam’s group, who was from Chiapas spoke of the massacre.
He said, “They tried to bury us, but they forgot we were seeds.”

I think that Sam’s answer to proof for the resurrection would be the same as Angeles.

Life.

We need living proof of the resurrection.
We find it in the faithful, hopeful, graceful response of our brothers and sisters to their own sufferings and struggles.

I can tell you stories all day about Jesus’ resurrection.
I can read to you the resurrection narratives from all four of the gospels over and over again.
I can write you a book to try and prove the resurrection.

But unless you see it in me, see it in my life; I seriously doubt that you will take it seriously.

Some have called Isaiah the first evangelist.
Isaiah seems to have understood the resurrection even before Jesus’ proof.

The people of Jerusalem were in a deadly situation.
The forces of death were descending upon the poor of the city.
But Isaiah forecasts a great banquet feast for all the people of the world.
It will be a seven-course meal with lavish, gourmet desserts.
Better than any Chinese buffet.

And God too will eat at this meal.
God will eat death.
God will consume death.
God will chew it up and spit it out.
Eliminate it, in the words of Walter Brueggeman.

Death here is not simply that fear we have that our existence has a terminus.
The death that God will consume and destroy is the “active force of negativity” that closes in on us.
Death is that ongoing “No” that we hear whispered at us from the systems of the world.

No! You don’t belong here!
No! You don’t deserve healthcare!
No! You’re too old!
No! You’re too young!
No! Peace is not possible!
No! Justice is just a dream!

But God swallows that “NO”.
God chews it up and spits it out.

In the death and resurrection of Jesus, the deathly “No!” of the world is chewed up and spit out by God.

And God does not simply say, “Yes we can!”
God says, “Yes, we will!”
Yes, we will have justice!
Yes, we will have peace!
Yes, you do belong here!
Yes, life is ultimately good!
Yes, we can live everyday in hope!
Yes, we can serve others and work for the common good of all!
Yes, peace and dignity and justice will come!
Yes, God is with us!
Yes, this meal God has prepared on this Holy Mountain is the most divinely delicious, delectable meal ever served!

Yes, we will!
Yes, we will!
Yes, we will!

Jesus said . . .
“Listen carefully: . . .
Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat.
But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.
In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life.
But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.” John 12:24-25 (The Message)

If you’re looking for proof of the resurrection, look around you.

Life.

Life abundant.

Life eternal.