On Cities of Refuge...

This week the Garland Church staff was gathered for our usual Wednesday meeting and, as is our custom, we read the Reading-O-Day from Numbers 35 and then discussed it for awhile. It was quite an interaction as we considered God’s directions to the Hebrews regarding murder: What it is, how to deal with those who have murdered and the like. We also noticed that the text made a clear distinction from murderers as to how to handle those who have killed someone unintentionally (manslaughter) and how these unintended killers should be handled. These people, God said, are to flee to the “City of Refuge,” and they are to stay there until “the death of the high priest.”

It sounds like a bummer to be stuck in the City of Refuge for who-knows-how-long. I mean what if the high priest happened to be rather young when all this happened, and so the individual would be looking at a long stay in this city? That sure seems like poor timing! And remember, these people couldn’t leave the city without risking themselves to being killed by family members of the deceased who would be on the look-out to “avenge” the killer. They would be welcome to leave the city’s protective walls, but it would be at the risk of their lives.

On this matter of unintentional killing, a City of Refuge seems like our modern prison. Isn’t our prison a place that we can put offenders not only to remove them from society, but also in many cases, to protect those unintentional killers from someone out to avenge the death of their friend or family? We’ve seen in the history of our own nation that when people get really angry with what they perceive to be a criminal, who knows what actions they might take. Before “society” caught up with our land, “vigilante justice” was very common. It was you, them, and your revolver.

But interestingly, God had a much more civil plan. If you have accidentally killed someone and you need protection, flee to the City of Refuge. There, you are protected from “frontier justice,” at least as long as you were patient enough to live in the protection behind its walls.

Has it ever occurred to you that our relationship with Jesus Christ is much the same? You and I have committed all kinds of terrible sins against God and society, many of them completely unintended. For these violations, we deserve punishments ranging from death to paying remuneration, to simply offering apology and asking forgiveness. But for those who walk the journey with Christ, we have been placed under his protection. Christ himself is our City of Refuge, and those who choose to stay within his Fortress are safe. On the other hand, those who choose to venture out on their own to take their chances place themselves at great risk. Interesting, eh?

Lookin’ Up, Pastarod

A Bloody Exchange...

This morning during my devotions I found myself growing tired of all the strange regulations God imposed upon the Hebrew people in the Old Testament books of Numbers and Leviticus. I'm in this section today because it's where Garland Church is in our All-Church-Bible-Read-Through, and I must confess some of this lately had seemed far away and irrelevant. And to top it off, a lot of animals have been losing their lives in macabre scenes as a result of the sacrifices God required of the people. There has been blood spattered everywhere...

I've found myself thinking, "Why all the blood and mess? Isn't there some other way God could have chosen to maintain the relationship between he and his people?" I imagine many of you have wondered some of the same things.

Thankfully, today's reading had several embedded jewels that God placed in the system to make it clear what was behind all of this. I'd like to point out Leviticus 1:4 as a representative:

"Lay your hand on the animal's head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him."

So according to this verse, the whole reason all this was done was so that both parties - the individual and God - would know that this animal was dying in the place of (literally, "in atonement for") the person bringing the sacrifice. It was a bloody exchange...

Apparently, sin is a very serious thing to God. It caused harm to their relationship with him; it fractured their relationships with each other. God's holy nature is not content to allow sin to live on unaddressed. Maybe that bothers us, but you and I aren't perfect - God is, and he merits the right to demand such a response to such waywardness. So, instead of their own death which should have been the outcome, God in his mercy allowed another to die in their place. They placed their hands on the animal's head to be sure they understood this, and somehow I imagine the point was very clear.

The animal lover in me fires up in anger over the whole system; it just seems crazy. Why should an innocent animal have to die? I've never enjoyed seeing animals die innocently or appropriately. Sometimes life requires this, but it's never been enjoyable for me.

Still, if the system operated the same today, I'd bring the animal and lay my hands on its head and watch it's slaughter and subsequent burning. I'd be sickened for the animal, but I'd be alive and thankful before God...

Those who know the whole story are well aware that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died a similar death on our behalf. In faith, we lay our hands on Christ's head and he dies in our place. His bloody death is counted sufficient, making us right with him. I'm sickened for Christ, but I'm alive and thankful before God...

Thank you, Lord God, for accepting your Son's death for me. He did not deserve it; I do not deserve to receive your mercy because of His sacrifice. Thank you that I am alive before You...

Lookin' Up, Pastarod

Conversation: A One-Year Bible Read Thru...

Hello! Many of you in my Garland Church community have embarked this year on what is a totally cool endeavor: To read through the whole Bible in 2009, and to do it together. I'm very proud of so many of you who have made this commitment to focus on interacting with God through His Word on a daily basis. Sometimes it will be challenging to keep on course with this, but it will be worth it!

Over the course of this year, I want to keep the conversation going about this effort in our community through using this blog. Feel free to subscribe to the feed and post anything on this trail or a new trail if you'd like to enter the conversation. Let's encourage each other on the journey!

To start, let me copy in an email one of our church staffmembers wrote as an encouragement on this:

"Stop reading! You are already too far behind. It's no use!"

Have you thought that, or heard that suggestion coming from the shadows of your mind Maybe it's only me who hears such things! Anyway, I want to encourage you to not give up, and don't be anxious when you do fall behind. We are not machines, and while we do need to discipline ourselves, we should not feel enslaved to this wonderful reading plan. Do what you can and carve out the time needed to connect with God through reading His scripture, and be satisfied with the best effort you can give it. I'm convinced that the Lord welcomes each heart felt effort on our part to read, reflect and respond to His inspired words.

Personally, I'm way behind on the daily plan, and catch-up sessions don't work well for me - I become frustrated and grumbly when I attempt to catch up, because I end up emphasizing quantity of reading over quality of reading. I've learned that a slower pace of reading with a smaller chunk of scripture allows better reflection and absorption. I often need to chew on a single verse, or phrase - ruminating as they say, over and over. A quick once-over leaves me feeling dissatisfied - it seems like a hurried "Hi, how are you?"

with no time to really engage.

So, I'm plodding along. At times I put down the Bible and pick up a commentary to see what the scholars have to say about particularly difficult verses. Then I can return to ruminating on the scripture with confidence that I have an acceptable interpretation of what the passage meant to the original hearers. Then I am able to more readily 'surrender' to the passage so that Christ can be formed within me.

That's been my experience, so far, with this plan. It's good, very good, that so many at Garland are walking along the same path - the same reading plan. I encourage you to enjoy the freedom we each have to progress as the Holy Spirit directs. We are free to be all that God desires us to be, in community, at Garland Church. Keep reading, reflecting and responding!

One person who received this message responded as follows:

Thank you for this encouraging word. I like what you shared
about what does work for you. I'm one of those "machines" who has kept up
with the daily readings. But they are BIG, and I was feeling like I was giving it
quantity vs quality time. All last week I was going through the motions and
wanting to be finished with Job, knowing that this was not the intent of the
exercise. Then on Sunday during the service, suddenly I "got" a whole lot out of
the previous week's readings, which leads me to two conclusions: however we do it, it is not wasted effort; it is very helpful to have the Sunday message or worship experience relate to what we're doing during the week.

What do YOU think? How's it been to meet with God through this effort so far? Let's keep the conversation going...

Lookin' Up...Pastarod

On Fimpulu, Zambia...

It's been awhile since I've posted but I finally get a chance to sit down and tell a bit about my trip to Zambia back in November.

Wow, what a fabulous experience! We saw a beautiful land of trees, open savannah, the "bush" and very strange and interesting critters. My favorite was this very cool chameleon. I named him "George" and I put him in one of the trees near the place where I was staying so I could visit him regularly. So cool...

But the best thing of all were the interactions with the wonderful people, particularly the children. We were so touched by the smiles of the kids...





Our interactions with the churches in the community were also fabulous. We saw in them a deep and fervent love for God that was so encouraging to us.



By God's grace and enabling we hope to visit them again next year.

Thanks to the generous people of Garland Church as well as many individuals who invested to send our team to Zambia so that we can see if and how we might be of service to them.

May the Lord allow us to continue to serve!

Lookin' Up, Pastarod

Hello, I am still here...

My daughter Brielle wanted me to post something so here I am posting something. She says, "my daddy is not dead; he is just very busy. But, we don't want people to think that he is not here, so...he is posting something."

Merry Christmas.

The end.

Lookin' Up, Pastarod

Who's In Charge?

I watched the election returns on Tuesday evening with great interest, curious about who was going to be serving our nation in our various local, state and national leadership roles. With a mix of frustration and relief I saw the many issues or candidates either go the way I had voted...or not. Like I imagine you feel, I have those mixed feelings about what all of this means. Allow me for a few moments to encourage you:

God tells us He is sovereign over these matters. “By chance” (no kidding) I read Psalm 75:6-7 on Wednesday morning following the election and was struck with the following encouraging words:

“For no one on earth - from east or west, or even from the wilderness - can raise a person up.
It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall.”

Words like this are designed to give us hope. At a very minimum, God allows some leaders to rise to authority and he allows others to fall. Though we don’t always understand what he is doing, we must take solace that God is providential over all these matters, whether in our own lives or in the lives of others. It’s therefore not right to respond either in prideful arrogance or despondent anger about the outcomes from the election. Whether you think it all turned out grand or you are disgusted with the whole affair, God has allowed it - be at peace.

Whether or not you are the type that really “gets into politics” or not, I also want to encourage you not to put too much hope in government. Again, I watched with interest as supporters of candidates near and far clearly showed their passion and commitment to their candidate, presumably so glad or sad they were being elected...or not. It struck me as odd, but I think it’s because of my own passion for the Lord. As a Christian, I serve a higher authority - the highest authority at that - and the government can only accomplish so much for me. It does not, for example, have the power to change the human heart, and it cannot force me to believe or think anything. That’s the internal world that submits to the Lord...or not...and it’s that super-power zone in which only God and I can operate. No government can ever touch it.

Finally, I challenge you to support and pray for these leaders, whether you agree with them or not. They deeply need the Lord’s wisdom and the right response for the Christ follower is to support them in appropriate actions and in prayer. This past Tuesday night, when the results were rather clear, my wife and I prayed for President-Elect Obama, Governor Gregoire and Congresswoman McMorris-Rogers from the State of Washington (among others), that they would seek the Lord and lead with integrity. We asked God to give them the passion to do right, a heart for the poor and the desire to surround themselves with others of good character. Will you join me in praying for these men and women who serve and carry great weight for us? For Christ...

Lookin’ Up, Pastarod

Where We Want To Be...

Throughout my life and work, I've learned a lot over time about change. It seems that over and over again, whether it's in our family dynamics, conflicts with a friend or issues at work, there is always a challenge to overcome when faced with change.

Recently, I've been struck with the penetrating simplicity of two simple questions: Where are we now? and Where do we want to be? The difference between these two is what Peter Senge, from MIT's Sloan School of Management calls a "vision gap." He says that this gap itself provides the energy we need to move from where we are now to where we want to be. From there, we can only do two things with the gap...either we lower our expecations for where we want to be, or we raise our performance to that level. What a challenge!

Last Sunday I experienced my own "vision gap" as I stood in the arboreal foothills of the Sawatch Range in Colorado, looking up to the alpine summit of Mount Huron, 14,003 feet. I couldn't see the top...it was snowing...my brother-in-law and climbing partner Chuck and I wondered if it was safe to try the climb.

But aha, there's the vision gap: we decided "no guts, no glory," and up we went. Step after step we maintained our desire for the summit, though the vision gap grew smaller. We had to stick with it...there's not much oxygen above 10,000 feet! (Back in my flying days, we had to have oxygen available any time we were above that altitude.) In the end, though it was challenging, we made it. Of course we needed to plod back down, but that's a whole other story.

The exuberance of making a summit is so high! It's such a gift...the beauty, the majesty of God's wondrous high creation is unparalleled. Even though we were socked in on this summit from clouds, we still had that feeling of great success.

How about you? What mountain looms ahead of you? Where are you now? Where do you want to be?

Narrow that vision gap...start climbing that mountain. It starts with your next step...

Lookin' Up, Pastarod

The end to a perfect day...

Ah yes, the day started early as I had alot to do. My cup of morning tea tasted great and it was a clear commute even though they've been doing construction on my road out. The meetings went well in the morning and I was easily able to get several shots I'll need for my upcoming trip to Zambia. I passed my physical fitness test and then played some great hoops with some friends at the base. Then I was able to do a big grocery shopping trip and the store wasn't even busy. After coming home, taking a shower and getting dinner ready, I sat down with my in-laws, wearing my Buffs t-shirt...

...and watched my Colorado Buffaloes sneak out a win against #21 West Virginia!

Ah, the end to a perfect day. The Buffs are now 3-0 and it's not going to get any easier. But they're well on thier way. Can't wait to see 'em take on Florida State next Saturday!

Lookin' Up, Pastarod

Why are we so alone?

It’s been a striking truth to me for years that one of the things that most grieves God and us is our disconnection from one another. Time and time again, we see in our families, workplaces, schools and neighborhoods that relational brokenness drives us to run away from one another, causes us to isolate ourselves. We may be surrounded by people at every turn, but we still often feel that no one really knows us.

This isolation grieves God’s heart, and he has provided a means for us to escape it: through admitting our sin and accepting God’s forgiveness, we receive the power of God for a life-transforming journey. As Paul says, “the old has gone...the new has come.” The potential for a whole new life is now realized. But so many of us still try to remain on the old pathway of life lived alone. We don’t open ourselves to others, fearing their lack of acceptance. Our faith may be intact, but we still try to face life solo. The result is ongoing brokenness and isolation, perhaps no great change.

Why do we do this to ourselves? We bump into each other but don't connect. We stay in our homes and our workplace cubicles wondering how we'll ever break out.

Why not try the Christ's church? In Christ's church we find all kinds of people who are broken but seeking to be made whole together. I know this journey for me has often been painful, but I'll say I've seen God meet me through others in the church. And these days, I'm growing all the more convinced it's the only real way...

What do you think?

Lookin’ Up, Pastor Rod

Buffs Crush Lambies...

The day started terrible, with an early wake-up due to a problem with my water well. My car needed a jump-start after having sat idle while we were gone on vacation. But oh, how nicely things changed.

The Buffs Crushed the Lambies.

Ah, I love it. My beloved Colorado Buffaloes pasted our little brothers to the north 38-17. This is good. This is very good.

The world is still level...

Lookin' Up, Pastarod