Words to my daughter on her graduation from college

    Congratulations!! You’ve made it!   9 years of elementary school.  4 years of high school and now 5 years of college are complete.  No more sweating out classes and papers.   No more trying to figure out class schedules and figuring out which courses to take.  The course work is all complete and now you are a graduate. It’s a time of celebration of what you’ve accomplished and anticipation of what lays ahead for you.  I wanted to share with you something that was handed down to me when I was young that has helped me.

    As you know, when I grew up in Illinois I mowed lawns for spending money.  One of my customers was a retired Lutheran pastor named Pastor Zimmerman.  He was a wonderful person to talk to and for me he was a surrogate grandfather as he went to seminary with my grandfather who was also was a Lutheran Pastor and had passed away before I was born.  He always invited me in afterward for lemonade and ginger-snap cookies.  When I graduated from high school and was moving on to college I decided to hand over my lawn business to someone else as I would not have time to do it.  On my last time with him he gave me some grandfatherly advice.  He said to me

"You probably played on the monkey bars at school as a child, and the challenge was to get from one side to the other without falling.  The trick to getting across is not losing your momentum as you swing and the best way to do this is to let go of the previous rung as soon as you grab hold of the next rung.   If you hesitate and hold on too long you will be stuck between the two rungs and will lose all of your forward momentum.  You can still get across but now you will have to exert a lot of energy to swing to the next rung.  Life is like that.  We are moving from one rung to the next in life and we need to let go of the past behind us."

    He went on to share a Bible verse with me that I have always kept mindful of.  It is from Philippians 3:13-14
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind me and straining toward what is ahead.  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"

   As you swing from this rung to the next that lays ahead of you reach-grab-and-let-go.    Does that mean we forget the people we have worked with or spent time with?  Of course not.  It means we take them with us in our heart and in our memories  but we must leave all our decisions, mistakes and hurts behind us.  We can look at the past with fondness and learn from our mistakes, but we cannot stay here.  We must move on to the next rung and the rung after that.   Press on for the goal God has set before you.  Keep moving knowing God is there to dust you off and help you get back on if you fall.

   We are very proud of you!  You’re on to the next rung in life and moving forward!
 

I worship a Rational God

     When people look at many of the Old Testament laws they normally have one of two views. One side views them as odd relics of an ancient people long ago that can be ignored and even laughed at. The other views them as a way to garner Gods favor by dutifully following his rules and getting "blessings" in return for their "good behavior" like some sort of cosmic vending machine.

    To me, both of these views could not be more wrong.

     I don't look at God as some irrational being who comes up with irrational rules just to see if we are willing to follow them and then hand out little pats on the head in return.  I don't see God's laws as just random ramblings of an ancient God.   They have meaning and purpose to his people and the blessing is in direct correlation to the doing of them.  Like a parent who pushes their children to do well in school and they are "blessed" with good paying careers, so also many of God's laws have built in blessings for those who follow them.  

     As I wrote in a previous blog, some of God's laws were meant only for the Jewish people to keep them separate and distinct from the other heathen cultures that surrounded them and threatened to assimilate them into their way of living and take them off their course to bring the Messiah to save the world.   Other laws, were meant to bring blessings to them

     Take for example the Jewish law to "not cook the goat in the milk of the mother" (Exodus 23:19).  This is one of the most misunderstood and laughed at laws by unbelievers (just check any Reddit comment section on religion and you are bound to find this one brought up).  This law has nothing to do with meat sauces.  Any farmer will tell you a mother goat will wean her baby when it reaches a certain size.   So why does God care about this?  This verse appears in a section dealing with the three annual sacrifice festivals and essentially he is telling them to not sacrifice a young goat that is not yet weaned.  Why should God care about this?   First of all, he wants them to sacrifice an animal that they have spent time and energy raising and not just a baby goat that has just been born.   He wants them to have stock in the sacrifice.   Secondly, these sacrifices were eaten by the people during these festivals and so a larger/older goat would feed a larger group of people present at the festival.   If it were not for this requirement we as sinful human beings would be bringing in little baby goats and calves to sacrifice to meet the requirement but not meet the needs of others.  

    Take another example of where God tells his people give the land a Sabbath rest.  In Leviticus 25:3-5 he says,

³ For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. ⁴ But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. ⁵ Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.

     Is there some magic to the number seven?  Is God just wanting to test their obedience to him?   I don't think so in the least.  By requiring this he forces them to refresh the land and thus insure they have an abundance at harvest time by not over stressing the land. Leaving the land fallow for a year would re-energize the land and put much needed Nitrogen back into the soil and make better crops in the following years.   Today, farmers do this all the time (crop rotation) because science has shown it to be beneficial.  In ancient times they had no way of knowing this, but God knew it because he created it.   Here again the blessing is built right into the law and it is a direct byproduct of obeying God and not a handout from him for obedience.  

    A final example is God's requirement to the Jews to forgive the debts of their fellow Jews every 7 years and all debts every 25 years. Imagine the benefit to the people that would never be burdened with debts covering multiple decades and generations.  Imagine how their gentile neighbors would feel about them seeing their debts forgiven.   Debts would be kept short in length (why have a 10 year loan when you know you will have to end it after 7 years), and people would be happy to do business with you in return.  

Likewise you also would not get yourself strapped with heavy loans that would enslave you and your children for years to come and you would become "debt free" every seven years.   Today, many financial advisors see the wisdom in this approach and counsel their customers to work towards becoming debt free as well.     

     In all of these cases we see God blessing his people not by some voodoo magic or a pat on the head by following his laws.  Instead many of these laws have built-in blessing inside of them.  Similarly, many of these laws that non-believers scoff at can be seen to be truly rational in nature when you take the time to understand them and read into them what God is trying to do.    

  He, in effect, blesses them by giving them his law and they receive his blessing by doing what it says.   

   So how do these apply to me today now that we have refrigerators and many of us are not farmers etc.?

   Let's take a look at the calf-in-mothers-milk law.   Granted, yes we do have freezers today and we can store large quantities of food for days, weeks, months and even years to come.   Does this mean we can ignore this one?   Not really.   Maybe we need to take a look at our investments and not just look at them for ways to "take care of ourselves" but also to take care of others in our families and communities.   We sometimes short-cut our investments because "it's enough for us" so maybe we should see the bigger picture.   For example, do you sell a stock early because it's better for you rather than hang on to it a little longer and pay a smaller capital gains tax?   If you paid a smaller tax you could give more of the proceeds to charity instead.  

   What about the giving the land a rest law?   Two ways you could apply this in your life.   One is to give yourself a rest.  How many of us can't stop working even on Sunday?   Always too much to do and then we wonder why we are tired all the time.    Another is to look at our investments.   Do you have all your eggs in one basket?   Maybe you should divide it up and give each investment a "rest" by putting it into a CD for a year.   

   Finally what about the 7-year-debt-free law?   Maybe tell yourself that you will never take a loan longer than 7 years (or 10 since most banks do so in 5 year increments).    This would force you to save up a substantial amount of money for a down payment and pay off your debts quickly.   It would also secure a lower interest rate most of the time as the bank is on the hook for a shorter period with less risk.   Being debt free would free you up to help others around you as well.

   In conclusion, God's laws are not irrational ramblings of an ancient mystical god for a people who are not like us.   They are rational and helpful.  They are there to promote a better life and a better community for all.  

Words to my daughter on her graduation from college

    Congratulations!! You’ve made it!   9 years of elementary school.  4 years of high school and now 5 years of college are complete.  No more sweating out classes and papers.   No more trying to figure out class schedules and figuring out which courses to take.  The course work is all complete and now you are a graduate. It’s a time of celebration of what you’ve accomplished and anticipation of what lays ahead for you.  I wanted to share with you something that was handed down to me when I was young that has helped me.

    As you know, when I grew up in I mowed lawns for spending money.  One of my customers was a retired Lutheran pastor named Pastor Zimmerman.  He was a wonderful person to talk to and for me he was a surrogate grandfather as he went to seminary with my grandfather who was also was a Lutheran Pastor and had passed away before I was born.  He always invited me in after for lemonade and ginger-snap cookies after I was done.  When I graduated from high school and was moving on to college I decided to hand over my lawn business to someone else as I would not have time to do it.  On my last time with him he gave me some grandfatherly advice.  He said to me

"You probably played on the monkey bars at school as a child, and the challenge was to get from one side to the other without falling.  The trick to getting across is not losing your momentum as you swing and the best way to do this is to let go of the previous rung as soon as you grab hold of the next rung.   If you hesitate and hold on too long you will be stuck between the two rungs and will lose all of your forward momentum.  You can still get across but now you will have to exert a lot of energy to swing to the next rung.  Life is like that.  We are moving from one rung to the next in life and we need to let go of the past behind us."

    He went on to share a Bible verse with me that I have always kept mindful of.  It is from Philippians 3:13-14
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind me and straining toward what is ahead.  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"

   As you swing from this rung to the next that lays ahead of you reach-grab-and-let-go.    That doesn’t mean we forget the people we have worked with or spent time with?  Of course not.  It means we take them with us in our heart and in our memories  but we must leave all our decisions, mistakes and hurts behind us.  We can look at the past with fondness and learn from your mistakes, but we cannot stay here.  We must move on to the next rung and the rung after that.   Press on for the goal God has set before you.  Keep moving knowing God is there to dust you off and help you get back on if you fall.

   We are very proud of you!  You’re on to the next rung in life and moving forward!
 

Hillary's "Horton Hears a Who" moment

   This weekend Hillary Clinton was on "Meet the Press" and was asked about the constitutional rights of the unborn.   Here was her response:

Well, under our laws currently, that is not something that exists. The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights. Now, that doesn’t mean that we don’t do everything we possibly can in the vast majority of instances to, you know, help a mother who is carrying a child and wants to make sure that child will be healthy, to have appropriate medical support. It doesn’t mean that you don’t do everything possible to try to fulfill your obligations. But it does not include sacrificing the woman’s right to make decisions.

    Here we have a very interesting comment in which she agrees with the Pro-Life side that the fetus (as so many Pro-Choice/Abortion advocates like to call it) is a "person".   This wording may seem unimportant but it couldn't be more starker.  This may be the first time Hillary may have used those exact words in her entire life.   I don't know if its because she's getting older and wiser or just older and starting to slip.   Whatever the reason it's important to note.

    Next she says that "the unborn person" has no constitutional rights.    Now, let me ask you this.  When have we heard these arguments before?   Well, of course, the Republicans fight with the Democrats of 1860 over the rights of slaves is one place.   The argument over whether or not these racially different people were even human at all and whether they deserved the same rights as citizens.   The arguments are the same, its just the adjectives are changed from "slave" to "unborn" and the year from 1860 to 2016.

    Often the argument has been about the viability of the child outside the womb as to whether or not it should be granted "human status".   But that is merely a result of science and resources.   Even a fully developed baby of 9 months or even a year-old is not technically viable outside the womb to care for itself either.  Does that mean its death is not covered by the Constitution either?   What about a child living in an iron-lung machine.   Technically its life is completely dependent on a machine and people willing and able to pay for the care and energy to run that machine.   Does his life become less Constitutionally Viable?  Do they become UN-human?

     The real truth is that for the Democrats it's not about Constitutional Rights at all.  They haven't cared about the Constitution for over 50 years so why should they start now.   The real issue is that the "thing in the womb" doesn't vote (yet) and is a mistake that someone wants to erase like a wrong answer on a test.   Quietly.  Anonymously.   Without regret.   But as I have written before, a conscience is a terrible thing to waste and it has a tendency to creep back up on you later in life.   Many women have come out about how they have battled for years after their abortion with depression, drug abuse and failed relationships from their choice to abort.     These are facts that often the left doesn't want to face.   Like the tiny non-humans murdered in this procedure they are inconsequential in the grand scheme of votes and money.

    But let's not lay all the blame at the feet of people like Hillary either.    We as a society have been complacent as well.   For too many people the issue of abortion is tragically viewed as a form of welfare reduction.   There are those on the right who also silently view abortion as a way to reduce federal welfare spending.   They view these lives only as a drag on society and an added burden on the taxpaying citizen.   To them, better 6 million babies are aborted than to add possibly 6 million babies each year to the welfare roles.  Too often though this stems from such an apathetic view of humanity and its ability to adapt and change.   Ask yourself this simple question: if abortion was made illegal, would not people who are engaging in non-procreation sexual activities (i.e. sex outside of marriage) find alternative ways to have their cake and eat it too?   Would they not use one or two of the myriad of ways to prevent conception?   Of course they would.  

    The problem is that no one wants the responsibility.   Not the mother, who thought sex would solidify a relationship as good as a wedding only to find out it doesn't.   Not the father/sperm-donor who only wanted a few minutes of fun and wasn't the least interested in raising a child let alone staying with the mother any longer than past breakfast.   Not the feminist who would rather teach that women should use sex like men use sex in order to achieve some level of male equality.     Not the politician, like Hillary, who only wants votes and sees that it's easier to pander to promising a painless world without repercussions for ones behaviors and actions than to tell the truth to the people they represent.  

    But keep on talking Hillary.   I hope you listen to one of your interviews and hear how ridiculous your reasoning really sounds.   I think there is still hope for you.

I can do it on my own!

    Recently I decided to get back in shape as I was over 50 pounds overweight. My size 36 jeans were almost too small now and I needed size 38 instead.  I still remember my wife bringing me to the Eddie Bauer store in the mall to try on some new slacks and shirts.  I decided to give size 36 one more try and went into the changing room knowing in the back of my mind that they were not going to fit but thought maybe, just maybe, they were a large 36.   So I put them on and could barely button them up.   There I stood in front of the large mirrors and tried to pull my gut in, but finally just said to myself, "No John!  Just let it go"  and so I relaxed and my gut pushed out and the pants clearly were not going to fit and I was a hideous site to see.   I couldn't pretend anymore.   I was obese.  I handed them back to my wife through the door and said, "I need size 38 now"  and she without saying a word handed my the size 38 slacks I needed.

    That moment was life changing for me.  I had to change.  I started to workout every day (sometimes 2 times a day) and the weight slowly began to come off.  Of course I decided to do it all on my own.  I played lots of sports in grade school and high school as a youth.  I knew how you have to work hard and do lots of running to burn calories.    I have always prided myself on being self-sufficient.  In my work I could take on most jobs without any help.   Even at home I could get through most home projects without too much help from friends or neighbors.  But I soon learned that much of my knowledge on weight-loss was outdated and I need to not only address exercise but also my diet and eating habits.  My wife helped me with that as well.  She too was in need of losing weight and when we joined a new gym she signed up for a Team Weightloss class to help her get going and what she learned in the class "spilled over" to me as well and helped me lose more weight.  In the end I've lost the 50 pounds and I am in better shape then ever.  In the exercise business they refer to this as "transformation".

     It's interesting that in life we all too often don't want help.   Maybe it's our American Spirit or something that says "I can do it on my own!".  This attitude isn't just with work or at the gym but is also in our spiritual lives.   We brazenly say,

"Don't worry God!  I can do it on my own!   I've got this!  "

    He must chuckle inside like an fitness coach looking at an obese person who hasn't exercised in years  who is trying to do it all on their own.   How silly we must look to him as we think to ourselves that we can fix our sin and the evil inside of us.   He quietly tells us, "Let me help you!" but we resist until we finally have to face ourselves in the mirror of his law and say, "Let it go!" 

    In the Gospel of John, we read about Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman.  She was getting water from a deep well in the middle of the hot afternoon.   She was not a well liked woman in the community as she was divorced 4 times and her current "husband" wasn't her legal husband.  She had figured out a way to do it herself.  She would get the water in the middle of the hot afternoon so she wouldn't have to endure the lectures and hateful looks of the other women.  Like the obese person who as found the perfect time to go to the gym to exercise so no one can see them (including no trainers).   Her solution was like theirs, "self-imposed social isolation".   But Jesus is like that trainer who won't go away.  He comes up to her and talks to her.   He knows her situation fully and he reaches out to her with the truth, that he is the Messiah and he wants to have a living relationship with her.   She has her "Let it go!" moment and runs off to the local town to call all the people out to the well to meet Jesus. 

    Jesus reaches out to us each day on the Cross and says "Let it go!  I've got this!"  we just need to surrender and listen to his word and let him transform us from the inside with the help of his Holy Spirit.

Thy Will Be Done!

    These are probably 4 of the most difficult words to utter in the Lord's Prayer.  In these words we completely surrender our desires and goals to that which God's desires and goals for us.  Jesus prayed a similar petition on Good Friday in the garden of Gethsemane.  He prayed, "Father if it is your will to take this cup from me, but not my will but your will be done".   Shortly after praying this Jesus gets his answer.   The mob is in the garden and they are there to arrest him.  Jesus knew all the pain of the scourging , beatings and crucifixion  that awaited him but yet he prayed "your will be done".   He surrenders himself to the crowd and then to the Sanhedrin and later to Pontius Pilate himself. Ultimately he surrenders his will to the cross as the soldiers nail him to it.  At any moment he could summon a legion of angels to rescue him but he doesn't.   He could yell "Damn you all" and in a moment his enemies would be thrown into hell, but he doesn't.

    We often pray this petition with our fingers crossed and hoping that God doesn't take it too seriously with us or that he goes easy on us.  But that is not always the case.   As I have written in some previous blogs, God's will is to save as many people as he can.   That is his ULTIMATE WILL.  But to do so often  requires pain and suffering.   CS Lewis once wrote

"Pain is God's megaphone to a deaf world"

   We don't listen too well when the times are good.   We are too busy doing our own thing and thinking that THIS is our heaven and it will all keep going on as it always has.   Pain shakes us to our core.  It focuses the mind in ways that enjoyment can't.   I challenge you to put a small tack in the bottom of your shoe and try to walk around for a day.  It will drive you mad!

    I think a great economic collapse is coming our way.   We know that we can't debt our way to economic stability.   The bills will eventually come due and we will all have to pay the price for our indulgences.  I think God will work tremendously when that day comes.  Some are hoping it comes later rather than sooner.   I am quite the opposite.   I want to see people flee their idols of money, wealth and power and run towards a loving God wanting to spare them.   For I see a hopeless generation seeking meaning but not finding any that is only too arrogant to acknowledge how wrong and blind they are.  Sad to say this, but many of these people are in the church as well.   They look at God's word as some sort of heavenly "vending machine" that if we say the right things, do the right actions, vote the right way God will smile upon us and give us peace, security and a full stomach.  They perform rituals like "Washington Prayer Breakfasts" and other pseudo-religious actions in hopes to get God to grant our country favor in his eyes.   Yes we as individuals are called to pray for our leaders and those in power but God does not deign for us to from Super-PACs to accomplish his will. God already knows what he is going to do.   He just wants us to ask for it to be done among us and through us as well.

    As with our economy, so also, many people are looking at this upcoming election with fear and anxiousness.  Some are asking "How did our country slide from past presidents like Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan to a choice between Hillary (a untrustworthy liar and hypocrite) and Trump (an obnoxious self-absorbed con-man)?"  I can assure you that after this election (as with all events in our world) "Gods will" will be done.  Whether it's Hillary or Trump, "God's will" will be done to allow him to reach as many people as possible.  I sometimes think God is like a great business man who must change tactics and strategies to keep his business moving forward.   He cannot keep using the same methods but must adapt to maximize his profits.  God's profits in his world is OUR SOULS which he has redeemed.   Maybe all God wanted from the U.S. was for us to invent the Internet so he can reach even more people in places too difficult by any other means.  Who knows.  But then again maybe God is not done with us yet either.

   But in the end all we can say as his followers is: "Thy will be done Lord.  Thy will be done!"