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Thursday, 30 April 2009
Friends,
God has not left himself without a witness in doing good -- giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy. Acts 14:17
Can I get a witness? Whoop whoop!
I've been dwelling a lot in the blessings of everyday lately. I've been challenging myself to look a bit more at each moment of this "kingdom of God broken in life" that I lead. How will I let that good news affect me? And how will my affected life affect others?
Each day, maybe twice a day sometimes, I update my Facebook status. It's simply a one sentence update to the people that I am connected to online that tells a bit about what I'm doing or where my head is that day. For those who enjoying online communication, it helps go beyond your typical "informational email."
But each time you go to update, it always starts with "Steve is....." and then you fill in the rest of the sentence.
I like the "is."
Many times throughout Biblical life, we are clearly called by God to "be": to sit still and know that God is God; to listen; to pray; to worship; to focus on our relationship with the Lord and learn from Scriptures. There are a lot of times to "be" so were say we're "being."
However, there is also a clear Biblical call to "go", to "share", to "impact", to "tell" and to "do."
That's the "is" so we must be "ising"
Are you planning on "ising" today?
That doesn't mean to fill your schedule for the day up with meaningless movements. I call that being busy to look busy. Ising is different...it means you have been filled with blessing, washed with waters of God grace and with a heart filled with joy....and you start "ising." It's action with God's purpose, God's call and God's energy. And when are lives are filled with that sort of "ising," we witness to the power of what Easter is about: life, eternal, and promise. Even when it's as simple as helping someone, loving another, reaching to one or crossing over some perceived boundary to care for one hurt.
What is your status update today? Let me know...even if you're not on Facebook email it to me...or if you are, add it here.
And be a witness.
Lord, (Your name) is.....Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Friends,
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are." 1 John 3:1
See! Did you see it? Do you see it? Will you see it?
This was the first morning I had a chance to ride my bike to work. It's already 60-something degrees and beautiful. Now I live about.2 miles from the church, but I took the long route...just to see it. I went about .5 miles....the long way to church this morning.
I saw leaves bursting through the branches.
I saw birds dive bombing me as if I was fresh food.
I saw my parents.
I saw some guys from the Town Highway Dept fixing the road.
I saw people smiling and laughing, having easy conversations.
See. See what love the Father has given...in just .5 miles.
Our guest preacher this weekend at Zion, Rev. Gene Coplin from Project L.E.E. ministries, reminded and challenged us to "see" and to fill our hearts with the "romance of faith life." That means falling in love with the little things that God places into our stories.
The creation of the world was no small event. Easter was no small event. Christmas was no small event. Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit arrives) was no small event. Jesus coming again will probably be a big one too that will be hard to miss.
But in between those big ones, God has filled our lives with life. And that life is a blessing...even in the hard times. When we take an extra .3 miles to fill our eyes, hearts and minds with the blessing from God, we might just "see" better when the really hard stuff happens.
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are."
Enjoy your ride today!
Lord, thanks...help me open my eyes to see it all. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Friends,
It's Earth Day.
Maybe it would be better if we called it "Human Day."
Today all around the US, and maybe the globe, people will be extra nice to the Earth. Pick up a few more things. Be more aware. Shut off lights. I don't know the full spectrum of all that will happen. But it's the day when humans get a bit better at taking care of the Earth.
What bothers me a tad though is that we hang out on this thing called Earth the other 364 days of the year and throw junk in the woods and pollution in the air and our actions blend right into the woodwork.
One day? Does the Earth really get just one day? Heck, it took God six "days" to create the whole mess and set it in motion.
Is Christmas, and the fact that Jesus came into this world to announce the breaking in of the kingdom, only to be celebrated for one day? Oh yeah, we do that too, don't we.
Is Easter, and the fact that Jesus is risen from the dead, to only be one day while dressed in nice clothes surrounded by butter lambs?
Hardly.
Let's give the Earth more than one day.
Let's allow our stewardship of the things God has given us to permeate into everyday.
Faith is not meant for only the Sabbath days. It is meant to live out everyday. Let our stewardship of creation reflect that.
If you need this day to be your jumpstart, awesome! Let it be your beginning to embrace your relationship with the Earth in a more positive way.
Otherwise, let's live out our faith and stewardship of God's creation everyday.
I'll see you tomorrow...on Earth Day.
Lord, help me celebrate this gift everyday in my actions. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
Monday, 20 April 2009
Friends,
I love the disciples. I love them because they are real. Yes, some churches lift them up as saints. Yes, some church communities are even named after them. I love them because they aren't perfect.
And neither are the people that they interact with...especially this guy Simon.
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this power." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you
could obtain God's gift with money!" Acts 8:18-20
I can't quite tell the tone of Peter's response. Maybe he's laughing? Maybe he's yelling? I'm not sure. But I do know who the tone is coming from...Peter...the disciple that fairly recently denied Jesus three times. This is Peter, who wanted a nice clean Jesus and a Messiah who didn't need to face all the stuff of the cross.
And he's the one who Jesus sends into the world. Why? Because he's perfect? No. Because he'll approach everything right? No. Because he'll use the right tone and the right time? No.
Because he has gifts. Gifts given to him by God. And he's using the ones he has discovered.
Simon is searching, trying to figure it out. And like many of us, when he finds one he likes, he tries to BUY it! He's imperfect too!
The imperfect for the imperfect....both blessed with gifts from the Perfect!
Have you been trying to buy gifts lately? Has it worked? Have they lasted? Or did they eventually fade away?
Why not look through your imperfections and seek out the perfect gifts that God has placed in your midst.
Lord, help me see my gifts. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
Friday, 17 April 2009
Friends,
Happy Easter!
What a week for Jesus! Resurrected from the tomb and free from bondage to do what he needed to do: announce to the world that God wins!!! He basically had nothing else to do now...his week was free...he just needed to track down the 12 disciples and the rest of the crew and a few passers by and let them know the important news.
I can only imagine how psyched Jesus was, eh?
I had a similar experience this week...although there was only a very brief moment of excitement...the rest was terror, frustration and fear.
My phone and computer melted this week. Somehow, someway, the stars aligned, the Microsoft devil struck, the Blackberry karma turned evil and my calendar, email and all my phone numbers were gone! 1457 email addresses, 550 appointments and 450 phone numbers....gone. (To make a long story short) After multiple hours and talking with 100 people from all over the world (all named "John" or Tom"), we recovered the calendar and emails and are slowly regaining phone numbers.
My reaction to finding my calendar gone was this: Ah....this is sort of nice...and then rapidly changed to....HOLY MOLY!!!!! (Or something like that). I had no proof of where I needed to be, go or was expected. My summer was free. My weekends were free. There was no hospital to visit. There was no baseball, presentations to lead, dancing, Bills games, car appointments, doctors to see or taxes to pay!
And instead of feeling free....I felt panic....from expectations, from guilt, from fear of the unknown, from "the man", from all that would expect me to be something or do something.
Jesus comes out of a dark tomb with no calendar, no email and no texting....and was totally free to be the Face that the Book said would be there. Free to love. To announce. To tell. To represent. To prove. To heal.
There seems to be a vast chasm of how Jesus and I approached the days after Easter.
How many things in my life get in the way of approaching life like Jesus?
How many things could we each erase to allow us to be the person, the child of God, that we were created to be?
How many things get in the way of our announcing? our healing? our loving?
Being organized is great. Information and communication are great. But maybe we need to make sure that all of it is used to support our mission here on earth: to tell all about what God has done...through our living presence to all we see.
Thank you Microsoft. Thank you Blackberry. Thank you Tom, John, Jack and all the others.....oh yes...and Jesus...for reminding me of the freedom that should come from the good news that is Easter!
Lord, help me be free, even when busy, to tell it to all. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
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And by the by, if I had your cell number at one point and you haven't resent it, please let me know what yours was/is.
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
Wednesday, 08 April 2009
Friends,
Jesus took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19
I've been reflecting a lot on this verse all week.
I say it each time I celebrate Holy Communion at church or in the community.
Sometimes that is during the weekend worship services.
Sometimes that is in someone's home that can't get out because of health issues.
Sometimes it's in a hospital before someone heads out for surgery.
Sometimes it's at a funeral, like yesterday, when we need the physical reminder of Jesus' presence.
Sometimes it's at camp during a Men's retreat and we use beer and spice bread instead of wine and normal bread because that's what we had around.
But is the grace that accompanies that meal present even more often than those specific times??
Even when we don't say those exact words?
Could it be possible that Christ is in...with...around...under...behind...more than just some weird wafers that taste like cardboard and some bad port wine?
I think so.
Many Pharisees (anal retentive church rule keepers) would probably throw me in "church jail" for believing that we commune in our homes/work places/schools around a table when bread is broken (food served), community is gathered (your family, roommates and other random people that you eat with) and Jesus is recognized.
And you don't have to be an ordained pastor to have those moments!!! (Did he just say what I think he said?) Yes, he did. I'm obsolete, overrated, and fairly useless.
I think that is the powerful part of this meal...that because of those words...because of those actions...because they happen on the way to the cross...because he dies...and because he lives again...now...there is NO HOLDING BACK the power of Christ's presence and his grace in our lives.
Yes, communion in church makes it easier to recognize. Yes, it is the "meal of the Christian community". Yes, it's important that the meal...the moment...should be held as holy and celebrated with integrity and dignity...but if we put it in a box...and confine God to a certain way...a certain time...a certain person's hands or words...haven't we missed the point?
Jesus is trying to tell us that he has given himself for us. Died, so that he might live....so that we will live.
Remember that today at Subway with some friends...at Dunkin Donuts getting your free coffee...over that beer while watching the game.
It's pretty amazing.
Lord, thanks for this meal of grace...help me to celebrate it and experience its purpose more often. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
Wednesday, 01 April 2009
Friends,
Almost every night at our dinner table, Michelle and I do "high's and low's" with the kids. It's just a quick time to talk about the good and bad things that happened during the day. Sometimes it turns out pretty benign and the conversations move right on. Sometimes we laugh so hard milk comes out of our nose (mainly that happens to Michelle). And sometimes we are able to talk about where God was during the day in those high's and low's.
The low points are the ones that cause us the frustrations, so that is why it's important to focus on the high points too!
Recently in church with all that has happened in Clarence Center, in the financial picture of our nation/world, in the grief we experience and all the other points in between, we have wrestled with keeping the faith in the midst of all those sometimes extreme high's and low's. We've been asking the "how's" recently too...how do I keep the faith? How do I lay my baggage down at the foot of the cross? How do I find peace?
I want to share with you one person's response and her advice to "repeat the cycle."
"O.k. so I've been giving it some thought. The question you asked last week; How do you get there...what steps do you take to get you out of the valley? Here's what I've got.
First I think you need to recognize God's promises to each of us. Understand them in their simplest form, and then believe them. Really sink your teeth into them. Know that these promises are spoken to each one of us individually and to our unique situations and not pressed out from a cookie cutter machine.
That's when I think we start to see God's hand at work in our lives. Not that He wasn't there before, but once we believe that those promises are real, healing takes place and we can recognize the power of God's presence. We can "be" in His presence.
The more we experience His grace, the more we trust in Him. The more we trust in His promises the easier it becomes to live through the valleys. The more we make it through the valleys, the more confidence we have to share that love with others. The more we share the message, the more people start to hear His promises.
Repeat the cycle."
Repeat the cycle. That's good advice.
In your high's and low's today...repeat the cycle...of recognizing God's promise for you...God's love for you.
Lord, help me repeat the cycle. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Zion Lutheran Church
9535 Clarence Center Rd
Clarence Center NY 14032
716.741.2656
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