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Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Friends,
It was great sleeping weather last night...got down into the 40's. So when my alarm went off at 5-ungodly-something-am to wake me for riding, I took an extra 5 minutes in bed to just enjoy the cool air in the room and the warm covers on top of me. Warm covers make all the difference. Sometime in the winter, I want to sleep with the windows open and the down comforter on top of me and exhale so I can see my breath crystallize in the chilly air while remaining warm under the covers.
Covers warm us...even when things are cold.
You bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover them with favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:12
Let's face it, sometimes life gets "cold" and we need a shield. The cold temps around us of broken relationships, hurts, doubts and fears. They chill us to the bone. They shake our foundations as we shiver our way through the day when grief or loss or unexpected transitions lower our body temps.
But God can warm. God can shield. God can and does offer a cover that protects, renews, and raises our temps once again.
Some of the cold snaps are harsher than others...cold enough that it feels like it burns.
Take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16
It's an incredible promise that is offered to you and me today, no matter what the "weather" in our life is like right now. We are offered a shield of faith, a cover that takes away the sting, the pain, the cold and the hurt.
Wake up into that promise and love today!
Lord, thanks for warming me when life gets chilly. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Monday, 28 June 2010
Friends,
My son just called me a few minutes ago asking if he could use his allowance money to buy a new game for his Wii gaming system. My first reaction when he called was that he had already asked his mother and she said "No" so now he was trying to convince me. Turns out (to my shock) after we progressed through the conversation a tad further, his mom supported the idea and he was calling just to double check with me.
I was pleasantly surprised. The usual case for our kids is "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again...with the next parent...or grandparent...or older person in the neighborhood...or mailman..." It's an annoying strategy to deal with, but I think we've all tried it at some point in our life. I mean I never did, but most people have. Whenever one of my parents gave me an answer, I quickly agreed and accepted the answer. (beep beep beep...that's the "Steve is about to be struck by lightning for lying so bad" alarm going off)
When we don't like the answer, we rephrase it, reframe it and re-ask it...maybe even to someone else...so that it will be "a more pleasing" idea to them.
Face it, many of us like to be affirmed and accepted by the world around us. Even to the point of saying what we're trying to say in a different way or a stretched truth so that someone, sometime, somewhere...will say "Yes."
Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
Paul dealt with the same stuff throughout his life. He even persecuted and beat down Christians (before he was one himself) so that others would accept him. But it was different with this thing called "the good news of God" for others. He knew there was one way to say it, one way to share it, one truth that people needed to know, one love that would answer all questions, one way to experience the love of God. And he didn't try and reframe it one bit. He just spoke as a servant of Christ.
He shared it. Lived it. Wrote it. Proclaimed it. And let God's Spirit do the rest.
When it comes to our own faith, no matter where we are on that journey, we don't need to please others with it. The One who sees us live it out IS pleased and has ALREADY accepted us before we even began. And through that partnership and undeserved grace showered on us, God has approved us to share it with others...out of love...out of care...out of concern...out of compassion...out of grace.
And when that happens in our daily life, we won't need to run to the next to ask permission or gain some implied acceptance. Being a servant of Christ will be plenty enough!
Lord, thank you for accepting me. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Friends,
At about 10:30am today, I'll wander over to Clarence Center Elementary School where 350 kids and the staff will be gathered on the front lawn of the school yard to walk through the tradition of ringing the school bell which officially ends the school year! There will be cheering and singing and general craziness abounding on a beautiful sunny day in downtown Clarence Center! And then...all the kids will grab their backpacks full of completed notebooks, beat up lunch boxes, items that were finally found after being lost half the year, creative art projects involving way too much glitter, half a folder and one smelly sock...and fly out the school doors ready to experience summer.
What will that experience look like?
Tons of kids across the country have been and will be repeating the same pattern recently...transitioning into a new time, a new school, a new graduation, a new world.
What will that experience look like?
"I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I; send me!' "Isaiah 6:8
Isaiah went from his school yard to becoming one of the most important and profound Bible guys on record. Was he prepared, ready, educated and confident?
Maybe he wasn't any of those things...but he was at least aware.
Aware that there was a voice in his head and a presence in his life asking him to be something.
Aware that there was a purpose that he was created for and finally realizing.
Aware that there was a bigger-ness to the daily grind and momentum of life.
Aware. Aware that he was there. And aware that there was somewhere to be sent. The rest was put together as he moved along.
Are you aware today in your transition?
Are you aware that God might just be launching you from the schoolhouse of life to "the next?"
Are you aware that your preparation is exactly where you need to be?
Are you aware that the promise is that you will have just enough and probably plenty more?
Are you aware that this summer could use you? To change a life? Help a stranger? Rest and renew yourself? Bike to raise a couple bucks? Build a wall at a Habitat for Humanity house? Celebrate with someone? Pray? Admit your addiction? Heal? Or maybe be healed?
The voice, the promise and the presence are all there.
So sing...cheer...and be generally crazy...summer is here. Be aware of your calling in it!
Lord, speak up please. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Friends,
Here's some good news..."Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand." Psalm 73:23
But what if you're a lefty like me?????
If God's holding the right hand...that can be mighty awkward!
Did you ever try and do your normal day to day activities without using your dominant hand? Some are easy. But others right tricky! I can eat, dribble a basketball and write slowly with my right hand...but that's about it. Throwing a baseball, football or swinging a golf club is a pretty funny event to watch if I'm trying to do it as a righty. The word "spaz" would come to mind while you watched me.
We don't just learn how to do things with one particular hand...we also get into a rhythm with that hand. We get used to it. Eating, writing, waving, and other activities develop into a pattern and habit due to the strength of one side of our brain and it's becomes a hard habit to break. (feel free to hum the tune while you read that line)
I get into "faith patterns" too. Faith patterns where I invite God into and expect God to show up in certain ways, times and patterns. And I'm comfortable with those ways, times and patterns. From my brain...and my soul.
But sometimes those patterns leave a gap...a need...a growth place...a time to allow us to be ambidextrous in our faith lives...to allow God to come in a new way...one that is not blocked off or out by our patterns which can become walls and barriers.
And it feels weird at times, like trying to eat with your "off" hand.
But it's in exactly those times that we need God the most and God promises to be there...in the "off" times...outside our comfort zone...and to hold our hand through it all.
Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
Don't be afraid of breaking the pattern today, or trying something new, or looking at life through a new lens...even if it's awkward...even if it feels strange. Because God is there, holding your hand.
Lord, hold tight...this might be tricky. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Friends,
I recently stayed at an "all inclusive" resort while I was out of town doing a wedding. I'm not sure if you've ever been to one of these places, but the name describes what is covered...just about everything...food, drinks, things to do, etc. It makes it easy...you don't have to think too hard...eat whenever you want, grab a drink whenever you want, play when you want, and so on.
I knew that this was the set-up before I arrived, but it can still surprise you and catch you off guard.
It took a long travel day to get to this place, which involved a couple airports, a few delays, TSA groping me, a foreign language that I didn't speak, taxi drivers mobbing my upon arriving yelling that they could "help me out," 85 degrees and humid while I was still wearing my "northern clothes" and a drive from airport to resort at 93mph over city cobblestone streets. Needless to say, when I arrived at the check-in desk, I wasn't really "relaxed" at all.
While I was checking in with the front desk and negotiating the language barrier, a gentleman walked up to my right holding something on a tray and said in English with a thick Mexican accent: "Welcome, for you Senor!", offering the tray. He was holding a tray with a glass of bubbling champagne and a rolled up moist towel soaked in ginger water. So what did I do? I said, fairly startled: "No thank you!" in my best Northeastern English.
What? Who says no to that at an all inclusive resort?
You see...it caught me off guard. My gut reaction said I would have to pay for that, that I didn't know what was up with the towel, that I'm not all that in love with champagne and that I wasn't used to people being this nice to me!
It's hard to trust that something could really be that good...that covered...that paid for...that unexpected...that welcoming.
I've felt that way with God sometimes too. Have you?
Sometimes my world, and maybe yours, is very much like the travel day...things stressing you out, demanding your time and attention, poking at you, moving too fast and overheating you. And we allow ourselves to get used to it. In fact, we can sometimes allow it to actually become the norm...not the exception.
And when we hear words of grace from our God, they catch us off guard...even to the point where we say: "No thank you." Too good to be true.
It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. Isaiah 63:1 (NIV)
Isaiah spent his whole calling trying to tell the world (the one that was caught up in all the stress which caused them to make bad decisions) that there was an all inclusive God who was trying to love them, despite them. That he was mighty to save!
Are those same words foreign to you? Do they catch you off guard? When you hear the story that God arrived in the shape and life of Jesus to die for you...do you find it too hard to believe?
See...God's plan is all inclusive! Everything we could possibly need...for our eternal life...and for our present life...everything is included through his love! It's already paid for!
So am I comparing God's grace and love to a friendly Mexican man with a towel and champagne? Maybe! Because that was how it showed up in that moment for me...to remind me that the stress doesn't get to win...that the love is already offered...that the blessings are all included.
Enjoy the all inclusive rest and relaxation today...not by stopping what you're doing, or running away from life...but by simply realizing that you are loved...and letting that lead you through whatever else comes.
Lord, thanks for the moist towels. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Friends,
Over the past few days I've been on two planes that have flown over the Gulf of Mexico, just south of New Orleans. As I went over the first time, the pilot invited us to take a look below at the site of the BP oil spill/leak/event. I couldn't differentiate the oil from the water from so far above, but I could see many, many boats that were down there presumably working on the clean up efforts. It went on for miles. And the spill and damage goes on for hundreds of miles past what I could see. Not to mention the families that still grieve at the loss of their loved ones during this event. And those whose culture and vocation have been change forever as well.
I was struck by how BIG of an event this was/is/will be.
"Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind." Exodus 14:21
As I read this verse and recalled the story of God having this profound role in helping Moses care for his people, I found myself wishing...hoping...praying...that God would step in again. And do something "sea changing" to make the effects of this event as limited as possible.
But in a small way, I guess God is...present in the ships, boats, people and workers who are tirelessly working for clean up. I guess I just wish for something bigger...faster...more profound.
And as I reflect on the creation now and our role in it, seems to me that our "small" role still does have profound effects, even in our own areas...yards...homes...towns...churches...etc.
Maybe you and I are the "blow-out preventers" in our own piece of God's creation?
Maybe our role in being "sea changers" is to be careful in how we handle God's fragile creation?
Maybe our role doesn't effect hundreds of miles of ocean landscape, but it might effect our own half acre?
I guess I'm inviting you today to be careful! To look around a bit more at the gift of creation that God has blessed us with and BE CAREFUL! Treasure it. Grow it. Care for it. Nurture it.
And watch how God can still "change the sea" through you.
Lord, help me care for what you've given. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Friends,
I'm craving blueberries right now. Fresh ones! I'm imagining them...picturing them. I can almost taste them.
Summer is moving right along in WNY and though strawberries might come first and a bit earlier than normal, blueberries are where it's at!!
"Through Jesus, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name." Hebrews 13:15
It's no wonder the Bible guy that wrote in Hebrews is excited for this fresh fruit...right?
Oh, not that kind of fruit you say?
Do you think he meant the fruit of the lips that might be our language...and actions..and love towards one another and God?
Probably more accurate I guess. As good as the taste of fresh picked blueberries is to me (which it feels like forever since I've had them!), it's those words and actions of love and adoration of God that our Lord craves.
And sometimes it is a sacrifice to pick the right fruits...and savor the correct words...and grow fruit that blesses instead of spoils.
But when we focus on it...when we praise...when we sacrifice...it sure is tasty!
Lord, help me pick fruits of praise to you and the world around me. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Tuesday, 08 June 2010
Friends,
There are certain things that I do constantly, but very few.
I wake up in the morning.
I love the Buffalo Bills.
I eat.
I sleep.
The rest of the stuff that I do probably doesn't fall under the term "constantly"....probably more like "most of the time."
Constantly is tough! Constantly requires intent and innate ability to do something...always. Like...breathing.
But when we find ourselves getting into a "constantly rhythm", life can be easier. And we can actually find blessing in it.
When we tell the people around us who we love and hold close to our heart that we love them constantly, those relationships are blessed. They grow deeper. More trusting. Able to work through tough things. Able to laugh and celebrate more.
When I tell my son everyday...constantly...that I love him, it affects our relationship in a very positive way. We work better together. We laugh a lot more. We have more fun. We work through the hard stuff a bit more easily.
There's blessing in constantly.
Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. Psalm 106:3 (NIV)
God wants us to know that. So as the One who loves us and forgives us and fills us with life....constantly...God lets us know what can potentially happen when we live into that "constantly" as well. We will find blessing.
When we constantly love the unlovable, we will find blessing.
When we constantly forgive, we will find blessing.
When we are just in our relations to the world, we will find blessing.
When we make the right choice, we will find blessing.
When we act with grace instead of hate, we will find blessing.
Yes, there are a bunch of things on our lists that we do constantly and the ones that fall in line with God's will for our lives...when done constantly...will show us blessing.
Breathing...constantly...in the breath of God. Waking up...constantly...with the expectation of God's presence in your day. Resting, recreating and caring for yourself...constantly...as a creation of God. Loving the Buffalo Bills....ah, OK that one might actually be harmful to your health. But you get the point.
Living into constantly...constantly seeking God's mercy and justice and love in the world...for yourself and for your neighbor...as we do that, we will find blessing.
Lord, help me be constantly.....Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Monday, 07 June 2010
Friends,
"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Jesus
There is an amazing story going on right now in the world of major league baseball: forgiveness.
To catch you up on the background, you can check out this brief clip and story at http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5250307 or it goes like this...A couple nights ago pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game going (no one got on base) and in the last inning a guy got to first and was called safe because the umpire missed the call. The runner should have been out, but umpire Jim Joyce called him safe, ending Galarraga's perfect game. It was a simple mistake that happens a lot, but was magnified due to the circumstances.
The pitcher had every right to be upset. Tantrums in baseball have been pitched over much much less.
But this pitcher and his teammates (in general...I haven't polled every one of them) with the Detroit Tigers and their manager have chosen to forgive. Forgive...with their words and actions. They didn't crucify this ump in the media. They didn't petition the league to change the ruling. They didn't whine and cry. They even emphasized it at the ballpark the next day as Galarraga himself delivered the line-up card to, now home plate ump, Jim Joyce, shaking hands and embracing at the plate.
Forgiveness.
I don't know Galarraga's exact motivations for forgiving. I haven't heard him quote Jesus...Buddha...Dr. Phil...or Oprah...but he certainly has the idea down. It's more painful to carry these hurts into the next day, the next game, the next interaction....than it is to just let go of them...and forgive.
Jesus spoke of forgiveness to remind us that he's ultimately taken care of the big picture of forgiveness...that's already done. But the day to day stuff is up to us. And it can be done...that game can be completed.
In the world of baseball, coming this close to a no hitter is incredible and a HUGE deal. But forgiveness can win out...and win over.
In our worlds of relationships...friends...family...work...neighbors...jerks...uncomfortable situations...there are some HUGE deals buried in there too. Betrayal. Anger. Grudges. Hurts. Let downs. Lack of trust.
But forgiveness can win out...and win over.
It can. I've been forgiven for messing up more than someone's perfect game. And I've forgiven for more than someone else's bad call. It can work! It can heal! It can help you rebuild. And it can be done!
But it takes effort...maybe some prayer...and some patience...all stirred together by some trust and risk.
But the promise of the big picture is taken care of...so the rest is just completing the game!
Lord, help me to have the ability to forgive. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
Tuesday, 01 June 2010
Friends,
Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint. Isaiah 7:4
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13
There is a theme here. Seems that "fear" and "sensing that God is walking with you through your faith" and "needing strength" are ideas that people of old needed to hear.
Do you need to hear that?
These two books of the Bible, one from the Old (Isaiah) and one from the New (Corinthians) Testament, are separated by a whole bunch of years! A whole bunch of situations. And, what's even more interesting...a whole bunch of "God moments," where God arrived on the scene through a prophet or even as Jesus himself and did something amazing to decrease fear and show presence. And yet, the message still struggled to sink in. God's message: We don't need to fear. We don't need to be faint. We can be courageous. And we struggle to hear it.
We're a bunch o' more years from time Corinthians was written. And God has done quite a few more fantastic things since that book was written.
And yet, do we still need to hear it?
Sunday was two days ago. While you were in worship this weekend, maybe you heard that you are loved by God. But now it's two days later...do you still need to hear it?
You do.
I do.
We all do. Because life is hard sometimes...life has hurdles sometimes...life is complex and complicated sometimes.
So it's worth repeating...Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint. Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.
Lord, give me that strength today please! I need to know it's there. Amen
Still in One Peace,
ps
Pastor Steve Biegner
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