Monday, April 29, 2013

Embrace the Wind

For the past number of years I have been cycling. It started as a way to lose weight that my doctor said I needed to lose but wouldn't lose ( he tried a little "reverse psychology" and it worked). Then it became a way of life to keep the weight off. After riding some 4,000+ miles or so I stopped riding. I lost interest and become lazy.

Well, this year has begun a resurgence of intentionality towards riding. I have a new willingness to put on the gear, air up the tires and ride. The major problem I most often face riding in Kansas is not so much the hills (yes there are hills in Kansas) but the wind. Because of the rich farmland we enjoy in Kansas, there is a noticeable lack of trees to block the wind. A beautiful, sunny day of 83 degrees with a 21 mph wind is great for sailboats and wind surfers but not so much for cyclist.

With the windy conditions we have in Kansas you have to embrace the wind. If you wait for a calm day to ride you might ride 5 times a year. So, I am learning to embrace the wind. It is hard to ride against it. You have a sense that you are going nowhere slow. The sound of the rushing wind and the 9 mph on your speedometer can really cause to wonder why, why are you out here riding.

You struggle and struggle to make your way against the wind and you finally arrive at the turn around spot. It is then that you remember why you fight the wind, why you put up with legs that burn. It's because you have a tail wind all the way back. At one point a turtle could beat you and the next you are flying. But in order to fly with the wind you must first fight it. It is the struggle that makes you strong. It is the perseverance that rewards you with an almost effortless ride home.

There is a spiritual lesson to for us to learn. I call it "Embrace the Flame (trial)". Much like riding against the wind, life is sometimes a challenge; finances, health, relationships, etc. all seem to battle against us and make the ride difficult. We don't always understand why the trials come but James calls us to "count it all joy when you face various trials" (my paraphrase of James 1:2) So, it is in the midst of the trial that "faith is tested" so "that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:3-4 NIV) If we wish the trial away or we do not facing it, we lose the benefit of it. The benefit of the trial, if we count it joy, is perseverance or the result of genuine faith, maturity and completeness.

When we don't give up, when we become mature and complete there is reward. A life well lived and a eternal home with Jesus. No matter how strong the wind or the trial, keep pedaling and count it all joy. The turn around point is just ahead.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Where is the hope?

We live in a time that seems to be different than other generations. News that would take days even weeks to reach us is now almost immediate. The decay of morals and the corruption of governments seems to be getting worse. We seem to devalue life and care more for personal agendas or personal rights.

Yet, with all of the badness of our world, its not new. When you look back at history, we see the same evil, selfish acts of terrorism and the murdering of innocent lives. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes states in chapter 1 verse 9 "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

In the midst of all that is happening in our world there is hope. Our hope is Jesus Christ. He alone is the source of true hope for now and for all of eternity. But we often lose sight of this reality. We take our focus off of the Lord and put it on things around us. If we are not careful, we will put our hope in the political process. We will strive to legislate morality. We will fight for personal rights, when the reality for followers of Jesus is that we are slaves to Christ.

The Good News of the Gospel is that Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin, was buried and arose on the third day. We need to share this good news. We know the world is corrupt, we know that people are sinful and selfish; what is right is called wrong and what is wrong is called right. What we all need is a change of heart. Only God through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit can this change happen and this message of good news is ours to share.

The Psalmist states "Why are you downcast, O my Soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:5

We can look around us and become hopeless and defeated or we can put our hope in God and praise Him and "... be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have". (1 Peter 3:15)