Inspirational

Life’s Indicator Lights – Scott Kavanagh

Eastwood Baptist — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:21:05 +0000

Have you ever noticed the things that make you anxious? What are words you most dread hearing? Some things that raise my anxiety level to new heights include having the telephone ring at 3:30am. Middle of the night phone calls are never good news. Ed McMahon from Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes has never been on the other end of those calls for me.

Something else that triggers high anxiety for me is the thought of being stranded on the highway. That’s why everyone in our household who drives has an AAA membership. Recently Jane and I were in the Toyota when a light that I had never seen before suddenly flashed on (yikes) then it went off (whew). Then of all things a few minutes later it came on again (yikes) and it stayed on (more yikes)! The light was actually a phrase that read REQSERVICE. Jane immediately reached for the owner’s manual and began searching. After several minutes of turning pages she read aloud the meaning of the indicator light. The auto computer is programmed to tell the driver when it is time for the oil to be changed. The indicator light stays on and does not turn off until the system is reset at the time of the next scheduled maintenance. (Whew) Nothing wrong with the car. I called the dealer, made the appointment and by the end of the week the indicator light will once again go back to sleep.

I have been thinking that there are lots of indicator lights in all of our lives. In the workplace if we do not do our work effectively a supervisor will INDICATE that we need to do things differently. On the home front if one is not functioning cooperatively or respectfully someone will certainly turn on the INDICATOR light. If the credit card payment has not been met the next purchase might involve an INDICATOR that refuses your purchase. The bank will send a very quick INDICATOR if you try to spend money that is not in your account. But what about my spiritual life? I wonder if we have any indicator lights about our walk with God.

Certainly there are several. A few worth thinking about might include “dryness” in your faith walk. Perhaps “lethargy” about prayer or attending worship. “Prayerlessness” is another sign. “Joylessness” is another symptom. “Anxiety” that seems to prevent us from “getting out of our own way”. Irritability is another symptom. The underlying message behind the indicator light is one we often do not recognize. It is a biblical image that reads “My soul thirsts for Thee”. (Psalm 63:1)

These symptoms are meant to be reminder lights that our souls are thirsty, and it is time for a refreshment period. We find refreshment in a variety of ways and places. Begin with a rest. Perhaps setting aside some quiet time and pray this prayer…”Lord your servant is listening” and then do just that. Sometimes spiritual dryness is not a bad thing although it may feel uncomfortable. It can be an indicator that we are getting ready for a deeper walk with God. Whether your indicator light is on or not I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday as we walk together.

Pastor Scott Kavanagh

Look and Listen

Eastwood Baptist — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:52:58 +0000

The man whispered, “God, speak to me.”
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.
So the man yelled, “God, speak to me!”
And the thunder rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.
The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you.”
And a star shone brightly.
But the man did not notice.
And the man shouted, “God, show me a miracle!”
And a life was born.
But the man did not know.
So, the man cried out in despair.
“Touch me God, and let me know that you are here!”
Whereupon God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

MORAL: Don’t miss out on a blessing because it isn’t packaged the way you expect.

National Day of Prayer Proclamation

Eastwood Baptist — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:40:11 +0000

From the President of the United States

2011 NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER PROCLAMATION
Throughout our history, Americans have turned to prayer for strength, inspiration, and solidarity.
Prayer has played an important role in the American story and in shaping our Nation’s leaders. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.” The late Coretta Scott King recounted a particularly difficult night, during the Montgomery bus boycott, when her husband, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., received a threatening phone call and prayed at the kitchen table, saying, “Lord, I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” Dr. King said, in that moment of prayer, he was filled with a sense of comfort and resolve, which his wife credited as a turning point in the civil rights movement.
It is thus fitting that, from the earliest years of our country’s history, Congress and Presidents have set aside days to recognize the role prayer has played in so many definitive moments in our history. On this National Day of Prayer, let us follow the example of President Lincoln and Dr. King. Let us be thankful for the liberty that allows people of all faiths to worship or not worship according to the dictates of their conscience, and let us be thankful for the many other freedoms and blessings that we often take for granted.
Let us pray for the men and women of our Armed Forces and the many selfless sacrifices they and their families make on behalf of our Nation. Let us pray for the police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect their fellow citizens. And let us ask God for the sustenance and guidance for all of us to meet the great challenges we face as a Nation.
Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those who have been affected by natural disasters at home and abroad in recent months, as well as those working tirelessly to render assistance. And, at a time when many around the world face uncertainty and unrest, but also hold resurgent hope for freedom and justice, let our prayers be with men and women everywhere who seek peace, human dignity, and the same rights we treasure here in America.
The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on the President to issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a “National Day of Prayer.”
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2011, as a National Day of Prayer. I invite all citizens of our Nation, as their own faith or conscience directs them, to join me in giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy, and I ask all people of faith to join me in asking God for guidance, mercy, and protection for our Nation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA

That’s My King

Eastwood Baptist — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:21:02 +0000

The late Dr. S. M. Lockeridge, a pastor from San Diego, California
said these words in a sermon in Detroit in 1976:

My King was born King. The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the Jews – that’s an Ethnic King. He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King.

Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don’t try to mislead me. Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my King. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s honest. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. He’s the grandest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my King.

He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He’s the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s the Almighty God who guides and keeps all his people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. That’s my King.

Do you know Him? Well, my King is a King of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King.

His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you . . . but He’s indescribable. That’s my King. He’s incomprehensible, He’s invincible, and He is irresistible.

I’m coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can’t contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my King.

He always has been and He always will be. I’m talking about the fact that He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. There’s nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign. That’s my King! That’s my King!

Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well, all the power belongs to my King. We’re around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but in the end all that matters is God’s power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We try to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? Forever and ever and ever and ever. . . And when you get through with all of the ever’s, then . . .Amen!

Arizona Reflections

Eastwood Baptist — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:00:39 +0000

Timothy Merrill, editor of Homiletics Magazine shared these thoughts about the recent events in Arizona and our times.

IS THERE A CURE FOR THE VIRUS OF VIOLENCE?

A few days ago, up in the International Space Station, Scott Kelly, the commanding officer, spoke over the radio as flight controllers in Houston fell silent.
“As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful,” he said. “Unfortunately, it is not. These days, we are constantly reminded of the unspeakable acts of violence and damage we can inflict upon one another, not just with our actions, but also with our irresponsible words,” he said.
“We’re better than this,” he said. “We must do better.”
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday, reminding us that 82 years ago MLK was born and forty-two some years ago MLK was gunned down while standing on a balcony in Memphis Tennessee. A few days ago Scott Kelly’s sister-in-law, Congresswoman, Gabrielle Gifford, was shot in the head in Arizona while staffing a booth where citizens could come to air their complaints. Two different events spanning more than 40 years but in the interval, thousands upon thousands of innocent children, women and men have died, victims of the assassin’s bullet, and many of these have died as part of a mass murder incident.

Of course, the bullets were flying long before King died. JFK had been felled before him, and RFK would drop shortly after him.

America is many things, and much of it good. No argument there. But we’re not here to discuss America’s goodness, but America’s illness. Even to the casual observer, America is a victim of the virus of violence, and America is a patient who can’t seem to recover from this dangerous disease. We are a country that seems to reflect the vision of the ancient prophet Habakukk: “So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted” (1:4).

It doesn’t help to say that the illness is self-inflicted. What matters is to decide how we’re going treat the disease or learn to live with the virus of violence.

When we get sick or our children get sick – a cold, the flu, the chicken pox, the measles, the mumps – we’re surprised, but only with the timing; we know that sickness happens, we’re just surprised that it comes when it comes. Perhaps we’re saddened – we feel badly for the child or those afflicted, we grief for their pain, and we wonder why – what caused the illness? Inside our hearts, we know that we’re going to get sick again and our children will get sick again. It’s a part of the mortal human experience.

This event in Arizona reminds us that America is likewise sick. We’re sick. Granted, we’re not always FEELING sick and while violence is going on SOMEWHERE, in the communities where we live, we might be untouched by violence-for now. But the country is sick. Like some sexually transmitted diseases, the illness lies dormant for a while and then suddenly there’s a flare-up. And then we’re shocked that this has again happened. We knew it would but somehow it surprises us. We’re saddened because we can empathize with those who are grieving, and of course we now take up the national debate as to how we can treat this virus of violence.

But this virus is never really dormant. While your community is at rest, somewhere in our country – in many place, in fact – communities are mourning an outbreak of violence. A child has been hit by a stray bullet, a 7-Eleven clerk has been robbed and murdered for $24 and change, a mail-sorter has been dropped at her station by a disgruntled postal worker, a teenager has been the bully’s victim for too long, a ex-husband murders the ex-wife, the child kills the parent, and so on. Every week, children are dying in cities across America to accidental shootings, gang-related, or in school yards and classroom. Don’t think we’re under siege? Don’t think we’re infected with the virus of violence? The situation has become so bad, that many schools require students, teachers and staff and visitors to pass through metal detectors. Some authorities advocate arming teachers so they can fight violence with violence. These same folks suggest creating textbooks with Kevlar covers so that students can use their school books as shields when the bullets start flying. Security camera are mounting in the hallways.

Can we with integrity say that this will change? Can we preach that the Peaceful Kingdom is coming if we will but treat the mentally ill better, tighten up what pitiful gun control measures are currently in place, try to do a better job in getting young people into a religious culture that effectively teaches the values of love and respect? Can we really preach the vision of Isaiah that someday the wolf and the lamb will lie down together?

No. That’s an eschatological vision that belongs to a kingdom that only God can usher in.
Perhaps that’s why MLK said that we must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

So how do we deal with the virus of violence? Is an antidote available?

TAKE ACTION
Christians are people who are called to advocate for change. So if you can help educational and government and institutional agencies do a better job treating the mentally ill, do it. If you can lobby for gun control measures that are effective, do it. If you can use your voice to help soften the rhetoric and encourage civil discourse, do it. The Bible says: “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17). MLK said: “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street-sweeper who did his job well.’” If you can take action that will apply the ax to the root, do it. Bonhoeffer is often quoted in this regard, i.e. his view that we must bind the wounds of those the wheel has crushed, but we must also stop the wheel. If you can in any way be a wheel-stopper, be a wheel-stopper.

TAKE NO ACTION
That is, take no violent action yourself. Embrace peace as a life-style choice. Never lift your voice or your hand against another living creature. The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, urges, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all (12:18). “A soft answer turns away wrath,” so goes an ancient Hebrew proverb, “but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). As MLK once said, “Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”

BE OF YOUR OWN MIND
Resist the temptation to mimic the masses, to succumb to the contagion of the crowd, to be a sheep in a herd of sheep blindly following a wolf into a den of destruction, to a cog in the machinery of violence. Think for yourself, read for yourself, analyze for yourself. Again, Paul says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Notice the oppositional language: conformation versus transformation. Christians are not only those who have been transformed, but who are transformative, i.e. call other to step out of and away from the herd, to step away from the crowd, and to renew their minds.

EMBRACE DISINTERESTED LOVE
The Bible again and again called us to express agape love. The Biblical texts are clear about not only loving ourselves, loving our neighbor, but loving our enemies. This is a principle which we must first embrace ourselves, before we can teach it to others. MLK is right when he says that agape love is “disinterested” love. “Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes . Therefore, agape makes no distinction between friend and enemy; it is directed toward both.”

Will these actions [and any further you might want to add] remove the virus of violence from the body society? Sadly no. But these actions will make a difference where we live. They will bring healing where it’s possible to bring healing. It’s our only option. As King said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

We must never despair.

As we grieve for 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green who was born on 9/11 and is the grand-daughter of former Major League Baseball manager Dallas Green; as we mourn for Federal judge John Roll, and Phyliss Schneck, Gabe Zimmerman, Dorothy Morris and Dorwan Stoddard as well as the 14 who were injured in this slaughter, and as we pray for a complete recovery for Congresswoman, and as we also pray for the young man who perpetrated this evil, we should always remember the words of the Bible, “So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

We might also remember – on this MLK Sunday – the words of the civil rights leader himself: “The time is always right to do what is right.”

Amen.

Howard Thurman (1899-1981) Poems

Eastwood Baptist — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:41:49 +0000

“The Work of Christmas”

When the star in the sky is gone

When the kings and princes are home

When the shepherds are back with their flocks

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost

To heal the broken

To feed the hungry

To release the prisoners

To rebuild the nations

To bring peace among the people.

“Prayer Poem”

O Holy God,
   open unto me
    light for my darkness,
    courage for my fear,
    hope for my despair.
O loving God,
   open unto me
    wisdom for my confusion,
    forgiveness for my sins,
    love for my hate.
O God of peace,
   open unto me
    peace for my furmoil,
    joy for my sorrow,
    strength for my weakness.
O generous God,
   open my heart
    to receive all your gifts. Amen.

John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer for Watchnight (New Year)

Eastwood Baptist — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:03:19 +0000

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,let it be ratified in heaven.Amen.

Thoughts on the Incarnation

Eastwood Baptist — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:49:13 +0000

If Christ had just been a human being and not God, then he could not be the means for us to share in the life of God any more than any other created being can give us this ability. And if Christ had only been God and not a human being, he also could not be the means for us to share in the life of God, because he would not be bridge between created being (us) and uncreated being (God). The Incarnation is our principal path to God through Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. It is the Incarnation that is central to our being able to share in the life of God.

– Michael Gemignani in To Know God