Walk on Water #1: Life in the boat 2/21/2010

Walk on water#1

Life in the boat

After the resurrection Jesus and Moses wanted  to take in some fishing. So he gets his friend Moses and they head up to Minnesota to fish. They are about to rent a canoe when Moses says:"Jesus, can't you still walk on water? Why not just walk out there?"
So Jesus takes his reel and tackle and steps onto the lake....and falls knee deep in water.

Moses says, "Well....maybe you need a head start or something, why not go to the end of the dock and try."

So Jesus takes his reel and tackle and steps off the end of the dock and falls up to his waist.

Moses says, " Well why not rent the boat, go out to the center of the lake and try there."

So they rent the boat and go to the middle of the lake, Jesus is about to step off and try again when...

Moses says, "Wait. Just to be safe, why not get yourself into the state of mind you were in the first time you did it."

So Jesus sets down, meditates for a few minutes, and finally he's all psyched up, and steps out of the canoe.... ..and proceeds to drown. So Moses does the water parting thing, and pulls Jesus up into the boat. Jesus is just beating himself up over this. He just doesn't see what's going wrong here. Moses just stares down at the bottom of the boat. Suddenly, Moses says, "I got it! I know what's wrong! Did you have those holes in your feet last time?!?!"

I have been waiting for a month to tell that story. I started with it because I want to say that I really want this “Walk on Water” series to be fun!  Sure we are talking about serious issues of faith and faithfulness, but we have a great story, a great God and a great opportunity to grow closer to God this lent.  So let’s have fun.

Let’s start by turning the church upside down.  If you have to stand on your head to imagine this, go ahead.  But imagine we take the roof of the church and turn it upside down.  What do we have?--- Besides a great skylight in the sanctuary-- what do we have? 

OK, I’ll give you a hint.  Take the roof off, turn it upside-down and put it in a lake.  Now what do you have?  A boat! Right?  Well kind of.  The technical word for the part of the church in which you are sitting is the NAVE.  That is the part from the entry doors to the chancel which starts with the steps here.  The word NAVE comes from the Latin word NAVIS of NAVY meaning ship.  It was given that name because it looked  like an upside-down ship. One of the perhaps not so historical stories about this type of church architecture, is that it was intended to resemble a boat, or ark.

I can think of several boats in scripture. 

The first was Noah’s ark.  The ark was a place of safety; a place of salvation if you will.  A place that saved all the animals and Noah’s family from the great flood.  Like the church there were probably days when it smelled pretty bad in there.  With all those animals there had to be  days when Noah was up to his eyeballs in really bad stuff, but it was better than the alternative.  As imperfect as the church is, it is for many of us better than the alternative.  It is a place of safety and security.  We talk about family and support, and this is an important part of what the church is.  In some respects the church is an ARK of salvation.

There are also times when the church is more like the boat on which Jonah sailed.  Remember God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the people to repent.  Jonah thought it would be better to let God destroy the Ninevites so he found a boat going the other direction.  Did he get away with it?  No.  Because the sailors held him accountable.  When the storm came up they decided someone must be responsible.   Since Jonah was fleeing from God they tried to help straighten him out by throwing him overboard.  That’s when he became whale food.

Sometimes the church is a place to be held accountable. The church accepts us the way we are, but then we try to help each other to be better than we ever thought we could be.  One of the things I always say when I am faced with people who say “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.”  I tell them you may be right, but I know I am a better Christian, a more faithful person, a more obedient person in the church than I could ever be by myself outside the church.  That’s because have the support, the encouragement, the teaching, and --hopefully you don’t throw me overboard to the whales--but I know that I have someone to kick me in the rear end when I need it.  So the church is like Jonah’s boat of ACCOUNTABILITY.

Third I think of Paul’s boats on which he sailed to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the gentile world.  Sure, he got shipwrecked a couple of times, but it was because of the boats that he was able to get the word to those who needed to hear it.  A third way in which the church is like a boat is that it makes it possible for us to get places we otherwise could not go.  If it was up to me alone I don’t know what I could do for those poor people in Haiti right now.  But I know that together  as a church we have been able to collect a significant amount of money to be sent off to help them.  And even more, being part of the greater UM church we have people on the ground cleaning up, caring for the injured and grieving, and beginning to help them put their lives back together.  Do any of you think you could do that by yourself?  I know I couldn’t.  Thank God for the powerfully loving arms of the church reaching out to the world for us.  The church is a ship of outreach.

You know, life in the boat of the church is a safe place, a place of accountability and a place of reaching out,--- but  our story of water walking puts one more twist on how the church is like a boat. The church should be a risk taking place.

Yes, the church is a safe place in a storm, but that safety and security is for the purpose of enabling us to step out of the boat.

Yes, the church is a place of accountability and training, but that accountability includes not letting us just flip and flop around in the bottom of the boat like a big old fish.  It includes challenging us to step over the edge and dip our toes in the water of extreme faith.

Yes, the church is a place where together we can reach places we could never reach alone, but that reaching is not only to poor countries in faraway places.  It also helps us to reach into the poverty of our own hearts in order to reach those dark internal places we would never go by ourselves.

In other words like the boat in Matthew’s story on which we are focusing,  the church should be a place where we are challenged to see Jesus and risk reaching for his outstretched hand and his command to “come.’

Far from being the stubborn preserver of all that is ancient and outdated (which is how the church has acted for centuries) Far from being the defender of all that is obsolete and old fashioned.  Far from being the institution of “we have never done it that way before.”  Far from standing in the back of the boat gazing wishfully at the wake we leave behind-- the church should be the navigator with binoculars scanning the horizon for ways we can be ready to speak to people when they catch up with us.

The First time I met bishop Trimble he said that “if we wake up tomorrow morning and it is miraculously the year 1950 the church is ready.”  That’s not the church I want to lead, though. I want to be part of a church that wakes our neighbors up to tell them that there is more to this life than selfishness, materialism, and security.  I want to lead a church that gathers all our neighbors in the boat and then points to Jesus, with his hand outstretched  calling come.  I want to be the first one to abandon security, and material ism and selfishness---and get out of the boat.  I want to be the first one to get my shoes wet answering Jesus’ call. I want to be the first one to not only walk with Jesus on the water, but skip and run with him as well. 

And I want you all to be fighting me for the privilege of being second.

Yes I want life in the boat of the church to be safe.  Yes, I want it to be a place to learn and be held accountable. Yes I want it to be a place that extends our ministry.  But more than anything else I want life in this NAVE- life in this boat to be focused seeing Jesus and responding to his invitation  to come.  I want this church to be a church where people are lined up for the opportunity to walk on the water.  I want this church to be filled with disciples of extreme faith.

·         For some of you that might be the first invitation that we call salvation.  Come and receive forgiveness of sins.  If that’s you that’s great, get out of the boat and on to the water.

·         For some of you that might be a response to publicly profess your salvation and your love for Jesus in Baptism and church membership.  If that’s you that’s great, get out of the boat and on to the water.

·         For some of you who might be sitting comfortably in the same spiritual pew you sat in 20 years ago, it might be a call to get uncomfortable and try something new- risk going to a walk on water study session, a Bible study, a mission trip, inviting a friend to join you in your pew next Sunday, volunteering to serve in some way on a committee, or as liturgist. If that’s you that’s great, get out of the boat and on to the water.

·         For some of you who have seen sporadic growth and have maybe fallen away from the closeness to Jesus you once knew. It may be a call to re-devote yourself to spiritual growth, prayer and scripture. If that’s you that’s great, get out of the boat and on to the water.

·         To some of you who have been growing and stretching your spiritual legs- but have hesitated to take that leap to doing something different.  This may be the opportunity to step out of the boat  and go for it. If that’s you that’s great, get out of the boat and on to the water.

Wherever you are. Walking on water means taking one step closer to Jesus.  Making one decision to trust Jesus more.  Making one decision to act in faith.

I want everyone to stand up, please.  Now everyone move up one pew.  Just one.  I know I may be  risking my life here.<><><><><><>  It is probably safer for the preacher to try to walk on the water than to ask people to move one pew closer.   <><><><> but we all survived.  Now sit down.  Look around.  How’s that.  Not so bad?  That’s what we are talking about in this series. 

One pew-- One step--- one  decision--- one act of faith at a time.  Jesus says come. 

February 7 sermon - Come Into God's Presence.

Come to God

RUMC

2/7/10

What did you first notice when you came in this morning?  Did you see your best friend?  Someone to whom you owe money?  Did you notice a cob web or a light bulb that is out and wonder why no one took care of it?  Did you look at one of the stained glass windows or the big cross up front or the canoe?

(start video)

How would you like to walk into church and see the hem of God’s robe?  That’s what happened to Isaiah.  The temple grounds were almost a square block.  The sanctuary itself was actually about the same size as our building if it was squared off.  Interestingly enough it was also about the same height as our steeple. It was no small building .He walked into the temple and it was filled with the hem of God’s robe.  Not the robe, not the bottom half of the robe.  But the hem of God’s robe filled the whole temple.  That would be a shock wouldn’t it?

(slide)Once he caught his breath he looked again and saw the seraphim.  Strange looking creatures.  Seraphim are the highest rank of the angels.  "Seraphim" means flaming ones. They had 6 wings.  With 2 they covered their face in order to not insult God by looking upon the divine face.  With two they covered their feet which sounds strange, but the Hebrew actually means lower parts--- which is a  polite way of saying they covered their private parts.  And with two they flew.  As they flew they echoed back and for holy--- holy--- holy--- holy.  Their one and only job is to attend to the throne of God and lead the heavenly worship.

The pivots (hinges of the massive gates of the temple) shook with the volume and the intensity and depth of the worship. And the house of the Lord was filled with smoke.  Smoke is often associated with the temple incense that carries the prayers of the people to God.

The Seraphim in the revelation to John are described this way.(slide) In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.⁷The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. ⁸Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

(SLIDE)So what would you do if you walked up to the church and were confronted with the hem and the seraphim and the shaking and the smoke?

Maybe you’d call Ghostbusters.  “Who you goanna call,--- ghost busters.”

Maybe you’d set up a gate and sell tickets on Ticketmaster.

As for Isaiah, he cried "Wo to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

In other words, here I am sin in skin.  Transgression in the flesh- I am so unworthy that I am sure to die.  No unworthy creature like me can possibly stand in the presence of the holy and living God, and live.

Do you ever feel that way?

I do, sometimes!

I think that is the nature of worship.  Whether it is public or private worship, when we come into the presence of the perfect, almighty, wonderful eternal holy God; it is only right that we feel unworthy.  None of us is perfect and nothing but perfection can stand up the light of God’s holiness.

Communion seems to intensify the feeling. Being invited to the heavenly banquet table; being seated at the table with the Holy God himself, partaking of the very body and blood of Christ points out the depth of our sinfulness.

Do you ever feel unworthy to take communion?  Do you ever feel just too dirty to come to the table? 

I know some of you do.  I’ve heard some of you talk about it.

And it is a good question.  How can a lowly, filthy, sinful, human creature ever deserve to be at God’s table?  Take a step into my shoes and ask, "How can a lowly, filthy, sinful, human creature ever deserve to lead others to God’s table?  "How can a lowly, filthy, sinful, human creature ever deserve to raise the bread and raise the cup and say “this is the body?  This is the blood?”  I’ll never forget the first time I did that.  It was an overwhelming, humbling, and kind of frightening experience.  If I ever feel differently about it, “Woe is me.”

But let’s go back to the passage from Isaiah.

Isaiah felt unworthy like us.

But then something happened.  He didn’t ask for it.  He didn’t deserve it.  He didn’t study for it.  He didn’t expect it.   But the angel- the seraph took a coal- actually the Hebrew word means a hot rock--- from the altar and touched it to his lips.  Saying what--- do you remember?  Saying (slide)  "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

"Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

The Angel of course is talking about the stone touching Isaiah’s lips. But can’t the same be said for us.

We don’t ask for it.  We don’t deserve it.  We don’t study for it.  We don’t expect it.   But it happens through Jesus Christ.

·       Do you feel angry or hateful?"Now that God has touched your heart, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

·       Do you find yourself doing things you know are not Godly? "Now that God has touched your hands, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

·       Do you find your imagination going places you know are wrong? "Now that God has touched your mind, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

·       Do you find yourself saying things that hurt others, or lying? "Now that God has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

·       "Now that God has touched your life, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." 

Oh I understand that you feel unworthy of God’s love.  That’s OK because you are.  So am I. Frankly it doesn’t matter how we feel today.

Part of the message of this Isaiah passage is that (to adopt a line from Shakespeare) “There are more things in heaven and earth, (My friends), Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”  In other words there is more to faith than our feelings.

First, you really are unworthy. 

Second God really does forgive. 

And finally God really does expect you to respond.

(slide)  When God asked in Isaiah, Whom shall we send?  Isaiah said “send me.  I’ll go.“

Today God still forgives and God still sends.  Today, God still seeks people who will say “Here I am--- send me.”  What do you say today? 

When you receive communion today you will hear the words from the call of Isaiah. 

(BREAD) "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out

"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"

I ask you to respond in the spirit of Isaiah- if you will --saying

“Here I am, Lord, Send me.”

Mountain Climbing 1/31/2010 sermon Reinbeck UMC- Rev. Terry Plocher

“Mountain climbing”

RUMC

1/31/2010

Does anyone remember the first time you saw a mountain?  I don’t  I was too small.  When I was a preschool, my family moved to the foothills between Denver and the Rocky Mountains.  We spent many a wonderful weekends just following our noses through the winding twisting creek side roads of the mountains.  I remember climbing on boulders, freezing my toes in the icy mountain streams, and picnicking in meadows beside mirror-like mountain lakes.  Those are good memories.

I am not sure, however, that as a child I really took in the magnitude of the mountains. As an adult I marvel at their size.  A smallish 10,000-foot high mountain might weigh an as much as 1.6 sextillion pound that is a one with 21 zeros after it.  I cannot even imagine that, so I figured it out . . .  that would be 200 billion pounds for each and every man woman and child in the world.  And that’s just a smallish sized mountain.

Are you ready to carry your 2 billion pound share home today?

Think about it.  A mountain is basically just a humongous rock that sticks up through the earth’s crust.  It has withstood millions and millions of years of wind and rain and earthquakes, and storms and floods and yet it stands.  I read that if you took an average mountain and set off the biggest nuclear warhead we have ever made underneath it, the mass of the mountain is so great that it would barely quiver.  In addition, almost no heat or radiation would escape.

Most of us marvel at the Rocky Mountains.  We cannot even imagine bigger mountains, yet none of the mountains in the Rockies even appears on the list of the world’s 100 tallest mountains.  Most of them are in the Himalayan range of Asia.

In light of all of that, we read the 71st Psalm, which says

Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go;

give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

What does it mean to say “God; you are my rock and my fortress?”

It really is not that complicated.  In the olden days, when people were looking for safe places to build their villages or castles or forts, they tried to build on top of a big rock, a hill or a mountain. It was the safest spot - hard for enemies to sneak up on, safe from floods. Secure place.

To say God, you are my rock and my fortress, then, means that God is as big as a mountain.

God is as strong as a mountain.

God is as solid as a mountain.

God is as permanent as a mountain.

God is as reliable as a mountain

God is as dependable as a mountain.

In God, we find the foundation upon which our lives rest. 

In God, we find safety in the times of trouble.

In God, we find security in times of fear.

In God, we find all that we need to stand against any foe, any fear, and any force that might assail us.

Life is scary sometimes . . .   let’s be honest it is scary a lot of the time. (Just some times more than others.)  The Haitian earthquake, the floods, the tornado in Parkersburg remind us of our vulnerability to natural disasters. 

·         Let me tell you- although the ground may shake, the Haitians have a solid rock on which they can rely- God. 

·         Although the water rushed by, sweeping away lives and property and hope.  Flood victims have a high mountain to which they can retreat: God. 

·         Although the winds may blow and structures fail in a tornado- many in Parkersburg found themselves sheltered in the palm of God’s rock solid love.

It is not just natural disasters.

I see it all around us.

·         When a couple experiences a miscarriage or the death of a child- as devastating as that is-- God is your solid rock.

·         When marriages fail and the gentle flame of love is transformed into a fiery blast of anger and spite: God is your solid rock.

·         When that parental protection suddenly turns to poison, hurting you emotionally or physically or sexually-- and it seems like your safety net is gone; God is your solid Rock.

·         When friends upon whom you have been able to depend, abandon you, betray you, or lead you to the slippery slope of risky behavior-- God is your rock.

·         When you struggle with that voice inside that says you can’t live without your alcohol, your nerve pill, your pot, or your cigarette-- you have a solid rock refuge in God.

·         When you made bad decisions and get yourself tangled up with the law-- when you think everyone knows and everyone but the courts have already judged you guilty-- God is the solid  rock of forgiveness. 

·         When the money is running out and you begin to wonder what tomorrow will bring.  When the bills have not been paid and the phone starts to ring.  When medical bills, or nursing home bills threaten to take away the land, which your family has worked for three generations--  God is your solid rock and refuge.

·         When your young teen daughter comes to announce that she is pregnant.  When one of your children is obviously making not only wrong, but dangerous decisions  about sex, or drugs, or alcohol or friends, or school , or any of a hundred other ways teenagers have of playing at the edge of the quick sand--  God is your rock solid refuge and  you pray they will find that same assurance.

·         When the doctor tells you that you have cancer, or macular degeneration, or Alzheimer’s or 100 other terrible diseases, and you think your life is just about over; or when the doctor doesn’t have any answers at all-- look for that solid rock foundation that will keep you from sinking into despair.

·         When you can see your beloved spouse failing day by day, week by week; and you know that you may not have too many more anniversaries.  When the rock to which you have become married for so long seems to be wasting away and you wonder how you can possibly go on without them. . .  when the decisions get harder and the time gets shorter-- God is your rock and your salvation- an ever solid help in time of need.

·         When a fire takes away your treasured possessions and you don’t know where to turn. . .

·         When an accident leaves you in pain and wondering if you’ll ever walk comfortably again. . .

·         When someone you love turns out to be different than you expected . .

·         When the world becomes gray and depression fills your heart. . .

·         When your friend says that they are not sure they believe in God any more…

Have I missed anybody?  Add your own if you have to. . .

·         When you feel lonely,

·         or alone,

·         or afraid,

·         or vulnerable,

·         or weak,

·         or lost, o

·         r despairing,

·         or abandoned,

·         or hopeless. 

When you are sinking and you need something to hold on to--  Reach out and you’ll find that God is a solid foundation-- sure footing-- a secure shelter-- a loving and eternal source of hope.

That’s what all the fancy words in the psalm mean.; let me never be put to shame . . . rescue me; . . . save me.  . . . Rescue me from the hand of the wicked, . . . from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. . ..  Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.  . . . Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed; let those who seek to hurt me be covered with scorn and disgrace.  O GOD YOU ARE MY ROCK AND MY REFUGE.

In Isaiah 44 God says "Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other....ROCK."There is no other mountain.  There is no other sure foundation.

What is the biggest problem you have ever faced?  What is the deepest hurt you have experienced?  What is the greatest struggle you have?  What is your greatest fear today?  What is your biggest worry?

Maybe you are even making a mountain out of that struggle.  Maybe it looks insurmountable.  Maybe you can’t even imagine how you are going to get to the other side.  There doesn’t seem any way over it, you can’t go around it, and you certainly can’t go through it.  Remember-- There is No, there is no other....ROCK besides God.There is no mountain bigger than God.  There is no promise more sure than God.  There is no foundation more secure than your faith in God.

Third Day sings a song  about the mountain of God.  I’d like to conclude the sermon by playing that song for you.

Run to God

Sorry I forgot to post this last week.

“Run to God.”

RUMC

January 24, 2010

Jay Leno tells a story about his mother in his book Leading with my chin.

He says she was born in Scotland, but lived in constant fear of deportation from the United States.  It was not that she was here illegally, in fact she received her citizenship many years ago.  She lived in constant fear, though because you can miss four questions on the citizenship test.  She missed five.  The 5^th one she missed was “What is the Constitution?”  Her answer was “a boat.”  Well, she was not entirely wrong.  They lived in Boston where the USS Constitution is permanently docked.

The judge read the answer and immediately denied her citizenship.  Her husband stormed up and said, “She is not wrong- the Constitution is a boat-“

The Judge patiently replied, “the constitution is the basic governing document---“

“But it’s also a boat in Boston-come on!”

The judge finally couldn’t take any more. He said, “Fine. She’s a citizen. Now get out of here!”

So Mr. Leno said to his wife, “you passed!”

“No, I didn’t pass,” she whimpered.  “I said boat.  They’re going to come after me!”

That memory plagued her for the rest of her life.

 From then on, any time she was even in the proximity of a policeman, she quaked with fear.  When Jay took her to Scotland 50 years later, she asked, “Will I be able to get back in?”

Guilt can be like a big red tattoo right between our eyes.  There is no way to cover it up, no way to look in the mirror without seeing it. Every time we brush our teeth or comb our hair, lay in the dark trying to fall asleep, or sit alone on a quiet afternoon- it is there.  Guilt can be a constant companion; gnawing at our hearts, eroding our happiness, poisoning our relationships and corroding everything that can bring us joy.

Let’s look at the 36th Psalm.  There is a man that should feel guilty.

Listen to the Message version-You know I love the Message translation for the Psalms.

He has no regard for God,
      he stands insolent before him. 
   He has smooth-talked himself  into believing
   That his evil will never be noticed. 

   Words gutter from his mouth,
      dishwater dirty.
   Can't remember when he
      did anything decent.

   Every time he goes to bed,
      he fathers another evil plot. 
   When he's loose on the streets,
      nobody's safe. 
   He plays with fire
      and doesn't care who gets burned.

That is a man who should shake in his boots every time he is near a police officer.

Now I know you all well enough to know that this guy in the Psalm is not you.  You are basically good people.  He doesn’t even bear the slightest resemblance to you- - - most of the time.

Most of the time. 

Don’t we all have our moments though?

I do.

Don’t we all have our moments when evil thoughts come flooding in to our hearts?

Don’t we all have our moments when revenge looks sweet like the cake in the bakery window?

Am I the only one whose mouth is dishwater dirty- maybe not with cuss words but at least with unloving words?

I’m not alone am I?

And then we feel guilty.  That red tattoo appears between our eyes and we just know that somehow everyone can see how filthy we are.  Somehow everyone knows the awful things we have thought and felt.  Somehow everyone knows the terrible plots we have hatched in the quiet darkness of our private thoughts.  The funny thing is, most of the time other people can’t see it.  We forget that we are almost the only one who can see the ugly stain of guilt.  I said almost.

I said almost.  Because God sees it too. 

God sees it too and it makes him sad.

But the Psalmist goes on

God's love is meteoric,
      his loyalty astronomic,
   His purpose titanic,
      his verdicts oceanic.
   Yet in his largeness
      nothing gets lost;
   Not a man, not a mouse,
      slips through the cracks.

Did you catch that?

In God’s love--- nothing gets lost.  Nothing and no one slips through the cracks.  Not a mouse- not a man- not a woman. No one escapes god’s love.  God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it.  God loves you, and there is nothing you can do to change that.

Sure God sees our sin and it enflames his righteous anger.  Sure, God knows your evil thoughts and impure motives, and vengeful plans and the lies of your lips and God feels violated.

But nothing makes God sadder than to see you sit in guilt.  Nothing breaks God’s heart quicker than to see us wallowing in the muck of guilt- feeling sorry for ourselves- sorry we were ever born.  Nothing, nothing, nothing grieves God so much as to see his children floundering in a sea of sorrow, a river of remorse, an ocean of guilt.

Because it isn’t necessary.  There is no reason for us to live in fear of deportation from God’s kingdom.  There is no reason for us to live in dread of God’s wrath.  There is no reason for us to live in our guilt.

The Palmist writes

7-9 How exquisite your love, O God!
      How eager we are to run under your wings,
   To eat our fill at the banquet you spread
      as you fill our tankards with Eden spring water.
   You're a fountain of cascading light,
      and you open our eyes to light.
 10-12 Keep on loving your friends;
      do your work in welcoming hearts.

There is no reason for us to live in guilt, but we have to be willing to give up some things.  We have to be willing to exchange the pain of guilt for the joy of God’s love.  We have to be willing to trade the emptiness of shame for the wonderful banquet of love that God spreads before us.  We have to be willing to swap the comfort of the darkness for the ecstasy of the light of God’s love.

It does not seem like that would be a very hard decision.

Let see . . .  pain or love. . .  emptiness or satisfaction. . .  darkness or light.

It doesn’t seem like it would be a very hard decision . . .  so what is holding you back?

My friends- God loves you more than you can imagine.  God wants you more than you can understand.  God forgives you quicker than we forgive ourselves.  So run.  Run.  Run as fast as you can.  Run to the shelter of God’s wings.  Run to the joy of God’s banquet.  Run to the fountain of everlasting light cascading across your life removing guilt and shame and freeing you from sin itself. 

Run, brothers and sisters, run.  Run in prayer into God’s presence- and be forgiven, be free, be alive in Christ.