Playing Every Note

Make every note count.

A single note doesn't amount to much. Or does it?

I began taking piano lessons when I was ten years old. That's a long time ago. My love of playing piano has only deepened over the years. You would think that after 45 years of playing an instrument that one would stop learning, but that isn't true. I keep learning, keep pushing, and continue to be amazed by the power of music.

Lately, I've been enjoying playing the song "Morning Has Broken." It is a great way to start the day, reminding me of the Lord's mercies, boundless and fresh each and every morning.

As I was playing this week, the Lord showed me something. If I sat down at the piano and attempted to play the song, it was less than it could be - less than it should be.

I found that when I focused on playing each and every note with passion and feeling, the end result was different. It was special. It was beautiful.

There is something better than playing the song - it is playing every note. 

So it is in life and in our walk with the Lord. We give our lives to the Lord, and want to make our lives count for Him, but it is in the days and in the moments where real beauty lies and where we can really LIVE. 

The moments are important. Make yours count today.

Like a Flower in the Field

The blooms of a China Rose tree are beautiful, but they don't last long.

Spring is beautiful. Each day, as spring takes hold, we can see buds swelling, tender green leaves emerging, and with each sprinkle of spring rain, an aroma sweeter than the finest French perfume. It is a season of new beginnings and abundant promise.

We know from watching spring after spring over the course of many years, this tender season will soon give way to summer, summer will wind down into autumn, and once again, a blanket of snow will cover what was once green.

The turning of the seasons is a perfect picture of both the brevity and the sweetness of our lives here on this earth.

As the Scriptures say, "People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades." (1 Peter 1:24 NLT)

The China Rose tree is one of the first shrubs to bloom each spring. When it blooms, it is literally covered with delicate, crepe-like pink blossoms. The flowers only last a few days, but what glorious days they are! Once the shrub is done blooming, there is nothing to recommend it in the landscape - no interesting shape or attractive foliage. In fact, it is a shrub that goes unnoticed if it is not blooming.

One spring day several years ago, as I was driving to church, I noticed a China Rose shrub in full bloom - a glorious symphony of delicate pink. The next time I drove past, less than a week later, it was plain green. The beautiful blossoms had already dropped to the ground.

Is a flower any less beautiful because it is perishable? Certainly not - in fact, if anything, it is more beautiful, more amazing, and more appreciated.

I remember well both of my grandmothers, steadfast, faithful women of God. When I was young, it seemed as if they had lived, and would live, forever. While they will certainly live forever - it is not on this earth. They are now gone and their memory is precious - like petals of a China Rose tree.

Do you ever wonder what you will leave behind? When you are only a memory on this earth? With all my heart, I want to do something that counts, something that makes a difference.

At the same time, I know that God has made me for a unique purpose. I can only be what He has made me to be. Anything that I try to be beyond that can only amount to nothing. To be fully alive in Him, fulfilling His purpose for my life, is everything.

If that means one glorious day of being in full bloom - so be it. May I bloom happily for a day.

There is an old saying, "bloom where you are planted." How often have you felt that you wanted to bloom somewhere else? That you were a different kind of plant, entirely? From our physical appearance to our finances, our career or whatever situation we may find ourselves in, we usually want something else.

Paul said, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV)

Oh that we may be content, to bloom for a single day like the China Rose tree, to simply be what God has intended for us, and in that surrender to bloom our hearts out - even as we know we are perishing, our bloom is fading, and with it, all the glorious beauty, that we have come to know.

There is a daily living and dying that holds us tightly in its grip. The eternal sings in our hearts while mortality nips at our feet. "While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:4 NLT)

A Poem for Bikers

There's no better way to view the beauty of God's creation
than from the seat of a motorcycle.

At Bethel Assembly's first Blessing of the Bikes, Canadian biker Keith Braun shared an original poem, "This Biking Life." Enjoy.

As we cruise along for just the ride
Down roads alone or with friends beside
Basking in the sun and breeze
The filtered light through all Your trees
Help us Lord to understand
While we travel here across Your land
That we’re also here at Your command.

On broad avenues or down winding lanes

The rumble of engines like distant trains

The sound and wind that lullaby

The ride and bring that biker’s high

Create for me a two-wheeled hymn

Keeping soul and mind in trim

And showing me that it’s from Him.

All this world’s made at Your pleasure

For all Your creatures in equal measure

Help us then as we cross Your realm 

To keep You firmly at the helm

Of our two-wheeled chariots on the road

Remind us Lord that which You told

That in serving You we shall be bold.

Your Son’s command, before He went

Was that we should be willing to be sent

As you go, share what you know

Giving to others as you grow

Sharing the truth that our God is here

On the winding road, free from fear

Knowing You long to hold us near.

On through the curves we love to glide 

And up across that next divide

Soaring through the sun-drenched day

Wishing all the same could stay

Riding with brothers and sisters too

Who love You just the way we do

Knowing that You are forever true.

Help me Father to share Your light

With those You bring into my sight

Help them to see Your love and grace

With which You meet us face to face

Show me along the road today

Some friend, and tell me what to say

To share Your love in a healing way.

May Your light shining through the trees

Again help to bring us to our knees

And in visiting this great creation

Keep us yet in adoration

In thankfulness for all You’ve done

For sending us Your only Son

And for Your Spirit who makes us one.

By Keith Braun

Perspective is Everything

My Dad, the man with the HUGE shoulders.

Perspective is everything. Those of you reading this blog who know my family know that my father would never be described as a physically large or imposing man. At only five feet, four inches tall, he would easily be described as a short man by most any standards.

But even a short man may be perceived as large in stature, depending on the perspective of the person considering him. When I was in first grade, I idolized my father. (I still do.) I vividly remember describing him to my classmates.

"My dad is really strong," I said. Reaching my arms out as far as I could, I exclaimed, "his shoulders are HUGE." I tended to be rather dramatic in those days, and my words created quite an impression within my circle of friends. I had given them the idea that my dad was some sort of Super Hero, beyond the bounds of the average mortal man.

Imagine my surprise when one of my friends saw me with my dad in town. "Your dad isn't big!" she said. "He's short. I thought you said he had HUGE shoulders!"

Of course, I was only about three feet high myself at the time, and when I looked at my dad, I had to look up to see his impressive five foot, four inch frame. My perspective had a lot to do with my perception.

There is an old cliche that says, "You can't see the forest for the trees." When we are in the middle of the woods, all we can see is one tree after another. It is hard to grasp the breadth and depth of the entire forest. It is only when we place some distance between ourselves and the trees that we can actually see the forest. We are missing perspective.

As the current of life sweeps us along, lack of perspective can lead us to questions and uncertainty, but the simple truth is that we are not seeing the big picture. All we see are the many small events and the multitude of pieces that comprise the whole.

God does not have that problem. In speaking of Himself, he says; "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9 NLT)

His ways are higher. His thoughts are higher. To say that His perspective is higher is not really accurate, because He does not see things from a singular angle or vantage point; what He sees is nothing less than the absolute truth.

Paul said "we see through a glass, darkly." (1 Corinthians 13:12) The New Living Translation reads like this:  "Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely."

Hold on for a minute. God knows me completely?

Do you ever think about the fact that God sees through all the extraneous stuff of your life? He sees through the facade, the pretense, and the attitudes, to the very heart of you -- what makes you tick, what drives you, what makes you cringe, what you want to hide. He sees the burden you are carrying, the hurt that is ravaging your heart.

He also knows the ending. We do not.

Do you trust Him? I mean REALLY trust Him, even in the middle of life's challenges?

It is only by looking up that you will see His HUGE shoulders -- the only way you will see His arms reaching down in love.

Open our eyes, Lord. Help us to see -- to see You, and to see the things of life as You see them.

Get Ready to Fly

The little caterpillar was cute and fuzzy, but more
importantly, he persisted; he had a purpose.

He Wouldn't Give Up

As I walked down to our mailbox a few days ago, I noticed a small caterpillar crawling along over the rocks. The wind was gusting up to about 30 miles an hour that day, but the little caterpillar kept crawling along.

At times, the wind actually picked the lightweight, fuzzy little guy up and he skittered several feet across the road. Every time the wind lifted him up, when he hit the ground, he just kept crawling in the same direction. Nothing seemed to bother him. He just kept going.

If the little caterpillar stopped crawling because it was too windy, he certainly would have died there on that barren road, which was utterly devoid of food or shelter. Instead, he kept crawling, moving toward some unseen, and likely unknown, destination. 

Like the caterpillar, we often don't know what's up ahead for us. But unlike the caterpillar, we tend to fret and worry, sometimes to the point that we stop moving at all.

But the simple truth of the matter is that if we stop, we are being disobedient. We are also circumventing God's good plan for us.

God has a plan and a purpose for me and for you! Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We must remember that in addition to having a purpose for us, Christ is behind us, beside us, and before us. He surrounds us with his love - even in the wind - no, especially, in the wind. We must remind ourselves of the great destiny that is ours, in a Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12).

I don't know about you, but knowing Christ, knowing that He is with me to the end of the age, knowing that His word is true and unchanging, and knowing that somehow, He can make all things work together for good, gives me calm assurance - even when the wind blows so hard that it picks me up and sets me down in a place that I wasn't expecting. (Matthew 28:20, Matthew 24:35, Romans 8:28 )

On Our Way to Something Beautiful

We may be bucking the wind now, but we must remind ourselves that we are on a path of purpose.
You see, like the caterpillar on its way to becoming a butterfly - we are on our way to something beautiful.
Keep crawling and get ready to fly.

One Hundred Times Return

You've got to put the seed
in the ground before you can expect
a harvest.

What if I told you about an investment you could make that would yield one hundred times your original investment? Maybe even more? Well, if you believed me, you would be asking me for more details and signing the papers. This post tells you exactly how to do that, but let me be clear; we are not talking about finance.

We are talking about LIFE. 

Spring is the season when farmers kick things into high gear. The fields are black and the soil is warming up. It is time to get the seed into the ground if there is going to be a harvest come fall.

I grew up on a farm, so the topic of spring seeding is near and dear to my heart, one that I have spent countless hours thinking about while out on the tractor.

Consider the farmer with thirty bushels of wheat seed stored in his shed. It is perfectly good grain that could be used for feed, or ground into flour and then made into bread. However, that same wheat could be used to plant about fifteen acres and in about four months, yield sixty-five bushels per acre, or 975 bushels. 

Once a farmer puts that wheat in the ground, there is no turning back. It is no longer fit to be eaten. It can't be fed to livestock or ground into flour now.  You couldn't gather it back up if you wanted to. The grain - as grain - is ruined. But give it some time, and those fifteen acres of soil turn green and then gold. Thirty bushels become 975 bushels. Is it worth risking the thirty bushels? You bet.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives." (John 12:24 NLT) 

Jesus was speaking of His own death, but the same is true for every one of His followers. Unless we "are planted in the soil and die" we will never grow a crop, never reach our full potential.

Death comes before resurrection.

It isn't physical death I am talking about here. Unless I die to my self - my own desires, ambitions, and human pride - I will never know what it is to yield a supernatural harvest - thirty times, sixty times, even a hundred times the initial cost. 

There is nothing more painful to talk about than death to self. Instinct drives us to protect ourselves at all costs. I would be lying if I did not admit that I have struggled with the concept of dying to self many, many times.

I remember as a young person, hearing old people in the church talk about dying to the old flesh. It all sounded so ugly. What were they talking about? 

I love my self. I try to be good. I am not a bad person. I. I. I....

C.S. Lewis is one of my very favorite authors. He probably makes the strongest case for dying to self: 

"Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in." 

(Mere Christianity, page 190-191)

I don't think I can say it any better than that. 

  

Is dying to your self worth the sacrifice? Absolutely. It is the best investment you can possibly make.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57845872@N08/14069888049">PhoTones Works #5196</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>

The Power of the Seed

A package of seeds is a package of possibilities.

As I write the title of this blog post, I can't help but think that it is a bit odd to talk about "the power of the seed."

How powerful can a seed be?

When I think of power, my mind conjures up images of marching armies, tanks, maybe even nuclear bombs. Maybe I've watched too many war movies.

How about the halls of congress, where laws are written and decisions are made that change our lives? Surely these things speak of power. But a seed? Really?

Speaking of the power of a seed goes against most rational thought. A seed is exceptionally small. It is dry and hard, seemingly dead. If it is like most seeds, it is quite lacking in color, appearing to have little or no connection to any living thing.

But, we know from experience that when a seed is placed in the ground, something magical happens. The outer shell softens, breaks open, and from inside the seed something begins to swell. Soon, a tiny sprout emerges. Somehow, that insignificant sprout makes its way toward the surface and it is then that we can see life emerging. It starts with just a leaf or two. It is hard to see what it is going to become, but it is obviously no longer just a seed. It is now something alive and growing.

In Genesis 3:15 we read the account of God speaking to the serpent, following the eating of the forbidden fruit.  God said to the serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

So Satan achieved his short-sighted goal by causing Adam and Eve to sin, and with that one act, bringing sin into a world that had been utterly perfect. Little did he know that at the same time, he had insured his own undoing. The woman's seed, spoken of in Genesis 3, is Christ. The woman was now fated to bear children in pain, but the seed that would be born from woman, many generations later, would crush Satan's head. The resurrection of Christ from the dead defeated Satan, once and for all time.

So, we ask ourselves again: how powerful can a seed be?

The truth is astounding.

With that first sin, God had already planted the seed of our redemption. He had a plan to rescue us that was already set in motion.

Jesus spoke about seeds in more than one parable. He spoke about planting seeds, some of which grew and some which either did not grow, or which died. He spoke about the mustard seed, saying that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.

What IS the power of the seed? Given the proper planting and growing conditions, a seed WILL become what it is destined to become. A kernel of wheat will become a wheat plant. A daisy seed will become a daisy.

If you have been born again, the seed of Christ is in you. Do you realize how powerful that is? Much as we worry and fret about our lives, there is a power at work within us that is greater than anything we can imagine.