Could All This Beauty Be For Us?

During this week, we are all immersed in Art Camp.  Art Camp is part of the Abbeville Sacred Arts Initiative, which is a subset of the Music/Children/Youth Ministry of Abbeville Methodist Church.  Over 100 children, youth, and adults have gathered this week to pray, "May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17)."  We quoted this verse every day as part of the devotional at 8:30 each morning of camp.  It asks God's beauty to guide us and lead us as we work with our hands to bring beauty into the world! In Exodus 31, we find a beautiful example of this as God calls (and equips) Bezalel to craft items that will be part of the worship God expects from His people.

In God's calling and consecration of Bezalel for this work, God seems both happy and excited to tell Moses, "I have filled him (Bezalel) with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft."  Inspiration ... ability ... intelligence ... knowledge.  This sounds a little like heart, soul, mind, strength ... doesn't it?

Three points here:

1. Did you notice God started with "spirit?"  If we are planning to be guided by God in the work of our hands, we need to begin by opening ourselves to the spirit of God.  One of my favorite songs says it this way ... "O Spirit of the Living God, O light and fire divine ... descend upon your Church once more, and make it truly thine!"

2. Did you notice God cares deeply about this work being done skillfully?  God gives the ability and the opportunity to use our intelligence to gain knowledge.  Every child at Art Camp has/had each of these things.  God calls us to the work He has established, and then He gives us the abilities, intelligence, and skills to craft what God has designed.  What a calling!  And what a beautiful time to watch each of these children grow in something that imparts the grace of beauty upon them!  I believe God loves this!

3.  Did you notice that God is continuing to grow, expand, and express Himself in what He has called us to create, all so that we may worship Him?  

We start with God's Spirit leading ... we continue with God's gifting ... we apply skills that we invest in ... so that we may worship God.  And here is the kicker ... God is doing this FOR us!  Because when we are able to truly worship God, we can leave the bondage of culture, self, transactionism, and make a beautiful connection with a God that is beautiful, creative, and trustworthy!  Here are some words about that moment ... that thin place ... when God speaks life into us, our work, and our children ...

Into the peace of these wild things

Into the wild of this grace

Into the grace of this blessing

Speak in the peace of this place

Here in the magic hour, time and eternity

Mingle a moment in chorus

Here at the magic hour, bright is the mystery

Plain is the beauty before us,

Could all this beauty be for us?

(Andrew Peterson, Magic Hour)

You Want Us To Do What?

Scripture: Exodus 23:1–9 … "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits... Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong... Do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit... Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt." (Exodus 23:6, 2, 3, 9)

You want us to do what? There are moments in Scripture that cause us to stop reading and start staring. Exodus 23:1-9 is one of those passages.

God tells His people not to spread false reports. Don't join the crowd in doing wrong. Don't show favoritism to the rich. Don't show prejudice toward the poor. Help your enemy's wandering animal. Refuse bribes. Protect the innocent. Don't oppress the foreigner. It almost sounds impossible.

Our culture has taught us that justice means standing with "our side" and mercy means helping "our people." None of this focuses on revenge, giving our foe some of what they have given us, or demeaning others to benefit our "side." God says something radically different. He tells His people to live according to His standards, not ours.

The Hebrew word most often translated justice is mishpat (מִשְׁפָּט). Mishpat is much more than simply deciding who wins and who loses. It means rendering a judgment that reflects the very character of God. It is justice as God sees it—not merely as people perceive it. That is why Exodus 23 repeatedly warns against partiality.

Do not favor the powerful. Do not favor or penalize the poor simply because they are poor. Do not follow public opinion. Do not let emotion replace truth.

Justice is not determined by popularity, politics, wealth, or sympathy. Justice belongs to God. His people are simply called to reflect it.

The Hebrew word hesed (חֶסֶד) is often translated as steadfast love, lovingkindness, or mercy. Yet none of those English words fully capture its depth. Hesed describes covenant love. It is the kind of loyalty, kindness, and sacrificial commitment normally reserved for family. It is treating someone as though they belong to you. As though they carry your own name. As though they are your brother or sister. That is shocking.

God is not merely asking us to be polite. He is asking us to love people—including those who have hurt us—with the devotion we naturally reserve for blood relatives. No wonder Jesus later tells us to love our enemies. He wasn't inventing a new idea. He was revealing what had been God's heart all along.

There is a story often told about a respected judge. One day a lifelong friend stood before his bench guilty of breaking the law. The courtroom became quiet. Everyone wondered what the judge would do. Would friendship outweigh justice? The judge looked at his friend and quietly pronounced him guilty. Then he imposed the maximum fine allowed by law.

Justice had been served. But then something unexpected happened. The judge stood up. He removed his robe. Walked down from the bench. Reached into his own pocket. And paid the entire fine himself.

Justice had not been ignored. Mercy had not been abandoned. Both had been perfectly fulfilled. That is exactly what God has done for us. At the cross, God never declared sin unimportant. Justice demanded payment. So God Himself, in Christ, stepped down from the Judge's seat, entered our humanity, and paid the penalty we could never pay. The cross is where mishpat and hesed meet.

Justice satisfied. Mercy overflowing. Go, thou and do likewise!

Freedom Clichés

Every July we hear them. "Give me liberty or give me death." "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." "Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life."

"Freedom isn't free." They appear on signs, social media posts, T-shirts, and speeches. Because they are so familiar, they can become little more than patriotic clichés. But behind every one of them lies a story of sacrifice, courage, and conviction. Long before the birth of America, God was teaching these same lessons in the opening chapters of Exodus.

Israel was a nation living without freedom. A Pharaoh who "did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8) reduced God's people to slaves. They were forced into hard labor, their sons were marked for death, and their future seemed hopeless. Slavery was not merely an economic system—it was an assault on the image of God in humanity. Then God began to move.

He preserved the life of Moses through unlikely people—a courageous mother, a compassionate sister, and even Pharaoh's own daughter. God called Moses from the burning bush and declared His covenant name: "I AM WHO I AM." He had heard His people's cries, remembered His promises, and had come down to deliver them.  And God used an unlikely 80-year-old to keep God’s promises.  A spiritual showdown unfolds. Again and again Moses delivers God's message: "Let My people go, so that they may worship Me." Freedom, in God's eyes, is never an end in itself. It is the opportunity to worship, obey, and live under His gracious rule.

Pharaoh refuses. His heart grows harder with every encounter. The plagues begin to fall—not only as judgments upon Egypt, but as declarations that the gods of Egypt are powerless before the living God. Freedom would come, but not without conflict, sacrifice, and loss of life. That is why the saying, "Freedom isn't free," rings so true.

For Israel, freedom required God's mighty hand, miraculous signs, courageous obedience, and eventually the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. For America, freedom has required generations willing to sacrifice comfort, wealth, and even life itself for the sake of others.

For Christians, our greatest freedom came at the highest possible cost. Jesus Christ took upon Himself the judgment our sin deserved so that we might be free from sin, death, and the power of Satan. The cross reminds us that eternal freedom was purchased, not cheaply, but with the precious blood of the Son of God.

Perhaps that is why Patrick Henry's cry, "Give me liberty or give me death," still stirs our hearts. There are truths worth living for—and some worth dying for.

The Declaration reminds us that "all men are created equal." Exodus reminds us why: every person bears the image of the Creator. No Pharaoh, government, employer, or culture can erase that God-given dignity.

And the words from “America the Beautiful” —"Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life"—point us beyond patriotism to the heart of Christ Himself. He loved not Himself first, but the world He came to save.

This Independence Day, don't let these phrases become empty slogans. Remember the Hebrews crying out beneath their burdens. Remember Moses standing before Pharaoh. Remember the God who hears, remembers, sees, and acts. Remember those who purchased earthly freedom with sacrifice. And above all, remember the Savior who declared, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

Freedom has never been a cliché. It has always been a gift worth protecting, celebrating, and using to glorify God.

Unused Gift Cards

Beside my bed is a nightstand.  The nightstand and its two drawers are the resting place of things that, at a particular moment, are not at the top of the priority list.  They are things that I want to keep and maybe use later, but are not things that I will use in the immediate future.  Screen protectors that come in a 3-pack, but I only need one now.  My little case of tiny screws that I can use to repair glasses.  A COVID-era calendar that I threw there and forgot about.  And ... gift cards with usable value, but they are in that drawer.

What will happen to those gift cards?  I might retrieve them and use them.  They may stay in the drawer till they expire.  But the longer they stay in the drawer, the longer they become forgotten, unused, and potentially wasted.

Enter Moses from the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Exodus.  He was a Hebrew born in Egypt during the time the Hebrews were slaves.  Moses, at the age of 3 months, was placed in a basket, floated down the Nile River, and was a human Hail Mary prayer as his mother hoped and prayed for his survival (if Moses had been discovered, he would have been killed).  Moses was found by the Pharaoh's daughter, nursed to health in the palace, and became her son.  Moses, as an adult, saw how his people were mistreated and, in a fit of anger, killed an Egyptian who was beating one of the Hebrew slaves.  His act is discovered, and Moses flees justice, going to Midian, where he built a life, married, and tended sheep there for his father-in-law, Jethro.  Moses is in the 'nightstand' of life!  God opens the drawer, lifts Moses out, and calls him to the work for which Moses was created.

Three things about this story:

1. Even people born into dire circumstances are born with gifts.

2. The circumstances of life and culture will place your gifts in jeopardy, telling you that they are not urgent, important, or currently usable.

3. God doesn't miss or misplace you or your gifts ... He calls you to the Holy Ground of calling.

Moses is told by God (Exodus 3), "I am (the God that exists)," "You are standing on holy ground (a place of divine encounter), and "I have seen the misery of my people."  God is real, God can make even dirt holy, and God will use messed-up people and their gifts of obedience to bring people into His plan.  He is still doing that!  AMEN!

Two Words

Some of you know I have been involved in a year-long training "huddle" of six preachers from Global Methodist Churches in the southeast.  It has been a great time of sharing ministry, concerns, gifts, stories, work, and life.  I am the oldest, and my friend, Sam, from Freeport, is the youngest.  There has been a lot of work associated with this collaborative training, and all of us have learned from one another.  In one of the sessions, we had the chance to come up with two words that we felt described our calling as Christians and as ministers.  This was hard, though we were aided by 4 (yes, 4!) personality tests.  Later in the process, we were again asked to share two words (again, after several focusing exercises) that would describe how we would call our friends, colleagues, ministry partners, and connections to become disciples of Jesus that worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.  This was hard ... very hard!

Words are important.  And they tell a story.  In the early 1900's, someone was asked to shorten a news story (several paragraphs) into six words that summarized the story.  They said, "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER WORN").  This story, often attributed to Hemingway, amplifies that much can be said in a few words.

Sunday is Father's Day.  A Biblical father, Jacob (Genesis 46:28-34), travels to Egypt with all he has, so that his family can weather a famine.  His son, Joseph, tells him specific words to say when Pharaoh greets Jacob and Joseph's family.  "We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds."  Joseph, always clever and calculating, knew the right words to say so that his (and also God's) purpose would be realized.  Words are important.

This Sunday, let's merge the themes "words are important," "Father's Day," and "Two Words."  What do you think your Two Words would be, if you were asked, "what are the Two Words that flow out of your life that would describe how God calls you to make disciples?"  Or, maybe, "What Two Words would God (our heavenly Father) us to describe how you are making disciples (I like that 2nd one)."

For Joseph, the words might be Providential Preservationist.  Joseph protects His family (the family that will ultimately become the great nation that saves/blesses the world), preserves God's promise, and perpetuates God's plan.  God's promise is preserved because Joseph is available, obedient, and accessible to God's perfect plan.

Ok ... now for some self-disclosure.  My Two Words (they seem to evolve a bit over time) might be, Discover and Become (I didn't count the 'and').  I want each of you to Discover who God is, His beauty, His promises, and His purpose.  I want each of you to Become the person God created you to be ... people who live out Jesus in your circles and create a place where blessing, beauty, and discipleship happen organically.

What are your Two Words?  And, for our fathers, do your Two Words fit with God's purpose to bring everyone to Himself?  Words are important, aren't they?

Fog and Opportunity

There is something beautiful about pushing a boat out into the fog on the Choctawhatchee Bay. The shoreline disappears, familiar landmarks vanish, and all you can see is a gray curtain hanging over the water. Yet there is peace in knowing the bay well enough to trust where you are headed, even when you cannot see the destination.

Life with God often feels the same way.

In Genesis 37, Joseph made what was probably a youthful mistake. God gave him dreams, but Joseph shared those self-exalting visions with his brothers, whose hearts were already growing jealous. Perhaps those dreams should have remained hidden in the fog a little longer. Instead, his brothers filled in the blanks, assuming Joseph desired to rule over them, and their jealousy set in motion years of hardship.

Dreams are funny things. Sometimes they appear through a foggy haze, much like looking through cataracts (something I understand better after recently having cataract surgery). When our vision is clouded, we often supply our own explanations, assumptions, and fears. We imagine what God must mean instead of patiently waiting for Him to reveal His purpose.

Yet some dreams are more than imagination. Some dreams are God-given visions—glimpses of a future reality that He is preparing. They are less about our own greatness and more about His unfolding plan. They become destinations toward which God gently steers us.

Several months ago, our church had such a dream: to invite children into an encounter with God through art and music. That vision formed around the beautiful prayer of Psalm 90:17:

"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands."

Last week, our planning team gathered to discuss the overwhelming logistics for our July 13–17 Sacred Arts Camp. There were schedules, volunteers, supplies, classrooms, music, and countless details that could easily make the dream seem impossible.

But something wonderful happened. The fog began to lift. The cataracts are being removed.

What once seemed confusing is beginning to come into focus as a "thin place"—a place where the distractions of this world fade, and God's reality becomes beautifully clear.

Joseph's dreams led him through opposition, obstacles, and oppression before they led him to God's purpose. Our own dreams often travel the same road. Yet if they are truly born of God, they will eventually lead us exactly where He intends.

I love that the word opportunity may be traced to the Latin expression ob portu, referring to favorable conditions for bringing a ship safely into harbor. The tide comes in, the winds align, and the captain knows it is time to make port. There is work to be done!

Perhaps that is where we are today. By following God's leading and allowing His beauty to establish the work of our hands, He is guiding us into the harbor He has prepared—a place filled with art, music, drama, goodness, grace, and children discovering the beauty of Christ.

The fog is clearing. The cataracts are being removed. And the beauty of God's dream is finally coming into focus.

Wrestling With God

I believe we have all done it!  Wrestling with God.  And it IS Biblical.  Read Genesis 32.  

This part of the Bible is not just read ... it is navigated.  There are strange stories that would make a soap opera blush.  There are Hebrew customs, traditions, and symbols that are woven through the thread of the stories.  In this combination of poetic narrative and Hebrew narrative, we find the character Jacob.  Jacob (the name) means supplanter or heel-grabber.  Jacob struggles with life from birth, grabbing Esau's heel as he is born.  His life is filled with conflict, scheming, and a constant pursuit of something I don't think Jacob even knows ... until Peniel.  There, Jacob encounters God, and there is a wrestling match.  Jacob emerges from the encounter injured, changed, and renamed. What can we learn from all this?  I'll try to unpack this a bit.

First, Jacob sends his family and everything he owns ahead, across the Jabbok River.  I am guessing Jacob had some idea that fate had caught up with him, and he might be facing his brother Esau, whom Jacob had cheated out of his birthright.  God had other plans.  The old song, "You Gotta Walk That Lonesome Valley," comes to mind as Jacob awaits what is coming.  "We gotta walk that lonesome valley ... we gotta walk it by ourselves, nobody here gonna walk it for you, we gotta walk it by ourselves."  

Second, Jacob (I think) does what he normally does.  He doesn't let go.  I say this as I experience a modern-day world of people who rationalize their way into quitting things.  We are part of a team, but quit participating because someone hurts our feelings or doesn't value us as much as we would like.  This happens on sports teams, in workplaces, and in churches.  I want to tell people, "Put on your big boy/girl pants," and reflect on what would happen if God treated us this way!  I come from a generation that looked at quitting as unacceptable social behavior.  They learned to work with and through difficult people.  Jacob hangs on to God for dear life, and if he dies, his cold, dead corpse will still be hanging on!

Third, Jacob's encounter with God causes seismic changes in his life.  He is physically injured and changed (now with an out-of-joint hip).  He names the place where this happened Peniel, which means "face of God," I believe, to remember this encounter forever.  His name is changed to Israel, now a nation known for tenacity and unwavering commitment to a mission. But more than his name, things start happening that change Jacob's life.  In the next few verses, Jacob reconciles with his brother Esau.  He is no longer running away.  He honors God with an altar to El-Elohe (The Mighty God). He follows God's instructions to live in Bethel (meaning the house of God).  

How has your encounter with God changed you?  Are you a city on a hill, doing good so that your Father in heaven is glorified?  Or are you building a tower for yourself that will reach the stars?  Jacob finally started listening to God.  How goes it with you?