Keeping the Tree Alive

Keeping the Tree Alive

Many years ago, I had the brilliant idea of having a real, live tree for Christmas. Not one that had been cut, but instead I chose a large Norway Spruce that would after Christmas compliment two others already growing in my yard. The plan seemed to be sane at the time. Big tree, huge galvanized bucket to place it in and lots of water to keep it alive. Jane at that time possessed the “perfect tree” syndrome which meant that every tree limb must be wrapped with lights starting from the trunk then going out. Thousands of lights went on and watering the tree became a full time job. The tree looked good until the day we were to host our annual Christmas party. On that day our tree decided to give up all sense of decency and shed nearly every needle it possessed. Jane cried. I didn’t!  I was angry and literally kicked the bucket as we drug that massive twig out of our home. The Christmas party survived, but only because we were able to laugh at our own misfortune.

From Christmas Party to a bad day is sometimes a short ride! The OT prophet Jonah can surely add commentary! Buried in the belly of a huge fish after having been thrown off a ship and from the depths of the sea the surly seer cried, “Salvation comes from the LORD.” The next line yields the result of his epic confession: “And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Jonah 2:9-10
The prophet finally said yes to God! It was a “yes” and “amen” to the hope and future God extends to His creation so God let him live. His was a reluctant “yes” to God’s divine intention to make that hope known. Although Jonah was a part of this Divine Drama, it is obvious from the story line that neither the play nor the outcome was contingent upon Jonah’s thoughts or feelings. He enjoyed the gift of grace, but he really could care less if Nineveh knew about them!
But it is God who is relentless in pursuit of the lost and undone, not man. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It is His work and He wants Jonah to join Him in that spirit. Jonah’s Creator drives this point home one more time as the story concludes by providing a vine for Jonah to shade under and then commissioning a worm to destroy it to the amazement of the angry prophet. Jonah had tremendous faith in God’s love and mercy. He just did not want to share them with the undeserving. Now, upon losing his tree of contentment (which to him signified what it was all about) he sits alone, angry and stunned by God’s words, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” I would have God saying here, “So what’s it to you?”

That was definitely salt on His wounds as he unhappily sat there while his vine died.  The church of Jesus Christ is feeling the same uneasiness about what is happening to the tree of Christmas!

Henri J. M. Nouwen said, “Songs, good feelings, beautiful liturgies, nice presents, big dinners, and sweet words do not make Christmas. Christmas is saying yes to a hope based on God’s initiative, which has nothing to do with what I think or feel. Christmas is believing that the salvation of the world is God’s work and not mine.”

Presently we watch our own tree dying as the Season increasingly becomes about mobs driven into shopping frenzy as well as violence. We confess that we want to keep Christ in Christmas even as the idol of consumerism seeks to not only coexist but conquer our holy celebration and the economy dictates that many halls will not be so lavishly “decked.”
But worst of all is the prospect that God may leave us in the middle and muddle of all this anger and resentment with the words, “What is it to you?” and “do you have any right to be angry?” We definitely do not need to remain there with those words ringing in our ears! In order to not, we must not be angry about the tree of Christmas if it only means to us as Nouwen says,“Songs, good feelings, beautiful liturgies, nice presents, big dinners, and sweet words..” Instead, we must join the true spirit of the season which is God proclaiming and revealing His peace and good will toward men. We must in a big way say "yes" to this hope! It must not be just a family event as Jonah desired. It must be extended to the poor (spiritually and materially) the barren and hurting.  And yes it must even be extended to the enemies of God!

The Word Became Flesh

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us..”

John 1:14

Undoubtedly these words are some of the most power packed words in the Bible! So much so that they have come to define much of whom we are and what we believe. Later in his writings, John utilizes this statement in order to test for true followers of Christ: 

  “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God…” 1 John 4:2

Many hold the Advent as a lesser event in the life of Jesus especially when it is compared to his death. But the reality is there can be no substitutionary death on the cross, no penalty paid for sin if there is not the Word made flesh and born in a manger! Since that is so, it is vitally important this message be preached, sung and celebrated! The darkness of sin and ignorance must be contrasted with the Light of God’s salvation! Hopelessness and despair must be quieted by the voice of an Angel saying, “Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” and the gloomy thoughts about God completely drowned out by a chorus of Angels declaring, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests!” What a tremendous privilege we have, to once again announce the brightness of his appearing to people “living in darkness and in the shadow of death” so their feet may be guided “into the path of peace.”
 Several years ago, the lighted nose on my neighbor’s outdoor reindeer somehow disappeared. I thought it was funny. My neighbor didn’t! Rumors, innuendos and charges ran rampant. Rudolf looked pitiful but Christmas went on in the neighborhood. But several nights later my baby Jesus figurine mysteriously disappeared from the manger scene in my front yard! At that point the war was on. Rudolf could deliver without his nose so bright but Christmas can never arrive without the gift of God’s Word made flesh!
Yet, because of the cultural drift toward a materialistic shadow of what this time of the year is supposed to be, many have abandoned the promise of powerful proclamation in churches for the ease of “going along to get along!” Jesus is disappearing from the scene! I pray this will not be true in the AG churches of Georgia. Let us make this time count for God’s Kingdom.

As pastors, we have been charged to “preach the Word” and to “preach the Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.” In the same way, I charge you this Christmas Season to preach “the word made flesh” in the power of the Spirit!

Blessings of Peace and Joy,

Pastor Rick

P.S.  For those who are concerned, Baby Jesus was returned to his manger scene after I announced his abduction from my pulpit but poor Rudolf never fully recovered!

Thanks Giving

i have recently FALLEN IN LOVE AGAIN WITH the collection of pSALMS WHICH ARE COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE sONG OF Ascents. These fifteen psalms cOMPRISe what is quite POSSIBLY THE FIRST HYMNAL and WERE MOST probably sung by Israelite pilgrims en route to the great Feasts of God at Jerusalem. Since the city is situated on an elevation, from any point in Israel one had to ascend when approaching the holy city. Upon arrival, they continue to ascend as worshippers climb the fifteen steps leading from the Court of Women to the Court of Israel in order to offer sacrifices.  As you read through Psalm 120-134 what is noticeable is the progression of the pilgrim’s testimonies as they progress along the way until arrival at their destination.

I was reminded of those testimonies and the steps leading into the Holy Place by many of my Facebook Friends who are doing a 30 Days of “Giving Thanks” approach to our upcoming Feast. It is good to remember the things God has done in our lives.  As Psalm 126 says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Archeologists have unearthed some of the very steps leading up to the Temple and have discovered an interesting and telling fact. The steps leading up to the House of Worship were not made consistent in size. In fact the treads of the steps vary in width from almost a foot to three feet making it nearly impossible to climb them quickly.  As the pilgrim made his way into the presence of God, because of the construct of the stairs he or she must periodically pause. Most probably, during these pauses came reflection, remembering, and rehearsing (saying out Loud in repetitious manner) the great things God had done, so that their “mouths were filled with laughter” and their “tongues with songs of joy.”

We all need a pause! A holy pause of remembering the great things he has done and rehearsing them so that the community of faith may be built up in Him. That’s Thanksgiving!

I pray that we will all “Enter His Gates” by giving thanks, which because of the goodness of God, will bring the resulting fruit of praise from our lips as we enter into the courts of His near presence!

Pastor Rick Collins

HELL IS FILLED WITH BITTERNESS

 HELL IS FILLED WITH BITTERNESS

Last night I found some great words about bitterness and hell in the words of John Chrysostom’s well regarded Paschal Sermon. I will share the last two stanzas of this classic without any commentary.

He has destroyed death by undergoing death.

He despoiled hell by descending into hell.

He vexed it even as it tasted of HIS flesh.

Isaiah foretold this when he cried:

Hell was filled with bitterness when it met thee face to face below;

Filled with bitterness, for it was brought to nothing;

Filled with bitterness, for it was mocked;

Filled with bitterness, for it was overthrown;

Filled with bitterness, for it was put into chains.

Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.

O death, where is your sting?

O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen! And you, o death are annihilated!

Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down!

Christ is risen. And the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen! And life is liberated!

Christ is risen! And the tomb is emptied of its dead;

For Christ having risen from the dead,

Is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To HIM be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages. Amen!

Into the Bitterness of Life

Into the Bitterness of Life

“Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water because it was bitter. Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” Exodus 15:22-23, 25.

Today I have been pondering the piece of wood God showed to Moses and what he did with it. The text doesn’t say that God told Moses to throw it into the water, just that God showed it to him and somehow he knew this thing God was showing him must be introduced into the problem of bitterness. This is quite important since as we journey, there is an ever present prospect that the waters from which we drink will be tainted with the acrid smelling, foul tasting bile we call bitterness! In this piece of wood  there is no psychological answer to why the water is bitter and no chemical or medicinal remedy to the effects of drinking the water. Neither is the wood a stirring stick used in order to mix the water into a more palatable concoction.  The water is bad and it is transformed by the introduction of a piece of wood! It is unfathomable to our mind why God would show to Moses a piece of wood and why Moses would see it as the answer to the problem.  That will always be a mystery.

But, there is another piece of wood mentioned in the Bible which might help us to understand what was going on with the bitter water and many of the other things faced by the nation of Israel as they wandered though the wilderness. On this Good Friday, God once again shows us a piece of wood that He himself will introduce into the bitterness of life with dramatic results. Today, as we survey the wondrous cross on which our Savior died, we understand that salvation is in and of the Lord. To many it makes no sense  that God could use the cross to sweeten the water of life so that we may drink and live, but that is exactly what He does. That piece of wood is a means He uses to bring about the miracle of salvation. “The son of man must be lifted up” John says; in that lifting up we are drawn to one who delivers and heals us of our defiling bitterness! 

Kill the Brave Ones

“the kingdom of God suffers violence”

The crow I shot was crazy.

For some reason, he chose to peck against the establishment and to attack the norm.  He really thought he should be on the inside and, of course, that was preposterous.  But, he was not unlike the prophet who sees things others cannot and is thought to be “mad” because of his vision.

Right now in the Middle East there are millions crying out to “get in” to the blessings of freedom and democratic rule.  It began with an uprising in Tunisia, which is still feeling tremors and has spread to Egypt, and possibly Jordan.  Although none of us desire to see violence spread, sadly it is an inevitable part of change in many situations.  How will things end?  We do not know.  There are many twists and turns on the road to permanent benevolent change.  But, maybe the beginnings can tell us much about its intended destination.  

After a New Years Mass, a suicide bomber attacked a Coptic Church in Alexandria Egypt, killing twenty-one persons.  In the aftermath, there were reported clashes between angry Christians and the Egyptian police over the killings.  An Associated Press article from January 1, 2011, gives insight on why these subsequent clashes occurred….

The bombing, about a half hour after the stroke of the New Year, stoked tensions that have grown in recent years between Egypt's Christians and the Muslim majority.  It was dramatically different from past attacks on Christians.  Christians have increasingly blamed the government for not taking violence against them, or anti-Christian sentiment among Muslim hard-liners, seriously.

In the wake of the New Year's bombing, they unleashed their rage at authorities.  "Now it's between Christians and the government, not between Muslims and Christians," shrieked one Christian woman as several hundred young men clashed with helmeted riot police in the street outside the targeted church hours after the blast.  Blood splattered the facade of the church, a painting of Jesus inside, and a mosque across the street.  The blast mangled at least six cars on the street, setting some ablaze.

Health Ministry spokesman, Abdel-Rahman Shahine, said the death toll stood at 21, with 97 wounded, almost all were Christians.  Egypt's top Muslim leaders also expressed their condolences and solidarity with Christians, and the biggest fundamentalist opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, condemned the bombing.  

But, many Christians in Alexandria were seething. Soon after the explosion, youths clashed with police, chanting, "With our blood and soul, we redeem the cross," witnesses said.

In the aftermath of this horrendous act, a new voice was heard in Egypt.  A January 7, 2001 AP Article quotes: "I know it might not be safe, yet it's either we live together, or we die together, we are all Egyptians.”  Such are the words one expects of great leaders on the battlefield, of politicians preparing a nation for war, of civic leaders rallying people for an inspiring cause.  But, these are the words of Cherine Mohamed, a 50-year-old Egyptian housewife.  These words became a slogan of sorts for many brave Egyptian Muslims who chose yesterday to risk their lives in the wake of the New Year's violence and attend Christmas Masses with their Coptic Christian brethren, serving as human shields against further potential acts of extremist violence on the Christian holy day.>> Full Story 

This human shield was the response of a mostly young and restless population of Egyptians who have watched as sectarian violence has been allowed to go on unchecked in their nation.

Will their dream of a more democratic and religiously tolerant Egypt come true?   I do not know.  Their bravery of those following Mohamed El Baradei cannot be doubted.  They have taken the world by surprise, by mounting a successful protest against a tyrant.  Mubarak may be deaf, but the message is loud and clear: He has to go.  For sure, they will be severely challenged by the Muslim Brotherhood who will attempt to use this popular uprising in order to assume power and bring Islamic law into full force.  We pray this will not be the case and that somehow the prophets of progress will break through the walls of oppression for a new day in Egypt. 

While we are dreaming, why not go all the way and dream along with the prophet Isaiah?  He dreamed of a united Egypt, Israel, and Syria. Not only were they together, but they were together in the Lord!

Isaiah 19:22-24 (English Standard Version)

^“ And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.²³ In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria,⁽and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. ²⁴In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.”

Join me in prayer for those courageous (and yes, crazy) enough to dream God’s dreams and see God’s vision!

Pastor Rick

Why Did You Shoot Me?

Why Did You Shoot Me?

“who kills the prophets…” Luke 13:34

The dream was surreal. A crow was standing in my open bedroom window looking down on me as I used my pillow to fight back the morning rays of light! With one wing bandaged and sporting a British accent he asked, “Why did you shoot me?” The accent probably comes from watching too many episodes of Heckle and Jekyll as a kid, but the bandaged wing and the question he asked came from a day back in November when I decided enough was enough!

Since March, this crow along with a noisy entourage had plagued our District Office in Macon. The ladies at the front of building were bothered by a steady diet of cawing. They made such a terrible racket that my co-workers had a hard time concentrating. Not only that, but they made a terrible mess at the front door so that no one would even want to come in through that entrance. One lady put out rubber snakes. Many things were tried and all of them failed. The crows had a party on a daily basis at our expense. If it had only been the persistent cawing and the nasty littering of the walk that would have been bad enough, but there was more.  What worsened the situation was the incessant pecking by one crow. He was destroying the reflective coating on the glass surrounding the entrance. Some people said that he could see himself in the glass and that he was attacking his own reflection. Others said that the shiny glass was pretty and crows like pretty things. I think he just wanted to get in very badly! I really am not sure how anyone could possibly know what caused this strange behavior for sure, but I have my own hypothesis and it is contained in the answer I gave in my dream. He was crazy enough to think he belonged inside!

Every day, the crazy one would go out and attack the huge glass front of our building and the others crowded around to watch. Some days he would do it with so much vigor that he bled on the glass and concrete entrance. My solution was simple and yes, final. A trip to the sporting goods store for a pellet rifle (I had already tried my Red Ryder BB Gun and I think they ate the BB’s!) and scope. The first outing brought a bit of humor as I tried to explain to a young Russian pastor who was visiting our office, what I was doing in the bushes outside the office. It was a tough translation!

The second day, I struck gold. The crazy crow was by himself pecking at the window. No crow guards were on lookout and he was so caught up with his own show that he never saw me or the pellet coming. The result was a wing shot that knocked him from the roof of our building and a foot chase that had me losing him in some bushes in the adjoining property. This crow was not only crazy but fast, too!

The next day, I dropped by the office on way to a meeting in Florida. One of my co workers gave me the latest news. “My crow” was in the front yard. The result was me chasing him through the parking lot toward an Orthodontist office next door. As I got nearer the building full of children and parents awaiting their time with the doctor, I had the very real sensation that I was being watched. Still in our office’s parking area, I decided to retire my rifle and get on the road. Maybe ten minutes later as I filled my truck up with gas nearby, I saw the collateral damage from my hunt as police cars and vans sped toward my building with sirens blaring and blue lights flashing. I had been reported by the office next door and they came with weapons drawn to take care of the “suburban terrorist.” I did what any good pastor would do and let the police sort things out with my fellow workers who had to come out with their hands up!

That crazy crow, doomed to die with broken wing, was sure a “peck” of trouble for me! Maybe he was a “prophet” crow stirring up trouble and that is why he was sitting in my window preaching a sermon through a question. God used a donkey once, (and probably millions more after that) to speak, why not a crow?  “Why did you shoot me?” was more than a question as to why his wing was broken, it was a statement as to the continuing tradition of God’s people to kill the “crazy ones”  so there is no more fuss or mess!  It worked for me. Once I took care the “crazy one” the crow party was over. Their attempt to get into the glass building was a failed one. After having looked into the promise land they still could not enter. The remainder of the crows, even though adoring of whatever they saw in the “prophet crow” left when he was dispatched into crow heaven.  

On one very practical level I am glad I shot that crazy crow. But I have to confess that at a deeper level I’m not so sure!

 More to come in my next Blog.

Pondering the Rock

Longfellow said,"the thoughts of youth are long long thoughts." Here in
Georgia to think long is to ponder. This thought seems appropriate for my first
posting as the Rock is something or should I say someone that I have been
pondering for a long long time. There would be no need to think long thoughts
about Him except that all who seek the Lord and pursue right living are said to
be cut and quarried from Him. It seems that I cannot begin to know who I am
until I have discovered who He is. But this rock is like no other rock as many
others like myself have discovered!
Once while climbing on Mt. Sinai (the one found on the Sinai Peninsula also
called the traditional site) I looked to my right and saw a broken piece of red
granite wedged between two other larger pieces of granite stone that lay just
within my reach. As I carefully extracted the cell phone sized granite fragment
from the side of the rock from which it had broken, I noticed a pattern in the
rock. A fern frond had been captured within the rock. I guess that it had been
growing on the ground at the time of the mountain's formation since I was above
the tree line at this point on my trip to the peak.
That rock is treasured by me because of it's age, its beautiful red color, and
maybe because it had captured within itself life from a very different source.
But perhaps I treasure it most because I found it!
Not so, says my brother, who was making the climb with me. His disagreement with
my last assessment of why I love this rock comes as a result of his own
experience. He had made the climb on the same path many times before that day
and many times after that day along with multiplied thousands of other pilgrims
and in his words he has never found "squat."
Randy thinks the rock found me. I have a very smart brother!
I hope that you will join me in "Speaking to the Rock."
Blessings
Rick Collins

I'm Still A.G.

I grew up in a mixed home. Dad was a Methodist, far away from God and home, and Mom was  Panamanian born and was raised Catholic. My dad moved us into a house close to his mother before he left for his Air Force tour of duty. My mom knew very little English, and neither she nor my grandmother were able to drive.  Therefore, we walked to the nearest church which was an Assembly of God church in my small S.C. town. Mom didn’t attend very often, opting to pray at home. One time when she did attend, the Pastor saw her praying to a picture of Jesus in the little hallway. The next day, he took it down so she would not commit idolatry!

 I remain AG for many reasons, and not one of them is because we are “the church”, that we are the only one doctrinally correct, or that we have the greatest governance. We have much to improve upon. My reasons have mostly been people…like a white-haired Louise Coleman who taught me in Sunday School and a humble servant named Melvin Gaulden who picked me and my brothers up in a VW micro bus so that we could attend services. I‘m still here because of Southeastern professors like William Gibson, who taught me Greek and how to stink at soccer, Henry Evans, who killed me in Ethics, and Bob Elliot, who showed me how a man cries and then made me cry!

 I am still in the Fellowship because of Dr. Homer who told us about a terrible time on a Southern Pacific island during WWII. As a chaplain, he had expended all of his energies caring for the boys who faced death and dying at every turn. Under the stress he broke emotionally and found his healing while lying in a cold rain. His release came as he lifted hands in the air in an offering of praise that washed away a type of weariness that befalls only the bravest. There the Holy Spirit once again filled him, and people across the nation and around the world have been recipients of the grace of God that attended that life thereafter.

All of the aforementioned were AG as was my friend Donnie Rogers. After we had graduated from Southeastern, he told me that he thought I would never be an AG minister as he thought I fit the Presbyterian mold much better. I loved him. He was free in the Spirit, and I was much more subdued. But Donnie, just like Bill Gibson, Henry Evans, Robert Elliot, and Dr. Homer, was real. None of these men were perfect.

I have remained a part of the AG because of guys like a young AG pastor I sat with yesterday. Serving his country overseas, he came home to a wife who was wayward and who didn’t want to be married. Broken by divorce, living in despair, and ready to take his own life, he was awakened by the prevenient grace of God and he turned to Him.  He served in an AG church under an older pastor who loved him and showed him the life of grace. Now he pastors a very small church in a southern Georgia farming community. His passions are serving and meeting the spiritual and physical needs of the poor and needy. He makes $150 a week, when the church is able to pay him, which he uses to buy toilet paper, paper towels, and other supplies for the church as well as meet his own needs.

 My AG experience has allowed me to be part of a community of grace where one does not have to check his brain at the door nor calm the exhilaration of heart stirred by the nearness of the I AM. I have thought about leaving because I also have been wounded. But then, nearly everyone I love has hurt me; to be sure, I have hurt them too. I remain, and I have no stones to throw at those who leave!