Wednesday of Holy Week...

greetings...

hope you had an awesome day...

here is my devotional thought i wrote for the tampa underground community...

"I just turned 51.

It was a great birthday – they really do seem to get better as you get older… At least that has been my experience the last couple of years… Maybe I am finally growing up? Maybe I just like myself better? Maybe I finally realize that I am the beloved of my Father [and nothing else really matters]…

I got some neat gifts, but one of my favorites was a book from Jennifer… I liked the book, but it was even better that she wrote a personal note in it – way cool… She said I was her “favorite chaplain” – that felt really good [but I’m not sure how many chaplains she knows?]…

Since Jennifer gave me this book – Theirs Is The Kingdom: Celebrating The Gospel In Urban America – I decided to actually read it… Very soon…

Have I told you how much I hate dentists?

Until my last toothache from hell a couple of weeks back, I had successfully avoided going to a dentist for 17 years – NOT VERY SMART! I do not recommend it…

So, there was a very long list of stuff the dentist needed to do to me – mostly penance for years of inattention – stuff like a root canal, fillings, resurfacings, etc. and etc. I am sure the bill will cover his office rent for at least a month – ouch…

When you get to be 51, things start to wear out – like your teeth – and other stuff I can’t remember right now…

Last Monday was the root canal – the first installment of pain… I was scared – like really scared… It bugged me all day on Palm Sunday – I had trouble sleeping on Sunday night… I woke up Monday and wanted to go to work – yes, I was that scared…

I got to the office before 8 a.m.

I knew I would have to wait and wait and wait… So I took my prized book – the gift from my friend… I finished the whole book while I was waiting and waiting and waiting… I read in the waiting room… I read in the exam room… I was still reading when the dentist finally entered… I just kept reading while he was arranging all his tools of torture…

I was in the chair – I had already been needled – THANK GOD for pain meds… I could no longer feel the whole right side of my face – even my ear was numb… Then, there was this quote from Robert Lupton that literally jumped off the page…

'But the church has no future. We have only the present. In this present moment we must spend, lavish and give away our tomorrows for the sake of the kingdom today. In short, we must die. Today. That is the only way to save our lives. The church is called to live at Golgotha. If perchance tomorrow morning we discover that our depleted spirits have a new supply of energy, that the emptied offering plate is full once again and from sacrificial dreams whole new dimensions of life have burst forth, then we will begin to understand something of what the resurrection is about. On the other side of death, each death, stands our risen Lord. And he beckons us…'

Easter is coming this Sunday…

But the resurrection is a reality 24/7 EVERY day…

Be on the lookout TODAY – let’s take note of “what the resurrection is about” in the flow of our lives and missions throughout Holy Week and beyond…

Maybe it has something to do with the “other food” Brian talked about last weekend…

Are we hungry – really? Are we eating the missional manna? Are we feasting on Jesus?

Maybe the reality of the resurrection means that there is always sufficiency and abundance in Jesus – when our trust is in him alone…

Maybe we really don’t even discover the deepest meaning of the resurrection until we risk – go beyond our own capacities and comfort zones…

What about us – YOU and ME – what are we willing to risk for the kingdom NOW???"

Guy

"By the way, have you made your list and begun to ask your friends to “come and see” Jesus this Sunday at the Centro Asturiano – 'we have only the present' so let’s just do it!"

hope you are having an awesome holy week...