Where Art Thou, O' Peace?

Why do you think we can't always feel the peace of God? Is it like a good steak? If you had it everyday, you wouldn't appreciate it as much? Is God's peace like a New York Strip, perfectly seasoned? Maybe I don't want steak for every meal...but it would be nice to know I could go grab one when I do crave it. Why is it that when I really need that peace, I can't seem to find it? I'm sure I've done something to put myself so far away from it. I'm sure it's like running away from home and then wondering why you feel so lonely. But it sure would be nice if God's peace could find me, without me having to search for it. Or is it the fact that I'm searching that makes it elusive? Perhaps I'm supposed to be still. Perhaps the peace only comes when I'm no longer searching for it. Maybe it's like the lost car keys. Maybe I'm supposed to retrace my steps...try to remember where I last had it. Maybe it's in my coat pocket. I could've seriously used a little of that peace today. Today, I'm struggling. Today, I find it hard to breathe. Today, I find it hard to want to. Today, I'm uneasy. Anxious. Today, I'm disappointed. Today, I'm discouraged. Today, I hurt. Today, I'm craving that steak. And it would be nice if I could find my car keys...so I could go get one.

Residue

In high school, I dated a girl who worked at the local Dairy Queen. Some nights, I'd pick her up after work, just for the opportunity to have 10 minutes in the car with her as I took her home. Okay, maybe sometimes it would become a 20 minute trip, but you get the idea. I really liked this girl. But I couldn't get past the smell. You know...that greasy, standing next to the fryer, serving cheeseburgers for 8 hours smell. Yech! Her clothes smelled like it. Her hair smelled like it. And then, after I'd drop her off at her house, my car smelled like it. My friends could tell when Belinda had been in the car, from the smell alone. My houseparents could tell when I had been with her. It was some serious "residue." Conversely, she probably didn't like my smell either. I grew up in a children's home. "The Home", as we called it, was actually a working ranch. 900 acres of land. 350 head of cattle. 8-10 horses...and a few pigs. Yeah, I smelled like a ranch. I smelled like cow poo and hay. I carried that smell with me into the house after a day of working on the ranch. My clothes wreaked of it. Residue. You see, no matter where you go, there's some residue. There are traces that show where you've been. That's the way it is with our sins. They rub off on us. They leave a stink behind. And not just where you've been, but where the people you hang out with have been. You're carrying their residue too. Sometimes you get so used to the smell of your own sin, that you can't even tell it's there anymore. So you think you can lie to people. "No, I didn't do that!" But someone will be able to tell. Someone will smell the stench of sin on you. It's a like a smoker who swears that he quit two weeks ago, but wreaks of the cigarette he just snuck around the back of the building to light up. He can't smell it on him. He's too used to the smell. But he wreaks of it. You can smell it. It's residue. When Moses spent time with God, he had some residue too. It wasn't necessarily smell, but it was in his appearance. Spending time with God left "spiritual residue." Exodus tells us that his face shone so brightly, that it frightened the Israelites. He had to wear a veil to cover it, just so people would stop freaking out. Man, I'd love to be so close to God that when people saw me, they could tell. Can you imagine having that kind of residue? In Acts, Peter and John were speaking at the Sanhedrin. The "spiritual leaders" marveled at the fact that these two uneducated men were preaching with such authority. They said they could tell that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Wouldn't it be nice if our words were residue, left over from our time with Christ? I'm not much of a theologian, but I believe that Jesus' blood is kinda like Spray n' Wash and fabric softener all in one. When you accept Jesus as Lord, you wash in the blood to get rid of the stain of your sins...and find your heart softened. And it leaves you with that "spring fresh" scent! Ha! Wouldn't it be nice if that's all the residue that people see? Wouldn't it be wonderful if people could look at you and see that you've "been with Jesus?" 2nd Corinthians tells us that when we are washed in the blood of Christ, we become "the fragrance of Christ." When God looks at us, He smells the fragrance of Christ, and not our sins. Now that's the ultimate, powerful, stain-resistant, odor-killing spiritual residue! I wonder where you are today. I wonder where you've been. I wonder what residue you take with you. Are you trying to hide from a past that keeps catching up with you? Are trying to cover the smell of where you've been with something else? Are you so used to the smell that you can't even tell anymore? Take on the spiritual Spray n' Wash and fabric softener. Take away the smell of your sin. We could all use some of that spiritual residue. May you spend time with Jesus today. And may others see it--or smell it--on you.

Mayonnaise Sandwiches

When I was a kid I used to love mayonnaise sandwiches. That's right, just two pieces of bread, with a thick helping of Miracle Whip (which technically, isn't mayonnaise--it's salad dressing) in the middle. No meat, no cheese...no veggies. Just Miracle Whip and bread. I'm not sure how that started. Perhaps it's because we were so poor and often didn't have anything else to put between our two slices of Wonder Bread. It's not very nourishing. But at the time, it was a wonderful snack. And now, having grown up and had all sorts of meat-filled hoagies, clubs and Reubens, mayonnaise sandwiches don't sound very appealing.

As I look back on my spiritual journey, I realize how much of my life has been like that mayonnaise sandwich. I had the bread, but not much to put in the middle. My early walk with Christ was encapsulated in the only two things I really knew about Jesus:

1. He was born of a virgin, in a manger, under a bright star. Wise men came to see Him and brought Him gifts.

2. He was crucified for my sins. Died on the cross and after three days rose from the dead.

But I knew very little about the middle of the sandwich. What happened between birth and death? What did Jesus do with His time here on earth?

We can grow so complacent in our spiritual journeys that we forget about the middle of the story. And frankly, part of that may be the fault of the Church. Pastors--not all of them, but many--find it easy to talk about the bread. Sermons about how Jesus was born...and how He died for our sins are abundant. It's an easy topic to give the body. But what about the middle?

A recent Barna poll found that more than 50% of church-goers in the US said they had not heard a single sermon about ministering to the poor over the past year. Over 50%! But so much of what Jesus did was ministering to those who were hungry, thirsty, hurting, sick, lame, blind...poor. Jesus spent the better part of His ministry addressing those needs. And He told us to do likewise. Why isn't the Church teaching about the middle?

Seems to me that ministering to the poor ought to be the MOST preached topic in the Church today...not one of the least. If we truly want to be Christ-like, and we should, then let's start teaching Christ's message to the Church. Let's start doing what Jesus told us to do...and start serving the poor.

There are so many ways to get involved:

• Volunteer in a homeless shelter.


• Serve food to the poor at a soup kitchen.


• Sponsor a child living in poverty.


• 
  
  Give to your church's food pantry.

There's something every person can do. Jesus told us to do it. Anything less...is just a mayonnaise sandwich.