To Have a Life Well Lived, We Need to Cultivate Contentment

Jesus put it this way, “And Jesus said to them, ‘take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions’” (Luke 12:15) Stress, anxiety and fear capture the mind of many Americans today. We have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, the largest Savings and Loan failure in banking history, numerous bankruptcies, mergers and fraud. The causes of our national economic woes are many. We could point to deregulations of financial industries, subprime mortgages, and the housing bubble. But beneath all of these direct causes are the deeper, indirect problems of the current crisis. These ultimate causes are not financial but spiritual. We also need to think about gluttony, greed, envy, and ultimately pride. Unwilling to delay gratification, we used tomorrow’s money to finance today’s lifestyle.

We focused our energy on acquiring more and newer, bigger and better. The funny thing was all of our consuming did not increase our joy in life, if anything it tended to rob us of the joy and increase our stress. The American dream became the American nightmare due to two things: affluenza and credit. Affluenza is the constant need for more and bigger and better stuff. Shopping is one of American’s favorite pastimes. Advertisers are good at finding something we need: new clothes, a new computer, new furniture, a new car, a new kitchen, a new house. Credit creates the opportunity to buy now and pay later. It’s an illness that is brought on by promises of “six months same as cash,” or a 20% discount if you use your store credit card. It’s basically the idea that you can enjoy something today and pay for it tomorrow. Do some of you remember a different way to operate? It was called Layaway—what an odd idea—to save up the money and make payments and be able to take the items home only after paying for them in full. Interesting point from the research of our spending patterns is this. The average sale is around 125% higher if we use a credit card than if we pay cash, because we are not thinking about the money when we use credit.  It doesn’t feel real when we use plastic instead of cash.

Paul writes this, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.” (Philippians 4:11) One of the most important keys to contentment and happiness is to develop a grateful heart. Gratitude is essential if we are to be content. The Apostle Paul said that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) A grateful heart recognizes that all of life is a gift. Contentment comes when we spend more time giving thanks for what we have than thinking about what’s missing or wrong in our lives. In any situation, we either can complain or be grateful. We can focus on all the things we don’t like, or we can begin to search for the things we do like and be grateful for them. We can focus on the disappointments, or we can give thanks for the blessings.

May you live a life well lived,

Pastor Qualley

To Have a Life Well Lived, Have a Tenacious Grip on Faith

Paul says, “I have fought the good fight.” Why would he say that? Why didn’t he say, for example, “Life has been a breeze? I have had my share of the good times.” Instead, Paul implies that life has been a struggle. It is no different today. Take government for example. Whether it’s municipal, county, state, or national—government is always involved in a struggle. There are financial, social, and moral problems. Government is always in turmoil. Look at the church. There has been a struggle all through the ages. Today it struggles for leadership, for attendance, for volunteers, for money. The church has always to struggle just to maintain and even more if it is to be bold in its vision and ministry.

Life’s battles are not confined to institutions; they also occur in our personal lives. From the beginning to the end, we are all involved in struggle. A newborn struggles to be born. A child struggles to learn. The teenager struggles under peer pressure. Young adults struggle to find their niche, keep marriages together, and raise children. Older adults struggle with health problems and financial problems. The truth is that from the beginning of life to the end, we are all in a battle. Paul was right on target when he described life a as a fight.

But of all the battles that we must fight, Jesus taught that the most difficult one is the inner battle. It is the fight within us. It is the fight for self-control and against self-seeking. Advertisements bombard you with all kinds of products and gadgets that play on your emotions imploring you to take care of yourself. Give yourself a break. You deserve whatever your heart desires. You have worked hard and whether you can afford it or not, you should have it.

When we come to the end of our struggle, all of us can say that we have fought the fight, but can we echo the words of Paul that we have fought the good fight. Can we affirm in good faith that we have given the last ounce of energy? Can we look back upon life with a sense of satisfaction, rather than regrets? It was a fight, says Paul, but it was a good fight.

May you live a life well lived,

Pastor Qualley

A Life Well Lived

Mike Krzyzewski is coach of the national champion Duke Blue Devils basketball team. He is known as being meticulous in his pursuit of basketball success. In his book titled, Leading with the Heart, he attributes much of his success to his mother. He writes, “You want to know who my hero is? My hero is my mother. Everything she did was something that she put her own trademark on. Whatever it was, something as simple as making a batch of chocolate chip cookies. When we were a little poorer, she put three chips in every cookie. When we got a little more money, it’s four chips. But if you got a chocolate chip cookie that had only two chocolate chips in you, you knew it wasn’t my mother’s. From that simple lesson I’ve taken the principle that everything we do has our own personal signature on it, so we want to do it the best we possibly can.” That’s a pretty good philosophy. Put your personal stamp on everything you do.  In every worthwhile thing you do, give your very best.

St. Paul put his personal signature on the New Testament and upon the burgeoning young church of his day. Like the coach’s mother, he gave his very best. He held nothing back. St. Paul was under house arrest in Rome when he wrote the words we read today from the epistle to Timothy. He knew that he was soon going to die a martyr’s death. He wanted his young colleague Timothy to know he had no regrets, that he would do it all again. He wanted to let it be known quite clearly that the emperor Nero could not take his life from him; he was willing to give his life up freely for the glory of Christ. So he writes these memorable words: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

All of us are inspired by people who give their all. We call them saints, heroes, legends. It’s not that they are more intelligent or more talented than we are. They simply gave more than the average person is willing to give. In light of Paul’s writing, it is good to ponder these questions:  How will we be remembered? Whose life will be better because we have been here? When the race is over, what will the Master say about our life?

May you live a life well lived,

Pastor Qualley

What Is Truly New

 Attached to the rear panel of some metro buses a few years ago was a poster that might still strike deep into the soul of a sensitive person. It portrayed an astronaut standing on the surface of the moon, reaching out to an American flag that had apparently just been placed there. Just beyond the immediate lunar scenery could be seen the earth 280,000 miles away. It was a breathtaking picture. The caption read, “Been there, done that, what’s new?” In six words, a major cosmic achievement of modern technology was made trivial by words that reflected a shallow callous and exasperating indifference to greatness, having acknowledged that the achievement had, and for a while might have been, of some note, the captions turns with implied boredom to the relentless need to find something “new.” Enter the television channel, who having paid the price of this startling advertisement, considered itself the reliable source of what could be counted on to provide the viewer with what was “new.”

It seems likely that our generation will continue to be robbed of realizing when something of genuinely vast importance has happened. Simply because it is true, insignificance may not have been ballyhooed with enough “hype” to rouse our over-taxed senses. News of world changing events may get little attention if they report matters that do not qualify as “breakthrough” or “breaking news” or some window dressing that makes us stop and listen.

If even reports of exploits in space have a short shelf life as news, it may be small wonder that when we celebrate a resurrection or birth  that happened almost two thousand year ago we may see only a perfunctory nod in our public media. The bunny, eggs, Santa, presents and the sales will likely get much more press than the birth and resurrection that ushered in a very new chapter of human existence on this planet. Even so, the Christian message has survived rejection, persecution, ridicule, indifference, attacks of reason as well as ignorance, threats of the powerful, imprisonments, hatred, hunger economic deprivation, exile, the worst and the most foul treatment… history is full of relentless and aggressive pressures to give up the message. Yet, here we are, in the year of our Lord 2012, celebrating our Christian heritage. By any standard, the good news that our “last enemy, “has been overthrown could not possibly be anything but the best news that this world has ever had to take seriously.

“Because he lives, we shall live also,” has been the word that has turned around the life of our planet so that it has become possible to look ahead with hope and assurance rather than apprehension and dread, God’s down payment on a “future and a hope,” the likes of which the ancients could only dream. Power to you…and joy, may your life ring with the energy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And may you, who bear the weight of carrying the witness to Christ’s gospel into the world of our day, find refreshment and renewal. Our lives are the media, the message is Christ…offering to our world a gracious God whose love and mercy are truly new every morning.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Jansen

Steps of Faith

In one of the old Indiana Jones movies the hero was rushing through a tunnel inside a mountain trying to keep ahead of an enormous ball of stone that was rolling toward him and threaten to crush him if he stopped even for a moment. He was greatly relieved when he saw some light up ahead, hoping it would give him the chance to get out of the way of this colossal threat. But he was shocked when he got to the opening, the tunnel ended in the middle of the face of a high cliff, and that there was no way he could see to leave the tunnel and make it to safety. However, he noticed a message on the wall that said, in effect, that here was an invisible bridge that would lead him to safety from the opening where he stood, but that he had to believe that it was there, and step out on it. In desperation, Indiana Jones decided to trust the message, stepped out into what appeared to be nothingness, and ran to safety on that invisible bridge.

Long before I encountered Indiana Jones, however, as a youth, I found an old, nineteenth century verse in a biography of the great pioneer missionary to China, Hudson Taylor. Ever since, it has always been in my mind. Here it is: “The steps of faith fall on the seeming void and find the rock beneath.” The book of Hebrews, defines faith as, “The substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

When you read this you may already visited or worshiped at our beautiful new sanctuary of Lord of Life Clifton. Some years ago, in a Clifton living room, a little group of believers from Lord of Life Fairfax and a group of believers from what was then Holy Spirit congregation in Clifton discovered they could see something that did not yet have a visible form. They had no message on a tunnel wall, but they did truly believe that the Holy Spirit was leading them to unify the ministry in Clifton with the ministry in Fairfax. They decided to propose steps that would best serve the gospel however their hopes would lead…both groups agreed… and Lord of Life church and Holy Spirit became, “One Congregation on Two Locations.”

For those who participated in bringing together both Fairfax and Clifton, the decision had far more to do with hopes and commitment and faith than any statistical or other considerations. The decision to unite was what had become the substance of their faith as far as the life of the churches was concerned; the evidence was the beginning of how a strengthened combined ministry would best reflect how God was leading both groups.

Faith in what ought to be as we understand our mission in Christ has always been at the heart of the Christian church. Faith leads to steps taken in the real world moved by hope and love and a hunger to bring that hope and love into the places and the sights and sounds and experiences of the senses–human reality.  

When you come to worship whether it be the place that is our sanctuary in Fairfax or our sanctuary in Clifton, may you sense what moved people like you and me to build them in the first place–to turn into historic reality places for human beings to humanly touch what cannot be seen, and to hear as best we can with the clumsy instruments of human hearing the words and music of grace and love that are so far beyond our senses that we can only throw ourselves by faith into the joy and wonder of worship and praise.

Pastor Jansen

Promises

The air these days is full of promises. One might even say we are a generation besieged with promises. Television commercials, political campaigns and personal relationships all seem to become processes in which promises are the basis to persuade us to a variety of actions and opinions. If we believe the maker of the promises, we follow a course of action that basically concludes that the promise is an indication of a reality that will happen. It is a matter of faith.

The ancient nature of our transaction with God is that he makes promises to human beings. He is not running for office, of course, but in his love for us and our need of assurance that our life on earth is more than just an accident of cosmic evolution, he has made promises to us.

I was struck by a text not long ago that was translated in a curious way in the Good News Bible. It was when the messenger of God announced to Abraham that he would have offspring, “as many as the stars in the sky.” Then the text goes on, “Abraham believed God…and God was pleased.” The more precise translation is, no doubt, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:5) This last is the more familiar form of the verse. The translator, however, takes the verse and holds it up as a human and non-judicial pre-historic portrait of how God seeks to be understood by us. You and I are enlarged when we are trusted. Life becomes a positive and affirming adventure. When trust is present, the creative spirit is made free to explore and utilize all of the energies available to us. When we are believed, we are spared the energies and efforts needed to guarantee our credibility.

God promises to be the Living God in our midst. You can probably recite from memory as many instances of “promises” from the Bible as can I. My point is not to catalogue them, but to recognize that we need to distinguish between the self-serving promises flung at us by the commercial and political world of our time, and on the other hand, the ancient and absolute reliability of the promises inherent in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the scriptures that offer us an awareness of what God will provide from day to day.

Trusting the promises of God is not only a wise and blessed course to take in life, there is also the aspect of “pleasing” Him, a way in which human beings have a unique capacity to truly affirm and respond to His love for us.

Pastor Jansen

Giving Thanks

Praise the Lord, O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

One of the greatest gifts in life is the gift of being thankful. All of us, no matter what our circumstances, can be grateful. This year God continued to bless me beyond all expectations. One of the greatest blessings for which I am most thankful is the blessing of being called by Lord of Life as an associate pastor. It gives me great joy working with such a professional, dedicated and fun bunch of people. I have served in a lot of places in my life but LOL is one of the most blessed congregations I have experienced. The amount of talent and resources available at LOL is truly amazing. One of the themes of the Bethel Bible series is: Blessed to Be a Blessing. I believe the reason God continues to bless LOL is because you are so willing to share your blessings with others.

I have been fortunate to serve in places like New Guinea, Colombia, North Dakota, New Jersey, Panama, Germany, and now in Northern Virginia. As different as all of these places and people have been, my goals have always been the same. There are three things that I promise as your pastor. I will (1) love you, (2) forgive you, and (3) share the Good News of Jesus with you. In return I desire three things from you. I would ask for: (1) your love, (2) your forgiveness, and (3) the sharing of the Good News of Jesus.

One of my favorite parables is where the master tells his servant, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It has always intrigued me that Jesus did not say, “Well done, good and successful servant.” When all is said and done we may not always be successful, but what God is looking for is our faithfulness. God truly is good and His mercy lasts forever.

May you be blessed beyond expectation,

Pastor Burslie   

We Are Not Yet What We Shall Be

We are not yet what we shall be,

 but we are growing toward it.

The process is not yet finished,

but it is going on.

This is not the end, but it is the road.

    –Martin Luther

Thank You Lord for this Nation

A little girl took a trip to New York City with her father. They took a boat trip and saw the Statue of Liberty guarding the entrance to the harbor. The girl was fascinated with the history of the grand lady of liberty. As they returned across the bay that evening, the daughter stood by the boat’s railing and watched the lady, who held the lighted torch, recede in the distance. That night the little girl tossed on her pillow. She sat up and her father asked her what was wrong. She said, “Daddy, I was thinking about that lady out there in the dark with nobody to help her hold up her lamp. Shouldn’t we help her?”

Some people look at a country with the eyes of a critic and wonder what is worth saving. Others ride like barnacles on the ship, looking for a free ride, without ever helping to hoist the sails that enable progress. But we give thanks to those who feel indebted to their county for the freedom which, though fragile, still lives on. They still desire to help Miss Liberty hold aloft her lamp to the world.

Have you ever looked at your house with a scrutinizing eye? If you do, you will find errors made by the carpenters. There may be a slight leak in the faucet. The room arrangement might be unhandy. However, let your house catch fire, and as you see it being consumed by the flames, you see much more than faults. You see your home, and you realize that even though there are some negative things about it, the good things far outweigh them.

How do you say thanks to God for your country? It is not just saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, involvement is the answer. We must prune the diseased branches of injustice and deceit and ask that God govern the affairs of its people. We must work to preserve the government of the people, by the people, and for the people. So we give thanks for our nation. Gratitude dose not just watch history march by, it makes history.

Pastor Qualley