A Sunday Morning Prayer

by Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg

It was five o'clock on a Sunday morning and I was wide awake in my sixth floor hospital room. The view from my bed overlooked the city of Elkhart, Indiana, and I could see the faint hint of dawn in the east.  Between my window and the horizon stretched the lights of the sleeping city below. I felt a keen sense of the presence of God as I thought about the day ahead and the many ministers who would rise early to begin a day of ministry to their various flocks throughout the city and in the surrounding countryside.

I wouldn't be in the pulpit this morning but my long habit of rising early to pray each Sunday must have brought me awake because I was totally alert with a sense of anticipation for the day to come. I began to pray for my associate who would preach in my place and for the other leaders in our congregation who would carry the ministry much more than adequately in my absence.

I prayed for each Sunday School teacher, each music and worship leader, for the choir and the musicians, asking God to bless every effort and every person involved in either the giving or the receiving.

Then I began to pray for fellow ministers, friends throughout the city, and for their various congregations. As I prayed for each one I also asked God to bless all the churches in their denomination and finally, when I had run out of all the ministers I knew, I prayed for all the others, ministers and congregations of God's people throughout our community and in the surrounding area.

As I prayed I think I began to understand, at least in a small way, how our heavenly Father feels as he looks out over his diverse peoples. I felt a sense of love and appreciation for them all and for the effects of their labors in our community. I asked God to encircle all his people with love and to draw into that community of faith all those who were alienated and alone and who felt so far away from him.

What a privilege it is to be a child of God and to be a part of this marvelous spiritual family where God is Father, Jesus Christ our elder brother and the Holy Spirit binds us all together with his perfect love!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
  

What to Do When You Need a Miracle

by Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg

When Jesus did a miracle his disciples were usually astonished. Even though they had spent much time with him they still were not accustomed to miracles. He tried to tell them that, as his followers, they should be able to count on miracles any time one was needed but it was not easy to accept.

According to Webster's New World Dictionary (1966) a miracle is "An event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws." So how do we go about finding such a miracle when we need it? That's the first step to receive a miracle—it  must be necessary to accomplish something God wants done. It can be a personal miracle. For instance, God wants his people to be fed and if you cannot possibly feed yourself God can supply your needs the same as he did for the Israelites in the wilderness. Or, it can be a corporate miracle—perhaps a church that has a need that cannot be met with God's normal sustaining help. However, there is no reason for God to supply a miracle for something we can do in our own strength (even if we don't think we can do it.)

The next requirement for a miracle is "asking faith". God can't say yes to prayers we don't pray and it takes faith just to ask. In a typical congregation many would find it difficult to pray for a miracle from God to supply a particular need In theory many Christians believe God is a God of miracles, but few of us realistically believe God will provide a miracle for me. It takes faith just to ask.

All too often we are like independent children who want to do it ourselves. We don't want help. And that can be good. We shouldn't sit around and wait for God to supply everything with no effort on our part. But when we have done our best to obey the Lord, have given time, talents and treasure for work we genuinely believe God wants done, and it is still impossible for us to do, then it is time to ask for (and expect) a miracle. I'm convinced it pleases God when we ask. For us to refuse God’s help when we have done our best and are unable to do more, doesn't please God any more than it would please you, as a parent, if you had a child who, after doing his best to finish a task, would rather be defeated than allow you to help.

When our younger daughter, Twyla, began her sophomore year in college it was the rage to have a "deck" in your dorm room. The rules were if you built it, it had to be removable and could not be fastened in any way to the walls of the dorm—no nails, bolts, etc. She designed the deck she wanted, saved the money for the materials, but couldn't build it alone, so she asked for my help. We had fun building it and at the end of the year she sold it to another student for the next year and got her money back for the materials.

I'm glad she asked! I would not have built the deck for her while she was out having fun, but when she was willing to work at it, I enjoyed helping her. Just thinking about it brings back good memories of the time we spent together on that task. I think God is also like that. Our heavenly Father wants to help and is happy when we ask.

God said to the Apostle Paul (and to us all) "...my power is made perfect in weakness." (II Corinthians 12:9^(NIV))  Does that mean God's power is ever less than perfect?  In one sense, yes. God's perfect power is often limited, but not by any lack on his part. We limit God’s power when we don't ask for Divine help. It is also limited because we don't attempt great things God wants done that require his power. We are too easily satisfied with a mediocrity we can do with our own ordinary strength.

God's power is limited and cannot be perfect unless it is being used because that power must be let loose in the world to accomplish God's will! The reason many of us never see a miracle is because we never do anything God wants done that requires his miraculous help.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

God Bless the Farmers!

We live in Berrien County, Michigan, where the primary economic activity is agriculture. Apples, peaches, cherries, grapes, and many other fruits, plus almost every vegetable imaginable, and some of the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen are all grown here by hard-working men and women on the beautiful rolling hills of Berrien County.

This evening Carol and I drove home on the St Joseph Valley Parkway and I saw two pickups and a tractor out in a field working with their lights on. The sun had already set, and it was still twilight, but dark enough they needed pickup truck headlights to finish their long day’s work. It reminded me of my growing up days on the farm. I remember more than a few days like that, when we worked hard and long to get the work done and then would go home for a late supper, quick bath and longed for bed, then get up the next day and do it all again.

Farmers, orchardists, and vine-growers make our world a wonderful place to live. All around the globe they work in plots of one acre or less, all the way up to plantations with thousands of acres. We all eat well because of what they do. We drink marvelous juices and other drinks, and we enjoy the flowers they grow. Thank God for farmers!

As we passed those folks working out in the gathering darkness, I said a prayer of thanksgiving for them and asked God’s blessing on them and all agricultural workers around the globe.

It always amazes me, but it also excites me to think that in that brief moment of prayer, I was able to unleash blessings beyond anything I could comprehend. I have no idea how many farmers and agricultural workers there are in the world, but God does. He knows each one personally—knows them by name. He gave us this great gift of prayer that enables us to work together with God to be a blessing to each one even though we cannot even comprehend how many there are. God bless the farmers! 

 

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
    

I Believe! Part 5

This is the last of five posts that share my personal theological perspective. Thanks for reading it! 

I believe in a “no‑conflict” Gospel. I believe in the "Saving Gospel"— the truth and teachings of the Lord, Jesus Christ, preached under the power of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of souls. I also believe in the "Social Gospel"— the truth and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, lived out by the power of the Spirit for the redemption of society and improvement of the human situation. I see no conflict between the two— they are not two gospels, but one.

I believe in the value of humanity. I believe people are more sacred than things. Things are dispensable, but people are not. I believe God has more confidence in people than most people have in themselves. I have never met a person who, if standing in God’s place, would have had enough confidence in the disciples to leave the fate of the world in the hands of so few and so spiritually fragile, at the ascension of Jesus. God is depending on his people, but with great confidence! We are created good in the image of God, given a choice in the wisdom of God, defiled by sin to the disappointment of God, redeemed through grace by the Son of God, and restored to His image by the Spirit of God!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

 

I Believe! Part 4

 

I believe in the symbolism of the ordinances. The ordinances of the Church are symbolic expressions of living realities. Baptism is a symbol of salvation which has already taken place in the believer’s life. Communion is a symbol of the fellowship of the believer in a oneness with God and with the saints. Foot-washing is a symbol of service and the servant role of the believer, as exemplified by the Lord Jesus.

I believe in the principle of stewardship. Everything belongs to God by reason of creation, and we are to recognize this Divine ownership, accepting responsibility to replenish the earth as well as subdue it for the good of mankind. The Old Testament standard of the tithe is a minimum for Christian giving to God’s work.  The tithe is actually a symbol of Divine ownership of all our "possessions" rather than being merely that part of the income that belongs to God.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
  

I Believe! Part 3

I believe in the selfishness of sin. Every sin is basically some form of selfishness and every instance of selfishness is sin— the very opposite of righteousness. Selfishness, by its very nature, alienates people from God and from each other, hindering and ultimately destroying the Divine‑human oneness that is the essence of abundant living.

I believe in the wholesomeness of holiness. Holiness is the Divinely intended state of mankind and every unholiness involves some sort of destructive unwholesomeness and defeats God’s perfect Will for us. Holiness does not interfere with life but makes it decisively more enjoyable, more worthwhile and more satisfying. Body, mind, and spirit were created by a holy God for holy living, therefore any unholiness is destructive in any area of life.

I believe in three steps of relinquishment. I believe in salvation, where persons humble themselves before God, to ask forgiveness of past sin, and to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Master of life. I believe in sanctification, where redeemed persons surrender their total being and every extension of themselves to God, requesting the infilling of His Holy Spirit, who cleanses us from the tendency toward selfishness and sets us apart for God’s sacred purposes. I believe the third step is "Becoming". As Christians continually yield themselves to the refining power of the Holy Spirit we become more and more restored to the image of God.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.