Great Gospel Themes

By Rick Blumenberg @rickblumenberg

Sometimes a scripture portion expresses great truth in a few words. One such passage is Acts 4:32-37 where Luke writes about the unity, stewardship, and generosity of God’s people. These three Gospel themes flow out of the greatest truth of all—the Lordship of Christ.

Making Christ Lord of our lives gives us power to leave a life of sin for a life of godliness, and this is the primary result of this reality. Divine power is released into the human heart so God can work all sorts of miracles of understanding and godly living. This greatest miracle—the infilling of Christ’s Spirit and the release of his power into and through our lives—means faith grows exponentially for a lifetime as we continue to serve him. When we live surrendered to Christ and his Spirit, God brings growth and understanding so we become effective Christ witnesses.

Another amazing result of the Lordship of Christ in a person, family, or church, is that God’s unlimited grace is available to all believers. Not limited to clergy, rank, or title, Luke wrote “much grace was with them all.” We can also say, “much grace [is] with [us] all.” God’s favor was not limited to the apostles or to the early church. It is still present, still powerful and still available to all.

Many blessings flow from God’s grace as a result of recognizing the Lordship of Christ. This passage notes three; the unity of believers, the reality of stewardship, and the generosity of Christ expressed in his Church.

Luke wrote (v. 32a) “All the believers were one in heart and mind….” This is important because God’s power was released through that unity. (It is most readily available in a spirit of unity.) Congregations united in God’s love serve best and with great power—both to self and others. True also of the universal church, this does not mean we agree on every doctrine. We don’t now and never will—either in the local church, a movement, association, denomination, or even in the universal church. Our unity is in knowledge of Christ’s Lordship, redemptive death and God’s resurrection. We, who believe this, approximately 2.5 billion strong throughout the planet, are a unified family even though we don’t agree on every doctrine.

Luke also noted the reality of stewardship. “No one claimed any possessions were his own”. (v. 32b) Everything belongs to God regardless of who holds earthly title. We are not owners, but stewards (managers) of God’s possessions. This is expressed even more emphatically in Psalm 24 (v. 1): “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” We have temporary use while we live in this temporary world. If it is mine, it is only mine to use and perhaps give, as directed by God’s Holy Spirit.

And finally, Luke notes the generosity of believers—a natural outgrowth of the stewardship concept. Led by the Holy Spirit, the early church realized when one of God’s less fortunate suffers, those more fortunate to hold God’s possessions must sometimes release some of those possessions for the sufferer’s good. This concept is still taught in the church and to a great extent lived out, even though perhaps not as well as we should.

When we give generously with love and compassion we most perfectly reflect God, who is most generous. This image of God was clearly shown in the early church after the Holy Spirit came. Verses 34 and 35 tell there were no needy among them because “from time to time” (perhaps as God directed?) those who owned property would sell it and give the money to the apostles for the good of all.

Unity, stewardship and generosity; all reflections of God’s love that shines out of the Lordship of Christ.

I'm Rick Blumenberg and that's 

My View from Tanner Creek.

    

Stop the Demonizing!

By Rick Blumenberg @rickblumenberg

We have two major political parties in the United States. Most of us want it that way because we believe in the two party system. This means we have two different views on how things should be done and that’s often where the difficulties lie. We tend to think because someone doesn’t agree with our way thinking and our way of doing things they must be demonic evil people.

We need to change that disastrous way of thinking.

Before we know it, another U.S. presidential election will be underway; or, perhaps we could say it already is. As it heats up, if it continues as it has for as long as I can remember, Democrats will demonize Republicans and Republicans will demonize Democrats. But does what “is” have to always be? Is there any possibility of change for the better?

Demonizing is not a new concept.
If you go back to the early days of our nation you will find unbelievable things being said by one candidate against another. But just because this sort of candidating has gone on as long as we’ve been a nation, it doesn’t necessarily need to continue with the same hate-filled rhetoric. We can do better. I consider myself to be a confirmed independent voter. I do lean toward republican views, mostly because I am a confirmed pro-lifer and the Republicans are, in my opinion, the pro-life party.

Total Agreement is Unrealistic
But I have Democrat friends who would strongly disagree with the last phrase in my previous statement. They consider themselves to be just as “pro-life” as the Republicans, but they are “pro-choice” in their thinking as to how best to favor life. Many Democrats do not agree with abortion, but feel there are many other social evils that deserve attention and think Republicans are a one-issue party made up of people who don’t care about poverty, racism and other of society’s major ills.

I could be wrong, but I think the majority of people in both parties want what is best for our nation. They also believe their way of reaching the “best” for the nation is most effective. If we can’t agree with each other on the best method could we at least give one-another the benefit of the doubt as to motive? Just because we disagree with someone doesn’t mean that person is all bad. If we would cool the rhetoric, perhaps we could be friends even though we disagree strongly. I don’t suggest we agree on everything. Let’s just agree to not be so disagreeable.

Could I be wrong?
Another suggestion, would it be possible for each party to consider the possibility they could be wrong? And their opponent could be right? It is so much easier to see another’s point of view if we are open to the possibility we could be wrong and they could be right. It is a humbling experience, but it could also be much less embarrassing if we ever came to a realization they really were right.

I have one final suggestion for the up-coming presidential campaign. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every candidate only talked about his or her own views, without misrepresenting or demeaning his or her opponent? If one candidate feels his or her record has been misrepresented, what if it was assumed the opponent was honestly mistaken? Refute the charges with respect, but give no suggestion of lying and let no demonizing be attributed.

What’s that? You say, “Dream on Rick! It will never happen.”

You may be right. I may be wrong. But I can dream can’t I?

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s

My View from Tanner Creek”.

  

Madame Secretary and A.D. The Bible Continues

@rickblumenberg 

Madame Secretary

Tonight’s show (April 12, 2015) was one of the best of the series. Téa Leoni’s acting and the story line is nothing short of superb and I am so impressed with the acting and with the genuineness of the Christ-witness of her college professor husband. It almost never happens that a Christian minister of any sort, (in this case, a theology professor and ethicist) is shown on TV as intelligent, more than competent, and a man of genuine and appealing faith.

The inter-relationships between Madame Secretary and her professor husband are wholesome and deeply loving. The family is highly believable as they struggle with normal life issues. These two aspects interwoven in a great story make for genuinely refreshing entertainment.

A. D. The Bible Continues…

Congratulations also to NBC and thank you to Roma Downey and Mark Burnett for bringing this TV series to reality. The show is exceedingly violent, but as Roma Downey said in an NBC interview, that was a violent time. And, I might add, all except one of the original twelve disciples died violent deaths, with ten being martyred for their faith. It is nothing short of amazing that the followers of Jesus survived and even more amazing that now those 120 disciples present for Pentecost have multiplied to more than 2.5 billion followers!

CBS and NBC hit home runs

To have “Madame Secretary” and “A. D. The Bible Continues” one after the other on two different major networks is nothing short of amazing. Thank you CBS and NBC—you both scored home runs.

Jesus’ prayer for God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven is being fulfilled throughout much of the earth. I believe these two quality programs are just two small indications of that reality.

Let us all, people of the cross, continue to pray Jesus’ prayer in faith. 

Throughout much of the earth, God’s Holy Spirit is powerfully at work, Christ is being highly lifted up and God is being greatly glorified.

Years ago, in a prophetic sermon I said one great need of Christ followers is to have someone create television programs that were of highest quality, telling good stories, from a genuinely Christian perspective. These two are great examples and I hope there are more to come.

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s 

My View...from Tanner Creek.

    

It's Okay to Play God

@rickblumenberg 

If you’re a writer of fiction.

I love to write and have now entered the world of the novelist. No publisher yet, but the writing is done, so now comes the tough part—finding a way to get the manuscript into book form and out to a waiting (I hope) public.

But back to playing God.

Actually the only way you can play God legitimately, is to be a writer of fiction. Then you can create your own world. If you’re not good at it, nobody gets hurt because few read it, but if you are good then maybe someone will be entertained with a good story, or find some other benefit from what you write.

Perhaps it will help them sleep on a late night when sleep won’t otherwise come. Many a writer has been my sleeping pill when the zzzzs eluded me so perhaps I owe something to other readers with a similar problem. Good books have no negative side-effects and can be far more effective.

Now I may not always agree with the way a particular writer plays God. I may not like the world he/she creates, but if I don’t like it I can put the book down and I’m none the worse for it. You can’t say that about people who play God by manipulating others for their own benefit—but that’s another blog for another time if I ever decide to write it.

Two River Island (the novel) is set in eighteenth century America, at the time, relatively untouched by Europeans. The main characters are Woodland Indians in the Old Northwest Territories around Lake Michigan. I began the novel about thirty years ago when we lived in Elkhart, Indiana, on the banks of the St. Joseph River and just across the St Joe from Island Park. 

So there you have the setting for “Two River Island” a novel about a ficticious Pottawatomi Indian village at the juncture of the St Joseph and Elkhart Rivers, across from Island Park, otherwise known (in my novel) as “Two River Island”. Remember, as a novelist, I’m playing God so in my world I can call it anything I want.

But the novel may have started many years before when my genealogy studies revealed my gr-gr-gr-grandfather Jessie Rich was married to a full-blooded Cherokee woman. They were married in the mountains of East Tennessee (where there is a Rich Mountain, but no one at the Smoky Mountain National Park knows of any Rich family who ever lived there). The reason, I assume, is that in the 1820s they sold Rich Mountain and moved to Ballard County, Kentucky.

The family story is that Jessie Rich rode into into Ballard County, Kentucky, with his Cherokee bride sometime in the late 1820s or maybe 1830, where they settled and eventually became prominent citizens. We still have “Rich” relatives who live in the area. I don’t know what their economic status is, but their name is Rich and judging from my Grandma Lula Arington whose mother was Caroline Rich, I know they were rich in all the ways that really matter.

Trail of Tears

A few years after Grandpa and Grandma Rich moved to Ballard County, the Cherokee Nation, was forced to march west, beginning in 1838, to the State of Oklahoma on the “Trail of Tears” that led through Ballard County, Kentucky, across the Mississippi River and through Missouri. A story must be there but I don’t yet know enough to tell it. 

Is it possible Grandma Rich may have watched those Cherokee people pass near their farm with both agony and fear? Agony, that family and friends were being treated so, when they had been successful landowners and upright citizens of their various East Tennessee communities? And fear, because had anyone known she was, beneath the Rich name, a full-blooded Cherokee woman, she could have been legally kidnapped from her Ballard County home and forced to join that deadly march to a strange western land most knew little about. If that had happened, she may have died, as many did, and neither I, nor any of her descendants would even exist.

Sadly, I know neither her name nor enough of her story to write it, probably because she was afraid to reveal her Cherokee family heritage out of fear of the consequences.

Living in Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan for the past thirty-some years, being a student of the native people from our area, and having a family connection (real or imagined, I’m not yet sure) with the Native People of North America, I just felt compelled to write.

"Two River Island" is written from the perspective of the Woodland Peoples of the Great Lakes area and from my perspective as a follower of Jesus. God knew these woodland peoples long before the Europeans did and His Holy Spirit worked in their lives from the beginning. Many called him “The God of Heaven” or “The Great Spirit”, their concept was that he was the creator of the world. They didn’t have the benefit of Jesus’ teaching, but many of them did amazingly well with just His Holy Spirit to guide.

Many who read my blog are consistent people of prayer, so I ask you to pray I will find a publisher—just the right publisher—so this imaginary world I created out of the history of this area, my fertile imagination, and God’s inspiration, can be published in book form.

Thank you! I knew you would pray and I’m counting on you!

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s

My View from Tanner Creek.
   

Shades of Submission

@rickblumenberg

Some people who talk about submission identify the Bible as the source of their views on the subject. I totally recommend scripture as the best place for such guidance with the main source being Ephesians 5 & 6. In the 1973 New International Version the heading for the “submission” scriptures—Wives and Husbands—is placed before verse 21, while in the 1979 printing the “Wives and Husbands” heading comes after verse 21. This change distorts the meaning of the scripture! It was right (if they want to put in headings) in the first place and should have remained where it was—before verse twenty-one! As my friend Cliff Black says, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” The original manuscript didn’t have these headings, but I usually find them helpful so I’m not opposed to them. This placement however, creates a distortion I do oppose.

The heading really should be “Mutual Submission in Marriage”, because mutual submission doesn’t work everywhere. In chapter six Paul writes about children and parents, slaves and masters (no endorsement of slavery, but recognition of how things were and guidelines for godly living in those situations). There the Bible does not teach mutual submission, probably because it doesn’t work with parents and children and it isn’t possible with slaves and masters. The slave/master principle is just as valid for employers and employees because mutual love and respect is required in either of these situations if we want to be Christ-like persons.

The main source of the current debate about submission is the movie “50 Shades of Grey”, which, if I understand what I’ve heard, is about non-biblical submission, or sexual slavery and abuse. I have not seen the movie, will not see the movie, and, based on what I have read including some actual quotes, I do not recommend it for anyone who doesn’t want to degrade themselves.

Biblical submission in marriage is a beautiful thing. It makes good marriages and happy lives for both husband and wife. However if we remove verse 21, although the true meaning doesn’t change, it isn’t as clear that the passage is about mutual submission rather than male dominance as some people (I believe mistakenly) view this scripture.

I could be wrong, but I think verse twenty-one is about mutual submission with the following twelve verses being a guide as to how to carry out this admonition. One misunderstanding in this portion of scripture is in verse 24. If we read this as a stand-alone verse, it appears to be obvious that wives must submit to their husbands in everything. This is how “obey” became a part of some marriage vows. But if you read this as an explanation of the mutual submission concept taught in verse twenty-one, then the meaning of verse 24 is vastly different.

“²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ….²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”

When we read these three verses together it becomes clear that mutual submission of husbands and wives should be according to the pattern of Christ and the church. The church follows Christ out of love for him rather than a slavish type of forced submission and that is how the wife should submit—out of love for her husband. On the other side, the husband loves his wife so totally he would willingly die for her just as Christ died for the church. This is a submission that could not be more complete. Put the two together and you have a mutuality with Divine origins. 

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s

                                          My View from Tanner Creek”.

    

Who Heals All our Diseases

@rickblumenberg

Psalm 103 is a marvelous psalm filled with truth and encouragement. One of my favorite truths is where the psalmist wrote that God “heals all your diseases”. Sometimes we think this applies only to God’s direct healing touch, like Jesus did when here in the flesh. Some Christians think that doesn’t even happen anymore and others think it still happens a great deal. Regardless, I think it means much more than divine physical healing.

For instance, God heals many of our diseases as built-in miracles of creation because He made the human body with an amazing ability to heal itself. Being a “do-it-yourselfer”, I often have injuries—usually minor; a smashed thumb, a small cut or abrasion. But the wonderful thing is those injuries usually heal all by themselves. Our God-given bodies are nothing short of amazing in this area of self-healing!

Our brains are also fantastic healing machines. For instance, even though my cuts and bruises will usually heal by themselves, I have learned through experience and teaching—information my brain has stored and recovers as needed—that cleaning the wound, keeping it clean and adding an antiseptic will greatly enhance the healing process and usually prevent infection.

In addition, if we use our brains properly to have wholesome thoughts, to think positively, but realistically, and use the wisdom gained from parents and other teachers, together with experience we gain over time, we learn how to help our bodies stay well or heal themselves when attacked by a virus, disease, or germ. This too, is all a part of how God heals all our diseases.

And speaking of germs and such, one of the greatest organs of all living things is the miracle of skin! It shields us from germs, and other such critters that would harm, while being always available to transfer the healing warmth of a loved one or friend just by a gentle, caring touch—one of the greatest healers!

We also find healing in the wholesome food we put into our bodies. Some things taste good but are not really good for us. Some preservatives in our food enhance flavor and cause us to want more, but for some people these preservatives are toxic and perhaps not good for any of us. We are more perceptive these days about the dangers of polluting our world (air, streams, soil, etc.) but there is also great danger to our bodies when we pollute them with the wrong food.

If we learn to eat the right foods and reject the wrong ones we experience preventive healing so we avoid many diseases. Our bodies are stronger and healthier when fed properly and this helps our God-given immune system work more effectively night and day, to protect us from injury or disease and bring healing when needed.

I don’t believe God meant for Jesus to stay here forever as our super doctor. He mean for us to be independent of him to live healthy lives and learn helpful medical skills so we can be healed routinely rather than only by God’s divine touch. Like parents with their children Jesus came to make us strong, independent people who can live our own. However, although we want our children to be free and independent, we never want to lose the loving relationships we have as family. In the same way, although God wants us to live free and independent lives, God never wants us to lose the loving relationship we have in the family of God.

God also gives some persons a “gift” of healing for the benefit of self and others. Some are ordinary people with gifts of healing and some are medical professionals who have honed that gift with education, training and experience so they can treat us, nurse us and sometimes operate on us, doing all sorts of amazing things that bring wholesomeness and health. These wonderful people are very much a part of God’s healing love and their work is a special part of God’s divine plan. Every medical professional works with God whether or not they are believers because God is the ultimate Healer. No doubt that explains why many of our best hospitals were started by and owned by religious groups as a way to do God’s work.

So when you read Psalm 103, especially the words “who heals all your diseases” say a prayer of thanksgiving for all the ways God heals and for all the people doing God’s miraculous healing work. 

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

      

One Billion Worship Every Weekend!

@rickblumenberg

“I got to hear Valarie Peery sing "Take My Hand Precious Lord" while accompanying herself on the piano this morning at church. I was beside myself. Not many things I enjoy more than hearing Valarie sing and play!”

These words were written after my cousin Valarie Peery sang and played piano recently at First Baptist Church, in Clinton, Kentucky.

Here is my comment about a service I attended here in Southwest Michigan on the same day:

“That really was a marvelous worship service and the sermon was equal to it—one of the best services ever. Pastors David Colp and Chad Harlan were both marvelous and it was obvious the Holy Spirit was leading it all—and what an awesome choir to sing in.”

This past Sunday we joined our daughter Kathy, her husband Mike, and their family at Tabor Church near Muncie, Indiana for a great worship service.

The amazing thing is not really these three marvelous worship experiences scattered over five hundred miles, but that on any given weekend there are probably a billion people who worship God in churches throughout all our communities and around the world. They worship in a multitude of languages, in every skin color, all economic and educational levels, and by people of just about every conceivable variety.

More than two billion people scattered over the earth profess to be Christians and I’m guessing maybe half attend church on any given Sunday. This makes a wonderful unity in the Holy Spirit, as we lift up the Lord Jesus that binds all these believers together in worship to God.

Sometimes people criticize the church and talk about “how bad things are” but things are wonderful in God’s church! And will continue to get better as more and more people are born into the family of God and give him first place in our lives. When I say God’s church I don’t refer to a denomination, but to the entire family of God scattered around planet earth. We don’t all agree theologically, we’re not all at the same level of understanding or spiritual maturity but we all worship God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—so we are all family.

In the combined worship sites of both my Mom and Dad’s families and both of my wife’s parents’ families you find worshippers in all kinds of churches from Pentecostal to Catholic and everything in between, so we love all kinds of churches! They all help those we love to live better both here and in eternity.

Whatever the name is over the door, it is God’s house and these are all God’s children and when we worship, in a very real sense we all worship together. Quite often in a Sunday morning worship service I become aware of the multitude of saints I “worship with” on a given weekend. I’m guessing that to God it’s just one glorious worship service with all his children on the planet. We pour out our worship and he pours out his love, instruction, admonition and guidance.

Often as I pray I follow St. Paul’s encouragement in Ephesians 6:18 to “always keep on praying for all the saints”. God knows when I pray I leave it up to him as to who are the saints. I never try to tell him. Jesus said, “Other sheep have I which are not of this fold” so God may have some saints out there that will catch me by surprise when I see them in heaven, but I won’t mind at all. Jesus came to save us all and I’m firmly convinced some people who do not look like saints down here will be with us up there, and dressed in the white robe of His righteousness.

I like Bill Gaither’s way of saying it…”I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God!”

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

   

Thank God for Kayla Mueller!

@rickblumenberg

I thank God for Kayla Mueller. The newscasts of today are reporting her death at the hands of the ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria. She was taken captive while trying to help the refugees in Syria near the border with Turkey.  

In the last letter to her parents, smuggled out of her prison by her cellmates, Kayla wrote, 

“I remember mom always telling me that all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator because literally there was no else….plus, by God, plus by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall.”

I know very little about Kayla and had never heard of her until she was kidnapped, and then only after a lengthy time, her parents began to speak out and her captivity became known.

But from news reports I know she went to Syria to help hurting people. Much like my friends in Lebanon are doing among their Syrian refugees as well as similar work other godly people are doing in Turkey. These are God’s good people who are risking their lives to help people who are, for the most part, not even the same religion they are, and to whom they are not related and have no kinship with other than the fact they are fellow human beings who are in a horrible hurting situation.

But that was enough for Kayla and for many others who just want to show the love of Christ with their actions and attitudes. Taking blankets, food, encouragement and care.

Sadly, not all Christians are behaving that way. I read recently where a person who professed to be a Christian was rejoicing because they somehow had knowledge that “Muslims” would for sure go to hell. I don’t know how they know this for sure. I know the Lord Jesus Christ died to make it possible for them to be in heaven. The Lord God is still working toward that goal for all mankind and our job as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ is to help him do it.

I have seen too much hatred poured out on our “enemies” in ISIS and elsewhere by those who claim to be Christians. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to love our enemies and do good to those who despise us. 

Kayla did that.

Now understand, I am not a pacifist—at least not to the extent some of my good friends are.

In the same way we need good people in local, state and national police forces to protect our communities from cruel, evil, and ungodly people, I believe we also need a strong military to protect innocent people from ISIS and others like them who do evil things. I thank God for those who put their lives on the line to protect and preserve our peace and the peace of the world.

But tonight I’m thinking about the Kayla’s of the world through whom God is showing the world what the followers of Christ are all about. We’re not about war except in a very last resort. We are here to make the world better by being godly people who let the love of Christ flow through us and impact those around us. Sometimes it has to be tough love as we see by good people in the military or police forces, but at other times God needs people like Kayla who are tough enough to take the love of God into the most difficult situations.

In her twenty-five years Kayla may have done more for the cause of Christ than most of us do in our normal four score and ten years. Kayla died as a martyr but long ago someone said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

So would you join me in praying for Kayla’s captors? Pray God will touch the hearts of those who persecuted Kayla and her family and friends when they took her life? But let’s also pray God will help us all to be more like Jesus around the people who know us. Pray the people around us will see Jesus in us. I have no doubt Kayla’s captors saw the love of God shining out of her life and I pray God’s Spirit will not let them forget what they saw. I know God will continue to use those memories to draw people to his amazing love.

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

     

Reading is the Key

by Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

One day that stands out in my memory is the first time I went to a library. I’m not sure how old I was, perhaps second or third grade. My parents both loved to read and they not only made sure we had an education, but passed the love of reading to all their children. Partly because it was in the days before television we were all avid readers as soon as we learned.

We had a library in our home. It wasn’t large as I think of it now, but it was significant for a family of our economic level. We lived out in the country in Southeast Missouri and there was a library in nearby Charleston, the county seat. The first time I remember going to that library I was astounded that so many books were all in one place and that we could take them home to read for ourselves! To me it was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The thing I like best about books, magazines and newspapers is that with the ability to read one can literally travel the globe and visit places we could never otherwise go because of time and cost and other such mundane limitations.

It was probably with this in mind that I wrote the simple poem below. I call it

The Key

By Rick Blumenberg

Read my child

     And none can make you poor

For reading books shall be your key

     To the strong unyielding door.

With a book and time to read it

     The whole earth you can roam,

And where others cannot travel

     You will be at home.

Read my child

     And travel far upon the deep,

Walk abroad on distant shores

     While others are asleep!

A book shall be your barque

     To sail the distant seas

And reading be your shining wing

     To soar upon the breeze.

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

Two Families

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

This blog was originally posted as "Functional and Dysfunctional Families" but I really didn't like the title, so I've changed it. If you read it previously all that has changed is the title.
Recently a TV host called Thanksgiving “the most dysfunctional family holiday”. I assume he meant his own family, and projected that to others. On the other hand, it does seem many non-church families are dysfunctional. I don’t suggest church families are perfect, but the Bible, the church and her various groups (children, youth, men, ladies, mother’s, marriage, etc.) all work individually and collectively to strengthen families. No other organization in the world does as much to enhance family life as God’s church.

Years ago an unchurched young man came to church with one of our youth. Musically inclined, he played guitar with the youth and soon accepted Christ as Savior. He was so excited about what he had found he inspired our entire congregation, writing Gospel songs and performing them with a band he created for youth events.

But his mom was worried. She thought our church too extreme and might be a cult. She made him stop coming to church. I didn’t hear from him for months, but heard he was in a band and into drugs. When I saw his mother at a mall I asked how he was doing. Tears came to her eyes as she replied,

“Not good at all. I so wish he was back in your church.”

Godly families are made strong and loving by God Himself, God’s Word, and God’s church. God really cares about us and our families. (God loves families so much he designed the church on the family model!)

Every family has a Heavenly Father who loves them supremely. Every child has an Elder Brother, Jesus, who looks out for them. Every family has God’s Spirit to lead, guide, encourage, teach, and love them unconditionally. And the church, the “Bride of Christ” is a loving mother. This spiritual family doesn’t compete with our earthly families but helps us be strong, functional families that bless each other and our various communities.

In spite of all the family help in the church, sometime we need extra help to be strong, healthy families. Psychological and counseling centers can really help in those situations, but even there most of the good ones are grounded in the Word of God and grow out of God’s church—either an extension of the church or a godly counselor who is part of a church.

It’s also a great family blessing when extended families are rooted in the church. I’m blessed to have that kind of family. My wife and I each came from multi-generational church-grounded families. Can you imagine what a blessing that is to us and our progeny? My Mom’s family, the Aringtons, have had family reunions since before 1869—we’re not sure when they began. This family has produced a multitude of minister’s and innumerable powerful lay leaders in the Church of God and several other churches. The Aringtons are about as “functional” as a family can be, not because they are all perfect people, but because they are rooted and grounded in God and his church. Whatever the name of the church they attend, they are usually highly involved and add to the richness and blessing of their congregation.

Do we have dysfunctional families in the church? Sure. (And we’re looking for more). All families have problems we don’t want—divorces, troubled children, alcoholics, recreational drugs—you name it, we probably have it or have had it in our families. But when we have problems we usually get our lives straightened out because our families and our churches love us and pray for us. God’s church impacts the family in powerful ways and I thank God for both—the church and the family—two of God’s greatest earthly blessings.

Of course, there are functional families outside the church, but percentage-wise there are fewer because it is so difficult without the help of God and his church.

The biggest difference between churched and unchurched families is that church families know God is on our side, not because we’re Christians—he loves us all. The difference is that we know He is pulling for us, we know he knows how to help, and we welcome his help.

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

Alzheimer’s and Sin

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

I hate Alzheimer’s disease with a passion. I have seen its destruction in my own family—people I love. But Alzheimer’s has no feeling or compassion for these very special people. It destroys their lives and those of us who love them can only watch. We show love and compassion. We try to help, but the destruction continues and we can only suffer with those who personally endure it.

This may be how God feels about sin. Please go back and read the above paragraph again, but substitute sin in place of “Alzheimer’s” or “Alzheimer’s disease”. Don’t proceed through this article until you do.

God hates sin because it destroys the sinning person and sometimes the innocent suffer even more. Examples include rape, child and spousal abuse, robbery, murder and an unlimited number of other sins.

The biggest difference between sin and Alzheimer’s is that one has no cure. Hopefully there will someday be a cure for Alzheimer’s, but presently nothing really helps. Sin is different. God has a remedy available to everyone by Jesus Christ in his death on the cross.

Some believe God killed Jesus with the cross. Others think it was the Jews and others blame the Romans, but the real culprit is sin. In II Corinthians 5:21 Paul wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Since we know that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are one, this could actually read “God made himself who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We can’t blame God for Jesus’ death on the cross because Jesus, who is God, died intentionally to cure sin’s malady. But we can thank God for coming to earth as Jesus, who was fully man, but was also fully God.

So it was sin that killed Jesus’ on the cross and that’s why God hates sin. It destroys everything it touches. It destroyed the human body of Jesus when he took responsibility for our sin even though he had never sinned. Our sin destroyed him, rather than his own because he was sinless. When God sees sin destroy Jesus or us he hates it because it destroys a person God loves—you, me, Jesus, and everyone else.

If you read the first verse of John’s Gospel, but instead of reading “the Word” (meaning Jesus) actually read "Jesus" and it is more clear. Read it like this: “In the beginning was Jesus and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.” So in other words, when Jesus went to the cross it was not God sending him to the cross for execution. It was God going to the cross in the person of Jesus to die for us and for our salvation. If Jesus had been a mere human—even a sinless one—he could have given his life for one other person who had sinned, but only one. Since he was God, his death is sufficient to cure sin for the whole world. No one needs to die because of sin if we accept the remedy God provides.

When by faith in Christ, we accept his death on the cross for our own sin we are cured of sin’s malady, restored to spiritual health and given eternal life—not physically of course—we will all die a physical death, but we can live forever with God because of what he did on the cross through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

And the cure is available for the asking. When we ask forgiveness for sin against God we are already forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross and this cures our sin just as our forgiveness heals a wrong someone does to us.

The truth is awesome! If only everyone knew it.

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

     

Emmanuel Unleashed!

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

When God created heaven and earth he created a place and a people that were new and different than anything previously in existence. The primary difference was that we were his beloved creation but we would not live in his immediate Presence. God wanted to create a race of people (humans) who serve him out of love, rather than requirement. He began by creating humanity to spend time with him in what we know as the Garden of Eden. This was the first experience of Emanuel (God with Us) for our human species. It must have been amazing; to live with God so intimately—like heaven on earth.

As most of you know, this “God with Us” experience was temporary because sin entered the picture and separated us from God. This did not catch God off-guard. He knew it would happen and had planned for it, but it took several steps and much time before “Emmanuel” became restored reality in the best sense of the word. God had to move at a pace with which his human creation could cope. They were not immediately ready and Self-Ish-Ness pulled them this way and that in the years that followed.

God used many methods to bring his people back to the “Emmanuel” lost to sin. He used charismatic leaders like Abraham and Sarai, and Hagar, the persecuted concubine of Abraham who was driven from her home by Sarai in a fit of jealousy. Hagar showed great insight in the search for Emmanuel when she called God “the God who sees me”. By this time humanity’s relationship with God had been largely obliterated and it was only in her despair that Hagar realized God was not only alive, but was aware of her and her unborn child. This was a move toward an Emmanuel or “God with Us” relationship.

The early books of the Old Testament abound with charismatic leaders such as Joseph, the mother of Moses and Moses himself. Eventually he established judges to bring people back to himself but when the people asked for a king things went backward for centuries while the Jewish people tried to exist without God.

“But when the time had fully come…”^{(Galatians 4:4)}, after sending us the law and the prophets, God sent his Son. He even called Jesus “Emmanuel” because he would save us from our sin and thus restore the “God with us” relationship. So when Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin and announced by the angels, mankind experienced a whole new level of Emmanuel. God was literally “with us” in the life of his Son Jesus. Fully God and at the same time fully man, Jesus brought God and his creation together in a way never seen before. Through his incarnational (God in the flesh) coming, Jesus lived among us and showed us God’s true nature instead of the warped nature given to him by godless men and women through centuries of godless human living. But instead of merely gloating about the fact he was one with the Father, Jesus helped us see that oneness with God (Emmanuel) was God’s ideal for all mankind and that through faith in him we, mere creations of the most high God were created not for drudgery and death, but for a glorious relationship with the God of all creation. And Jesus had come to make that possible!

When Jesus finished his work and went back to the Father he had already told the disciples of the next, final, and most perfect level of Emmanuel.

That’s right, Jesus on earth, in the flesh, was not God’s best. It was a step toward the best earthly level of Emmanuel. Jesus made this clear when he promised to send the Holy Spirit, saying “It is for your good that I am going away.” ^{(John 16:7)} Jesus had no intention to stay forever in the flesh. He came to make it possible for the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of the Father and the Son—to come and live in us so that everywhere every Spirit-filled person goes, God goes, because he lives in us and works in us and through us, thus restoring the world to the highest and best level of Emmanuel or “God with Us”.

This Christmas and for all time, if we accept this gracious gift of God himself through his Spirit, the “God with Us” phenomenon reaches its highest earthly level, where God Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, lives in us for His glory and for the good of all mankind.

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

   

Nice and Not-so-Nice…

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

There are two kinds of people in the world (sure you’ve heard that before)—there are those who are “nice” and those who are “not-so-nice”. My mom’s been in heaven for decades but I still remember that she didn’t think there were any really bad people in the world just people who were not behaving like they knew they ought to. So as a nod to Mom, instead of saying nice or nasty people, (she would not be happy with me if I said it like that) I’ll call them "Nice“ and “Not-so-Nice”. I thank God for her teaching and example because she helped me understand that even those people who are “not-so-nice” are people loved by God and created in his image.

And when you think about it, most of us are neither totally “nice”, nor totally “not-so-nice”—we are mostly somewhere in between.

We find these two kinds of people in all races and all religions, in both genders, all family groups and in every diverse kind of people we can imagine. If we would stop categorizing people according to race, gender, religion, etc., and just think of them as either “nice” or “not-so-nice” we’d all be a lot better off.

Of course we would still have our problems because not everybody is nice. They could be if they wanted to, but some of them don’t. The great thing about these two kinds of people is that we can choose which group we want to be in. We're all in some groups where we don’t have a choice. I didn’t choose my gender, my skin color or the country where I would be born. Many people think we can't choose our sexual preference, but I really think that is a choice. I could be wrong about that, but I know for sure that each of us can choose to be nice if we want to. Or, we can instead choose to be nasty or not-so-nice.

Because there are people in every society who refuse to be nice, we sometimes have to do things to protect ourselves from each other. Thankfully we have families, churches, schools, and various other organizations to help us deal with those “not-so-nice” people and in the extreme situations we have police and the military to protect us from them. Most of the police and the military in our nation are in the “nice” category, but they can be pretty firm if necessary when dealing with “not-so-nice” people and sometimes the results can be painful. Unfortunately, a few of the people in power, whether they be police or military, employers, parents, politicians, etc.,  are “not-so-nice” and the powerless or less powerful need to be protected from them.

I could name some “not-so-nice” people, but I won’t because you all know some so you know what I mean. However, after writing this article and thinking I really need an illustration to make it complete, Carol (my wife) shared an article with me she found on the internet about Andrew luck, star quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. He is one rough and tough football player and isn’t afraid to mix it up with the best of them, but what the article was about was his style of “trash talk”. According to Kevin Clark, the author, (Nice Trash Talker, Andrew Luck) when Luck gets hit really hard he is likely to yell at the player who hit him and say, “Great job!” or “What a hit!”

Clark writes

“When New England pass rusher Rob Ninkovich pulverized Luck last month in a Patriots’ 42-20 win, he got the customary congratulations. As Ninkovich tells it, he found himself paralyzed with confusion by the well-wishes, so he blurted out “Thanks for...uh...accepting that hit?” before running back to the huddle.

It doesn’t matter what color we are, what job we do or just about any other real or imagined division we experience, there are “nice” and “not-so-nice” people in all groups.

I don’t always succeed, but I always try to be in the “nice” group and I hope you will too. We do have a choice.

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

 

A Life of Quiet Inspiration

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

In most churches we celebrate those loud and boisterous souls who preach our sermons, lead our singing, build enthusiasm and in general carry out their extroverted tendencies as they serve the Lord with gusto and enthusiasm. (We could be more spiritual and call it passion.)

Thank God for the Extroverts!

We love them! They add excitement and zeal to worship and often get us to do things we never thought we would do but find we even enjoy doing—well at least sometimes. I really do thank God for the extroverts, and one reason we love them is because they are so noticeable. They are usually up front both literally and figuratively.

But I also thank God for the introverts

You won’t see them up front. They are usually at least three rows from the front and maybe way back. (Unless, like my poor wife, they move up just to make their extroverted spouse happy.) The introverts in the church (and in the home, the office, and everywhere else) are often not appreciated for the value they bring to church and many other areas of life, partly because we may not notice them. But that’s okay with them. They prefer it that way. You could say they definitely do not want to be noticed. It is also because they like to do background tasks that are so important to our lives, but often fly quietly under the radar of public view.

These introverts are often really good at (and enjoy) those background jobs. They may never teach a class, but they may be good at a ministry of prayer without which teachers, pastors and worship leaders would be worthless.

In Bible School they are more likely to work in the craft room where they may discover a future Leonardo DaVinci or Claude Monet when no one else has noticed. They might send that future artist out of the craft room feeling "God can use me just the way I am.”

Or that quiet introvert may be in the kitchen making food that nourishes the body (the temple of God) while the extroverts are working on the soul.

The problem is,

too often we sell the introverts short.

While we applaud the extroverts with hand claps and hearty “amens”, those quiet introverts are thinking about how to feed the extroverts who are too busy to even think about it until they are ravenous.

Introverts, of course, are not perfect—none of us are. They sometimes get bogged down, like Mary’s sister Martha, with the details of life so they’re caught up in what we call the “tyranny of the urgent” at the expense of what is really important. However, in doing so they often accomplish things we extroverts (and many introverts) don’t want to do without, but don’t really want to do.

So I thank God for the introverts

You find them at home, at church, at the office and just about everywhere in life (except the platform, the podium and the center of attention.) They are glad we more extroverted types get most of the attention, because these introverted types are happy with lives of quiet inspiration.

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

   

Could Unity be a Spiritual Gift?

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

The small congregation where I have served as pastor for the past year is facing some changes in the next few weeks and months. They are combining with another neighboring congregation and together, under the leadership of Pastor Herb Smith with his daughter Rachel Green as worship leader, they are beginning an entirely new congregation of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) in a building that has been around for more than a hundred years.

I’m using this experience to introduces thoughts about the uniqueness of church groups, associations, denominations, etc., as a part of the greater fellowship of Christ. Several years ago I worked for a Christian Music radio station in advertising sales. I met Christian business men and women in a wide variety of churches and we worked with a wide variety of church groups through the station.

During this time I became convinced God also gives spiritual gifts to different church groups. The various Mennonite and Amish groups clearly have the gift of service and they have taught the greater church so much from their giftedness.

The Pentecostals and some high church groups have taught us much about worship from widely divergent worship styles, and the greater church has benefited from them both.

The Baptists, particularly Southern Baptists, but really most of them, simply by exercising their evangelistic gifts, have made us all better evangelists. There are many other examples, but I think you get the point. I thank God for spiritual gifts, both individual and corporate.

Perhaps our (Church of God, Anderson, Indiana) fellowship has a spiritual gift in regards to our ability to work with both the liberal and conservative wings of the church. One place where I was pastor I belonged to two different pastoral fellowship groups—one very conservative and one quite liberal. I had great fellowship and worked cooperatively with ministers, ministries and organizations from both groups, but I was the only pastor in the community who was normally present for both.

This may be stretching it a bit, and I’m not sure what spiritual gift that would be, but I do think our concept of the unity of all believers has developed into a ministry in which many Church of God pastors are involved.

So could Unity be a spiritual gift? I really don’t know, but I thank God for that ministry and for all of you who are involved.

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

     

Blessed Are They That Mourn

By Rick Blumenberg / @RickBlumenberg

Whatever you do, don't tell people who are bereaved and heartbroken not to mourn. I have heard such statements at the death of a saint, and although I know they were well intentioned, such admonitions are neither helpful nor wise.

In that awesome address we call the “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus told us about nine blessings from God that are amazingly helpful in the process of living well in our time world. One that is often misunderstood is when he said, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."

I think he meant that mourning is God's method of sharing his comfort when we suffer loss. In the event of a great loss such as the death of a loved one the grief often comes back over and over again, especially in the time closely following. Try to realize that grief is God's way of helping us and loving us and leading us through a horribly difficult time. Accept the grief as a blessing from God and a reviver of good memories of the past.

Don’t misunderstand and think Jesus meant that the loss we suffered was the blessing. When Jesus stood at the graveside of his friend Lazarus, the Bible tells us “Jesus wept.” Jesus knew he planned to resurrect Lazarus and that it would bring glory to God, so why would he weep? Wouldn’t it be more logical that he would rejoice at what was about to happen?

Perhaps he wept for the pain Lazarus’ friends and family were experiencing. Perhaps he wept because he knew the temporariness of life and all things earthly in our time world would often bring loss, and the death of a loved one would bring excruciating loss that would stay with us for a lifetime.

We need to understand that even with the anticipation of a reunion in heaven there is still the loss of an irreplaceable earthly relationship.  Anyone who has lost a loved one knows full well this is true. Even if the death was “timely” as with a very elderly person who is ill and ready for heaven such a loss is still great and should be properly mourned. Jesus was teaching us that as we mourn such a loss, we then experience God’s loving comfort.

Part of preparing to grieve our losses is to recognize we all are temporary. Most children and youth do not believe that, but at some point in life, we are shocked to realize that someday we will all die and the world will go on without us. This can cause great pain, even agony, for some people and we often try to run from it. Humanity has always sought the “fountain of youth” and it grieves us when we finally learn it is only a fairy tale, not only for all humanity, but for each of us, personally. For a healthy view of life, we must grieve our own mortality so we can move on and enjoy the life we still have. Otherwise, we will spend those last years running from the inevitable instead of living the abundant life while we can.

God blessed us when he gave us the ability to mourn and, as a result, be comforted in our losses. Grief is one of God's healing methods for which we should be thankful and of which we should make good use of rather than reject. The person who refuses to mourn—for whatever reason—will only find grief turning inward and often doing physical and emotional damage.

Grief is not the enemy. It is God's blessing and should be embraced. Grief is the path to God’s loving comfort.

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