Give Me Ears To Hear (I'm confused now, but I know there's an answer here)

"Whoever has ears, let them hear." - Jesus in Matthew 11:15

"You can educate a man, but you cannot make him think" - Ben Harper


I had a few college professors who drove their students crazy, because they would never give straight answers to questions.

Instead they would either answer in a cryptic, circular way (a little bit like Yoda from Star Wars), or they would answer your question with another question.

I had one of these professors for an eight am class and another one right after lunch.

When you are just waking up, or in a bit of a food coma, you just want the answer or the facts that will be on the test, you don't want to have to think.

Because thinking, really thinking, is work. Wrestling through a strange answer is effort.

Jesus was a great teacher, and he knew that getting the crowds around him to wrestle with big truths about God the Father and the nature of faith would weed out those who were just there for the excitement of the event.

He was not shy about announcing his intentions about this. He would begin many teachings with this great statement: "For him that has ears to hear, let him hear."

This was his way of saying "understanding what God is like will be hard work, expanding your concept of grace and holiness and the nature of the Father will take time and effort, but the truth will find the hearts of those who really want to understand, those who have the ears to hear."

Because in the small towns and villages of Israel he was the most interesting thing happening at the time, and everywhere he went crowds would follow, not to understand the nature of God more, but for the kick of seeing the dude everyone was talking about.

But it's interesting to note that there are many times that the gospels mention that after he was done teaching for the day the crowds would be almost non-existent, because when Jesus starts talking in parables or riddles, the multitudes tune out a bit and suddenly find something else that they needed to do. ("Is that guy talking about planting seeds and lost sheep? I think I left the oven on, I should go check.")

There were a few times that it was just the disciples and a few others who remained after the crowds dissipated, and I love that they were not afraid to say things like "Master, this is a hard teaching."

What's comforting to me is that there were also times the gospels record that a few days later Jesus' followers would say something like "Master, that thing about the mustard seed that you said a few days ago, could you tell us what you were talking about?" And Jesus would walk them through the little piece of truth that he wanted them to understand.

Those who follow Jesus often get labeled as having "turned off their brains."

But nothing could be farther from the truth.

The whole Bible is full of huge concepts that take time to wrestle through.

What's amazing is that the gospel (our need of forgiveness of sins and the death and resurrection of Christ being the bridge of that forgiveness) is both easy enough for my five year old daughter to comprehend and accept, (praise the Lord) and complex enough to take a lifetime to figure it out. (Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand and acts as our guide.)

The Lord honors both the simple faith of my daughter and the diligent study of his word by her dad.

So may we be a group of folks who do the hard work of figuring out what it is that the Lord has for us to learn this day, this week and this year.

May we have "ears to hear".

Have a great week,

- Alex (Tincan) Caldwell

Lord, Be My Battery

It's cold and still a little dark out when I go out to our porch and pull on my boots and jacket. My gloves are stiff when I put them on because I forgot to bring them inside last night to warm up.

I open the door and breath in the freezing air as I see the world around me slowly waking and coming to; the occasional car driving by, their headlights illuminating the light snow that is falling.

The big tree in our front yard is covered in Christmas lights and is a bright beacon in this snow covered world I find myself in.

I head to the ol' minivan and start the process of moving the snow in order to find and open the driver's side door.

I come out early to brush off and start the car so that my girls can have a warm ride to school, but this traipsing around in the snow is never really as fun as they seem to think it is.

Most mornings when I do this I like to play some Bob Marley on the van's stereo system as I attack the ice and snow that coats the vehicle. The Caribbean music reminds me that someplace it's warm. I also like to bring out my coffee with me and set the hot mug in the snow on top of the van and watch it steam in the air and melt a ring of snow around it.

But on this particular morning there won't be any Bob Marley on the radio or windshield defroster helping me clear the front window.

When I turn the key to start the whole process I hear nothing but a click and that soul crushing whining sound of a dead battery.

I look into the back seat of the van and see that one of my young daughters has left the light above her seat on, (the one that she can now reach and loves to turn on and off as we drive along) and that explains the dead battery.

So I sigh and start the process of getting the other car in position for jumper cables.

This also means that there is now another vehicle to clean off.

In the same way there are many times in life I feel my spiritual battery running low, unable to power my life in a way that brings any meaning or allows me to be bearable to those around me I love and cherish.

I've been going to Church all my life, and I know the language and customs well. I know how to appear (mostly) like I have it all together and figured out.

But the thing is that as I get older and life gets more complex, (relationships with my wife, daughters, friends, co-workers, bills, dead batteries, general fatigue of life etc.) my ability to conduct my life well under my own power is taking a hit.

The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, self-discipline, gentleness, goodness, faith, longsuffering) are things I desperately want in my life, but as hard as I try, I can't summon up enough will power on my own to be a patient dad, a loving friend or self-disciplined person.

Here is the paradox of the whole situation: I was never meant to be able to conduct life on my own.

Jon just finished up a terrific, almost six month overview of the book of Romans called "The Great Exchange" in which the books writer, the apostle Paul explains that the Lord want to replace, to exchange the burdens we carry in this life for the joy and peace He has to offer.

Paul ends the book with these powerful words in chapter 16:

"Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says."

This is basic faith 101, that it's the Lord's power that gives us the strength to run this race of life well. Running on our own power leaves dead batteries and cars that sit in the driveway.

The older I get, the more I need to remember the Sunday School lessons I once learned, it's all God, from the moment of Salvation (I was a thirteen year old kid on a Sunday morning who felt the Lord's call) to my final breath, the power to conduct this life well comes from God.

Maybe you are running under your own power and feeling the drain of life, maybe it's time to give it over to Him (a process we learn little by little, just like a toddler walking) and experience the "Great Exchange" of life lived with the power of a full battery.

May your fire burn brightly

Lord, Be My Battery

It's cold and still a little dark out when I go out to our porch and pull on my boots and jacket. My gloves are stiff when I put them on because I forgot to bring them inside last night to warm up.

I open the door and breath in the freezing air as I see the world around me slowly waking and coming to; the occasional car driving by, their headlights illuminating the light snow that is falling.

The big tree in our front yard is covered in Christmas lights and is a bright beacon in this snow covered world I find myself in.

I head to the ol' minivan and start the process of moving the snow in order to find and open the driver's side door.

I come out early to brush off and start the car so that my girls can have a warm ride to school, but this traipsing around in the snow is never really as fun as they seem to think it is.

Most mornings when I do this I like to play some Bob Marley on the van's stereo system as I attack the ice and snow that coats the vehicle. The Caribbean music reminds me that someplace it's warm. I also like to bring out my coffee with me and set the hot mug in the snow on top of the van and watch it steam in the air and melt a ring of snow around it.

But on this particular morning there won't be any Bob Marley on the radio or windshield defroster helping me clear the front window.

When I turn the key to start the whole process I hear nothing but a click and that soul crushing whining sound of a dead battery.

I look into the back seat of the van and see that one of my young daughters has left the light above her seat on, (the one that she can now reach and loves to turn on and off as we drive along) and that explains the dead battery.

So I sigh and start the process of getting the other car in position for jumper cables.

This also means that there is now another vehicle to clean off.

In the same way there are many times in life I feel my spiritual battery running low, unable to power my life in a way that brings any meaning or allows me to be bearable to those around me I love and cherish.

I've been going to Church all my life, and I know the language and customs well. I know how to appear (mostly) like I have it all together and figured out.

But the thing is that as I get older and life gets more complex, (relationships with my wife, daughters, friends, co-workers, bills, dead batteries, general fatigue of life etc.) my ability to conduct my life well under my own power is taking a hit.

The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, self-discipline, gentleness, goodness, faith, longsuffering) are things I desperately want in my life, but as hard as I try, I can't summon up enough will power on my own to be a patient dad, a loving friend or self-disciplined person.

Here is the paradox of the whole situation: I was never meant to be able to conduct life on my own.

My pastor Jon just finished up a terrific, almost six month overview of the book of Romans called "The Great Exchange" in which the books writer, the apostle Paul explains that the Lord want to replace, to exchange the burdens we carry in this life for the joy and peace He has to offer.

Paul ends the book with these powerful words in chapter 16:

"Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says."

This is basic faith 101, that it's the Lord's power that gives us the strength to run this race of life well. Running on our own power leaves dead batteries and cars that sit in the driveway.

The older I get, the more I need to remember the Sunday School lessons I once learned, it's all God, from the moment of Salvation (I was a thirteen year old kid on a Sunday morning who felt the Lord's call) to my final breath, the power to conduct this life well comes from God.

Maybe you are running under your own power and feeling the drain of life, maybe it's time to give it over to Him (a process we learn little by little, just like a toddler walking) and experience the "Great Exchange" of life lived with the power of a full battery.