Blessed because...

"...and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:3

Blessed because...
By Rev. William Dohle

How often have you heard the word "blessed" used by others?

At dinner during thanksgiving, "Lord, we are so blessed..."

At a son or daughter's graduation or wedding: "Our family has just been so blessed!"

In conversation with others at church: "I just can't complain. We've just been so blessed!"

We usually think of blessings in terms of material things. To be blessed is to want for nothing, to have a nice home and a good car and a little spending money to travel for vacation. To be blessed is to need for nothing and be able to want for anything. "Blessed" is a material condition. A state of life being filled with good things. People we love. Family we cherish. It is about what we have...

But what if it has nothing to do with what we have... but what we give? What if blessing is about our positive influence in others' life instead of being graced with material things? What if blessings can only be seen from the outside, by others who say "They are such a blessing!" instead of inside?

I think that is what God is getting at here when God says: "I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Abram is blessed, not because he has so much stuff! Not because he has the biggest boat, the coolest toys, the nicest computer, the largest home, or the perfect family. Not at all! In fact, though Abram himself will enjoy physical comforts, Abram's descendants who inherit this promise are going to find themselves poor slaves in a foreign land soon. No, God is speaking not about material comforts but about the positive influence his people will have on the world!

Abram's literal descendants will go on to...
...Lead their people out of Israel.
...Reclaim the land promised by God.
...Hear the Torah, God's way, and follow it.

One day they will...
...Write wisdom to be read around the world.
...Proclaim God's Word to distant lands.
...And give birth to the Messiah, the Son of God.

God has a lot of blessing to bestow. And he intends to use Abram for that purpose.

And we too, children of Abraham through faith, have a job to do here as well. For here, right now, God is wanting to bless the world through us. We are blessed...to be a blessing. And it has to do with more than physical things...

True... We are blessed with resources...ONLY so we can bless others with the same.

But we have also been blessed with other things...

We are blessed with forgiveness...
...so we can forgive.
We have been blessed with peace...
...so we can share that peace with others.
We have been blessed with joy...
...so we can share that joy with others.

The next time you catch yourself thinking you're blessed simply looking at the material, stop and peer around you. The world is waiting at your doorstep. Who could call you a blessing in their lives today?

God of Abraham, bless us as you blessed him. As you promised him and his family blessings, so too bless us that we might become the same to others. Amen.

If Only...

"The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.'" Genesis 11:6

If Only...
By Rev. William Dohle

If only... how often have I heard those two words together.

Sometimes they're spoken in sorrow...
"If only I had said I loved him..."

Sometimes in longing...
"If only we had more time..."

Sometimes they're spoken to solve a problem...
"If only we had more workers..."

Or to justify one action or another...
"If only the economy were better..."

Always these words are spoken in the context of regret and under the assumption that, solving this problem, everything would be right. In the church I've heard them like this...

"If only we had more members..."
"If only we had more money..."
"If only we had a different pastor..."

Then... then... then...what??

Then... of course... everything would be better, life would be great, and our problems would fade away.

Unfortunately the "if onlys" never work. Probably because they warp time, making us see the future through the past. Making us regret the past while remaining in the future. Never really seeing that what we have in the present matters!

This all has been common...since the beginning. Since the start when the people cried out together... "If only we build this tower...then we'll reach to the heavens, make a name for ourselves, and not be scattered over the earth."

The people try. They build and build and build... but God intervenes. Seeing their work and their potential he says: "If only they remain united...then nothing will be impossible for them."

What the people fail to see here is their strength. So focused on the future, on the big tower that'll take them to heaven, the never see how their present unity can accomplish anything! They fail to see that the present is fleeting and what they took for granted before will soon be taken away.

God confuses their languages. And their big dream to reach the heavens and gain a name for themselves becomes, just that, a big dream. Nothing more.

We too can fall into their danger, thinking that "if only" this or that happened...then we'll make a name for ourselves, be united, have a great church, live a happy life, finally feel whole, be happily married, do God's work here, and so on.

What we forget in the "if only's" is that God is here ALREADY working the kingdom of God from within us. There is no "if only" there is only now. Now...God is calling us to work. Now... God is gathering his harvest. Now...the kingdom of God is growing. Now!

Look around you. The people sitting across from you at work, intersecting you on the streets, and playing baseball with your children are there for a reason. Your meeting is no accident. They are your mission field. They are your work.

Paul writes: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."(Ephesians 2:10) If God prepared good works in advance for you to do, than God has put those people in your life (and in your way) for a reason! There's a reason you're sitting in that cubicle next to that individual talking on that day about that topic. Your good work with them has been planned beforehand by God. We needn't wait for some tower to be built or some mission to finally take shape. We need only to look around us and see the harvest of God waiting to be gathered right here...now!

Ever Present God, you call us out of the future, back into the present. Help us remember the true gift you've given us is now. Help us to take hold of that time, to use it as you'd have us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ordinary Signs of Extraordinary Promises

"This the the sign of the covenant I am making between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life." Genesis 9:13-15

Ordinary Signs of Extraordinary Promises
By Rev. William Dohle

I love summer! Really... I do.

I love the sound of the cacadas singing in the trees. I love the frogs croaking along the riverbank. I love the peacefulness you get when you sit down next to a lake, a fishing pole in your hand, just being there with nothing else to do. I just love it!

Nature means something because, for me, I find it pointing to God. When I look out at nature, I see God's fingerprints all over the place. I hear the birds chirping in the trees and I remember...
"Sing to the Lord a new song..."

I see the wind moving through the trees and I remember...

"...the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters."

I see the storm approach from the west and I'm moved to feel...

"Praise the Lord from the earth...lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding."

All creation can become a sign, pointing to God!

But ever wonder what God thinks? Ever wonder what God feels when He looks upon creation? What are His thoughts? What does nature make God do?

In this well-known section from Genesis, we hear God's thoughts. And they are surprising...

When God looks at the rainbow in the sky...God remembers!

Creation itself, a rainbow in the sky between the clouds, reminds God of his promise. It reminds God that He has promised never to send a flood that will destroy all life. It reminds God that there is to be an end to the storms. That day might follow afterward. And that hope lives on.

This is a powerful powerful reminder.

In the midst of Katrina...God remembers...hope must live on.
In the middle of the storms that destroyed Joplin...God remembers...hope must live on.
And from the darkness of every storm...God remembers...hope must endure.

God's remembrance is our hope for, as we wait through whatever storms that come upon our lives. Be they storms of disease, storms of sin, or literal storms of rain and snow, we know there is a rainbow to come. Our God has not forgotten us and will not abandon us. Creation itself assures us this is true.

Heavenly Father, you have put your bow in the clouds to remind yourself of your promise to us. Give us signs in all of nature that we may remember all that you have done, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Original Repentance

"But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark..."

Original Repentance
By Rev. William Dohle

"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry daddy..."

My daughter cried this with tears streaming down her face the other day as she faced being grounded for hitting her brother.

"But Daddy... I said I was sorry!" she cries from her bedroom as she sits on her bed, grounded.

I don't know where that originated from. Where the whole notion of "being sorry" came from. I could say that it's genetic. My family likes to say they're sorry. I know she's heard these words from me. I could say it's just a part of who we are. But when did we first start saying "I'm sorry..." and when did we first start feeling regret over what we did.

You might be surprised where regret originates from in Scripture. It's not found in any human being. Adam doesn't ever say he's sorry. Nor does Eve. Nor does Cain or any other human being. Surprisingly the first one to say they are sorry... is God!

"God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I'm sorry I made them."(Genesis 6:5-7; The Message)

God is the first one to say he's sorry. Sorry for making human beings. Sorry for creation and all the pain its caused him. Sorry to have caused all this mess.

God is sorry for creating such potential for evil and the drive to do nothing but bad. God is sorry for the pain of Abel after Cain's killed him and sorry for the hurt that this caused. God is sorry for the broken families that have emerged on the earth and for all the hurt and pain. God is sorry...

And so God does something about it. He decides to wipe the slate clean and begin anew. He's found Noah and his family, who are faithful, and decides to make the whole thing over again with him.

Of course sin still remains and the world isn't fixed. But that doesn't matter...cause something has changed for God after this whole big flood. God changes his mind about the whole thing. Instead of being sorry for making his creation, God vows to protect it.

God smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done. (Genesis 8:21; The Message).

God changes. God repents. God decides that he loves this creation too much to wipe it all out. Maybe its not as bad as he thought. God repents of what God has done...and so begins the cycle of repentance for the rest of us.

We too, as children of God, walk in God's paths. God repents...and we can too. God changes...and we can too. God has sworn to love, protect, care for, cherish, and nurture this creation. We can too!

God of Repentance, you have shown us how to change our minds and turn to good. Enable us on our journeys to see where we have stumbled, to turn to your good, to return to your presence, and to know the joy of living, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then the Lord said to Cain,"Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4:9

Our Brothers' Keepers
By Rev. William Dohle

This week my family and I traveled to Springfield, Illinois to visit the infamous Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. It was awesome! Both the museum and the library. The story of Lincoln's life literally came alive for us. It was as though President Lincoln himself was standing in our midst!

Though the Civil War is now over a hundred and fifty years in our past, the same events that shaped Lincoln's life are shaping life today. In Lincolns day the country was divided. The same is true today. In Lincoln's time everyone thought they were on the right side. The same is true today.

And though civil rights have moved forward, we are still preoccupied with the question Cain first asked of God.

"Am I my brother's keeper?"

Am I my brother's keeper... even though he is a black man?
Am I my brother's keeper... even though he is a gray confederate?
Am I my brother's keeper... even though he thinks, acts, and believes completely differently than I do?

That question ran through the civil war and it runs through our life today too.

Am I my brother's keeper... even though he's a Muslim?
Am I my brother's keeper... even though he lives alone?
Am I my brother's keeper... even though he voted democrat? Or republican? Or neither?
Am I my brother's keeper... even though he thinks, acts, and believes completely differently than I do?

The answer from God seems to be the same for us as it was for Cain. YES YOU ARE!! You are your brother's keeper! You should care about what happens to him. You should pray for him, care for him, and love him. You should be compassionate toward him, give of yourself to him, and lay down your life for him, if necessary.

Why? Well... that answer isn't given to Cain... but it's given to us. For we know that we keep our brothers because Christ keeps us. We love our sisters because Christ loves us. And we lay down our lives in service to them...because that's what God did for us.

Heavenly Father, you call us to love and care and pray for our brothers and sisters. Give us strength to put aside our differences and see ourselves as fellow human beings with all, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Deny It? Deny What?

"Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man said, "The woman you put with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it."
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me and I ate." Genesis 3:11b-13

Deny It? Deny What?
By Rev. William Dohle

"Not me... Not me!"

I can't tell you how often I hear these two words from my children's lips.

Who spilled the milk on the floor and didn't clean it up??
... Not me!

Who didn't pick up his toys?
...Not me!

Who didn't eat everything on their plate?
...Not me!

These words can drive you up the wall. Not only because they're so prevalent in a young family's home but also because they're never true!

Take this common example. I've asked the boys to put their clothes away. I ask...
"Who didn't put their clothes away?" pointing down at a pile beneath my feet. They both say: "Not me!" Which can't possibly be true since I am looking at a pile that someone didn't put away! Then they both give me a run around, pointing fingers at each other, until, at last, one of them admits in tears that he was the culprit and slumps off into the room to put them away.

What both my sons fail to realize is that if they had just admitted it the fault to begin with, the problem would have been solved. The sin would have been forgiven. The clothes put away. Life would have gone on. But because they failed to admit their mistake, the blame continued to be passed over and over again.

That is the situation here in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve have just both eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now two things can happen...

They can admit they ate from the tree. They can tell God the story of how it happened, how it looked so good and they ate. They can admit that they did God wrong...and God can forgive them!

Or...

They can deny it, point fingers at each other, and never admit to each other or God that they did anything wrong. In which case God can't forgive them...for if they didn't do anything wrong there's nothing to forgive!

What is the real sin here? Is it disobeying God's command? Yes...and no. God did tell them not to eat from the tree they just ate from, but their greater sin is the denial that follows. For in their denial comes their lack of repentance. If they had eaten the apple and admitted their mistake, God, who is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, would forgive them! But when they just keep pointing fingers at each other, God can only stand by and watch, as we parents do, as the blame is passed from one person to another to another to another. Nothing can be solved until denial is overcome.

So... how are you like Adam and Eve here? What have you denied? What is God calling you to admit, to repent of, to turn from and be healed? Is there something in your life that you have passed the blame on? Is there some sin that needs to be addressed, needs to be admitted, and needs to be overcome?

My favorite part of this story isn't the temptation narrative, it's what happens after. After God has pronounced judgement and is escorting Adam and Eve into the world, the Bible says, "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."(v. 21)

That always speaks to me for, even when I am reluctant to take the blame and admit my wrong, God still watches over me. God still cares for me. And God still loves me. No matter what!

Lord God, we are so much like Adam and Eve, quick to point at other's wrong and slow to take blame ourselves, give us faith in your forgiveness that by your Holy Spirit we may be confident in your love for us, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Closer Than You Think

"...the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

Closer than you think
By Rev. William Dohle

It's been almost twenty years now. Twenty years since I left home. Twenty years since I lived closer than 450 miles away from my parents and siblings.

In that time I've moved to college, to seminary, and into multiple calls. I've lived in California, Colorado, Montana, and Minnesota. And now we're living in Illinois, the farthest east that I've ever lived for any extended period of time.

Distance is a funny thing too for, despite how connected we may feel with the internet and our cell phone services, we still miss feeling close to our family. There's nothing quite like meeting face to face with someone you love. No internet service can ever replace that experience.

Many people might say that God is some distance away from us. As a popular song by Bette Middler said years ago: "God is watching us from a distance."

But the Bible says, quite emphatically, NO! God isn't watching you from a distance! God is here! He's the one who formed you from the ground. He's the one who planted around you that which sustains you. He's the one who breathes into your nostrils the breath of life!

And this God, this crazy God who gets his hands dirty in the dust of this ground. This God doesn't just leave you alone. He never really returns to heaven. Instead this God breathes in you the breath of life each and every day.

Take a breath. Breathe in slowly. Let it out just as slow. That breath was given to you by God who breathes life in you . Like a divine CPR rescuer, our God is continually keeping us alive by his grace and love.

And still he does more. This God surrounds us with good green things. He provides for us animals to care for. A garden called earth to live in. And even helpers(spouses and children) who provide company for us so we are not alone.

Thank God for his continual, eternal, awesome presence among us that never leaves us, never lets go, and never lets any distance come between us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Creator God, you formed us from the ground with your hands and have been keeping us alive by your breath. May we sense and know your presence among us that we may see that nothing can separate us from your love, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.