I remember going to visit my grandmother when I was just a kid. The trip to California seemed to last an eternity, but the Grandma’s house was worth the price of the world’s longest trip. I loved going to my grandma’s. She had the greatest toys — she kept them in a toybox in her closet. I loved that box — I loved my grandma too — but I loved that box. While we were there, I could everything out of the box — comic books, toys, games — and play with them just like they were mine…like it was my stuff…but at the end of the week, when we would pack up to go home, all the good stuff went back in the box. Try to sneak a comic book home and she morphed from little grandma to the all-seeing presence.

I could never take any “stuff” with me, it was there before I came and there when I left. While I was there I could play with it like it was all “my stuff” but when I left, it all went back in the box.

One summer Lynn and I went on vacation with friends. We went to the North Woods in Minnesota. Had a great time, except for that afternoon when we pulled a Monopoly game out of it’s box. Brian was a good friend of mine, humble, gentle, just a good guy. We didn’t realize that Monopoly changed him. Ruthless — total commitment to acquisition. He knew that ultimately the master of the board was the one with the most stuff and he played to win.

He would smile when we landed in jail and clench his fist when we passed payday. He was ruthless in his passion to have it all in his hands and by the time we were done, he’d reduced us to financial and psychological bankruptcy.

But guess what? No matter how well he played the game…no matter how many hotels he placed on boardwalk, when the game was done…it all went back in the box. When it came to his “Monopoly Stuff” for an afternoon he was on top, #1. But before we left that place. It all went back in the box.

So it is with life…as Jon Ortberg says, “It all goes back in the box.” In I Timothy 6:7, Paul writes:  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. In other words, it doesn’t matter how well you play the game, how much stuff you collect… how many times you win. It all goes back in the box.  In the end it’s no more “my stuff” than monopoly money or Grandma’s toys.  In the end it all goes back in a box and at the very end we call that box a casket and if the focus of our hopes, our joys and if all my treasures were traded for the acquisition of stuff…in the end, all that’s left — is in the box. But there is another way.

Listen to what Jesus said about the box.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

This vitally profound statement that Jesus makes has wrestled it’s way into my heart… In the last few weeks, I know of three people who have lost their fathers.  Few things in life are more difficult than walking through the valley of the shadow of death.  I didn’t know the three fathers, but I do know they lived life, in a way that put treasures in heaven…and where our treasures are…our hearts follow.  That’s good news…because when get to heaven…there is no more box.

I’ve been preparing for a wedding this weekend.  AND… I’m preaching on marriage at Calvary this weekend — Leaving a Mark on Our Marriage. I remember my wedding day. I wasn’t nervous at all.  I was riding a cross-country motorcycle and jumping from a 30 ft bridge into a river. I got dressed and I wasn’t nervous. I went to the church and I wasn’t nervous. I stood out on the platform and I watched Lynn come down the aisle and I wasn’t nervous. We sang a duet and I wasn’t nervous. But when he said, “Do you, Dan take Lynn…” it hit me…this is one of the most important decisions I will make in my life. With God’s help, I am committing everything I am to this woman standing beside me.

Now if you know Lynn, you know that — except for the day I committed my life to Jesus — it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I didn’t question whether marrying Lynn was the choice of a lifetime.  I was simply taking seriously the fact that I was making a whole-life, whole-heart kind of commitment.  What if I would’ve said, “Well Lynn, I’ve thought a lot about this and you can have me on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but I need to be with someone else on Tuesday and Thursday…and Saturday and Sunday belong to me.”   Or what if I said, “Sweets, death do us part, that seems kinda long and I would kinda like to wait on that whole sickness and sorrow, thing…but you know for right now, for this moment…I’m good to go.”

Bottom line — the only appropriate response at a wedding is…  I do. As in all of me, forever, no matter what, with all my heart… I do. Without saying “I do” I would’ve missed out on all the incredible moments that life with Lynn has given me.

So let me ask you this question, “Have you said I Do to Jesus?”  In sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, for richer for poor, I pledge you my love and faithfulness. I give you leadership of my life.  We’ll never experience the delight that comes from being the bride of Christ till we say I Do.  As in all of me, forever, no matter what, with all my heart…I do.

We’ll never experience the incredible fullness of the presence of God until we say I Do.  I Do is 24/7/365 — 100%.  It’s not about being perfect, but it is about humble perseverance and practiced passion.  Is Jesus your passion? Have you decided to make him your one and only?

A woman entered a Haagen-Dasz store on the Kansas City Plaza for an ice-cream cone. After making her selection, she turned and found herself face to face with Paul Newman, in town filming the movie Mr. & Mrs. Bridge. He smiled and said hello.  Newman’s blue eyes caused her knees to shake. She managed to pay for her cone, then left the shop, heart pounding. When she gained her composure, she realized she didn’t have her snack. She started back into the store to get it and met Newman at the door. “Are you looking for your ice cream?” he asked. She nodded, unable to speak. “You put it in your purse with your change.”  When was the last time the presence of Jesus quickened our pulse?  Is Jesus your passion?

Jack Deere in his book Surprised by the Power of the Spirit says,

I want these passionate feelings to characterize my relationship with the Lord Jesus. …if discipline is what ultimately drives us in our pursuit of Jesus, eventually we will give up that pursuit. But a man or woman in love will never quit. I want my life to be characterized by an unrestrained affection for the Son of God.

Do you?  I do.

In Isaiah 62:5, God speaks to the City of Jerusalem,

As a young man marries a maiden, (the Hebrew Word is Beulah) so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

In essence those words are saying that when people marry the land, marry the city, God rejoices over it.  I’ll never forget the first time I heard this phrase… marry the land. I was in Modesto, California with two local pastors, Paul Grabil and Mitch Smith. God was doing a good work in Modesto and Harvest Evangelism was putting on a city-reaching school.  In one session… someone talked about being married to the land.  Later that evening the three of us found that those words had resonated in each of our hearts — married to the land. That phrase helped begin a partnership with them and a handful of other pastors and congregations.

This is a phrase that has shaped my theology. We all need a better theology of place. God calls us to marry the land. This is a part of his joy. What does it mean to be married to the land?

It’s not some sort of call back to an agrarian society, an Amish revival, or going organic.  It doesn’t mean you can never leave Happy Valley.  It simply means that it is God’s decision where we live and when we live there and when He plants us in a place…we need to fall in love with the place and the people..

What does it look like when the people of God marry the land?  We unite together rather than compete against each other.  Constant competition doesn’t bring vitality to a marriage — it can make an occasional board game more fun — but the goal is unity of heart.  One of my greatest joys and greatest struggles has been the movement of congregational unity in the Centre Region.  We laugh together in our successes and pray together in our difficulties. I love the fact that we can do all that and still be different…and even have differences.  We can do all that because God has put a passion in our hrts to unite together rather than compete against each other.

Secondly when we marry the land, we will seek to Bless and serve People.  Isn’t that part of the call of marriage?  It’s the call to be a blessing to your wife or husband. Bless them with our words and bless them with our deeds. Quit complaining to God about the people that God is pursuing in love.  To be married to the land means that we will shed more tears in private prayer than we speak angry words in public.

Finally being married to the land means… Don’t Be Quick to Quit.  One of the great blessings here in State College is that the spiritual leaders that God has drawn here have stayed here… I’ve been here 16 years and I’m still one of the rookies. Each pastor has had opportunities to go somewhere else, more money, bigger church, less stress, more excitement, you name it.  Man I’ll tell you there have been times when I couldn’t imagine anything better than leaving Happy Valley. Just like there are times when my wife can’t imagine anything better than not being married to me. But you persevere because of the hope, the burn in your heart, the friendships.

Last week, I spoke at Discovery Road Church.  The pastor Jorn asked me to speak on my greatest passion…that one sermon you would preach if God said you could only preach one sermon.  Isaiah 62 was my choice.  If you want to listen to the talk go to Points of Passion 2.

A few weeks years ago, while we were in the midst of a capital fundraising campaign at our church, I ran across an interesting article from Forbes magazine — The Best Places to Get Rich.   The article describes the best cities to live if your goal in life is the accumulation of wealth.  So, do me a favor, take a moment and guess what city Forbes listed as the city most likely to make you rich.  (Pre-current recession.)

The correct answer…is not State College.  It was Madison, Wisconsin.   Anybody guess Madison, Wisconsin?  The combination of favorable labor conditions, inexpensive cost of living, nearby universities, made Madison Wisconsin a great place to start a successful wealth-generating business.

Now I grew up in the Midwest. I’ve traveled through Wisconsin more times than I can remember.  I know Wisconsin fairly well…and my only problem with Forbes advice is that even if your business is a smashing success and you become a millionaire….you’re still living in Wisconsin!

But let’s just say you love Wisconsin.  I wonder…  If Jesus was a staff writer for Forbes magazine and he wrote an article entitled, “Where to Go to Get Rich” I wonder where his pen would wander?  Do you think his definition of rich might be a bit different than Forbes?  As someone insightfully wrote,

The paradox of our time is that we spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more convenience but less time; more medicine, but less wellness. We read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.  …These are the days of….fancier houses, but broken homes. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life…

You realize that you could pick up the family and move across country to Madison Wisconsin and you could accumulate every imaginable number in your bank account — you could do all that and still miss what you are seeking — never really get rich.  In the end, the true question is not so much where can we live to accumulate money, but what is the shape of true wealth?

Today I watched my son and his friends build a 100 foot slip and slide at Harvest Fields.  Before the afternoon was over, their bodies were slick with soap suds — much faster than water alone — and the air was filled with laughter.  Then this afternoon I met a young couple who are getting married this weekend, so much joy on their faces.  Friday Lynn and I will go to Pittsburgh to help Sarah move into her new apartment.  Tonight I worked on a sermon on marriage — all the while thinking what a treasure Lynn is to me.  And all week I’ve been finalizing plans to spend a week with my family on vacation.  And then there’s God…all of that and besides…I have God.

Now I sit here at the end of the day — and the beginning of a new one — and I can’t fathom my accumulated wealth.

So today is my mom’s birthday — Cheryl Nold.  Formerly called Cheryl Duncan, but I didn’t really know her in those days.  Now…at least in our family she will more often turn her head to the sound of “Nana.”  But for me she has always been and always will be… mom.  So let me take just a moment or two and tell you why I love my mom and why today is a good day to celebrate.

1) She helped me pull off one of the greatest pranks in Chester High School history.  Doesn’t matter if everyone doesn’t remember, I do.  I could take the time to tell you what the prank was…but that doesn’t really matter.  What I remember most is that it involved sneaking into the school after hours (okay the rigid among you would call that breaking and entering) and she helped me.  She loves to have fun.

2) She grew up in Long Beach, California — as much a city-girl as a city-girl could ever be — but after she married dad she followed him to South Dakota, in the winter.  The first house she owned had no running water and an outhouse — for those of you unsure what an outhouse is…see the picture and imagine that in the winter.  The point?  She loves my dad.  Always has and always will.

3) She made me read the Bible when I was a kid.  In fact — and I know parenting experts might shudder — but sometimes reading the Bible was even my discipline for messing up!  Part of my love for the Bible most definitely comes from her.

4) It was her idea to burn down the house that I grew up in.  Long story — but I think it reminds me that stuff was never my mom’s main passion.  One of the highlights of my last few years is standing around the fire with my siblings, watching the house burn and knowing that everything I gained of value in that house…I carry around in my heart.

5) She made me go to church when I was a kid.  (Okay Dad had a part in that too.)  It wasn’t optional.  Sports – optional.  Studying for a test – optional.  Time with my friends – optional.  TV – optional.  Church — not optional.  And she loved church, she didn’t always love what happened in the church, especially when people tried to build little kingdoms — but she loved church.  She loved God.  She loved kids meeting God in church.  No small part of my passion for church comes from my mom.

6) My kids love her.  When they were small she was always on the floor playing with them. When they got bigger she was always taking them someplace fun.  And she always seemed so glorious in the mess of grandkids.  She makes an incredible Nana.

7) She’s afraid of heights.  Which has led to some pretty great, funny, vacation moments.  Trips over mountains and the log ride at Silver Dollar City to name a couple.

8) She loves God.  I’ve hinted at that one somewhat already — but it bears repeating.  It really shapes who she is.  I don’t think I know anyone who loves God anymore than she does.

9) She has been a tremendous encouragement to me.  Whether it was sports, academics, ministry, marriage, family or just life.  But one of the greatest gifts she ever gave me was while I was in college, continuously calling home with my problems.  Finally she said, “Dan you know I love you and you know you are always welcome home.  But I think, if you want to grow up, you need to start figuring out some of your own problems.”  What does that have to do with encouragement?  It was mom saying, “I know you are ready.”

10) She loves life.  Nuff said.

Happy Birthday Mom…without you not only would I not be… :) but more importantly  I wouldn’t be who I am.

When my great Aunt Anna died about 20 years ago, my father was the estate executor.  So we had this amazing opportunity to go through her house…and all her stuff.  When I was a kid, Anna was just crazy Aunt Anna.  She seemed ancient to us — never married, lived with her brother, equally odd Oscar.  Collectors of all sorts of odd stuff… stacks of magazines all over the house, cupboards full of old tv dinner aluminum foil plates, right next to antique china that was worth a small fortune. When winter blizzards would cause me to spend the night in town — for school the next day — I would stay in a bedroom with piles of ancient junk forming a path from the door to the bed. She made the best rice mush, played a mean game of whist, and frequently said uffda.

But that summer we sorted thru her stuff…I discovered her story. A scrapbook brimming with memories of WWII, letters to young men fighting the battle, obituaries of friends who never came back. Gas ration stamps, war bonds, food ration stamps. Letters to family left behind in Norway. Certificate of Baptism and confirmation.  She was a woman who faced great loss. A woman who made great sacrifices for her friends, her community and her country. I wonder if she ever struggled with a lifetime of singleness?   She was a person of deep Lutheran faith, and often someone who was the life of the party.

But I never knew that because I couldn’t see her whole life-story. I just saw a portion. I didn’t know the hi’s or low’s.   The victory’s or the struggles.  I wasn’t there in the moments when God used her…or shaped her.  I didn’t know her whole story.  I just saw a portion.

Do you realize?  You don’t know the whole story…anyone’s whole story, even your own.  We only see a portion.

Even here at Calvary — Do you know the woman who’s grandparents were missionaries to Egypt. Responsible for starting an underground seminary and dozens of churches.

Did you know that we have in our midst at Calvary many people who have experienced God at work in their hearts to deliver them from addictions to alcohol, drugs, pornography?

Did you know that we have a young man who listened to God’s call to study Chinese in Beijing in the hope of serving pastors in  underground seminaries?

Did you knw that we have a man and wife who led a church in downtown NYC…a church that reached out to under-served people with great needs?

Do you have any idea how many people at Calvary have opened their hearts to children from around the world?

Do you know that we have a woman at Calvary who has struggled through a horrific past, one that would leave you shaken?  She has worked her way through and in the process fell in love with Jesus.

Do you know the young lady who is from Pakistan?  Her father and a brother are pastors there in a place where being a Christ-follower might cost you your life.

I could keep going…with ease.

When you look around you today, this weekend at Calvary,  just realize… You don’t know the whole story.  You only see a portion.  But let me turn it around to your story…now hear this. You still don’t know the whole story. You only see a portion.  Sometimes we look at chapters in our lives… and we begin to think…that’s my whole story?  Did u ever hear someone say… “That’s the story of my life.” We usually say it after a failure… we say it in the midst of the hard chapters… sometimes it’s said in despair…

But you know what? You don’t know the whole story, not even your own. Because you aren’t the author God is. You only see a portion. Whether the chapter you find yourself in is awesome or awful… just whisper this to yourself…

My story isn’t finished.  Jesus isn’t done.

A week or so ago, I asked folks at Calvary to share some of their Mountain-Top experiences with me… got some great ones and I thought I would share some of them with you… Ronnie shared hers form an experience on a recent mission trip.  

A MOUNTAIN-TOP EXPERIENCE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

My mountain-top experience is one that I’m sure many people from Calvary have experienced — going to the Dominican Republic.  The boys at the Rose of Sharon orphanage have changed my life, and I know that.  One particular night from the trip stands out in my mind.  We had cleaned out the library that day, and in doing so we filled two tubs full of old toys and books that the boys had used and wanted to throw away.

Before we left for dinner, we left the tubs outside the dumpster at our hotel.  We returned from dinner to see the contents of the tubs strewed all over the parking lot, with nine young boys sifting through what was our trash and becoming their treasure.  A few of them had found old book covers and were wearing them as hats, which made for a great picture.  They each had a pile of toys and books to take home with them that night.  Joy and excitement was profoundly evident on each child’s face as they ran around the dumpster, looking for new playthings.  Mary Herold was standing next to me, and she leaned over and said, “This is God’s recycling.”

I knew that if I could see God at that moment, he would be smiling.  While it was sad that these boys had to search through trash to find toys, everyone there felt so fulfilled to know that the boys were happy.  When they were finished, they even made a game out of cleaning up the trash, with each boy using a piece of cardboard to scoop up the rubbish and race to see who could clean up the most.

Laying in my bed that night, it was then that I realized that this whole week was the work of God.  His hand was evident in everything that happened…I especially felt his presence when I would be walking at the orphanage and all of a sudden a boy would take me by the hand and walk me to where I was going.  I really felt like I was holding the hand of God, knowing that these were his children and he loved them more than anything else in the world.  This trip really “left a mark” on my life.  I truly feel different!  I know that I will be returning soon.

If you’ve ever journeyed to serve others in another country… a picture collage was playing through your mind as you read her words.  My pictures were of little kids in Myanmar — rubber band games, dancing on the table New Year’s eve, surrounded by crowds of kids.  I hope I left half the mark on them, that they have left on me.

What are your Mountain-Top experiences?

It’s one of the earliest recorded church fights. Jesus and three of his friends are coming from an amazing, mind-bending, knee-knocking, awe-producing mountain-top experience. They are on their way back into the valley. Jesus led them down the mountain and in Mark 9:14 it describes what Jesus, James, John and Peter found in the valley…

At the foot of the mountain they found a great crowd surrounding the other disciples, as some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. The crowd watched Jesus in awe as he came toward them, and then they ran to greet him. “What is all this arguing about?” he asked.

Probably wouldn’t take long for us to come up with a Top Ten List of Stupid Church fights. How about the church in Vancouver, B.C.?  They split over what paint to use in the new lobby…they weren’t even arguing over the color, the crucial question was oil-based or latex.  I know we would never argue over something as trivial as the paint…it would take something far more important…like doctrinal issues…Baptist churches (we have a baptist heritage at Calvary) have been notorious for arguing about issues of the interpretation of scripture and correct belief. There are literally 100’s of Baptist Denominations…and most of them started with an argument.

There’s the Baptist General Conference (us) but please don’t confuse us with the General Baptist Conference — different group.   There are the Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, but also The Separate Baptists which shouldn’t be confused with the Separate Bptsts in Christ — they’re two separate groups.  There are the Reformed Baptists and the Regular Baptist and you would think that if there are Regular Baptists there would also be irregular Baptist, but I couldn’t find them, but I did find Old Regular Baptists.  You’ll be glad to know that there are Freewill Baptists and Original Free Will Baptists. Landmark Baptists and Interstate Landmark Baptists, There are Primitive Baptists and Progressive Primitive Baptists.

Then my personal favorite…the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists.  I can’t even imagine what argument gave birth to that name.  But all I can imagine is that name on a sign with the words underneath…  All Welcome and I’m just thinking I don’t know…

I love my baptist heritage, but is it any wonder that people outside the church look inside and scratch their heads?  Now I’m not saying there aren’t any doctrinal fights worth fighting, but I’m pretty sure God isn’t excited by 200 different groups of Baptists…I wonder how often people have felt like our debates were more important than their needs?

But look at Mark 9:15 and what happens when the crowd catches a glimpse of Jesus, “The crowd watched Jesus in awe as he came toward them, and then they ran to greet him.” When they saw Jesus, all the people watched him in awe and…and they ran to Him. Do you see that?

People living in the valley don’t come to our mountain because of the size of our crowd.  People in need aren’t all that interested in our doctrinal debates.  And I guarantee you that they aren’t running to see us…they want to see Jesus.  Why do people come?  Because they have a need.  Who are the looking for? Jesus. Why are they looking for Jesus? Because nothing else worked.

You do realize that’s often when we come to God…when He’s our last hope.  And of course if you aren’t familiar with where God hangs out…it makes sense that if He can be found anywhere he can be found in a church.  But when this man (Mark 9) came looking for Jesus, he wasn’t there.  It be good for those of us who grew up in church…to realize and remember what a disappointment it is when people come looking for Jesus and all they can find is us.

Which means the most life-giving strategy for any church…is simply make sure that Jesus is there when we are…

Over the course of the last couple of years I’ve been on a mini-mission to redeem the words “do good.”  In a culture of superlatives, good has lost ground. Compared to awesome and amazing, good is just barely above bad.  Good just doesn’t have quite the same ring as off the hook or all that — though I still think “good” is better than “sick.”

Today “good” is a standard response which means “uh okay.” When my kids come home from school, the standard question is “How was school?” The standard response is “Good.” Now when they say “Good”, I’m not tempted to believe that what they mean is

“Dad, school…oh…is there anywhere we could move where they have school like every day, because I love school. I wanna go to school forever. School is good. The teachers are good. I love homework. The food is so good.”

No see, Good simply means I made it through, it wasn’t bad. It didn’t totally stink.  You might be thinking, so what? What difference does it make what words we use… well maybe it doesn’t make a difference.  Except when we are talking about God.  Because when David writes in Psalm 34:8 “O Taste and See that God is good.”   He’s not saying that God is just okay. He’s not saying that God doesn’t totally stink. He’s saying that God is off the hook, incredible. He is so much more than all that. Amazing and awesome don’t come close.  My words can’t describe it so let’s just say…God is good.

In the book of beginnings, Genesis 1, the refrain of Creation is that God looked at what he had created and said, “That is good.”  Do you understand?  God never does anything halfway. He is not a “just get by” kind of God. He pours His whole being into what he does. Look at creation. Billions of stars? Did we really need billions of stars or do we have billions of stars because God poured his whole being into creation?  When God created the world, he didn’t do just enough to get by. God doesn’t do C work. He is not average, mediocre or middle of the road. He doesn’t settle… He is good and whatever he does is good.

And it’s not only huge galaxies which God calls good.  The apostle Paul wrote these words in his letter to the church at Ephesus…

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he
planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

God has poured all of who he is into creating you and preparing good deeds for you to do.  And when we understand, that we will start…Unleashing the Power of Good.  Use your imagination with me for a moment…

Imagine what happens as we unleash God’s power of good.  Imagine cities recruiting congregations to be a part of their community…because although it doesn’t raise the tax base, it reduces the needs that require taxes.  Imagine evry shut-in getting a visit and every prisoner getting prayer; every family with a home and a meal; every marriage with mentors to walk them through rough times and every struggling student with a tutor.  Imagine atheists sending us thank-you’s. Even though they don’t believe in God, they are glad we are in the community. Because people with AIDs are getting loved. Teens with out fathers are getting big brothers and big sisters. The food shelf is full.

It’s not just a dream. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16,

You are the light of the world — like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.  Don’t hide your light under a basket. Instead put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

This is a picture of the church let loose, the church without walls…providing living proof of a loving God… by doing good in the name of Jesus.   Do-Gooders celebrate!

Sorry couldn’t resist.  Doesn’t need much commentary.  I suppose that I could’ve found a thoughtful, spiritually-related point about decisions, decision making or hubris…but I won’t.  I just like Steve Carell and I thought this was funny. Enjoy…or not.