Can We Get Started Already?

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9

This last week I was summoned for jury duty.  Fortunately it came at a time of the year that is reasonably slow at work and neither did I have a vacation planned.  I know a lot of people complain about jury duty, but the one previous experience I have had with it was pretty positive.  My instructions were to be at the courthouse at 8 o’clock in the morning.  So I took a book with me and went to find the juror’s waiting room.

I signed in and found a seat at the quieter end of the waiting room.  There was a man sitting near me that was already complaining to anyone who would listen that he was tired of waiting.  The woman in charge of signing us in came on the loudspeaker and gave some further instructions about signing in and about the form that each of us needed to complete.  The man complained some more about waiting.  The lady in charge then played a video for us from one of the judges.  On the video the judge talked about the importance of the courts and the jury system.  He reminded us we had an important part to play and asked us to approach our jury service with the seriousness it deserves.  After the video was over the man near me was complaining again about how long we were having to wait.

After about an hour the lady in charge of our waiting room called out a list of names to go to one of the courtrooms for jury selection.  The man near me disappeared and I was glad he was gone.  It hadn’t even been an hour yet, but he was complaining as if we had been locked in for a whole day.  Several times during the morning the lady in charge would call out a list of names, sending the people up to a courtroom for jury selection.  Each time she started calling names I stood up, expectantly.  While I didn’t want to complain, I was starting to get a little anxious.  I was hoping that I could get started and either be selected for a jury or sent home.  I get that way a lot.  It could be the start of a very long car drive, making an oral presentation at work, or initiating a difficult conversation of an interpersonal nature.  I frequently find that I have an attitude of wanting to start and get the whole thing over.  Sometimes I want to get it started so bad, that I am not really thinking about whether it is actually the right time to start or not.

I am really glad that God is not like me.  I just can’t see God getting impatient or anxious about when some event in our grand universe is supposed to start.  I can’t see God getting nervous and deciding to get something started just to get it over with.  Instead he is patient so that everything happens at just the right moment.  God wants every single person to have every possible chance to be saved.  While God is waiting for people, I guess he is probably waiting for me to learn more about patience too.

[PhotoCredit:RaeA & Joe Gratz]

Friday Prayer on October 16

Is it possible to have too much prayer in your life? We don’t know yet. So far we haven’t prayed enough to run out of things to talk about with God! This coming Friday evening we will meet together for a simple meal at 6:30pm, followed by prayer until about 8:00pm. If you have never prayed in a group before, you are welcome to join us and just observe quietly. If you have something personal that you want to pray about among friends, we will gladly join in praying with you and for you. At Crossroads we are on a journey of learning what it means to pray to God and hear what He has to say to us. Please consider coming along with us!

This is a recurring event that happens on the first and third Friday of each month at the Crossroads worship center.  The next several times: Oct 16, Nov 6, and Nov 20.

[PhotoCredit:Klearchos Kapoutsis]

Healthy U On October 5

Milton R. Mills, MD

Put Your Colon to Work for You: How it Improves Physiology and Protects your Health

Milton R. Mills, M.D., serves as associate director of preventive medicine for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting preventive medicine, especially better nutrition, and higher standards in research.Dinner service begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by the presentation at 7:00 p.m.  Please note the new location: 1101-A National Drive (southwest corner of National and North Market).  Space is limited and cost is $10 per person.  Please call 916-482-8123 for reservations by Friday, October 2.

A graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Mills practices outpatient clinicbased medicine in Northern Virginia and works as a critical care physician with Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax , Virginia . As an African-American physician focusing on preventive medicine, Dr. Mills has delved into some of the environmental and societal influences affecting the health of African Americans and other racial minorities. Dr. Mills has lectured and given research seminars across the United States and in Mexico on such topics as the negative impacts of meat and dairy consumption on human health; nutrition and HIV/AIDS; nutrition and cancer; and the dietary needs of various ethnic groups. Dr. Mills is a featured speaker for World Vegetarian Day on October 1 in San Francisco.

Free Medical Clinic on October 3

Our free medical clinic is available to anyone with no health insurance or who cannot afford treatment.  If you have insurance, please use it so that this free clinic can be for people who have no other access to a doctor.

Are you worried a lingering sore throat might be strep throat?  Are you diabetic and need help getting your blood sugar under control?  Are you worried about cholesterole?  Do you need a prescription refill to take to the pharmacy?  Our medical staff will see patients 5 years old and up, and can help you with these types of basic medical care.

Quality medical care is provided for people who need it.  Friendly volunteers will greet you and help with the medical history form.  All of our clinic staff maintain the strictest standards for keeping medical records confidential between you and the doctor that will treat you.  Spanish translation is also available when necessary.

This month we have three health care providers for the clinic.  This means we will be able to register 60 patients to be seen.  Additional patients will be accepted at the end of the day if there is time available.  We are sorry to limit the number of patients the doctors see, but we also want to provide quality care and that takes time.  We hope you understand.

If you have any questions about the clinic you can reach one of our staff by calling 916-514-6163.  The staff can provide detailed information about the type of care provided at the clinic.

This is a recurring event that happens the first Saturday of each month from 1:00 to 6:00 pm.  The next several events will be: Oct 3, Nov 7, and Dec 5.

[PhotoCredit:blmurch]

Friday Prayer on October 2

Are you experiencing a hungering desire to know yourself better? To get closer to God?  To make a difference in your community?  These yearnings are inborn—yet it may take you years to appropriately identify them.  Once recognized, how do you deal with these longings, which leave you restlessly empty until satisfied?  Prayer!  Prayer moves you inward into personal transformation, upward toward intimacy with God, and outward to minister to others.

We will begin with a potluck dinner together at 6:30.  Following dinner, we will spend about an hour together in prayer and finish up around 8:00.

This is a recurring event that happens on the first and third Friday of each month at the Crossroads worship center.  The next several times: Oct 2, Oct 16, and Nov 6.

[PhotoCredit:babasteve]

Ultimate Fighting Championship?

UFC…Tap Out…and other “fighting” terms are becoming common words in many people’s vocabulary.  Millions of Americans tune in, each week, to see fighters climb into a ring, or “the cage” (or octagon), and fight.  People pay big money to watch people fight.   When I think about it, it seems cruel and crazy!  Yet, on the other hand, I guess if you’re going fight, you might as well get paid for it…(or is that crazy too)?  Do you ever fight?  Have you ever had someone take a “poke” at you?  Have you ever wanted to fight someone?  (Be honest…)
 
Come and join us, as we begin a new message series at Crossroads Church Saturday, September 26 called:  “UFC” — Ultimate Fighting Championship?  Or, Ultimately Friendly Christians?  While we don’t want to admit it, and usually hate to talk about it openly…let’s face it…sometimes even Christian’s fight!  If you haven’t been trained how to fight, if you’re not in condition, if you use the wrong technique or equipment, and if you fight against people in the wrong “weight class” you’re going to get hurt!  Jesus talked about fighting.  Paul, and the other early church leaders addressed fights, even among members.  Fighting is nothing new!  So, come join us, at Crossroads, as we learn what God says about “Fighting”.  How should we fight?  Who should we fight?  Where should we fight?  What should we be willing to fight about?  When should we fight?  These are all valid questions in today’s world.  Learning to fight fair, and learning to protect yourself could save your life, your marriage, your family, your job, or even your salvation!   Invite a friend (or an “enemy”) and join us as we learn how, and who to fight.

Chasing Pigeons

“There will always be poor people in the land.  Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”  Deuteronomy 15:11

This last week I spent almost two days at an engineering conference in San Jose.  I was sent by my employer to make a presentation about the software we develop.  Many people at the conference us it, or could use it in their work.  So it was a good chance to demonstrate some of the new features we had been developing during the last year.  The conference was held at an absolutely superb hotel right downtown so I didn’t mind a night away from home.

In the morning I was preparing to enjoy my breakfast.  The conference organizers had provided a table with a wide variety of muffins, bagels, and croissants, along with fruit juice and coffee.  I had picked out several items and poured myself a glass of juice.  I found a window where I could look out at the small park across the street.  I was about to lower my head and offer up a short blessing for my humble meal when I happened to look over the park.  I noticed a man at one of the drinking fountains, and he appeared to be Mexican.  At first I couldn’t see exactly what he was doing.  I eventually realized that he was brushing his teeth at the drinking fountain.

The man’s clothes looked pretty dirty even from my remote observation point in the hotel.  I quickly surmised that a man in dirty clothes brushing his teeth at a drinking fountain in a park was most likely homeless.  I must confess that this realization by itself did not appreciably effect me.  But everything changed a couple of moments later.  It changed when I realized that the little girl nearby in the pink coat was with him.  She was probably his daughter.  She was maybe two years old.  I realized I was probably watching a homeless father and daughter start their day in the only bathroom accessible to them.

The realization of their homeless condition should have been enough to motivate me to action.  But my heart didn’t completely sink away until the man pointed at some pigeons on the ground.  The little girl started chasing them away and I’m sure must have been squealing with delight.  I wondered if she even knew it wasn’t normal to be sleeping in a park and brushing your teeth at the drinking fountain.  I decided I had to do something.  I decided that a few extra things from the breakfast table I had just left would be what I could manage.  Surely no one at such a fancy hotel would even miss them.  Yet I was strangely nervous as I considered picking up some bagels for the man and his daughter.  I would have to walk past the bellman in his fancy uniform standing guard at the front door.  It would be unavoidable for him to see me leaving the hotel and walking across the street and into the park.  I wondered if he would get mad at me for taking extra bagels.

What I was feeling would not subside and I knew I had to go through with it.  I had to try and take some food from the conference out to the father in the park.  I just hoped it wouldn’t be too bad if someone yelled at me.  You might think it was a noble thing to do, or at least the right thing.  What haunts me is that I don’t think I would have done a single thing about it, except for the little girl in the pink jacket chasing pigeons.  Jesus Christ has called me to more.  Much more.  I am praying that next time I respond quicker, and with less concern for what happen to me if I lend a helping hand.

[PhotoCredit:kojotomoto]

Friday Prayer on September 18

“I think my experience with prayer is not much different from most – the Jesus I was raised with was a cosmic santa claus.  You had to be flattering to butter Him up, but also concise, as He was very busy…… Many years later I still fight my early tendencies, yet struggle I will.
 
“Coming to our prayer sessions on Friday nights has been a good exercise for me. I am not always in the mood but the discipline is so good in my life.
 
“Learning to give God control, trying to discern what His plans are, and letting Him allign my heart to His is never a boring ride! Not always easy, always worthwhile.”

– Nancy Sayers, member at Crossroads

We will begin with a potluck dinner together at 6:30.  Following dinner, we will spend about an hour together in prayer and finish up around 8:00.

This is a recurring event that happens on the first and third Friday of each month at the Crossroads worship center.  The next several times: Sep 18, Oct 2, and Oct 16.

[PhotoCredit:david.nathan.cox]

Shiny Shoes

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”  Romans 8:1-2

I learned how to polish my good dress shoes by watching my dad.  He had a job where he dressed up every day with a suit and tie, before the invention of Casual Friday, and before Casual Friday became the standard for every day of the work week.  I can remember sitting with him on the back step of our house while he polished his shoes.  He would do it almost every Friday.  He had been wearing them all week to work and would shine them up to be ready for church.  When my much smaller shoes needed to be shined, he would help me do it.

I never have been as regular about shining my shoes as my dad has been.  It isn’t for a lack of equipment.  I have a shoe shine kit with leather conditioner, different colors of polish, different kinds of brushes, and buffing cloths.  I have everything I need to keep my shoes in top condition.  But my poor shoes usually get attention only when they degrade to a truly unseemly state, or I have a special social occasion that requires I look my best.  I can never make them look as good as a professional can, and so I often wonder why I should even try.

About two weeks ago I went down to the mall after work to buy a couple of new shirts for my work wardrobe.  I went straight from work without stopping at home to change.  There is a place at the mall where they will shine your shoes.  Mine where looking particularly pathetic that day, so I decided to have them done.  I got up in the chair and mumbled an apology for letting nice shoes look so bad.  I asked the man if he would just do the best he could.  I suppose I expected him to lecture me on the proper technique for shoe care, but it never came.  He just went to work with soap and water to clean them, and then several rub downs with leather conditioner to try and revive them.  They looked nearly brand new after he finished buffing the second coat of polish.  When he was done, he looked at me and said, “See, these are still nice shoes.  Very good.”

I have been thinking that I often treat God the same way.  My life slowly degrades a little every day until it is a mess.  I could reconcile to God any day, any time.  But I start feeling embarrassed about how things are falling apart.  I want to pretend that I am strong and have it all together.  I don’t of course so things slowly spin out of control.  I suppose from the outside that I look pretty put together, but inside I cannot fool myself.  Eventually things get bad enough and I go back to God, head down, and embarrassed to be coming back again.  Never once has God laughed at my trouble, or lectured me, or told me I deserved it for not following His commandments.  Every single time He cleans me up and tells me once again that He loves me.  God sure is good, all the time.

[PhotoCredit:respres & Moriza & Monsieur Paradis]