JUNE 2016 EDITION

We, meaning  those of us who share a love of the outdoors and hunting of various game birds and animals, are full into the season of “ennui”., pronounced “an we” No, it’s not some mystical pagan celebration of sun’s position, tides or alignment of the universe. Rather it is a sense or a feeling.  It is defined as: “a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.” Synonyms are: boredom, tedium, lethargy, lassitude, languor, weariness, malaise…, well, you get the picture.

Here in Georgia, when the temperature and humidity tend to meet somewhere in the 90’s.,there is an oppressiveness in the atmosphere that settles in on you as you go about your daily tasks outside.. Simple tasks like mowing the lawn sap your energy. . Nothing that pertains to hunting can be done. It is much too hot for any sort of dog work. The best you can do is check you hunting gear and look at catalogues for any new merchandise that will improve your hunting experience and daydream about last season’s enjoyment.

 However, for many of the females in my family, they delight in oppressive heat!  It is a time for them to “lay out” by the pool or the ocean for hours at a time, working to rid themselves from the dreaded “tan line.” For me, it is a form of Chinese water torture!  Oh, the joy of lathering yourself, with oil, going down to the beach, mixing sand with the oil on your body, lying in a pool of sweat, only cooling off by going into the ocean. Rinse , lather, repeat!  But I digress.

I guess God gave us spring and summer for the animals to reproduce and for us to rest, repair and restock and tend to those long forestalled chores that our significant others had suggested be done several months in the past.

In speaking of “ennui”, I sometimes wonder whether or not some of us experience on an ongoing basis “spiritual ennui” remembering its definition as: boredom, listlessness, lethargy, weariness, or. malaise? Do we lack a sense of excitement about our relationship with Christ? I have been Christian for over forty-one years. Have I grown bored, listless or complacent over the fact that the God of the universe chose to call me to be a child of His? Has my prayer life gone stale? Has my desire for corporate worship grown cold? The question is this.. Do I care? Am I concerned? Do I really want things to change?

As far as hunting goes, there is nothing we can do except be patient and wait for the various hunting seasons to begin and the weather to cool but we can act on our spiritual malaise immediately. We can do what King David did. In Psalm 51 he prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O Lord and renew a steadfast spirit within me.. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” This says to me, if I truly want to break out of my “spiritual ennui”, I only have to sincerely ask our Lord those things David asked. Also, as it says in I Peter 5:6,7, which I have quoted so often, we must “Humble ourselves under God’s strong hand, and in His own good time, He will lift us up”. In addition, if we are truly concerned about our spiritual condition, the next verse (verse 7) says, “You can cast the whole weight of your anxieties(and complacency) on Him because you are His personal concern.”

May we never grow too comfortable or complacent about the marvelous gift that God has offered us in the form of eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.

MINISTRY NEWS

On Friday, June 17^th, Net Work Ministries partnered with Marietta Country Club Friday Morning Men’s Group to hold The Fifth Annual Wounded Warriors Golf Outing  on Friday, June 17th, at Marietta Country Club.. This was not a fund raising event, but one that provided an enjoyable day of golf to honor the Wounded Warriors and the sacrifices they and their families have made in defense of the freedoms we all enjoy. This event is held annually on the Friday closest to Flag Day.  There were some 20 male and female Wounded Warriors in attendance. It was an 18 hole scramble format with foursomes were comprised of two Warriors and two members from the participating members of the two host organizations. A continental breakfast and a wonderful Marietta Country Club Buffet lunch along with gifts and prizes were provided for the Wounded Warriors .

Continued in my role as pastor to the staff of Young Life’s Southeast Region by meeting with staff personally and communicating with them on a regular basis through email and social media.

Continued meeting individually with men for counsel and encouragement.

Continued facilitating the Friday Morning Men’s Group.

Thank you for making all this possible by your prayers and financial support

MAY 2016 EDITION

In the early 1980’s, I was attending the Fuller Seminary Institute of Youth Ministries in Colorado Springs as part of my Young Life training. I was only several days away from completing my course work, when a friend introduced me to what is now my favorite set of books, ”The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis. . I devoured the seven books in a brief period, almost causing me to flunk my coursework!  I could not put them down. At first blush, you would think that they are only written for children, which they were, but there is so much more for all of us.. The main character in the stories is Aslan the Lion, who is an allegory for Christ.  I would like to give you a taste of what these books are about in hopes that it will whet your appetite to read these wonderful stories. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading these Christian classics, I would urge you to do so.

Two characters discuss Aslan:

 Mr. Beaver says ,”“Aslan is a lion-the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe?  I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr. Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

From The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

The character Jill comes face-to-face with Aslan at a brook in the woods:

“If you are thirsty, you may drink.” They were the first words she had heard since Scrubb had spoken to her on the edge of the cliff. For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, “If you are thirsty, come and drink,” and of course she remembered what Scrubb had said about animals talking in that other world, and realized that it was the lion speaking. Anyway, she had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man’s. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way. “Are you not thirsty?” said the lion .“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill .“Then drink,” said the lion. “May I – could I – would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.

The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. “Will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill. “I make no promise,” said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. “Do you eat girls?” she said. “I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it. “I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill. “Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion. “Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”

“There is no other stream,” said the Lion.

It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion – no one who had seen his stern face could do that – and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn’t need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once.

From The Silver Chair

Then Aslan turned to them and said: “You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be .”Lucy said, “We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often.” “No fear of that,” said Aslan. “Have you not guessed?” Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them. “There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadowlands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

From The Last Battle

C.S. Lewis was an avowed atheist and a professor of Medieval Literature at Oxford  College until he had conversations with friends such as J.R.R. Tolkien, well known author of “The Lord of the Rings. He became probably the greatest Christian author of the 20th century. His seminal work, “Mere Christianity” is regarded as one of the best explanations of the Christian faith to date.

It is my hope that through the reading of both The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity, you would come to a deeper and richer faith in Christ.

Blessings To You and Yours,

Buck