Church Street

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Church Street, Princeton
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It would be just like him

The God of the Bible looks like Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. It would be just like him to go to the cross.

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Practicing Our Scales

Imagine if our walk with Christ, representing his kingdom in the world, were as practiced and pure as Hania Rani’s fingers on the piano keys.

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Rescue

I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.

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Your Roots Are Showing

The life that I bring to the world can only be found in my attachment to Christ. His presence with me is essential.

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Connection

I live in a U.S. county with traffic problems. It's a peninsula, and what's not swamp land has been developed. Building new roads is difficult and expensive. Making things worse, roads that could connect don't.

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Forming Rick Shafer Forming Rick Shafer

Connected

Separated from Jesus, we wither.

This week Hurricane Isaias made a quick visit. Once again we pile limbs at the street. It's a reminder of the importance of connection. These branches still look fresh and green but we know it won't last. Jesus told us that our fruitfulness depends on our connection to him (John 15:4-5).

Life flows from the Father, through Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. If our life is fruitful (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), it's because of our connection to Christ. Our lives are grafted into his (Rom. 11:17) and we are wholly dependent on that bond.

Jesus said "Remain in me and I will remain in you."

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Living Rick Shafer Living Rick Shafer

Morning Liturgy

Some lessons from a morning walk.

When I walk or run in the morning, I’m on the lookout for earthworms wriggling on paved surfaces. I catch them and move them to a grassy area. With this morning liturgy, I remind myself that:

  1. God commissioned me to be a steward of his creation. Not a worshiper of it, but a good steward.

  2. I cannot solve every problem—save every worm—but I can do what’s in front of me.

  3. As a human, I enjoy privileges that a worm does not. I can use my privilege for a another creature’s—or another person’s—benefit.

This is something I can do when I walk or run, but not when I ride a bike or drive a car. When I move fast, I miss opportunities.

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Living Rick Shafer Living Rick Shafer

Stranded

Living in a nowhere zone. Reflecting on the movie “The Terminal”.

“The Father rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,”
— Colossians 1:13

I recall a movie from 2004 called “The Terminal”. Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) is a citizen of Krakozhia, a fictional country in Eastern Europe. He travels to the United States, arriving at JFK airport. While he is in the air, there’s a coup in Krakozhia. Because of the coup, the U.S. Government no longer recognizes Krakozhia as a legitimate nation and refuses to admit Viktor. At the same time, Viktor has no country to return to. He’s stranded in JFK airport.

This is life for too many Christians. We’re taught we have been rescued from the world. We are told to be less worldly. But we’re left to wait for heaven until we die. For now, we don’t belong anywhere. We’re stranded.

This isn’t what the Bible promises. We were both rescued and transferred. We are admitted into God’s Kingdom now. We draw our life from there. We belong.

“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come!”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17

We don’t have to live a lonely life, isolated from fellowship (koinōnia) until heaven. The old has passed and the new has come!

“We are proclaiming what we have seen and heard also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. ”
— 1 John 1:3
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