“PARADES AND TEARS” 3/24/13

Luke 19:28-48

Everyone here wants to have a great, festive time. Everyone but Jesus. He wants to give life.

He enters Jerusalem on purpose, choosing a donkey to ride. The sign was clear and defiant; Jesus, not Caesar, was Lord. Those who came to Jerusalem from where Jesus had done most of His ministry were cheering and yelping with joy. Who could keep silent when freedom and life were finally within reach?

The religious leaders want the hubbub to stop. This challenge to tradition interrupts our familiar fun! Our activities here must be kept the same. Our work here must be for the production of the best Passover we can muster.

Jesus wants to be acknowledged as King, by everyone. He knows the crowd on his side today will be the gang that yells, “Crucify Him!” soon. He knows the religious people who are looking for the glory of God will look right into His eyes…and not see what they are looking for.

Jesus wept.

The tears were for the suffering of so many then and now face because their religion, their identity, and their desires matter more than He ever will. The tears were for the lives He deeply loves, but who cannot let love shape who they are. The tears were shed on the parade route because life isn’t a parade; it is a relationship with God, either for Him, or against Him. He cried because so many would prove so often to be against. Wouldn’t you cry too?

“TWO SIGNS” 3/24/13

John 12:12-26

You do know that phrase, “If it looks, walks, and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck!” Well, if it fits all the divine expectations of the Messiah, then the Messiah, He must be!

Here are two signs: one from history, one from prophecy. Both confirm that Jesus is Lord.

The history of Israel involved leaving trust in God for the politics and power of the time. A king was chosen, but no king was allowed the pomp of a mighty parade. No, like David who first rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, all the kings of Israel had to do likewise. And when the Psalmist writes of this event, pointing back to kings, and forward to the Promised King forever, this is what is meant. When Zechariah preaches to those building the Second Temple, this man Jesus was whom he was seeing.

The king had come, not with Roman military might, but with the power of the living God.

Isaiah wrote that God’s Messiah would be honored among the non-Jews. When the Greeks came to learn from and follow Jesus, He knew that Isaiah’s vision was coming true.

It has been coming true ever since. The pattern of faith for the Christian revolves not around the temple of Jerusalem, but within the Heart of the Lamb of God.

• Lose our lives as we know them…to gain the life of heaven within us.

• Go where Jesus travels…we know where He would be.

Serve Jesus by keeping His Word and living His love.

“IT IS FINISHED” 3/17/13

John 19:23-30

What is finished?

The lust for material objects is finished. Let the soldiers throw losers’ dice for cloth! Something greater than clothing and small profit is right above them. Jesus’ glory and love prove a far better outfit than fabric. If we would wear them.

Human relationships as they were are finished. Jesus gives his mother a new person in her life, and a dear friend a woman in grief to tend to. Truly, when Paul writes, “… in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28) he found this power of the cross to be true in believers.

The promises of the Old Testament are finished/fulfilled. The wages of sin indeed were death. A Lamb was slain for the sin of the people. God, and God alone, must be the Redeemer for His chosen ones. The signs that pointed to Jesus in the Scriptures all led to Him, indeed.

The days of struggling with belief is finished. Jesus, in giving up His spirit, opened the way for the Holy Spirit to live within those who trust in Christ. This life is not ours to control, but to yield to. We know against Whom we struggle; we understand how radically new we are, yet return again to what we were. And the Spirit moves us, kicking and screaming, to that person we are in the Lord.

What is finished…? All that God needed to satisfy His demands of Creation. All that God needed to fill His jewel of Creation with life that makes all things new!

“GO AWAY!” 3/17/13

Luke 8:26-39

Jesus’ ministry moves from a place where Jews flourished, to a place where multiculturalism flourished. He went because His ministry was opposed at home.

Ever been there? The faith you have is unwelcome in the midst of people you call family, friends, neighbors? You get that sense of either “keep quiet,” or “go away.” Often, we do one or the other. Jesus kept on–the gospel was too important; the love of God too awesome, to stay opposed by all for long.

He meets a demon-possessed man. The demons demand that Jesus leave. How often have we been there! The sin that bedevils us sticks closer than our own skin. But, the final word is not from evil, but from God. Jesus makes the demon go away, by His own word, by His mighty grace. And so it is with us.

The demons want to be spared, so they ask to stay in the land, only in pigs. Jesus gives them what they want, knowing that the animals will go mad and die, leaving the demons to go where they belong. Evil, beloved, does go away. It is too stupid to stay for long.

In response to the loss of their income, the townspeople demand that Jesus go away. How often does that happen in life! His healing is nothing compared to our comfort. His power over sin and death, if it interferes with our goals and pleasures, gets pushed aside.

Yet, Jesus leaves a witness to the town, a healed, God-touched soul. May we be Him, in our time and place.

“PRACTICAL LOCAL EVANGELISM” 2/24/13

Matthew 5:14-16, 22:34-40, 28:16-20

This, in paraphrase, was the question, “How can I make a Christian difference, and how can our church? Give me examples.” Fair enough. I’ll answer that question with these three passages.

Light of the World:  Do people see a loving and peaceful spirit in you? Do you look like a Bible, lived? As for Mill Village, hosting community picnics, or simply walking about town talking to people are two ways to shine.

Two Great Commandments:  Set aside time daily to adore God for His sake, not for anything you might want. It is a learned skill, and the skill takes time to acquire! But, once gained, you will begin to treat neighbors differently. And, God will present you with opportunities to be a neighbor in the “old-fashioned” sense, which was and is the best way.

Make disciples:  First, be one. Get people in your life who nurture and lead you into deeper connections with your Savior. From their pattern of commitment and care to you, take what you have received and pass it along to whoever is willing to accept it.

What does all this look like? Adopt an elementary school class room. Talk and pray with all who are willing at a Senior Center. Have a family prayer time, and pray as a family. Clean up trash others leave; perhaps even put up a trash bin and manage it! Smile and look interested in people. Become interested all sorts of people, and show it.

Remember, Jesus was interested enough in you to die and rise.

“HE MUST DIE” 2/24/13

John 19:1-7

Jesus died because He was God. And according to our law and way of life, God must be cast out.

For the Jews back then, blasphemy mattered. Jesus claimed to be God! For us today, Jesus is an impediment. My politics, my recreational choices, my pleasures, my feelings, come under direct challenge from Him. So, He must die.

He died to fulfill the law of God, which was, “The soul that sins shall die.” He was imputed with sin. That means the Father put everything wrong with the universe on the Son. All wrong died with Christ. He imputes to those who live for Him freedom from sin, evil, and death within their souls. The law of God says, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

He died to show us the depth of our hatred of holiness and love. We want the world of satisfactions and happiness. God only offers holiness and love. Those who yield their lives to Jesus find joys, peace, and power to live far beyond what previously they considered to bring those things.

Why? They live by the Resurrection, not by the way of death. See, all we do based on biology is based on death. All we do based on our culture is based on death. All we do past on the dead past is filled with death. The Resurrection is eternal life. No death here!

He died because the law of God showed His death was the only way for human beings to be actually human, and to live, not just wallow in death. He rose to show us that real life, and to bring it personally to each one of us who wants it.

“TRUTH IS…BARABBAS” 2/17/13

John 18:33-40

Why was Jesus crucified? People want anyone, anything, other than Him.

Pilate is not the sharpest tool in the shed. No good Roman governor would offer to set free either a terrorist, or a traitor. But, this is Pilate. The crowd wants Barabbas. Why?

He is a hero, an opponent of Rome, a rebel with a cause. He is in the line of the Maccabees, those saints who took on Rome, and for a time, won! Jesus, on the other hand, is a king with no army, a Savior who changes hearts, not economics. Barabbas they understood; Jesus not so much.

Folks aren’t that much different today. We’ll want Jesus, but not just Jesus. We’ll want Jesus and…something. We’ll settle for Jesus or…something. There is no way around the choice our God offers. Jesus, or not Jesus. Life, or death. We choose death, more often than not.

How does Jesus deal with this rejection? He creates a new community from the cross. His mother is given a new son. A dear friend is given a new family. We are called into the Body of Christ. Where He is all and focus of everything.

When we put religion before Him, He calls out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do!” When we deny Him, He opens heaven to set the Holy Spirit within us, as a seal and a source of power and courage and holy love.

We choose Jesus all too rarely. He chooses us over and over. Thanks be to God.

“WHY EXPECT THIS?” 2/17/13

Luke 6:1-20-49

Here is Luke’s version of what we call in Matthew “The Sermon On The Mount”. He is speaking to His followers. This pattern of behavior is expected of those who follow Him. It is expected of us.

Why? Loving enemies is painful. Suffering in this life is unpleasant. Putting up with people is annoying. At the end of this section, Jesus gives two reasons why.

First, is that the godliness we say we have must be seen and appreciated by others. That would be “good fruit.” Otherwise, we are producing “bad fruit,” and no one wants that! Second, is that living any other way leads to our destruction, and the ruin of what we hold dear. Faith that is not lived this way is building a soul and a life on sand.

Take one presently favorite example. “Do not judge.” For many, this means that all behavior must be acceptable. Well, would that notion produce good fruit in a child? In a family? In a nation? Would that notion keep a person, a family, and a community solid, sound, and strong?

Of course not. So that is not what it means. It does mean that a follower of Jesus must do the following things:  Love someone enough to point out consequences of their behavior; help those in those consequences; not fall into either the behavior or consequences as a Christian. Leave God to work in and on someone’s life. We are to follow God, and do what the Spirit directs us to do, not what we feel others so richly deserve.

We live this way because God is alive in us to live this way!

“HOLY HELL” 2/10/13

John 18:28-32

Many religious people go to Hell. This passage shows why.

Some Jewish leaders take Jesus to Pilate. They don’t go near him. Doing so would put them with Gentiles, and that would make them unclean for Passover, the day of liberation. They are trying to kill a prisoner on the day of liberation! They are willing to murder for the sake of their beliefs, one of which is “you shall not murder!”

Now, both religious rules are in the Old Testament. Priests are to remain clean from the “common” people. A person who seeks to change the law is to be put to death. Yet, the person with whom these folks are dealing is God, Himself!

Religious people wind up in hell because they follow God’s rules without noticing God in their midst. The rules matter more than the Lord. It is not just ancient Jews who mess this up!

They want Jesus dead, but are not allowed to kill him. Romans can’t have people taking law into their own hands; there would be no point then for Roman rule! So, these religious people found a way around the problem.

There are many religious people of all religions who set their minds and hearts first, then turn to faith to justify what they want. Honor women by killing them. Condemn homosexuality by disrupting funerals. Welcome people to worship by not talking to them.

In all these ways and more, folks of “faith” leave God. And leaving God means we want no God. And God delivers.

“REAL SABBATH” 2/10/13

Luke 6:1-11

Once upon a time, Sundays were unique. Stores were closed. People dressed up and went to church. Family met together. Is this a Sabbath? In Jesus’ day there were Sabbath rules too. Was that a Sabbath?

Jesus in our text today opens up true Sabbath. Luke points out two key aspects of Sabbath, which is holy rest.

The first and most important dimension of Sabbath is its focus. Not behavior. Not rules. Not appearances. Jesus. Pick some grain, if we must, but not because it is another day of harvest season. Do it because you and Jesus are hungry.

Sabbath is time to nurture our relationship to our Teacher, Savior, and Lord. In that relationship is our deepest rest. That relationship is our most important work.

The second part of Sabbath follows from the first. Nurturing a life with Jesus isn’t about doing nothing, but about doing His tasks here and now. In Luke, a man’s hand needed healing. Jesus healed. That was work. To the man, that was grace.

True Sabbath is time given to the practice and performance of Christ in us. We set aside time from our culture’s demands and preferences, and enter the alternative world of the kingdom of God. Over time, if we keep Sabbath well, it is the culture that is the inconvenience, not the Sabbath.

Sabbath shapes souls to be like Jesus, or else it is just show.

“LIFE ON THE CHICKEN FARM” 2/3/13

John 18:12-27

The contrasts here are clear and undeniable. Jesus is on trial for his life. Peter wants to watch, but not get involved. Jesus speaks the truth to his accusers. Peter lies. Jesus finds here an occasion to talk about God’s ways and faith. Peter avoids his chance. Jesus gets crucified for us. Peter lives, for a while longer.

A defense of Peter, if you please.

Peter is saving his own skin. I dare say most of us here now would do the same. Fine to oppose the enemy when it costs us little; far different when it costs us much! Jesus died for the world. We want to live in ours.  When we want to live for Jesus, our courage rapidly increases.

Peter tries to keep his options open. Being captured like Jesus won’t help anybody! It is always best to have an alternative plan. “Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition,” so to speak.  When our Savior ceases to be optional, our lives become optimal.

Peter lives by the word of God. He denies before the rooster crows, in part because Jesus knows that he will. Sometimes things are out of our control, and we have to go along with the moment.  Everyone’s life is shaped by God’s Word. When Peter lived out the promises, his life became one of faith, not a life of fate.

All right, it isn’t a good defense. And neither is mine. Or yours. We live in a chicken farm the size of the planet. Will we live by the Word of the Lord, or the crow of the bird?

“YOUR STORY TOO?” 2/3/13

 Luke 5:1-11

Put this story simply. Jesus is already doing amazing things in the world. He asks a person not involved with the work to help Him out. Sensing the person’s desire (fish), Jesus finds a way to meet it. The person then leaves what he thought would meet his desire (boats) and begins to follow the One who does.

Is this story your story?

Jesus is up to wonderful things in lives and in situations all around us. There is no “new” thing we need to dream up. We are welcome, however, to join in with what He is already doing.

He will come and ask us for a specific task. Peter was asked to pilot a boat while Jesus got a little distance between Himself and those He spoke with. Every little task we do at God’s request is great in God’s eyes.

It is the doing of that little thing that opens us up to the leading and power of God in our lives. Peter knew better than to try to fish where he was. But, the Lord knew better than Peter! Trusting God allows for more hope, more life, more amazing experiences than working it out on our own!

The wise response to God’s work in our lives is to let go of what we’ve been basing our lives on, and grasp onto Him who is able to do more than we could ask or even imagine!

This story is about the first disciples. It also fits the next generation of disciples. It also applies to us. Is this story your story?

“THE TRUE PROPHET” 12/30/12

Deuteronomy 18:15-22/ John 1:1-5

Jesus is coming! But, who is He? Scripture clearly tells us. He is the True Prophet.

God promises Israel a prophet. One who: will always speaks from the will and heart of God, possesses the authority of God and the full backing of God, and cannot be refuted or proved false.

In the Bible, “prophecy” means the word. John tells us that the Word is God in Christ.

So what? A few thoughts.

Rather than listen to favorite teachers of authors or preachers, listen to God in His Word! The whole council of God, not just favorite, picked out verses. A lot of confusion vanishes when Christ alone is your teacher. A lot different confusion arises though, so get ready!

Words have power. They reveal not only character, but also mold reality. What words adhere to our hearts that the Lord has not spoken and/or do not reflect the gospel?

Jesus, as the True Prophet, has the power to loosen the grip of those words, those experiences, on our lives. Will we let Him?

Words create, especially God’s words. How is the Living Word of God forming you into a work of divine art? Do you know? Would you like to?

We learn either from the past or God’s promises. Choose.

“JESUS AS A BRAT” 12/30/12

Luke 2:46-51

Were Christianity made up, this story would not be included. God does. Why? Here’s some of my thoughts.

Jesus is fully human.  As human, Jesus acts like one. Haven’t you heard a child snap back at her or his parents? Don’t you know of parents who have been frantic over what their child has done? Kids will be kids, even if they are divinely conceived. Otherwise, Jesus is not like us.

Jesus is fully God.  Who here knows of anyone who, when running away, ran to church? Few and far between are those children who not only ask the tough religious questions, but also have some answers of their own. Jesus the human child teaches us humans here to run to God, not hike off to where, what, and who we usually do.

Jesus reveals His interconnection with the Father here.  You can always spot a false Christian. Such a person is sure that Jesus is somehow not quite God, or somehow not quite human. This passage has us hearing from Jesus’ own adolescent lips that He and His Father are intertwined, and One.

This connection is our salvation.  Were Jesus exactly like us, then His obedience to God would be only an example, not a path laid down for us to walk in. His death would be like any other person’s. It would save no one. Unless Jesus were human, the sins of humanity would not rest on Him. Unless Jesus were God, those sins would remain unforgiven.

He was bratty because we are towards our Father. Want to change?

“PRAYING-ALTITUDE” 12/9/12

Psalm 131

I know a child who, in second grade, was moved up to 7^th grade algebra. You know, (a+b)y = y(a+b). The child soon left the class. Adding letters made no sense at all!

The concepts were too high. Sometimes so are our reasons for prayer. Or, most often, they are not high enough!

Many people prayed for this election, and didn’t get what they wanted. They were sure God agreed with their view of the world, and where the world was headed, and how best to stop it. But, suppose God doesn’t want it stopped?

Remember, right after the disciples praise Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus tells them He will be arrested, crucified, then risen again? What does Peter say, “Never, Lord!” His sincere love for Jesus, his understanding, blinded him, so that He could not see God’s purpose in Jesus’ death. This is praying too high.

Praying higher would involve asking Jesus, “Lord, how must this be so?” It would involve searching for God’s heart and intention in every situation, rather than slap our desires onto God.

Praying higher would mean our seeking to know God and God alone, then finding the courage and passion to walk in that relationship back out of our prayer room and into a prayerless world.

“I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.” We pray for God’s will, and the means to do it.

“THE ROCK, THE WATER” 12/9/12

Exodus 17:1-7 / 1 Corinthians 10:1-6

Jesus is coming! But, who is He? The Word of God clearly tells us. He is both the Rock and the Water.

He is the Rock, the source of Water. In Exodus, the escaped slaves were thirsty and in despair. No water could be found. God tells Moses to hit a rock and water will flow. Yeah, right! But, the water flowed, and continued flowing until all the people drank and had gathered more for future days!

Paul in 1 Corinthians makes this an object lesson. Like the Hebrews, Corinthians were dying in a wilderness of sin, clamoring for life. God provided Jesus as both the Rock of salvation and the Water of Life. The Rock was one stone, not many. The Water had one source, not many. Paul’s warning to the church in Corinth? Build your lives on the one Rock; nourish your living with the Rock’s Water.

What does this all mean for you and I? A few thoughts.

• Are our lives grounded on the Rock? Are we being nourished and refreshed by the Water?
• If not, then do we know how to become so?
• If we know, then are this Rock and that Water our sole source of sustenance in this wild world of ours?
• If not, then what are we consuming that leads us from our Lord?

I’ve found that feeding my life on the things of the world soon leave me hungry and empty again. Time with my Lord, attention to doing His will, always seems to have its lasting satisfactions. How about you?

“PRAYING-ATTITUDE” 12/2/12

Psalm 131

The image our Psalmist gives us of a prayerful attitude is that of a weaned child with its mother. OK then!

“Weaned,” means, “able to take in solid food.” This is a child who is ready to receive more of what life has besides mother’s milk. Still, the security of being with mom matters a great deal!

A believer’s prayerful attitude then holds together both utter reliance and energetic freedom. It is at the same time, “Lord, hold me” and “Lord, send me!” The tension resolves when God speaks, either to feed, or to send. All authority remains with God, for God is still the source of life.

Thus, a prayerful attitude happens when:

We draw close and place ourselves in the care of our God.

Within that closeness we are fed until we are full and newly eager to go out into the world again.

That eagerness does not make us move on; only the heart of our Lord, and His Word does that.

How do we get to this point, where God means all, and we are eager to go and give all for God? The first step is to have that desire: both to make God supreme in our lives, and to do as God asks of us.

Just to get to this place takes more time than most people give to prayer, but it is the place where the power and the relationship between child of God and Lord God begins to flourish!

“THE COMING KING” 12/2/12

Genesis 49:8-12 / Matthew 21:1-5

Jesus is coming! But, who is He? The Word of God clearly tells us. He is the coming King.

Joseph, in blessing his brothers before he dies, tells Judah that his clan will have kings over Israel, until a greater king shows up. This king will be mighty and majestic and will ride in on a donkey.

In Matthew, that is just what Jesus sets out to do. Now, that action is intentional. Jesus means to set Himself in opposition to those who collaborate with Rome for the sake of their temple and religion, and in opposition to Rome itself. He is self-fulfilling Joseph’s prophecy.

Others before Jesus tried to do likewise, and failed. According to Jews, so did Jesus. According to God, what looked like failure turned into the only way the world could be made right again: a crucified God, rising in the lives of His servants.

What does all this mean for you and I? A few thoughts:

1. Who are we looking to lead us? Jesus? Someone else? Ourselves?
2. This King is also the living Word of God. The way we look at and follow the Bible tells us much about how we regard our God.
3. Does our faith earn opponents? Should it?
4. We dislike leaders, finding them untrustworthy. Honestly now, is that true of us with Jesus?

“THE VICTOR OVER EVIL” 11/25/12

Genesis 3:9-15 / Revelation 11:15-19

Jesus is coming! But, who is He? The Word of God clearly tells us. He is the victor over evil.

The Genesis story shows how evil effects the world. People ignore God, listen to someone else, act on what they heard, then put the blame elsewhere. The curse our God gives here shows how He will set thing aright again.

First, we will know the consequences of ignoring our Creator. But, a way of new life will be opened. A child of Eve will crush the evil, at a terrible personal cost. Those who then choose to follow evil, will follow a dead thing. Those who choose the Child will walk into life.

Revelation echoes this promise of God. The Father and Son, after judging the earth, prepare to fully and finally claim what is God’s alone – reality. Evil and those who adore it no longer have authority. They will have severe consequences!

What does this all mean for you and I? A few thoughts.

1. We might want to examine ourselves prayerfully and honestly to see who we listen to: God or others.
2. We may take hope in the present, knowing that God has set down the future; evil does not win!
3. We could expect God’s triumphs in all of our life’s circumstances, even in the consequences of our actions
4. We need to trust our God, enough to follow Him, enough to let His victory in Christ come into our world through us.

“PRAYING-LORD” 11/25/12

Psalm 131

When some people pray and say, “God,” they mean “powerful servant,” or “giver of what I want,” or “somebody I hope is out there”. A believer’s prayer, however, addresses God as “Lord.” What’s the difference?

The word here should be “Yahweh”. That is how our God had it written. Yahweh is the Name by which our God self-identifies. God tells Moses His Name, “Yahweh”. All the other names for God are titles or descriptions inspired people give to God. This is the Name God gives to us.

Yahweh – I Am.  We pray, not to anything like us, for we cannot say, “I am.” We can say only “I am, for now.” God always is, always was, always will be. We cannot say that, though many live like that! Prayer is our way of connecting with life beyond the living. Prayer finds us meeting in the Eternal One, so that we may face all the temporary stuff.

Yahweh – I Am.  We pray to One who is. Too many get too attached to what will not be. Lovers, money, health, even our bodily existence. Prayer settles us into Whose we are – the One who will never not be, the One who can move us beyond what is no longer.

Yahweh – I Am.  We pray to the God who delivers us from the slavery of our times, the One who moves in the universe to draw all people to Him, for either judgment or grace. This is a God who acts and acts decisively for the burdened and the broken. We pray to be on God’s side.

We pray to Yahweh, and are changed by the encounter! Then, we bring His work in us to our world.

“THANKSGIVING” 11/18/12

Revelation 21:3-4

We are thankful for things because they are either precious or permanent. Mostly, we are thankful for the precious stuff. Let’s look at some permanence, shall we?

Christian, you do not live by the current world system. You are not captive to the current culture, even the current understandings of your time. Jesus Christ has set you free from all that for eternal things, and everlasting truths. Here we struggle with the tension our freedom gives us. A day is coming when the fight is won!

Christian, what wounds your heart now has a coming healing. What has broken your spirit, or fractured your peace will one day soon have no power over you. When God is all, and His Kingdom is fully home, what used to shape you and affect you will vanish. What you could be, and what God needs you for forever, will always, always unfold.

Christian, God is within you now, and will be with you forever. A time is coming when, by His creative hand, you will have new eyes, new bodies, and new lives suited to be in His presence, the way you wish you could be now. For now, you have been given the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the Church, as your strength and guide to Jesus. Then, with Him, there are new universes to discover together!

This Thanksgiving season, soon to be overwhelmed by Christmas consumerism, try being thankful for what is always true, and always will be. Yes, things and times change, but our God redeems the times and makes all things new in Him!

 

“DEEP THANKS” 11/18/12

1 Samuel 30:1-6

David and his warriors were not allowed to fight with the Philistines, so they returned home. They found their world shattered.

Have you been there? Your home demolished, your family taken, your future seemingly forever devastated? Where is the thanksgiving here?

No thanksgiving here… Just weeping. Soul-ripping, heart breaking tears. Even David, the man after God’s own heart, grieves the end of his world.

Is this unfaith? Shouldn’t we always be joyful and grateful, no matter what?

That isn’t always possible. But staying in despair has its troubles too. David notices that his men want to kill him, as if the disaster was his fault. Their misery needs to be released; someone needs to hurt as much as they do.

Our nation is here. Our church is here. We have gathered heaps of heavy rock to toss at others and each other. Indeed, the stones already fill the air about us. No thanks here!

David sees this, and sees the solution. His broken world cannot help him; only the Creator of the universe can. The love and life he lost cannot magically appear; only the Author of life and Lover of his soul can help now. He turns to God, and lets God act, and the story changes.

As with David, so may it be with us.

“REALLY?” 10/14/12

Philippians 4:4-7

Here is another indication of whether or not we are walking in the Spirit, and as such, growing closer to being Christ’s person. But, the words sure sound stupid to me.

“Rejoice! You are broke. Rejoice! Your family’s a mess. Rejoice! What you are is not acceptable to you. Rejoice!” Doesn’t that sound stupid? It is if one focuses on the situation, not the eternal condition, as Paul points out.

Be gentle.  Lies need vigorous defense. Truth does not. Love harder than you are hated. Jesus does that with each one of us! As we react to our Lord, rather than our situation, we will find situations changing, or us changing in the situation!

The Lord is near.  Often, we get upset because we look at an incident as “me versus this/you.” No, Christian. So long as Christ is for us, whoever is against us is outnumbered and overpowered. Let God’s will be done.

Pray.  Want His will. We all get confident when we know what we are doing. How much more confidence could we gain from trusting what our Savior and Master is doing!

Accept peace.  A Christian in northern India was accused of burning a Koran. His house was burned, his business ransacked. He was jailed, and beaten in prison. At his trial, he smiled at his tormentors, forgave them publicly, and awaited the verdict. He was acquitted, not because there was no evidence against him, but because of his demeanor and behavior. The peace of God was his. It is also ours.

“CHURCHES PRAY & DISCERN” 10/14/12

Psalm 131

A Song Of Ascents. Of David.

¹ My heart is not proud, Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
    or things too wonderful for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted myself,
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content.

³ Israel, put your hope in the Lord
    both now and forevermore.

May I put this Psalm in paraphrase, but only apply it to a congregation? Thank you.

“We are not full of ourselves, Lord. We are not looking to what we regard as important. The problems around us are not as big as sin within and among us. We have stopped wanting all the answers.

Instead, we try to leave behind our desires, and to know Yours. We seek to know Your thoughts and ways, rather than justify our own. We would be like children nursing on their mother’s breast. So would we be with Your Word and Your presence, fed by You – nurtured by only You.”

Church, make this our goal, for our God is great! He is able today and forever!

To make this our goal, here’s what is necessary:

1) Pray God’s Word, not just our situations.

2) Keep quiet in prayer, so that our Lord may address us.

3) Judge our beliefs and aspirations in light of His Word, and the “words” we are given in our prayers together.

4) Press towards one mind in Christ, not just living with majority opinion.

Do we have a ways to go to be a praying church that knows God’s will for us? Yes.

Will we begin to take the steps required, so that our world knows our God through our lives?

“VOICE TO SPEAK – SPIRIT TO CARE” 10/7/12

Isaiah 6

I’ve heard it, and read it dozens of times. A person has a transcendent experience and says, “That is God.”

Isaiah probably had many such experiences:  a sunrise, deep love for someone, maybe even music in worship that touched him to his core. None of that fits Isaiah 6.

Most transcendence comes out of us. It is our deepest selves coming out, prompted by an outside thing. Now, this COULD be God. Or, it could be us. What’s the difference?

A message from God does not come out of our prejudice, or our expectations. Isaiah spoke the language of a priest for years. We would never know of him from those words. He spoke the amazing words of God. And we have 66 chapters of those!

Our lives are not to speak our best, but God’s simple reality. That switch comes from meeting God, not ourselves.

And, in meeting God, Isaiah changed his foremost concerns. He went from “family, church, and reputation,” to “my Lord, my people, my world.” A God experience always opens us up, and leaves us open. A transcendent experience moves us, but may well not move us along.

Isaiah’s caring for others went well beyond what would be expected, what you would call “safe.” He walked naked for three years. He addressed kings as disobedient children (Hezekiah). He questioned aloud the very religion he practiced all his life. Why? The people God had him speak to were more important!

“SPIRIT WALK” 10/7/12

Galatians 5:24-26

A Christian has, and still is, crucifying his or her old nature, the “natural human condition” in all of us. We all killed Jesus. But, in His death, we may live! To be fair, we must die, so that He may live in us!

We can focus on what’s wrong. That’s no fun, and usually not helpful. We can focus on Who’s right, and right with us. That would be the Spirit, who leads us to Christ!

Notice the Bible does not say, “be a good person”, “follow the rules of God”, “try your best”, or even “discipline yourself to get better”. Elsewhere, those ideas show up. But, they cannot happen unless and until the primary message of Scripture is accepted and enjoyed. Jesus saves, and that saving is secured by the living Holy Spirit within us.

To follow the Spirit, then, we may need to “get good”, “follow the rules”, “try again,” and “exercise some discipline.” Or, we may not! See, doing what we think is best isn’t following the Spirit. It is following our ideas.

The Holy Spirit, given to us in Christ, does two vital things:  He guides us ever closer to being like our forgiven, God-blessed selves, and shows us where we veer away from that person.

Here, that diversion takes the form familiar to us all. We think we are right, or are harmed in some way by others. The Spirit teaches that Christ is right, and no harm may come to us that matters in the long run.

For Christ is all:  All in the universe, all to us, and all for us!

“ARMS OF LOVE – KNEES FOR PRAYER” 9/30/12

Isaiah 6

How do we know we’ve been changed by the Lord? Indicators here in Isaiah are also signs for us.

Isaiah was a priest,who thought he was special. He was holy; the Bible told him so. Here he meets his God, and cries out, “I am a man of unclean lips, and dwell with a people of unclean lips!” What happened?

He saw himself as a sinner in need of a Savior, just like everyone else. He stopped being proud of aspects of his life, and humbled himself to be thriving in God’s life.

And, he wanted that for the people around him! “Here I am; send me!” he cries. Before, Isaiah was performing religion for the crowd. Now, he was enthralled by the living God. Before, he spoke down to people who didn’t “get it.” Now, he would speak in clear, true, compassion to people who needed the Lord, just like he does. He has arms to love others.

Those arms grew muscles through prayer. Prayer is simply conversing with, not talking to, God. For years, Isaiah had talked to God, never listening. But when he listened…

He saw the extent to which sin affected his life, and grieved.

He received the forgiving grace of the Lord, and allowed that grace to change how and who he was.

He put his life and times in the hands of his Master, rather than tell his God what he wanted done.

He truly prayed, and began to live prayerfully. We can too!

“LOVE GIVEN” 9/30/12

1 Corinthians 13:13

Pull this all apart. In Greek, “abide” means “exists and thrives continually.” In other words, faith, hope, and love always exist. They always work. They forever work on believers.

We tend to assume the faith, hope, and love are ours. Not by that definition! Faith is a gift. So is hope. So is love. God gives them to His people. As we open them, God opens us. What we’ve been gets torn down and thrown away. Who we can become in Christ gets built up and made strong. Over and over.

The greatest gift of the three is love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” Love, real love, is never lost. It never ends. It never fades. Christians are never “in love.” They are “in Christ,” and so they love out of His heart, guided by His way and words.

This love enables the worst of people to find that, below their garbage, is the work of their Maker. This love softens the tongues and actions of Christians, so that what is lost in the world is found again. This love inspires risk-taking in believers for the sake of God’s commands.

Therefore, it is the greatest gift God gives. God takes hell out of people, and puts in heaven. What can do better? God strengthens a human spirit to persevere, even when things look their worst. What else can so inspire?

This love is given to all who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Let’s open up this gift, and be amazed!

“A CHRIST-HEART / MIND TRANSFORMED” 9/23/12

Isaiah 6

Post WWII England faced several crises. The “London Times” asked its readers, “What is wrong with the world?” Christian G.K. Chesterton replied, “Sir, I am.”

Until I change, nothing else will. Until I am converted into a God-fearing, Christ-serving, Spirit-following soul, not much of God’s will and ways will be known in my life. Isaiah learned this first hand.

He was a priest; I think a high priest. I think Isaiah 6 takes place in the Holy of Holies, where God’s glory and God’s revelation was most likely to be found. Isaiah had worked there for years. Nothing much happened. Until this day!

Isaiah had served God without knowing God. He had been faithful without being faith-filled. This day changed everything!

He thought he was a good person. He discovered how short of awesome he was, and Who could help him improve!

He knew he was doing his religion right. He heard the need of God, which went far beyond good deeds and ritual!

He did his duty, nothing more, nothing less. Today, he was willing to do whatever because he had met the Lord!

He spoke words of God, spoken in days past. Today, he was changed by his Lord to hear and to speak God’s heart to people of today!

Isaiah was changed by the Lord, and nothing in history would be the same. Isaiah is no different than we are.

“LOVE BONDS” 9/23/12

Romans 8:35-39

Paul wrote Romans to Christians. Not comfortable ones, with a satisfactory place in society. Not confident ones, who know their faith is somewhat tolerable to others. He wrote to Christians, the majority of all who’ve ever been.

He wrote to them about the reason they can be confident, the reason they can speak and live for Jesus in situations where doing so is dangerous. Jesus loves them. And that love will never let them go. That love will get them through whatever life on earth drops them into.

Do these words apply to us? Yes, child of grace. Even to us. That family struggle does not mean God is against you. It means He has put Himself in the middle of it by having you in it!

Your illness is not a punishment, unless it is a consequence of past behavior. Even then, Christ heals – maybe not the body, but certainly the soul, certainly the mind, certainly banishing death and giving life beyond suffering and death.

All you don’t have is far inferior to Who has you. We are not meant to thrive on the world’s terms; we are blessed to live by the power of our Lord. And, He gave us each other to care for one another’s needs.

Nothing you hide from others is hidden from Him. And, He died for just what you hide! You act from death, and yet He still offers life, no matter how long it takes you to leave that sin for Him. These are the bonds of real love. These are the hands of Christ.