Monday, December 30, 2013

Influence

12.30.13

Revelation 18.4-5 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; 5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. (ESV)

In 1959, in Holcomb Kansas, parolees Richard "Dick" Hickock and Perry Smith committed the brutal murders of Herbert Clutter, a wealthy farmer, Clutter’s wife, and two of their children. Hickock and Smith had hatched a plan to rob Clutter based on information they had gleaned from another parolee, and leave no witnesses. From there they would flee to Mexico and live on the cash they stole. Except the information was false, there was no cash, and in a fit of rage, Smith slit Clutter’s throat then shot-gunned to death his wife and kids… the power of influence.

Today I thought about influence as I read in the Scripture of, “…another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her my people…”” In other words, don’t be influenced by the pull of society around you

There is no doubt in my mind that our world is full of smart, clever, creative, and resourceful people. The problem with smart, clever, creative, and resourceful is that much, if not all, of what the world comes up with, is devoid of God. The city described in Revelation 18 is devoid of God and fit only for “plagues” as a result of her selfishness and sin. The verse above states: “…for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” God has no use for the godlessness of man and his systems.

And so influence – Come out of her My people, lest you take part in her sins… The murders of Clutter and his family probably wouldn’t have taken place without influence; somebody influenced somebody. Hickock was influenced by Floyd Wells, a once fellow inmate of Hickock’s. Hickock then influenced Smith to take part in the crime. One thing led to another and four innocent people were brutally murdered because of greed, dissatisfaction with life, and sadly, some bad information.

The world influences us, in the Body of Christ, with its smart, clever, and creative resourcefulness; we’re people too. But God knows how easily influenced we are and knows the pull of society’s lure of conformity toward us. And God calls us to come out and not get suckered in by the glitz and the glamour and the downright cleverness of it all. The world and all its resources are devoid of God and opposed to Him in every arena of its influence.

Many of us play footsy with the world not realizing we’re playing with something with the real-time potential of deadliness. But it’s what we know. That’s why we need the call and the power of God to not imitate the world or not be intimidated by its accusations when we don’t (and won’t) conform. Just ask Phil Robertson. We must stand firm in our Kingdom convictions…lest. Lest, we be caught away with the sins of the world and caught up in the punishment of the world.


Father God, may I heed Your call and I ask for wisdom to know when, where, and how to retreat from the influence of what appears to be good and harmless and yet is full of the venom of vipers – Amen.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

The Details of Whatever

12.29.13

Revelation 13.9-10 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10 If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. (ESV)

The good and bad of a Bible-Reading plan is time. The good time is that amount of time given to such an endeavor and the establishment of a routine of regular reading of the Scripture. The bad is: I don’t have enough time to give to fully study what I read because I want to take extended periods of time to wrap my head around books like Revelation and find out more of what it is they say and why it is that it was so important that it was included in the MIDITU (Most Important Document In The Universe). Work and other stuff get in the way…

John said: “If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” It’s a specific statement given (I assume) to a general group of people who would read his revelation. It’s prefaced with the words: If anyone has an ear, let him hear. And it is concluded with the statement: Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Those two statements encompass the heart of the message: If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.

In other words: whatever happens happens, but in the midst of whatever happens, don’t lose ground in your faith and in the faithful endurance of your life of faith. Faith is too important to be lost by being distracted by captivity or death or whatever; endurance is what is important.

I see stuff happening in our world these days that gives credence to what John wrote nearly 2000 years ago on a rocky island off the shore of ancient Greece. My wife often reminds me: Isn’t it supposed to go from bad to worse? Sadly, I agree.

The issue is: God is determined that I not lose sight of what He is doing or where He has chosen to live: in the hearts of all of His people. God goes out of His way to protect you and me from getting lost in the details of whatever; He cares that much. That is why I must endure in an ever increasingly hostile world that is opposed to my faith in Christ and His mission in our lives.  My only hope is Him. From before the foundations of the world it was ordained that I live in these days. And my only protection is enduring faith.


Father, I think it’s only up to me and that is just my foolish thinking. It’s up to You and You have promised. I pray for perspective to see what is really going on and how I’m to live, and I pray for strength to resist getting distracted by Americanism, politics, and everything else that demands I pay attention to it. I pray for endurance and for what is expected of me since You’ve given me the marvelous gift of faith in the first place… Help me today Lord, amen.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

To Live and Accept Them As Is

12.28.13

Revelation 9.15 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. (ESV)

In the annals of Heaven appear our names. And in those annals right next to our name, appears the hour, the day, the month and the year of our birth… and our death. We were prepared for the very moment of coming and of going. We are known in Heaven.

In John’s vision (Revelation, chapter 9) he saw four angels who had been prepared for the very hour, day, month, and year to be released to go out and kill one third of mankind – or roughly two billion, two-hundred and thirty-three million people. Not sure how all of this is going to come about, but it will happen. (And it sounds like we can count on a two-hundred million man military force to boot.) And it will all come about at the hour, on the day, in the month, and in the year when the Annals of Heaven say it will.  

There is nothing of coincidence in our world – everything happens right on schedule when God has planned it. Probably one of the most universal reasons for man’s rebellion against God is that man has no control over his days or what happens to him during his days. And the most frustrating thing of all is the amount of time and energy that is spent in trying to control our days only to reach the inevitable conclusion that they are out of our control. That doesn’t sit well with control freaks; and billions and billions of us are incurably infected control freaks.

Not even angelic beings are given free-reign; they are controlled as well. Angelic frustration over a lack of control produces beings which, had they the opportunity, would unseat God from His throne. We men, in small ways, attempt to unseat God all the time. We make judgments, we lie, criticize, and manipulate. But the hour, the day, the month, and the year of our departure is fixed and there’s not one thing we can do to alter it. The humanic frustration of it all…

The closing words of Revelation 9 say: The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Such is the selfish magnitude of men and their lust for control of the situation.

One lesson for me this morning is: let go and let God. I know, I say that all the time; and I don’t mean to be glib but that is what this passage of Scripture says to me: Paul you have no control over anything…except your attitude about it. My hours, days, months, and years have been laid out for me and I had no say-so in how they were to be, or what they were to be. By God’s help however, I am to live them as is, and accept them as is.


My prayer in the face of this then, is this: Father, today, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; give me courage to change the things I can; and allow me wisdom to know the difference that my days may be an offering to You of obedience and acceptance of Your power and presence therein – Amen.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

The Dance is Over

12.26.13

Psalm 119.132 Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. (ESV)

Well, here it is: the day after the Big Dance. The presents have all been opened, the dinner was cooked and consumed; the trash was taken out and the dog, bless her heart, got in a walk. I’m thinking about grace right now because I found grace in my reading this morning: Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. God’s way is gracious to those who love His name. Grace, the Gift that keeps on giving!

I cut my finger pretty badly last night. David* is, today, in deep emotional turmoil over a relationship that seems to have gone sour and his relationship-ee lives in the one-bedroom apartment he shares with her. Freddie* is, this morning, in Ethiopia trying desperately to undo an adoption that has turned out to be a disaster for he and his wife and child. Christmas didn’t bring the peace and joy to some, and here it is the day after… the turmoil is back - or it never left...

Christmas isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. The sirens still went off. My friend Bart* is laying in bed in what appears to be the final hours of his fight with cancer. For Stan* my friend in central Oregon, his fight with ALS didn’t take Christmas Day off.

But then I read this, tucked away in the vast treasure that is Psalm 119: Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. Really it’s me turning to Him to remember in the midst of all my comings and goings that He is indeed gracious to those who love His Name. Audrey May Mieir wrote: His Name is wonderful

Yes, the Big Dance is over and there are problems that still need to be resolved and fights that didn’t take a Silent Night, but He is indeed gracious to those who love His Name. In seven short days there will be a new year according to our calendars, but today, in the midst of what we all face and in the pre-dawn of what may be coming, it is His way to be gracious to those who love His Name. His way is to be gracious to us all.

In 1983 when I finally got it that He is gracious to those who love His Name, I believed. It finally clicked that His grace is for His own and His own love His Name. But He is still gracious to those who haven’t got there yet. He is actively working in the lives of people who don’t yet love His Name. That’s just Who He is. He is the Restorer of relationships. He is the Advocate for families with a wife and child who need an Advocate. He undoes our doings. He saves us. He is the Healer of diseases. He is our Home. He is our peace when a day off doesn’t bring a day off from the thing with which we struggle.

Today, O Father, now that the Big Dance is over, turn to me and be gracious to me, as is Your way with those who love Your name. Now that life goes back to what it was 24 hours ago, and the fight continues in our struggles, turn to us and be gracious to us, as is Your way with those who love Your Name. May these fights renew our resolve to bend the knee and give it all to You – it’s all Yours anyway.


*Real people, different names, but would ask you join me in a quick prayer for them…

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

I Suppose

12.24.13

John 21.25 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (ESV)

I think one of the things that endears me to Scripture is the humanness of it all. Now that’s not to say that the Bible wasn’t authored by God, but it is to say that the fingerprints of mankind are all over it. We might say It was a collaborative effort: God dictating and man writing.

Today, as I read the last three chapters of John’s gospel I saw in his words a man whom I very much would like to have known and someday want to meet. It’s going to happen, I will get to meet John the Apostle and sit and talk with him and what he saw and how and why he wrote.

Today, I thought John’s words were very kind and considerate. He spoke of the trial and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus but did in such a way as to communicate just what was important, not a bunch of blood and gore. He speaks of himself in the third person up to the last sentence of his work where he says: Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. “I suppose.” Nothing dogmatic, nothing arrogant or authoritative; just a man saying speculatively, “I suppose.” That’s very human.

I suppose there truly are enough testimonies of Jesus in the world (past and present) to fill it. I suppose the library of the books that could and would be written, could and would be massive. What Jesus did, why He did it, and for whom is massive. And John knew that and said very off-handedly: I suppose.

We don’t build a theology on “I suppose” but we do communicate with a world, which would crucify the Son of Man all over again if they could, in a kind, gentle, and speculative way that Jesus did what He did for the reasons He did it and it was all for us, the very ones with the hammer in one hand and the nails in the other wanting to rid ourselves forever of perfection. It is true and millions upon millions of people have been touched and born again because of what He did. I, for one, am one. And I write.

John knew the truth and spoke the truth. John sat down with the other disciples in Jesus’ presence. I suppose he knew what was going on; he was there. I wasn’t there but he was and he wrote and I read. I have his testimony of his experience with the Lord of Glory. And somehow he knew many others would have these experiences with Jesus as well and many would write them down.


I suppose my words aren’t rocket science theology today. I suppose I can only think of John and Jesus, and Peter, and how John recorded the event in his writings. I suppose as a recipient of his writings, I too, am one of the ones who would contribute to that great and massive library honoring the Lord of lords, and King of kings. (PS, I looked and as of this morning, I’ve devoted 1271 posts to my current blog about the Lord. I suppose that might go toward filling the planet with my portion of my perspective about Jesus Christ…I suppose…)

Sunday, December 22, 2013

That Grain of Wheat

12.22.13

John 12.25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (ESV)

Miley Cyrus
Anthony Weiner
Harry Reid
Nancy Pelosi
Affordable Care Act
QE2
Afghanistan Conflict
NSA scandal
IRS scandal
Benghazi
Hillary Clinton
Beyonce
Aaron Hernandez
Paula Deen lawsuit
Jody Arias
Boston Marathon Bombing
George Zimmerman acquittal
Kanye West
Sandra Fluke
The Kardashians
Julian Assange
Tamerlan & Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Bahsir al Assad
Vladimir Putin
Ezekiel J. Emanuel
George Soros
Bill Maher
Mitch McConnell
John Boehner
Fast and Furious
Eric Holder
Kathleen Sebelius
Jay Carney
Barack Obama
Oprah Winfrey
Jesse Jackson
Al Sharpton

Jesus addressed His men one night and told them He was going to be crucified but not to worry because He was going to come back from the dead. You could hear the breakers trip. The crowds Jesus addressed weren’t convinced either: “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

Who are we in our quiet and private moments? What is the meaning, purpose, and direction of life for each of us? What’s the point!?

Jesus said this to them and to anyone else who will/would ever listen: Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Our lives are inundated with people and news and stuff. The question is: are we loving our lives or hating them? Do the winds of life, adversity, and whatever else comes our way, bend us heavenward; or do we resist the wind and go our own way?

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Jesus said there was another way: the way, the truth, and the life. It runs counter to most everything we know and it beckons our hearts heavenward.

Lord Jesus, a life kept is a life lost. A life lost is an eternity gained. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit; may I be that grain – Amen.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

To Make God Cry

12.21.13

John 11.35 35 Jesus wept.

Today, I came up with a new acronym: S.C.A.N. It stands for: Scripture, Confession, Application (or Acceptance), and Need. We scan the Bible because it reveals itself to us and tells us things about ourselves that we need to hear and need God to help us deal with.

Scan the Scripture regularly and routinely. Not routine in the sense of duty or rote, but routinely in the sense of custom, habit, and intention.
Confess the Scripture. If the Bible points out our need, then, confess it. Speak back to the Father what He’s spoken to me.
Apply or Accept the Scripture. If God is speaking then I’m to agree and apply. These are directions for daily living.
And then: Need. The Bible says God knows our need before we even speak it. He doesn’t just know our needs but ultimately and eternally, our need

If we scan with intensity, confess with honesty, accept eagerly, and trust our need will be (or already has been) taken care of, then we’re in the best place we can be despite the swirling of circumstances around us. Amen?

In John 11.35 we’re told simply: Jesus wept. It says just before this: Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” (Vv. 32-34) My question is: What happened!? Why was Jesus crying?

Well, the verse says He was deeply moved; He was touched in a powerful way. Jesus knew why He was going to Bethany: He was going to raise Lazarus. But when He arrived, He saw the need of the people there and (I would assume) the need of all mankind in their willfulness and independence from God. These few, at this place and time, were surely sheep without a Shepherd. Jesus wept (I think) because He saw with human eyes, and with God’s heart, that mankind was past the point of desperation and now was comatose spiritually and there was so much to say and to do to redeem them. I believe all of human history flashed before His eyes; and He then did the only sane thing: He wept.

If anything will dry up tears and cause the heart to grow cold it’s cynicism – that belief that things will never change and they’ll only go from bad to worse; that God isn’t around, and nobody cares. I think that perspective is enough to make even God cry.

In my heart the walls of cynicism, ridicule and sarcasm must come tumbling down. Most all people are truly sheep without a shepherd and God cares deeply for them regardless of their plight. That’s why He sent His Son to redeem them from the everlasting separation of hell; a death that no one wants and yet millions upon millions choose to their own destruction.


My prayer today: Father, touch me in a powerful way and give me tears for my fellow man and use me to tell them about You. Amen.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Emphatic

12.20.13

John 8.45-46 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” (ESV)

John’s gospel certainly seems to have a different tone to it than do the other three. Matthew’s is very Jewish, Mark’s is very concise, Luke’s is very spiritual, and John’s seems to be more explanatory than the other three. Today, after reading John 7 and 8, I get the word: emphatic.

In chapter 7, Jesus’ own brothers are pretty emphatic about what a wannabe needs to do.(cf Vv. 1-13). In 7.14 ff. the crowd seems to be pretty emphatic in their assessment of who Jesus is and what He’s up to. The Pharisees seemed to be pretty emphatic that He was a fraud.

In chapter 8 the argument continues when the Pharisees and leaders bring a woman who was caught in the act of adultery (the very act, they assert). They were pretty emphatic that they’d caught Jesus between a rock and a hard place. They hadn’t, and Jesus called them on it.

Then the Jews insist emphatically that Jesus is no more than a mere man with delusions of grandeur probably because He was a demon plagued Samaritan. And then they emphatically insist they’d never been enslaved to anyone (yet with all the trappings of Roman occupation surrounding them.) They were pretty emphatic that because they were descendants of Abraham, they had a hall-pass from all of the ebbs and flows of human life.

And so back to chapter 7 when the officers come back to the Pharisees empty-handed they reply to the Jewish leaders: “No one ever spoke like this man!” It was an emphatic statement; they were convinced that what Jesus said was true and the leaders were somehow mistaken.

An encounter with Jesus seems to turn the lights on for some who are so emphatic that He isn’t who He says He is. These measure Jesus by their own experience and realize, no one ever spoke like He did. When the lights come on the rest of the world appears differently than it presents itself. It happened to me, and I suspect it may have happened to you. There may be much thrown at us these days which demands our allegiance emphatically. But when the lights are on we realize no one ever spoke the way Jesus did, then (or since). I sure feel that way. Every passing day reminds me of how much someone somewhere is emphatic that Jesus isn’t the Way, the Truth, or the Life. They just haven’t been able to produce a suitable alternative…

Note the exclamation point at the end of the officer’s statement. They exclaimed it like this: NO ONE EVER SPOKE LIKE THIS MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were ridiculed for their exclamation. You and I will be too. Truth is though: No one ever spoke like this Man. (For even the briefest of moments, the lights came on for them.)

Father, today through my life may the light of Jesus shine. To this day, no one speaks like Him and He had chosen to speak through His people. May I speak the words of Jesus, and through my life may the light dawn for someone who is emphatic that You and He aren’t who You say You are – through Him, amen.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Never Forever

12.18.13

John 4.13-14 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”(ESV)

I read an interesting book once in which the author made the case that the Samaritan woman in John 4 was not a woman of ill-repute* – go figure, it was men who came up with this idea in the first place… However, the woman was a Samaritan, and the narrative indicates that Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans because Samaritans were (to them) mutts: half-breeds. So, the conversation Jesus had with her was important because That Jew helped her to see there was more to life than race, ancestral heritage, and territory.

The issue of life Jesus addressed with her was quenching a thirst in her for truth, meaning, purpose, and relationship with God forever.

In my bible (the ESV these days) there is a footnote in verse 14 referencing how this was spoken in Greek: “…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, forever.” Forever is not in most modern translations. Jesus told the Samaritan-tress, He’d take care of her thirst – her real thirst – forever and ever. “Lady”, He said, “you’ll never be thirsty again, forever.” Never forever is a long never.

I thought about me when I read this, and I thought of my own thirst. Jesus was laying out for her some very foundational info and as I read it, I thought about my own thirst. According to Jesus, anyone who drinks the water He will give never thirsts again forever. But how that is played out in actuality is, at least for me, another reality. (Or at least I think so.)

Where I fall down is when I focus on me and my limitations rather than Him and His un-limitations. The water He gives is truth and is immune to drought of any kind – ever. I have to believe that; I have to drink it. I have to believe that or else I’m forced to believe that in my own limitations my thirst continues. Jesus flatly denies that.

Granted, what I think is part of who I am but for the woman, and for me, Jesus is bringing in new information that leads to transformation: “Lookit guys, life ain’t what you all think it is, it’s what I say it is, and My water will quench your thirst forever. Your thirst will be never, forever!” Which leads me to come back to the basics: in Him, I am changed forever whether I see that change or not. My change is like everything else with Jesus: by faith in what He says is true.

His words changed her and in my present moments they’ve has changed me – I just need to be reminded that my thirst is never forever. I am no longer thirsty because that need has been dealt with. I am however hungry for more of this because the world and my own reality rubs up against it and my salvation is an on-going process.

Lord Jesus, Big Brother, thank You for dealing with my thirst, and thank You for taking care of my hunger. Help me in my faith-walk today to remember that these needs that I think I have are, in You, finished; and they now stand in the category of Never-Forever. Amen!


*See Jesus for Adults, by Linda Rios Brook, Destiny Image Publishers; 1 edition (November 1, 2006); (Pgs.: 120-124)

Monday, December 16, 2013

What the End Justifies

12.16.13

1 Peter 1.8-9 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (ESV)

Rather than take a fragment of a sentence and build something, I decided, today, to take a whole sentence and build something. Peter (Simon, son of John) is a very interesting character in the narrative of Scripture. He is one of the first-called disciples and he seemed to be like someone who was looking for desperately meaning and purpose in life.

It appears that Peter/Simon was a working class guy with a small but decent fishing business making his living by catching fish out of Lake Galilee, to the north and slight east of Jerusalem. Galilee is not a large body; it covers just over 64 square miles. Peter worked there and lived there and thought about God there, and one day ran into Him there on the shores of that Lake.

I’m not sure what Jews like Peter thought about salvation – or even if they did; but it appears Peter’s opinion of it changed because of his association with Jesus. And later in life as he dictated one of his letters to the Jews of the Dispersion, he told them that the outcome of their faith was the salvation of their souls. The means (what they were going through) justified the end.

In modern-day evangelical circles salvation is viewed as a done deal. In most modern evangelicalism it is accepted that we are saved by grace through faith. But Peter viewed salvation as a process. I think we need to heed what Peter was saying – salvation IS a process.

Well, Paul, what about the thief on the cross? Even for him, it was a process because we don’t really know if his conversion was fox-hole or jail-house; and we don’t have many details of the man’s life. I think it safe to say he’d had thoughts and those thoughts finally came together as he hung there desperate for his very next breath. Jesus took him seriously and that says enough. The end justified the means.

Salvation is the process of living a living faith in a living God with a living outcome of living access to eternal life – however long the process is between conversion and earthly death. I think we need to pay more attention to the process but not take our eyes off of the prize. The end justifies the means – nothing is truer when applied to our walk with Christ – whatever it takes to obtain the outcome of our faith: the salvation of our souls.

Lord, may I connect. I feel so unconnected and I humbly ask for connection. I lay my time talents and treasures upon Your altar and wait for You. Use me, guide me, and help me not to see You as anything other than my very Life. The end justifies Your means; don’t stay Your hand, my salvation depends on it! Amen.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Living Faith

12.15.13

James 2.17 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

I think I saw into the little epistle of James differently today. I know in centuries past Martin Luther really objected to James being included in the cannon because Luther fought hard against the notion that one could work his way into God’s favor (a notion that was being taught by the larger Church at that time.) Luther seemed to think James’ letter advocated that too…

First, I saw that James (the writer) referenced the “Royal Law” in 2.8. I used to think he was referencing the Mosaic/Levitical Law, but that’s not the case. Yes, he was writing to a Jewish audience, but he makes a point of only mentioning, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said the whole Jewish law hinged on two things: loving God and loving others as oneself. That is the Royal Law. Nothing more. If we keep the Royal Law, what more is there?

Well, our older brother said: works. And here is where I think the light came on for me again today: the works of which James spoke weren’t works to impress God but works to prove God. That’s why he made the statement above: So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Faith in God is shown by love for others and love for others is shown by selfless acts of love and goodness toward them. The works of which James spoke demonstrate, tangibly, a love for God that is show by an actionable love for people.

Now there are those who say, Well, I don’t need to have God (faith) to show goodness and kindness to others! (V. 18: “You have faith and I have works.”) So, James responds: Show me your faith (your belief in your own goodness) apart from your works, and I will show you my faith (in God's goodness) by my works. He makes the claim that works apart from faith is no faith at all. And faith in God is inseparable from works. Again, the works aren’t to impress God, but to show where God lives: in hearts of love.

The Royal Law is this: love God by loving people by doing good to them. This proves God in the heart. My relationship with God ought to be manifest in my care and concern for others and by actions of goodness toward them that bear witness of my love and concern.

When you come into the store where I work, I am paid to treat you well, it’s my job. If I fail to treat you well I better have a dang good reason for not; but I am still accountable to this: the customer may not always be right, but the customer is always the customer. The royal law of retail then is treat them consistently better at your store than they get treated somewhere else so they’ll come back to where they get treated the better.

God asks that we take it one step further: Prove your love for Me them by putting your belief in Me into actions of goodness, kindness, and love toward them! That is faith with works and that is living faith.

Today Lord, may I live love by loving You and may my love for You be proved in my acts of kindness and goodness done to others. In Your Name, amen.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Stop Think Act

12.14.13

Hebrews 12.1, 3, 12,13 (ESV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

What we have in Jesus is the ability to stop, think, and act. An unbeliever has no true access to this; he may have willpower but it is no power compared to God’s power.

The believer has the power to stop in the arena of sin. The writer said, “…let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and run…” He wrote this not because it was motivational but because it is true – you don’t tell someone to do something they are incapable of doing. Because of our association with Jesus and our life in Him we are able to stop (lay aside) the things that trouble us. Not saying it won’t be hard but the truth is, it’s possible.

And we are to think about Him, our Example that we may not grow weary and lose heart. Thinking about Jesus and His sacrifice is a holy exercise that brings power, hope, and a right mind. Forgetting about Jesus leads to hopelessness and cynicism. Part of our daily doing is to think about Jesus and what He’s done for us so that we can press on in all we do for Him.

And then we’re to start acting accordingly. Our living is to be intentional; our living is to be actionable. We’re to take action because we’ve been given the faith and the power to do so. It’s living life on the toes, in action: not on the heels in reaction or inaction. We’re to act because we can. All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9.23). Live love. Act.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been. If that’s an issue, stop. We can stop. Jesus has given us the power to stop.

If stinking thinking has left you sinking, then consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. We’ll be amazed at what power a changed mind can provide.

If your hands droop and your body is weak then start acting – we have the power in Christ to do so. It’s as simple as that. Do we believe? Is it true? How we live will be evidence of yes, or no.


Father, help me today to live encouraged and on my toes. You are my Provider, my Wisdom, and my Strength – how I live today will be evidence of how I appropriate these things… Amen.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Utter Infinity

12.12.13

Hebrews 7.25 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (ESV)

Years ago we lived in Spokane, Washington. We loved it there. One had the feel of hustle and bustle of a big city, and yet Spokane offered a homey-ness found in much smaller cities – at least that was our then impression of it.

At the time we lived in Spokane there was a car dealership, in what the locals call ‘The Valley’ (a region of the area to the east toward Post Falls and Coeur d’ Alene), which sold Infiniti cars. Their name was: Utter Infiniti (the owner of the dealership was named, Utter.) I always chuckled inside when I thought of them because I quickly said to myself: Wow! That’s a lot of Infiniti… (Har har!) So, when I read Hebrews 7.25, I often think of Utter Infiniti because Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him. It doesn’t matter where or how I am, or how far I go, Jesus is able to save me to the uttermost. Utter infinity; He’s that good.

When Adam fell the fall wasn’t just a dust-up, it was a disaster of the highest magnitude. It was worse than pooping on the Pope’s throne; it was worse than a politician tweeting pictures of his anatomy. It was cosmic in proportion, and many in the heavenly realms shook their heads and said, “God goofed.” To say, “God goofed” is to un-god God, and that is a universally serious matter.

And yet, sadly many persist in thinking God is much less than He is. They cannot believe in salvation or the need for it; and in their mind, if there is such a thing as salvation, they don’t believe it could possibly be or work for them. Such is the magnitude of man’s fall: he’s arrived at the conclusion: God can’t help me. That is a universally serious matter.

I suppose that’s one reason why we cannot simply manufacture faith within ourselves. We can’t go to Safeway and just buy some. To have faith requires belief and belief requires accepting God as He is: able to save to the uttermost those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. What do we want: what we have or what He offers? That is a universally serious question.

Today, I am not in the frame of mind to un-god God. I need God and I need His Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Whose advent I celebrate not just this time of year, but all the time. I need saved to the uttermost because I have flaws to the uttermost and I need a Savior who will go out of His way to save me even to utter infinity. That’s just the way it is. He's that good!

And, I need to remember in the midst of my chronic and persistent sins that not only does He save me to the uttermost, but He ever lives to intercede for me… (I don’t know if that blows your fuses but it does mine: Jesus praying and interceding for us!)


Thank You Jesus for Your uttermost salvation and for Your prayers – I need them today! Amen.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Homework Done

12.11.13

Hebrews 4.9-10 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (ESV)

My dad served in the Armed forces for twenty-six years. He enlisted in the Army in 1946 at the end of WWII. I was born in 1955 and at the time we lived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. As I read Hebrews this morning, and read about rest, I thought about my childhood and one specific time when a kind of rest became real to me.

We lived at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and I went to Barden elementary school. I remember at the time (this would be the fall of 1962) having a tough time with reading. I hated to read. But I had homework most of the time and reading was part of that homework. I can’t remember the book, but I remember it was a small hardbound volume with a red cover. I had to read it. I didn’t want to read it because I didn’t want to sit still long enough to read it. But I had to.

I learned at that time of life the joy of getting one’s homework done and the relief of going to class with the freedom to participate because I had done what I was supposed to do: read!

The writer of Hebrews wrote: So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Joy. Relief. Freedom. The homework is done.

God’s rest, His Sabbath is for those who believe and have ceased trying to impress Him by keeping the rules (and making up new ones as they go along…) We live in the Age of Rest. God made this world for us and when He finished, He rested. He also made a way for men to know Him and enjoy Him forever…that is until man decided the deal wasn’t good and chose self-rule.

After that, God set about redeeming mankind (you, me, and everyone else) from endless striving to live life on our own. That redemption is what He calls REST; and that is what He has given us in His Son Whose advent we celebrate this time of year. The rest God gives is belief in Him, fellowship with Him, and obedience to His commands (not rules, but eagerly choosing to do as He tells us to do.) That is rest. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. All we need do is believe and obey.

One day the Age of Rest will close at the opening, the dawning, of the advent of the Age of Completion. The current order of earth will cease and the New Order of Heaven will be. Until then, we are to cease striving to make our relationship with God, and simply receive and believe in His relationship with us. In the Age of Rest we are to hang out with Him and do what He says, say what He says, and go where He leads. No striving, no conniving, no surviving; just thriving in the joy, relief, and freedom that the homework is done and we are free to participate!

Father, today is the day of rest while working, conversing, praying, and serving. Yes, there is much to do, but I won’t do it in my own power, under my own steam – I live and move and act with all of my being in You; freely participating in the Kingdom You have established. Amen.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

The Triad of Presence

12.08.13

1 Timothy 1.5 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (ESV)

Triads. They’re crazy things and they appear in every part of life. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; spirit, soul, and body; proton, neutron, electron; earth, wind, fire; Crosby, Stills, and Nash... (Sorry, I couldn’t resist…). Paul said the aim of our charge (command, directive, impetus) is love that comes from the triad of: purity of heart, cleanliness of conscience, and a sincerity of faith. Possess these three, and love pours forth! A good stool has at least three legs.

I discussed yesterday, the conundrum of faith in that: is Jesus expecting something from us behaviorally that we’re to manufacture, or is He keenly aware of what His presence and power will bring forth in our lives? The difficulty is what we hear Paul saying in his epistles to us: that our lives need some effort on our part to receive, accept, and appropriate the presence and power of Jesus (the Holy Spirit). That is what makes the difference in our lives – not our effort.

So, how do we triangulate the triad of a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith? How does that work without effort on our part? I think it boils down to cooperation and obedience. If Jesus, by His Spirit, dwells within us then it’s incumbent upon us to cooperate with His presence. And as we recognize, receive, accept, and appropriate our actions and attitudes toward that presence the result is purity, goodness, and a faith that is genuine and sincere. We’re not manufacturing anything – He is as we cooperate, eagerly and willingly, with Him.

And then and there love flows… like a flood.

I tend to be analytical. (Really Paul, we never noticed!) And I see love as something that requires effort from me – as if I have to have a part in it. Love has to do with me only as the banks of a river contain the normal flow of the water. When I look at a river, I am glad for the banks but I concentrate on the flow. The first time I ever saw the Mississippi River I didn’t exclaim: O! The banks! No, I said: Wow! What a river!! The water only flows between the banks.

Love in my life flows not from self-manufacture, but from presence: His presence. And His presence creates purity, goodness, and living faith flowing within the banks of my being – sometimes the banks are not enough. And the more I walk with Him the more the banks are not enough…

Lord Jesus,

Today, I see and celebrate Your presence and power within me creating a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith; and everything else that comes with that. Lord, may I cease trying to manufacture that which I already have. May I simply recognize, receive, accept, and appropriate what You have placed in me because You live in me – in Your Name, amen.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Little Epistles

12.07.13

Colossians 2.6 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (ESV)

On Thursdays I meet with a beloved group of men from a number of different churches and spiritual backgrounds and we talk theology and encourage one another in Christ. I feel a bond with these guys (several of whom I have now know for nearly eight years). It’s a great time of discussion, prayer, keeping up with what is going on with each other’s fellowships and the things and needs of our little community. We also challenge one another. It’s great!

For the last several weeks we seem to be hovering around the issue of faith, obedience, and behavior in the life of a believer. Scripture seems to indicate both, that we can do nothing apart from Christ, but yet there seems to be a command or an expectation to actively avoid sin and walk in a holy and committed manner after the Lord; and to help others do that as well. I think that is perfectly spelled out in the “little” book of Colossians. I think the verse above states that very well.

Sometimes we forget just how important the “little” books are. How would we survive without the epistles of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or the rest? I think, doctrinally speaking, these “little” books are really “giant mountains” of deep and profound discovery into who we really are “in Him” (much like the “Minor” prophets fill in the gaps between the exile and the subsequent four centuries of “quiet”(BC)).

Today, I thought about how much I miss by not spending more time in the majestic mountains of these “little” epistles and just how much these letters contain for my own growth.  Then I thought about how these epistles are foundational to help others who (like me) struggle with things like performance as opposed to position: does Jesus really expect a certain standard of effort and behavior from me, or will I simply change as I choose to hang out with Him?

The New Testament Epistles lean toward effort to “walk in the Way” but we’re to be careful not to do that in our own effort, but proceed only as we walk in continual fellowship with Jesus. We’re to always walk in Him. Every moment; every situation and circumstance.

Lord, thank You for the Little Epistles. Thank You for the words of Paul specifically in Colossians and how they apply to me today. May I not simply check a box as I read through this marvelous letter twice a year, but may I give more of my precious and carefully guarded time to reading and re-reading what You have for me from what You had for the Colossians all those years ago. Help me Lord! Amen.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Child Slaves

12.06.13

Philippians 1.1 1 Paul and Timothy, servants[a] of Christ Jesus...

Call it my warped personality, or just call it my personality but when there are letters and numbers in parentheses (or brackets) in my Bible I tend to look down at the notes to see what they are there for; inquiring minds want to know.

Today, as I started my reading of Philippians, I noticed an “[a]” right after the word servants in verse 1.1. Of course I quickly looked down to see what the [a] was for and saw that the word servants is translated slaves in the original text (or other ancient versions of the Philippian letter). To read it literally Paul said, Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus

I noticed that Paul didn’t refer to himself as a sinner saved by grace. No, he called himself (and Timothy) a slave of Christ Jesus. It isn’t accidental. It isn’t a lie; it’s the truth: those who are in Christ are slaves of Jesus Christ; it’s the highest honor one can have on earth.

Now wait Paul, I thought the highest honor was to be called Jesus’ friend, or God’s child – now you’re telling me it’s slave? What’ up with that!?

The difference is simply this: we are truly God’s children in reality – that is in fact true. But we are also God’s servants in practice – that is in fact true as well. We are recognized by God as His children, that is why we call Him Father. But in our ministry (and we are all ministers) we are slaves or servants who do what we are called or told to do by Him. Slave doesn’t negate child, nor does child negate slave. Both are different facets of the same gem.

Paul limited himself by calling himself slave. Likewise Paul freed himself by calling himself slave. Paul limited his options, preferences, and rights by seeing himself as Christ’s slave. Slaves have only the right to do what the Master allows and commands they do – nothing more. Slavery is more for the present whereas child is more for the future – in both instances God the Father and Master has perfect plan and purpose. We are now, and always will be: Sent Ones, sent out to do the Master’s will. His will? – Tell others about our experiences with Him and help them see their need for Him. Paul freed himself by believing and focusing on this: being Jesus’ slave.

Son (or child) is positional and granted. Slave, is volitional and obedient: the giving up one’s rights, willingly, to faithfully and completely do what God desires done in this world.

I am a child-slave. So was Paul. So was Timothy, and so is everyone else who is named by the Name. My child-slave purpose is to do the Master’s plan without argument. Without grumbling. And with urgency – do it NOW! Paul said this in 3.17: Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. In other words, see myself as he saw himself: a slave sent by the Master to do what needs to be done.


Father/Master, help me to walk in faith today that I am both child and slave. Help me to really know that my true love for You is doing what You say, without argument and grumbling and with urgency. Trusting You! Amen.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Desperado

12.05.13

Psalm 119.27-29 27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. 28 My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! 29 Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! (ESV)

“Desperado,
Ohhhh you ain't getting no younger
Your pain and your hunger,
They're driving you home
And freedom, ohh freedom.
Well that's just some people talking
Your prison is walking through this world all alone”*

I have maintained for quite some time that desperation is motivation; there aren’t too many desperate people just waiting around for the next move: they take it! The writer of Psalm 119 seemed to be desperate: God! Make me understand! Strengthen me! Put false ways away from me! Graciously teach me Your law! Desperate people make such demands. They don’t have time to waste and every passing moment without relief is like another bucket of gas thrown onto a raging fire of need: GOD HELP ME!!

The writer of Psalm 119 sounds desperate to me.

Questions: What is the driving need of your life? What are you desperate for? How irritated or agitated are you that the need seems long in being met? Will life remain a colorless drab grayish color until that need is taken care of? How many times will you walk down that same plain white hall toward the same steel door marked disappointment unless things change? How desperate are you?

Conclusions: What bugs me is I see glimpses of brilliant sunshine just beyond the banks of fog. What frustrates me is the same dull colorless life that I push myself through day after day, week after week knowing that warm and brilliant sunshine is waiting and beckoning. My desperation grows and the word of God says: God! Make me understand! Strengthen me! Put false ways away from me! Graciously teach me Your law! (And don’t let me loose until it happens!) The desperate throw themselves on the mercy of God and plead: God! Make me understand! Strengthen me! Put false ways away from me! Graciously teach me Your law!

So, Father, that is my prayer: Make me understand! Strengthen me! Put false ways away from me! Graciously teach me Your law! And don’t let me loose until it happens! Amen!




*Desperado HENLEY, DON / FREY, GLENN LEWIS 1973 Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Don Henly/Glenn Frey/Eagles

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Courage, Come!!

12.04.13

Ephesians 1.1 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus...

Part of our problem is we don’t see easily ourselves the way God sees us, nor do we completely understand just what it is God is up to in our lives that is so stinking important. But it all starts here: by the will of God.

When is the last time I woke up and said to myself: “Here, I am, who I am, and here is the new day, by the will of God!”? You see, unless I understand (and accept) what is woven, by the will of God, into the fabric of my being, I won’t wake up and say, “…by the will of God.”

That’s why we have the Ephesian letter, Paul was reminding them (and us, and me) what the truth really was/is! Do you think many in today’s political realms give a crap about you or me or our faith? Probably not. Do you think many in the media, or the arts, or higher education really care that you and I are who we are, and why we, are because of the will of God? Probably not.

It doesn’t mean there aren’t the believing sons of God in the realms of politics, and all that other stuff, but it certainly does mean that the world cares little about the will of God (unless it is to blame Him for some misfortune.)

The good news is: that God cares about you and me and “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Chapter 3.10-11) Funny how most rulers and authorities (whether here or in heavenly realms) don’t give a crap about what God is up to or what His eternal purposes are for you and me…

Today, the filter through which I am to view my life is this: by the will of God. I am to accept what He, Himself, calls me and to live accordingly. I’m to daily summon the courage to believe that I am who I am by His will regardless of what anyone else says! It’s my calling to say: Paul Turk, son of God, an employee of ACE Hardware in Baker City, Oregon, by the will of God. Can I believe that? It’s true.

Today, I am to summon courage to believe God in the face of all this world has to offer through people who don’t give a crap about God. I think it’s more important to live that way, than to live in fear and cowering of what will be the next stunt somebody somewhere pulls. My defense is to believe what God says about me, and how I’m to live in the knowledge of what He says.


Father, today I read that You got this whole thing going so that You could demonstrate Your incomparable wisdom in doing what You’ve done to, for, and through tiny little people like me – by Your will. You’ve willed that I live to the praise of Your glorious grace, and that I am marked in Jesus with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is the deposit guaranteeing my inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of Your glory. In You today: Courage, come!! Amen!

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Done! Finished! Complete!

12.01.13

Romans 5.1 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...

There is nothing like a positive emphatic to get the day started! Paul’s statement is simply this: we have been. Not, we might be; not, we could’ve; no, we have been. Done! Finished! Complete!

The Epistle to the Romans is an Emphatic – it states the truth so perfectly and tells us the way it is. And the big issue is our standing before God. Paul writes emphatically, we’re there! It’s done! His love and His grace didn’t wait around for us to get better; it flooded us like a tsunami and completely saved us.

Now, the question is, what do we do with what we have become? Share it. We share what we have become with those who still wonder: what’s to become? The difference is accepting what we have become and helping others to accept it as well.

I think our biggest problem is not that we have churches, we have Bibles, or that we have study helps and videos and conferences, and, and, and. Our biggest problem is believing this: Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ask people, they'll tell you they need to add something to it. We think we’re the ones to put the finishing touches on it. And then we waiver and stumble, and because of that, we believe our belief is all for naught. It didn’t start with us and it doesn’t end with us. Therefore since we have…all we’re asked to do in the midst of this marvelous, miraculous truth is believe what has been done – without our help – and live accordingly – because of His help.

Today is one big positive emphatic because of what has already been done, and to accept that is to believe we have (already) been justified by faith. Faith is the key. If God said it, it’s done, and there ain’t no more. Paul spoke what God gave him to speak and his words live on for us today: therefore since we have been… believe it’s done.

It is through our belief in Him and what He has already done that we find strength to combat those thoughts that tell us our belief is weak, ineffective, or incomplete. A baby doesn’t need convinced that his mother is his mother – he just believes it. We’re to do the same thing: just accept it.


Father, today I am reminded of what is already done for me: justification through faith – I can’t add anything to it and I can’t take anything away from it: it’s all You. I believe. I believe. And because I do, my justification is because of faith in You. I believe You and believe in You. Thank You. Amen.