Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Soul Control

3/30/2016

Psalm 42.6 My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. – The Sons of Korah

Regardless of how we look at it, the cure for depression and uncertainty is simply this: “[When] my soul is downcast within me, I will remember You.” If there is one thing I have to look forward to everyday, it’s every day. And with everyday there is the incompleteness of this world, and our natural propensity to think this is all there is and there ain’t no more. But that is faulty thinking and doubt.

A downcast soul cries out for solutions and joy. I don’t know many who enjoy embracing fear and uncertainty; I just know many who do. We all want to be happy; we all want to be free. We all want peace. But none of us can have solutions and joy, happiness and freedom apart from the power and presence of God. So, we must instruct ourselves to hope in God; to remember it’s our duty to praise Him for all that He has done for us; the pleasant, and that which we perceive as unpleasant.

In our world, in the reality of being fooled by the power of our circumstances, we let things get to us. The reason that happens is multi-faceted.  One of those facets is we allow the things of this world to overwhelm us. We let what is said, and what we hear, to flow into our lives – our minds – unfiltered. It’s no wonder we let peace slip away when we are so careless about what we see, hear, and believe. Our minds have to be taught and our lives have to be directed. A big part of that is simply and honestly using self-directed words and actions: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Easy-peasy.

The soul has to be taught. The soul has to be directed. The soul needs to be told what is real and what isn’t; what can be controlled, and what can’t. The soul must be controlled or the soul, with faulty thinking, doubt and other residents within, will begin to attempt to control. When the soul is in control there is no telling where it will end.

Ah, but with God in control of my spirit within, controlling the soul, mountains of adversity, difficulty, and fear are overcome. If our circumstance is meant to be the thing that sends us to heaven, what is our worry? Why are you so downcast my soul, hope in God!

I think that is precisely the point of contact where my relationship with God becomes alive. If I can fearlessly hope in Him in difficulty, then what will be the outcome? If I can fearlessly walk with Him, what can stand in my way? Then, the only thing I need be concerned with, is allowing anything to stand in the way of my understanding: that I must control my easily fooled soul.

My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember You…

Today, O Lord, help me with my mind games and to fearlessly correct and discipline my mind and my soul, that You are in control and I am to listen to, and follow only You. Help me to have courage to tell myself that I am to praise You when it feels like it is all falling apart and to trust You no matter what. You are my God and there is none greater than You – may I live in that truth today! Amen

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

The Sitcom Called Gideon

3/29/2016

Judges 6.16 And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.

To me, the sadness of the book of Judges is overcome by the power of God and His love for Israel. Take the story of Gideon. I think I’ve heard a thousand sermons on Gideon and they all sound the same: goofy and corny, as if the story of Gideon is some kind of sitcom. You know: Gideon responding to the Lord: big eyed, super surprised face, asking in a loud and clownish way: Who dat!?

Alright, I get it, in the midst of being starved to death, we all need a bit of comic relief to get over the horror of an enemy utterly destroying the landscape and devouring all of the produce of the land. Right? Imagine trying to get to your local store tonight and finding the building surrounded by men with guns, not letting anyone in, and you watch as all of the food is being loaded into vans and being carted off somewhere and you can’t get your Twinkies, or a carton of milk, or creamer for your coffee. Let’s all have a big laugh over that one.

We need to remember in the midst of all the comedic relief, Gideon was, out-of-his-mind desperate. He was not telling jokes; he was at his wit’s end as to how to deal with this human pestilence that was making his life truly miserable. Also we need to remember that Gideon was weak in his faith and dangerously low on belief. That leads to trouble every time. Nothing real funny about that either.

Gideon wanted answers because most men are ‘fixers’ – you have a problem, they have a solution. You want to pour out your soul, they want to fix you. Gideon wanted to fix his situation. It doesn’t appear that God was his first choice in resources for aid and assistance. That’s tragic. True, but tragic because it persists to this day. The fixers want to fix, and will go to whatever means to do so. When is the last time you saw a fixer on his face, crying out to God that he was in too deep, and didn’t know what else to do?

The fixer asks: how can I do this? God says, I will be with you. Gideon looked at his own resources and said, No way! God knows all things and knew that Gideon’s biggest problem, aside from the Midianites, was his penchant for depending on himself. That sound familiar?

In my days these days I find me routinely trying to do what only God can do. God seems almost obsessive over my dependence upon Him – sometimes to the point that it’s like trying to breathe underwater; or free oneself from the crocodile-like jaws of adversity: they don’t let go. But if Anyone was going to fix Gideon, it was God, and God sought to fix Gideon’s heart by exposing him to greater and greater uncertainty, underscored with the words: I will be with you.

I need God with me; and need to believe it’s true: He is…leading, guiding, directing, orchestrating. I need to humble myself daily to the words God gave to Gideon: I will be with you!

Father, fix me from fixing and find me on my face crying out for Your power and presence (I don’t want one without the other). My life is not a sitcom; it’s reality. Help me to live it accordingly as I am: a mighty man of valor, not a bit player in a silly show that always seems to somehow work things out in the end… Amen

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Wholly Weak


3/26/2016

1 Corinthians 11.23-26 23 “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” – St. Paul

Last night, Good Friday, I went to a communion service at my church. It seems to be a tradition for us to do that during Holy Week. We Pentecostals are not big on liturgy, but I think we’re coming up a bit. The service was intended to do several things, the highest of which was: remembrance. Jesus said “…do this… in remembrance of Me.” So we remembered.

So, we shared a video clip from The Passion of the Christ, shared a reading from the Word, and all partook of the wine and the bread. (Okay for you purists, it wasn’t really wine, but it tasted good, and looked reddish…) Then, at pastor’s request, we hung around for a bit, and talked, and enjoyed each other’s company. He said, “It’s an insult to come to someone’s house, eat a meal, and the dash off to the next thing.” So we hung around. I long for the day when we can freely use real wine.

And so this morning, I woke up and thought: Wholly Weak. I assumed God would have something for me in my devotional reading, so I looked alertly for indicators, that I had, indeed, heard the Word. So,I read the last two chapters of Joshua: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Choose: weakness or Strength.

And then, I read Psalm 44: We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love. And then, I read 1 Corinthians 11.17 where Paul said: In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. And then I saw it: we are wholly weak and in need of Savior. We say and do the stupidest things because we are wholly weak and in need God's salvation.

The point of Easter (or the Resurrection) is because we are wholly weak. Whatever transpired in the Heavenly realms between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is simply this: we are wholly weak, but He is eternally strong. Seeing our weakness isn’t rocket-science – it’s just plain obvious. What isn’t so obvious is our need for a Savior who became wholly weak and took upon Himself the punishment that was meant for us, in order that we might escape death and find He is eternally strong.

Holy Week is about the majesty of the eternally strong becoming wholly weak in order to save the wholly weak that they may become eternally strong in Him forever. That’s a gift worth receiving.

Eternal God, how mighty and strong are; You, who goes after the poor and weak, and becoming weak, in order that they might become strong in You. It’s not rocket-science Lord, it’s just the way You intended for it to be: You, in all Your humility, coming after me in all my arrogance, and between the two finding life forever more. I am wholly weak – You are eternally strong. I am glad, and I am saved – Amen.

Friday, March 25, 2016

To Not Make Rights Wrongs

3/25/2016

1 Corinthians 10.23,24 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. – St. Paul

I’m driving down from Larch summit yesterday and right about milepost 16 at Whitney, I think about this verse. And for several miles I think about what I have the right to do which may not be all that beneficial to do in front of others. Rights are never to be used as weapons. Rights are rights because they are right. But when rights are wrong is when they are used to run roughshod over someone else. One of the highest callings in the life of the believer is to be sensitive to another’s choices, beliefs, and behaviors.

The Christian life is about freedom. We have been made free in Christ, but our freedom is never to be self-motivated to the detriment of others. Our freedom is never to be thrown around recklessly so that others are hurt (or offended) in the process.

Well, what about protesting things like choices or lifestyles? What about having a beer or a glass of wine? It’s not that we don’t do those things; it’s we do them for the benefit of others, not to bash others. Rights are often used as clubs to beat down the other side. That was never the intention for them. But as men we are always looking for the angle that will give us a leg up over the opposition. When we do that, rights become wrongs because others are hurt in the process and all of the freedoms we have become agendas with which to manipulate and control others.

"Honorius, who inherited the empire of Europe, put a stop to the gladitorial combats which had long been held at Rome.  The occasion of his doing so arose from the following circumstance.  A certain man of the name of Telemachus had embraced the ascetic life.  He had set out from the East and for this reason had repaired to Rome.  There, when the abominable spectacle was being exhibited, he went himself into the stadium, and stepping down into the arena, endeavored to stop the men who were wielding their weapons against one another.  The spectators of the slaughter were indignant, and inspired by the triad fury of the demon who delights in those bloody deeds, stoned the peacemaker to death.

When the admirable emperor was informed of this he numbered Telemachus in the number of victorious martyrs, and put an end to that impious spectacle.”
–  Theodoret of Cyrus (Cyrrhus in Syria), The Ecclesiastical History A.D. 429

Rights. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. (Matthew 5.9) With our rights we are to deal with the wrongs but we are also to comfort and encourage others with peace in the process.

Father, may I use my rights to bring change and to make this world a better place. May I be sensitive to the rights of others that I may not trample theirs with mine or set the stage for divisiveness in the process. I have the right to do anything – except use my rights to cause wrongs in others. Help me to be sensitive – Amen.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Intention


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“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” - 1 Corinthians 9:22 – St. Paul

Sometimes there’re good intentions, and sometimes there’re bad. Sometimes there is innocence, and sometimes there is malice aforethought. And sometimes there is the desire to deceive, while at other times there is good will and the love to influence for the good. Paul knew who he was and what he was about, and his desire was to love and influence for what he understood to be the greatest thing in the world: the saving love of God in Jesus Christ. Paul wanted everyone to know that, and for everyone to be saved.

Today, salvation is a much, and oft, misunderstood term; many seem to ridicule the concept of being saved from sin self, and Satan. They might merrily muse: what the bleep is that!? Many are so blind and lost, they haven’t a clue that there is anything wrong. To them, it’s just a dog-eat-dog world. That’s the power of sin, self, Satan; none of which is omnipotent or insurmountable, but certainly viewed as such by those caught up in them.

And it was to these Paul sought to save, some. Not all, although that was his intention, but Paul knew he had to take the world as it was, not as he wished it to be. Some will, some won’t; who’s next? But not everybody wants to be saved and it is certainly noteworthy, that some of the some haven’t hit the bottom just yet. Not everyone needs to crash and burn, but crashing and burning is useful in getting the attention of some. It sure worked for me.

Everybody needs saved – even the saved need saving because salvation is both momentary and progressive. It’s like growing up: sometimes it happens all at once in some never repeatable event, but most the time it just takes time. And the calling of the child of God is to recognize that he needs to reach out to everyone in hope of saving some.

Paul sought to identify with everybody, but his strength was he empathized with them. Empathy says: I feel for you even if I haven’t walked down your road. We all hurt, we all have struggles – disappointment, frustration, agony, emptiness, and on and on it goes. Empathy doesn’t solve the issues but it says: I feel for you and want to do whatever I can to help and encourage you in hope that life will change for you. Empathy is the “I feel” for that which you feel. I think our calling is to feel and to seek to help the feeling one to seek after God who can save them from whatever it is they’re feeling. That’s salvation.

I know a young couple going through a divorce. It is bitter and mean, and full of vicious actions and reactions. I think they’re beginning to feel they need some help. I think it’s a beginning of repair or replace. I hope I can help them and by all possible means to save them. God does the saving but He uses us for empathy. God can make the dead come to life but He uses us to be the channel through which such miracles come. Like Paul, I want to be up to the task.

Lord, You call us to be all things to as many people as we can. That, I think, means empathizing with them and showing them the way to You, to help them out of the quagmire in which they find themselves. So, help me to pray, to act, and to come alongside and empathize with the hurting and stupid, that they might find You and, somehow, be saved… Amen

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

The Lord Helping Me

03/22/2016

Joshua 14.10-12 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” – Caleb the Kenizzite

In life, there is a thing called drive. Drive, if I had to define it, is the will to continue and to go after what one wants. Drive is someone’s get up and go – their will. Drive is the ability to see life as it is and make life what you want. Caleb, one of the twelve original spies into Canaan, had drive.

In his former days, Caleb was sent on a mission into the land of Canaan and came back with the report: Let’s go! This land is ours for the taking! Caleb had the ability to see the power and presence of God in his daily life. Caleb saw every day as a day of challenge, of expectation of what the Lord was going to expose him to, and how the Lord was going to see him through. Caleb said: “I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.  So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly… (Joshua 14.8-9) Caleb lived with expectation.

So, two things I glean from today’s reading: drive and wholehearted belief. Caleb wasn’t a fair-weather believer – he was a whole-heart, let’s get this done believer. Caleb had drive coupled with unquenchable, wholehearted belief. God was HIS God, and there was no stopping his God. Caleb had spent the last forty-five years helping others and now he was ready to help himself to what he believed was rightfully his – Moses gave it to him.

Drive and belief. Belief is a component of drive, and drive is a component of belief. Caleb had both and saw them as his calling to do, and then receive, what his God had given him.

When I first started out in my business, a man told me: Paul, this is your business and you can build your brand any way you choose. Go for it! That resonated with me. I think God was calling me to do what I do with my whole heart and depend on Him to see it through. Caleb said, “Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” I choose to believe likewise – and the Lord helping me, I will do – with my whole heart.

Father in Heaven, You have called all of Your children to trust You, and follow You with their whole heart – no sense in half-hearted belief. Half-belief is no belief. Lord, may the memory of Caleb and his drive and wholeheartedness guide me this day. You were with him and he knew it. You are with me and I know it. May I live like Caleb, and bring glory and honor to Your Name – amen.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Name of Brother

3/20/2016

1 Corinthians 5.11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. – St. Paul

Well, that narrows the playing field – at least in our time. I think this is one of those verses that gets completely taken out of context at best and completely ignored at the least. Our behavior matters in the Body of Christ. And we are to self-manage as individuals, and as a group of believers. Who are we when no one is looking?

There is an expectation in the family of God, that we escape the ways of the world. That’s not to feign escape: it’s to escape! But the inference here also, is we’re to watch out for one another and do what is necessary to keep each other from the behaviors that plague mankind, and tarnish the Church. And it is expected that the Church do what is necessary to keep the ways of the world from invading her. So that means, we have to keep an eye on each other, and we have to know each other, and we have to faithfully correct one another when untoward behavior is discovered.

I remember when a guy in leadership at my church left his wife (and children) for another woman. I remember as a group of elders and leaders confronting the behavior and demanding repentance. I remember the heartache of asking him to leave the fellowship. I remember he simply left the church and went to another where he was accepted. I thought: that’s America. What do we do as individuals when someone does what isn’t accepted and won’t quit; and what do we do as churches? In America?

And, oh my gosh, what about the secret sins – internet porn, inappropriate private behavior, and the like? Paul was aghast that the Corinthians had accepted such; what would he think of us today? What does God think of us today? To Paul, bearing the name of brother was a big deal. He seemed utterly mystified that the Corinthians didn’t see it that way.

In Joshua 7, the account goes that the people of Israel suffered a humiliating (initial) defeat at Ai because someone in their midst “broke faith”. What about the modern church and the importance of keeping the faith? Could it be the modern church suffers ineffectiveness because she won’t deal with the brother who is guilty of sexual immorality, or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, swindler or worse? Makes ya wonder…

Father, it calls for courage, devotion, and love. It calls for dropping the pretenses and masks, and loving You with honest and unblemished hearts. It calls for keeping the faith and dealing with what we’d rather ignore or pretend isn’t happening. God, help us! May our love for each other be manifest in our courage to deal with the untoward behavior among us, and to carefully, faithfully, and lovingly correct – Amen.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Human Relations

3/19/2016

1 Corinthians 4.8-10 8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. – St. Paul

Long ago, I thought it would be great to work in Human Relations – thinking that dealing with people in the workforce sounded like something that I could do. Boy! Was I wrong! People are weird! And hard to get along with, and fickle and foolish. The irony is, I do work in the arena of human relations – it’s called life.

Think of your family, your friends, your co-workers, your fellow church-goers, the ones with whom you relate – it is almost endless the relationships we have with people; and people never fail – even the very best – to do things we think they would or should never do. And we’re disappointed with them when they do.

Here’s how I know this: just listen to your conversations about the people you know. All of us are experts of how the ones we know could or should do it better…

St. Paul was just one more leader in the Scripture who dealt with human relations. Paul was clued in to the Gospel and he knew it was his mission to share the Gospel with other humans. And Paul encountered the worst responses at times from the very people he sought to enlighten. His Corinthians were a tough bunch.

I don’t want to say Paul was sarcastic but his sarcasm is hard to overlook. Part of what I think he ran into was a group of people who bought into the Gospel and learned just enough to become dangerous. They ran ahead of him in their pursuit of truth, and their pursuit became their truth. They knew best.

Becoming a believer; a Christian, isn’t learning just enough to become dangerous – that’s what the world does. The world looks for experts. The Gospel is for the humble, the broken-hearted, the ones who admit that without God, their toast. That’s why missionaries are so weird to the rest of us: why would ANYBODY in their right mind do what they do!? That’s the difficulty of a Gospel which says: God is God and we are not.

And God expects cooperation – not expert-ism. God expects faithfulness – not arrogance. And God’s expects submission and being teachable – not running ahead in pursuit of control and power, and who knows what else. The Corinthians were very good at making their own way. Too bad it was counter to God’s.

Lord, I think it’s really about learning patience, humility, honor, and acceptance of Who You really are, and what You’re really doing. Your presence is so vastly different than anything I can concoct. May I learn to imitate Paul and trust You. Keep me from exalting myself and running ahead of You as if I don’t need You – that I have achieved. Lord, You are the Master of human relations and sometimes I wonder if You don’t just shake Your head in wonder: Who are these creatures? Amen

Friday, March 18, 2016

Committing My Way

3/18/2016

Psalm 37.5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act. – David, the King

Pretty simple statement: commit your way. I am guilty of fretting – I fret. I fret about all kinds of stuff all the time. Today, I read in Joshua 1 and 2: Be strong and courageous. That was like the national motto for the ancient Israeli’s. They were commanded by God to go in and occupy the land the He had given them. But the inhabitants of the land hadn’t been included in that conversation. Just do what I tell you to do.

Joshua sent two spies into Jericho and what the two learned was the inhabitants of the land were terrified of the Israeli’s and their God. The inhabitants were mortified of a God who did real stuff, and their gods only appeared to do stuff. The two spies returned to the camp and reported: piece of cake, all we have to do is go in and take over. Be strong and courageous.

Today, life is like that for us who believe in the Lord. Today, we’re not going in and destroying people; today, we’re to go in and destroy strongholds of thought which attempt to deny a God that cannot be controlled. People don’t like an uncontrollable God. But life itself is uncontrollable: the weather, the way men think, sickness, disease – none of these things are controllable. But God has sent us into the realms of mankind to bring the hope that only an uncontrollable God brings: life more abundant.

I think I needed to read this portion of Scripture today to remind myself of how it seems God works: He tells me, go and do; and I’m to go and do. Like Joshua, like Moses, like Abraham, like David, and all the rest: Go in and do as I direct you; and I will be with you, and bring you success. (Joshua 1.8) It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, or what you do (excluding the immoral, illegal, and fattening).

I’m to commit, whatever it is I’m doing to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act. Like the saints of old, they were sent into the land to conquer it and occupy – I’m to do, as God’s emissary, the same: go in, and take over. The commission is mine, the authority is mine, and the Kingdom is mine. Be strong and courageous, for the Lord God has sent me. I work for Him, and He will act.

Father, it seems to never end, I’ve not been committing; I’ve been whining and complaining, and I’ve been fretting. Joshua and the people had some very difficult things to do and yet, You were with them. I have some difficult things to do and still, You are with me. Help me to remember Who I’m working for, and to keep my commitment to You in all I do. May I be strong and courageous. May I not boast in what I think I accomplish, but may I trust in You. Amen

Thursday, March 17, 2016

A Truth Not Seen Heard or Imagined

3/17/2016

1 Corinthians 2.9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him”— St. Paul quoting Isaiah 64.4

I always have trouble with Galatians, and the Corinthians letters because, to me, they are stern and defensive. Now, I wasn’t there, so I can see the look on Paul’s face or hear the tone in his voice, but the letters don’t sound warm like Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and the two to the Thessalonians. Galatians and Corinthians just sound stern.

But punctuating the sternness of the letters to Galatia and Corinth are some marvelous truths placed within them that give an old Gentile like me hope. What what is remarkable to me, is the tone in the letters to Galatia and Corinth are similar to the tone in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament: people, please get your act together – you don’t truly know or appreciate Who your God is! That seems like a common thread from the days of old until now.

Today, March 17th is recognized (at least in most Anglican-influenced countries) as Saint Patrick’s Day. I don’t know why, but it seems to be a culturally accepted practice to wear green colored clothing, or accessories on SPD. It’s also acceptable to drink green colored liquids and eat corned (or peppered) beef, potatoes; and of course, cabbage. Hmmm. We don’t know who we are, and apparently we don’t care.

But that’s because we mightn't understand (or know) God. Man, (in and of himself) hasn’t seen, heard, or understood what God has prepared for those who love Him. Many think our days are filled with fate, karma, or luck. And many either have one or all in varying degrees on any given day. But God is not a God of fate, karma, or luck (no matter the color of the apparel you’re wearing, or whether you believe that your confetti is bricks); and your questionable heritage entitles you to be bussed because of your t-shirt says so.

Today, wearing green and feeling odd about it, I’ve run across a truth: What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, [is] what God has prepared for those who love Him. I could use somma dat right now. I could use somma dat encouragement which reminds me that even when I think this, God thinks that. That’s good news!

But it ain’t once and done news – it’s every stinking day, the truth is, Good News; and that is how marvelous and majestic God is. What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, [is] what God has prepared for those who love Him. Short-sightedness isn’t going to get the job done according to what Paul tells us by quoting Isaiah. What I need is to relax – I haven’t yet seen or heard or imagined what God has in store for me – I just need to trust that that is reality, and I need to live like it.

Father, it is true, no one knows what is in Your heart but You. And You are good and holy and loving and kind; and You’re fixing to blow the blessed socks off your kids because they love You and trust that even when they can’t figure it all out, they’re in good company because: no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has imagined, what You’ve prepared for those who love You. It's gonna be good! - Amen

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

The Address 40

3/16/2016

Psalm 40.17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God. – David

As I wander the halls of the Book of Psalms (the ‘p’ is silent), I never forget the address, 40. It’s a special place for me and I never tire of reading a poem that begins: I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

That sentence speaks volumes to me as I think of my ancient brother in the faith that did his best to walk with God during his days on earth. It’s apparent that David had sought God from his earliest days and he had parents who were strong in the faith. And it’s apparent that David had a deep relationship with God.

So, it doesn’t surprise me that David opens this psalm with: I waited patiently for the Lord… Patience truly is a good thing – we call it a virtue. And as much as I love reading the beginning of Psalm 40, I also love reading the ending: As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought of me. I think those are the words of honesty.

I have lots to be thankful for: my life, my health, my family; but none of these things amount to anything in the presence of Him who sees me in my patience, and inclines to me, and hears my cries. It’s not whining, it’s the ebb and flow of life. It’s the push and pull of life. It’s the knowing and not knowing of life. It’s the reality that there are some things in life that I can control and there are other things I cannot. I cannot fix stupidity.

But God can. And God does. It appears my job is to wait patiently for the Lord to rescue me from my own stupidity. I’m to wait patiently for the Lord to incline to me and hear my cry. My waiting builds my faith and establishes my courage that God is on my side and He cares for me. And so, I am left with realizing my poverty and concluding that there is only One who truly gives a rip about me: God. God, takes thought for me; He is my Help and Deliverer. Sometimes, like my ancient friend, I add: O my God, hurry!

God inclines to us when we wait for Him. God takes thought of us. And God comes to our aid quickly. It may seem like He’s taking His time, but if we think about how long it got us to get into the circumstances we are, God’s rescue is right on time. God inclines to us, hears our cries, thinks of us and comes quickly to our aid. Right-On-Time God.

Father, I thank You that You are always right on time. You not only know exactly what we need, but
know exactly when we need it. Lord build my faith and that of others to wait patiently because we trust that You’ll come through; You always do – amen.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Lord Sing

3/15/2016

Zephaniah 3. 17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing.  – Zephaniah

This verse got me through the day. God sings. Can you imagine? I mean the Ancient of Days singing? I truly have a hard time thinking of that in my puny little mind. And not only does God sing, He sings over us. And not only does He sing over us, He sings over me. I’m taking that one to the bank.

God truly is in our midst, but what is more, He is in the midst of me (okay, and you too). God has chosen to dwell in the heart of man; each man’s heart. His residence is in us by the Spirit He is. So, imagine the vulnerability and courage of God – He is much closer than we think. And of all the things God could do, He sings over His children. Old Zeph said God sings loudly over us. That just blows my mind.

I’ve been in a coupla places a couple times when someone has sung to me – it’s awkward and uncomfortable. At least for me. Cathy and I were in a restaurant in Mexico once and a couple dude s came in and sang a song to us. Where does one look when someone sings a song to them? At the singers? I mean it was a love song. Does one look at the ceiling, the floor, their hands? It’s awkward. Then he asked me to pay… all that awkwardness just evaporated… I was thinking: I been had…

And how does God sing? Does He sing with a big booming voice? Does He sing and look into our faces – into our hearts? Or does He just sing truth over us? Does He just sing truth? I can identify with those thoughts. (I think…) I’m glad there’s a voice in heaven singing loudly over me. I don’t know if I heard the song today, but I sure heard the truth. It took the sting out of today.

Sometimes, the truth is awkward. But sometimes, just sometimes, awkward isn’t so bad. I still can quite wrap my head around the truth of the Almighty belting one out: eternally. But in my mind today, I’m glad. I needed to know that truth today.

Father, whatever Your song sounds like, I’m glad You sing it. I’m glad You sing over the whole family – I’m glad. Lord tune my ears to the truth. Lord sing. Thank You

Sunday, March 13, 2016

God’s Law God’s Heart

3/13/2016

Deuteronomy 22.3 3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. – God

Hmmm, so much for “finder’s keeper’s…” There are two understandings that are absolutely essential when it comes to reading Moses: 1. God’s heart, 2. God was speaking to the Jews. First, God’s heart.

God cares for us and desires the best for us. (I can hear the religious in my upbringing groaning, yes, God loves us and God is love, but you better walk according to the straight and narrow or God’s gonna getcha!) Funny, I don’t see that in the instructions above to not ignore the loss of personal property by one which is found by another, and kept safely until the losee comes to his senses and exclaims: Oh! That’s where I left It!

God’s heart is simply this: As I have watched out for you, you are to watch out for one another. (Sadly, that has not always been the case for me…) However, God’s heart is for all of us.

Then, God’s law. It was written for the Jews. Those with crushed testicles (Deuteronomy 23.1) may not enter the assembly. That just seems so un-God. I don’t know why that was the command, but I do know that watching out for one another goes beyond injury to one’s genitals. God chose to deal with the Jews the way He chose to deal with them. The Church is different than the early Jewish nation.

Where we moderns tend to get into trouble, is we think the Mosaic Law somehow applies to us (or at least parts of it). I think that’s where we confuse God’s heart and God’s Law. Did the one whose manhood was mushed want that to happen? Did he intentionally go out and subject himself to that!? I’m not sure, but I’d say, probably not.

Bottom line is: the Law was the Law while the Law was the Law. It was written to guide the Jewish nation until such time as their Messiah arrived, and their Law would then be forever fulfilled. Yes, that time has come; and yes, the Mosaic Law is no more. But, God’s heart is for our hearts, not obedience to a law. We’re to obey our society’s law provided it doesn’t interrupt our relationship with God (God makes that very clear). But the Law under Moses was for then, and not for now.

God’s heart is always for those who come to Him in faith, seeking God’s desires for them. Pretty simple equation. And really, do we need to be told to watch out for one another, or can we simply follow God’s lead in our lives and just love people as He does, and do to them what we’d have them do to us? No law necessary for love.

Father, it is just that simple. May I know Your heart and then live accordingly – amen.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Even Titus

3/11/2016

Galatians 2.3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. – St. Paul

In Galatians 2 Paul uses the descriptor ‘even’ twice. Once to describe Titus, and the other to describe Barnabas. In both instances, Paul used ‘even’ to convey the magnitude of the situation. In one instance, Paul said even Titus was not forced (or guilted into) kowtowing to the Jews who durst would have him be circumcised to validate his faith.

The other instance was tragic in that even Barnabas, the inimitable Barnabas, was guilted into kowtowing to the Pharisaic pressure the orthodox-ers. Kowtowing to the point that Paul had to take such drastic action as to verbally whup Peter upside the ego for his kowtowing. That’s the importance and magnitude of what was going on in Galatia and the new Church.

They say, blood is thicker than water. I think that means we stick intellectually and behaviorally more to family and relatives than to non-family and non-relatives. I think in the religious world there is the same thing; the same sort of unreasonable thinking, judging, and behaving based on belief, bias, and behavior. (In many churches, it seems it is more about behaving first in order to belong later, than it is in believing at all …)

That’s the way it seemed in the days of the early church: trying to live, and extract itself out of centuries of Mosaic influence. That’s what Paul was so opposed to in Galatia, and why the tenor of his epistle was so stern and reproachful; these Galatians were doing the very thing for which Paul chastised Peter, one of the originals.

It is refreshing in the midst of all this, the inimitable Titus – one the Galatians apparently knew – wasn’t willing to be bullied into doing something that would validate his relationship with Jesus other than keeping his faith. That’s exactly what Paul begged the Galatians to do: keep the faith and resist the rules.

Titus was pretty darn sure of two things: his faith and himself. Aren’t we called to simply that as well? Titus, even Titus, wouldn’t allow someone or something to undercut his belief in the complete providential and propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Even Titus, the newbie in Christ knew what he knew, and knew where he stood – not even he, a stranger to Jewish custom and theology, knew nothing could be added to the cross of Christ and Him crucified. Way to go Titus!!! Know who you are and where you stand.

This is an important lesson to me: know who I am, Whose I am; and where I stand. There is no safer place than that. But also, when others see me, and know me, they say, not even Turk would stoop to that. It says a lot about one’s relationship with Christ – and, the magnitude of the daily assault upon the child of God.

Father, help us to stand so strong in You that others would say of us: not even they would cave to that… Amen

Thursday, March 10, 2016

His Pleasure

3/10/2016

Galatians 1.15-17 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. – St. Paul

You could say, by reading the above, that God took Paul off of one track, and set him upon another. It appears that God looked at the life and desires of the apostle before he was Paul, while he was still Saul, and said: You are zealous for things of which you are ignorant. I will show you what is real, and who you really are, and how I’m going to really use you for My glory and goodness.

St. Paul had no idea who he really was; he only knew what he thought he was. Paul was a teacher and a proclaimer, he just taught and proclaimed the wrong things. So, God showed him what was the truth and what was the real purpose of his life. God was pleased to reveal His Son to Paul, and when He did, Paul became a different person. That ought to give hope to someone.

We do what we do because as humans, we see what we see intellectually. But our intellect can be (and often is) faulty – at least according to God. Our reasoning, because of who we are apart from Him, is very suspect and can lead us to say and do the wildest things just because of what we think. And left to our thinking alone, we are dangerous at worst, and utterly foolish at best. Because He loves us, God is pleased to show us a different way and to, like He did for Paul, reveal to us His Son who saves us from our worst enemy: ourselves.

God takes full responsibility for Who He is and what He has done. He claims sovereign responsibility for His creation and all that is in it. God did not cause the fall of man, but God made a way for man to return from his own devices. And, remarkably, God gave man freewill; something never to be taken lightly. The problem is: man is incapable of coming to God unless God first takes pleasure to reveal to him His salvation. Man wants it his way. Man wants to flaunt his own creativity and cleverness. Paul the Apostle was creative and clever, but his creativity and cleverness couldn’t out-clever or out-create God.

If we are so inclined, we reason we must first attain to something in order to please God. We think we must show up in God’s presence to prove to Him how good we are. And thereby having proven our worth, we reason we deserve God’s approval. But God is pleased when we are at our worst and most undeserving, to reveal to us His Salvation: the Person of Jesus Christ. God takes into account His salvation, not our efforts at extracting ourselves from our own fallen reasoning and intellect.

When God is pleased, and He always is, people are saved. We weren’t created so God could find some divine pleasure in watching us crash and burn. God is the Creator of Life and He is pleased to give us that life that we may enjoy Him for eternity; never growing old, never growing tired.

I’m glad for that… I’m glad for His pleasure.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

The Beginnings of the Birth Pains


3/6/2016

Mark 13.5-8 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. – Jesus

I think, among men, there has always been an insatiable thirst to know more – I think that thirst is a direct result of the fall. Like a child who awaits his punishment after being found out in having committed a wrong, mankind always wants to know what comes next when the other shoe drops.

Jesus’ core group, Peter, James, and John approached Him one day and asked, Lord, what happens when the end comes, and how soon will it be? Jesus knew what they were asking but He said, “Don’t let anyone lead you astray…” In other words, everyone is thinking this, and many will postulate where, when, and how it’s all going to go down… Everyone thinks they can interpret the seasons and the times but no one really knows, and many will be led astray by the postulations of man.

He went on to say that many would come along claiming solutions to mankind’s issues; they will claim to be The One sent to deliver man from all his striving for truth and peace. And in the midst of all this there will be wars and rumors of more wars. There will be earthquakes, and natural disasters and famines but, Jesus said, all these things are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Nowadays, I hear many bemoaning (as they see it) the overreach of the government and the disregard for our Constitution. The questions seem to hover around, How can they get away with this!? These are but the beginnings of the birth pains. As we become more and more secular, we become more and more dependent on a government and less on God. Somehow the rule of men is more believable than the providence of God. We’ve already been led astray.

And sadly, we’ll continue to be led astray by the notion that somehow, somewhere is someone of commonsense and courage who will defeat the ones who threaten to take our liberties away, and restore the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When we have no God, we have no rights. And even if we have God, the only right we have is to become His children by belief in Him. America the beautiful doesn’t know who she is, or in whom she believes, save the political party she calls her own.

I have no answers but watching all this is going to be very telling. My discomfort is that the greatest nation on earth will become more and more irrelevant, and the Church within her will change as a result of the birth pains as they come.

Father, none of this is by accident and You are in complete control. May the pains that are coming be useful in drawing men to Yourself; and whether obvious or occluded, may Your Church be a haven of peace and providence for those who are wise enough to seek You in her. Amen.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

The Most Important

3/5/2016

Mark 12.29-30 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Jesus

Loving God is one thing; at least with God there is some sense of propriety of worship or at least, perhaps, a sense of reverence; a sense of holiness. With man, well that’s a different story. For all his glory, man is fallen. And fallen, is fallen… with all the fallenness that fallenness brings.

The person, smitten with someone of attraction, will soon find out that for all that attraction, the other has bad days, bad breath, bad moods and perhaps bad tempers, bad thoughts, and sometimes, even a bad outlook that is less than attractive. Whatever enchantment possessed, soon gives way to the way of all mankind: imperfection. And that’s just for the ones we consider to be attractive… where does our affection go for the ones we find less than attractive!?

Jesus said that love for God is only part of the equation. The rest of the math is love for man. God we don’t know, man we do. We know man because we know ourselves, and with fallenness comes the reality of our own imperfections and our lust to be better than we know ourselves to be. We are masters of denial and cover up, but even on our best days is the reality that we are, in reality, not all that and a bag of chips, despite the efforts we go to, to convince you O fallen soul on your own, of how good we are…

Unlovely, attempting to love the unloving – what a concept. And yet that is the very reality our God calls us to in Himself: to be filled with His love in order to love those we know to be at their deepest core: bad, fallible, faulty, faulted, fickle, frail, feeble, and capable of ferocious ferocity of self-preservation on a level that boggles the mind. It’s those He calls us to love.

But not to love in our own strength and ability: we’re fallen too, and too fallen to love. No, the greatest commandment apart from loving Him is to love them: the ones who are as bad as we are. That calls for the only thing even more important than the most important; it calls for His love to be alive and well in us. We can love what we think about God, or what we think we think about God; but the real brass tacks are His love for us to love Him, and His love to so indwell us that we find ourselves really loving our fellow man and seeking his highest good. Perhaps even above our own.

Father, it seems to be the hardest thing to do: to love You by loving and caring for my fellow man. Help me fulfill my God-love by loving with my human-love. I’m trusting You to see me through… amen.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

The Quest

3/3/2016

Mark 10.51-52 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. – St. Mark

I used to know a woman who complained. It wasn’t like an occasional thing, but all the time. Being the personality type I am (or was), I asked her one day: what do you want (out of life)? I didn’t mean from me; but in life. I’m not sure anyone had ever asked her that question. She didn’t know how to answer. She also avoided me like the plague after that.

One day a blind man heard Jesus was coming by and he began to cry out: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (like to the point he wouldn’t shut up.) Many around him tried to get him to be quiet, but when they did, he cried out all the more, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Some people know what they want, and they won’t rest until they get it. The blind man was one of those people.

When Jesus asked him, what do you want, he answered, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” He knew he was blind. He knew what his problem was. And for some reason, he knew Whom to ask to find the answer.

There are many in this world who don’t know what they want. They’re frustrated and tired of trying to find the elusive, and it really sets the tone for their daily living. But then there are those who know what they want (need) and they set out to find it. The blind man (named Bartimaeus) knew this Jesus was the Answer to his problem.

My job on earth isn’t to solve your problem(s); my job is to tell you about the One who’s helped me and can help you (whoever you are; whatever your issues are). Like the woman I asked, what’s your problem, Jesus is asking each of us: what’s your problem? Some, like her, cannot identify just what it is their issue(s) is; others, like the blind man in Mark 10, have a heart to see Jesus is, and make their way steadfastly toward Him. Most of us could take a lesson or two from blind Bartimaeus.

Lord, regardless of whether we truly see or not, may we have eyes to see and ears to hear that You are our Vision, and You have set out to help us with what we really what and need: You. Use me to help others in their quest for truth… amen.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The Wallet

3-2-16

Mark 9.23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” – St. Mark

Recently, I lost my wallet. Age and stage these days… So, I got home from Church on Sunday and because it was rainy and cold, I flopped on the couch and visited with my bride and decided to remain there for some time until I decided I needed to go upstairs and take a nap. At some point (having taken advice from George Costanza) in the process I think I took my bulging (full of useless stuff) wallet out of my back pocket and set it on the couch…my memory goes blank after that.

So we, later, go to the store and, as usual, c’mon ladies, you know what I’m talking about, I ask my wife if she’s seen my wallet. She looks at me with that, are you serious? look on her face and says, No, let’s go; I’ll drive. So I get back home and commence to looking in earnest for said wallet – to no avail. Did I leave it at the church? Did I leave it upstairs? Did it fall out of my wallet onto the parking lot at the church? I keep looking and looking into the 4 pockets of my jeans, and the other pair of jeans, and the jacket I wore that day – in the laundry basket, endless trips into the office at the house – and on and on and on. It’ll show up I just know it, but dang it's elusive!

Well, that’s Sunday so I resume search and rescue on Monday, to no avail – all of the same spots as before and miracle of miracles, the wallet remains missing. That’s Monday. So off to Tuesday and I have a business trip to make so I look some more and don’t find the wallet some more and I borrow Cathy’s debit card and take twenty bucks for whatever and I go off to my all day business trip sans wallet.

Now, one of the nicest things anyone ever bought me was a subscription to Sirius/XM radio in the car. There may not be internet access or cell phone service in Monument, Oregon, but there is Sirius/XM, and yours truly is a fan. I listen to Joel Osteen a lot. I like what he has to say and I find his modern-day version of Norman Vincent Peale sort of refreshing. Joel tells me not to ask God endlessly for stuff, but instead, to thank God routinely for the blessings I have. Good advice.

So, on the way home, ol’ Joel is preaching away and he tells me that God is going to bless me double because of the lost wallet. (Okay, he didn’t mention the wallet specifically, but he did mention the difficulties we have and how God loves to bless us in the midst of our messes…) And Joel tells me to expect God’s blessings; to thank God for His blessings (before they arrive) and to recognize the blessing as they show up – in whatever way they show up. So, I focused on that for w while.

Again, we go to the store on Tuesday night and yours truly still has no wallet. When we get home, I tell Cathy, let’s pull those couch cushions out and see what’s under them. (We both had slid our hands behind and around those cushions numerous time.) An voila-peanut butter sandwich, there’s the wallet. I got the double blessing: it was found and I don’t have to cancel everything and start over. I had peace and I had joy and God directed me to my wallet.

I never once prayed: Jesus, if You can, could You help me find that wallet; You know I’m all stressed out about it and You know I think we’re gonna get identity theft and all that; but if You could, would You help us find that? I never prayed that. I did thank God endlessly for what He was doing and going to do, but I never asked Him if He could. But HE did, and my wallet (for the moment) is safely and my pants pocket and I am grateful that even in the little things in life, Jesus not only can – He also does. I will tell you that for the three days – I believed that stinking wallet would show up.