Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Gideon and Me

3/29/2017

Judges 6. 13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

A bigger question may have been asked, but this one from Gideon ranks right up there: if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Wow! How many people use that one!?

We humans fancy that we have it all figured out – that time is on our side; and that God will give us peace, security, health, wealth, and whatever else we need. And the promises of God do tend to lean in that direction. But the condition is that God be our God, and all His blessings, in whatever form they appear, satisfy us. Job said, Shall I accept [only] good from the Lord and not trouble? (Job 2.13) Good question Job!

I think we tend to live any old way we please, and expect God to pick up all our broken pieces. And we are happy when it’s good, but question God when it isn’t. Why is it we think we can call God into question as Gideon did: if You’re so good, God, why has all this happened to us? What’s up!?

Gideon went on to ask, “Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’” (…and, how come He isn’t doing it now!?) And then Gideon gets down to what everybody does in turmoil, he states: “But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” Ah, the real conclusion: mighty God has let us down again.

A friend of mine said, if it’s always just you against the world, then it might be you that needs to change. Gideon, Israel, Christian, it just might be you that needs to change.

Gideon needed to change. He was in deep weeds and he knew it, but rather than repent and ask God for help, he insisted in blaming God for his troubles. Don’t we do that? Some of us? In between infrequently and frequently – depending on the severity of the need? Gideon needed to find a humble heart. Gideon needed to quit looking at God as his servant and ask: God, what can I do and how will You help?

God was patient with the whining Gideon, and He is marvelously patient with me when I do the same thing. It’s not what I am going through; it’s what I learn as I go through what I’m going through. Trusting God in the proving grounds is the means, not the end. The end is falling on my face in worship proclaiming God’s adoption of me as His son, and His tender care over me in the troubles and trials He promises to go with me through. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

In trials, trouble, tests, and tribulation (in this world, you will have them all! But take heart, child, I have overcome the world…on your behalf – Jesus, John 16.33) our best defense is trusting the Lord for who He is and whose I am. When things get ugly or difficult or wearisome, that’s when I ought to be praising God for His presence, His plan, and His participation in my life – I never go through difficulty alone as long as God is on the Throne.

Lord, You use broken, accusing people such as Gideon, and me, to accomplish Your will. Lord, help me to cooperate, trust You, and praise You for all I am going through. Through it all, my eyes are on You; the waves and wind still know Your name. Amen

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Grownup Children

3/28/2017

1 Corinthians 13.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. – St. Paul

On Wednesdays, my church has a kids ministry (boys and girls) during the school year called: Royal Rangers. It is a curriculum/experience based ministry where kids are taught to earn various merits: cooking, camping, photography, hiking, and the like. There is everything from first-aid, to bicycle safety. It also includes Bible teaching and general living principles from a godly perspective. We use Royal Rangers to introduce children to the concept of leadership in hope of raising them to accept the leader mantle as they grow into adulthood.

We have a saying: boys will be boys, until they are taught to become men. For girls, it is the same: girls will be girls, until they are taught to become women.

Adulthood isn’t just a date on a calendar. I know plenty of boys who are in their sixties and seventies. I once worked at a large box-store retail company that sold toys. Each year at Christmas, we sold Hot Wheels® cars, cheap, as a way to draw people into the store. It wasn’t the kids looking for the cars, it was these older children in their fifties, sixties, and seventies buying these stupid little toys. Collectors, they fancied themselves. And the stuff older guys buy trying to reclaim the magic of Christmas from their days of their pre-adolescence. Yikes!

Paul said, When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. The hinge is: what makes a man? Age? Maturity? Experience? Do we, one day, grow up and cease to be children, and then take on adult things? Paul grew up one day: day after day, after day, of getting there…

I don’t think Paul grew up different than many other Jewish boys in his day, but the goal for him (and his peers) was to become a man, not just a grownup child. The stresses of life can make us want to revert to simpler times. I didn’t balance a check book as a child; I never worried that we’d run out of pancakes. I had clothes and shelter, and a warm bed to sleep in. But I never had to concern myself with providing those things for myself. My parents did all that.

But becoming a man means taking on the more serious side of life and thinking as an adult should think: marriage, home, career, etc. And leadership. Adults are to lead the next generation into their adult years. But often, as things become more complicated, the current generation is reluctant to fight, and the next generation isn’t so willing to follow; they’d rather remain children.

In our faith and in our relationship with God there comes a time when we must become men, and women. There comes a time when we adults must put childish things aside. We must at some point: grow up; the world and our very way of life is at stake.

Father, some of us get it sooner than later, but I pray for the days of my life to become more increasingly leader quality, and that I would forsake my nagging, unrepentant childishness. Fill me with You Spirit to be a man today, and put childish things aside! Amen.

Monday, March 27, 2017

When We Were Pagans

3/27/2017

1 Corinthians 12.2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. – St. Paul

I went to a men’s retreat this past weekend. I had fun, I learned lots of things, and was reminded, and re-reminded of a lot more. One of the biggest things I was reminded of, was my identity. In Christ.

I am not yet what I will be, but I am not what I once was. Paul said, when you were pagans… - that was an important statement because their identity had changed. They were accepted in the Beloved, because of their faith. Anyone who accepts the offer of God’s grace in Christ becomes a new creation, old things are gone, and all things become new (Galatians 2.20).

They were no longer pagans...

And so, the believer today can confidently say, I am beloved by God. I am not what I once was, I am near, and He is near, and He loves me without condition. My pastor says, God’s love language is obedience; and though that thought makes me uncomfortable, it’s true. God loves me, and is working diligently in my life. All the time. He is making my love language obedience as well – if I love Him I will prove it by obeying Him (John 14, 15. 16).

My identity is beloved. If you are a Christ-follower, yours is too. You may not yet be what you will be, but you are never again what you once were. When we were – whatever that was, is before who we are now. Now is different than then and now is who we’ll be forever. That ought to make us think about who we are now in Jesus.

Are we obedient – not to a tyrant, but to a Savior? Are we enjoying Him in the moment – this one, and every other one coming our way? Are we experiencing Jesus right now? And how is that, right now? What is our love-language to Him.

Our changing ourselves in an attempt to have God love us more is foolish. We can never do that despite our efforts. But God’s loving us, changes us in ways unfathomable to our minds, and schemes. He does that for and to His beloved, singularly, and corporately. If you are a Christ-follower, like me, we’re beloved by Him, and that ought to change us. The other part of change is this: are we experiencing Him right now, and how is that experience? We can never have too much confidence in that.

Father, I was given insight this weekend I don’t want to lose. I want to consider Your presence and where You are each moment of my day: with me, for me, in me, and through me. Your love changes me but I must remember that I am never out of Your thoughts or sight. That ought to help in the heat of the battle with sin. That ought to quench fear and uncertainty. That is my identity and is to define me forever. Thank You, Lord! Amen

Friday, March 24, 2017

The Need and the Savior

3/24/2017

1 Corinthians 9.26-27 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. – St. Paul

I used to work for a guy who took the whole concept of intentionality pretty seriously. I thought he was OCD. He was, at least outwardly, fanatical (and I don’t use that term lightly) about intentionality and strategy. He was under an extreme amount of self-imposed pressure. But he was effective.

Sometimes intentionality can be a shtick – just someone’s way of getting things done, or garnering attention to sell a product, or enthrall an audience. A shtick can be just an act. But when we run into those (inside and outside the Church) who are intentional, there is something to be said about the way they think. Paul the apostle was one of those men. I don’t think Paul used his ‘playtime’ at all.

So, Paul said, Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Paul was very intentional. You might ask why.

For better or for worse, the ancient saint saw the magnitude of two things: the need for men’s salvation, and the Savior who brings that salvation. To Paul, life was not just a meaningless exercise in how to make it through another day; to him, life was all about how to make it to the next life. But even in that, there was much more. Paul would settle for nothing less than the very presence of God over and above all else. That, was what he was passionate about.

Church, to Paul, was not some piddling play-thing; it was the proving ground of faith. The proof was effectiveness and the practice was helping men see their plight: they were doomed beyond imagination without salvation – specifically, the salvation that only Jesus Christ could bring. Paul ate, breathed, and slept that intentionality.

In this life, we’re not to rate ourselves by what Paul did or did not do – he would be horrified if we did. But Paul would be pleased if we were as intentional about the Savior as he was. Paul, somehow, believed his very life was only to live for and promote the Savior who saved him. And that was the basis of his intentionality. Nothing else mattered. Not life, not death, not wealth, not health. Paul was intentionally sold out to living intentionally for his Savior. And though Paul understood men, he expected great things from the churches he planted: he expected their intentional living to promote and proclaim Jesus Christ.

Lord, Paul was a vessel in Your hand, a tool in Your kit. He was effective and seemed unfazed by hardship and difficulty. He only lived intentionally to promote and proclaim Your name. He saw the big two: man’s need, and Your salvation. May I learn to live as intentionally as Paul did. I know it will cost me, but Lord in the present hour there is no greater need than for men to live for You. Help me Jesus. Amen

Thursday, March 23, 2017

If What I Do

3/23/2017

1 Corinthians 8.13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. – St. Paul

I have a friend who always challenges me with: what is God saying to you? We talk and he listens and then He invariably says: so, what is God telling you to do? Sometimes, I want to yell at my friend: I DON’T KNOW!!! I don’t, but when I read a passage like 1 Corinthians 8 and land on verse 13, I ask myself: what is God saying to me? What did He say to Paul?

Corinth was a city of great decadence in those days. It was a port-town and ports usually have sailors, and if sailors then were like sailors now, well, you get what I mean; even port-towns need Jesus. Paul was called by God to plant a church in Corinth and he did. If you read 1 and 2 Corinthians you might pick up that they had some issues (what church doesn’t), and they were a little rough around the edges.

Like many-a-church, Corinth not only had their issues, but they also had their questions: what do we do about this? What about that? And Paul, absent from the scene, addressed their questions through letters exchanged back and forth between them. And 1 Corinthians 8 addresses: what to do about eating food which had been sacrificed in pagan temples, to idols.

In Israel, in their old days, the slaughtered animals in the sacrificial ceremonies were roasted in the fire, and for the most part, were then eaten by those who sacrificed them. Other cultures did as well. At some point some enterprising soul came along and established restaurants of sorts in temples and it caught on like fast-food. It smelled good, it tasted good, and, no sense in letting it go to waste.

In Corinth, some ate in the temple cafes without so much as a second thought; it smelled good, it tasted good, and who cares how it got there, let’s eat! Other’s weren’t so bold; their conscience wouldn’t let them go that far: the food had been sacrificed to idols, and therefore it was sacrifice-food, and thereby tainted in some way. It smelled good and probably tasted good, but it had a stigma: it had been sacrificed to some pagan god and therefore was bad. And those who ate bad food, were bad – or so the thinking went.

Now, remember, Paul was answering a question and he had to be careful. He stated that knowledge puffed up, but love built up. Some, in Corinth had no problem with temple-food – they knew there was no other God but God, and that sacrificed food was just that: food. So, their knowledge gave them the freedom to eat whatever they wanted without question. But their freedom presented an issue for those who couldn’t go there in their own minds: once sacrificed, always sacrificed. And sin. And distress.

Here is where Paul led them: I care enough about my brothers and sisters in Christ that if what I eat causes [them] to fall into sin (either by judgment, or participation) I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall – they mean that much to me. And the implication: I’m going to err on the side of grace in my eating so as not to cause undue harm to another believer by my choices. Love builds up. I know better, but knowledge puffs up: and forcing a baby to act like an adult is futile, frustrating, and damaging.

Father, You know my preferences and my penchants. May neither be a stumbling block to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and my I live out of deference for them rather than in selfishness for me. Help me to be wise and hear what You are saying to me because I want to love others as You do – amen

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

A Right Way

3/22/2017

1 Corinthians 7. 35 I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. – St. Paul

Oh, the theology we build… some of the most confusing stuff comes out of Paul’s answers to the Corinthians questions. The confusion is, in part, self-imposed because we moderns try to modernize what Paul was saying to an ancient culture. It doesn’t mean it isn’t applicable for today, but it does mean we need to be wise in how we apply it in our modern world.

The term modern is not ‘kryptonitic’; meaning, just because we deem something modern, is not some all-encompassing determination that ancient has no meaning, or bearing in our times. (Free-will is another kryptonitic term: not even God has the power to overcome freewill… how misguided…).

Modern simply means this: it applies to our times, our culture, our mode of living. But just because something is modern doesn’t give it the right to be the only, or best, way to go about living. Modern is as much a curse as it is a blessing. Modern means we live differently (in some respects) than did the ancients. We do, as McKnight writes: our way in our day. Paul was writing to people who did things their way in their day. Culturally they approached marriage differently than we, in the west, do today.

But over and above all the ways of all the days is this: how does one (in whatever days) relate to the Lord, and do it well? Paul wrote: I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. Paul espoused a right way.

The right way simply boils down to this: what (and how) is my relationship to (and with) the Lord? Who is God to me, and, how is that relationship? The right way is devotion to Him. That doesn’t mean human marriage is a wrong thing (thank You Lord!). But marriage (modern or other) can be, a distraction, of sorts, in our devotion to God. I know of people who engage in what I might term, “spousal” idolatry.

Spousal idolatry is human, normal, and somewhat expected given the individual. Spousal idolatry, however, puts the supposed (or expected) relationship with God in a weird place. The spouse does not become God, but the spouse sure does take up a lot of time, energy, and thought in the greater scope of living. Spousal idolatry does not limit God, but it does get in the way of an individual’s devotion to God.

Yes, we are to give our spouse our attention and devotion, but where will ‘spouse’ be in that future conversation with God on the day of eternity? And where does the Kingdom of God come into play in the present relationship of spouses? Paul, I think, was just offering up a gentle word of admonition to all cultures: don’t let human relationships, no matter how good they are, get in the way of devotion to God. The right way is to make room, with God, for wife and family… let’s avoid just making room for God.

Father, You made human relationships what they are, but You never intended them to get in the way of the individual relationships You desire to have with each of us. Help me to make room for the others in my life as I serve and devote myself to You. Help me to keep things in proper perspective and to believe that as I do, my relationship with You – and them – grows better, greater; and righter. Amen

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

A Journey of Faith

3/21/2017

Joshua 9.14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

If one reads Joshua 9 there is an account of the sun standing still while the Israelites fought against the Amorites. The day lengthened! The sun stopped. Wow! It made me think: hmmm, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day. The Bible tells me, one day, there actually was.

What got me this morning was what the writer of Joshua exclaimed at the end of the account of this might miracle: Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel! Made me think the writer was a bit blown-away as well.

Can you point to a miracle in your life? Has there ever been a time when things have just worked out, for you? Maybe it wasn’t a miracle; maybe you just came to the conclusion: things are going to work out after all. And maybe there has never been a day, before or after, like that in your life.

I think we want things to work out always. I think we want multiplied miracles, non-stop. It might make life interesting. But it also might make life monotonous. I think there is something to be said for mystique – the unpredictable; the unforeseen, the unexepcted. That seems more like God’s M.O.

It doesn’t take a miracle for God to come through, and God doesn’t need our approval. Truly, according to what was written in Joshua, the Lord was fighting for Israel, but there was only that one day when the sun-stood-still. The reality is, the Lord is fighting for us always – we just have to believe that truth – miracle or no. Sometimes the fight of life includes a miracle, but all the time it requires faith. Miracle or not, God is truly fighting for His own.

The truth is: God loves and fights for His own. Always. The truth is: God is never defeated. There’s a concept for you. Sickness, discomfort, poverty, lack – there are all things God uses in the lives of people; but His perfect will for all of us is accomplished whether we believe that or not.

Recently, I have experienced a couple things that have caused me to rethink the fight God fights for me. They have been encouraging things, and they have come in the form of blessing in the monetary sense. But, sun-standing-still notwithstanding, blessings are never an end in themselves – they are only ever a means. Israel had the sun stand still for them only once; the rest of the time it was a call to faith in what God had said, and done on their behalf.

Father, You do fight for us. No, the sun hasn’t stood still since that day, but Your love for Your own continues. Thank You for meeting our needs and for what You are doing, and have done, on our behalf. Regardless of the outcome, life is still a faith journey and Your promises are true and everlasting. Thank You for helping me – Amen

Monday, March 13, 2017

Acceptance

3/13/2017

Galatians 4.7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. – St. Paul

An heir is someone to whom an inheritance belongs. On earth, the heir gets what the parent or benefactor leaves them when the parent or benefactor passes away. In the eternal Kingdom, no one passes away, and God gives to His children all that He has, for all of eternity.

It’s the, all He has for all of eternity, that gets my attention. It’s not God’s blessing I need; it’s God Himself. I don’t need stuff, I need Him.

All of my life to this point has been an accumulation of stuff. But stuff has not come close to giving me what I need or what I truly want – and that is peace, and acceptance. God makes the offer for peace and acceptance. God makes the promise for peace and acceptance. In God, there is no shortage or lack of peace and acceptance.

And in God, there is no proving how good I am – only the realization of how needy I am. And I am needy for all He has. By accepting Him, I am accepted by Him, and called an heir to all He has for me.

On earth, there is transaction: we give to get. In Heaven, there is transaction as well, but He gives so I get. Therein lies the difference: as an heir of God, He gave me His Son so that by accepting Him, I get all that God has for me. The currency is Christ. The position is mine, in Him.

Today, my job is acceptance. Today, my reality is acceptance of the company of the King, who has called me His heir. The vastness of His acceptance is mine because I traded my life for His, and accepted His Kingdom in place of this earth.

Father, what does it benefit a person who gains the whole earth but misses You? What good is it to live life all on my own but miss out on the inheritance of Heaven: the inheritance of the acceptance that I am Your heir for all eternity and beyond? May I think and live differently today, in You. Amen

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Emulate

3/11/2017

Galatians 2.13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. – St. Paul

One thing about the Church, we’re not supposed to use it as a club, or a weapon. That’s not to say we aren’t to address sin and wrongdoing, but we are to use corrective action with love, grace, and redemption.

That being said, we aren’t to sugar-coat corrective action. Sometimes there is a need for tough love.

In the Old Testament there are many examples of tough love that permeate the narrative. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire to God and died. Miriam publicly criticized Moses and was struck by leprosy. David’s servant Uzzah reached out to steady the ark when the oxen stumbled and was killed on the spot. May times in the wilderness God mercilessly struck down rebels in the Israeli community for their rebellion and disrespect.

And lest we conclude that corrective action in the New Testament is different, we need look no further that Ananias and Sapphira and their sin in Acts 5; or the adulterer cast out of the congregation in 1 Corinthians (later restored in 2 Corinthians). Corrective action is often harsh, but its harshness is intended for a purpose. Stick your finger into a charged electric socket and there will be corrective action.

So, Paul rebuked Peter (I think harshly) for his sin of distancing himself from the gentile believers. I think it was humiliating for Peter but I think it shocked him out of his hypocrisy, and into better choices.

Our actions influence others. The thing that really got me this morning was that, “even Barnabas” (revered as almost legendary in his devotion to Christ and the early Church) was led astray by their hypocrisy. Wow! That says something! And it makes a huge statement to leaders of the consequences that their actions truly have.

There is a need men like Paul, and Peter, and Barnabas in the Church today. We need their words, their leadership, and their courage to tackle the issues facing the Church in the 21st century. We need men in the church to lovingly, redemptively, and if necessary, strongly, confront sin and hypocrisy in our midst. The consequences of not doing so have a disastrous effect on the Church and her mission.

Which leads me to me. What is my place as a leader in Christ’s Church? What are the consequences of my actions and attitudes to those in my charge (currently a group of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys)? Each week during the school year, I get to use the Scripture in their lives to teach, rebuke, correct and train in righteousness, so that they, as servants of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3) But what happens when they see me out in public – am I representing Christ in a manner that they can emulate? Trust me, our children, and the people we know, will emulate

Father, as Paul challenged Peter, and Barnabas to live with integrity to their beliefs, may I do the same. May I set an example – whether people follow or not – that brings honor and glory to Your name. Help me to lead and to live for You; and bring others along as well… Amen

Friday, March 10, 2017

Tests

3/10/2017

Deuteronomy 13.3 …you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. – Moses

I’ve heard it said that a test ought to lead to a testimony; a trial ought to lead to a triumph; and a mess will lead to a message. Glib? Perhaps, but certainly something to think about. And right here in Deuteronomy 13, Moses said, God will purposely, intentionally test them.

Not it’s not like it’s some sort of galactic conspiracy to see what we’ll do, but tests do lead to the development of character. Romans 5 says: suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Vv. 3b,4) Hope is not: I hope God does something; but rather, hope is God is doing something. Without hope, we’ve only just wishful thinking.

And y’know what? God won’t do anything in our freewill lives without some kind of test to see where our choice will take us. It’s the only way freewill can be proven. And we can pass every test if we choose to...

Tests are there to see what is in our heart. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10.13) The test is belief that there is already a way out, and passing the test is hope: a fixed assurance of that way.

Does God trust us? Yes, if we love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But the tests will come because our choice never ends. The tests prove our love.

Tests can be little, great, or somewhere in between; but one thing is for sure, tests are for us. God knows our choice long before we choose. Our choice reveals to us where our heart and devotion is with the Lord.

Father, I know and accept that You test me. Your tests lead to my testimony. Your trials lead to my triumph. And the messes I’ve made that You’ve used for my good, are my message to others that relationship with You goes way beyond religion, and way into a life in eternity spent with You. Help me today God! Amen

Monday, March 6, 2017

The Answer is No

3/6/2017

Deuteronomy 4.32-34 32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? – Moses

No. The answer to these questions is No. Has anything so great as this ever happened? No. Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire as you have, and lived? No. Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another by testing, signs, wonders, war, a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds??? No.

The answer is no because no one ever had any of this happen to them. Other than the nation of Israel.

And God did it for His people because the very next verse says this: You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides Him there is no other. (V. 35)

Is God the same today? Does God work in the lives of His people today? Does God provide marvelously for those in need who look to Him for help? Has God caused the circumstances to bend in favor toward His children? Has God brought salvation and provision in time of need out of His great compassion and care? Does God defend His own? Does God still do great and marvelous things?

Yes.

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is the One who never changes and in whom there is no shadow. God loves His children today with the same intensity as He did our brothers and sisters of old. God never changes. He is still the same.

And we can count on Him today. It takes faith, but we can count on Him today.

Friends, I am in a position where I am reevaluating my understanding of God and here’s what I’ll say: I need Him. I suspect, in some measure you do too. Your circumstances are not mine, nor are mine your, but the common denominator is this: we need God.

Are we going to find help at our greatest point of need outside of Him? No. Are we going to be able to live in peace and contentment apart from Him? No. Is there anyone anywhere who loves and care for us at the level He does? No. So then, let’s give Him our all and watch what He does on our behalf.

Father, there is no one like You, and for us as Your kids, there is no one, but You. May we seek You and keep seeking You, not for the temporal things of this earth, but also as well for the culture of Heaven that awaits us. Amen

Saturday, March 4, 2017

In Season

3/4/2017

Mark 11.13-14 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

This is only the first part of the story – the next day the fig tree was completely shriveled. But let’s deal with the first part: what Jesus said.

This is an odd story for numerous reasons: for one thing, Jesus went to find fruit on the tree but there was none, because “…it was not the season for figs.” Shouldn’t Jesus have known it wasn’t the season for figs? Sure, He should have! But the point is deeper.

Paul said to Timothy: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4.2) In other words, preach the truth, and keep on preaching the truth.

But do we need Paul to explain Jesus?

Well, if we consider who Israel was to Jesus, then it makes more sense why Jesus said to the tree what He said. I think the tree represented Israel and she hadn’t borne (born?) any fruit for a long time. Her relationship with God was that of self-righteousness, and her heart was hard toward the things of God. Yes, she appeared prosperous (she was an ag-producer of Rome), but her heart was far from prosperous in the things of God.

And it’s important to remember the treatment Jesus received from those who were supposed to be herding the hearts of the people God-ward – it was anything but godly. Her religion produced death.

It’s also important to remember who Jesus came to save: the nation of Israel. But they wanted a military and political conquest, not a revelation of God’s presence and love.

Lastly, as His children, you and I are to bear fruit in season and out; when someone is listening, and looking, and when they aren’t. We are not on this earth for a long and satisfying career of some sort with a retirement filled with the acquisition of earthly things and the appearance of religion. We are on earth to do God’s work – retirement is in Heaven.

The fruit we are to produce because we are indwelt with His Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the things that are vastly more tangible than money, possessions, and gliding safely to the end of a ripple-free life. The tree was cursed while it lived. For us to live in ungodly self-dependence could cause the same effect…

Lord Jesus, may I bear fruit for You. I can only do that in Your presence, strength and power; but may I do that for you. I pray forgiveness for how I’ve lived and the priorities I’ve cherished. Use me Lord in Your kingdom’s work, and may I finish well – asking, in Your Name. Amen

Friday, March 3, 2017

Sight to the Blind

3/3/2017

Mark 10.17, 51 17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”

In Mark 10, Jesus dealt with: with two blind men – one was actually blind, the other just couldn’t see.

In my reading today, I saw two things: Money is one of the weirdest things in all of life; and Jesus gives sight to the blind, if they want it.

In the story, a rich man comes to Jesus to seal the deal for his place in Heaven: “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He had money for all that money could buy, but he couldn’t figure out how to secure his place in Heaven.

Many times, people come to God expecting one thing only to find out their expectation reveals a massive lack of understanding of God, and themselves. This rich man was like this. He thought he could broker a deal with Jesus to secure his standing in heaven. What he didn’t realize was his wealth blinded his view of heaven and impeded his entrance there. He needed sight, not money.

The other man needed money as well, but what he really needed was sight. Begging in those days was a terrible life; and being a blind beggar was even worse – you couldn’t see who was stealing what you begged, or where a coin went that was tossed at you.

As I go through my days, I encounter many people who struggle with sight. Rarely do I run into the ones who have lost physical sight; most are just blind to God and what He is trying to do in them, for them, and through them.  Most of the time blindness really boils down to looking at the wrong things; or looking at right things wrongly. The rich man in Mark 10 looked at right things wrongly.

Now, to be fair, he did go to Jesus to find help, but his vision of help was so off-base that he couldn’t see the answer to his problem. He only knew what he had, and to him, that was enough. But there was a small conscience inside him that bugged him about spiritual things and he couldn’t reconcile his conscience with truth. When Jesus confronted him about his worldview he went away sad because he just couldn’t see what his real problem was. Don’t call Jesus, Good Teacher if you’re not going to apply what He teaches…

Not sure what happened to the blind beggar. Maybe he went on to be successful financially in life. Or maybe he went to his grave knowing that the Lord of Glory gave him what he really needed: sight. One thing is for sure, when Jesus offered help, he took it. The other guy? Not so much

Father, help me in my days of struggling in my pursuit of Heaven, and the pursuit of money. May I have serenity to accept the things I cannot change; peace to change the things I can; and Your vision, wisdom, and provision, to be content. Thank You for Your love for me and for all those trying to enter Your Kingdom - Amen

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Talking with Jesus

3/2/2017

Mark 9.4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. – St. Mark

Moses represented the Law, and Elijah, the prophetic. Both are necessary to some degree. Moses was revered in Jewish theology as the one who put God’s stamp of approval on the Jewish nation, and the one who instructed them how to live. Elijah represented the one who urged them to repent and return to God (during the days of king Ahab).

Much of the conversation on the mountain that day was lost on the Jewish men who accompanied Jesus to the top. Of course, Peter had to spout off about what he thought he saw, but it is important for us to know, they all recognized Moses and Elijah in the conversation they had with the Lord.

Law and repentance are important things to the Jew. The Law instructed them how to live in God’s presence, and repentance afforded them the opportunity to return whenever they strayed from those instructions. But Law and repentance are not what Jesus came to espouse: Jesus came to open the way for mankind to return to God by fulfilling the Law for them in His perfect and sinless life given for them.

Without Jesus, all we have is law and repentance in an endless cycle of failure and retrying… Next time, I’ll just do better…

But doing better isn’t the point – because we can’t. What we need is infinitely beyond law and repentance. What we need is the power to believe in Him who accomplished it all for us. And that power helps us come back to Him in an endless cycle of grace and redemption that we may model that for the world. Law and repentance teach us what is right and wrong and what to do if we screw up. Grace and redemption free us to live in fellowship with God and follow His lead.

What would you say to Jesus in your conversation with Him? Do you have conversations with Him? What could you say to the Lord that would be of interest or importance to Him?

Conversations with Jesus are opportunities share what is on your heart and to hear what is on His. Conversations are two-way; from and to. What do we say to Jesus and how does He respond? It’s interesting what we’ll hear from Him if we give Him half a chance.

Lord, Your desire is to be in close communication with all of Your brothers and sisters. My prayer is that my communications with You increase in intensity and frequency. May I simply set my mind to talk with You and set my heart to hear from You. Thank You for Your word, and thank You for holy thoughts and ideas. Teach me Lord to listen and obey and to allow You to lead me and guide me where You direct. Amen

Since You are responsible for the creation of all creation, getting Your message across to me should be no big deal…

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Their Cross

3/1/2017

Mark 8.34-36 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” – Jesus

A recurring theme in my life is this: whoever want to be My disciple must deny [himself] and take up [his] cross and follow Me. This is way easier said, than done.

For one thing, what does it mean to take up a method of execution? Crosses then, were not as we consider crosses now. And doesn’t everyone want to save their life – don’t we hold life precious and value it? Jesus seemed to be saying: if you spend all of your energy trying to protect your natural life, you’ll end up losing your spiritual life. Then what?

And really, what good are possessions if you’ve built a life around attaining them and have no time to enjoy them? All the riches in the world cannot buy happiness.

A way of understanding what Jesus said might be this: Whoever wants to be My disciple must live for Me as I live for My Father (God). Jesus then, must be the entire focus of the life of the disciple. Again, it is easier said than done. Sometimes it is best to begin with nothing, than begin with something.

A life build with nothing is a life that then begins to appreciate everything. That might be denial or it might be the proper valuation of things. If you have nothing, you begin to appreciate something. We want it the other way around: we want something so that we can appreciate more. And we live to pursue more.

Jesus taught about the value of a soul – a life. Jesus taught about the necessity of denial. But in His teachings about denial, He underscored the abundance of life in Him – the life that goes beyond the pursuit of the things of earth. So, to deny oneself (according to Jesus) is the path to gain God, and there is nothing more, more than God. If it’s riches we want, then look no farther than God. The trinkets of earth hold no glory compared to God.

It’s counter to the way most of us live. Go figure, Jesus being counter to earthly culture. But if the presence of God is our destination then there is nothing we can bring that will add to that – apart from ourselves. The richest among us are the truly godly. And it starts with a method of execution: it starts with the cross.

My cross is my decision to take Jesus at His word. My cross is my surrender to His culture – the culture of Heaven – and to follow Him there; wherever He leads me. That is His way. True disciples follow Him.

Lord Jesus, today I start out with nothing but You. Today, I shoulder my cross which separates me from all this world has to offer and frees me to all You have in store. Lead me this day and strengthen me, as I begin with nothing, to receive from You everything I need for life and godliness. Amen.