The Death of Aristocracy

05/31/16

Romans 12.1-2 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – St. Paul

This is pretty straightforward; not a bunch of deep theological terms; just offer yourselves to God as a living sacrifice because that is true worship and it is the proper thing to do. And renew your mind. This entails thinking differently. It entails reading the Word of God in order to think differently. Simple.

But there is one glaring truth that isn’t explicitly (or implicitly) offered: these verses are not offered to aristocracy. One cannot be a king in his own mind and offer himself as a living sacrifice to Jesus.

I have long held that the Church in America in many respects, is confused as to who she really is. Are we in the church patriots to the American Way? Are we republicans or democrats? Are we pro-life or pro-choice? Are we for gun-ownership or not? Ask 20 different Christians about these things and you’ll get twenty different answers. If we spend our time thinking about these things, we’re probably not too concerned about the Kingdom. Who are we in Christ?

I heard a man speak on Sunday and he put into words what I have long held: we don’t want much to do with God because we’re deep-down-afraid of what God is going to do to us, or what God wants from us. We’d rather be the royalty than the peasantry. Royalty rules, peasants serve. Get what You need from someone else, Lord.

Funny though, the Lord Jesus Himself came as a King to serve. I’m not sure how we square that with the whole aristocracy thing. How does an aristocrat offer him/her self as a living sacrifice? What does that mean in regard to my time, talents, and treasures? And if we’re aristocracy, who then is the peasantry? I think these are hard questions for the modern church to answer.

I had to ask me these questions. I thought, well, I’ll just get busier in my job. I thought, well, I’ll just get busier in my church (We are right, aren’t we?). And then the speaker nailed me: He asked how often I started my day in prayer seeking, not trinkets from Jesus, but direction. I think I frowned. And then he said the only way to be with Jesus is to own my discipleship (because it is no one else’s but mine) and to be yielded to whatever Jesus tells me to do, or wherever Jesus tells me to go, or…

Aristocrats aren’t used to checking in with anybody. Aristocrats are more used to asking to have their needs met; not asking for marching orders. Aristocrats are their own kings and do what they want to do above all else. Nailed.

Jesus, You know my heart and You know how I’m thinking today. You know I want to boast of a quick fix and wow my friends with some perfect plan. You know I’ve carried myself as an aristocrat for years and it has gotten me nowhere. Here’s what I need to say: Jesus tell me where to go, what to say, and what to do today – I am a living sacrifice and I’ve forgotten that. Use me differently today and may I be in a mode of being only yielded, only to You. Amen.

The Self-Help of Adam

5/30/2016

Romans 11.5-6 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. – St. Paul

For me, sometimes reading Romans is a bit of a chore: is Paul asking and answering all the questions, or is there really a dialogue going on? Or because of the culture of the day, did they just talk differently than we do today?

I think Paul was both introducing himself to the Roman church, and explaining his ministry to them as well. I think also he was giving them his view of the gospel and his thoughts about grace, works, and relationship with God. Do we work our way into the good graces of God, or does He just give them to us? And if He just gives them, why? Don’t we have to make amends?

Since the fall, I think, man in his weaker moments has tried to appease God for his awful mistake. Adam lived, according to Scripture: 930 years, that’s a long time to influence. Adam, I believe, tried his darned-est to right the wrongs of his moments in the Garden. He tried over and over, and taught others as well, to appease God in his own strength, and he failed over and over. Man has been trying to do so from then on.

Now, when God led His chosen people out of Egypt He gave them a law to abide by – a law that they could never keep. It wasn’t God’s intent to rub their noses in their incapacity, but God attempted to help them to understand that friendship is not about keeping the rules, it’s about love and the heart. They could not understand – the self -help of Adam was far too ingrained into them.

It appears, in Paul’s writing, that some of the ancients were more attuned to grace than we might give them credit for; God told Elijah the prophet (in the turbulent unbelieving days of Ahab the king) that He had reserved seven thousand who had not bowed their knee to Baal: the pagan god of Feel Good. (Cf. Romans 11.2-4) Some actually doubted Adam, and the ways of mankind, and believed God. And as Paul wrote in the 1^st century, there were still some then, who understood the true nature of friendship with God.

Grace, said Paul, cannot be grace if it is earned by works. Once works are introduced, grace dissipates. The efforts of Adam to appease God cannot be accepted because they are offered in his own effort and strength. God asks man to love Him just because, not as a party favor or to earn His love back.

So much of religion is the works of Adam: If I can just show God how good I am, He’ll accept me. And if He doesn’t, I’ll be justified in my own efforts that I showed Him, He’s wrong. Utter nonsense. But sadly, lived out every day, in just about every way. Man is guilty and he knows it, but he won’t accept God on God’s terms. Man is somehow going to make things better…

As I read today, Lord, and struggle with what I think Paul was saying, I get this: Your grace is truly a free and unearned gift. I don’t need to impress You, I simply need to listen to You. Forgiven me my Adamic weakness in trying to earn Your favor, and may I simply let go, and let You be You to me, in all of Your marvelous mystery. Amen

If I Could

5/28/2016

Romans 9.2-4a 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. – St. Paul

Yesterday, as we drove down from Tipton Summit on the way to Prairie City (and onto Bend) we were listening to Paul Simon sing: “I’d rather be a forest than a street…I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet…” I wondered what inspired him to write those words? El Condor Pasa (If I Could) rested in the Top 40 for some time way back then.

What makes us think what we think and feel what we feel? I don’t think I could answer a question like that, save to say: “Your guess is as good as mine.” But I read Romans 9 today, and I thought about Paul’s words regarding his people, his race, the people of Israel. He thought what he thought and felt what he felt because he knew himself, and he knew them. And he knew what God’s redemptive plan was in the world.

Paul made the claim about his race – that’s not a very modern thought: we don’t see ourselves as a race in this country. We do see, what we call race, as an issue, because we lack the capacity to look past color. Mostly, however, we just do not see ourselves as Paul saw himself: members of a familial, tribal, race.

Most Americans can’t point back to a patriarch of some kind and make a racial claim according to that. (We can, and do, point back to ancestors and make familial claims, but we fall short as a culture when it comes to a Father of our race as Paul named Abraham.) America, the melting pot.

So we, perhaps, partially get where Paul is coming from when he says: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Paul was influenced by his race, his culture, and his relationship with God. That’s why he felt so strongly about the Jews getting the message of the Gospel which they were woefully lacking.

The difference for most westerners is we don’t feel the way Paul felt about race (one may not necessarily be so in order to wear the t-shirt that invites: Kiss Me, I’m _____!) We do however, feel for family (I think). Most folks I know who name the Name of Jesus, mourn over a family member of some sort or other that doesn’t believe the Gospel message. I think most of them could identify with part of what Paul anguished over: someone they love is lost and they desire them to be found. They almost wish it was themselves who’re lost for the sake of the loved one.

We westerners may not be familial, tribal, or racial; but we do care about our family and friends who don’t know Jesus, don’t we? May we conduct ourselves toward them as Paul did toward his race: never losing hope or failing to reach out to them in love and concern. Shouldn’t we?

Father, I think many of Your children would sing: If I Could, in order to see some lost loved-one come to Christ Jesus. May I be sensitive to my lost loved ones and never cease to pray for them and conduct myself in a manner worthy of the Gospel in front of them – amen.

The Other Shoe Dropped

5/27/2016

Romans 8.1-4 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – St. Paul

The good thing about Romans 7: it prepares us for the glories of chapter 8: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It’s kinda like the other shoe has dropped. That’s the beauty of the Gospel; it gives us bad news of how hopeless it is on our own; but not to leave us hanging, it gives us the relief of what life in Christ truly is: glorious.

Our problem is we think we understand the word, glory, but we can only understand it in a human context in this present fallen world. Somebody might remark that this is glorious, or that is divine in speaking of something that is of earth. It ain’t so, because we truly don’t know and can’t relate to words like that from our earthly point of view.

But the Bible speaks of gloriousness, and gives us glimpses of what that truly means: it is of heaven. In our capacity here though, we can only imagine. Now that isn’t to say that we can’t have moments of glory or moments of intense divine interaction, but they are short-lived in our present stage. These things are reserved for a new people, in the new heavens and on the new earth.

Then why have them!? For this one reason: hope. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O what a foretaste of glory divine... We learn in this world, through Romans 8, of hope in the coming glory that is ours secured in Christ. Without hope our natural propensity to forget or to get distracted is heightened to the point that, to us, hope completely disappears.

Then why hope, if it is only deferred? Because our dear God and Father is pursuing with songs of love those yet He wishes to be with Him in that deferred future that is presently ours in Jesus. And that ought to give us hope as well that the grace of God never gives up until the last full measure of grace is poured, and the wrath of God finally begins.

Thank God for Romans 8 in the light of the glories to come, and, of the wrath to come. Wrath will be when God removes His hand and allows what is to be, to be. Until then, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus – they will share in the indescribable glories that are now deferred, and be spared that terrible moment when God finally says, “I love you, but I tried to warn you...”.

Father, thank You for the glories that are mine today in Jesus Christ. Thank You that one day I will see your glories for what they truly are and how I’ll be affected by them forever. Thank You for grace today and may it have its full measure to everyone who will yet respond to You in anticipation of the future glories. Use me to share Your grace that the blind may see and seek Your face. Amen.

Self-Evident

5/26/2016

Romans 7.1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 25

1 ...the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives

4 ...you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God

6...by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code

7 ...I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.

8 ...For apart from the law, sin was dead

9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.

10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.

12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

13 ...[sin] used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

21 ...Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. – St. Paul

When we read Romans 7 we need to keep things in perspective. St. Paul was trying to help his readers (in Rome) understand the difficulty of trying to figure out sin and the power of sin that is found in the Law. Paul made several statements that explain the Law, and sin’s power within it. I’ve picked these out of the chapter as bullet points only because we might lose them by not seeing the forest for the trees.

I think Paul was trying to explain why, if we have the Law, why there is such sin. They struggled with that. The problem is not the Law, but our perception and prosecution of the Law. Why, if the Law was so good, is there such sin? Because the Law was meant to guide us to grace.

The Law is stern and unmoving; grace is friendly and forgiving. The Law is impossible, friendship is easy. In order to have friendship with God, we must do so on His terms – OR – do it according to some Law. The Law is impossible for fallen creatures to keep – friendship makes allowances for our fallenness.

It is self-evident that the Law was never intended to take us to God – only Jesus Christ was. Sin takes sinful opportunity with rules; grace and friendship bring about mutuality and possibility. The Law is complicated; grace is simple.

Who will save us from the complications of Law? Only Jesus Christ and relationship with Him. We can choose performance and production, and will only ever come up short-handed and empty. Or we can choose the freedom of grace and experience the exponential friendship of God for eternity.

Father God, embrace me in grace so I can walk humbly with You and avoid the messiness of rules; they’re easy to spot but so hard to keep. Help me to be Your friend. Thank You for the alternative to the Law – Your goodness and grace forever – Amen!

Too Big to Fail?

5/25/2016

1 Kings 11.1-3 1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. – Anonymous          

We’re not sure who wrote the books of the Kings, but we know they were written, and we know they were written for a reason: those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.* There is a lot we can learn from the history of Israel and her kings. Personally, I see these accounts as mirror images of us today; and we still cannot remember the past nor learn from it.

In recent years a concept has hit the cultural scene: too big to fail. I watched this morning as the newscasts announced a finding by the US Department of State that a former Secretary of State had indeed flaunted the rules with regard to email and state secrets. Are government persons too big to fail? Was King Solomon?

Solomon was the wisest man on earth and he did some of the stupidest things: marrying 700 wives was one of his most stupid. Marrying non-Jewish wives was stupid. And acquiring over three-hundred concubines was pretty stupid as well. A thousand women in his harem was just plain dumb. Solomon, for all his glory, wasn’t too big to fail. He failed. Miserably.

Leaders are to lead. The problem with leaders is there are many who lead who cannot keep themselves in check – they excuse or overlook their own issues because they think it’s not a big deal. But leaders are people, and last I knew, people have issues. Some are better at controlling them, and some are not.

At men’s group this morning, we talked about the Holy Spirit and church discipline. We men ought heed the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and suck it up when chastised or rebuked by one another – none of us is too big to fail; and our ancient enemy knows how both to play the game, and bait the trap.

The problem with leadership nowadays for the most part, is it lacks the componentry of servanthood. Leaders today lack the courage to humble themselves and submit to the needs of people. They’d much rather have the perks than the pokes. Poke a servant leader and he will ask for more. Perk a selfish leader and he will cave to his weaknesses every time: why change when the good life is so good?

The call on the men of the church (yours truly included) is to submit to God, submit to one another, and to further the Kingdom of God, together. The call upon the men of God is to realize that we are too small to succeed alone, and failure is a high probability for the Lone Rangers among us. The call upon the men of God is to be honest with ourselves, honest with God, and honest with each other. Where were the faithful men of God as Solomon reduced himself to the level of a breeding bull with a corral full of Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites? Where are we in each other’s lives when we see each other ignoring our petty sins, and resisting the call on our lives?

Father God, be merciful and help us! Help me! Amen

*Attributed to George Santayana, c. 1905

Right On Time

5/24/2016

Romans 5. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. – St. Paul

Time, whether we understand it or not, is important; it’s our present reality. There will come a time when it will be no more and we’ll toss our watches in the trash forever. I think when that happens, we’ll have a capacity only for the present. Most of us live as if time is all we’ll ever have and so we live remembering our yesterdays and thinking about our tomorrow’s.

In the verse above the object is not time, but Christ’s death for us. That’s what’s important. It is important that Jesus took our sins upon Himself and bore them to the cross where He willingly accepted the punishment that was meant for us. He did it at just the right time. He wasn’t early; He didn’t show up late – at just the right time, when we were still powerless to do anything about it, Jesus died for the ungodly.

This is monumental. You see, at just the right time, God created the world. At just the right time God showed up when Adam and Eve sinned. In Galatians 4 Paul said: But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Vv. 4,5) God is always right on time. Our time. We’re the ones with time issues. But God cares about us; and God makes a way for us – in time – to come to Him.

When we need God most is when He shows up. That doesn’t mean He’s off somewhere else; it just means that His dealings with us are always right on time – for our benefit, not His.

God is omnipresent. God is the ever-present Author of the story. God is the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Jesus did what He did in faith. He pioneered for us what no one else could or would do. And it has always been right on time. (Remarkably, God does a lot of what He does with people as His props and tools. They say in showbiz: never trust animals or children. Well God does what He does with people…)

Today, I am grateful for the timing of God. I am grateful that He is aware of my time – my needs, my concerns, and everything that has to do with my life. And, I am also grateful that He uses me in His time: speaking a kind word, praying a prayer, serving the needs of someone else. I am grateful for God’s time.

One day our reality will be the Eternal Day, and time will be no more. One day, we’ll all be off to the next adventure and God will be our Lead. But right now, today, I am grateful that at just the right time, Jesus Christ died for me so that I could spend an eternity with God.

Father, above and beyond my time, You are always right on time. You are working in the lives of Your people and You are perfectly in-sync with the lives of Your children. Thank You that it has always been so, and forever more will be. Guide me this day to the people I need to talk with and Lord, thank You that You are always right on time. Amen

If My People

5/23/2016

2 Chronicles 7.14 14 “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  - God

Solomon was one of the greatest kings on the face of the earth. Not even his father, David, had visitations from the Lord as Solomon did. And Solomon, at least early on, tried to bring about a Theocracy in honor of God. And God’s response to him was impressive. But there were always caveats.

Solomon garnered God’s attention but Solomon had to conduct himself in a manner worthy of such attention. Everything Solomon did, he seemed to do in a big way: the building of the Temple and its dedication. His prayers, and assemblies. And Solomon seemed to have a personal audience with God like no other king before or after him. Solomon’s behavior was key and crucial to all of this.

But so was the behavior of the people of Israel. They too were held to a higher standard because God was their King. So, in answer to Solomon’s prayer God said: “…if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” That sounds like a reasonable request. That sounds like: Oh, okay, if we do this, God will do that. But that has been the request of God all along and it stands to this day.

I used to think it was more of an Israelite thing than it was for the modern church, but I’ve changed my tune and believe that it is for us now as much as it was for us then. The difference is, we are not a Theocracy. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t swear allegiance to God; but we are not a Christian nation as they were a Jewish nation. Our need for corporate prayer, however, is no less needful, but we are not a Christian nation.

What our nation needs today is for the Christians within her to humble themselves, to pray and seek God’s face; and to turn from their own wicked ways. The benefit of that is the rest of the nation will enjoy God’s forgiveness and healing of the land. Somebody has to stand in the gap, and if not us as God’s children, then who?

We need God. These are desperate days. Will we pray? What will God do for a praying people whether they are a holy nation, or just a holy people within a nation? Behavior is key and crucial: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Will we respond?

Father, as fallen, foolish, fickle and frail, may we pray. Would You hear our prayer and forgive our sin and heal our land? It seems the tide has engulfed us, but may our eyes be only on You. There is nothing too difficult for You. Heal our land – Amen.

Do Overs

5/22/2016

Lamentations 3.22-23 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Jeremiah, the priest

This past Friday afternoon I went up to our annual church campout for our children’s ministry called, Royal Rangers. It was like pulling teeth to get me to go because I am just not a camper (and happy is not in my vocabulary when it comes to said activity). But, I do like our kids and so, this year, I agreed to actually go, and camp, and paint a toothless smile on my face in the process. It rained.

Camping is for a breed other than me. If I was forced to flee to the mountains, I’d give me about a thousand to 1 chance of making it – I don’t know much about camping, or survival, or any of that kind of stuff; I’d quickly become a burden or a casualty. If there was coffee, I’d maybe last a little longer.

But like most of what we do in America: it was for the kids. And part of camp, as I am coming to realize, is having a camp speaker – someone to teach, encourage, and motivate the troops. (And to remind us of what fun we’re having.) And our Camp Speaker (devotional leader) spoke about the Bible character: Ruth. And into the story of Ruth, our speaker wove the concept: do-overs; getting to that place in life where it has all fallen to crap and we have to come up with a new plan – that’s a do-over.

You’ll have to read the story because time and space don’t permit me to re-tell it, but suffice it to say, Ruth, a Moabite woman, and Naomi, her Jewish mother-in-law, were in dire straits (kind of like me pretending to enjoy camping). They had lost everything and now, somehow had to start over – they had to do over. And God provides mightily for Ruth, a foreigner in Israel, and her mom-in-law, a destitute Israeli widder-woman. God loves do-overs. It's where we meet Him.

I thought, as the camp-speaker spoke, about the do-overs in my life, past and present. And as Cathy and I were having our coffee this morning I mentioned to her my thoughts and she said: “Paul, every day is a do-over with God.” I smiled; she was right.

So, today in my ‘quiet-time’ in the shower, I thought of Lamentation 3.22-23, and I thought: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His do-overs never come to an end. They are new every morning – great is His faithfulness. It made the camping trip come to life a bit more than it had been yesterday in the wind, the rain, and yes, (in places) and the snow.

Do-overs are a gift from God who sees our degrees of weakness and our pathetic attempts to re-do things on our own. God knows we want to succeed but He knows we depend on ourselves to do it. The trick with do-overs is to ask God for them and to follow Him into them. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…

Father, thank You that You are the God of Do-Overs and that You love and care for Your own. Thank You for helping me in the present do-over, and Lord, wherever it leads: I’m trusting and believing in You, and glad You're in it with me. Amen.

What We Choose

5/20/2016

Romans 1.28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. – St. Paul

In Roman’s 1, Paul used the term: ‘God gave them over’ three times. I had to stop and think about that: Why did God give them over? In the world in which we live there is an order to things, and God never deviates from His order. He gave mankind the gift of Freewill. And God never deviates from His order.

When we think about why the world was formed, and why people were created, we could conjure up much speculation, but it really boils down to this: God chose to. God desired to create a race of beings with whom He could have fellowship and friendship. Why? Only God knows.

Now, it appears, that even in God’s realm(s) there are some who couldn’t understand or believe that God would do such a thing: create Freewill mankind. But He did, and the way He did it was to offer to His creatures, called humans, an offer of friendship. And He did all this with freewill: His and theirs.

Well you would think that the creatures, marveled by His majesty and goodness would line up to become God’s friends; clamoring to get a spot in the friendship ring. But a seed of doubt grew about God’s plan, and caused God’s creatures to question the merit of God’s offer. The creatures chose, in their own freewill, to disbelieve God. So God gave them over what they chose.

I know this must sound fantastical, but it is true; and we do live today in a world ruled by men with self-will. But that’s not the half of it, because to those who refuse God, He gives them what they want: self-will. And all that comes with it. Why!? Why would God do that!? Because God never forces Himself on anyone. Ever.

God didn’t create robots. What’s the point of that? God could make creatures who’ll do and say everything according to His will because they don’t know any different! And!? No, God chose to make us with freewill and with free will comes the ability to choose. So, we either choose to believe God – OR – He gives us over to what we choose instead. We must be careful in what we choose, because of what we can either gain, or lose.

What gets me today is what God gave them over to: In love, He gave them what they wanted: a life devoid of Him. Life devoid of Him is what we have in our world today; and all that goes with it. Things like: the degrading of ... bodies with one another. Shameful lusts. Every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity: envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice; gossips, slanderers, God-hatred, insolence, arrogance and boasting; inventive ways of doing evil; disobedience to parents; no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. And an unquenchable thirst for more...

That is our world; that is what we have chosen. And God, graciously, gives us over to what we choose. But it is not without an a counter-offer for what He chooses. Life can be way different for the better.

Father, You have given us freewill and the ability to choose. May I choose what is right, because I don’t like what is wrong. May I use my freewill to believe rather than to doubt. Help me to freely share with others Your offer and may my life be used to help them to see, that in You, they are truly free. Amen

Love Enough to be Tough

5/19/2016

2 Thessalonians 3.10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” – St. Paul

I find it interesting, but not hard to understand, that Paul was led by the Spirit of God to deal with such practical issues with the people for whom he cared. In my Bible (I’m using the NIV this morning) this passage of Scripture is subtitled: Warnings against idleness. Perhaps there was some ‘idle-atry’ issues in Thessalonica.

Not only do some have a penchant for being distracted and unmotivated, their penchant is infectious. The problem when nothing gets done: hunger won’t go away. Nowadays, we just move back in with mom and dad, shack up with friends, or hit up DHS for some food-stamps. Paul said to beware of such stuff; God’s people are called to a higher calling.

The example of Scripture is this: love enough to be tough. Someone has to set the example, and people need to be taught. Hunger and discipline are both great teachers; but so is humiliation. Namby-pamby has no place in God’s church. We can make all the excuses we want, but at the end of it, we’ve been created for so much more and there is no substitute for discipline and strong courageous love.

Paul taught the Thessalonians to be tough on each other, and today, we need that as well. A sense of entitlement does not fit in Kingdom living or, thinking. Look at what that has done in the world… There is nothing wrong with caring for the poor and disadvantaged, but somebody somewhere, somehow sometime has to be a producer of some kind – right? If it isn’t God’s people, then who?

We’re to be tough on each other for this one reason: the Bible tells us so. It’s not to be mean to one another, but we all have a fallenness that will lead us all to ruin if we’re not careful, so that’s why Paul said: Lookit man, if you ain’t gonna work – you ain’t gonna eat. Love is tough enough to get the weak to move – even if it makes them feel bad for a while.

True love throws itself under the bus for the sake of another. If that is so, it’s only reasonable to ask that everyone pitch in and participate. Or is it just the clergy that do that? A friend of mine posted last night: “Living the Christian life isn’t an individual competition, it’s a team sport.” (Nadia Bolz-Weber) Living the Christian life is summoning the courage to tell each other: Get off your lazy ass and help! Love is: humiliating a loved one to keep them from destruction.

O Lord! May we be courageous and loving. May we use toughness to dispel destruction. May we learn that tough times do call for tough tactics, and no one ever got hurt by being humiliated into doing what is right and expected. Help us Lord. Help me – Amen.

Unreliable

5/18/2016

Psalm 78.57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. – Asaph

I’ve remarked before that one of the people I look forward to meeting in Heaven is Asaph, the singer. From what I know, Asaph was on David’s staff as a worship leader – I wonder what our modern US Congress would be like if there was a worship leader on staff who led out each morning with songs of worship and praise over our nation.

That’s what Asaph did – he led his nation in worship at his king’s behest.

The other thing about Asaph was his loyalty to his king; and his loyalty to his God. Asaph was the real deal, and I know that because of what he said in his psalms: Asaph had a dim view of unbelievers (#78 in particular). He said, the people of Israel were as unreliable as a faulty bow. His nation was full of unbelievers.

Imagine you’re in battle (like one of the scenes in countless movies which portray an ancient conflict where two savage armies collide in an epic contest to see who defeats who on a battlefield) and the string on your bow keeps falling off. So, you have to stop and restring it while some enemy combatant is coming at you with a club or sword to do you in. You need to kill him before he kills you, and your stupid bow won’t cooperate. It doesn’t conjure up a pretty sight in my mind. That’s what Asaph was saying in Psalm 78 about his people – they were as unreliable as a faulty bow.

I compare Asaph’s days to our own. It seems these days our country is full of people who are as unreliable as faulty bows. They are reliable in this: they are continually unreliable. Their focus is wrong. Their perception is off. And yet we find them in positions of leadership, and we marvel at their stupidity in decision-making. Their biggest downfall is their incessant reliance upon their own wisdom and cleverness; and continually, they use lies and deception in an attempt to cover up their faultiness. Leadership without God is, at best, men doing what they do best: Mediocre. Unreliable. Faulty.

Where are the Asaph’s of today? Where are the ones today, who like David, “…[shepherd] them with integrity of heart; and lead them with skillful hands?” Lord, help us.

It really isn’t about man’s leadership; it’s about man’s being led with God’s leadership. But that seems too tall an order for the ways of men, in their dogged acceptance of themselves and their deeds. Help us Lord.

It starts with me – it starts with me not settling to be unreliable as a faulty bow. It starts with me and hopefully spreads to those likeminded ones who believe God is the answer to the marveled mediocrity of men.

Today, Lord Jesus, help me to follow You as David did. Help me to have wisdom and integrity as I interact with my fellow men and attempt to help them to come to You. May I be reliable, and may I make a difference in this dull mediocre world we call home… Amen.

The Way of All the Earth

5/17/2016

1 Kings 2.2-4 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’” – King David

One of these days soon, I hope to have a conversation similar to this with my sons. I know it isn’t about kingdoms, thrones, and dynasties; it is about being strong, acting like men, and observing the Lord’s requirements: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6.8) No rocket science here.

To be successful in life one must include the Lord because, after all, He has included us. If God is who God is, then we must include Him in all we do. And we will find success in all we do. Success is knowing the Lord, walking with Him as a man, and observing His desires. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Most men I know want success, but they want it apart from God. And really, it isn’t a rebellious ‘apart from God’; they just don’t even think of including Him as their Senior Partner. They’re clueless of the Lord’s requirements for success.

Nobody ever sat me down and said, Son, I am about to die and here is what I think you should do: Be strong, act like a man, and give yourself to the Lord. But just because they didn’t doesn’t mean it isn’t applicable in life. I don’t think we should wait until we’re about to die to have conversations like this. I think the conversations should start way earlier: like when our boys are boys. I think the relationship building needs to be early onset, not just a token encouragement as death shows up.

I went to a funeral about a month ago and someone said: “He” (the young man who’d died) would have been surprised by the turnout and the outpouring of love and encouragement. The sad truth: we were too late, and perhaps, had the love and encouragement been poured out earlier, we wouldn’t have been there that day for that reason. Fathers, (including me) learn to have conversations early on with your sons and success. It’s much more important than we think. And maybe funerals ought to happen long before someone dies… like when they’re born.

Father in Heaven, I know what I need to do and I look forward to the conversations I know I need to have. I ask that You bless my efforts and bless my children – in Jesus’ Name.

Because He Loves Me

5/16/2016

Psalm 91.14-16 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

When I first became a Pentecostal, I learned a chorus at this holy-rolling little church I was going to; and the words to the chorus were the opening lines of Psalm 91. Psalm 91 is one of my favorite psalms. “…And I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my fortress; my God in whom will I trust…” I can still hear the music and see the pastor belting it out.

When we sing the psalms, do we just sing the words, or do we grasp the meaning? When they say: Because he loves Me, says the Lord, I will rescue him and protect him for he acknowledges My Name? do we think these are just general words, or do they fit specific circumstances? Our posture and attitude in trouble will say a lot about what we think of these words.

Psalm 91 is not credited with any author’s name. It doesn’t sound like a Davidic psalm; it sounds more Asaphic, or like the sons of Korah. But whoever wrote it was one who was acquainted with the difficulties of life. And whoever it was, understood that the Lord takes care of His own: Because he loves Me…

Trouble in life, while not always welcome, is very important. Trouble in life helps us intelligent creatures to see life differently, and make changes to our living. Trouble gets our attention. The promise here is those who love and dwell with God will see not only trouble but also deliverance from it. The lover of God, will see God’s power and presence in the midst of his trouble. We are not kept from trouble as God’s children; we are delivered through it.

Many confuse their relationship with God as some form of Kryptonite that will shield them from all the difficulties and troubles of life. Not so. Which is better: to have never experienced trouble, or having experienced it, and found God’s presence in the midst of it? God seems to view trouble differently than we do… God says: I will be with him in trouble.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High; shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High; shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
And I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, and my fortress; my God in whom will I trust.
And I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, and my fortress; my God in whom will I trust. Cha cha cha!

Thank You Father, that nothing catches You by surprise. You are looking for those who love and pay attention to You and will trust You in the midst of trouble. Your promise is the ones who do will marvel at how You turn things around in their favor. Thank You. You have said: “Because he loves me, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. - Amen

More and More

5/15/2016

1 Thessalonians 4.1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. St. Paul

The goal of the Christian life is to excel – we’re to excel at things like faithfulness, love, kindness, goodness and other virtues. Without the Holy Spirit, we are incapable of any of this; but with Him, we excel more and more.

Life on earth is not perfect, nor is it without its difficulties and setbacks; but we serve a God who knows our weakness, and has given us His Spirit to be our guide and motivation. And, not only that, but God has given us His Spirit to be our Friend. I believe in the Friendship of God. I also believe that God hasn’t left us without capacity for that friendship; and that is why we can excel more and more.

Humans know and understand limits. Earth for us is mostly limited. Seasons begin and end. Each day starts and ends. And the total days of our physical lives are limited. But the Gift of God is Himself and His limitlessness. We may not comprehend that fully, but it’s our gift nonetheless. And the more we walk with God the more we experience (even in the limits of earth) His limitlessness toward eternity: the limitlessness of no time, and all space.

To even urge someone to love more and more means for them to experience God more and more. It takes a God-sized love to love other humans. We are fallen and we seem to inherently know that. And just when we feel we’ve met the best of them, we’ll find the worst in them. That calls for love. That calls for acceptance, and that is supplied infinitely by the Lord Himself who has given us of His Spirit endlessly; the capacity to love more and more – to excel more and more.

If eternity is limitlessness, they we better get used to that as we make our way home. If the capacity for more and more has been given to us – then may we be people of more and more of God, His Kingdom, and His love: for Him and for all who call upon His Name.

Father, thank You for taking the limits off in Jesus Christ by His Spirit. It is no big thing for me to love each other more and more when I quit limiting myself by the bounds of the understanding of earth and accept the limitlessness that is mine from Heaven in Christ. I want more and more – Amen.

Night and Day

5/14/2016

1 Thessalonians 3.10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. – St Paul

Say what you want – St. Paul was a pray-er. He prayed (or he lied about praying…). But seriously, I think he was a pray-er and he talked with God about his life, his ministry, his worries (he had them) and his difficulties (he had them as well). And so, when he said he prayed, it was true.

I think St. Paul shared about his praying, and his prayers because he was trying to infect others with the passion to talk to God about whatever; to stay in continual communion with Him. A friend of mine remarked the other day, that when someone prays to God for what he already has – that is a beginning place for religion.

Jesus Himself, said: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6.5-8) Praying is not quantity; it’s content.

Paul prayed often because he apparently liked talking with God. I think he thought everybody ought to do the same. God seems to think that…hmmm. We might ask: Really, St.Paul, night and day!? But he might say back: Well, yes, what else would you expect?

I drove down south (in Oregon) the other day and spent a good part of the driving time praying (yes, with my eyes open!). I’m not going to tell you that I pray night and day, but I will say that I’m praying more than ever because I seem to be seeing people’s needs more and more. Everyone has issues, and everyone needs God’s help. But more than His help: we all need Him – plain and simple.

Why pray if God already knows my needs? Well, perhaps God wants to know if I know what I need. Ever consider that? You see, my experience with pray (and by listening to those praying around me) is that I/we often assault God with a want-list. I/we have wants, but God sees my/our needs. And God isn’t in the business of filling want-lists, but He is in the business of meeting needs. (Maybe, if we’d learn to see the difference between wants and needs, we’d begin to see our prayer in a whole new light.)

Yes, I think when Paul said he prayed day and night; I think he was telling the truth, without a preacher’s ‘holy’ embellishment. I think I could/can learn a thing or two from trying to emulate the Saint’s prayer-life.

Father, may I learn to pray about needs and less about wants. May I learn and believe that You love the sound of my voice and that You really do know what I need before I even think of it. May I learn to thank you more for the things You do for me – even the things that I may not see as necessarily beneficial. And Lord, when I tell people I’ll pray for them, may it just be true. Thank You for the gift of prayer – may I attempt to wear it out! Amen.

The Way We Were

5/13/2016

1 Thessalonians 2.7-8a Instead, we were like young children[a] among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. – St. Paul

Try not to think of Barbra Streisand as you read the title to my missive today. Okay, now you’ve thought of Barbra, so try not to think of the song she sang about the way we were. Alright, now, try not to hum that melody to yourself all morning. Sorry, it’s just the way we are…

Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is probably one of my favorite epistles because of his language toward them. He’s not stern; he doesn’t teach that much; he reminisces with them. There is some great theology in his letters to them, but mostly it seems he is encouraging them: it’s just you and me, guys.

Chapter 2 is about the way Paul and his companions behaved when they were with the Church in Thessalonica. Paul uses a lot of language like:

·         but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel

·         You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed

·         we were like young children

·         we cared for you

·         we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

·         we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you

·         we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God

Paul reminded them of how things were and how they were among the young church there.

I think it’s important to reminisce about our relationships with one another, especially as we think about our times together of joy and encouragement as we walk together in the Lord in our pilgrimage toward Heaven and that Day when we all meet the Lord together.

In a transient society such as ours, it’s hard to do, but it’s still necessary to remember the good times and why they were so good.

And I think it’s good to remember why we are together as children of the Lord and what we’re on earth for: the sharing of the Gospel and living lives worthy of God. Paul cared for the people he ministered to and today, we saints, are to do likewise.

Lord, may we care for one another as You have cared for us. May we see in each other the goodness and greatness You see in us. May we learn to encourage, comfort, and urge one another to live lives worthy of the God we claim and serve. And Lord may it all be for Your glory in a world of trouble that You don’t deliver us from, but see us though. May we look back on our lives and our efforts and with glad voices praise You for the way we were; Barbra Streisand notwithstanding... – Amen.

The Whole Way

5/12/2016

2 Samuel 21.10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night.

King David was not an earlier model of Jesus. David wasn’t a prototype, and Jesus the production piece. David had his issues and David did some pretty wild stuff (and I don’t mean wild in the sense of last Friday night’s party). David did what he thought it took to please God. And some of it borders on gruesome.

In 2 Samuel 21, is an account of an unavenged crime against a people who weren’t even the people of God; but a king of God breached a promise to them, and King David was called in to do the cleanup. King Saul (the Radioactive) had tried to wipe out the Gibeonites, even though Joshua had promised not to  by making a covenant of peace with them (Joshua 9). There is a saying: one shouldn’t take down fences before he finds out why they were put up… God held Israel responsible for Saul’s atrocities. And David, with God’s directive, avenged the Gibeonites: a tooth for a tooth.

Personally, I am glad things have changed; I’m glad we do things somewhat differently these days. But I do believe wrongs ought to be righted. And we ought to go out of our way to do it the whole way.

What caught my eye today, was the actions of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, who stood watch for several months over the bodies of those who’d been killed, avenging Saul’s wickedness . She stood in the gap when no one else would or did. Rizpah did her best to honor the lives of the deceased who died because of another’s choices. Rizpah’s actions moved King David to honor the dead and give them a proper burial; and when he did so, the famine ceased, and the Lord’s blessing returned.

How they did things in the Old Testament was their way in their day. It doesn’t mean they were savages as we might conclude; it means they seemed to take life more seriously than we do today. Is there a Rizpah who will sit at the tomb of some slain until the rest of us notice that there might be two sides to the story? Are there any Rizpah’s today?

My rant against David is not that he didn’t do the right thing before God, but that he only went half way: he should have buried the dead. And Rizpah is testimony to that. Nowadays we seem to let the guilty go free and kill those who have nothing to do with the crime. And nobody sits by the grave to honor the stricken.

Lord, Rizpah shows me that if I’m to do something for You, I’m to do it right way, and the whole way. I don’t understand the ways of the Old Testament, but I do understand honor and doing the right thing for the right reason, the right way. Help me to do that. To the faithful You show Yourself faithful. To the pure You show Yourself pure. And You always do the honorable thing. May I learn from You – Amen

Where to Go

5/11/2016

Psalm 55.22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. – of David

A recurring theme in the Scripture is God’s care for His own. Another recurring theme in the Old Testament (for sure) is the difficulties between parents, and their children. The enjoinder of the Bible is this: cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you… St. Peter said, “Cast all your anxiety (your cares, woes, concerns) upon the Lord, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5.7)

In 2 Samuel 19 & 20, David had just come through one of the most harrowing seasons of his life: the treachery of son, Absalom. He nearly lost the kingdom because of his own foolishness and his inability to rein in his children. And, David had become so busy being the king that he lost sight of his role as a dad and husband. King David was a godly man but he wasn’t flawlessly perfect – he, like all of us, made some huge mistakes. But in spite of all he struggled with, David knew where to go when the going got rough: he fled to the presence of God.

If you’re like Cathy and me, the kid years are wonderful, and daunting. Adult children make mistakes and often those mistakes have repercussions on the children they are raising. And as parents of those adult children, often, we older parents, have little, or no, control over the situations – so we learn to pray. We learn to cast our cares upon God and hope for the best.

The thing that all of us – parents, children, grandchildren – must learn is, if God is God, then He is infinitely involved in every aspect of all of our lives; no stone is left unturned with the Lord. His desire is that we trust Him with our cares and trust Him with the outcome of those cares.

Trust is more important to God than we think. The truest test of who we really are is where we go (mentally, spiritually, and emotionally) when the seasons of our lives take a turn for the worse (and children, and their bungles and missteps are a big source of that) when it hits the fan. David said: cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. Peter said, cast all of your anxiety of Him for He cares for you.

Today, I need the refreshment of these words. Today, I needed to be reminded of where to Go when it all seems to be coming apart (and I have no control of any of it). Today, Jesus reminds me of where the real transactions in life happen: bringing my burdens and cares into His presence, and leaving them there. Somebody said recently: I wasn’t made to carry them anyway. Today, I’m casting them all on Him. I may have to again tomorrow; but at least today, I have a place to go and the knowledge of Someone who cares about it all.

Father God, thank You that I have a place to lay my burdens down and an assurance that You, alone, are in control of all of this. I give you my burdens and I trust You to do something with them. I don’t know what, but I do know I don’t have to deal with them. I trust You and I will learn to come more quickly knowing that You are in control and I can trust Your dealings with all of it. Amen

Sight to the Blind

5/3/2016

Matthew 20.32-34 32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Two blind men were sitting along the road outside of Jericho and heard that Jesus was coming by – they yelled out to him, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowed shushed them, but they yelled even louder. So Jesus had them brought to Him and the above transpired: What do you want Me to do for you? They wanted their sight.

Don’t we all? Isn’t sight, seeing, but isn’t it also understanding? The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13: For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (V. 12) To see with the eye is often taken for granted until the eye becomes faulty. To smell with the nose is taken for granted until the nose can no longer smell. The two blind guys wanted to see, but I think they also wanted to understand.

Humankind wants to know, and certainly wants to know what’s next. We all have a hunger and thirst for the whole story and for what part we play in the story. But our sight, that is our understanding, is limited, and in our present condition, doesn’t allow for us to know all, much less comprehend. We can’t, we’re fallen. We have no capacity for the whole truth. It is only because of God’s power and presence that we can even see what we currently see.

Life on earth, even with Christ, is not a quest for superhuman status.  We need to carefully examine what someone is saying if that is what they’re implying. (Even Televangelists wear glasses…) Life on earth is the quest to walk in harmony with God to see what we can see (with Him) and trust Him in what we can’t.  

The two blind men followed Jesus, but the Scripture says that at Jesus’ crucifixion, everyone fled. No one stood with Him – not even the blind men. Because sight, as precious as it is, is flesh; and flesh and blood cannot (will not) inherit the Kingdom of God. Only those who walk by faith, and not by the flesh, will see God.

I’m glad Jesus healed the blind men and restored their sight. Maybe they became part of the early church. But even so, in this life, they didn’t get the whole picture: we simply cannot handle the truth it all its glory. We haven’t the capacity. Even with God we are limited.

But what we do get is ever increasing light and sight in this world as we walk in faith with God. It isn’t a free ride, but it is an encouragement that even in the worst that earth can offer, it can’t overcome the best Heaven has in store. Like the blind men, we are to accept the sight we have and look to God who will give us more – faith to faith, and grace to grace. The whole picture is reserved for eternity in His presence.

Father, it seems a mystery that even with You, we are held back by who we are. But that doesn’t mean that we are rejected or punished; we are merely in preparation for that day when we will see You face to face and will know as we are known. Until then, lead on O King eternal. Amen.