A Finished Product

12/3/2016

Romans 15.13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. – St. Paul

Hope is a finished product. When God speaks, it is already done and we hope in what He has said because it is done. Final. Finished. Fact.

Now, approaching a rickety bridge in our automobile, we say things like this: I hope that bridge holds. When running late, we say things like, I hope the traffic is light, or, I hope I hit all the green lights. That isn’t hope, that is wishful thinking. Hope is a decided affirmation in a finished product. Our hope isn’t in heaven and the Savior who awaits us because we want it to be, our hope is because He has said it is so. Big difference. So, we’re to live, trusting in hope of all He has said.

Paul said, I pray that God, the Source of Hope – the finished product of all He proclaims – will fill you with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then, he said, you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sometime last month, I lost the remote control to the garage. I knew I had put it somewhere but I couldn’t remember where, so I prayed and asked God to reveal it to me. Not a big deal, it costs $35 bucks to get a new one, but I knew it was somewhere and I prayed for God to show me where it was. I didn’t hope God might answer – no, I knew in hope, He would. I kept looking for it and kept not finding it, but I kept praying in the hope that God hears the prayers of His people and knows their needs. I prayed in hope for almost a month.

Hope is a finished product. We don’t hope God answers prayer, we pray in hope that He does. He has said He will, our hope agrees.

So, I was on my way to an appointment and I was deciding what to wear and I choose some brown slacks and a suitable shirt and I thought: I can also wear my brown plaid sport-coat on this sunny, but cold autumn day. So, I reached into the closet and grabbed the sport-coat and went to put it on and felt something in the pocket of the jacket…the garage door remote. I just laughed. I thanked God, but I just laughed. Hope is not a wish that it will, even though maybe it won’t; hope is a finished product to give us confidence in God, Who not only answers our prayers but faithfully provides for our needs. Even in the small stuff. I needed that same confidence later in the week for something much bigger.

So, my friends, let’s honor God by believing, not in what may or may not happen, but in the hope that is ours in Christ. Not only hope for heaven, but hope that builds our confidence in this Mighty God who calls Himself, ours; and calls us, His.

Father, thank you for the gift of hope. No fog, no fret, no faithlessness. Thank You that hope is a finished product and the You are the Source of hope to me. My days, my work, my life, and heaven beyond are all in hope. Amen

The People God is Willing to Work With

11/30/2016

Romans 4.20-22 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” – St.Paul

In Genesis 1.28, God made this statement: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” That became the mission of mankind from that moment forth. And that mission lasts to this day although man’s acceptance of it has somewhat diminished.

However, in Abraham’s day the mission was still nearly full-strength. That is why having a child was so important to Abraham. The culture of those days included the richness of offspring. And Abraham wanted offspring, as did every other red-blooded man. Families were wealth. Children were important.

Abraham, however, had a problem – his wife, Sarah, was barren; beautiful but barren. Sarah could not conceive. I know of people who couldn’t/can’t conceive in these days and their lives are (to them) less than fulfilled. They yearn for children – if only even a child. Sarah was barren and Abraham was bothered. But Abraham believed God – the God who said, I will make you the father of many nations, you will bear many children. (Cf. Genesis 12.1-3)

And it was Abraham’s bothered belief that kept him going through all the childless years.

What keeps us going through the things that bother us? What keeps us going through hardship, pain, scarcity, frustration, losing hope? Enter the magnitude of faith – not faith in what we want, but faith in God and what He has said. God told Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing…”

And what made it all work for Abraham was this: he believed God. And in his belief, God made him acceptable. We may or may not be acceptable on earth, but what really matters is if we are acceptable in heaven. Abraham, one man, made the difference for us all in that, he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. People like Abraham are the people God is willing to work with.

Friends, are we people like Abraham – those who are willing, against all hope, to hope in God and in the things He has promised? Abraham was bothered in a way many of us can identify with: life isn’t going the way we imagined. But Abraham decided to believe in the One who promised. Can we do the same?

Father in Heaven, You are the same today, yesterday, and forever. You have promised to take care of me no matter the swirling circumstances around me. I ask today that you increase my faith to be a person You are willing to work with – not so that I can get my way, but that it may be credited to me as righteousness. Thank You God, for the gift of faith – it doesn’t take much but is does take some… Amen

Serve the Truth

11/29/2016

2 Thessalonians 2.9-10 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. – St. Paul

The lawless one will be one who has no regard for God, or God’s people. He will show up on the scene with convincing evidence which will be appealing, and compelling to what it is he is peddling. He will use things that serve the lie he is foisting.

At first, when I read this, I thought: Hmmm, serving the lie. First I don’t think I’d ever read that, that way; and second I thought about how many times in our day, someone uses something to serve the lie they are promoting. Lying isn’t always the easiest thing to discover. We know what we you want to hear, so we say what we want you to hear. And we use whatever is at our disposal to serve our lie.

Nowadays we have abundant information. It’s everywhere. News media, the internet, Facebook: they all are sources of information. And misinformation. And Disinformation. And, it’s becoming more apparent that we’ll use whatever we can to undergird our agenda to further its cause. Whatever serves the lie is what is used.

The election that just took place is evidence of at least this: some will use whatever means necessary to sell their point of view and to gain the coveted power of ruling authority. It is far easier to control people than it is to reason with them. Dumb them down and tell them what they want to hear and the path is already paved to make them do whatever you want.

Which is why we in the Church need each other; and that we need to know who we are, why we are, and what we are to be about. God has called us to the truth. And the truth God calls us to is not about the world, but about Him and His Kingdom. The quickest way to uncover a lie, is to look simply at its focus: earth, or heaven. Whatever is said about the earth and its future and promise are lies that distract from the truth about Heaven and her King: the Savior Who came to divert us from earth. Whatever promotes human potential is a lie. Whatever excludes God from the conversation is a lie.

In the Church we need to keep each other from what serves the lie that we only need God for certain things at certain times. We must help each other remember that without Him in everything always, we can do nothing, ever. We must conduct ourselves and encourage one another to live in a way that serves the truth. The truth is God created all of this to serve Himself and to serve us so that we can know Him forever. Present earth is secondary to Heaven, and a new earth is coming.

We live in dangerous days. We need each other to serve the truth. We need each other to serve God. And we need each other to stir up love and good deeds and so much the more as we see the day approaching.

Father, may Your Good Spirit lead me on level ground to do Your will and to serve Your truth. You have told me, I will all serve something. Help me to serve the good and to help save some in the process. Amen

The Truth

11/28/2016

1 Thessalonians 2.13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. St. Paul

The word of God (or Word) is the truth. At some point, everyone needs to hear the truth. At some point, everyone needs to know what this life is all about and what our place in this life truly is. So, when Paul said, when you received the word of God…you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. That is the truth; the truth works in the life of a believer.

What would happen today if we received a letter from St. Paul? It’s kind of a silly question because we in fact, already have. But what if there was some lost letter, written centuries ago, that was discovered and was addressed to the Church in America, from Paul the apostle? Would we heed it? Would it make a difference in our lives and conduct?

Paul’s letters were full of instruction about how to live the godly life, but his letters were not necessarily the word of God – they were reminders, but they weren’t, and aren’t, necessarily evangelistic. Paul was evangelistic; that is how he led people to Christ – he told them the truth about God. His letters were to remind and encourage the ones he won over, to keep on keeping on, and to conduct themselves in a godly manner in this dark and deadly world.  

At some point the truth needs to resonate with a hearer, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to awaken the spirit in that hearer so that true life begins. Then Paul’s letters begin to make sense. In his letters we are reminded of what we are saved from, and what we are saved to. Paul teaches us a code of conduct based on truth: there is a God, we are not Him, and He desires to be our Friend. The way to please God is to do what He says to do. That is why we need Paul’s letters. That is why we need each other: we are letters to one another of what God has done in each of us by His truth.

If we can accept it, the Bible is a love-letter to us. In it, the concept of true love is revealed. God so loves the world that He sent His Son to save us from it, and ourselves. That is the truth. But the bigger truth is this: God loves us. His love is His attempt to save us from all we lost by Adam’s disobedience: especially our ability to love. We cannot truly love without His help, and we cannot love by trying to read Paul’s letters apart from the Truth he refers to, as he encourages us to love God and love others.

Life is all about accepting the truth and then living to please God. Of course, it is more complex than that, but the essence of life is truth: there is a God who loves us and has promised us a life with Him that far surpasses the life we have on our own without Him. The life that accepts God is the life that is free to accept Him in love. All of life hinges on knowing God in love. The truth will set us free.

Father, thank You for Your great love and for the truth shared in this world by the men and women You’ve appointed to share. Use Your truth in me to make a difference in the life of someone today who cannot get over the hurdle of fear on their own. Then, let me point them to the letters that will address all their questions and give them direction and encouragement to keep on keeping on… Amen

In How I See It

11/19/2016

Matthew 4.4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" – St. Matthew

It is one thing to see things one way, it is quite another to see them another. The challenge levied at Jesus was this: If You are, then… In other words, since it says, then you ought. I think that is a universal given. The devil himself knew certain things, but only saw them one way. Jesus knew all things and then challenged His tempter to see things correctly – I [don’t] live on food (bread) alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Which would we rather: a full belly, or the presence and fullness of truth?

Many know of God but they don’t necessarily know God – they only see Him as they are, not as He is. After forty days of fasting, one ought to be hungry, but the end of the fast is to be full of God (if that is Who one is seeking) not to seek the next meal. Fasting is the abstention of food for the gaining of wisdom and understanding, in order to live and obey.

As human, Jesus was hungry, but the end of His fast wasn’t just to gain a meal, it was to gain an even deeper sense of the power and presence of God. Withstanding food (in the proper way) might possibly be the mightiest weapon at our disposal in the fight again one who would bid: eat for crying out loud; take care of yourself; aren’t you hungry!?

The problem with the enemy, his minions; and many of us, is we’re tremendously limited in our appropriation of spiritual discipline. There is no seeking God in the motives and actions of the devil. There is a need for fullness, but fullness is more than what goes into and comes out of the body. It’s about what goes into, and transforms the life of the one who believes. Forever.

Jesus said to His detractors: “You are in error because you don’t know the Scripture or the power of God.” (Matthew 22.29) – you think it’s about food – it’s about what God desires we become.

How are Scripture, and the words of God changing us – for the better, or only for a full stomach? We must view our blessings carefully.

Sadly, I am often guilty of merely seeking a full stomach; only seeing things the way I want to see them. But God continues to tug at my heart to see things the way He sees them: and that requires more from me than trying to turn my rocks into bread so that I can be temporarily filled with that which only aids the body for a moment; and then, several hours later, I have to do again… it’s all in how I see it.

The devil is only ever concerned about himself. The true believer, modeled by Jesus Christ, is only, always, concerned about God. God is first, food is optional.

Father, may I continue to learn about the true nutritional benefit of Your word and Your words. May I learn to quit seeking that which only concerns me, and give myself always to what concerns You and Your will for Your people and their lives. Fill me God with only that which satisfies true hunger and transforms my life forever – amen.

Reasons

11/15/2016

2 Corinthians 1. 4 …who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. – St. Paul

Paul’s relationship with the church in Corinth was rocky at times; they said and did things that he had to correct them over, and sometimes, his correction was unpleasant, to say the least. But Paul maintained that his correction was for a reason: his correction was redemptive.

Redemption isn’t a code-word. Redemption is a process whereby someone is brought back from a place – either mentally, spiritually, or physically – where they shouldn’t have gone. It is a process of discipline and correction but it is for a purpose. The reasons we go through the redemption process with people is for their good. Otherwise if there is no redemption, there is no correction and there is no care; and they are left in their own error. Comfort is not coddling. Comfort is correcting.

People in error without correction have a very small chance of ever getting things right in the future.

But when correction occurs, there is healing, and restoration and, redemption. A person goes through correction for at least two reasons: one, is to get themselves in a better place, and two, is to help others get there as well. God in His infinite wisdom has called us to help each other in times of trouble to (with His leadership) find our way back – or out. It’s one of the primary reasons that the Church (with all of her faults and blemishes) is so important: she is to be a place of godly healing, restoration, and redemption. It’s a place of loving people so that we can love God. (Yes, I said it that way…)

Paul was harsh with the Corinthians at times, but he never slammed the door on his relationship with them despite the exasperation he felt with them. Paul knew the magnitude of redemption: he’d been redeemed. And his redemption was to help others get redeemed as well. We all need redemption – that is God’s way. Paul stated there was a reason for the process: for good and not harm. And, to help in the process with others who need redemption.

Comfort is a strange thing in this harsh world of ours. People are hurt and hurting and need someone to come alongside them and comfort them. Comfort is not meant for us to remain in the same place but to move to another place; a place of then helping others so that they too can help others in need. We all have needs and we all need to get past them so we can then help others in their need – and that is precisely when true help and hope begin: in serving others in their need.

I work with 6^th, 7^th, and d 8^th grade boys. Sometimes they need correction (okay, all the time…). But they also need to be helped and encouraged to see life differently and to learn how to question their behaviors and outlook. It is an uphill battle at times but it is necessary because boys need to learn to become true men; and true men are necessary to help this world keep from self-destructing. Boys will be boys unless they are taught to become men. It’s all a part of the redemption process and the reason for is are myriad.

Father, as You have comforted and corrected me, I pray You use me in the process to do the same for others that we all may become the people You’ve created us to be – Amen.

What Never Fails

11/13/2016

1 Corinthians 13.8-10 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. – St. Paul

In the myriad comings and goings of life, it is like an iced tea on a hot day to read 1 Corinthians 13. It’s like a gifted and caring counselor coming alongside the fretful and harried me, worried and bothered by all the agendas, timelines, and business saying: Calm down, focus on what really matters: love never fails.

I think Paul was that counselor to his friends in Corinth saying to them: Hey guys, love never fails. Remember that above all else, because not everything – not even prophesies, tongues, or knowledge can do justice to the love that God has for us. All of that stuff will reach an end, but the love of God knows no boundaries; and one day He’ll bring it all come together.

We need to remember that. It doesn’t mean we quit prophesying. It doesn’t mean we quit tongues. It doesn’t mean we quit seeking the knowledge of God. But it does mean that we don’t get so busy doing the good that we neglect the great. No one will care about our buildings and programs – all that will matter when we got together, is they felt a touch from Jesus, and their lives were somehow changed.

It seems we worship “big”. It seems we think that bigger buildings and better programs are what people need. We push and we strive and we clamor for what looks good on the outside, but what happens to people in the process? Are the lives of the people focused on loving God and loving others? Are people’s hearts and minds changed because of better carpet and paint? Or do they sense they are loved and cared for and that someone has their best interests in mind?

Is the church about activity, or is it about worshiping God and seeking Him? The difference will be our love. The difference will be our humility. The difference will be the lengths we go to, to have the presence and power of Jesus to help and to guide the ones of today who really aren’t sure if He is real, let alone, cares.

Our politics, preferences, and positioning need to carefully monitored because if we’re not careful those things will drive us because as we deem them good, how can they be bad? And we’ll live life and ministry accordingly. But the great is what we’re called to and it is the greatness of the Lord that is to drive us to do and to seek His will. His love will make our way, not necessarily easier, but better. I think that is what Paul was attempting to say to the church at Corinth and to us today.

Lord, Your love for me is all that matters. From Your love is my ability to love You and to love those around me. I pray today for wisdom to separate the good – which is good – and live for the great, because it is better. All the stuff I hold so dear will only get me so far – but Your love will get me home. Love never fails… Amen