They Were Afraid

10/31/15

Mark 5.15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. – St. Peter

Recently on the telly, a man proclaimed that, if we’re not careful, America is headed to become one of the darkest and most evil nations in history. At the rate things are going I believe that statement. It certainly is uncomfortable to think about, but it also certainly show signs of becoming true. I’ve also heard it said: the further a society drifts from the truth, the easier it is to hate those who stand for it… Hmmm. Mark 5: Scene 1: Jesus, a demon-possessed man, and a herd of pigs.

Everyone in the area of the Gerasenes knew the demon possessed man. Everyone stayed way clear of him. He made the guy in the Texas Chainsaw Murders look like a purring kitten. The Gerasenes were also known as the Gadarenes: perhaps the descendants of the tribe of Gad. What’s most unusual was they were herders of pigs – an unclean animal in those days. But like most things that are forbidden, pigs held great appeal; bacon was still bacon back then.

So, here we have Jesus, this demon-guy, and a herd of pigs (about 2000 in number). And Jesus heals the guy – drives the demons right out of him…into the pigs (which promptly stampede into the lake). Well, the pig herders are astonished and they run off and blab to the locals what Jesus just did! Wow! You shoulda seen it! And they all come running, and sho’ nuff, there’s demon-guy in his right mind, with clothes on, talking with Jesus; and there’s 2000 dead pigs floating in the lake. That musta been some sight. And they clamored to Jesus: leave.

An interesting phenom in life is a thing called Group-Think. Group-Think is a loosely held cultural thought that seems to drive groups of people to live a certain way and/or think a certain way. The Geras (or the Gada’s, however you want to think of them) seemed to like things just the way they were: as long as no one bugged them about pork they were happy; as long as the demon-guy stayed away, they’d deal with it. Their group-think let them do that. Somebody was eating that pork, and everyone was okay with the demon-guy living at a distance.

Then Jesus shows up and rocks their world. Demon-guy is now sane-guy, and the pigs, well, there’d need to be some breeding and time to replace a herd of 2000; pork prices were sure to go up. And when they all see Jesus, they react: Hey man! Wa’s wrong whichu!? Go bother someone else! The further a society drifts from the truth… America, the Beautiful?

Today is the day to stand up and face the hatred. Our friends and neighbors are drifting. It might be uncomfortable to do so, but there is a whole nation of people around us who are drifting from the truth and getting farther and farther away. Society is devolving to:

They say to God, ‘Depart from us!

    We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.

What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

    And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ – Job 21.14-15

Father, even in our gatherings we don’t want the boat rocked because we’re afraid of what it is going to do to us. We seem to like living in fear rather than living in the truth. Help us. Save us. Heal the sick. Save the lost. That’s my prayer, and I ask that You even do so, perhaps in spite of ourselves… Amen.

The S Word

10/28/15

Mark 2.27-28 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” – Jesus

Everybody needs a day off, a day to rest and refocus. Everybody needs a change of pace and something else to think about; if only for a while. God didn’t create machines, He created people. And the Creator knows how people work and what their needs are. Some people act like machines – they never shut down; I’ve worked for machines. Others look for every excuse to take a break. But all of us need time away.

A Sabbath is a rest period that is two-fold: we’re to sabbath from the everyday grind; the monotonous humdrum of the ordinary, the expected, the usual. And, we're to think about God. In a free society, freedom is cherished. Free time, is a premium. But it is a necessary premium; a Sabbath is a time to look away to other things. God’s original Sabbath was a time to quit thinking about all that needed to be done and thank Him for all that has been done. God expects His people to put aside the temporal for a while and focus instead on the eternal.

By the time Jesus was on the earth, the Sabbath, to God’s people, was a ruled and regulated obligation: you had to do this; you couldn’t do that. Somebody decided rather than willingly taking time out of the week to think about God, it had to be regulated up the kazoo and now it was just another day of work wrapped up in different paper. I served on a church staff for a while and we called it: pre-planned spontaneity. Oh, the tangled webs we weave.

Nowadays, most people take Sunday as a second Saturday. The weekends are cherished as two full days of fun. Often we work harder on the weekends than we do in the work-week. But God still desires that we take a Sabbath – a rest period from the grind of everyday. Fun days can be work!

Our society’s problem is we don’t know how to effectively shut down. We truly are a 24/7 society and God is a very small part of it if He’s any part of it at all. “We work our jobs, Collect our pay; Believe we're gliding down the highway When in fact we're slip slidin' away.”

God designed the Sabbath for a reason, and the reason is to refresh and refocus before we reenter the fray. You ask most people how things are going and their patent response is: busy! What would we think if they said, Wow! I am refreshed and refocused! I’m reenergized and reignited! We’d think they were on something, or lazy. Or crazy.

God gives us permission to Sabbath. But in that permission God also desires we give Him some credit for life, and we can’t do that very effectively if we continually concentrate on making life the object of our affections. The Sabbath is for our benefit and it is magnified infinitely when God is the focus in our moments of time off. God doesn’t care what I do on the Sabbath – the free version; He just asks that I let Him be part of it, and asks that I think of Him in the midst of it. Hmmm. What a concept.

Part of my daily Sabbath is this: reading, thinking, and writing about what God means to me. Your Sabbath may be different; you may paint, or sculpt or sing, or dance; but whatever it is, does it free your mind for a while and help you to recharge, regain, refresh, and refocus on what is really important in life? I hope so. I hope part of your Sabbath is renewing relationships, recreation, and allowing yourself to relax and rethink about the important things of life before the commitments, obligations, and demands of life start up again. The Sabbath was made for us, not the other way around…

Bolt

10/26/15

James 1:4 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – St. James

Make no mistake about it, perseverance is invasive; it’s the only way to get the job done. As a westerner, waiting is not high on my preference list. The other day I was on my way to another town and like usual, I was in a hurry; exceeding the speed-limit, although not recommended, was necessary – I only had an hour to get there. So, I stopped in a “fast-food” place and spent 20 minutes waiting. Yikes! Now I really had to move it…

The ESV, in its medallioned, cardiganed, and pipe-smoking fatherly, sagacious way, translates the word for perseverance in James 1.4: steadfastness. We might say, hold your ground. In order to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, we must hold our ground. To lose ground is to rush ahead impetuously or simply quit altogether; I know, I have ample experience in both. Waiting on God is called waiting for a reason. We’re to wait until He says, go.

I’ve watched in fascination as trained retriever hounds have been instructed to wait; and then watched in utter amazement, when after what seemed to be an uncomfortably long time(for them) filled with other distractions, they bolt to the object to be retrieved without missing a beat. Get it! And off they go!

As Americans, we’ve been accustomed for a long time to get what we’re after within a reasonable length of time. It seems, these days, that reasonable has grown longer and more unreasonable. Fewer cashiers, longer lines, less inventory – you get the picture… Everybody seems to be after the same thing: I want what I want when I want it; and I want it NOW! (like a hungry, cabby toddler…)

God doesn’t operate that way. God wants us to be trained to wait for Him to give us the go-ahead. It’s in His time, not ours. Not waiting has consequences. Not waiting is giving up what is best and most rewarding in place of the gratification of the instant. Not waiting for the Father is unbecoming for His children. True.

So with all of its maddening discomforts, mental, physical, and otherwise, it’s best to wait and let steadfastness have its full effect because the end result is perfection, completion, and lack of nothing. Sounds good to me.

Father, like teenagers, we seem to want to believe we know more than we do, and know what’s best for us; may it not be! Help me to embrace the thorniness and discomfort of waiting and like the retriever, bolt for what has been withheld only when given the command to bolt. For His sake, may I hold my ground. Thank You for Your steadfastness with me – may I reflect Your image and character by doing the same. Amen

A Proper View

10/25/2015

Job 16.7 Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company. – Job

One day, calamity struck Job. All of what he held precious was taken from him and he became very ill in the process. Job was utterly befuddled by the things that happened to him and he became very frustrated because he couldn’t figure it out. And like many, because he couldn’t figure it out, he blamed God; that’s all he knew to do. He came to the place in his mind where God had become his Enemy.

As fearfully and wonderfully as we are made, we still have great limitations. We know just enough, most of the time, to make ourselves dangerous. Job was not unlike us. He thought he had life all figured out, and he actually lived a righteous life. He took care of the poor, he was blessed with abundance, and he humbly came before God. So, when disaster struck, he could only come to the conclusion that somehow he’d been unfairly treated. Sounds familiar…

That happens to us – we hit a difficult stretch and the next thing we know, we’re walking around thinking we’re being punished for something we didn’t do; our attitude is: I was framed! I’m innocent! I think we lose sight of who we are and who God is. Difficulties will either tend to draw us closer to God or drive us further away. And the longer the difficulties last, the more confused we get. We’ll ask, God! What did I do!? What is the reason for my being treated this way!? It’s hard to take it when He answers: Nothing, My child. Trust Me, I love you!

Difficulties, trials, and testing do wear us out. We don’t like it and we think – or are tempted to think: somehow, I’ve lost the favor of God. I think in those difficult moments or seasons, we tend to forget who God is, and whose we are. We like sun-shiny days and calm waters. So, when storm clouds gather and the wind picks up, we forget who God is, and Whose we are. God’s love for us never changes and never diminishes, even at our worst. He is faithful to complete the work He’s begun in us (Philippians 1.6)

Tough times are divinely designed and dispensed to help me to grow. I’d like to think I can do it all on my own, but I need to be stretched, I need to be tested; I need to deal with difficult things that are beyond my ability to control. I need to see my faith at work. My life cannot be successfully growing if there are no days in which I have to struggle against the wind. Tough times are there to help me see how I really view God.

I must be careful in all of life to keep things in perspective: I must maintain a proper view of myself and my view of God. Job really struggled in his view of both – I’m sure I do the same. And perhaps in his defense, as Job said, I don’t deserve this, maybe there was some truth to it. But deserve it or not, God loved him and used the calamity around him to grow Job to a greater understanding of who he was and Whose he was – God never does a thing without our growth in mind.

Today, I’m to remain humble and remember that no matter what, God loves and cares for me and He is able to complete that which He’s begun in me for His greatness and glory that together, we may spend eternity as trusted friends.

Father, what must be done, must be done. You are completely in control and I submit to You. Complete Your work in me for Jesus’ sake. May I have the proper view of You, and of me in the midst of all You do… amen.

The Ownership of God

10/22/15

Acts 16.14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. – St. Luke the physician

The more I read the Scripture, the Writings, the Living Word, the more I find the most interesting jewels laying amid the vast landscape of truth presented there. Today was one of those days.

It’s written here in Acts 19 that Lydia was a business woman from Thyatira, an ancient city in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey); and a worshiper of God. Lydia worshipped God but apparently she hadn’t received the full story, and so God opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. Hmmm… A worshiper of God without the whole story…sounds like a lot of people I know.

Only surmising here, but I think Lydia had made up her mind that there was a God and she wasn’t Him. I think her life journey led her to a point where she’d heard much about God and so, in her own way, tried her best to reach out to Him. I don’t think her thoughts about God were necessarily faulty; I think more so, they were just incomplete. She apparently didn’t have the whole picture.

And God knew that, and God saw that, and one day God opened her heart to pay attention to Paul the apostle and the truth came rushing in like a flood. She saw God in a new way. Her heart was thrilled. In fact she was so thrilled to receive the whole story, that she urged herself upon Paul and his companions: “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. (Luke 15) And as they say, there wudn’t no gettin’ away from Lydia.

Lydia wasn’t obnoxious, she was just overjoyed that someone took the time to talk with her and connect all the dots. Her mind was cleared and the truth shone through. And St. Luke said it was all God’s doing; God opened her heart to pay attention. Do we know people like Lydia? Do they ask a lot of questions in the small group and do they struggle to figure it all out? You bet we do; they’re all over the place.

People have thoughts about God. They have dreams and desires and heartaches and trouble and while they know there is a God (and He ain’t them) they just don’t have a complete picture of Him. (Not that any of us really do, but there are certainly some who may be ‘more connected’ than others.)

What I really think happened to Lydia was the light came on and the things about God that didn’t seem to make sense all of a sudden did. She may have thought her life was just right the way it was, but the nagging inconsistencies of life plagued her mind. And Paul showed up, and so did God.

I think this is a beautiful story of the Ownership of God. I think we forget He owns us all: red, yellow, black and white – we are all precious in His sight. God owned Lydia and made sure she could know a more complete and better way to know Him – after all, ain’t that what it’s all about…?

Father, may we always remember that there are Lydia’s among us who are craving to know more about You. Use us to help them see more clearly and to be a part of what You are doing in this world which You own – lock, stock, and barrel…

Prayer Changes Everything

10/20/15

Acts 12.5,11 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” – St. Luke, the physician

A pastor friend of mine stopped by the office today and we drank some coffee. We talked about various and sundry and he said that he was seriously considering ending his weekly prayer email because he thought there is just too much to pray about, and he wasn’t all that sure it was being effective. I told him it was something I really appreciated it, and perhaps, he could just change up the format but not forsake the encouragement to pray. Prayer changes everything.

In Acts 12 we read where King Herod (the Edomite) went on a tantrum and killed some of the believers in Jerusalem, including James, the brother of John. When Herod saw that it pleased the Jews immensely, he proceeded to arrest Simon Peter with the intent of killing him as well. God had other plans, and the local church united in prayer for Simon’s safety and return to their company.

You have to go and read the account in Acts 12 – it is fascinating. God answered the prayers of the saints, Peter was, in fact, delivered; and Herod some time later died because he was such a butt-head. It’s true. He really was a butt-head.

The Jews hated Peter, just as they had hated Jesus. The Jews hated James, just as they hated Jesus. And Herod was trying to win political favor with the Jews (who didn’t think to highly of him because of his non-Jewish heritage). Oh what a tangled web we weave… The other thing we must remember when reading the New Testament is that the term, the Jews, is not an overly glowing term. The very people with whom God chose to have such a special relationship, were the very ones who categorically and emphatically rejected Him. OMG! What a story of confused and broken people that brought upon themselves such hatred from their enemies all because they rejected their God for their god.

But we today run the risk of doing the same thing; if we’re not careful we may be lulled into believing the Real Thing is just something of our own making. Prayer helps put a stop to such slippage. The Church now, as the Church then must pray. We don’t have Herod’s running around these days, but there is no shortage of arrogant unbelievers who durst would do harm to God’s people; and we must pray for two reasons: 

1. We must pray for the advancement of God’s Kingdom – and
2. We must pray for the salvation of the lost…no shortage there either.

Peter’s church prayed and God did His work. What if our churches prayed? What would we see God do on our behalf despite the efforts of the Herod-like who pick on God’s people as if they are parasites to society?

Lord, help my friend to keep writing and posting, and encouraging us, Your Church, to keep praying – prayer changes everything… Amen

The Journey

10/19/2015

Acts 10.17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?”- St. Peter

I work with kids in a youth-ish ministry on Wednesday nights at my Church; it’s my third year. It’s interesting to me (and rewarding) to see the changes in their personalities and commitment level from year to year. What is also the reward to me is to see maturity take hold of them as they age and grow. I get to be a part of their lives for an hour and a half on Wednesdays and with some of them, we have built a friendship.

There is one young man in particular that I may have struggled with early on. He’s the kind of kid who loves attention, is very bright, and isn’t too intimidated by an old control freak like me. He is the child of a patched together family and he has a big personality. But he is also now in tenth grade and it is mildly unusual for kids to remain in this ministry past eighth grade; for most of them it becomes less cool than it did when they were in sixth grade.

This morning I thought about him as I read St. Peter’s words: “who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” Everybody is on a journey in this life. We’re all going somewhere. That’s how life is: a journey.

One’s journey may be static; one’s may be fluid. One’s may be to be raised in a traditional family setting; another’s may be to be raised by step parents, or just a single parent. One may be recognized as handsome or pretty; another may be like the rest of us, sort of nondescript. One may have talents and abilities; another may have to learn it the hard way and struggle. Everybody is on a journey of some kind, and like Peter I ask, who am I to stand in God’s way?

Each week for the last three years I have seen my young friend grow and mature and become, I assume, more of the man that God has created him to be. What’s funny is God is doing the same thing in my heart as well. My journey is fluid.

My prayer for my young friend is that he remain steadfast and that he remain faithful. He is the next generation’s leader. I won’t be around when he steps up to take the lead. But God will be, and God, I believe, has His hand on an energetic young man who seems eager to achieve and believe. I’m glad I get to spend some time with him each week and be a part of God’s process in him…

Lord, this morning I pray for all of my young friends and ask that You strengthen and empower me to participate in their lives with the attitude that St. Peter had: who am I that I can stand in Your way as You mold and shape these kids into the leaders of tomorrow. My prayer for them is that You have Your way with them and let the world be awed in the work You do in them, for them, and through them. Amen.