While looking for a book on the shelves in my office a couple of days ago, I came upon a book my son, Sean, prepared for me as gift at Christmas a couple of years ago. In it, he recalled events and moments from his childhood. Being the sentimental sap I am, tears stung my eyes as I read through it again. You know what stood out to me? The fact that he remembered little stuff- breakfast together on Saturday, getting to wear one of my crosses to church, getting bad hot chocolate at Pinky’s Café. (There’s a story there, but no time here to tell it!) I didn’t get to be a good Dad in his eyes by being Super-Dad one or two weeks each year. He didn’t put the trip to Disney in his book. He didn’t write about big, expensive gifts. What he remembered and celebrated was that I was there for him, consistently, fairly, all the time!
Because it will be Father’s Day this coming Sunday, I want to take this opportunity to encourage all those Dads who read “Coffeebreak” to embrace the challenge and high calling of fathering, and to do it in a way that honors God and blesses your kids. Being a good Dad will require constantly adjusting your schedule, re-setting priorities, and living with integrity! Nothing disillusions a child more than the dawning realization that Dad does not keep his word, that he talks a much better Christian game than he lives! More than a few times I’ve counseled a teenager through a rough time when they are ready to throw away their faith because they see the yawning gap that exists between the faith their father professes and the life he lives!
Dad, does that mean you have to be perfect? Not at all. It does mean that you have to work at growing in Christ. It also demands that when you get it wrong, you admit it – to the Lord first and then to your family. Real confession of our sins and failure, offered without excuse, demonstrates honesty and because it is so painful, helps to keep us from doing it again!
The Bible says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4, NIV) The Message says, "Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master."
I will always be Dad, discipling my children even though the youngest is now 27 years of age and a continent away. I am no longer responsible for their discipline, but I am there for them, still offering advice, still blazing a trail for them to follow. My Dad blazed a trail for me and since his death I feel a keen loss. Another friend, who is my age, lost his Dad, too. As we were talking about Dad’s, Mark remarked, “You miss be able to call up the Captain and ask, ‘So, Dad, what do you think?” I miss that, too!
Now my aim is that as long as God gives me life, to be the kind of man, the kind of Christian, that causes my children to seek my friendship and wisdom. This will not happen in my life by sheer determination alone. I must be ‘fathered’ by the Great Father, led by God, inhabited by His Spirit. How I thank God for the promise that He will lead me, teach me, and empower me. Do you want to lead your children to Him?
Be a follower, first. Then you can say, "Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1, NLT)
___________
Surrounded by so great
A cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race
Not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us.
Let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness
Passed on thru godly lives.
After all our hopes and dreams
Have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all
We've left behind,
May the clues that they discover,
And the mem'ries they uncover,
Become the light that leads them,
To the road we each must find.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion
Light their way.
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful.
Find Us Faithful
Mohr, Jon
© 1987 Jonathan Mark Music ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management / Birdwing Music (a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI License No. 810055
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Serenity can be yours!
Anxiety is the epidemic of our age, isn’t it? We are stressed by time pressure, unmet expectations, a faltering economy, gloomy predictions for the future … and too many personal things to even begin to mention. For me, the current stressor is the budget for the church and her ministries. We are closing our fiscal year in a couple of weeks and planning for the coming year in this economic climate is not fun! But, I would be in sin if I failed acknowledge the way that the Lord and His people have provided so that the church’s work continued with enough resources through this present year. He has been Yahweh Yireh (The Lord, Our Provider; Genesis 22:14), and I am deeply grateful.
In the second half of John’s Gospel, we read an extended conversation between Jesus and His disciples over the final Passover meal as He prepared them for His imminent arrest and death. It’s a sober, yet at times almost comedic, exchange in which they just don’t get it. They are confused by His words, unable to grasp His promise of a new Comforter that will come to live in them, the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not sugarcoat the future. He warns them that they will be persecuted by the world who will not like them any more than they liked Him. He tells them that when they do good, they will be hated. He says that troubles will come their way. We need to hear those words!
A silly brand of Christianity is ballyhooed by thousands of preachers that implies that becoming a follower of Christ Jesus will bring bright skies, endless horizons, and days of bliss! Those who hear those false promises often conclude that they must be ‘bad’ or have ‘no faith,’ because trouble and trials continue to be part of life. Certainly, we do bring some trouble on our own heads by walking willfully, out of step with the Spirit. However, if we are deeply committed we will be up to our necks in difficulties! Why? Because we are called to serve in hard places, commissioned to live against the current, resisting the Devil and his evil works – even to the point of death!
But…. (don’t you love that conjunctive word?) peace is possible. Yes, serenity is God’s gift to us. Here’s what Jesus said at that supper to men who were confused and stressed by what He had told them about their future:
“Fix this firmly in your minds: You’re going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You’ll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness. “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. … I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (John 16:20-22, 33 The Message)
Those men were going to enter into a greater darkness than they had ever known, but in three days the Resurrection would let them put the puzzle together, give them the assurance they needed, and prepare them for the future.
Disciple, we must grasp the promise and the assurance that leads to serenity; to peace in the middle of the storms. “Take heart! I have overcome the world!” is still a promise for you and me. Jesus knows about the budgetary needs of my church, so I need to be as wise as possible, obedient to His leading, and trusting that come what may He still leads. Death, divorce, disappointment, temptation, unemployment, failure, missed expectations, overcoming addictions – there is serenity for those who give their lives into His care.
_______________
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Original Serenity Prayer
by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
In the second half of John’s Gospel, we read an extended conversation between Jesus and His disciples over the final Passover meal as He prepared them for His imminent arrest and death. It’s a sober, yet at times almost comedic, exchange in which they just don’t get it. They are confused by His words, unable to grasp His promise of a new Comforter that will come to live in them, the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not sugarcoat the future. He warns them that they will be persecuted by the world who will not like them any more than they liked Him. He tells them that when they do good, they will be hated. He says that troubles will come their way. We need to hear those words!
A silly brand of Christianity is ballyhooed by thousands of preachers that implies that becoming a follower of Christ Jesus will bring bright skies, endless horizons, and days of bliss! Those who hear those false promises often conclude that they must be ‘bad’ or have ‘no faith,’ because trouble and trials continue to be part of life. Certainly, we do bring some trouble on our own heads by walking willfully, out of step with the Spirit. However, if we are deeply committed we will be up to our necks in difficulties! Why? Because we are called to serve in hard places, commissioned to live against the current, resisting the Devil and his evil works – even to the point of death!
But…. (don’t you love that conjunctive word?) peace is possible. Yes, serenity is God’s gift to us. Here’s what Jesus said at that supper to men who were confused and stressed by what He had told them about their future:
“Fix this firmly in your minds: You’re going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You’ll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness. “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. … I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (John 16:20-22, 33 The Message)
Those men were going to enter into a greater darkness than they had ever known, but in three days the Resurrection would let them put the puzzle together, give them the assurance they needed, and prepare them for the future.
Disciple, we must grasp the promise and the assurance that leads to serenity; to peace in the middle of the storms. “Take heart! I have overcome the world!” is still a promise for you and me. Jesus knows about the budgetary needs of my church, so I need to be as wise as possible, obedient to His leading, and trusting that come what may He still leads. Death, divorce, disappointment, temptation, unemployment, failure, missed expectations, overcoming addictions – there is serenity for those who give their lives into His care.
_______________
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
Original Serenity Prayer
by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
All In The Family
Good Shepherd Christian Academy, a ministry of the church I pastor, had graduation exercises for 8th grade last night. One theme glued the evening together- the sense of being a family! The attachments run deep, as evidenced by their tears, real tears that flowed copiously through the whole 90 minute program. Sure, they fight. What brothers and sisters don't? Some of them have been GSCA students for their entire elementary education, others just for a year or two. Even at age 13 or 14, they know the value of 'belonging.'
Oh, that each ministry and participant in our church would find and hold onto that kind of connection! Ours is a fragmented, broken society, with many lonely, isolated people. Large extended families in America are almost extinct, torn apart by our mobility and quest for prosperity; and yet, we need to belong! Few things are more critical to emotional and spiritual health than being part of a network of relationships that provides opportunities for service and support. But, it isn't easy to build or maintain that kind of web, is it? Tragically, too often conflict is allowed to tear up families and churches! (I'm not throwing any stones on that point for I've been there, done that!) Somebody's sin intrudes and because we don't know how to deal with sin and dysfunction with bold, firm, loving discipline; everything blows up! Then, too, many of us hang onto an exaggerated sense of privacy and/or individualism that allows us a high level of autonomy but robs us of the joy of really loving and being loved.
A church that opens her doors and hearts to others will look very messy! Some expect their church to be like an army on parade, in neat uniforms, marching in lockstep. I have to disagree. A real church will resemble a family reunion, chaotic, relational, glued together not by rigid discipline but by profound love! A church family will have the full complement of characters - just like any other family. There will be the leaders and the followers, the stars and the silent workers, the cranks and the jokesters, the sages and the fools, the highly productive and the VNP's (Very Needy People), the good and the bad, the whole and the broken, the joyful and the sad.
Let me ask you a couple of questions today.
Are you part of a church?Are you helping her be a real family?Are you investing yourself in forming and maintaining close relationships that will return rich dividends to you and for the cause of Christ?
Ponder this passage from the Scripture that describes the Church in terms of the body. It's a familiar passage, so I've used The Message to help you read it anew. As you read, invite the Holy Spirit to renew the family of God, to glue us together, to help us to love each other.
"What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way-the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. You are Christ's body-that's who you are! You must never forget this.
Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles prophets teachers miracle workers healers helpers organizers those who pray in tongues. But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part?
It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues."
(1 Corinthians 12:20-30, The Message)
___________
Welcome to the family,
We're glad that you have come
To share your life with us,
As we grow in love
And may we always be to you,
What God would have us be,
A fam'ly always there,
To be strong and to lean on.
May we learn to love each other
More with each new day,
May words of love be on our lips
In ev'rything we say.
May the Spirit melt our hearts,
And teach us how to pray,
That we might be a true family.
Welcome To The Family
Rettino, Debby Kerner
© 1982 Rettino - Kerner Publishing (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055
Oh, that each ministry and participant in our church would find and hold onto that kind of connection! Ours is a fragmented, broken society, with many lonely, isolated people. Large extended families in America are almost extinct, torn apart by our mobility and quest for prosperity; and yet, we need to belong! Few things are more critical to emotional and spiritual health than being part of a network of relationships that provides opportunities for service and support. But, it isn't easy to build or maintain that kind of web, is it? Tragically, too often conflict is allowed to tear up families and churches! (I'm not throwing any stones on that point for I've been there, done that!) Somebody's sin intrudes and because we don't know how to deal with sin and dysfunction with bold, firm, loving discipline; everything blows up! Then, too, many of us hang onto an exaggerated sense of privacy and/or individualism that allows us a high level of autonomy but robs us of the joy of really loving and being loved.
A church that opens her doors and hearts to others will look very messy! Some expect their church to be like an army on parade, in neat uniforms, marching in lockstep. I have to disagree. A real church will resemble a family reunion, chaotic, relational, glued together not by rigid discipline but by profound love! A church family will have the full complement of characters - just like any other family. There will be the leaders and the followers, the stars and the silent workers, the cranks and the jokesters, the sages and the fools, the highly productive and the VNP's (Very Needy People), the good and the bad, the whole and the broken, the joyful and the sad.
Let me ask you a couple of questions today.
Are you part of a church?Are you helping her be a real family?Are you investing yourself in forming and maintaining close relationships that will return rich dividends to you and for the cause of Christ?
Ponder this passage from the Scripture that describes the Church in terms of the body. It's a familiar passage, so I've used The Message to help you read it anew. As you read, invite the Holy Spirit to renew the family of God, to glue us together, to help us to love each other.
"What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way-the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?
The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. You are Christ's body-that's who you are! You must never forget this.
Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles prophets teachers miracle workers healers helpers organizers those who pray in tongues. But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part?
It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues."
(1 Corinthians 12:20-30, The Message)
___________
Welcome to the family,
We're glad that you have come
To share your life with us,
As we grow in love
And may we always be to you,
What God would have us be,
A fam'ly always there,
To be strong and to lean on.
May we learn to love each other
More with each new day,
May words of love be on our lips
In ev'rything we say.
May the Spirit melt our hearts,
And teach us how to pray,
That we might be a true family.
Welcome To The Family
Rettino, Debby Kerner
© 1982 Rettino - Kerner Publishing (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Ambition in check
The voicemail message was a strange one, “Pastor, would you please pray that God gives me favor so that my worship ‘ministry’ goes world-wide?” I don’t know the person making that request. However, I know this: If his real desire is ministry, it won’t matter whether he is serving 10 or 10,000! It seems clear to me that the guy making that request has his priorities a little mixed up! His ambition is out of focus. I did not pray what he asked! I did ask pray; that his ministry would be God-honoring, marked by faithfulness, and that when he led worship he would become invisible as he led people into the Spirit’s presence.
Ambition gets out of focus easily enough. Last week a person sent me a note that praised my writing skills. I appreciate encouragement. We all do. However, I took that praise and got all puffed up. I imagined myself writing a book and speaking at conferences. It makes me laugh at myself when I think how quickly my sinful human nature can take a little affirmation and go on an extended ego trip! Managing ambition demands constant submission to the Spirit.
The Bible speaks of ambition and not always with condemnation! The Word is replete with examples of people who dreamed of accomplishing much for God, who desired to do amazing in His service. In far too many of their stories, their very success became their undoing. Remember Saul, the first king of Israel? Samuel found him full of pride and rebellious. He asked him to remember when he was nobody and God made him somebody! “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel." (1 Samuel 15:17, NIV) In contrast there is the story of Joseph. A farm boy from nowhere, God gave him a dream! Through years of hard times he held onto that dream, serving God and men faithfully in small ways until God raised him to great prominence as the Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph never forgot Who he served or why he was promoted.
What God corrects is selfish ambition.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3, NIV)
"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." (James 3:16, NIV)
Nothing corrupts ministry more quickly than the need to be recognized, the desire to be first; ambition that is no longer submitted to the Spirit of the Lord.
When our ministry to God and His people, whatever it is that He has called and equipped us to do, becomes about numbers or reputation, it will no longer be ‘ministry.’
Here’s a word from the Word. May the Spirit use it to keep our selfish ambition in check and to encourage service that is focused on the One worthy.
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11, NIV)
Ambition gets out of focus easily enough. Last week a person sent me a note that praised my writing skills. I appreciate encouragement. We all do. However, I took that praise and got all puffed up. I imagined myself writing a book and speaking at conferences. It makes me laugh at myself when I think how quickly my sinful human nature can take a little affirmation and go on an extended ego trip! Managing ambition demands constant submission to the Spirit.
The Bible speaks of ambition and not always with condemnation! The Word is replete with examples of people who dreamed of accomplishing much for God, who desired to do amazing in His service. In far too many of their stories, their very success became their undoing. Remember Saul, the first king of Israel? Samuel found him full of pride and rebellious. He asked him to remember when he was nobody and God made him somebody! “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel." (1 Samuel 15:17, NIV) In contrast there is the story of Joseph. A farm boy from nowhere, God gave him a dream! Through years of hard times he held onto that dream, serving God and men faithfully in small ways until God raised him to great prominence as the Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph never forgot Who he served or why he was promoted.
What God corrects is selfish ambition.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3, NIV)
"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." (James 3:16, NIV)
Nothing corrupts ministry more quickly than the need to be recognized, the desire to be first; ambition that is no longer submitted to the Spirit of the Lord.
When our ministry to God and His people, whatever it is that He has called and equipped us to do, becomes about numbers or reputation, it will no longer be ‘ministry.’
Here’s a word from the Word. May the Spirit use it to keep our selfish ambition in check and to encourage service that is focused on the One worthy.
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11, NIV)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Not ‘back’ to anything!
After I spoke on the fullness of the Spirit yesterday, somebody remarked, “Sounds like you think we need to get back to an old-fashioned Pentecost.” I didn’t respond but the comment lingers. I asked myself, “Am I, due to my age, longing for the past? Am I remembering days gone by with the soft rosy tint so often imparted by nostalgia?” No! I am eager to experience all that the Lord has for His Church and for me right now. I do not want to re-live any previous ‘glory days!’ I am convinced that there are new and wonderful things prepared in His purposes, that He is not just the God of my fathers, but the God of my grandsons!
After crying out in alarm over the terrible spiritual conditions in Israel, the prophet Joel used a plague of locusts that was devastating the land to illustrate a coming military invasion that would bring terrible destruction. "Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us." (Joel 2:1, NLT) But, Joel’s vision did not stop there! "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-31, NIV) Disciple, walking away from the Lord will invite His correction, but – praise Him – He does not abandon us forever. “His mercies are new every morning!”
I believe that He is holding out the offer of a new Renaissance to us if only we will invite the Spirit to give us new dreams, bigger than ourselves, greater than our personal prosperity. The Renaissance period in Europe, beginning in the 1400’s, which brought about the rebirth of culture and learning after the Dark Ages, brought a whole new way of thinking to the Western World. Many thought that Christianity was done, finished by the dawn of the Enlightenment! But, God’s voice spoke through all that tumult of that time to the heart of a German monk named Martin Luther. Through him, the Spirit gave us the Reformation, which not only changed the Church, but laid the foundation for Western democracy, and our entire way of life. Luther did not have a vision about going back to anything. God showed him a new way to worship, a new vision of the Cross of Christ, a new vision of grace.
His famed five ‘sola’s’ shaped the core principles of the rebirth of vital Christianity:
‘Sola Scriptura,’ only the Scripture;
‘Solus Christus’ – only Christ;
‘Sola Gratia’ – only grace;
‘Sola Fide’ – only faith –
‘Soli Deo Gloria’ – only for God’s glory.
These ideas may seem common, even familiar to us, but the Spirit birthed these visions of the core Truths of the Gospel when God revealed these things to Luther 500 years ago! They came to him in a time of terrible darkness and in great struggle.
Let’s believe God, the Spirit, for a new proclamation of the Gospel that engages our world. The Scripture remains! Christ is the same! Grace is the hope. Faith is the only means of receiving that grace. No matter the age, the purpose of our lives is found only in God’s glory. A backward look was the sin of Lot’s wife that led to her demise. So, if we spend our days longing for another era, gazing fondly backward, we will never experience the renaissance that God, the Holy Spirit, has prepared for us. Lift your eyes to Him.
Here’s a word from the Word. Jesus, speaking to His disciples and to us, urges us to receive the vision.
"Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together." (John 4:35-36, NIV)
_______________
Spirit of God, descend upon my heart.
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, Mighty as Thou art.
And make me love Thee, as I ought to love!
Hast Thou not bid us love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own, heart, soul, and strength, and mind!
I see Thy Cross, there teach my heart to cling,
O let me seek Thee and oh, let me find!
George Croly – public domain
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