Ministry - a room and a pizza

The calls come, usually, round 9 PM, more in the winter months. Sometimes it is the person in need, sometimes a police officer who has found someone shivering on the street. A couple of years ago, one of those calls went like this: A scared voice announced, ‘Me and my friend got no place to sleep tonight. Belvidere (the county welfare office) blew us off. Can you help us, father?’  I drove to where these young adults (probably no more than 20 years of age) stood in the rain, cold and miserable, and took them to a local motel where I was able to secure a room for them. They had not eaten all day, so I bought them a couple of pizzas. Often those I help are not very grateful.  These people were truly thankful.

Driving home I thought about what I had done for them. They were warm and fed for one night, but how could I help them to stop living so desperately?  Those kids had greater needs for loving guidance, for help with life skills. As it turned out, I went back to see them the next day. Warm and fed, they were not too interested in talking with me. So, did I just waste time and $60 of God’s money?

Cynics might say that getting involved with those many would label as ‘losers’ is a waste of time. I know that I get ‘used’ by people looking for a room and a pizza. But, my rule is one Jesus taught, "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:30-31, NIV) To me, this is ministry that is just as important as preaching the sermon in church on Sunday morning. It is a point where the Gospel of Christ becomes more than an idea! It happens because I am available and willing to participate in His work.

Do you ever ask - “what can I do for God?”   Some Christians think that only means doing  ‘church work.’  Teaching children, keeping up the church’s grounds, singing on the Worship team, or serving in leadership is important, however, ‘doing for God’ does not require holding a position in the church’s structure of ministries. We all can do His work and will have plenty to do, if we open our eyes to the needs of people around us.  Ministry starts with love.

One day, after He had engaged a sinful woman at a well in Samaria, bringing her to a moment of heart change, Jesus urged his friends to change their perspective. Instead of thinking God’s time and God’s work was in another time and place, He said, "I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!" (John 4:35, The Message)

God’s only requirement of those who would serve Him is availability.  Yes, there are times of preparation and disciplines that increase our effective, but the most basic choice is to say “Here I am,. Lord. Use me!” That’s not as easy as it sounds! True ministry not an activity for the occasional evening. It’s a way of life.  Ministry won’t wait for a convenient moment on your day off. The Holy Spirit will not let us only do His work when we have time, or wait until we have ‘enough’ (time, money, energy – fill in the blank) before calling us. And, He does not allow you or me to choose to serve in the way that we think is fun or attractive to our personality. He calls us to serve with no reserve.

The happiest Christians I know are those who are up to their elbows in selfless service! When they participate in the work of the Lord – serving their family, teaching kids, feeding the hungry, … whatever He calls and equips them to do, they sense His smile.  Will you serve- today?  Take the opportunity to pray with someone whose heart is broken. Give a meal to someone who is hungry. Listen to that person who needs to know somebody values them. Speak up and invite somebody to receive the hope of new life in Christ. God will rejoice over you. What compares with His favor?

Here’s a word from the Word. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:31-40, NIV) 
_____________

True Religion

You came for the lost the sick and the blind,
With salvation and hope You gave to us free.
So, what will we do with this treasure we hold?

Let justice roll on like a river!
Let mercy shine bright as the sun!
Take care of the orphan and widow,
Take care of our own flesh and blood.
'Cause this is the way that You've call us to love,
To share what we have with the hungry and poor,
Put clothes on the naked,
And heal up the broken and torn;
True religion!

© 2008 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services)
Ryan Delmore
CCLI License No. 810055

Playing it safe, avoiding disappointment?

So, has the story of your life included some disappointment? Mine, too.  A few years ago Bev and I turned our lives upside down making major changes, involving huge expenses financially and emotionally, to do what we believed the Lord wanted us to do. So far, we have mostly found heartbreak, stress, and missed expectations. I’m tempted, sometimes, by regret. I wonder, occasionally, if we made the right choices, if we really heard from God.  I don’t allow myself to dwell on the disappointment, however, because the past is behind me and – whether I got it right or wrong – today is here and there is a life to live!

You can refuse to take risks, avoid loving others, and protect your own interests. In so doing, you will avoid a lot of disappointment, but -  is that what you really want – to be safely insulated from both joy and sorrow? In one of his parables, Jesus talked about a man who lived like that.  He took the gift the master gave him to invest and buried it in a hole.  When called to accounting, he told the master, “I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money.”  (Matthew 25:24-25)  He was not commended for his timidity!  Jesus called him wicked and lazy. Ouch!

People who are fully  alive, working to make a difference in the world, and loving others will get hurt.  God does not call us to be masochists, looking for pain or humiliation!  He does call us to serve with abandon, to risk it all, and to be willing to endure disappointment. “Take up your cross and follow Me,” Jesus said. It’s not a great recruiting line for the 21^st century, but it is His invitation to the adventure of discipleship.  Paul urged Timothy to live courageously and reminded the young pastor that "Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it." (2 Timothy 3:12, The Message) Happy is wonderful and I’m glad for those moments when laughter and sunshine come my way. The JOY of serving Jesus is far better than mere happiness.

So, must we just slog on, grimly taking what ‘life’ dishes out to us? No, disciple, there are better choices.

Primary among them is the critical decision to anchor our hope beyond time and space, in the Lord!  Isaiah watched his nation crumble around him, invaders come and destroy the city and the Temple, friends carried off to slavery. He might have slid into despair, but he went to the Lord and re-affirmed his trust. Yes, he felt terrible grief and enduring awful disappointment. The rejection he lived with for most of his life because of his faithful to God’s call makes me shudder, but he looked beyond it. While admitting his humanity, he inspires us to greater faith with a promise.  "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:30-31)

Few things release us from disappointment like the decision to forgive. Forgiveness is a greater blessings to the forgiver than it is to the forgiven. When we forgive those who offend us, we give away the demand to make people act in ways we approve or like. True forgiveness involves our submission to a higher purpose and a choice give the pain to God.  Why? Because we in that He will bring all things to justice in His time. When we release that person who has disappointed us to God's court, we find freedom from the anger, hatred, and bitterness that hold so many as slaves.  You, me … we all have disappointment our Father, so humbly we pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.... and we soberly hear Jesus warning that  “if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  (Matthew 6:12)

Then there is that humble decision to adjust our expectations.  Some people spend exorbitant amounts of time, money, and energy trying make everything fit into their script for life.  “It’s just not supposed to be that way. I will not rest until I make her realize … force him to change … get the justice I deserve … find the answer I demand.”  Well, go ahead and try, but you and I are not the script-writers for this drama called ‘life.’ God is. There’s a time to surrender. No, not give up, nor resign to fate.  But, actually embrace HIS WILL and seek to let Him lead. Hanging tightly onto our plans is a form of self-centeredness that will always lead to misery, bitterness, and loneliness. I love the opening lines of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

If you’re struggling to make sense of life, start here.

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

He’s the one who will keep you on track. " (Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message)

The word from the Word assures us that we are not lost on the sea of time,  random bits of life. We live with purpose, though sometimes we cannot see it in this moment or month! "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory." (Romans 8:28-30, NLT)

____________________

Trust His Heart

All things work for our good

Though sometimes we can't see how they could.

Struggles that break our hearts in two

Sometimes blind us to the truth.

Our Father knows what's best for us,

His ways are not our own.

So when your pathway grows dim,

And you just can't see Him,

Remember, you're never alone.

He sees the master plan,

He holds the future in His hands.

So don't live as those who have no hope,

All our hope is found in Him.

We see the present clearly,

But He sees the first - and the last-

And like a tapestry, He's weaving you and me

To someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken!

God is too good to be unkind!

So when you don't understand,

When you don't see His plan,

When you can't trace His hand,

Trust His heart!

Babbie Mason | Eddie Carswell

© 1989 Dayspring Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

Causing Change Music (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

"Try Harder, Be Miserable" - is this the motto of the church?

In ”The Life You’ve Always Wanted,” John Ortberg writes about cranky Hank, a church member who knew the Scripture, faithfully attended church services, and said his prayers. But, cranky Hank showed no evidence of spiritual transformation.  He was a critical, self-centered, miserable man.  You know the saddest part of that story?  Nobody in his church found that Hank’s misery a cause for concern. There are millions of “Christians” who are orthodox in their confession that NEVER move an inch towards becoming like Christ Jesus.

Do you believe that being a “Christian” is defined as “trying harder to be a nice person?” In far too many churches the “gospel” is turned into a weekly exhortation about working harder at curbing wrong impulses while attempting to imitate Jesus. All that messages produces is deeper guilt, more misery! Eventually many settle, like cranky Hank, for a doctrine divorced from life, professing Christ but not possessing the life of a Spirit-filled disciples. Let me shout it loud. Such a life IS NOT a normal Christian life despite being common.

I LOVE this proclamation - "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." (Colossians 1:25-28, NIV)

The Gospel is not ‘try harder.’  It is “Christ in you!”  Paul says that it is a mystery, not meaning that it is a riddle, but that this is something hidden from ordinary understanding until the revelation of the Spirit opens our eyes. It is not earned, found after long hours of study, or achieved by harsh discipline. HE is received, by faith. Every morning we eagerly anticipate the adventure to be found in Him and we open our hands and hearts to Him saying, “Here I am, Lord Jesus, lead me. Fill me. Be radiant in me.”  And, He is!

The dreary life of religious duty is so commonplace many cannot even imagine that being a Christian will bring delight.  The beauty of Jesus can emerge from us, like a butterfly unfolding out of a chrysalis. Have you exchanged that glorious thought for the ‘try harder’ work of the Pharisees?  Those religious men knew that the heart of the law was to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:4-6, NIV) But, they were not in love with God. They were obsessed with circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbath rules. Jesus rejects their superficial spirituality and not kindly. He called them “pious frauds, cups burnished to high shine on the outside but filthy instead, gleaming tombs full of bones, men who strain a gnat out of their soup while ready to swallow a camel!”  Oh, just reading that makes me groan. It is us so often. We, too, are incurably religious. Unless our gaze is constantly reset to Jesus, the Cross, and the promise of new life; we will slide into rule-keeping and call it “Christianity.” We will become obsessed with performance measures based on where we go, what we eat or drink, who we hang out with, church attendance, Bible memorization, and conformity to the our group’s rules.

Holiness is important but not the ‘try harder’ variety. Christians who are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus will not get drunk, spend their nights in casinos, or cuss like the proverbial sailor BECAUSE their hearts have no desire for such things!  The reason we will live a holy life, however, will not be prove our worth to God or man, but because we delight in the One whose Spirit lives in us and changes us – inside out!

Reflect on this word from the Word. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and to get the treasure, too!  “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"  (Matthew 13:44-46, NLT)

Is your relationship with Christ a treasure, or a ball and chain?  Pause for some honest heart-searching.
Is the Gospel of Christ making you a beautiful person, full of life, overflowing with love, joy, and peace; 
or has a religious obsession turned you into a critical, judgmental, sour zealot?

 May this be true of us always.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. \And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory,which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, NIV)  

That’s the best thing in life!

_______________

Jesus is all the world to me,

My life, my joy, my all;

He is my strength from day to day,

Without Him I would fall;

When I am sad, to Him I go,

No other one can cheer me so;

When I am sad, He makes me glad,

He's my friend.

Jesus is all the world to me,

I want no better friend;

I trust Him now, I'll trust Him

When life's fleeting days shall end.

Beautiful life with such a friend,

Beautiful life that has no end;

Eternal life, eternal joy,

He's my friend.

Jesus Is All The World To Me

Thompson, Will L.

© Public Domain

Will the tears ever stop?

As a young man, I watched my pastor father pray and heard him cry. I thought he was weak, or at least overly sentimental. “Must he always cry?” I thought to myself.  A quarter century later, I too cry often.  No, it is not depression or melancholy.  I feel the sorrow that stalks this world. Death and disappointment come too often and the longer we live, the more we realize we our limitations to control them.  Many turn into cynics, calloused to loss.  I choose love, asking the Spirit to give me a child-like spirit that is sensitive. Yes, a tender heart reflects the heart of the Father. The Gospel’s story is about His love, so intense, so deep, that He entered fully into the world He created becoming for us “a Man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief.” 

Are you gripped by sorrow, dear friend?  He sees your tears. "If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath." (Psalm 34:18, The Message) Sin and death do not get the last laugh and we must remember that. The promise if the Resurrection is at the heart of our Christianity. The assurance of joy everlasting belongs to the children of God. Isaiah spoke of the return of the exiles to the city of God, pre-figuring our entrance to the Eternal City. And what did he see? "Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness." (Isaiah 51:11, NLT)

Life is not all sorrow!  There are many days of joy.  
Birth offsets death. 
The dawning of each new day drives out the darkness of the night. 
The coming of Springtime breaks the grip of Winter. 
David says that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
(Psalm 30:5)

Don’t carry your sorrow alone. A friend who helps us to see past the bleakness of this day to the hope of a new day, is a bridge.  Simon and Garfunkel, in the turmoil of the 1960’s, sang the classic song that says,

When you're weary, feeling small; 

When tears are in your eyes, 

I will dry them all. 

I'm on your side 

When times get rough, 

And friends just can't be found; 

Like a bridge over troubled water, 

I will lay me down. - Paul Simon, copyright, 1969

Is your heart broken today? 

Are you crushed with sorrow?  
Has darkness enveloped you?  
Go to prayer - let your tears be the language He understands.  

Surrender, NOT in resignation to fate. Instead, make your surrender an act of faith that says, “Lord, I need a Bridge over these troubled waters that I cannot build. Be my Savior, my Hope, my Life.”

Here’s a word from the Word for this day. 
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV) 

"For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” 
(Revelation 7:17, NIV) 

"There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 
(Revelation 21:4-5, NIV) 

Go ahead, right now... 
take that heavy thing that is breaking your heart and imagine you have in your grasp. 
Got it?   Now, open your hands toward the heavens as you say, 
“Here it is. Thank you for helping me carry it, Lord. Amen.”
______________________

There is no problem so big,
God cannot solve it. There is no mountain so tall,
He cannot move it.
There is no storm so dark,
God cannot calm it.
There is no sorrow so deep,
God cannot soothe it.

If He carried the weight of the world
Upon His shoulders,
I know my brother, that He will carry you.
If He carried the weight of the world
Upon His shoulder,
I know my brother, that He will carry you.
He Will Carry You
Brown, Scott Wesley
© 1982 Birdwing Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing; Admin. by BMG Music Publishing) / BMG Songs, Inc. 

CCLI License No. 810055