I Love Me!

 

The tragic story of Edward VIII fascinates me as a lesson in regrettable choices!  He was born a prince, became loved by the English for being approachable, very different from their king. He was handsome, intelligent, and engaging; but undisciplined. When his father died in January, 1936, he became the King and Emperor of empire that spanned a quarter of the world.  

 Just 11 months into his reign, he became the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne, a decision he made after the British government, public, and the Church of England condemned his decision to marry the twice-divorced American - Wallis Warfield Simpson. He lived out the rest of his life without purpose, a part of the ‘café society,’ giving lavish parties for celebrities, indulging his desires for clothes, fine food, and exotic vacations. Even his friends and close associates described his life as ‘shallow.’  Those who knew him well saw a man who, in spite of wealth and comfort, was a tragic figure, deeply sad.

In our time the worship of Self is taught from our earliest years. The best life is supposed to be found in ‘being your best self,’ chasing your bliss. We tend to discard relationships rather quickly if they become inconvenient or difficult. We regard self-sacrifice with deep suspicion, skeptical about the value of putting God, family, church, or country above our own ‘needs.’    

“Me first!” is an American as apple pie. The evidence of our self-love is everywhere, seen in the disappearing pool of volunteers that are needed to staff fire companies, ambulance corps, and church ministries, for example.  Our government is besieged by interest groups clamoring for their ‘rights’ to be recognized while our disunity tears us apart. We talk about cooperation but do political war to protect our own interest. Our failure of discipline is evident in our crisis of health that comes from high rates of obesity.  We insist that most any sexual expression is ‘natural’ in spite of multiple negative consequences for family stability.

Jesus meets a culture of indulgence with a call to follow Him with an obedient heart.  His invitation to real and lasting life is nearly incomprehensible to those who are addicted to Self.  He holds open the door saying, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" (Mark 8:34-37, NLT)  Can you hear Him?

Saying "yes" to God's will, when everything in us is screaming for “freedom,” is hard- so hard it feels like dying.  Every person who chooses to say yes to the Spirit of God will encounter situations where Self meets the compelling voice of the Spirit.  It is quite natural to feel an internal war!  An honest disciple will find a prayer like this  on their lips more than a few times -  "Jesus, I don't want to do that. You're asking too much. It just doesn't make sense."   

Even Jesus, the sinless Son of God, prayed about the difficulty of doing His Father’s will. The night before the Cross He was in agony - suffering emotionally, spiritually, and with knowledge of the awful cross that was before Him. He prayed "My Father, if it is possible, don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup.”  He did not get up from that place of tears to do what He wanted.  He surrendered!  “Do what You want, and not what I want." (Matthew 26:39, CEV)  

His obedience brought us salvation and "God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 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 2:9-11, NLT)   A cross led to a crown.  It still does. Every day we can choose our way – to serve Self or to serve Christ.  We cannot do both. I would be lying if I said we could not find some measure of happiness by seeking our own way, by serving our desires. 

 

Self has a big appetite that grows when we feed it! There will never be enough.
We can, by faith and in love, choose the way of the Cross, dying to Self, and embracing obedience.
In this, we find God’s commendation and a life of purpose, of lasting joy, and Heaven’s rich reward.

Our word from the Word asks great faith of us.  It is an invitation to a counter-cultural life, one that seeks God.  
Jesus says “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?  

“Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.” (Matthew 16:24-28, The Message)

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O Come To The Altar
(an invitation song … from Elevation Worship)

Are you hurting and broken within

Overwhelmed by the weight of your sin

Jesus is calling

Have you come to the end of yourself

Do you thirst for a drink from the well

Jesus is calling

 

O come to the altar

The Father's arms are open wide

Forgiveness was bought with

The precious blood of Jesus Christ

 

Leave behind your regrets and mistakes

Come today there's no reason to wait

Jesus is calling

Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy

From the ashes a new life is born

Jesus is calling

 

Oh what a Savior

Isn't he wonderful

Sing alleluia Christ is risen

Bow down before him

For he is Lord of all

Sing alleluia Christ is risen

 

Bear your cross as you wait for the crown

Tell the world of the treasure you've found

 

Chris Brown | Mack Brock | Steven Furtick | Wade Joye

© 2015 Music by Elevation Worship Publishing (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055

 

Knock on wood

 

“Thank the Lord!” I exclaimed, as I reached over and knocked on a wood table.  I was joking, not about being thankful, but about the old superstition of knocking on wood. Some think that the practice goes back to the ancient nature worship of the Celtic people who believed that spirits lived in trees and that ‘knocking on wood’ roused them to bring good luck.  How about a ‘lucky rabbit’s foot?’  Could that item really keep ‘bad luck’ away? I am full of faith, but I am not superstitious!    

Christian, do you think that going to a church, wearing a cross, or saying the “Lord’s Prayer” wards off bad luck?  Are you confusing discipleship with superstition?  

Here is a check on that.  When life is rough, when some big decision needs to be made, do you suddenly get religion?   If Jesus is more like a lucky rabbit’s foot than your Lord, a lot of “God talk” will show up in your conversations when life gets dicey. The superstitious decide it is important to go to church when a suspicious lump shows up under their arm.  When their son goes off to war they put the Bible they have not really opened for years on display in their home. I am not poking fun at such things but practices like that do resemble carrying a rabbit’s foot for good luck more than true Christianity. 

Disciples of Christ are faithfully devoted and their lives are centered on obedience to the will of God. They act in faith, on sunny days and stormy days, making the directives of the Word their first priority all the time. 

Jesus describes the life of the disciple as one of close connectedness with the Spirit that gives life. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father." (John 15:5-8, NLT)

Think with me about that phrase - ‘producing much fruit.’ If you visit an orchard seeing fruit on the branches of an apple tree is a sure sign of life. Dead trees do not produce fruit.  Yes, a fruit tree must be tended to by the owner, pruned and sprayed,  to enhance both the quantity and quality of the fruit, but life makes apples appear.  A person who is “in Christ” through faith will produce evidence of that life. Through divine pruning the fruitfulness of his life will be maximized. 

Unlike a passive apple tree we who are Jesus’ followers (disciples) have an active part in the process. Jesus says "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4, NIV)  That word, ‘remain,’ means that we choose to live with, to stay near, to be close. We do not do this just when we need some ‘good luck.’  Walking with Jesus is our life, a daily choice, a priority in our private thoughts, our work life, our family time, and in our worship.

The blessing of going beyond a superstitious religion and becoming a true disciple is the meaning, the purpose, the steadiness that is discovered in Him. The Presence of the Holy Spirit spills over from that person into the lives of those with whom they interact. When tough or spiritually dry times come they have a reservoir of faith on which to draw.  Most importantly, that person fulfills the true reason for human existence which is to glorify God. 

Friend, there is a real depth of character, a truly effective faith, found in real connection with Christ which stands in stark contrast to the shallow superstition of the religious. Have you found that kind of faith and built your life on it? I encourage you to choose to love and serve Christ – all the time, in every situation, as much when the sun is shining brightly as when the darkest clouds are approaching.

Here is the word from the Word. "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." (Proverbs 4:18, NIV)

Now, what are you going to do with that old rabbit’s foot?

______________

Lord Reign In Me

Over all the earth You reign on high

Every mountain stream every sunset sky

But my one request Lord my only aim

Is that You'd reign in me again

 

Lord reign in me

Reign in Your pow'r

Over all my dreams in my darkest hour

You are the Lord of all I am

So won't You reign in me again

 

Over every thought over every word

May my life reflect the beauty of my Lord

'Cause You mean more to me

Than any earthly thing

So won't You reign in me again

 

Brenton Brown

© 1998 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook))

CCLI License # 810055

 

Pastor Jerry Scott

Faith Discovery Church

FaithDiscovery.com

Living with uncertainty

 

The Messenger app on my phone buzzed around 7 pm and a picture of a car appeared, upside down, airbags deployed. Recognizing it as belonging to one of my kids. My heart skipped a beat, and I hurried to read the words … and found that my granddaughter and daughter-in-law were OK,  just bruised and shaken up. The other driver was fine, too. 

Only then did my tears fall, and my eyes still well up with emotion this morning thinking about the wreck.  A generation ago, before the advances in automobile safety, the report would likely have read much differently!  

Yes, life is  fragile. We learn to live with that knowledge, but keep it mostly out of our consciousness.  If we thought about too much, fear would paralyze us, making daily life an impossibility.  Then, a near miss with death or injury knocks our illusions down and we are reminded that it is God’s grace that we are seeing another day. Sometimes it isn’t a miss!  We might run headlong into a crisis that changes us forever. Such was my encounter with mortality as I watched my late wife valiantly live and die with cancer six years ago.

In my morning reflection I turned to the words of James. His little letter near the back of our Bible is pragmatic, blunt, directive. He does not have the eloquence of Paul, nor does he focus on the wonder of God’s grace. His words are ‘in your face’ challenges to live what we believe.  " Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15, NIV)

Under the Spirit’s inspiration, Pastor James holds two truths in a tension that gives us balance and creates wisdom.

First he reminds us that life, as we see it,  is uncertain! 

As much as we might want to control all outcomes, we need to know that we cannot. A snowstorm blew over my state on Sunday, dumping 31 inches of the white stuff on us over a 48 hour period. Life stopped. Plans changed. It is a minor inconvenience but a reminder of the unknowns.  The world deals with a pandemic that turned life inside out 10 months ago.  The best and brightest are still trying to figure out the best way forward. Thousands still grieve the ultimate result of COVID, left with memories of a loved one who was taken, sometimes in a matter of days.

If we are realistic about our limits of control, we will grow wiser. I’m glad my kids bought a car with features like airbags, well-engineered for safety. That’s wisdom, not fear.  Years ago, knowing that it was likely that a time would come when my earning ability would be diminished, I set aside some money regularly.  At the end of 2021, when I step down from the pulpit, those funds will become essential.  But, safer cars and 401(k) accounts are no guarantee that we will escape the uncertainty of living in a world where there is cancer, wrecks, financial crisis, and COVID.  “You are a mist."

So …

Second, James reminds us that we trust the ‘will of God!’

Here is the true security of the Christian. He knows, by faith, that the Lord of the Universe holds his life in His hands. We need humility to say, “Lord, lead me.”  This is not resignation to fate. This is a choice of wisdom that allows us to avoid spending our lives in trivial pursuits.  Asking God to lead us will cause us to love Him and others better, to be generous, to see life with an eternal perspective.  Those things that cause such stress – machines that break, rude people,  crazy politics – fade in significance if we know that we are on our way Home and can be led by the hand of God.

The Song of Moses (Psalm 91) includes this line - "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, NIV)  Lord, help me to know I won’t live forever so that I will live my best life in Your will right now! 

Are you living wisely and well, dear friend?  There is no need to be pre-occupied with death and danger. That is a terrible way to live and Jesus says it is foolish, too.  His words are our word from the Word today.  I hope they are comforting and instructive.  I have chosen to use the modern language paraphrase of Scripture, The Message.  Read these excerpts from Matthew 6 and soak your heart in faith!

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.  …

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. 

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:25-34, The Message)

____________

My Life Is In Your Hands
(The Brooklyn Tabernacle choir sings the Kirk Franklin song so well!)

You don't have to worry

And don't you be afraid

Joy comes in the morning

Troubles they don't last always

For there's a friend named Jesus

Who will wipe your tears away

And if your heart is broken

Just lift your hands and say

 

(Oh) I know that I can make it

I know that I can stand

No matter what may come my way

My life is in Your hands

 

With Jesus I can take it

With Him I know I can stand

No matter what may come my way

My life is in Your hands

 

So when your tests and trials

They seem to get you down

And all your friends and loved ones

Are nowhere to be found

Remember there's a friend named Jesus

Who will wipe your tears away

And if your heart is broken

Just lift your hands and say

 

My life is in Your hands (3X)

 

Kirk Franklin

© 1996 Lilly Mack Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055