Commencement Exercises

It’s the season of moving up, promotion, and graduation. From preschool through university, the end of an era for students is marked with pomp and ceremony, as is fitting!  One young friend, who is graduating from high school wondered about the term ‘commencement exercises.’  He thought that it is a strange phrase.  It’s quite accurate. Leaving high school is a rite of passage, a beginning of adulthood. Commencement points some on to college; others into the workplace. College grads, with freshly printed degrees, are beginning new careers. The differing perspective of graduating students is most interesting. Some are anticipating the next step; others reluctantly yield to the inevitability of leaving familiar settings and friendships.

As I thought about this season of graduations by the thousands, I thought about the seasons of life that we all experience. Life never stands still, does it? We are always ‘moving on’ as time continues to carry us in it’s unrelenting current. Try as we may, we cannot make the world stand still. Christian, let’s pray for faith to see the ‘next thing’ as a divine opportunity!  The Spirit counsels us to "be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do." (Ephesians 5:15-17, NLT)  That’s not just for those with new diplomas or degrees. There are unique ways to grow in grace and serve the purposes of God for you – whether you are 8, 18, 38, or 88!

The key is VISION – having the insight to see the way ahead. Have you lowered your eyes, lost sight of the way ahead?  Pray! Really, I mean it. Pray more than a short ‘Hello, Lord. Bless me, my  kids, my friends. Amen” kind of prayer. Take time to get alone with the Lord. Wait on Him with focus. Thank Him for Who He is, how you have known His ways in the past, and ask for vision. God promised His people of ancient time that He would lead them. "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21, NIV)  That promise has no expiration date!

We must be willing to let go of yesterday - both its successes and failure – if we want to faithfully walk in the way of the Spirit. Paul writes of his journey. He was a mature believer and yet knew that there were new opportunities to grow. "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. ( completeness) But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:12-14, NLT)  He was forward-focused, not captivated by past glories nor paralyzed in regret.

One of these days each one of us will have a final graduation. (You knew I would go here, didn’t you?) But, even death, we learn from the Word, is a commencement! When we come to the end of this life, we will finally enter eternity, perfected in our knowledge, transformed into a being of unimaginable light, knowing God beyond any shadow. Ah, what a moment that will be.  Secure in the grace of God, shown us in Christ Jesus, we need not fear that day. I am not eager to go through the process of dying, but I do not fear death. I see it as a commencement exercise, the last promotion to Glory! Until then, there is living to do, people to love and serve, discoveries of God’s grace and goodness that wait for us at each bend of the road.

The word from the Word comes from a song of David, a prayer. Make it your prayer today.

"Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5:1-3, NIV)

" I, by your great mercy, will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me."

(Psalm 5:7-8, NIV)

And all God’s people said – AMEN!

___________________

Be Thou My Vision

 

Be Thou my vision

O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art

Thou my best thought

By day or by night

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light

 

Be Thou my Wisdom and

Thou my true Word

I ever with Thee and

Thou with me Lord

Thou my great Father

I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and

I with Thee one

 

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart

Whatever befall

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all

 

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

 

Pastor Jerry Scott

Faith Discovery Church

FaithDiscovery.com

 

Insiders and Outsiders

 

We all have memories of finding ourselves among people with the clear sense that we did not belong.  Maybe it was a day in high school when you realized you were not ‘in,’ excluded. I was never an athlete and did not fit in among those guys that were gifted with speed or strength!  Perhaps it was a moment at a social gathering when, as you stood to one side, it became clear that you were not really included.  People of every age, culture, and society tend to create bonds with people like themselves and sometimes 'insiders' quite consciously decide to close the door to those who are different, the ‘outsiders.’

When Abraham was called by God into faith, given a promise to be blessed and a blessing, he became the father of the faithful, the people of the Covenant. The descendants of Abraham were careful to keep their distinction, forbidding marriage with outsiders, restricting access to holy rites to priests of the proper lineage, maintaining a calendar of feasts and holy days that drew them together. Over time a wall was built that not only separated Jews and Gentiles socially, but also kept the Gentiles from God’s promises.

When Christ came, He tore down that wall. In Him, the former distinction of Jew and Gentile was erased and a ‘new kind of human being,’ a people belonging to God was called into being. In Ephesians Paul says, "But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought near to him because of the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13, NLT)  "So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22, NLT)

Personalize that today, dear friend. Have you believed one of many lies that keep people from knowing the love of God?  Yes, we may hear that little voice inside our head that whispers,  “you are not good enough,” or “your heritage is not the right one,” or “your past choices are too regrettable,”  or “you just do not have what it takes” and the lie keeps us from living as a friend of God, in the family of faith. In the eyes of God there are no insiders, no people who enjoy special access to His grace. Christ’s sacrifice was made on behalf of the world, sufficient to make us right with God, regardless of what we did, who we were!

God invites you to be a ‘citizen’ of His holy nation! In the United States a debate continues to rage about immigration, about who can become a citizen and enjoy the right to participate and enjoy the prosperity of the nation. There is no debate about your invitation to the Kingdom of God. Because of Jesus, we are made a new people, with a new identity; called into "one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)

God has made us members of His household. What a thought.  Our family members enjoy unique access and privileges, don’t they? My adult kids can show up in my house anytime, raid my refrigerator, call me for help.  Why? Because we are family!  God calls us His sons and daughters and makes us brothers and sisters.  Have you given thanks that you know your Abba (Dad), that you have a family that extends over the whole earth?

Yes, God is making His people into a living Temple, a place where He dwells by His Spirit. Jesus is the Cornerstone, the keystone, that brings us all together. What a beautiful thing the Church can become when we accept, by faith, that we are called into this holy temple, living stones, our former distinctions lost to the one true glory of belonging to God, the new people of the Lord.

The implications of those holy callings on our day to day lives are huge.
How can we hate, when we are so loved?
How can we discriminate when we are so accepted?
How can we live pridefully when we have been given such grace?

How can we feel the fear or insecurity that is so common to human beings, when we are given such an identity?

Here is a word from the Word. Meditate on the declaration that God makes of you, who are ‘in Christ.’

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—" (1 Peter 2:4, NIV)  “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9-10, NIV) So, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:12, NIV)

Oh, Spirit of God, let us grasp the wonder of being called, accepted, given the privilege of sharing in the display of Your majesty. Amen.

_______________

No Longer Slaves

I'm no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I'm no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God

You unravel me with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance from my enemies
Till all my fears are gone

From my Mother's womb
You have chosen me
Love has called my name
I've been born again into Your family
Your blood flows through my veins

You split the sea so I could walk right through it
My fears were drowned in perfect love
You rescued me so I could stand and sing
I am a child of God

Brian Johnson | Joel Case | Jonathan David Helser

© 2014 Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

I Go Where You Want Me To Go

 

“When did you know you were going to be a pastor?” I am asked that question often. I felt God’s call as a teen,  in a Sunday evening service in a little church, when Spirit extended His invitation to serve. But, the ‘call’ was a part of my life from childhood.  Our family was part of a denomination that emphasized world missions. 

When missionaries came to our little church it was always a special Sunday for me!  Their stories about far-away places, the things they put on display from their ‘field’ were captivating.  The pictures they showed from their slide projector carried me away to some African nation or Asian island!  They built schools, preached revivals, did Sunday School under straw roofs, and ministered to the sick!  Those people were heroes in my eyes. I was sure they had a higher calling than the rest of us.  More than one Sunday night, during the prayer time that always ended the meetings, I sang “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go,” from the most sincere heart.

I still have deep admiration for people who take up the call to serve God on the other side of the world, far from home and family!  But, I know that God’s calling is not just for an elite group, nor does it mean moving to Argentina or Zimbabwe!  People of great spiritual need live in my town, and yours, too.   

Serving Christ and sharing the Gospel with people who live next door may not produce the dramatic stories but people are lost, without hope, without God, in our town.  People who share our culture and fashion may not appear to be living in spiritual poverty. Familiarity can make us blind to their condition.

Jesus’ disciples urged Him to move on from people they thought worthless, a place unimportant to God. He told them to take another look where they were, to see what saw God sees- “As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, 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)

Sharing Jesus and hope with our neighbors will not involve a big tent filled with a thousand people like I saw in missionary pictures 50 years ago.  Few of us will cross flood-swollen rivers in a dug-out canoe to preach to a remote village or face the hostility of a local shaman!  (I remember those stories like I heard them yesterday!) We take the hope of Christ to our neighbors when we pray faithfully for individuals to know Him, when we set an example of compassion for others, when we care for the least among us, when we live what we believe. In these ways, we point others to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, the Life.

It’s easy to think that these United States are a “Christian” nation since there churches fill our towns and crosses dot the landscape.  The reality is that we are in a time of spiritual poverty - a lost people inundated with pornography, enslaved by greed, deceived by sensuality, and serving the great “I”- Self.  Because individuals live without God, our political system is broken, our justice system is a joke especially for the poor, and in spite of great wealth, we are poor in Spirit. Many churches are lifeless, having “a form of godliness but denying its power.”  Spirituality may be spoken of but God is absent.

This is our mission field! God commissions you and me, trusts us with the words of life. When we find the joy of being part of turning a life around, helping someone find Christ, it is a deeply rewarding experience. What thrills me in pastoral ministry is not ‘church work’ but rather those moments when someone makes a confession of faith, is baptized, and becomes a disciple of Jesus. You can be a disciple-maker.   

As you think about sharing Jesus, set aside the stereotypes of street preachers yelling about God’s judgment or the Jehovah’s Witnesses knocking on your door to hand out literature.  Just be a friend! Pray every day for a few people that need God.  And, live the Gospel before you speak the Gospel.  You are a missionary.

Here is the word from the Word – Jesus’ direction for us.  "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT)

When you have prayed with your friend, your children, your neighbor, your parent and helped them to find the Light, to change their eternal destiny, and discover real hope –
you will be the happiest Christian in your church!

__________

I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go

(A hymn a century old, but still compelling in the message.
These words stirred my heart 55 years ago and still do!)

It may not be on

The mountain's height

Or over the stormy sea

It may not be at

The battle's front

My Lord will have need of me

But if by a still

Small voice He calls

To paths I do not know

I'll answer dear Lord

With my hand in Thine

I'll go where You want me to go

 

I'll go where You

Want me to go dear Lord

Over mountain or plain or sea

I'll say what You

Want me to say dear Lord

I'll be what You want me to be

 

Perhaps today there

Are loving words

Which Jesus would

Have me speak

There may be now

In the paths of sin

Some wanderer

Whom I should seek

O Savior if Thou wilt

Be my guide

Though dark and rugged the way

My voice shall echo

The message sweet

I'll say what You

Want me to say

 

So trusting my all

Unto Thy care

I know Thou lovest me

I'll do Thy will

With a heart sincere

I'll be what You want me to be

 

Carrie E. Rounsefell | Charles Edward Prior | Mary Brown

Public Domain