Enamored by Old Ways

One of the things that can trip up those of us who are in our later decades is our fondness for the familiar, for doing things the way we have always done them. Anybody else out there feel that way? I have some clothing that is well worn that I will not discard because ‘it’s comfortable.’  I find myself singing 80’s songs rather than new ones, not because they are better, but because I just ‘know them.’   Sorting out a harmless love of things traditional from a deadly grip on the past is not an easy task but it is, according to Jesus, critically important.

Several men brought a sick man to Jesus, making great effort to get him to the Lord to be healed. Knowing His audience, Jesus spoke to the man saying, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” It was an open statement of His spiritual authority which was instantly recognized by the religious leaders in the crowd. They were indignant!  “This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins?”   He then healed the man and sent him walking whole, carrying his mat. This left those leaders sputtering.   Later on, those same men questioned the ‘devotion’ of Jesus’ disciples because they did not fast and spend extended times in prayers. Rather they often celebrated with feasts.  They were convinced that really knowing God required great effort and self-imposed suffering.  They could not see the joy of the Kingdom of God that Jesus brought because they were enamored with the traditions of the past.

Jesus challenged them with this illustration.  “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be torn, and the patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be put into new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new. ‘The old is better,’ they say.”" (Luke 5:36-39, NLT)

My friend, are you open to the ways of the Spirit, willing to consider that God may wish to do a ‘new thing’ in your life, or are you a slave to traditions and past convictions?  I think many of us can identify with Jesus’ conclusion - “The old is better.”   Can we discern when we love the old just because our preference for the familiar, not because it is the “Truth” that we think it is.

 

Christians tend to complain about the state of the church, criticize the youth, and/or long for the preaching of another era.  "It's not the way it used to be," they sadly say; and they are right! Change is inevitable! Any organization that makes keeping all things exactly the same - and many do - become less and less effective. The world moves on and so must we.  A living Christian must grow. But, you say, "Jerry, Christianity is ancient.  Traditions are important."   And you're right. 

 

 The Bible assures us that "Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever."   The celebrations of Communion, baptism – remembering the birth, death, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus – keep us anchored to the core truths of our faith.  Some traditions are helpful because they preserve continuity in the Christian community.  Certainly seeking to be novel, just trying to be on the 'cutting edge’ to keep things interesting for the restless, will only lead us on one wild goose chase after another as we adopt each new church fad introduced by the coolest new mega-church pastor. In fact, the Spirit  warns about being "immature like children … tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching." (Ephesians 4:14, NLT)

 How the Gospel is communicated; the forms of our corporate worship, will change over time.
Christ’ truth will address the challenges of our time, the same truth, newly relevant to the world’s needs. 

Songs that moved us, that shaped our expressions, will be replaced by the songs of new artists who are expressing their love for Christ with new rhythms and melodies. 

Forms of worship, even ideas about cultural expressions of Christianity will adapt to the culture even as the Gospel transforms that same society!

 We need to memorize and meditate on the preacher’s words found in Isaiah where God declares - “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)

Now, let me speak personally to you. 

Are you missing out on what God wants to do in your life TODAY, because you're attempting to recreate the spiritual experiences of another time?

Do you fondly remember a decade when, in your memory anyway,  God seemed so close to you?  

Rejoice in that!   Don't try to erase yesterday. My great memories of family times with my kids are foundational to my love for them today.  But, if I attempt to relate to my kids who are now adults like I did when they were pre-adolescents, I'll alienate them from me.    So it is with the Lord. What He did for you and with you yesterday is foundational for your walk with Him today, but those things are past, and He's doing a new thing in you, in me!

Ask God to help you to see and appreciate what He's doing today.  If you think the Church has gone a little 'off the rails,'  pray for those who lead, asking the Spirit to make His Presence known - and be ready for God to do a new thing - in you, in your church, in this world!  Yes, think deeply about Jesus’ challenge, quoted a moment ago where He reminds that we cannot squeeze the work of the Spirit into the old containers without causing loss. “The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins." (Luke 5:36-37, NLT)

Here’s a word from the Word. Pray for the Spirit’s vision for your future as you read it.  “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. He has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness." (Psalm 98:1, NLT) 

And remember this, about vision for the future:  “Eyes that look are common. Eyes that see are rare.” – Oswald Saunders

(Video of this blog at this link)

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New Today

I've been hard on myself lately

Every morning I feel the weight, mmm

When it's hard to just get out of bed

Tell my heart, 'cause sometimes I forget

That Your mercies are new today

Your mercies are new today, oh

I can rest on Your shoulders

There is grace to start over

Your mercies are new today, oh

Your mercies are new today

 

Help me rise like the morning sun

Help me see that Your work's not done, oh-oh

When I'm less, than what I want to be

Lord, I need You, to keep reminding me

Your mercies are new today (Your mercies are new today)

Your mercies are new today, oh-oh (Your mercies are new)

I can rest on Your shoulders

There is grace to start over

Your mercies are new today, oh

I kept thinking You were angry

But You were fighting just to hold me

And picked me up every time I fell

If Your love is here to lift me

And Your blood says You forgive me

Show me how I can forgive myself

'Cause Your mercies are new today

Your mercies are new again and again

Your mercies are new today (Your mercies are new today)

Your mercies are new today, oh yeah (Your mercies are new today)

I can rest on Your shoulders (I can rest on Your shoulders)

There is grace to start over (there is grace to start over)

Your mercies are new, oh, new today

I can rest on Your shoulders

There is grace to start over

Your mercies are new today

Your mercies are new today, oh

 

Paul Duncan / Colby Wedgeworth / Micah Tyler

New Today lyrics © Centricity Music Publishing, All Essential Music, Be Essential Songs

In praise of obscurity

Many of us are tempted to measure our worth, to validate our existence, with external measures: who knows our name, what degrees hang on our wall, how much money is in our bank accounts, the title on the office door, the neighborhood in which live - and that list goes on. That way of life leads us to live inauthentically, tempted to look better than we are, to create an image unmatched by our inner reality. Ever known that temptation?  Some respond by becoming rebels, purposefully marching to the beat of their own drum, defying social order. There is a better way - the way of the servant who lives a quiet life guided by the voice of the Savior. That choice will often lead us along pathways of obscurity.  Is that a bad thing? Let’s consider that in this CoffeeBreak reflection.

Each week I spend a few hours volunteering at the church’s Food Pantry ministry along with around 10 other people- all over 70 years of age - who are incredibly faithful to the work. Several of those volunteers have more than 2 decades of service behind them and they are still going strong. And here’s something noteworthy - they serve out of sight and largely unrecognized. I doubt that 10 people in the church’s congregation could name even three of the people who carry on this work. Their reward is not medals, certificates, or applause. They serve under the approval of the One who commissioned His Church to care for those in need.

For more than three decades, I have gone to nursing homes to conduct worship services for the residents. While serving a congregation in Massachusetts, I went each week to one of our local homes to minister to the residents. I don’t think the congregation even knew about it. The effort did not produce growth in numbers in our local church nor did it add a penny to our offerings. It was just an opportunity to love those who were confined by age or illness and to fulfill the call of Christ in my life. I still go to lead services at a nursing home twice a month on a mid-week afternoon for the joy of serving.

Through the lifetime of pastoral ministry that I was privileged to know, I gave thanks often for the people who financially supported their church, not to get their name etched on a building or to have a room named for them, but simply because of generosity and love for the Lord.  I chose not to know who gave how much so I would resist the temptation to treat donors of large amounts differently from those who gave less. Truthfully I was thankful for each one who gave and prayed that they would sense the importance of the part they had in carrying out the mission of the Kingdom of God.

My friend, there can be great fulfillment found in faithful service that happens behind the scenes, unseen, and unrecognized IF the focus is on Jesus rather than on results or rewards! Most Thursday afternoons I leave the church’s fellowship center with a heart full of happiness, remembering the smiles of those that received some groceries along with a blessing of loving care.  Have you experienced that inner joy from obscure service?

What place of service can you fill in your world, for Christ’s sake? 

You serve your family, perhaps taken for granted, without much thanks. Will you do it with joy? 

You work diligently at your job, patient and encouraging others, maybe feeling like you are pulling the heavier part of the load? Will  you continue to be faithful?

You care for an elderly parent who forgets the cost to you in time and commitment? Do you complain or choose joy?

You serve in some ministry at your church and get overlooked because you are always there and seem to just be part of the fixtures. Will you look higher than applause for your reward?

Listen to Jesus’ wisdom. “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give a gift to someone in need, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone, don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you. “And now about prayer. When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get." (Matthew 6:1-5, NLT)

Let’s be clear. Nowhere in those words does He tell us not to accept thanks. IF someone offers you thanks, humbly accept it. The Lord speaks to motive. Praise of others is not why we serve. If we do, then when that praise comes, we have received the result we sought. Instead we serve, we give, we pray - for the joy of serving Him. And we know this - He NEVER forgets and promises that our investment of time and effort  in the Kingdom will find rich rewards in eternity.

Give yourself to Christ today. Let go of the need to be recognized and find the joy that can be discovered in the contentment of obscurity.

Here’s a word from the Word. Jesus says “If any of you wants to be my follower you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life." (Mark 8:34-35, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Only Jesus

“Make it count” “Leave a mark”
“Build a name for yourself”
“Dream your dreams”
"chase your heart above all else"
“Make a name the world remembers”

But all an empty world can sell is empty dreams
I got lost in the light when it was up to me
To make a name the world remembers
But Jesus is the only name to remember

And I I don't want to leave a legacy
I don't care if they remember me
Only Jesus

And I I've only got one life to live
I'll let every second point to Him
Only Jesus

All the kingdoms built all the trophies won
Will crumble into dust when it's said and done
'Cause all that really matters

Did I live the truth to the ones I love
Was my life the proof that there is only One
Whose name will last forever

Jesus is the only name
Jesus is the only name
Jesus is the only name to remember

I I don't want to leave a legacy
I don't care if they remember me
Only Jesus

Bernie Herms | Mark Hall | Matthew West

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