Hope in God?

Yesterday as I was watching the news coverage coming out of Mississippi’s devastated coastal area, I saw an elderly woman returning to her home for the first time, a week after Hurricane Katrina. Her face noticeably brightened as she saw that her house still stood. As she peered through the broken windows at the furniture strewn around the rooms, at a home left ruined by wind and flood water, she declared, “We’ll rebuild. Life must go on. I am hopeful.” She had caught a vision of tomorrow that included a rebuilt home, a restored community. Hope had returned!

In another conversation, a woman said to me, “Did you hear that R. is getting married?” She said it with obvious delight. Why? Because a couple of years ago, R. entered a time of severe trial of her hope as the result of the death of her husband, leaving her a single mom with teenage children. In the darkest moment, she found hope in the Lord, persevered through deep sorrow, and now was ready to love again. Hope gave her a future!

Hope flickers and dims when life is filled with trials and sorrows and brightens when the crisis is past. Some days we even lose sight of hope. It can be strengthened by a friend’s encouragement, by an infusion of Scriptural truth, and even the dawning of a new day.

One of the most powerful forces in life is hope. The dictionary defines hope as:

• A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment,
• Something that is desired: “Success is our hope.”
• The theological virtue defined as the desire and search for a future good, difficult but possible to attain with God's help.

We choose the object of our hope! Some people build their hope for a good life around financial security. Others shape their future around the love of their family. Some build their hope on achieving a level of recognition and/or success. Peter tells us to "set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:13, NIV) Hope that is built on the gift of eternal life through Christ will never be disappointed, nor lost! Financial security can be lost with a quick drop in the stock market. Death comes, sometimes unexpectedly, and takes away a family member. A position of influence and prestige can be taken away in an instant. But, nothing can take away God’s gift of salvation and the promise of a home in Heaven.

Choosing the right hope is critically important because what we hope for not only brings us comfort, our hope shapes the way we live day to day. John illustrates this wonderfully saying, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:2-3, NKJV) The hope of being received by the Lord Jesus, seeing Him in His glory, produces a single-minded focus that pulls us past the temptations to sin and the distractions from our godly purpose that present themselves to us.

Believer, on what have you set your hope? Give some prayerful thought to that today. Meditate on these words from the Word.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17, NIV)

"Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!" (Psalm 42:11, NLT)
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Feeling inadequate?

Representing Christ is a high calling for which I often feel only marginally qualified, if at all! Paul’s words, “who is equal to such a task?” (2 Cor. 2:16) are words with which I can easily identify. A Believer is called to live a life of love, but selfishness comes so naturally. We are taught to serve, but we find ourselves wanting to be served. My best efforts are so quickly tainted with expressions of ego. My highest intentions to do good are often sabotaged by sin that works against my aims. Paul laments this writing, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." (Romans 7:18, NIV)

Let me illustrate the sneaky way that sin creeps into my life. Last week a woman counseled with me telling of her husband’s cruelty to her for years, of the mean mind-games he plays, of the ways he finds to demean her day in and day out. Her anguish went deep and her dilemma – ‘do I stay in this marriage or do I call it quits after all this time?’ – was real and urgent. We prayed together that she would be led by the Spirit and guided by the Word. Good was accomplished, yet even in that situation, the sinful nature in me found an opportunity. After she left my office, pride expressed itself and I found myself congratulating myself on being such a good husband to my wife! “I am so glad I’m not like him,” I thought proudly. I repented for even making the comparison when the Spirit convicted me. No, it’s not a dramatic sin, but it is that kind of persistent ‘humanness’ that makes me long for the day when I am finally perfected in the Presence of God.

Keep reading, for there is hope! When we come to the end of ourselves and acknowledge the persistent power of sin at work in us, we are in the place where God can use us. Yes, ‘when we are weak, He is strong!’ John Ortberg, in his book, God Is Closer Than You Think, recounts a funny, simple little illustration. To make a point about being empowered by God, he brought an electrical engineer to church to conduct an experiment. Let me quote him. “We turned off all the lights, hooked up an ordinary pickle to some wires, and then passed an electrical current through it. The pickle glowed! It gave light to a room… Many people believe that the flow of the Holy Spirit is reserved for spiritual giants… but, throughout history God has caused His power to flow through the most unlikely people; a prostitute named Rahab, a con man named Jacob, and a cheat named Zacchaeus. … so the next time you’re feeling inadequate, remember that even a pickle can glow if it stays plugged in to the flow.”

Just before He ascended to Heaven, leaving a little group of all too ordinary people to carry on the work of declaring the coming of God’s Kingdom, Jesus told them; "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49, NIV) Luke continues the story in the book of Acts where he tells that a few days later, the Holy Spirit flowed into that Upper Room and rested on those ordinary men and women in a life-transforming way. Were they made perfect in that instant? Hardly. As we read Acts we see them squabble, work through misunderstandings, and deal with sin. And, we see them filled with God’s power, again and again, taking the Good News of God’s love to their world. Because of the Spirit’s power, they turned the world upside down in a generation!

Christianity has not survived for 2000 years because of the greatness of Believers, but because of the faithfulness of God. Are you feeling inadequate for the calling of God in your life today? Have you failed Him in some way? Are you discouraged? Remember, even a pickle glows when it’s plugged into a current. Tell the Lord that you’re desperate for Him, that you are totally dependent on His power and see what He will do with you.

Here’s a word from the Word to keep in your mind today:
"Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! " (Ephesians 3:19-21, The Message)

“I have done my best!”

For several days the news media has blasted the President and the Federal Emergency Management Administration for their failure in the relief efforts that followed Hurricane Katrina. What exactly does ‘success’ look like when an evacuation of an entire city is the goal? If 10,000 people died, in a city with a population of 1.5 million, is that a ‘failure’ or is that a ‘success’ since it means that more than 99% of the population survived a catastrophic natural disaster – well, actually two disasters; first, the hurricane, then the floods that followed? The answer depends on who you are. If you’re a FEMA manager who has worked 18-20 hours a day on bringing relief to a dying city, you will point to those who survived as proof that your efforts succeeded. If your son or daughter perished in flood waters for lack of rescue, you will conclude that the efforts failed. Ultimately, only God and the person who did his job know if what he did was accomplished to the best of his ability!

Every one of us is judged a success or failure by others, aren’t we? We recoil from the sting of criticism and embrace the soothing of affirming words, but does either really make us a success or a failure? We must always remember that a large part of the response of another person to us personally and to what we do is biased by his own needs and desires. So, if we base our sense of success and/or our sense of personal worth solely on the evaluations of other people, we set ourselves up to be pulled this way and that in desperate attempts to gain approval. No one will satisfy all the people all of the time. Trying to win the praise of all people is a prescription for frustration and fatigue!

True success is knowing that we did the best we could do given our opportunities and the resources available to us. As Believers we need to be challenged and comforted by the promise of God’s judgment of our lives. When He asks us to give account, it won’t be statistics that prove if our lives were worthy. It will be faithfulness! We won’t be able to polish the report to reflect our efforts in their best light. He will see our lives as a complete picture for He knows the gifts He invested in us, the people He brought to serve with us, the opportunities He presented to us. He will know the difficulties we wrestled to overcome, the challenges we worked to overcome, and the times when we decided to slack off and let ourselves be content with ‘good enough.’ He will know when we served because we loved and when we served because we wanted applause! I want to live in a way that gains the sweetest words I’ll ever hear – “Well done, good and faithful servant!” How about you, friend?

Samuel, the prophet, went in search of a king for Israel. He met Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse, who had learned to carry himself with authority and was impressive. He thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.” (1 Samuel 16:6-7, NLT)

If we keep our accountability to God in mind, we will live freely and much more joyously. Rather than looking at our awards and accomplishments for significance, we will let His Presence and the sense of His approval satisfy our need. Knowing that we are loved by the Lord Jesus and that we have done what He asked of us will be success enough.

When Jesus first commissioned His followers to go out and do the work of the Kingdom, they met with earthly success. They came back to report their accomplishments to Him. His response is eye-opening! Meditate on His words. Take this thought with you through the day.

· "See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”(Luke 10:19-20, The Message)
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If the struggle you're facing is slowly replacing
Your hope with despair;
Or the process is long and you're losing your song in the night.
You can be sure that the Lord has His hand on you,
Safe and secure; He will never abandon you.
You are His treasure and He finds His pleasure in you.

He who began a good work in you.
He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it.
He'll be faithful to complete it,
He who started the work will be faithful to complete it in you.

© 1987 Jonathan Mark Music ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management / Birdwing Music (a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI License No. 810055

Just being there…

I’m often asked, “When I am called on to comfort a friend who is going through a time of great loss, what should I say, Pastor?” My first counsel is ‘just be there.’ A young man died and his family called me to their home even before his body was taken away. When I arrived, I found the man’s father kneeling by his body silently crying. At that moment, he didn’t need me to quote Bible verses or attempt to mitigate his grief with poetry, so I stood there next to him with a hand on his shoulder for a long time. That is called the ministry of ‘presence.’ It is a way to say, “I will steady you; you’re not alone,” without being intrusive with an overflow of words that can be offensive or irritating to the one who is grieving or suffering. There is a time for wise counsel or comforting words, but without a context of genuine caring words do not mean all that much.

Job, the man who terrible suffering forms the context for a long discussion about the meaning of pain and suffering and God’s sometimes inscrutable purposes, had friends who came to be with him in his trial. We read that "When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was." (Job 2:12-13, NIV)

God, the Holy Spirit, comforts us in the same way. Jesus said that when He returned to the Father’s glory, He would send the “Counselor” who would be with us, indeed, in us. “You will not be left as orphans,” the Lord promised. The Spirit is with us. The question is, ‘are we with Him?’ Yes, it is true that we cannot escape His presence, for He is omnipresent. The Psalmist exults in this singing: "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." (Psalm 139:7-10, NIV) However, we can become so enmeshed in life, that we are unaware of His ministering Presence! We can bring ungodliness into our lives that grieve Him and break the closeness with Him. In those times, even though He is as close as our breath, we do not enjoy the steadying sense that God is near.

As our nation suffers, I plead with Believers to practice the ministry of Presence! Hold back the expression of opinions about why this has happened. We don’t know! Refrain from using easy clichés that dismiss the depth of pain that is being felt by hundreds of thousands of suffering people. Instead, be present with loving assurance. A simple, “I’m praying for you,” that comes from the heart is the best expression of caring while many are so raw, so sensitive in their pain. The time for evaluation, for counsel, will come.

For now – let’s be present, and as God, the Spirit, is present in us, His work will be done.

Jerry Scott
www.WashingtonAG.net
"Teaching People how to say "Yes" to God!"

Let us pray...

Former US President Reagan loved a story which he said illustrated optimism. Seems a little boy hoped to get a pony for Christmas. Finding a room full of manure, he dug in saying, "if there is this much manure, there has to be a pony in here somewhere!" In same story he told a little boy who was shown a room full of new toys who wouldn't touch any of them fearing they might break. That, said, Reagan, is the world of the pessimist.

Which person are you?
Do you look for the best or fear the worst? Most of us, are something of a mixture.

I've been looking for the bright spot in the the events that are featured on cable news 24/7. The stories coming out of the Mississippi and Louisiana seem only to grow more grim with each passing hour. The impact on the nation's economy appears to be significant as well with energy prices sky-rocketing to new highs! There are spiritual ramifications, too. Today an editorial in our local newspaper used Hurricane Katrina as a primary argument to reject God's rule of our world. Robert Steinback writes: "Faith has a role in this modern world -- but it shouldn't be some sort of veto over scientific inquiry and knowledge. You can't pray away a hurricane -- unless you believe that you have the leverage to make it smash someone else's life instead of yours. This is what is so sad about the recent, contrived popularity of 'Intelligent Design,' which holds that the natural world is so intricate that only an intelligent designer -- that is, God -- could have created it. ... incredibly, President Bush endorses it -- placing the world's most powerful person squarely in the camp of the intellectually uncurious. The 'science' of intelligent design, of course, is utter nonsense."
I wonder how many Americans are drifting towards a similar conclusion, that faith in God is a relic of superstition, not a rock on which to build a life?

The truth is that while we are at a loss to explain the 'why' of a hurricane that destroys so much property and so many lives, we must not miss the power of faith in such times. Little stories tucked into the incessant stream of bad news, reveal the compassion of people of faith who are sharing, caring, loving at great personal expense. Contrast that with the gangs of thugs that are robbing and raping with only the thought of survival guiding them. Which world do you want? The world of faith in God that gives hope in the darkness or the grim world where might gives rights? If there is a bright spot, it is exactly that one. Faith is not optional, nor is it antithetical to science. Faith is what gives life meaning, what keeps us standing when we open the door to a roomful of manure!

Go with me to the 'Faith' chapter of the Bible where we read- "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see." (Hebrews 11:1, The Message) Faith enables me to turn to a God whose works I cannot understand, to sigh meaningfully, and to pray - "keep me faithful, grant me strength, let me see the Light again."

So, friend, let us pray. Perhaps for a day or two, our prayers will be "groans that words cannot express." Then, too, our prayers may be rivers of tears that flow down our faces that are turned to Heaven. And as we hold to the hope that He will give us Light and Life, we will find new strength to go and serve with the love of Jesus Christ.
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I encourage you to be in church this Sunday morning. Don't let anything stand in your way. Make it a top priority to be standing with other Believers in worship and in prayer.
We will be praying together for those who are suffering as we gather here. (Remember, Sunday School at 9, Worship at 10:15) And we will be receiving an offering to send to Convoy of Hope to use in bringing help to those who need it most. (see www.ConvoyOfHope.org)

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:11-12, NIV)

Tested, will you stand firm?

James wrote to us, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides." (James 1:2, The Message) I want to embrace that command, but it is hard to do. Who likes hard times, those moments when questions are many and answers few? I am not talking about the 'mini-trials' that are common to life. We need to develop much greater patience when dealing with computers that don't work properly, cars that don't start, traffic that doesn't flow- life's normal headaches. The tests that steal my sleep and that stress me are the ones like the recent hurricane in the Gulf region. How do we reconcile our revelation of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and loving Father God with the scenes of devastation? For four years, since 9/11's tragic events shattered the illusion that we could live in perpetual peace, I have struggled with the stuff of tsunamis, hurricanes, fickle 'friends,' recurring temptations, and such things.

How does one consider Hurricane Katrina a gift? How does one rejoice when those on whom he leans let him fall? How does feel joy when the pull of the flesh is so strong that failure seems imminent? I'm still working that out! I imagine, in one way or the other, you are, too. I read the story of Abraham's journey to Mt. Moriah again yesterday. [Genesis 22, if you would like to read it] In that chapter, God tells him to take his beloved son, Isaac, and to sacrifice him.

I tried to think of the emotions that he felt on the 2 day journey to the site.
Testing can cause us to feel CONFUSION. Don't you think Abraham was more than a little confused by a God who gives him a miracle son and then asks for him back about 12-15 years later?
Testing can cause us to feel DOUBT. "God is that really your Voice? Why would You ask such a terrible thing?" I've wondered that more than once in my life when tested.
Testing can cause us to feel ALONE. That trip across the plains to the hills had to be one of the most lonely ones in Abraham's life. He even left his servant and traveled on with just Isaac. But how do you tell jokes and enjoy the company of a boy you're going to sacrifice tomorrow? But, I've learned that God often ministers to the deepest place in my life when I am feeling most alone and focused most intensely on Him.
Testing can cause us to feel THAT GOD IS UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS. When we feel abandoned by God, it is the most desperate feeling, especially for those who have loved Him intimately. When He asks the 'impossible' of us, we may cry out as His Son did, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Of course, He hasn't, but it can sure feel like it.
Testing can cause us to feel HOPELESS. Stand with Abraham on the top of that little hill called Moriah. Drag the rocks, one by one, into a heap called an altar, each one becoming heavier as you realize the moment of decision is imminent. Then ,raise the knife! The contents of your stomach rise in your throat. A sorrow beyond description wrenches sobs so violent from your body that you feel like you could die. Where are you, God?

Will you stay steady when the wind blows strong?
Will you obey when your natural self screams to take another way?

Hard questions, aren't they? In those moments, we desperately hold onto the only hope that remains -- "If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:11-13, NLT)

Abraham had known the faithfulness of God through times when he failed. So, he trusted - not in his own righteousness, his own ability to please God - but in the faithfulness of God to keep him. And in this most intense trial, at just the critical moment, God revealed Himself as "Yahweh Yireh, the Lord, my Provider." Remember the story? Just as Abraham was about to take his son's life, he looked up and saw a ram caught in the bushes, a substitute sacrifice provided by God, Himself!

Paul repeats this phrase again and again in his letters to Believers - "Stand firm!"
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13, NIV)
"He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on everything we taught you both in person and by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say." (2 Thessalonians 2:14-17, NLT)

Weep, Pray, and Work!

Some readers of yesterday's TFTD questioned if I had become a fatalist. By that, they wondered if I had concluded that the only response to sorrow, tragedy, and suffering is quiet resignation, accepting fate. Is that what trusting God means? Certainly not! My life is steadied by two truths that run side by side like the rails on which a train rides: the rail of the will of God and the rail of human responsibility. If I over-emphasize God's will, I risk fatalism. If I lean too far towards human responsibility, I will become fearful, neurotic even, trying to cope with life that is often beyond my understanding or control.

The story of Nehemiah informs me and inspires me in this. Some 6 centuries before the time of Jesus, the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were laid waste by the Assyrians. The walls were torn down, the temple of Yahweh destroyed, and the strongest young Jews were carried to Babylon to become slaves. About a century prior in a first invasion, the Northern Kingdom had been destroyed totally. So was there any hope of a restoration of the city and people of God? Years became decades and Jerusalem was still a place of ruins. A fatalist would have sung a funeral song and accepted this as the 'will of God,' which, the Bible teaches us, it was!

Yet, there was a man, serving in the courts of the pagan king, who dreamed of change. His name? Nehemiah. He received a report from some exiles who returned to their sacred city.
"They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’" (Nehemiah 1:3-9, NIV)

He wept, his heart moved by the needs of the people he loved.
He prayed, because he believed that God was the One who moved to change the world.
And, he worked! The rest of the book is the story of how this man risked his life and threw himself into making a difference.

Nehemiah, who worked directly for the king, asked permission to become a rebuilder. Blessed with God's favor, he received the king's release and traveled hundreds of miles to Jerusalem. Did he then sit down and wait for God to do something? Was he waiting for fate? No. He surveyed the need, set a plan in place, and gathered the support of the people. "I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work." (Nehemiah 2:15-18, NIV)

Nehemiah's willingness to work for God's purposes and the Lord's provisions for Nehemiah to get the job done are so interwoven that they become inseparable. This man of faith and works went on to rebuild his nation, to enlist men to work along side of him, not just to rebuild the infrastructure, but to restore the worship of God and to create a system for teaching God's ways to the people so they would remain true to their God.

Do you see need in your world? Do suffering people move your heart? Does human need - spiritual and material - break your heart? Then weep!
But don't cry the tears of a fatalist that bemoans the problem and then sighs, "that's life." Instead, go to your knees and pray for a revelation, a vision for transformation!
Ask God to show you a way to make a difference.
Then, work! Yes, friend, pour yourself and your resources into changing the world.

As we do this, we will rebuild His Kingdom for the glory of God, remembering the twin exhortations of Jesus:"Therefore, 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) "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. ... you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5 NLT) ... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses (living demonstrators of God's power) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)

The world is waiting. Will you weep, pray, and work 'til Jesus, the King, returns?

Awesome, in the worst sense

The pictures and stories trickling out of Mississippi and Louisiana are simply awesome in the most fearful aspect of that word! One reporter blandly opined, "this is certainly a reminder of the power of Nature." I beg to differ. This is surely a reminder of the wonderful world that God made and of His awesome ways. Offended, are you? Does the thought that He knew the path of Hurricane Katrina make you angry? For me it is different. The disaster only deepens my wonder! I could not help but say, "What a God, how fearsome, how amazing, and how wonderful His ways."

No, I am not rejoicing in the suffering of those who lived in the path of the storm. On ABC's Good Morning, America, I watched residents of Gulfport and New Orleans interviewed this AM. I wept at their confusion and sorrow. Compassion well up in me as I thought what it must be like to look around and see what you have put together in life swept away or destroyed. I cannot even begin to feel what one man was feeling as he described how his house split in half in the ferocity of the storm and his wife was torn from his grasp and swallowed in the muddy flood! And I know God was there. But, then, why didn't He step in to stop it from happening? "Lord, increase our faith!" is all I can say.

It is pleasant to rejoice in the awesomeness of God when the sun rises beautifully or as we stand on the mountain and drink in the splendor of the landscape. If we praise Him then, should we not praise Him when the storm blows as well? If He is the Maker of the sunrise, is He not also the Maker of the winds? This is a terrible and wonderful truth. My mind asks, "But how could a good God allow such suffering? How does this fit with my understanding that He is a giver of good gifts?" It stretches our faith. This I affirm, that He is at work to accomplish His purposes - both in the sunshine and the storm, in those things we receive gladly and those things that break our hearts.

We be exceedingly careful about jumping to conclusions in the stormy times: "I am blessed because.... she suffers because...." Rather, in humility, we need to acknowledge the majesty of the Creator, and seek to know Him, to walk in His ways, thanking Him that He chooses, at His own impulse, to love us. Then, from that humility, we reach out to give our help, to share love, with those whose lives are broken by the storms.

The Psalm declares:
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord, Selah
to him who rides the ancient skies above,
who thunders with mighty voice.

Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies.
You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God! Psalm 68:32-35

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Oh, Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder,
consider all Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
"How great Thou art! How great Thou art!"

Time to seek the Lord!

This morning (8/29/2005) the news networks are trumpeting the impending disaster in the Southeastern US from the storm named Katrina. Whether she will live up to the hype will be known in a few hours. Many are saying that the old city of New Orleans will be changed completely by this 'perfect storm.' Some say our whole nation may be effected, since a large part of our energy resources come to us through Southeastern ports and from the Gulf. Reflecting on this, I asked God, "are you speaking to us in the winds?" Many scoff at that notion; seeing the storms, wars, plagues, problems with the economy, and such things, as nothing more than natural events that come and go in the flow of human history. Humanism has so gripped our minds that even the 'godly' have no ears to hear, no eyes to see, what is the work of God's hand in this world.

While I am not proposing we descend into silly superstitions, I think it is time to seriously consider that the Lord is calling on America to be a people of righteousness, a nation that recognizes Him and His purposes. When disaster fell on God's people, Jeremiah preached to Israel:
But you, God, you have an eye for truth, don’t you?
You hit them hard, but it didn’t faze them.
You disciplined them, but they refused correction.
Hardheaded, harder than rock, they wouldn’t change.

Then I said to myself, “Well, these are just poor people.
They don’t know any better.
They were never taught anything about God.
They never went to prayer meetings.
I’ll find some people from the best families. I’ll talk to them.
They’ll know what’s going on, the way God works. They’ll know the score.”
But they were no better! Rebels all! Off doing their own thing.
The invaders are ready to pounce and kill, like a mountain lion, a wilderness wolf, panthers on the prowl.The streets aren’t safe anymore.
And why?
Because the people’s sins are piled sky-high; their betrayals are past counting. -- Jeremiah 5:3-6 (The Message)

This nation has multiplied her sins! Though there is much to admire in these United States today, there is spiritual decay evident in every part of the land.

Unquestionably we sit at the pinnacle of power in the world today, but are we using that position of influence to make it a better world filled with justice or just to build a bigger empire that feeds our ballooning appetites for more wealth? Corruption spreads like a cancer in our halls of government. From local precincts to the corridors of Congress, there are too many 'leaders' who are more interested in serving a coterie of cronies than the people who are poor and powerless. We are waging a war that many believe, despite the rhetoric justifying it, to be a war that is fought primarily for naked self-interest. If that is true, it invites God's judgment as He gives power to be used as a sacred trust.

Tragically, the culture that America exports around the world is a low and vile one, marked by lewdness and materialism. We produce $billions in pornography and sell it to the far corners of the globe.

The Christian scene in our nation features many churches that are big and rich. But is that power and wealth being used to serve those who are poor, both spiritually and naturally? Are Christians calling for justice, taking the Gospel where it is not yet preached? Sometimes, yes; but too often the answer is no. Instead we create institutions and 'ministries' that feed only our own needs. Many churches are entertainment centers, the message not Word-centered, but pop-psychology re-packaged with 'Bible-speak.'

Let me temper this jeremiad by recognizing that all is not lost! The Gospel is still preached, and there are those who still love God and His ways. If a faith-filled little remnant of people will speak truthfully to the land, will pray to be filled with the Spirit, and will do the works of God; we can see a new wave of holiness break across these United States. I pray it is a true holiness that goes heart-deep. It would be a tragedy if we thought a superficial legalism that focused on external sins alone is what God seeks! He wants our hearts- our passionate love for Himself and for His will. Let us pray, "May your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth- as it is in Heaven."
_________________________________________________

Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.
...Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops.
I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.”

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD."
Haggai 1: 5-7; 10-12 (NIV)

Inviting discipline?

I just spent a most delightful couple of days with my adult kids. I am a man most blessed as I see the choices they are making, the way they are investing their lives in good things, loving God and loving people! Jay, my oldest son, and his wife, Lindsay, have two sons. Gavin, who is 3, is a delight; but, he's old enough to express his will. He has no illusions that he can 'win' in a confrontation with his Dad, but he regularly gives it a try anyway. When he determines he wants to have his own way, it is obvious a confrontation is brewing. Even though he knows better, he decides to 'steal' a toy his little brother is playing with happily. A squeal of protest goes up from Payton. His Dad says, "Gavin, give it back." A look of defiance comes over his face and he pretends not to hear. Dad repeats the directive a bit louder, with emphasis in his tone that says, 'now!' Usually he complies, but occasionally, mysteriously, he decides to wait until his Dad rises to walk to where he is before obeying. Sometimes, even then, he decides that trying to hold onto his own will is more important than risking the discipline of his father. Hopefully, you know what's next. No Grandfather likes to watch his 3 year old grandson being disciplined and the tears that follow are wrenching to my heart, but I am so glad that Jay and Lindsay understand the importance of loving, consistent discipline, for they are laying a foundation of respect and obedience that will pay off when Gavin arrives at the teen years that lie ahead. (Hey, parents out there. Isn't God good to let us see our kids have to work through discipline of their own children so they understand what they put us through? - smile.)

Many of us are a lot like Gavin in our relationship with our Heavenly Father! We know what's right. We have no illusions that we can win at our rebellion, but for reasons mysterious we often choose to do our own thing, even as the Spirit says, "Don't go there. Don't do that!"

Not you? Well, I must confess that I do sin willfully sometimes. It's not that I am proud of the fact. I just have to be honest about that. There have been too many moments in my life to count when the Spirit has called me to change course and I have persisted in disobedience. The alienation that results is terrible. In the moments that follow such willfulness I start to get a glimpse of what the writer of Hebrews refers to when he says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (10:31, NKJV) I feel the discipline of God that starts with the broken fellowship, the sense that the Spirit's peace has lifted. It's not that He no longer loves me! Of course he does. When Gavin's Daddy sends him into his room for a 'time-out' he is not saying, "I don't love you and you're not a part of the family." He's saying, "You need to be separate for a while so you can think over your actions and make a different choice." So it is with God. He removes the sweet comfort of the Spirit's presence and lets us feel alone for a while so we will realize that we need to get in line with His will.

There is a mistaken notion of God's grace that is alive and well among Christians that says, "God love us so much, it doesn't matter to Him what we do or how we live." Wrong! God loves us so much that it matters very much to Him that we live in a way that maximizes our ability to enjoy His blessings, His presence, and an abundant life. Jay could choose to just let things slide with his 3 year son. After all, Gavin's choices for disobedience today are not really very big deals. He doesn't rob banks, kill people, or burglarize houses! He just takes his brother's toys, resists sitting at the table until dinner is over, and hates naps! But, Jay loves Gavin enough to go through the conflict, to help him to understand the importance of obedience now, so when he is old enough to do 'really bad things' he won't because he will have developed self-control, an understanding of rules, and a loving respect for authority. And thus, will enjoy life so much better than those who have run-in's with the law, who blow off relationships, and who are constantly in rebellion.

Here's a word from the Word to ponder today.
Are you doing through a tough time with your Heavenly Father?
Perhaps it is His loving discipline.

"And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said, “My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined?
If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all.

Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs." (Hebrews 12:5-12, NLT)

Solid as a rock!

About ten years ago, the acronym, WWJD, became part of our cultural lexicon. Remember it? What Would Jesus Do. The intent is to get people to integrate the message of Jesus Christ into their daily decisions. It is easy to begin to think, "this is for Sunday, that is for Monday." Some things we naturally think of as 'spiritual,' others as 'secular.' Just because it happens so naturally doesn't make it right. God is just as concerned about your financial decisions as He is in the relationships you have with others.

Does the name Bernie Ebbers mean anything to you? In March he was convicted of fraud in the WorldCom financial collapse. Ebbers is a church-going, Sunday School teaching guy at a Bible believing church. Yet, somehow he allowed himself to be part very questionable, and ultimately illegal business practices. How did that happen? Well, my guess is that in Ebber's mind there came to be a division between what he heard in church and the decisions he made in the board room. Perhaps it was a conscious choice, but more likely, he just compartmentalized Monday from Sunday without much thought at all.

Separating Sunday's sermons from daily living is nothing new. In 1896, Charles Sheldon wrote a book that millions of Christians have read in the century since its publication. That book is called, In His Steps. The author asked people to try to think, what would Jesus do in the situations they encountered. As a entire town grasped this concept, transformation reached from top to bottom of society.

I think an even better acronym would be WWJHMD- What would Jesus have me do? Is that simple or easy? Of course not. Life is filled with complex choices that involve many layers of ethical implications. For instance, what choice does a wife and mother make about staying with a cruel and abusive husband? Believers understand that God holds us to a high level of commitment to our marriage covenant. God also wants us to forgive those who do wrong to us. And, yes, too, there is a responsibility to protect children and to lovingly confront those who do wrong. See where it gets complicated? That is true in just about every area of our lives. Simplistic thinking will often cause us to make silly decisions. Christians are often mocked, deservingly, for having easy answers and bumper sticker philosophies that ignore the complexities of the world of which they are part. We, as Kingdom Builders, will not influence the world for Christ if we live in unconscious hypocrisy, or in the grip of simplistic expressions of Scriptural truth.

We must think deeply, carefully, and lovingly about what we say, how we live. Every day we need to pray that our lives line up with what we profess to believe, as we discern the will of God for each turn. Hard? Yes! Impossible? No! The promise of God is that the Holy Spirit will work with us to help us to know how to live. Jesus promised, "...when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you." (John 16:13-14, The Message)

Paul says it in different words, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV) Here is the way that it reads in The Message: "Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives."

The person who integrates the Bible's teaching into his life finds stability that is solid as a rock. Jesus says, “Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse, because it is built on rock." (Matthew 7:24-25, NLT)
__________________

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' Name.

On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

Brevity

Pondering mortality is not the most pleasant endeavor! So, let's state the obvious, right? Yesterday's paper reported the tragic death of Thomas Herrion, a young football player with the San Francisco 49'ers, immediately following an exhibition game in Denver on Saturday. After he played hard in the final moments of the game, the lineman went into the locker room where he collapsed and died - at 23 years of age. No specific cause of death was given in the article. The demise of the young always shocks us. In old age, we are more accepting. Psalm 90 is unsparing, forcing ALL of us to confront the inevitability of our death - “Return to dust!” For You, (Lord) a thousand years are as yesterday! They are like a few hours! You sweep people away like dreams that disappear or like grass that springs up in the morning." (Psalm 90:3-5, NLT)

Perhaps I am more pensive than most, but I am prone to consider my mortality several times a month. There is Scriptural precedent for pondering one's death! Psalm 90:12 says "... teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. " (NKJV) According to this prayer of Moses, keeping one eye on the calendar, watching the days as they move from future, to present, to past, one by one, is a means of becoming wise. I am not maudlin, but I am realistic. At age 50, I know that I am in the late 3rd quarter of the game. The time to put some points on the board is now! I cannot help but think of the fleeting days, the lifetime that is 'like grass that springs up in the morning.' That stark reality does not terrorize me for I have assurance of life beyond this terrestrial plane. It does motivate me, maybe too much. I am compelled to make this day matter. Is that evidence of good stewardship or an expression of my ego, a vain attempt at immortality? Only God knows for sure! I certainly hope it is the former.

Last week Bev and I visited with her parents, both in their 7th decade of life. In one of those hard, but necessary moments, they talked with us about their health care directives, their financial plans, and their wills. It was sobering. They are 'numbering their days,' and wisely, they are preparing. Foolishly, some people will not do as Bob and Irene have done, because of an irrational fear that preparing a will or talking about death will somehow hasten the arrival of the final day. Instead of using the time that that is given to them to prepare, some choose to live as though denying the facts of life and death will keep them from being true.

Don't be one of those who will not consider the brevity of life! Let that sobering thought first cause you to live well in this world, and second, to live prepared for your entrance into eternal life. Peter urges us as Believers to set our hope fully on Christ Jesus as Savior, and then to apply ourselves to godliness. He says that living well helps us to die well! "Work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Doing this, you will never stumble or fall away. And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-12, NLT)

Make today count! It could be your last. Frightening thought? Then, get your life in order.
Let the grace of Christ remove the fear of death and the love of Christ transform the way you live now, so that no 'debt remains outstanding' and you are ready for that appointment - be it tomorrow or decades in the future.
__________________________

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound,
time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks eternal bright and fair.
When the saints on earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.

And on that bright and cloudless morning
When the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When the chosen ones shall gather
To their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.

So let us labor for the Master from the dawn 'til setting sun,
Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
And when all of life is over and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder I'll be there.


When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonder,
When the roll is called up yonderI'll be there.

© 1994 Gaither Music Company ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management / DaviSongShop ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management / PraiseGathering Music ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright ManagementCCLI License No. 810055

When you're up against a struggle...

One of my favorite channels is Discovery where some splendid nature videos are played. (I like Discovery's -"Mythbusters" too, but that's for another TFTD!) The brutality of survival fascinates me when I see, for instance, the big cats of Africa preying on the gnus, those cow-like animals sometimes called wildebeests. The cat goes for the weaker or the younger gnu, trying to cut him away from the safety of the herd, then the lioness pounces, dragging the poor beast down to die and become supper. Circling just beyond the lions' reach are hyenas, who bark and growl, waiting for their chance! The struggle for life extends both up and down the food chain, as one species preys on another.

Life is a struggle for humans, too. Our TV's take us to dusty countries where young 'lions' lie in wait to kill and maim with car bombs. Nation rises against nation - spending $billions to develop weapons that destroy and kill with greater efficiency! Blood spatters, people die, and victors celebrate. Then, too, there are those struggles that are less dramatic, played out in our offices, our neighborhoods, even our families. Sometimes, they are violent and some young man ends up dead from a drive-by shooting or a knife stuck in his heart. Often they are less bloody, but still painful, as words are launched to maim, cripple, and control.

How do we fight the fight, survive in that kind of hostile environment? That's a question that echoes in my brain increasingly these days.

Jesus forbids retaliation! When I am tempted to uncover my claws and bare my fangs, the Spirit reminds me of the words that can be the most difficult to live by in the New Testament: “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘If an eye is injured, injure the eye of the person who did it. If a tooth gets knocked out, knock out the tooth of the person who did it.’ But I say, don’t resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too. If you are ordered to court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too." Matthew 5:38-40 That requires grace, doesn't it?

But, it is a mistake to think that we should stuff the anger deep inside. Rather we must learn the wisdom of the Word that teaches us: "In your anger do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Another translation says, “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” (Ephesians 4:26, NLT)

Charles Stone, a pastor who faced the struggle to survive people's criticisms, writes about his misunderstanding of Jesus' demands, his inability to express his anger because he thought the emotion itself was wrong. The result he says was that "My anger festered into an emotional, poison-filled boil on my soul. I could deceive myself, pretend that all was well, and wait for things to change for the better. Or I could squarely face the disappointment and attempt to lessen its toxic effects."

So how do we turn the anger into something other than toxic bitterness that feeds a need for revenge?

First, admit that we are angry. We're not 'just sad,' nor are we 'just hurt,' nor are we 'always the one who is wrong.' There are people who develop agendas to attack us and that makes us mad. And, letting that kind of injustice make us angry is just fine! A person who is incapable of feeling anger is half-dead already! Anger can be used as a powerful motivator for change: in ourselves and in our world.

Second, work to put the cause of your anger into the context of your whole life. Generally it's not 'us against the world,' though it can seem like it at times. The critics are usually a minority, often a very vocal one, but a minority never the less. As a pastor, I know personally how very easy it is to let two critics obscure every other good thing in life. I need to keep my peripheral vision healthy, to see around the problems to the wider world scene.

Third, kill the fantasies! Disney painted a picture of a wonderful world where everyone was nice, all dreams came true, and people lived happily ever after. If we let ourselves live with the hope that we can fulfill those kinds of fantasies, our lives will be full of disappointment. People aren't perfect. Dreams don't always come true, no matter how hard you work at them. Acceptance of our limitations and the limitations of the situations in which we find ourselves provides great release from unnecessary anger. That is not to suggest that we become fatalists or complacent, and give up on life, on trying to make a difference. But, we must ask the Spirit of God to help us to know the difference between our fantasies about a 'perfect' world and His dream for our life which He will equip us to fulfill.

Fourth, ENDURE! A friend who is in AA, reminded me of a basic truth that recovering alcoholics learn - "Send your body and your heart will follow!" In other words, sometimes we do the right things, just because they are the right things, not because we feel great passion, enthusiasm, or joy! Sometimes the very best method of dealing with anger is simply to determine to outlast your enemies and critics as you kill'em with kindness. That endurance is sustained by the realization that there is coming a day of just rewards for us all.
The Word says, "Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And a righteous person will live by faith. But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” (Hebrews 10:35-38, NLT)

We will do more than survive!
With the help of God we will thrive, living in the abundance of His grace, praying, "May your Kingdom come, and Your will be done on the earth, as it is in Heaven." Amen.
_____________________________

TFTD will be 'on vacation' until Wed. or Thurs. next week.
I hope to see you in worship this Sunday at the Assembly at 10 AM.

"I'm thankful for my cancer..."

That's what a beautiful young woman said to me yesterday! She went on to tell me how her spiritual life has deepened remarkably, how her marriage has been so much better, that she has a clearer grasp on what things are true priorities in life. What faith! The tears stung my eyes as I heard sincere words that illustrated the truth of God's promise that nothing that enters our lives is wasted or meaningless IF we will let Him use it. Paul teaches us that "...the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 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, with many brothers and sisters." (Romans 8:27-29, NLT)

I know that God doesn't 'cause' cancer. He isn't the source of sickness and suffering. These are rooted in the Curse of sin and evil in our world. But, I also know that He allows these things and uses them to shape us into the the person of His plans. The will of God for everyone of us is that we become like Jesus, that the character of the Lord be created in us. That character is sometimes developed in suffering, awful and terrible pain, that brings us to the end of the illusion of self-sufficiency and leads us to throw ourselves on Him!

Explore the rich text of that entire 8th chapter of the book of Romans if you're looking for hope in the midst of the suffering of this present world. That chapter starts by reminding us that because of Jesus, Believers no longer have to live under the cloud of God's judgment. "With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud." (Romans 8:1, The Message) In fact, we are able, because of the life of the Spirit to be familiar with God, "greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” ( v. 14, The Message) That doesn't mean we won't have hard times. The whole creation 'groans' under the weight of sin and suffering, but we are able, because of the Holy Spirit, to see past the pain of this moment to the promise of the 'future glory.'

Meanwhile, we pray, sometimes with wordless sighs and inspired murmurings, for the strength to live faithfully. The Spirit renews our faith so we can hang onto the promise that Someone is at work and His purposes will never be thwarted nor defeated for those who are justified before God through Jesus Christ. The chapter ends with this victory chant:
"I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—
nothing living or dead,
angelic or demonic,
today or tomorrow,
high or low,
thinkable or unthinkable—
absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. " (Romans 8:38-39, The Message)

Are you being tested today?
Are you groaning under the weight of suffering - spiritually, perhaps emotionally, or even physically?
Weep! Yes, let your tears be a language that God can understand. Groan, sigh, and trust Him! Confess your hope in His ultimate defeat of sin and suffering, in His ability to use the circumstances that surround you to make you like Jesus and to shape you into someone that is useful for the Master's purposes. And, never, ever doubt His love.
______________________________

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross.
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life -
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart,
His wounds have paid my ransom.

© 1995 Kingsway's Thankyou Music
(Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI License No. 810055

Still true?

An obscure text became God's instruction and promise to me a long time ago. In Numbers 18:20-21 the Bible says, "The LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting." (NIV)

You might be saying, "What's that supposed to mean?" At age 16, the Spirit of God moved on me making it clear that my life was to be given to the service of God in his church. In May, 1980 I was ordained for ministry. Soon after, as my little family grew, financial pressures came into our lives. I observed many other ministers getting involved in sideline businesses to increase their income and was tempted to do so myself. Then, God again clearly spoke using the passage referenced, telling me that I was not to become involved in other business, and that He would provide for me and my family, if I would serve Him single-mindedly. End of story, right? No way. At various stages in life, the temptation returned- based on this need, that want, concern for the future, etc. Temptation to set aside God's way for me always came wrapped in 'reasons' why I could do what I felt was expedient.

Each time I was presented with a business or investment opportunity, I had to go back to that day when God said, "I'll be your inheritance!" To be honest, sometimes it was hard to say "yes, Lord, I'll trust You," when I wanted more things, or felt I needed to provide more for the kid's educations. The promise needed to be renewed in my mind so I would remain faithful to His demand of me. I questioned, "is it still true?" Of course it was and is, for God does not change.

I share that with you today for two reasons.
First, I want you to know that God gives promises to us alongside of His requirements of us.
Second, I want you to know that to remain faithfulness in our service requires that we renew our understanding of and commitment to His promise.

Look through the Bible and you will find many references to renewal of covenants.

• God renewed the vision and calling of Abraham, the father of the faithful, several times in his lifetime, each time clarifying the call and reminding him of the promise.
  
• Moses called together the people of Israel near the end of his life and rehearsed the Covenant with them in detail. (see Deuteronomy 29)
  
• The Church is called to renew our understanding of the Covenant of Grace frequently. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper (Communion) and said, "Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NIV)

When you are tested by life, when you want to re-write God's holy demands that were given to you, remember the promise that came with the call! And, remember this - "God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded." (Romans 11:29, The Message) There is a reward for those who are faithful and obedient. Stand firm!

PS- God has kept His promise to me! He has provided abundantly for all I've ever needed and He's blessed me with so many wonderful things other than worldly wealth, I cannot help but be grateful as I reflect on those things today. Praise Him. Amen.

Nobody likes me!

Kids can be unbelievably cruel to each other. The smallest difference can become a cause for taunting and making fun - 'you're too fat,' 'your glasses are ugly,' 'your jeans are weird.' Any parent knows the how terrifying that kind of rejection is to a child. When our children were in elementary school, from time to time they would come home with sad stories of being picked on and crying, "nobody like me." I found it a real challenge to empathize, yet to help them get a more realistic point of view of their circumstances. As they were crying, I'd try this: "Are you sure that nobody likes you, or is it just a couple of kids? Have you been mean to them causing them to try to get even? What specifically don't they like about you? Does it really matter?" I don't know if those discussions had much effect. Truth is, the squabbles were usually short-lived and the same kids that 'hated' each other this week, were often allies on the playground the next! The one net effect of our parental training is that all of our now adult kids have a strong streak of social concern for the weak and those who are victimized by others.

So, do you ever take the road of self-pity crying, "Nobody likes me?"

Some great people in the Bible did. Remember Elijah, the mighty man of God, that did so many miracles? After a day of spectacular events when God rained fire from heaven on the sacrifice prepared by Elijah, an infuriated idol-worshipping queen, named Jezebel, sent this threat to the prophet: “The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets.” (1 Kings 19:2, The Message) The great man fell into a terrible depression and ran off into a remote desert where he asked God to take his life! There is a lot of self-pity in his prayer when he says, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” (1 Kings 19:14, NLT) He was out of touch with reality. God reminded him that there were still thousands of people left in Israel who were true worshippers.

When we feel rejected, alone, and/or afraid - we must resist the temptation to take the 'it's me against the world' stance that leads us deeper into the mire of paranoia! I am convinced that the Enemy takes advantage of our fears and plays on our emotions in those times, leading us into greater sin, often with tragic spiritual results.

Feeling besieged today? Does it seem to you that you want to cry - 'nobody likes me?'
Find your way to your knees and talk it over with the Lord. Just lay it, plainly, for Him. He'll understand, perfectly! Let God love you. For when you are loved by Him, all other sources of insecurity become much less important.

Then, too, do not isolate yourself. Instead, reach out to a friend you trust. Ask them if they will listen and help you sort through the situations and emotions.
God has always provided me with friends whose counsel helped me find my way. Sometimes they empathize, just letting me work my way through the conflicts, the tough stuff. Sometimes they challenge my 'stinking thinking' when I lose touch with reality. Sometimes they pray for me or with me, asking for God to intervene in me and in the situation. I am so thankful for those people who have, in the course of my life, stayed faithful to God and stood by me.

Pick yourself up from the dust and go honor Him by living lovingly, faithfully, consistently committed to His ways. Here's a word from the Word. Meditate on it today.

A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

I love you, Lord; you are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold.
I will call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, for he saves me from my enemies...

To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show yourself hostile.
You rescue those who are humble, but you humiliate the proud.
Lord, you have brought light to my life; my God, you light up my darkness.
In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.

As for God, his way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
For who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is a solid rock?"
(Psalm 18: 1-3; 25-31, NLT)

Safety in numbers

"I love you, you love me, we're a happy family." Isn't that what that fat, happy purple dinosaur character sings to the kids watching TV? It's easy to poke fun at the corny expression of the importance of 'connectness,' but... we do need each other. We will never be all that God wants us to be, apart from strong and close ties to other Believers. That is why the Enemy of God and His people works so intently to destroy or diminish relationships. In 1 Corinthians 12, our connection to others is illustrated with this statement: "The way that God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part."

Recently I had a difference with a brother who some hard things to me and about me which pierced my heart. I'd like to be able to tell you that my first impulse was to listen carefully, to sort through his words searching for the truth. It wasn't! I took offense. For days, his stinging words echoed over and over in my mind, like a looping tape. But, the Spirit of God is faithful, and helped me (eventually!) to step over my offended spirit, to work toward an honest consideration of what he had to say. As I gave up my need to be 'right,' God granted me peace. With that peace came the perspective that was necessary to evaluate his message, unpleasant as it was. Though this brother and I see the way God works with some difference, his perspective is important to me, and I hope mine is to him. We are both stronger for having each other 'in the Body.'

The natural, and all too common, result of the kind of conflict I am working through is to separate company, to pick up our toys and move on. That's one reason that in most American towns there are 20 different churches preaching nearly the same message. When difference arises, instead of doing the very difficult work of talking through our disagreements and asking the Spirit of God to help us to remain 'one' in His love; we hit the road, off to do our own thing, learning little or nothing from conflict except how to avoid it, mask it, or worst of all - to employ tactics that allow us to 'win at all costs,' without realizing that we are destroying the work of God.

We must not confuse our very real freedom in Christ that makes us independent of religious rules and regulations imposed on us by others with a libertarian attitude that says, 'Nobody's gonna tell me anything except the Holy Spirit!' (Please re-read the previous sentence, thoughtfully.) Our American love of independence mutates into a toxic virus when we bring it to church with us. That virus blinds us to the fact that we are interdependent by God's design, which is to say, "we need each other." The result of being a free-lance Believer, is that sins and weaknesses go unchallenged and thus, unchanged, in us. People who have been Christians for decades are often still acting like infants because they will not consider any words that are unpleasant as possibly being true. Truth and love, they are in balance. That is why the Word teaches us to love the truth and to keep talking with each other about it! Notice the result of that extended conversation: "... we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:15-16, NLT)

God means for us to enjoy the safety of numbers! Proverbs pithy wisdom goes right to the core of the matter saying, "...victory depends on having many counselors." (Proverbs 24:6, NLT) Get connected, stay connected - through good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. That's God's way of getting you and me to 'grow up' in Christ.

And remember -
"Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves,
for they shall never cease to be amused."

Nail-biters!

Yeah, I get anxious and I chew on my nails! Why exactly do so many people who are full of anxiety chew on the ends of their fingers? I do not have an answer for that question. There are plenty things in the world to worry about. The war in Iraq offers us an opportunity to worry about the possibility that our country has entered another endless conflict which will continue to claim American lives for the next decade, like the conflict in Vietnam did in the 60's and 70's. Then, there is terrorism. Will there be more subway bombs, crashing airliners, or dirty nukes brought to one of our major cities? Rising energy prices and the coming of winter can provoke real angst as there is the threat that this will disrupt the U.S. economy significantly. If you're more prone to fret about stuff closer to your home, you could stew over your health - wondering if the 'big one' will stop your heart, or if cancerous cells are presently plotting your demise. Worried, yet? Or should I keep going?

Most of think that worry is beyond our control. We blame our tendency to fret on our genes or the way our parents raised us. There is some truth in that. Some of us are much more prone to become anxious than others. And if you're raised in a home where the future, the unknown, or the untried is feared and where anxiety is in constant evidence, you are much more likely to live fearfully in this wide world. However, we need to know this - anxiety is voluntary, too. We can choose to worry or we can choose to live in the quiet confidence that our God reigns!

Worriers need to memorize this passage so that they can recite it the moment that they look for a finger nail to chew on! Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7, NLT)

"Don't worry about anything!" That, is what we call an imperative, meaning it is a command. God would not command us to do what is beyond our control or the impossible. He clues us in about the 'how-to' of that directive. So how do we stop worrying? "Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done!" Go ahead, try it. If you're a hard-core worrier, your mind will rebel against this simple prescription. It will tell you that you're being stupid, that you're avoiding reality, that you need to 'take charge.' Take it from a guy whose wrestled with each of those things and more. Make the choice- Trust and Thanks.

Jesus has an interesting description of the result of worry. In a story he told about seed the of the Gospel producing a harvest in our lives, He said that some "seed fell among thorns (weeds) that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain." (Mark 4:7, NLT) Then He explained His point. “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it." (Mark 4:18-19, The Message) Isn't that interesting? We can miss out on the blessings of living in God's Kingdom, in the richness of His care for us, just by focusing on our problems instead of God's care. I can certainly understand why He used the word - choke- too. I've spent too many nights, laying on my bed in the darkness of the early morning hours allowing anxiety to wrap its grip around my chest until I thought I would die!

But I have learned that worry is a choice and now when I feel the icy fingers of stress, I break their stranglehold with Trust and Thanks.

Believer, are you fretting today?
Are your nails bloodied by your tearing at them in anxiousness?
Make a different choice - a choice that moves the focus from your inabilities to God's power and promises.
_________________________

All Your Promises-- Smith, Andrew-- Mercy / Vineyard Publishing

Oh all Your promises
Are "Yes" and "Amen" in Jesus.
Your promises are true.
All Your promises
Are "Yes" and "Amen" Lord Jesus,
We'll keep running after You.

O Lord our Lord,
How majestic is Your name.
Your words are true,
Your mercy does not change.
All Your promises are precious,
Reviving our faith.
Every one of them
Will be fulfilled one day.

We will run,
We'll run and not grow weary.
We will rise upon the eagle's wings.
In the presence of the Lord,
Our spirits will soar,
Till we one day gaze upon our King.

But my foot had almost slipped,
O Lord, I'd almost lost my way,
'Til I entered the house of the Lord
And heard Your sweet Spirit say,

Oh all Your promises
Are "Yes" and "Amen" in Jesus.
Your promises are true.
All Your promisesAre "Yes" and "Amen"
Lord Jesus,We'll keep running after You.

© 1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License No. 810055

Who's in the jury box?

Our Wednesday Bible Study has been working through a series of lessons about spiritual disciplines, the choices we make to open our lives to the inflow of the Spirit and to defeat sinfulness. In addition to the Scripture, our guide for this study is John Ortberg's outstanding book, The Life You've Always Wanted. Last night we took a look at Jesus' command from Matthew 6 that we should do our 'religious' acts in secret. Remember His words? "When you give, don't announce it.... when you pray do it in private, not on the street corners... when you fast, don't look disheveled so others take note." The Message summarizes the principle Jesus is teaching saying, “When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint."

Because of that ancient sin, pride, there is, in every living person, a craving for approval and applause. If we feed that craving by 'showing off' it will become an addiction, turning us into actors, people pleasers, and hypocrites. If we allow ourselves to become 'externally validated,' that is - to let others determine how we feel about ourselves, we will become insecure, defensive, and shallow people. Our lives will be lived without conviction, and we will be incapable of making the hard choices that are necessary for any true child of the living God.

God defines success by our faithfulness to discover His purpose for life and then to faithfully live in that purpose. His one question to us is "Do you know my will and live in it?" Most of us define success much differently: by how much money we have, what titles we have claimed, how fast our kids run, and similar things. We run hard and fast after the approval of others, but it is a race that has no finish line. Why? Because when we achieve what we dreamed would mark us as a 'worthy person,' we look around and see that someone has done us one better! There is no better illustration of this than John Quincy Adams, who served as a US President, Secretary of State, Ambassador, and Congressman wrote near the end of his life: "I have done nothing. I have no ability to do anything that will live in the memory of mankind. My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations, and in ceaseless rejected prayers that something should result of my existence beneficial to my own species."

Paul, the apostle, who lived most of his adult life being rejected by the secular governments of cities and towns, and fighting with religious authorities in Jerusalem, says - "Obviously, I’m not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant." (Galatians 1:10, NLT) He understood Jesus' demand for single mindedness with great clarity. What did the Lord say? "You cannot serve two masters."

Believer, if we want to please God, we must be willing to offend others and to endure rejection, criticism, even persecution. Certainly there will be those wonderfully blissful moments when His will causes us to bless others and when they will affirm us, thank us, and even take note and give thanks to God. There's not a thing wrong with that, but applause and recognition is never to the be motive for service, ever! If it comes to us incidentally, so be it. Be careful though. Applause is addictive. We can quickly learn to like it and turn ourselves into performers who dance for the crowds, even as we lose touch with the applause of the Audience of One. No one knows this better than a Pastor who takes the stage, week by week, in front of the congregation. I struggle daily with the temptation to fit my message and my service to popular expectations in order to get the glowingly affirming comments from those I am supposed to serve as God's spokesman.

Who are you serving today, Believer?
Who sits in the imaginary jury box, evaluating your life?
Is it God - or is it your parent, your pastor, your boss, your spouse, your friends?

Here's a word from the Word for meditation today:
"It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don’t even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I’m not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn’t mean much.
The Master makes that judgment.
So don’t get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the “Well done!” of God." (1 Corinthians 4:3-5, The Message)

Give us today our daily bread

Living in a time and nation where food of every kind is available in such abundance, I don't feel as grateful as I should for the bread that I eat from day to day. The prayers I say before meals are often offered up in a perfunctory manner. The current issue of US News (8/15/05) focuses on America's food supply and what American's have been eating over the last 300 years. It's fascinating stuff. Living in this age of packaged, preserved food plucked from supermarket shelves, I did not realize how much America's diet has changed and how blessed we are to enjoy the wide variety of dietary options that are available to us.

Consider these factoids.

Though we romanticize the first Thanksgiving feast of the Puritans, the truth is that New England colonists largely lived on a diet of 'pease porridge' - basically bean soup - day in and day out!

A 100 years ago, the nation's meat supply was often contaminated by spoilage, chemicals, and even garbage! A single book by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, published in 1906 about Chicago's meat packing industry, caused an uproar that spurred the Federal government to begin to regulate that industry.

Graham crackers were the invention of a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Sylvester Graham, in the early 19th century, who believed that eating too much meat and fatty food aroused sexual feelings, so he made a basic biscuit that included a lot of fiber. Graham thought a person could control lust by eating high fiber crackers!

Here's the saddest fact. While being overweight is America's number one health issue today due in part to our abundant food supply, in many parts of the world people are still suffering with malnutrition and dying from starvation! A significant percentage of people in the world today still eat to live, existing on diets of very basic staples.


When I open the refrigerator today, I am going to really give God thanks from my heart, for so much good food. How about you? As you sit down to your table, make your prayer of thanksgiving a real offering of gratitude. And.... though Rev. Graham's ideas about controlling lust by eating crackers is a crazy idea, consider what and how much you're consuming. Our diets do matter to our God since how we feed these bodies, which are the temples of the Spirit, is an issue of health. Science has proven the value of a balanced diet, of one that is lower in fat consumption, and that is rich in fiber from fresh fruits and vegetables. I believe we honor the God who has provided us with so much abundance by choosing to eat in a way that helps to keep us healthy and strong, so we can serve Him for many years with strong bodies and clear minds.


"Give us today our daily bread." ...
“I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" ...
"So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans (those who do not know God) run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, (even at your dinner table!) and all these things will be given to you as well. "
(Matthew 6:11, 25, 31-35, NIV)

That I may breathe your Breath, O God.

The noblest impulse in us is so quickly compromised by selfish interest. What begins as the best intended plans to make a better world can easily be turned into a means of feeding the needs of the ego, of enriching ourself, or buying the favor of others through the misuse of our position. By way of illustration I point to the story breaking from New York about the UN's 'oil for food' program that was created to allow pre-war Iraq to sell oil so the nation could afford food for its people. Sounds like a good and humanitarian cause, doesn't it? Yet, now we are learning that the multi-million dollar program was riddled with kick-back schemes and insider deals that enriched several UN officials. Sad, isn't it? But, not so uncommon. Everyone can tell stories of good people who, when given a position of power or trust, turned it into a means of self-aggrandizement.

We must, because of the sin nature that continues to war against good and God, remain vigilant and prayerful, asking God to keep our lives pure from selfishness and greed. Each new day our motives need to be held up to the Light to see where any ugly stain of sin is spreading, corrupting even our best and highest intentions to do the will of God.

George MacDonald, a Scot preacher/poet who lived a century ago, wrote in his book,
The Diary of An Old Soul:

With ev'ry morn my life afresh must break
The crust of self, gathered 'round me fresh;
That Thy wind-Spirit may rush in and shake
The darkness out of me, and rend the mesh
The spider-devil spins out of the flesh --
Eager to net the soul before it wakes,
That it my slumberous lie, and listen to the snake.
(as quoted in REV., Sept/Oct. '05 issue)

Isn't that a lovely picture? Waking to break the 'crust of self.'

No, of course not, but it is an accurate one. We break that shell that would block out the Spirit, so that the Life of God's Breath may bring us freedom, renewal, and the beauty of holiness.

The book of Genesis tells us that in the very beginning, "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7, NIV) Apart from His breath, we remain 'dusty men!' But we need not remain creatures of the dirt, living to satisfy only the needs that press themselves on us so powerfully. The Spirit can make us noble and new, morning by morning.

Have you broken away the 'crust of self' today and invited the Spirit of God to breathe new life into your service, your worship, your words?

Here's a word from the Word to take with you through this day.

This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit.

The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
But I know! I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”(Jeremiah 17:5-10, NLT)
_________________________

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may loveWhat Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure.
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine.
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.

Breath on me, breath of God,
So shall I never die,
But live with Thee
The perfect life
Of Thine eternity.

© Public Domain CCLI License No. 810055

Home - here or there?

It's good to be home! For 12 days, I enjoyed taking in splendid views from soaring mountains in Colorado. Worshipping with thousands of Believers at the Assemblies of God General Council in Denver last week left my heart full to overflowing. I appreciated the break from the daily responsibilities of life, recognizing that I needed renewal in mind and body, yet, to borrow an old phrase, "there's no place like home!" I missed the easy camaraderie with friends and the rhythms of daily work. By Saturday, I was intensely longing for home!

Do you ever feel homesick for Heaven? The Bible teaches us that as children of God we're not home, yet! Peter uses very powerful words calling us, 'aliens and strangers in the world.' 1 Peter 2:11 An alternate translation is 'sojourner' meaning one who is temporarily living away from his home. Where is your heart's true home? But, some might say, "how can Heaven be my 'home' when I have never been there?" Good question, and one I used to wonder about. As we worship and grow spiritually in Christ's love, we become increasingly at home in God's Presence. Today, I feel most alive, most at home, when I am with God's people, in the Spirit, enjoying the fellowship of Jesus. And that's just a tiny sample of Heaven. More and more, I long for Heaven and the beauty of my home there.

That's not to say there isn't beauty to be found here in this world. The smile of a child, the grandeur of Creation, the love of a friend are God's gifts to us while we make the pilgrimage to His home. In much the same way I found many wonderful moments in my time 'on the road,' but those glory moments did not replace the sense of being an 'alien' in a place far from home.

Here's what the Words tells us about life on the road and our anticipation of Heaven. Let it inspire you today.
"We know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade —and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again.
Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies!
The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less."
(2 Corinthians 5:1-5, The Message)

Believer, don't try to make this world your permanent home. It's passing away! Live to the full, give each day your best for the glory of God. Announce the Kingdom of God to those with whom you live, but keep Heaven in your heart.
________________________

O, heaven is in my heart,
O, heaven is in my heart.

The kingdom of our God is here,
Heaven is in my heart.
The presence of His majesty,
Heaven is in my heart.
And in His presence joy abounds,
Heaven is in my heart.

The light of holiness surrounds,
Heaven is in my heart.
His precious life on me He spent,
Heaven is in my heart.
To give me life without an end,
Heaven is in my heart.

In Christ is all my confidence,
Heaven is in my heart.
The hope of my inheritance,
Heaven is in my heart.
We are a temple for His throne,
Heaven is in my heart.

And Christ is the foundation stone,
Heaven is in my heart.
He will return to take us home,
Heaven is in my heart.
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"
Heaven is in my heart.

© 1991 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services) CCLI License No. 810055