Givers and Takers

This morning I received an email notifying me of a deposit, my bi-weekly compensation from the church. Who doesn’t like deposits in their account? I also received an email notifying me that my October mortgage payment is due on the 5th. So, I’ll enjoy having those funds in my account for a few days before transferring them to Megabank Corporation! Those transactions made me think about the larger scheme of life, asking myself about how I interact with other people.
Am I a giver or a taker?
Do I make deposits of resources into their lives or take from them?
Do I leave people around me richer or poorer?

Givers bring encouraging words, help and cooperation, prayer, and even resources. We look forward to interactions with them, don’t we? Takers drain us. They whine, criticize, or shuffle their responsibilities onto our shoulders.

There are differing seasons in our lives when the balance tends to shift. In times of stress, illness, or temptation our net effect is often that of taking. We need to be able to draw from others, taking strength. But, when we are healthy – emotionally, physically, and spiritually – are we ready to defy the human tendency to hoard; ready to give from the resources that God invests in us?

The book of Acts introduces us to a man who was so generous, that the nickname given to him by church leaders became the name by which he was widely known. The first time we learn about him we read: "There was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles." (Acts 4:36-37, NLT) Barnabas wasn’t known for his eloquence, his authority, or his deep spiritual insights. He was known for being an encourager! He was a man who was loyal to friends, and generous in every way. When the early church was skeptical about Paul’s new-found faith, Barney stood by him and vouched for the genuineness of his transformation. His great heart clearly made a positive difference wherever he went. One passage tells us that "When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord." (Acts 11:23-25, NLT)

Jude, in his short letter, contrasts takers and givers, calling on us to share ourselves generously. Of those who are a negative draw, he has these strong words of warning: “They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots. …These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want." (Jude 12, 16, NLT)

And, then he urges us to an entirely different kind of life: "But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love. And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering." (Jude 20-22, NLT)

So, friend, which will you be today – a giver or a taker?

Here’s a word from the Word.
"God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God." (2 Corinthians 9:8-11, NLT)

Lord, impress it on us and as we receive your gifts, let us give ourselves away. Amen.

All neatly wrapped, no loose ends

Good fiction writers draw us into their stories by creating tension. They set up a conflict, some situation that needs to be resolved. Then they take us through the details, building suspense, until finally they close the loop and reveal to us how it all works out. In the final pages or the closing scenes, we put together the pieces complete the storyline. Childhood fairy tales have that tag, “And they all lived happily ever after.”

Our lives are a story! We make plans, only to find that circumstances change, and our strategies must be adjusted to the new reality. Millions of Americans who had plans for retirement found their playbook re-written by the near collapse of the national economy last year. In weeks many found their net worth cut in half! The man leading our men’s meeting last night talked about the ways in which the plans for his life and marriage were rewritten by the birth of a profoundly disabled daughter. Her needs changed all the plans! He pointed out ways in which God’s purposes are accomplished through his daughter’s disability, but one question remains for him, “Lord, wasn’t there another way for Your will to be done?” I’ve asked the same question hundreds of times about developments in my life and the lives of people in my pastoral care. Situations involving suffering and loss like these plead for resolution. We ask, “Why is this happening? When do the various threads get pulled together so that it all gets neatly wrapped up with no loose ends?” The real answer – “Perhaps not until Heaven!” This is why faith is so critically important, disciple.

In 2 Corinthians, we read about the struggles of life. "While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh!” (2 Corinthians 5:4, NLT) Isn’t that the truth? In that same passage, we are reminded that eternal life awaits, new bodies given to us after the Resurrection that are not subject to any of the limitations or frustrations of this present world! "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. … God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit." (2 Corinthians 5:1,5, NLT) Then comes this line - "We live by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7, NIV)

There are things in this life that will never be tied up with a pretty bow of neat explanations! It is faith in the unseen, as yet unrealized promises of God, that carries us and keeps us. It is not a fairytale that we will ‘live happily ever after!’ In the book of the Revelation, we are assured that there is a Rest for the faithful!
"Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16-17, NIV) The soothing hand of our Father will caress our face, and when we share His eternal wisdom, our broken hearts will find peace, every question then finally answered! Lord, give eyes of faith that see beyond today.

Disciple, take the word of the ancient prophet with you today. He spoke them to the people of God who were going into a 70 year long captivity in a foreign land. Many said that Judah would never rise again. But, God assured them of different facts, based in His reality, not theirs.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14, NIV)

Stay faithful. He has a plan and He will bring us from this exile to our Eternal Home!
______________


Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed,
He'll prepare for us a place.

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we'll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open,
We shall tread the streets of gold.

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We'll sing and shout the victory.

When We All Get To Heaven

Hewitt, Eliza E. / Wilson, Emily D.
© Public Domain

Saint Jerry?

I really want to be a saint! St. Jerry has such a cool sound to it. Don’t you agree? Forget the Rev. thing. Just make me a saint. You think I’m joking? I’m totally serious. Actually sainthood is not so farfetched. In fact, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, that status is available to me.

Sainthood is not about comparison with other people. Using that measure, we can all find those much worse, think mass murderers, etc.; alongside of which we all come off as really nice people! But measure my alongside of that of Mother Theresa and my star dims considerably.

Sainthood is not about earning kudos from others, either. I think I could find at least 4 people who would write a letter on my behalf. (I have 4 kids who love me!) But then, I suppose, there would those who I have offended along the way who would be compelled to write and set the record straight!

Sainthood is not about compiling a record of good works or holy deeds. OK, now you’re stumped right? Didn’t you think this saint thing was exactly that? Well, it is, kind of. Saints do those kind of things, but it is because they are saints, not what makes them saints. Ministering to people in need creates a real positive buzz. Saints ought to do things like volunteer to serve in the local fire department, go visit those who confined in sick beds, offer to coach Little League, give of their resources to church and charity, join the Peace Corp, be kind to children, adopt a dog from the local animal shelter… are you exhausted yet? But, if you could earn a 'saint' certificate the question becomes, when do you reach the point of getting the award?

The Scripture speaks frequently about being a ‘saint.’ Here’s the deal, disciple. God declares you and me to be saints, not because we’re good enough, but because Christ Jesus imputes (gives us status we cannot earn) his perfect righteousness to us. In common terms, we are saints because of Who we know, not because of what we do! Yes, I really am St. Jerry, though the practical evidence of that status is still being worked out in my life. The Bible says we are, "beloved of God, called to be saints." (Romans 1:7, NKJV) Repeatedly in his letters to the churches scattered across the Roman Empire, Paul addresses ‘the saints.’ Take a look. "The Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will." (Romans 8:27, NIV) He opens his letters often with this phrase: "to the saints… the faithful in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 1:1, NIV)

So, we ask, did that first century Church have a lot of very holy, especially wonderful, extraordinarily spiritually gifted people? Yes, and no. They were Christians just like you and me- some days very good and some days, not so holy at all – but always saints. Here’s what we must never forget: a saint is a person who is called to be one of God's own people, whose sins are forgiven in Christ Jesus, and in whom the Spirit of God is presently at work! All those who are ‘in Christ’ are saints. Sainthood is "Not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship..."

Summing up I’d say, we aren't saints because we're better than someone else, or because some church nominates us for a special fraternity, or because we have checked off a certain number of boxes in the good works ledger! We are saints because He called us to be saints. Peter reminds us of the work of the Holy Trinity that is doing a transformational work in us. "I am writing to God's chosen people [saints] . . . God the Father chose you long ago, and the Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Jesus Christ and are cleansed by his blood." (1 Peter 1:1-2 NLT)

So, dear saint... yes, YOU... give thanks today for that high and holy calling. Focus on the faithfulness of the One who called you into His holy family. Then, make it your intent to conform your life to your true identity as one of God's own saints. "I beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace." (Ephesians 4:1-3, NLT)

St. Jerry - I really like that!
_________________________


How firm a foundation,
Ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
In His excellent word!
What more can He say
Than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge
To Jesus have fled?

Fear not; I am with thee.
O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God,
I will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
And cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious,
Omnipotent hand.

How Firm A Foundation
Keith, George / Steele, Anne / Rippon John / Funk, Joseph© Public Domain


By the way, saints belong in church on the Lord's Day. If you’re in the Washington, NJ area – join us this Sunday at 10:15 AM!If you out of the area, you can join us via the web at our webcast link found at http://www.WashingtonAG.com

How to break Jesus’ heart

Heart breakers are people who build up expectations, make promises, say all the right things; and then, leave! Just about everyone knows heart break sometime in life. When my daughters were teenagers, I dreaded knowing that some boy would sweet talk them, promise them forever, and then two weeks later, walk off, leaving them with a broken heart! And, it happened. No matter how much love their Mom and I poured into them, it took time for them to recover, to realize that their life was not over at age 16! In my pastoral ministry, people in my care have brought a broken heart into my office because a spouse left for another. Men and women, alike, cry when love fails.

Did you know that we can break the heart of our Lord? It’s true! In the book of the Revelation, Christ Jesus speaks to seven churches about their successes and failures. The church in Ephesus was a good church. I think I would have really liked being their pastor! They were hard-working, didn’t give up with things got tough, knew their doctrine, and remained holy. Who wouldn’t like a church like that? But, despite all this good stuff, they broke the Lord’s heart! How? I quote His words: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." (Revelation 2:4, NIV) The passion was gone, the joy replaced by dutiful service! Jesus Christ wants more than our good works, more than our showing up in church, more than our paying our tithe! Who knew? He wants us to love Him!

There’s an old song that includes these lyrics: “You don't bring me flowers. You don't sing me love songs! You hardly talk to me anymore when you come through the door at the end of the day.” (Neil Diamond) It’s a song about heart break, not because the relationship was over, but because the passion had become a “used to be.” Have you allowed your love for the Lord to cool? Are you staying holy, going to church, reading your Bible – but failing to give Him time, failing to talk life over with Him in prayer, failing to seek His guidance for each day? Love demands TIME more than anything!

Jesus went on to call on those disciples to change. His prescription for them included three words: Remember! Repent! Repeat! "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent, and do the things you did at first." (Revelation 2:5, NIV) Have you settled for a religion? Are you content with orthodoxy, ritual, and discipline? They are all good things in their place. We need solid doctrine to keep us from falling into deception. We need ritual that comforts us and keeps us from being distracted by silly fads that come and go in our churches. We need discipline that sustains us when emotion ebbs. And, we need to stoke the fire of passion for Jesus Christ, to love Him with our “heart, soul, mind, and strength!”

I don’t want to be heart-breaker! So, I am going to - Remember! Repent! Repeat!

"The Lord protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked." (Psalm 145:20, NLT)
_____________

I'm calling out to You;
There must something more,
some deeper place to find,
some secret place to hide,
where I've not gone before!

Where my soul is satisfied
and my sin is put to death;
and I can hear Your voice
and Your purpose is my choice,
as natural as a breath.

The Love I knew before,
when You first touched my life;
I need You to restore,
I want You to revive!

Could You place in my heart,
A passion for Jesus;
A hunger that seizes
my passion for You?
My one desire,
my greatest possession
My only confession,
my passion for You!

Passion for Jesus
Brian Houston
1999 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
CCLI License No. 810055

A visionary or just a dreamer?

Driving long distances has one benefit for an easily distracted person like me: it allows time for focused thought! Yesterday I spent about 5 hours in my car alone. That’s a lot of thinking! I prayerfully thought about the direction and health of the church I pastor. What is God’s purpose for us? Which ministries are aligned to that purpose? Which exist simply because ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it?’ Where do we need to strengthen? Are there programs we should cut? The right answers to those questions depends on something called, vision; which is the ability to see a reality that is yet in the making. Some people are visionary and others are just dreamers! That is why I sincerely prayed: “Lord, protect me from simply dreaming up schemes and fill me with Your insight for this church.”

You need God’s vision for your life. Without one, you will drift with the currents of fads and fashion. Vision keeps a nation, a church, and yes; a life, on course. When I get discouraged one of the reasons I persevere is because of the vision God gave me about serving Him. A long time ago, when I just a teenage boy, He called me to serve Him in His church. I wasn’t too excited about this line of work! I knew that vocational ministry was a lifestyle more than a job, that the pay not all that great, and the burden of dealing with spiritual issues sometimes heavy. But, I also ‘saw’ the chance to help people discover God’s plans. God helped me to ‘see’ the intangible rewards, things like the joy that I would share when a life in ruins was restored by God’s love and grace expressed through me. That vision has kept me faithful to the Call.

God spoke to Habbakuk about vision and said,
“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." (Habakkuk 2:2-3, NKJV) What He told the prophet remains important for us.

Vision needs to be refined and defined!
Vision must be preserved and shared.
Vision may not see fulfillment for a long time, but if it is from God,
you can count on it happening!

The Proverb is familiar and oh so true. "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (Proverbs 29:18, KJV) It is even more plain as translated in The Message: "If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed." Some of God’s purposes for us are revealed in His Word; things like living with integrity in our work, fidelity to our marriage, making His kingdom authority our number one priority in life. And, then there is His promise to give us a vision and gifts of the Spirit to bring it to fulfillment.

So, what’s your purpose, God’s vision for your life?
There is no question that is more important. Are you asking it?

__________________

Be Thou my Vision,
O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me,
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought,
By day or by night,
Waking or sleeping,
Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom,
And Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father,
I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling,
And I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not,
Nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance,
Now and always:
Thou and Thou only,
First in my heart,
High King of heaven,
My Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven,
My victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys,
O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart,
Whatever befall,
Still be my Vision,
O Ruler of all.

Be Thou My Vision

Hull, Eleanor / Byrne, Mary E.
© Public Domain

It’s a heart health issue!

There was the outburst of Rep. Wilson, the congressman who shouted “you lie!” at the President in the House. There was the foul-mouthed tirade of Serena Williams at the US Open Tennis Tournament. There was Kanye West jumping on stage to take the mic from the hands of Taylor Swift as she celebrated her award to declare to the world that he thought another artist deserved it. And, there were two young guys who cursed me rudely yesterday when I spoke to them!

What’s up with this rudeness? Is it something new? No, not really, despite all the hand-wringing of the pundits. I agree with George Will, who opined yesterday, that Americans feel entitled to say whatever is on their mind without the restraints of social rules. If we think it, we believe we can and should say it. This ‘openness’ is a developing trend, but I know that contempt for others that spills over in rude, hateful, or biased words is as old as humanity!

If we want our words to change, Jesus diagnoses the real source of the problem, the place where the change starts. “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously." (Matthew 12:34-36, The Message) When anger is boiling deep inside, angry words will inevitably spill over. If filthy fantasies are harbored and savored in the dark corners of our mind, it should not surprise us when we speak foul words. If we hang onto prejudice and hatred in our attitudes, no matter how carefully we filter our speech, eventually others will know the truth about us. Here’s the fact, disciple: We cannot change the content of our speech by putting a lock on our lips.

Got a speech problem? Are you fighting to hold back your words? Do you work hard at having two vocabularies, one for your Christian friends and one for the working world? That is a heart health issue, disciple. God desires real change. The Word demands that we become people whose words are full of healing! Take a look. "Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior." (Ephesians 4:29-32, NLT)

The Spirit will change our hearts, if we allow Him full access. Will it be an easy process? Probably not. It involves honesty with ourselves and God. We must stop making excuses, acknowledge the truth about who we are, what we say, and what we do. The Word promises that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NIV) Listen to your words. Do they cut, wound, bruise, and batter? Or do they build up, encourage, and bring healing?

Here’s a word from the Word. Let’s make it our prayer and ask God to make our speech noticeably different, marked by Heaven’s accent!

"How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.

Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:12-14, NLT)

Are you secure? Are you sure?

Have you traveled by air recently? While I know that screening travelers is a good thing, some of the process is downright silly! On a recent trip to Florida my Mom; who is 73, about 5’ tall, and weighs about 100 lbs., accompanied Bev and me. She had a hip replaced three years ago and it tripped the detectors. She was pulled from the line and subjected to a complete search. One man following me in the line, laughed out loud and remarked, "Oh, she looks like a terrorist for sure!" But, the TSA screeners are not allowed discretion so as to minimize the risk of error. Thus, the silliness of subjecting my Mom to a pat-down! And yet, for all the appearances of security, I accept that a truly determined terrorist could still create death and destruction if he wanted to.

I am sometimes amused and sometimes annoyed by the things that government and institutions do to create an appearance of security. We want assurances that we are safe from terrorists, from crime, from risk of injury, from germs. While I appreciate the importance of minimizing risk, I also know that as long as I am part of this world, there is no way to completely erase the possibility of being harmed by the unforeseen. Accidents happen!

But there is one security that is not at risk- my eternal salvation! With Paul I say, "I know Whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV) In another passage, he asserts, "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)
In Christ alone is my security. I do not trust my own goodness, nor do I put faith in my heritage. I have no confidence in my ability to impress God with my holiness. I put my hope in His promise, assured by the Cross that my sins are forgiven and by the Resurrection that I will live in my Father’s house.

Are you fearful, disciple? Do the threats of life trouble you, robbing you of peace?
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!... He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2, NIV) "Sat down" indicates that the work is finished, the objective of securing our salvation is complete!

Here’s a word from the Word to take with you today.
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7, NIV)
_____________

In the name of Jesus
Our salvation lies;
He will hear from heaven
To answer ev'ry cry.

By the blood of Jesus,
Sins are washed away;
We sing for joy
To God, our strength,
His banner we wave.

Some may trust in horses,
Some may trust in chariots,
But we will trust
In the name of the Lord.

Some May Trust In Chariots
DeShazo, Lynn
© 1992 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055

Days to Remember

“A day that will live in infamy” was how President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of 12/7/1941, better known as Pearl Harbor Day. It was a defining day for people in my grandparents’ generation. It ushered America into the terrible war that raged around the world for the next 4 years.

My parents’ generation can tell you where they were when they heard that America’s young President, JFK, had been assassinated in Dallas on 11/22/1963. His untimely death was the beginning of social upheaval and great change in America that stretched through the remaining part of that decade.

My generation remembers 9/11/2001! Eight years later I still remember the fear that gripped me when I heard the news of jets crashing into buildings in NYC and DC. 19 terrorists brought hate to us, killed more than 3000 and galvanized our nation to war, which has proven terribly costly in both lives and resources. What I like to remember about that time was the national unity that we enjoyed for a few weeks; tragically then lost to ever greater partisan politics from that day to this.

Personally, we have days to remember, too. Good days- weddings, birth of our children, promotions; bad days- deaths, divorces, job loss. My prayer is that as we remember, we will use our memories to lay a foundation for the future. From our memories come lessons in faith, lessons about choices, course corrections for our lives.

Christianity’s core practice is an act of remembering. Jesus, as He passed the Cup and the Bread to his disciples, told them “Do this in remembrance of me!” Sharing the Lord’s Supper brings us back to the Cross where his sacrifice changed our destiny, opened up God’s Presence to us, and made possible our restoration to our Father. We must never forget the wonderful gift of our salvation. How easily we fall into the ruts of ritual, taking the bread and the wine, without really remembering.

Paul soberly reminds us that "anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. … if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself." (1 Corinthians 11:27, 29, NLT) If we worship without reverence, that which should bless, becomes a curse! We need to approach his table preparing ourselves in true worship and inviting the Spirit to help us to remember as we should.

Do you remember?
"When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:14-20, NIV)

The blessed body of Jesus, broken for me! The precious life of Jesus offered for me! What grace, let us never forget. As much as we love the new and the novel, we cannot, we must not ever forget the ancient, yet ever new, story of Who brought us life.
____________________


When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, My God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Since I, who was undone and lost,
Have pardon through His name and word;
Forbid it, then, that I should boast,
Save in the cross of Christ my Lord.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all.

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
Watts, Isaac / Miller, Edward
© Public Domain

It’s under control!

Since Sam (our Irish Setter) arrived, we have become fans of Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, whose show is on the National Geographic Channel. His insight into dog behavior is amazing. His signature line, “I rehabilitate dogs and train people,” causes me to smile. A common issue for those of us who own dogs is excessive barking in the house. Our canine friends are territorial and believe that they must announce themselves and defend their home with loud, persistent barking. In response to the barking many people yell, “Stop!” only increasing the noise and the barking! Cesar’s solution? Stay quiet and calm. Let your dog know that you have the situation under control, that they don’t have to “defend” because you’re in charge. Don’t project anxiety. Instead, bring calm assertive control that allows your dog to relax. (Worked with Sam!)

Some of us approach life’s challenges like a barking dog! As we sense what looks like a real threat coming our way our levels of anxiety rise and we start to ‘bark.’ We complain. We threaten. We bluff, bluster, and growl. All of our noise only tends to increase the tension, drive away those who might really be of assistance, and deafen us to the voices of reason. Here’s the Truth. Jesus Christ has it all under control!

In our Weds. Bible Study last night, we spent time in the 1st chapter of the Revelation, where John was given a vision of the magnificence of Christ, the King! I was much encouraged by these words. Take a look.

"On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.... I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:9-20, NIV)

Each of those descriptive phrases are important! John wasn’t wasting adjectives.
Jesus was not a monster, but a man.
His long robe signals his nobility!
His golden sash speaks of his priestly office.
His white hair is a mark of wisdom, his fiery eyes speak to his piercing insight!
His feet like bronze assure us that he can tread on his enemies and that voice is one of command authority!
His words go right to the source of life, "sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey." (Hebrews 4:12, The Message)

But it is the final line that is best for with it He says, “It’s ALL under control!” Here’s what it says again: "Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave." (Revelation 1:17-18, NLT) The greatest threat, the ultimate ‘enemy’ is death and Jesus says, “I’m greater even than death, holding complete authority to grant eternal life!”

When Sam starts to bark at the front door, I follow Cesar’s advice. I call her to me, have her sit, and touch her, while speaking calmly. Her focus is switched from the ‘threat’ outside to me, the guy in charge! How about letting Jesus take control of your life? When you feel threatened, turn your attention to the One who is “First and Last!” Take time out to re-focus, to trust His wisdom, to acknowledge that even when you are clueless – He knows it all.

Here’s a word from the Word. Receive it, believe it, live it!

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:1-3, NIV)

Even a pickle glows!

John Ortberg, in his book, God Is Closer Than You Think, makes a wonderful point about being empowered by God. He brought an electrical engineer to church to conduct an experiment. "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 of power."

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. How can I, a man so prone to failure, even hope to help others find the new life that the Word calls us to live? When I stop to think about the privileged responsibility that is mine to stand before a congregation to teach God’s truths, I am quickly sobered. But, I also know this: 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, the Word says 'when we are weak, He is strong!'

Just before He ascended to Heaven, leaving a little group of all-too-ordinary people to carry on the work of the Kingdom, Jesus promised, "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 (Acts 2) telling us that a few days later, the Holy Spirit flowed into that Upper Room and rested on those men and women in a life-transforming way. Were they made perfect in that instant? Hardly. In Acts, which tells the story of the first generation of Christians, we read of their disagreements, watch them work through misunderstandings, and cringe as they deal with sin. Through it all, we see them filled with God's power, again and again. 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 a little overwhelmed by life today, wondering if you’re up to doing anything useful for the Lord? Have you failed Him in some way? Are you discouraged by what appears to be more problems than answers, more need than resource?

Remind yourself to remain totally dependent on His power and see what He will do with you. Before you give in to that temptation to quit, find some time to get alone with the Word and wait on the Lord. Those first disciples had to wait in the Upper Room for days. God, the Holy Spirit, came in HIS time, not theirs!

Remember, even a pickle glows when it's plugged into a current.

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)

Make it beautiful!

While mowing the lawn yesterday, I whistled and smiled which is not always my mood when I am engaged in that task. Why the happiness? Because I was thinking what a privilege it was to be able to make my little ½ acre a little more attractive in this corner of the world. Whether we are speaking of the state of our lawn or our heart, we need to remember that it takes effort to create beauty! Weeds grow quite well without fertilizer, don’t they? Sin flourishes similarly in my heart. Rebellion, envy, and selfishness spring up just like the dandelions that seem to appear overnight. When the rain does not fall, the grass in my lawn dries up, but the broadleaf plantain does just fine! Without consistent water of the Word, the fruit of the Spirit withers in my life, but the sinful nature does just fine!

I love Isaiah’s prophecy about the beautiful destiny of those who are the people of God. He says that He will "provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:3, NIV)

Now, note the response of those so loved. "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." (Isaiah 61:10-11, NIV)

Pray that the Lord will make your life one in which the “beauty of His holiness” is on display today. Don’t confuse the pinched, self-created ‘holiness’ taught by some with the real holiness of the Lord. There is a kind of holiness that focuses on the superficial, that is built solely around rigid regulations of human behavior. It is ugly! Jesus, when interacting with the Pharisees, who specialized in external forms of ‘holiness,’ said that they were “whitewashed tombs!” In scathing terms He rejected their ‘holiness’ as anything but good or godly.
"Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, … You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required." (Matthew 23:5-6, 23, The Message)

Let me leave you with a promise of greater Glory! As you read these words I invite you to give the Lord full access to every corner of your life. Invite Him to prune and beautify, so that His beauty is on full display today.
"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:9-11, NIV)
_______________

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity;
O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine
‘Til the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

Public Domain—Orsborn

Persistent influence

Reading an account of America’s journey from segregation, I have been intrigued by the courage and vision shown by a few in the face of the prejudice of the many! Though the Civil War brought about the end of legal slavery in 1863 with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, basic attitudes about race remained largely unchanged in the United States for the next one hundred years. A combination of factors converged following the Second World War that culminated in the erosion and end of ‘separate but equal’ laws. They were used to keep black Americans from education, achievement, and real power in society. In the 1950’s Chief Justice Earl Warren led the US Supreme Court through a series of decisions that gradually transformed the racial policies of the nation by tearing away the fictions that hid attitudes of racial superiority that kept “Jim Crow” laws in place.

Today, in my wife’s classroom of 20 first graders, the students look like an assembly of the United Nations! African Americans, those with Asian heritage, those descended from European ancestors, and children of Indian immigrants sit side by side, without animosity, without assumptions! Such is the result of persistent influence! This is not an exercise in forced diversity. It is genuine community.

The Scripture teaches disciples of Christ about God’s disregard for race or color as a qualifier for His favor and salvation. ALL stand equally before Him in Christ. "For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NLT)

Disciple, prejudice remains a part of the sinful nature! We must treat that sin like any other; name it, confess it, and be rid of it. Sadly, the Church has been a co-conspirator in oppression and prejudice too often down through history. History is replete with situations where this sin has been silently accepted by otherwise wonderful disciples of Jesus Christ. Their attitudes sometimes were rooted in ignorance, and even more tragically were sometimes supported by willful blindness.

Here’s a word from the Word for your meditation today. It’s a glorious vision for His Church. May our persistent influence be felt in all the earth.
"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:1-6, NIV)

Walking in their shoes

“I wish I had given Dad those shaves,” I sniffled last night. He’s been gone since February, so my wife was baffled, by both my emotion and cryptic remark. She hugged me and gently asked, “What’s wrong, Hon?” I explained that because of my fever and upper respiratory infection, I laid around for two days. I didn’t get showered and shaved as I do every morning. Finally last night when I did, it felt so good, so “normal.” I remembered that when my Dad was confined to his bed in those last months of his life that he used to ask me to give him a shave. Often I’d respond, “Come on, Dad. You look fine.” Only yesterday, too late, did I realize that his desire to be shaved was not about whiskers, but about reclaiming some kind of “normal” in his life. One of his daily rituals for 50+ years was to shave in the early morning.

Are you prone to suggest, by your words or actions, that another’s problems are not really as bad as they think? The old proverb that suggests we should not judge another until we “walk a mile in his moccasins” comes to mind! What is of little significance to us, may be of real importance to another. Just because we do not or cannot understand, does not give us the right to be dismissive. Yet, we often are. That person struggling with addiction needs empathy as much as instruction! The one depressed because of a debilitating illness needs more than ‘the facts.’ They need us to genuinely care about how they are coping.

The Word urges us to be responsible for ourselves and for one another.
"Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct." (Galatians 6:2-5, NLT) Most of us tend to slide to one extreme or the other. Either we care so deeply that we give them ‘smother love’ which fails to help them move in the direction of being strong and self-sufficient, or we don’t care enough and refuse to share the burdens of life, perhaps giving just a nod towards the need while expecting them to find their own way.

When you extend a hand to another, include empathy; a genuine appreciation of the emotional context of the other person’s need. In this we show to others a love of the quality that Christ has shown us. "Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!" (Philippians 2:5-7, The Message)

Here’ a word from the Word to think over today.
"If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12, NIV)
______________

Lord, give us genuine compassion for others,
the ability to see not only their expressed need,
but also the content of their heart.
Help us to open our hearts and our ears,and so to become people that love as You love.Amen!

What a way to live!

One night in April, 2000, little Joy, age 4, really had to go to the bathroom so her Mommy pulled over on the wrong side of the unnamed country road in Texas. The little girl threw open the passenger side door that was facing the road, jumped out, and stepped into Heaven, hit and instantly killed by a pickup truck driving without lights. The truck did not stop. Joy’s family was, as anyone can imagine, inconsolable in their grief. Then, two days later her father, Grover Norwood, learned that the truck had been found. It belonged to an old friend. What would this Christian man do?

He drove to the man’s home, opened his arms, and hugged him while they both wept! Later, he went to the grand jury hearing where he asked that his friend not be indicted, as he had suffered enough! Then, Grover headed up a group from two local churches, one African-American where his friend attended, one white where he attended, and built a new home for the man who had killed his little girl. It’s a true story, told on a new DVD called, “The Heart of Texas.”

Some people hold Christianity as a nice ideal that they neatly separate from day to day life. It’s fine to sing about loving their neighbor in church and to ‘love’ some needy person far away by contributing to the missions fund. But, to let the commands of Jesus speak to their Monday morning choices? Well, that’s just impractical. It’s what leads to some mocking Christians for hypocrisy! Grover Norwood made some very tough choices because he lived his faith. He forgave fully. Some call him a fool. I think he’s an incredibly wise man!

Remember the WWJD craze of the last decade? That, if you have forgotten, stands for What Would Jesus Do? Some made fun of the whole thing as simplistic, but it’s not a bad idea. Like many good ideas, it turned superficial with bracelets and jingles. The concept, however, is a Biblical one. The main mission of every disciple is to be the hands of Jesus in his world. We need to study the Scripture, integrate our faith into life, and live as Christ would live – loving wholly, forgiving completely, rejecting superficiality, embracing God’s reality!

The Word is not just an ideal! It is our life, the very source of God’s wisdom about how to conduct ourselves in this world. "You must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." (2 Timothy 3:14-17, NLT)

My Dad called an integrated faith - ‘practical Christian living.’ What a way to live.

Here’s a prayer of David. Let’s make it ours.

"My theme song is God’s love and justice, and I’m singing it right to you, God.
I’m finding my way down the road of right living, but how long before you show up?
I’m doing the very best I can, and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.

I refuse to take a second look at corrupting people and degrading things.
I reject made-in-Canaan gods, stay clear of contamination.
The crooked in heart keep their distance; I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.
I put a gag on the gossip who bad-mouths his neighbor; I can’t stand arrogance. But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people— they’re the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow— these are the ones I want at my side."

(Psalm 101:1-6, The Message)
_________________________

There is a candle
In ev'ry soul
Some brightly burning,
Some dark and cold.
There is a Spirit
Who brings a fire,
Ignites a candle
And makes His home.

Frustrated brother,
See how he's tried to
Light his own candle
Some other way.
See how your sister,
She's been robbed and lied to,
She holds a candle without a flame.

So carry your candle,
Run to the darkness,
Seek out the hopeless,
Confused and torn.
Hold out your candle
For all to see it.
Take your candle
And go light your world.

We are a fam'ly
Whose hearts are blazing.
So let's raise our candles
And light up the sky.
Praying to our Father
In the name of Jesus,
"Make us a beacon in darkest times!"

Go Light Your World
Rice, Chris© 1995 BMG Songs, Inc. (Admin. by BMG Music Publishing)
CCLI License No. 810055

______________________

Jerry D. Scott - Sr. Pastor

WASHINGTON ASSEMBLY of GOD
33 Brass Castle Road - Washington, NJ 07882

Know-it-all!

24 years ago, when personal computers were still uncommon, I bought one. Tech support and standards were non-existent so owning one was an adventure. I decided to upgrade my computer, confident in my knowledge. My exploration inside the box ended with a inoperable machine! Someone who knew more than I did, told me that I had created something called an IRQ conflict by failing to properly set some jumper switches on the card I was installing. Basically, I had two pieces of hardware using the same electronic address, which led to my PC freezing up. In that moment I realized I didn’t know as much as I thought I knew. My proficiency has grown since then as I am capable of learning!

God is a true Know-it-all, in very best sense!
Nothing surprises Him. No situation baffles Him. What a glorious assurance. Pondering this, my response is akin to that of David who sang, "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!" (Psalm 139:1-6, NLT)

The Scripture tells us that even as He knows what is happening, He promises to help us while events are unfolding. The LORD is capable - amazingly so - of taking the circumstances of life and bringing them into line with His purposes. Doesn’t it make sense to trust Him, even as we work with Him, to see His plans brought to completion? Paul says, "...the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. ... 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." (Romans 8:26-28, NLT) Yes, that, too, is ‘too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!’

God’s omniscience (knowing all) does not relieve you and me of our responsibility to intentionally live within His will. He has invested the gift of us in us. So, James urges us to make this choice: "Look here, you people who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit." How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." (James 4:13-17, NLT)

When we make our own plans without prayer, without seeking the Lord's guidance, we may fall into the sin of living outside of the will of God, something He knew in advance we would do, and still allows us to do it! Yes, that, too, is ‘too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!’

Are you wondering what the next step should be?
Has your life froze up after you tinkered with things, messing them up?
Don’t despair! Ask the best Know-it-all for guidance.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5, NIV)

Here’s a word from the Word. I pray that as you think it over that the truth will bring you great assurance today. “I am the Alpha and the Omega— (The A to Z!) the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:8, NLT)

____________________

Spirit of GodDescend upon my heart,
wean it from earth,
through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness mighty as Thou art,
and make me love Thee
as I ought to love.

Hast Thou not bid us
love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own --
soul, heart, and strength and mind.
I see Thy cross –
there teach my heart to cling,
O let me seek Thee
and O let me find.

Teach me to feel that
Thou art always nigh,
Teach me the struggles
of the soul to bear ---
To check the rising doubt,
the rebel sigh:
Teach me the patience
of unanswered prayer.


Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
George Croly
Copyright: Public Domain

Old Faithful

At Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming there is a geyser where about once an hour, boiling water shoots to a height of 100’ from a vent in the earth. A combination of a regular water source and the heat from the magma below the surface create the show! What makes this particular geyser notable is not the height of the spout of water and steam, but the predictability, hence the name – “Old Faithful.”

My God is a faithful God! No, He does not always do what I want Him to do, nor does He act on the timetable I create for him! If those things were the measure of His faithfulness I would have to say He is not. However, a lifetime of serving Him causes me say, “He is faithful and true!” His purposes are accomplished, His promises are kept, just not always as I would wish.

When I was a very young and headstrong man, I led my little family on an adventure to a city far from our home and family, certain of my plans and God’s blessing. For a year, my plans were frustrated, my dreams unfulfilled. But, God’s faithfulness enveloped our lives and He used that year to transform my understanding of His grace. A decade after that adventure, I found myself once again living with dreams that were unfulfilled, seemingly without hope or a future; so I thought. Now, 21 years later, when I recall that awful year, I see God was faithful to take my failures and turn them into an opportunity to lead me to greater spiritual maturity and deeper character. While I lost the markers of success in life, my faithful Lord was preserving my family, my heart, my life in Him.

The Word says, "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for He is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:8-9, NLT) Believe it! No experience is beyond His faithfulness. To see His faithful realized in our daily lives, we must ‘walk by faith.’ We must be willing to let Him lead. Should we fail (And we will!) we must turn again to Him, humbling acknowledging our sins, and wait for His purposes to emerge. (And they will!)

The Psalmist sang-
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm." (Psalm 20:4-8, NIV)

Will you trust Him today?
Will you go, steady on, faithfully?
You can trust Him for even "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2:13, NKJV)
____________

As I look back on the road I've traveled,
I see so many times He carried me through.
If there's one thing
That I've learned in this life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My heart rejoices When I read the promise,
"There is a place I am preparing for you."
If there's one thing
That I've learned in this life,
My Redeemer is faithful and true,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My Redeemer is faithful and true.
Everything He has said He will do.
And every morning His mercies are new.
My Redeemer is faithful and true.
My Redeemer is faithful and true,
My Redeemer is faithful and true.

My Redeemer Is Faithful And True

Chapman, Steven Curtis / Elliott, James Isaac© 1986 Sparrow Song (a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing) / Birdwing Music (a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing) / Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc. / Greg Nelson Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
CCLI License No. 810055

Scare-Me Jesus

What does Jesus Christ look like to you? Yes, you most certainly have created an image of Him in your mind. We all do! Usually, that image looks like an idealized version of ourselves. Living in a media age, we may think He looks like James Caviziel, the actor who played the part in “The Passion of the Christ.” He may resemble one of those pictures we saw in our Sunday School papers when we were impressionable children. I fairly certain He doesn’t look at all like the last portrait of Him that we read in the Bible.

Take a look. "Standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance." (Revelation 1:13-16, NLT)

You can admit it. That’s really a frightening picture, isn’t it? John, who saw this Jesus was totally freaked by the vision so much so that he says, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last." (Revelation 1:17, NLT) He was so afraid, he fainted! We need a vision of Jesus Christ that includes that kind of majestic, awful ‘AllMightyness.’

If we conceive of Jesus Christ as a weak, but nice, Man; or a wandering hippie who occasionally did neat tricks like feeding a lot of people with a kid’s lunch; or as an enigmatic figure who spoke in riddles that nobody really understood; or as an ‘out of touch’ holy man who lived with his head in the clouds- we will not seek His wisdom to guide us nor trust Him to keep us. As much as I like nice, kind people when it comes to being led, I want someone who is smart, powerful, and wise out front! Because I live in a complex world, full of sin and suffering, with huge problems, I want to see Jesus like John saw Him – in majesty, in power – in a way that compels me to fall in my face and worship Him! Only then, I will stand up and follow Him with confidence. If my vision of Him is too wimpy or incomplete, I will not be able to abandon myself to His leadership.

The Christian message is full of Jesus’ love, as it should be, but that love is too often unmatched by His majesty. There is a reason that the New Covenant begins with the Gospels that show us the humanity of our Savior and that it closes with the Revelation of Jesus Christ that lets us see Him in His majesty. The first helps us to love Him; the second to follow Him to the ends of the earth. John saw terrible visions of the trials of the Church because of the wickedness of men and the attacks of the Devil, but those visions were matched with this near the end of the book: "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress." (Revelation 19:11-15, NLT)

So, is your vision of Jesus Christ complete?
______________

Be Thou my Vision,
O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me,
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought,
By day or by night,
Waking or sleeping,
Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom,
And Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father,
I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling,
And I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not,
Nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance,
Now and always:
Thou and Thou only,
First in my heart,
High King of heaven,
My Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven,
My victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys,
O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart,
Whatever befall,
Still be my Vision,
O Ruler of all.

Be Thou my shield
And my sword for the fight,
Be Thou my dignity,
Be Thou my might.
Thou my soul's shelter
And Thou my high tow'r,
Raise Thou me heav'nward
O Pow'r of my pow'r.

Be Thou My Vision

Hull, Eleanor / Byrne, Mary E.© Public Domain
CCLI License No. 810055

The “Impossible!”

Just 60 days ago, I wondered if the dismal economy and changing ideals about Christian education was going to force a change in our school, Good Shepherd Christian Academy. Re-enrollment was slow and it did not appear that new students were coming our way. I asked the Lord to make His will plain. “Give me faith and courage to wait to see how You will provide. If You have plans for a new season of new ministry, then show me plainly, Lord!” At first, it seemed Heaven was silent. I have always believed in the absence of clear divine guidance, it is best to maintain course, so that’s what we did! Opening day for GSCA is next Tuesday. It will be the best opening day we have seen in several years in terms of total numbers of students. This is a credit to the Lord’s goodness and to many faithful people who believed, trusted, waited, prayed, and perspired in preparation!

Abraham was told by God that he would be fathers of nations, whose descendants would be innumerable. Then, nothing happened for years! At age 84 he had no son with his primary wife, Sarah, who was also well past child-bearing years. It comforts me to know that his faith wavered. He chose, with Sarah’s agreement, to take a surrogate wife, Hagar, in an attempt to help the LORD keep His promise. The son born to that union was Ishmael, who caused no small trouble for Abraham in years to come. In one of the Bible’s great faith stories, we learn that Abe and Sally had a son when they were old enough to be in an extended care facility! "It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them." (Hebrews 11:11-12, NLT)

Eugene Petersen diagnoses spiritual disease that causes us to try to help God to keep His word: “irreligiosa sollicitudo pro Deo; a blasphemous anxiety to do God’s work for Him.” (The Gift, Zondervan) We need to take note of an important sub-text in Abraham’s story that instructs us well in our own walk of faith!

Abe didn’t try to ‘make God give him a son!’ He heard a promise that God made and then waited in expectant faith. His faith was not in himself or his own dreams. It was fixed on the word of Yahweh, the Lord. The key to great faith is not screaming at God in the moment of desperation, but in listening to God. When the unexplainable, the unfathomable, the unexpected comes our way, the best first response is attentive silence. When he was puzzled by the circumstances around him, young Samuel was coached by the old prophet to open his ears with this simple prayer: “Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10, NLT) When we hear God’s word of promise, sweet peace results even in the middle of the storm. He doesn’t always say what we want to hear. His will is always best.

If you’re up against a wall, try fasting; and I’m not talking food. Try fasting words, complaint, even demands. Quiet your heart, take authority over your emotions, and wait! Meditate on the Word, especially Psalms of promise and hope like the 37th and the 40th. Go contemplate the works of God. Meditate on the Cross.

Stressed out today? Here’s a word from the Word for your meditations.
"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength." (Isaiah 30:15, NIV)
______________


Someone said that in each life
Some rain is bound to fall.
Each one sheds his share of tears
And trouble troubles us all;
But the hurt can’t hurt forever,
And the tears will surely dry!

And it won’t rain always,
The clouds will soon be gone.
The sun that they’ve been hiding
Has been there along.
And it won’t rain always,
God’s promises are true.
The sun’s gonna shine, in God’s own good time
And He will see you through;
The sun’s gonna shine in God’s own good time
And He will see you through!

It Won’t Rain Always
Copyright Allison Durham Speer

Goodbye, Ted!

Senator Edward Kennedy died this morning after a long year of dealing with the ravages of brain cancer. The articles that summed up his 77 years mentioned his great moments and his failures. He was a leading member of the US Senate, who was especially productive on behalf of the poor. In his youth, he had his share of forgettable episodes including getting kicked out of Harvard for cheating and leaving the scene of an accident in which a young woman died. He lived long enough to put those days behind him. Whether you liked his politics or not, you have to admit that since 1992, he had become one of America’s leaders who shaped the nation. Now, he gives account to the One whose judgment matters most.

Psalm 90 is blunt about 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) Whether we are 20 or 70, there is Scriptural precedent for pondering one's dying day! Psalm 90:12 says "... teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." (NKJV) Keeping an eye on the calendar, watching the days as they move from future, to present, to past, is a means of becoming wise. Life moves by at the same pace for us all, day by fleeting day, as the Bible says- 'like grass that springs up in the morning.' That fact should not frighten us for, in Christ, we have assurance of life beyond this terrestrial plane. However, brevity should motivate us! We are compelled to make this day matter.

Don't be one of those foolish people who thinks he can outrun death. Without being morbid, thank God for this day and let the reminders from your aching joints cause you to live well in this world and 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) Before you make that choice today, think! It could be your last. If your heart stopped while you saying or doing whatever it is you’re considering, would you want that thing to be the last line in your eulogy? Get your life in order.

Let the grace of Christ remove the fear of death and take the love of Christ as your guide in all things, thus transforming the choices made today. There is no better advice than this: ‘Let no debt remains outstanding.' Say the things that need to be said. Pray the prayers that are waiting to be prayed. Do what must be done. In this, there is readiness for that moment of mystery when mortal puts on immortality.
__________________________

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed,
He'll prepare for us a place.

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we'll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open,
We shall tread the streets of gold.

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We'll sing and shout the victory.

When We All Get To Heaven

Hewitt, Eliza E. / Wilson, Emily D.© Public Domain

The greatest cause of failure

For 26 long years he brought up the same subject in the Parliament. His colleagues mocked him, accusing him of losing his common sense to religious fervor. The business establishment threatened that his idealism would destroy the economy. Stress took a toll on his health and he aged far beyond his years as a result of carrying on what the majority of people at the time believed to be a fool’s crusade. But, William Wilberforce would not quit! Using wit and wisdom, he turned the issue of slave trade into the talk of England. Finally in 1807, this great Christian succeeded in getting the House of Commons to vote to end slave trade. The Crown agreed and a vile practice came to an end. This wealthy man, first elected to Parliament at age 21, nearly left politics to become a pastor but, urged by his friends, he did not quit the fight and his persistence changed history!

We each can tell stories about times when life’s difficulties became monstrous, when quitting seemed the only option. When we’re taking a beating, it may seem only reasonable to throw in the towel and end the match. “How much more can I take before I break?” we think to ourselves. I wonder if Joseph wondered if he would break under pressure anytime along his long, circuitous route to becoming Prime Minister in Egypt? His brothers sold him into slavery, motivated less by greed than hatred. The wife of his owner, Potiphar, tried to seduce him and when he resisted her, falsely accused him of rape, leading to a long prison sentence! A man he befriended and helped in prison, forgot all about him when released. But, he kept his dreams and his faith in God. He refused to become a bitter cynic. When given the ‘perfect’ opportunity to settle the score, he forgave those who hurt him the most. And, after years of disappointment, he saw God’s promises fulfilled as he provided safety for his people.

The Bible urges disciples to keep their faith.
"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36, NLT)

The greatest cause for failure is quitting too soon. Don’t confuse persistence with stubbornness! A stubborn person keeps on doing the same thing, refusing to adapt and learn, thinking himself above advice. He perpetuates his failure! A persistent one studies his plans, prays fervently, listens well – and keeps trying, and trying, and trying – until he finds a way to do what he was born to do.

Take this thought with you today and think it through.
"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
(Hebrews 12:1-3, NIV)
______________

Lord, You have shown Yourself to be
Never changing, always faithful!
Lord, You have shown Your heart for me
The loving touch of a caring Father,
In every day that passes,
And all the world's distractions,
Through seasons and life's changes,
You always remain -
Faithful to me.

With Your...
Perfect love, perfect love
casts out all fear and shows me, that every word and promise to me
Will be fulfilled, will be fulfilled.

Faithful, You are faithful!
Faithful, faithful, faithful!

Faithful - Eoghan HeaslipCCLI License No. 810055

The prickly nature of the truth

Last Friday, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, voted to accept homosexual men and women who are living in monogamous relationships into the ordained ministry.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082100532.html
(This blog is not about bashing homosexuals or the ELCA, so please read to the end. There’s a point in here for all of us.) Here’s the deal. I understood the compassion that spurred the action of that church assembly. Sexual identity is a complex issue that has been the source of much bigotry. Slogans like “God didn’t make Adam and Steve,” and rude “queer” jokes reveal ignorance and, when disciples of Jesus do it, it reveals a spiritual deficiency, a failure of love. But this is where it gets tough: our desire to show love for others must not lead us to reject or reinterpret the clear teaching of the Holy Scripture just to accommodate a contemporary value! I would defend the personal dignity of a person who is homosexual for that is what love compels me to do. I cannot offer support for same-sex relationships or to practicing homosexuals who wish to serve in ministry for the Scripture prevents me from doing that. “A passion for evangelism, (that is to bring people to Christ) divorced from a passion for biblical faithfulness, almost always results in the loss of the gospel. The gospel is just too “prickly.” It has too much to confront and irritate people in every culture.”
– Andy Johnson, ©9Marks. Website: www.9Marks.org.

At a conference I attended recently, a missionary spoke with me about two extremes that we Christians fall towards in our dealing with the culture that surrounds us. At one extreme we become so much a part of the culture that we become ‘syncretistic.’ Our commitment to Scripture is so diluted we no longer have a Gospel to proclaim. At the other extreme, we fail to understand how to wisely apply the Scripture’s wisdom to our culture and we fall into ‘irrelevance,’ our message and/or practice so disconnected from the world in which we live so that we cannot lead people to life in Christ Jesus.

Many of us get only part of the message about Christian love – like our Lutheran friends who are ready to ordain practicing homosexuals. Love not only involves accepting others as Jesus did. It also means we are willing to speak truthfully to those who are sinning against God, others, and themselves truthfully; as He did! In Scripture, we find truth that is timeless, that is greater than any one of us, that demands our conformity to God’s will painful or not! Of course, our proclamation of it must be firmly rooted both in other-centered love and self-effacing humility. “Turn or burn,” is hardly the tone Jesus Christ would want us to adopt. There is no place for defensiveness, nor can we just be about protecting our traditions or our personal preferences. Neither of those is necessarily the truth though many confuse them with the Truth! Discovery of truth requires that we are careful students of the Scripture who are led by the Spirit and guided by the long history of scholarship that is part of the Church’s heritage to us.

The crux of the matter, disciple, is that either we accept the full sufficiency of the Scripture to guide our lives or we don’t submit to it at all. We can’t choose the parts we accept. Wayne Grudem, author of a fine systematic theology, writes about the Holy Word: “all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.” He rightly says: “Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.”

So, let’s bring this down to you and me.
Are we prepared to allow the Scripture to judge our actions, choosing to respond in obedience while fully trusting the wisdom and Truth of it? "God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey." (Hebrews 4:12, The Message) That’s for you and me, right where we’ll live today! IF we are willing to say, “I know what the Bible says, but…” and choose our own way over God’s way, we are a terrible spiritual condition. We have turned ourselves into the judges of Scripture which will quickly cause us to become morally adrift.

Here’s a word from the Word for your ponderings. Let it live in your mind and heart today and make it your prayer.

Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.
They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.
You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.

Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!
Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands.
As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!
I will obey your decrees.
Please don’t give up on me!

Psalm 119:1-8 NLT

Amen

A Slice of Time

The pastor leading the funeral service spoke of a young lady who was a tomboy, who loved to run and climb trees. It made me smile for the woman’s body laying there in the casket behind him was that of an elderly, heavy-set woman. There was no clue that she had those interests when a child! Talking with another man who is now a tender-hearted grandpa, a man who loves kids, I was astonished to learn that he was a juvenile delinquent who ended up as a Marine carrying a machine gun in Viet Nam at the height of that terrible war. Who knew? But, that discovery explained many of his not so great choices made along the way in life since then. When people learn that as a teenager I spent every summer turning wild colts into riding horses, I often see suppressed smiles, too. It seems unbelievable (even to me!) that I was once that kind of physical, earthy man! Now I love my books and my quiet study.

Before we move too quickly to reach a conclusion about another person, we need to remember that we see only a slice in time of his life. How easily we can judge him without knowing how he was parented, what kinds of experiences he have survived along the way, or the people who have influenced him. No wonder Jesus cautions us: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged." (Matthew 7:1, NIV) The sins, fears, and values of the people we live among have a context in life and that context makes a big difference when it is understood!

Take a look at Jesus’ wisdom. "For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." (Matthew 7:2-5, NLT) Let’s not get Him wrong. He didn’t say, “I’m OK and you’re OK!” He didn’t tell us that we could not challenge people to change. He told us to deal with our own sins, to get honest with ourselves first and only then can we help another deal with his sins.

Here’s a wonderfully comforting (or maybe threatening?) truth. God will not judge you or me based on a tiny slice in life! Thankfully, it won’t be just our last few moments of life here on earth that prepares us to stand before Him. I chuckle to think that as a young boy I was so scrupulous each night to make sure that I ‘fessed up to God about my life that day just in case the I died or He called His Church home in the Rapture. (Yes, it was always there, but not as the Blessed Hope. It was the Great Dread!) What I failed to understand was that God saw my whole life, not just my paranoid bedtime prayers!

The Lord knows your scars and your opportunities, your motives and your reasons. He sees who you are, where you came from, and knows what you did and/or could have done. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Disciple, we are saved through Christ’s sacrifice that makes us right with God. When we stand before Him at the Judgment Seat, it will be His righteousness that opens the Eternal Presence of God to us.

And, there will be an accounting, a ‘no bull’ session with the Lord of Glory that the Word describes this way: "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, NIV) Thankfully, He knows it ALL!

________________

Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the Risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I Am,
The King of glory and of grace,
One with Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God,
With Christ my Savior and my God.

One with Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God,
With Christ my Savior and my God.

Before The Throne Of God Above

Cook, Vikki / Bancroft, Charitie Lees© 1997 PDI Worship (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
CCLI License No. 810055

Soul Mold!

After 32 years in full-time Pastoral ministry, there are moments when I am still surprised by the confessions I hear! Sometimes it’s not the confession but the revelation of the secret sins of another that shakes me to the core. Yesterday, I saw a news report about a friend from the past, that broke my heart. It was a sordid tale of sin that had overtaken the man. Whenever I hear about a preacher’s affair, or a secretary’s theft of money, or a the discovery of a long-standing drug habit, or something similar, it makes me so very sad because I know the pain, the shame, the loss of relationship that come with such things. And, each story is a cautionary tale, for me, too! I remember what the Word teaches me about the universal nature of sin’s temptations. "Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence."
(1 Corinthians 10:12, The Message)

If we want to avoid the traps of temptation, here’s the paradox: we must acknowledge that we all deal with two natures! There is the possibility of missing God’s best in me, in you! The sobering fact is that everyone of us still deals with a sinful nature. In the book of Romans we read: “For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:22-24 NIV There we find a glimpse of the reason why Christians still can be cruel, selfish, materialistic - a saint and a sinner in the same body!

So where do we find safety from sin’s assaults? How is the influence of our sinful nature diminished and the goodness of the Spirit released?

We let the Light shine into every corner of our lives!
A quote from a Supreme Court Justice who served from 1916 to 1939, Louis Brandeis, says, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant!" He referred to the corruption that goes on when government operates behind a cloak of secrecy, without accountability. His observation has an application to each of our lives. In those areas we hide from others, that we keep carefully wrapped in secrecy - sin has an opportunity to flourish! So-called 'little' lies we tell to spare ourselves shame, become a breeding ground for increasing deception - of others and even ourselves. Compromises that seem to be insignificant, that are excused as just 'going along to get along,' open us to temptations for greater sins over time. Refusal to tell ourselves the truth about what we have done increases the need to hide from reality.

Brandeis’ insight is not new. The Bible says, (1 John 1:6-10, NIV) "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

The Christian is called to pursue integrity by living with transparency of heart. In this way, the Light of Christ can disinfect his soul! A believer who is serious about holiness must not continue to muck about in secrecy, mistakenly thinking that he is preserving his 'dignity' with pretense of being better than he is. He must own up to who he is and what he has done and understand what he is capable of doing. Then, he finds the forgiveness of God and the grace by which he can stand! Are you living with secret sin today, carefully tucked away from public view? It's time to let the Light shine in. Sometimes it is enough to confess our 'darkness' to God alone. There are parts of us that are transformed by owning our sinfulness before the Lord and sincerely asking for His forgiveness, His strength to overcome.

Then, too, many of the dark places are simply too engrained for us to deal with alone. In those struggles we need an ally, sometimes several allies. As difficult as it may be to do, find a trusted counselor and open up your heart. Find someone who knows grace and who knows how to lead you to the One who is Grace Incarnate. Together, pull open the door that has been shutting out the Light.

And, then there is this: Holiness is found in community, not because we can create our own perfection, but because as we open up to one another with acceptance, the Light of Christ shines onto the infection of sin and destroys it even as we minister loving grace to each other! Disciple, be loving and accepting! Be like Jesus Christ who always accepted people as they were without affirming what they did! Think about that. Accept people, challenge behavior! You may help someone find their way out of the darkness by becoming “Jesus with skin on” to them! We may never know what demons torment another person in the dark corners of his mind if we are quick to judge, heavy on condemnation. Love! Listen! Lift the heavy burden of guilt and shame by taking them to the Cross where all our sins are forgiven.

Let’s give no place to darkness. In Sunday School as a child we happily sang-
"So let the Son shine in, face Him with a grin,
smilers never lose, and frowners never win,
so let the Son shine in, open up your heart
and let the Son shine in!"

The mold of the soul, the sin that destroys, dies when the Light shines.
______________________