Awake and Aware

The documentary was a look into an ugly side of America, the sex trade that flourishes in and around our cities, using girls that are literally slaves. Preying on young women who are looking for love, who run away from abusive homes, or who just who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the pimps beat and rape the women, cowing them into silence and then sell them on the Internet. Often a young woman can produce $1000 per night. It’s a life of degradation, sorrow, usually accompanied by addiction and disease. Suicide is common. When a young girl is no longer marketable, she is dumped onto the streets. Usually she is too ashamed to seek out family help and therefore, remains alone and frequently homeless. Most Americans have no idea this is happening! Truthfully, I would rather not have watched the two hour program either. It left me sick at heart!

Disciple, are you willing to let God break your heart with the things that break His?
Are you willing to see the world as it is; the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly?

The sad faces of those young girls who are used and abused by men without hearts have filled my mind for the last two days! My prayers are stirred and God only knows (literally) what else I could or should do in response to this. We are sent into the world to change it, disciple. We cannot allow ourselves to become isolated behind our community walls, our eyes carefully averted from sin and suffering, our hearts protected from pain, our tranquility preserved by refusal to look at the world as it is!

John tells us that when Jesus was among His disciples after the Resurrection, He said "Again Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22, NIV) The Father sent the Son from the glorious sinless perfection of Heaven into the grim, gritty world of broken lives. Jesus became the friend of sinners. He brought them the good news of forgiveness, the hopeful word of restoration, the corrective word that pointed them to the abundant life, and the promise of eternal shelter in the Father’s house! He engaged Himself with the least, the lost, the outcast, and the sorrowful. In the same way, He sends us! No wonder, He follows us by giving the gift of the Spirit! As Paul says, "Who is equal to such a task?" (2 Corinthians 2:16, NIV)
Do you want to be a joyous disciple, one who leaves a legacy, who knows the smile of the Father’s approval? Then become awake and aware. What you see will be disturbing! It’s not a pretty world where sin reigns! Move comfort and safety down the list of your priorities and present yourself to God, at the ready to do what He asks, to be who He asks. Can we who have been given the gift of life refuse to share it? Can we accept the blessings and not, in turn, invite those who are not yet at the table to come and be part of God’s family?
Here’s a word from the Word.

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ  to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them;
to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence
without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior  be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord,  before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 20-25, NIV)

________________

Every day the way gets brighter!

Do you listen when God speaks? A parent who raised four children, I know what selective hearing is. My kids could hear plans being made for a fun day trip when Bev and I were whispering in the bedroom but sometimes they could not ‘hear’ their Mom when she was speaking right to their faces. They chose to comprehend what they wanted to hear, engaged their minds with the flow of words when they did not want to miss the message. Selective hearing is a practice of adults, too, especially when it comes to the things of God. From the birth of the nation of Israel all the way to the birth of the Church, the Bible tells of God’s people failing to grasp His message, living willfully even when they knew better. Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, told of the consequences that would come as result of obedience or the lack thereof.

Some Christians think that because we live in the era of grace, his words no longer apply. I beg to differ! God, as a good and loving Father, has always been gracious. And, He is also just and holy. When He calls us into His family, extending His favor to us, He also calls us to a responsive, listening life. When we respond to Him willingly and wholeheartedly, we find blessings of peace and wholeness, we live in the shelter of His love, kept even as the storms of life blow over and around us.

Moses tells the people of God about this. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: Your towns and your fields will be blessed." (Deuteronomy 28:1-3, NLT) "The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul." (Deuteronomy 30:10, NLT) Don’t cheapen that promise by turning it into a kind of ‘let’s make a deal’ proposition. God is not speaking of a simple ‘if/then’ contract here! He is inviting us into a holy covenant, an amazing life that experiences daily grace.
Some of you may be wondering if I’ve sold out to the prosperity Gospel which falsely teaches that Christians should all enjoy health and wealth, if they have enough faith to receive it. The short answer is, No! But, I am convinced by the Word that those who love the Lord, their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength find the "path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter ‘till the full light of day." (Proverbs 4:18, NIV) Living, as we do, in a fallen world full of sin, we still go through earthquakes and hurricanes, deal with temptation, and have bodies that age and break but as children of God we can experience even those difficulties differently. We do not fall into despair and bitterness. We wait for the mercy of our Savior and are comforted by His sweet Presence!

Paul’s life was surely not one without suffering or difficulties, yet he says, "Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him." (2 Corinthians 3:18, The Message)
The paradox is that we must not serve God just to gain the promise of His blessing. That is religious duty and is soon turned into the same deadening kind of life that so infuriated Jesus Christ when he saw it in the Pharisees. It consciously and unconsciously is about minimal compliance to God’s demands that will keep the blessings coming. What a terrible misunderstanding and abuse of the Lord! Go deeper! We receive His grace and give ourselves to love Him, both passionately and intentionally. When we enter the Divine Romance, He leads us and even the dark days are made, by His hand, a source of blessing and grace. This I believe with all my heart!

Are you listening to the Spirit, obedient to the Word? Are you delighting in His way, dying to Self, discovering grace on grace?

Here’s a word from the Word. Will you receive and live in the promise?

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:6-9, NIV)
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV)

_________________


Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings,
Yet not welcome any pain?
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine,
Yet grumble in days of rain?
Shall I love You in times of plenty,
Then leave You in days of drought?
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest,
But when winter winds blow then doubt?

Are You good only when I prosper,
And true only when I'm filled?
Are You King only when I'm carefree,
And God only when I'm well?
You are good when I'm poor and needy!
You are true when I'm parched and dry!
You still reign in the deepest valley!
You're still God in the darkest night!

Oh let Your will be done in me,
In Your love I will abide.
Oh I long for nothing else as long
As You are glorified.

So quiet my restless heart,
Quiet my restless heart,
Quiet my restless heart in You.

As Long As You Are Glorified
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)

Mark Altrogge

CCLI License No. 810055

Trauma produces Transformation

In the crucible
A crucible is a container made of graphite or porcelain in which metals can be heated to extremely high temperatures and melted. This allows impurities to be drawn off, leaving a pure precious metal. The process is hard but the result is great! The Word speaks of God as the Refiner who heats us in the crucible of life; not for our destruction, but to make us holy.

"Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness." (Malachi 3:2-3, NIV)

Trauma produces transformation.

At what moments did you dig into your faith most deeply? What makes you ask yourself the really probing questions about motive and meaning? We don't tend to grow when life is a bed of roses. We need 'boot camp' experiences to force us out of complacency and into transformation. The moment that recruits arrive for basic training they are scared silly, intimidated, yelled at, awakened in the middle of the night, have their hair cut off.... why? Many reasons, but primary among them is the need to break down their old habits and force a bond to the 'unit' into place. And, yes, there is that issue of learning to instantly respond to orders! To those of us on the outside, basic training looks cruel, but ask the soldier in combat and he will be thankful for the trauma that transformed a bunch of kids into a disciplined, military unit.

Jesus frequently allowed his friends to get into a tough spot. He didn't always protect them from failure or from testing situations. Had he done so, they would have been crippled, turned into dependent childish people, incapable of making hard choices, not knowing the 'stuff' of which they were made. The Lord took them through basic training so that they would learn to function as Spirit-filled people in this needy world. One stormy night on the Galilee Sea that we learn about in Mark 6, the men who had just witnessed the miracle of the feeding of thousands were bending their backs trying to overcome the wind to get to the other side of the lake, but they couldn't make any headway. Out of the mists of rain, through the darkness, Jesus came walking across the water. They were terrified until he climbed into the boat with them. Another time they were crossing the lake when a storm kicked up and they thought they would drown.... "Master, don't you care that we're about to die?" they screamed. He awakened to say, "Peace, be still." to the storm and they learned to trust Him a little more that day! Both of these experiences produced awe and deep questions about who Jesus really was. Those questions became fertile soil which nourished the growth of deeper faith!

James 1 is familiar. "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides." (The Message) One might ask, "Is God serious? Why would I welcome tough times as a gift, or as an "opportunity for joy?" (NLT) The short answer is that trauma produces transformation.

Are you in the crucible of life? Is God allowing you to go through trauma right now? By the way, don't blame all of your trauma on the Lord. Sometimes we stupidly, sinfully, or short-sightedly bring down the roof on our own head! Peter practically reminds us that "It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad." (1 Peter 3:17, The Message) But, he comforts us by saying that "if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it." (1 Peter 4:19, The Message)
It is hard not to complain when you're getting melted in the fire, but pray for the ability to faithfully welcome the challenge as an opportunity to grow. Here's a word from the Word for this day: "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." (I Cor. 10:13 The Message)
_________________

All things work for our good,
Though sometimes
we can't see how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth,
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim,
And you just can't see Him,
Remember, you're never alone,

He sees the master plan.
He holds the future in His hands.
So don't live as those who have no hope;
All our hope is found in Him.
We see the present clearly,
But He sees the first and the last.
And like a tapestry,
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him.

God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
So when you don't understand,
When you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

When you don't understand,
When you don't see His plan,
When you can't trace His hand,
Trust His heart.

Trust His Heart

Carswell, Eddie / Mason, Babbie

Word Music Group, Inc. / Word Music Group, Inc.



© 1989 Dayspring Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) / May Sun Music (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.) / Word Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) / Causing Change Music (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)



CCLI License No. 810055

Too close to holy things?

Familiarity is everywhere today. Most people ignore the honorifics and formalities that once governed our interactions. Few, if any, of the people that my Dad served as a minister ever addressed him as “Jerry.” He was Pastor Scott, to all. Dad’s generation worked harder at maintaining the formalities. For example, Dad wouldn’t have stepped into the pulpit without a dark suit and a tie, ever! He seldom disclosed his personal struggles and thus, appeared to many as ‘larger than life.’ By contrast, I go to the office in jeans and sweatshirt at least once a week, often wear an open shirt in pulpit, and people probably know too much about my humanity. Even some children in our congregation speak to me by my first name. But, that familiarity can complicate my ability to minister especially if it hinders spiritual correction or when it is misunderstood as a lack of holiness.
In 1 Samuel some of the young men in the holy ministry became too familiar with godly things. When the people came to make their sacrifices, the young priests took the best for themselves, abused the people, and enriched themselves at God’s expense! "This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt." (1 Samuel 2:17, NIV) Could the same happen to us in our age of informality? I think it’s great that conversational prayer is now the norm for Christians I know. Most of them do not even know that just a generation ago, it was almost unheard of to talk to God in ordinary everyday language! But, is it a good thing that many have no idea how to ponder His majesty deeply and shape prayers that are something more than sentiment expressed ‘off the cuff?’ I think it’s right that we understand that church is not God’s house! We are His temples, the church just a gathering place for the people of God. But, have we lost something by having fewer ‘holy places’ that call us from the commerce of everyday life to think higher thoughts?
With familiarity comes the risk of forgetting the high calling of serving the Living God.

There is not much awe in our worship of the Living Lord. I am too often guilty of rushing into His presence, whether privately or in corporate gatherings, with a list of demands. Sometimes I attend to worship of the Creator of the Universe while thinking about the deadlines that are pressing in on me. A low view of God will certainly steal our awe, turning the Lord of Glory into the Divine Buddy, the Dispenser of the Doodads! When was the last time you sat in the Presence of the Lord with a crushing sense of His awesomeness? When was the last time that instead of turning up the volume of the music, you felt only like contemplating His Person in silence?

Ponder these words -
"Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be revered above all the gods.
The gods of other nations are merely idols, but the Lord made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. ...
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him." (Psalm 96:4-6, 9 NLT)

Jesus Christ loves us. He walks with us. The Holy Spirit comforts us. This is no argument for turning God into a remote, unapproachable Person. And yet, we must balance our familiarity with the Lord with a Biblical awe which Proverbs reminds us is the fountainhead of wisdom! (1.7) Remember, even in the New Testament, the same Jesus who held children in his arms, who extended forgiveness to an adulterous woman, and who fed hungry crowds, is also revealed as being "in a robe and gold breastplate, hair a blizzard of white, Eyes pouring fire-blaze, both feet furnace-fired bronze, His voice a cataract, right hand holding the Seven Stars, His mouth a sharp-biting sword, his face a perigee sun." (Revelation 1:13-16, The Message) When John saw this vision of Him, he reports "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead." (Revelation 1:17, NLT) Jesus touched John and told him not to be overcome with terror! But there was real awe!

Disciple, recapture and nurture your awe of God! From time to time, read those passages in Isaiah or Revelation that invite us into Heaven’s Throne Room. Do not be resistant to the language that defies easy comprehension or images that are frightening. These visions are there so that we will not make Him too small. Yes, love Him as your Friend. Yes, come near to Him in full confidence of faith, but remember He is the Lord of Glory. The truth is that our Brother, our Savior, our Friend will be our Judge. With perfect justice and complete insight, He will evaluate every thought, every action, every motive without apology or allowing excuse. He is All-Knowing, All-powerful, Present Everywhere, King and Lord above all gods!
Ponder this word from the Word. As you do, note the juxtaposition of familiarity and awe in this passage.
"For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.


So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:12-16, NLT)

________________
You are beautiful beyond description,
Too marvelous for words,
Too wonderful for comprehension,
Like nothing ever seen or heard.
Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom,
Who can fathom the depth of Your love?
You are beautiful beyond description,
Majesty enthroned above.

And I stand, I stand in awe of You.
I stand, I stand in awe of You.
Holy God, to whom all praise is due,
I stand in awe of You.

C 1987 People Of Destiny International (Admin. by PDI Ministries) CCLI
License No. 810055

Get up and get at it!

The Smith’s, a couple from some American suburb, were on the national news whining about the big, bad bank that was taking advantage of them. Seems that they had fallen on some rough times economically (lot’s of people have it tough right now) and they made the decision not to pay their homeowner’s insurance premium. After several warnings, their mortgage banker bought a policy in their name to protect the bank’s investment and billed them for it, at twice the rate. There is some issue with the cost, but if the Smith’s honored the terms of their mortgage, there would be no problem. Did anyone point that out? No! Headline - Big, bad business takes advantage of poor family trying to cope with job loss. The irony was that they claimed not to be able to buy their own insurance while standing in front of a large flat screen TV, the cost of which was equal to the full policy’s cost! It was symbolic of what’s gone wrong with us! They aren’t victims of the big, bad bank. They are passive people hoping for somebody to rescue them from life, unwilling and/or unable to make the hard choices about life for themselves. Here’s where I’ll step off my rant and go to things spiritual.

There are disciples of Jesus who play the same victim card about the state of their morality (or lack thereof), their lack of commitment, their failure to mature in faith. They are waiting to be rescued, to have someone do the work for them and hand them deep character, rewarding relationships, and a rock solid faith for the future.

Here’s what the Word says about that way of thinking. "You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself." (1 Corinthians 9:23-27, The Message)
In Christ Jesus, we have a wonderful Savior. His gift to us is grace. In the Spirit, we have life. He brings the possibility of a daily conversation with God to us. And, we have a responsibility to take the grace, receive the life, and make the choices that lead to the ‘abundant life’ that Jesus promises. God asks each one of us to make the most of our own situation without comparison or complaint! Trying to figure out why someone else has life so much easier than we do is a walk down a dead-end street. Too many factors merge to create our own experience to figure out the why’s this side of eternity. Our calling is to become aware of what is going on and to start to make choices that reflect our standing as the children of God.

Let me illustrate this from my own current situation. Since learning that an obstruction in my gut had to come out in major surgery and that there is a very real possibility of some kind of cancer underlying this, I choose not to waste time crying, ‘Why is this happening to me, Lord?’ Am I happy about it? No, but my choice is to take this moment to my Father, Who knew this day and all the circumstances of it before time began, and say; ‘What do you want me to do now? How can I learn about You in this?’ It is my desire to be authentic in my response, yet disciplined in my decisions. I know and accept that God has made it my choice to live in faith or fear. I’m not a robot and I struggle emotionally with the possibilities that loom! But, I am committed to continuing to ‘train hard… living for the eternal gold’ that is promised to those who choose to take the grace offered. Do I do this alone? No. The Spirit is in me! I am connected to the Body of Christ, His church, and take the support and comfort offered by my fellow disciples. And daily I confess my utter dependence on the Lord’s power to strip away delusions that the world, the flesh, and the devil would create around me.

Here’s the challenge, disciple. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. … now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. … Christ is all, and is in all." (Colossians 3:1-2, 8-11, NIV)

_________

And when the battle's over
We shall wear a crown!
Yes, we shall wear a crown!
Yes, we shall wear a crown.
And when the battle's over
We shall wear a crown
In the new Jerusalem.
Wear a crown, wear a crown,
Wear a bright and shining crown;
And when the battle's over,
We shall wear a crown,
In the new Jerusalem.

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb.
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed thro' bloody seas?

Sure I must fight if I would reign,
Increase my courage, Lord:
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.

When The Battle's Over
Watts, Isaac / Waters, Harriette / Lind, A.E.

© Public Domain

Are you a good lover?

As I listened to the family fighting, threatening each other with profane words in public without restraint, my heart broke. There was no peace because there was no love. They were affectionate, but none of them understood deep love. The wife and mother was a once beautiful lady shriveled into insecurity, defensive of her position, emotionally abused by the man who should have been her lover. He was a wounded man whose words about her revealed a deep confusion between sex and love. He was the slave of guilt which drove him to try to buy the affections of the children that had grown up distant from him and into dysfunctional lives of their own.

Sadly that family’s story is way too common in our world and I am convinced that one major reason is that many men don’t know how to be lovers. If you’re thinking I’m talking about conquests or sexual technique, refocus! Men are taught to lead, to compete, to work but many never understand the power of being a lover. A real lover connects with others emotionally, enters into their lives, expresses honest emotion, and copes with disappointment when relational strains come without descending into rage. He is discovering the Divine Romance that undergirds it all!

Men, don’t quit reading. This isn’t about being ‘soft,’ or ‘effeminate.’ This is about being tender enough to be touched and tough enough to enter into the struggle of life with hope and energy that makes a difference.  Our model lover is Jesus Christ.  The caricature that comes down to us in typical depictions of Him makes it hard for many men to understand that. Jesus is often portrayed as a man of indistinct masculinity. But, that is not the Jesus of the Gospels. Jesus was a man who boldly walked into conflict, stood up to bullies, and held children near his chest. He was confident enough in His own identity that He could allow a prostitute to wash His feet with her tears in public, an act that invited ridicule but which gave her nobility! He was a leader of rough fisherman, who eagerly left their families and livelihoods to follow Him. Do you really think Simon Peter would have done that for an effeminate or fearful man? Jesus gathered people wherever He went because He exuded the love of His Father, taking time to care, to get involved, to make people feel dignity once again when He touched them! And ultimately, with a most courageous love, He went to the Cross to reconcile wayward people to their Father.

Oh, oh, oh … I want to be lover like that! How desperately the world needs better lovers! Only an experience of Christ’s Love can birth love in us. "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. … We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19, NIV) But, He did not stop sending us love letters 2000 years ago at the Cross! He continues to love us as a good Father, giving us good gifts, freeing us from our pride and self-obsessions, blessing us with a beautiful world, whispering into our hearts of His care, if only we will listen.

Would you pray with me?
• Lord, captivate us with your beauty.
Draw us to love You beyond the service and rituals of religious obligation.
Create in us a real passion for Who You are.
When we look to You and know that Love,
Change us into lovers: bold lovers,
Engaged, concerned, giving, reconciling people to You.

__________________

Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high!
Hide me O my Savior hide,
Till the storm of life is past.
Safe into the haven guide.
Oh, receive my soul at last!

Thou, O Christ, art all I want;
More than all in Thee I find.
Raise the fallen cheer the faint,
Heal the sick and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy name;
I am all unrighteousness.
False and full of sin I am;
Thou art full of truth and grace.

Jesus Lover Of My Soul

Wesley, Charles © Public Domain

Sin, at the point of our strength?

Most of us fear our weakness, well aware of the vulnerability to temptation there, but did you ever consider that it is quite possible to sin at the point of your strength? The past two Fridays were not high points in my spiritual life! Ten days ago, I unloaded frustration on a good friend about all of the things in my life that I did not think were proceeding according to plan. His gentle rebuke slapped me back to humility and reality. He said something like, “It would be so much easier and better if everyone just did what you wanted them to do, right?” Last Friday, after two sleepless night in the hospital, when I was in real post-surgical pain, and somewhat deranged by medication, I began to punch my pillow with anger that I would not express in words. I despised the dependence that held me like man in handcuffs! That night the Lord’s Spirit whispered to my heart, “How can I comfort you if you will not trust Me with the details of this situation which you cannot manage?”

As disciples, we may sin most in our area of spiritual gifting! I am, by God’s gifting, a person who sees the way ahead and devises strategies to get people there. When those abilities are offered to Him, in submission for His glory, they allow me to serve His people well and to know great fulfillment. But, if I allow pride to get in the way, those very gifts become sources from which sin grows in my life. It becomes more important to ‘have my own way,’ than to wait patiently for the will of God!

Let me expand that idea for you. Those with gifts of compassion may find themselves refusing to ’tell the truth in love’ because they desire to be loved more than they want to help others change. Those who are gifted to teach may come to love ideas more than the One who is eternally Wise. Those with creative artistic gifts may find themselves more desirable of birthing something novel to fulfill themselves than using their music or art to draw people to the beauty of the Lord. Those who are gifted to serve may find themselves critical of those who fail to ‘just do something practical’ for others because they come to love the work more than the One served.

We live in a culture that teaches us to respect ourselves, to assert ourselves – which is a good thing, but how quickly healthy self-esteem flows into selfish pride. The wisdom of God’s Holy Word urges us to a better choice. Take a look. “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices!” The Message says, "God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. … fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)

Here’s a word from the Word. Take it with you today.

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.


I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." (Psalm 91:1-2, KJV)
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Thanks for your prayers on my behalf last week. I am home from the hospital recuperating from surgery.

See you on the ‘net!

A Band of Barney's

A Christian who attempts to experience all that the Lord intends for his life while walking alone is abnormal. He will not develop the fully fruitful life in the Spirit that God intends for him. He will be exponentially more vulnerable to spiritual attack, deception by false teachers, and self-delusion. Beside all that, he robs himself of an incredibly rich source of blessing and encouragement. In short, you and I need the Church.


Yesterday, four men that I love, Elders (local pastors) in Christ's Church, gathered and ministered to me. They did so in keeping with the word of James 5.16 which says, "Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." (NLT) In the Jerusalem Room at our Assembly an altar was built, a holy place where the Lord met us. It was sweet! Brotherhood does not begin to describe the relationship in the room. No, these were not sterile prayers. They were heart cries - for me!

Later that day, a quiet friend rang my doorbell and prayed a simply eloquent prayer and left me with his benediction, words that I can still 'hear.' At least a couple of hundreds of emails and phone calls have brought promises of prayer my way in the last week. (Please do not misunderstand what I am about to say here. I do not intend to polish my halo, but to make a point.) Such love cannot be found in casual, 'when it's convenient' relationships with other Christians. It requires giving, time, effort, and investment. It demands that we stay together when it's good and not so great. These who are praying for me and I are invested in each other's lives.

The book of Acts introduces us to a man who invested himself in the first generation church. He was not noted for preaching like Apollos or teaching like Paul. He was loved for something we often take for granted. His given name was Joseph, but nobody called him that. His nickname became the name we use to this day. He was called, Barnabas, which means "son of encouragement." (Acts 4.36) Barney was a man who loved people and they loved him back. He's a model for us. The medical crisis in my life at this time gave my band of Barney's reason to gather 'round me. I only pray that when the opportunity presents itself, that I will be that kind of Barney, too!

Are you investing yourself in a local Body of Believers? I don't mean just showing up to sit in a pew, either. I mean are you taking time to serve, to get to know others, to care? Are you loving others even when they disappoint you, hanging with them because God called you into that Boldy? Time will come when you need a band of Barney's. Do not wait until then to connect, it will be too late to really experience the kind of blessings I have been so wonderfully privileged to know in the last few days.

To all my Barney's - THANK YOU!

Here's a word from the Word:

 "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27, NIV)
 "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV)

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25, NIV)

Stay in the Story

Yesterday John Podesta, former White House chief of staff to President Clinton, criticized the current President for “losing control of the narrative.” It’s a polite way to say that the White House is letting others write their script. This means that instead of leading effectively and setting the course, they are reacting to events. It isn’t my intention to comment on his observation but rather to ask - Whose writing the script for you? Are you sticking with the main storyline that God has written for your life?
My own short life history include many sub-plots that I never anticipated! Six weeks ago, I would have laughed if you told me that I was going to be sidelined for major surgery in mid-February! But, the main narrative which is about doing the will of God as I obey His Word and ultimately about making my home with Him in Heaven, when the credits roll has never been out of my mind. From my teen years to the present, the ‘story’ has directed my decisions. Some have a story that is about accumulating wealth. Others write their story around finding pleasure. What’s your story? What overarching plot moves you forward day to day and gives your life purpose?

Paul saw the church in Corinth going off story, sidetracked from serving God to being consumed with the novelty of self-centered religiosity. He declares his commitment to the Gospel story. He said, "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, … I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. … My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power!" (1 Corinthians 1:22, 2:2,4 NIV) It’s not about miracles. It’s not about impressive philosophy. It’s about Jesus Christ who died to save us! The Christians in Corinth had lost the narrative. They thought their spirituality was found in speaking in tongues, in worship that was marked by confusion and disorder done in the name of the Holy Spirit. They were impressed by the ‘prophetic’ performance of speakers who wove words together with mesmerizing skill. Paul brought them a reminder of the central plot – to know and serve the Savior who died to save them and rose to promise them eternal life!

Are you sidetracked by sub-plots?
Are you spending inordinate amounts of time trying to work out things that won’t really amount to anything of substance?
Are you letting your energies be consumed by trivialities that are not part of God’s story?
Have you surrendered the script of your life to others, reacting to them instead of purposefully doing God’s will? Stay in the story!

Paul wrote those words about his single-minded focus of life early in his public ministry. History reveals that he lived them! About two decades later, he was once again reflecting on the course of his life, this time as he was imprisoned and waiting execution at the hand of Caesar He had stuck with the Story. He was not filled with regret or remorse. Note the anticipation in the words he penned to Timothy. "As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8, NLT)

I love those words!
Fought, finished, faithful!
Prize, crown, given to me!
Now that a great summary of the plot line.
________________

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light my strength my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease?
My comforter, my all in all,
Here in the love of Christ I stand!

No guilt in life, no fear in death!
This is the pow'r of Christ in me.
From life's first cry, to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell. no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand!
'Til He returns or calls me home,
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand!

In Christ Alone
© 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Keith Getty
Stuart Townend

CCLI License No. 810055

Serenity From the Source

Anxiety is stalking just about everybody in these turbulent times! Teenagers I counsel are less concerned with their pimples than the kind of world they will inherit in a few years. Apocalyptic headlines convince these tender souls that we stand on the brink of the world's end. We don't!


Our battered economy has young parents anxious about how they will provide for their kids. They will find a way! We middle-aged people hear all the dire news about government debt and the 'certainty' of no funding for Social Security and it makes our 'golden years' seem awfully grim! But, why?
As disciples of the Lord of Life, there is a promised blessing that we can and should take hold of for each day. That blessing is the 'peace of God!' The Bible urges us to choose serenity. Take a look. "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)
Peace results from choosing our Source!

If we trust in ourselves, our President, or Glenn Beck- anxiety will surely build. Why? Because these times have revealed the relative impotence of all of the above! But, we also know this: the Lord God is a Rock, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17, KJV) Peace flows out of the certainty that He is able to care for us through each of the change points of our lives. Many Believers have not fully committed themselves to God because, to be honest, they do not REALLY trust Him.
I remember when I thought my Dad was bigger than life. When I was 4 or 5, I was convinced that Dad knew everything and could defeat any foe, any time, anywhere. When I was afraid, if Dad showed up, my fear evaporated immediately. Then, in adolescence, I discovered that he was not Superman. I began to understand that he, too, was sometimes afraid or uncertain. Things happened that he could not control regardless of his wisdom or strength. As an adult, I loved old Dad, but there were no illusions that he was a god.
Have you similarly 'matured' past child-like trust in your Heavenly Father?  When we are 'new' in faith, we trust Him unquestioningly. With time, we go through experience when He seems distant. He disappoints us by apparently refusing to answer our prayers, at least in the way we want them answered. Such moments can cause us to lose faith in His ability to handle our lives and fear grows. Some of us become even more 'religious' thinking that IF we just do more to earn His gracious favor, we can 'make' Him do what we want Him to do.

The truth is that He is God - unchanging, faithful, omnipotent, omniscient, and loving. He is worthy of our child-like faith. With study of the Scripture and meditation on His wonderful works, elevate your understanding of who He is and what He does. A higher view of God, a revelation of His majesty, will deepen your faith. You will find a bedrock foundation of trust to keep you steady until the day when His kingdom is fully revealed on Earth. Until then, keep faith strong and make the choice to trust.

Lynn DeShazo captures the doubting, distressed Believer's confession perfectly in her great worship song --

Be Magnified.

I have made You too small in my eyes; O Lord, forgive me;
And I have believed in a lie that You were unable to help me.
But now, O Lord, I see my wrong,
Heal my heart and show Yourself strong;
And in my eyes and with my song,
O Lord, be magnified, O Lord, be magnified.

I have leaned on the wisdom of men, O Lord, forgive me;
And I have responded to them instead of Your light and Your mercy.
But now, O Lord, I see my wrong,
Heal my heart and show Yourself strong;
And in my eyes and with my song,
O Lord, be magnified, O Lord, be magnified.

Be magnified, O Lord,You are highly exalted;
And there is nothing You can't do,
O Lord, my eyes are on You.
Be magnified, O Lord, Be magnified.

© 1991 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055

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(This Coffee Break is one from the archives that encouraged me much and that I needed to 'relearn' today. Hope it blesses and encourages you, too!)

Golden Calf or Glorious God?

Exodus is a story full of lessons for those of us who would be God’s holy people! We learn that He really loved them, had great plans for them. His goal? To give bring them to the Promised Land. “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home." (Exodus 15:13, NLT) He richly resourced them. God gave them a place of worship, detailing the construction of the Tabernacle, and teaching them about Himself in the way it was laid out, centered on the Holiest Place where the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat of Atonement! He called Aaron and his sons into a priesthood to administer His grace. He commanded them to set aside a full day each week to remember Him, honoring Him by breaking their pattern of daily work to spend one day in worship. He fed and led them by His constant Presence. Why? Above all, He wanted them to be His! “You are to be my holy people.” (Exodus 22:31, NIV)
And what did they do?
They failed frequently, griped constantly, and resisted leadership! The episode of the Golden Calf is one of the saddest chapters in the story. The Lord called Moses up to the mountain leaving the people for a time. They went to Aaron and said, "Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt." (Exodus 32:23, NLT) He took their gold and gave them an idol!

How could they forget God’s wondrous works in bringing them out of slavery?
How could they so quickly return to the gods of Egypt?

When confusion and uncertainty struck, they reverted to the comfort of the familiar, took the easy path instead of pursuing the mystery of the Lord’s ways. With the golden calf came a descent into lewdness, a riotous orgy of sensuality! Their choice was one made millions of times in history as people abandon their Creator to worship lesser gods.

Disciple, do you have any golden calves in your life? When the way gets tough, or God’s Presence is obscured by circumstances you cannot understand, are you tempted to find solace in things other than the Lord? The Word warns of this age old temptation that leads to depravity. Take a look. People "changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. … (They) changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:23, 25, KJV) I doubt many of us will be tempted to make a literal figurine, but we might be tempted by money, sex, or pleasure!

Never forget- a man becomes like his god! If we pursue the Holy One, full of Light and Glory, He will lift us out of our depravity and allow us to share His holiness. If we pursue lesser gods, the image of our Creator will grow faint and ultimately die. When the way ahead disappears into the fog of uncertain situations, wait on Him. If necessary, stand still! Remember the Glory.

" God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, …
“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine.
When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.
When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:1-3, The Message)

__________

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
yet not welcome any pain?
Shall I thank You for days of sunshine
yet grumble in days of rain?
Shall I love You in times of plenty
then leave You in days of drought?
Shall I trust when I reap a harvest
but when winter winds blow, then doubt?

Oh, let Your will be done in me!
In Your love I will abide!
Oh, I long for nothing else as long
as You are glorified!

Are You good only when I prosper
and true only when I'm filled?
Are You King only when I'm carefree
and God only when I'm well?
You are good when I'm poor and needy!
You are true when I'm parched and dry!
You still reign in the deepest valley!
You're still God in the darkest night!

So quiet my restless heart.
Quiet my restless heart.
Quiet my restless heart.

As Long As You are Glorified
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)

Mark Altrogge

CCLI License No. 810055

Like Jesus, not Don Quixote!

War! Earthquake! Death! Poverty! Disease! Disappointment! Flood! Fire! These and more have caused human beings to cry rivers of tears. Early this morning, as I was praying, my body was shaken with sobs. To be sure, some of my tears were for my own situation. My pending surgery has my emotions in turmoil. However, I was also weeping for a newly widowed woman in my congregation, for my Mom’s loneliness, for my friend’s new struggle with cancer, for the people of Haiti and Afghanistan, for my neighbors. It was beyond sadness. I was feeling what old-timers in the Pentecostal church call a ‘burden for souls.’ I believe that God was pressing me to pray and to renew my love for the lost, the broken, those who have no hope.

"Jerry, why emphasize the sorrow? Why not look on the bright side?" Yes, there is joy to be found. Bev and I were greatly blessed with a new granddaughter on Monday. Little Adelina entered this world whole and healthy! We’re thrilled by that. We have many wonderful friends and our hearts are made glad by being with those we love. We experience wonderful times of worship with God's people. We are unbelievably blessed!

But, we live in a world enslaved by evil, pressed by the Curse of sin, in darkness. In my blessings, I cannot ignore those who suffer. I cannot, despite my overflowing cup of privilege, pretend that all is well. I am commissioned as an agent of the Savior, sent with a message hope and healing to those who are captives of the Evil One. His work is my work. Like Him, I want to let my heart be broken by the human need that is real. As the burden presses on me, I will not fall under despair. I will go to the One who gives me this invitation - "Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:29-30, The Message) “Freely and lightly’ should not be understood to mean without sorrow or hard work! Jesus was Himself a man well acquainted with the sorrows of humanity, but He was renewed by His Father as He engaged in the work. So we can know the daily infusion of the Spirit’s hope and strength, IF we turn to Him and stand with Him in the yoke of service.

It may appear that sharing the Good News of Christ is like shouting down a dark alley with no visible results. Trying to help someone find a better life may not change the whole world, but it changes one life! Some may think that this mission of compassion is a fool's errand, that the tide of human suffering is irresistible. But I know the One who has overcome the world! I have read the end of the Book, and I know that in the end He will vanquish evil, wipe away the tears, and invite us into the Kingdom of Light and Love. I want to be about the work of building that Kingdom now even as I wait to see it arrive in the fullness promised in the Word.
Join me, friend, won't you? Let's look evil straight in the eye, engage ourselves with those who suffer, even when it makes us weep! Let’s do the work of Jesus while there is opportunity. All the while, we can be sustained by this wonderful promise. ". . . they stand in front of God's throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:15-17, NLT)

____________________
Jesus! What a friend for sinners!
Jesus lover of my soul!
Friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah what a Savior.
Hallelujah what a Friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! What a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted tried and sometimes failing,
He, my strength my victory wins.

Jesus! What a help in sorrow!
While the billows o'er me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort helps my soul.

Hallelujah what a Savior.
Hallelujah what a Friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Our Great Savior- J. Wilbur Chapman C Public Domain

Adventures, ballast, and faith

I am a guy who likes to get to the point!  I analyze and ask, what’s going on? If we can figure out why is it happening, we can fix it. I like things to run smoothly and on time. And yet, I am a Pastor, a man who deals with mysteries and Someone Who is way too big to fit into any box I might try to build for Him! He invites me to live with Him in the wonder of this thing called life. A good Father, He does not always explain Himself, but He always holds out His hand and says, “Let’s walk together.”  A basic requirement for this adventure is faith which is defined in the Word as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1, NIV)  For a guy thinks concretely, who likes to know the whole equation, faith is not always fun, but it sure can be interesting.

Once again my Heavenly Father has chosen to invite me on an adventure. Yesterday, I met a surgeon who gazed at the CT scan and told me that major surgery was required.  My digestive tract is blocked by something and it has to come out. I’ll have that surgery, Lord-willing, next Weds., 2/17 and then be hospitalized for recovery for several days. And, once it’s out, a biopsy will show if there are additional challenges ahead. It would be nice to write that I feel perfect peace and acceptance. I don’t!  I am working on it. At this moment, mostly what I feel is angry.  I would like to throw a tantrum like a 2 year old! But, what good would it do?

Sailing boats have a weight below the waterline,ballast, that counterbalances the wind’s forces on the sail. Without ballast, a gust of heavy wind would capsize the boat.  My life is full of gusty winds at the moment. But, I have many, many experiences walking with Him that keep me upright! There is ballast in the hold gained in prayers and tears through the years. Being human, I would prefer fewer gusts, but I am not the Master of the Seas or the Wind.  Then, too, I am reminded that I am part of a family that will help me to crew this ship through the storm.  Ever seen those racing sailboats with all the crew hanging over the side of the boat in a hard turn, helping to balance her and keep her upright?  That’s my family of faith!  I know they are pulling for me through this.

Some suggest that the devil is at work in all this. To be sure, there is a devil who actively opposes God and those who serve Him on this earth. But, as a child of God, I am absolutely convinced that nothing is allowed into my life without the permission of my Father. I don’t see my situation as the direct work of the devil. What I do see as his work is the temptation to doubt, to accuse, to let fear become the controlling emotion of my life. Instead, with the strength of the Spirit, I chose love – for God, for life, for people. My hope and prayer is that this adventure, like those He’s arranged prior, will bring about better things in me, for His honor.

Here’s the word from the Word to which I hold today. Join me in taking the promise.

"So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.
Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary." (Hebrews 6:18-19, NLT) 

Christians are about to enter the season of Lent which leads us to the most glorious celebration of our calendar – Resurrection Day. Many get all excited about Christmas, making a big build-up to the holiday but when Easter arrives, it’s almost an afterthought. It’s the BIG day! Everything we believe about our faith hangs on the factual event of Christ’s bodily resurrection. Timothy Keller, in The Reason for God, states the case. “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept what He said; if He did not rise from the then dead, then why worry about any of what He said?” The Scripture says, "And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless." (1 Corinthians 15:14, NLT)


The Resurrection of Christ was the event that caused the first generation of disciples to give their lives to travel the length and breadth of the Empire to declare a whole new truth about the meaning of human existence! Would they have willingly died for a lie? Would they have given up their homes, their families, their comfort to spread a falsehood? That makes no sense at all. They were seized by the hope that “all things are made new” and that God had not abandoned them to the grave. It was Good News worth living and dying to tell!

When I was younger, I must confess that I didn’t give a whole lot of thought to the Resurrection. It just seemed like the end of the story, cool, nice, affirming. My life on earth stretched out ahead of me. Death was real but distant. Aches and pains that signal the aging of the body were just a joke about ‘old people.’ Eternal life was something I talked about and accepted, but all the while I was very much taken up with life, right here, right now. I still love life! My newest grandchild arrived in this world yesterday and I would like to be around to see her dance with her Dad at her wedding! There’s a whole lot of loving yet to do.

But, mortality and death are real now, too. I regularly stand in a field of stones now, visiting the plot of ground marked by a piece of granite where my Dad’s body rests. I am less optimistic about my ability to change things around me, too. These words from the Bible are more than a phrase to me: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?" (Romans 8:22-24, NIV) I’ll be preaching the Resurrection with much more eagerness this year!
It isn’t just the hope of a body and soul reunion, a new existence that is without pain or parting that grips me. It is the whole idea that God loves this Creation – including you and me- enough to promise a Divine intervention, an infusion of glorious life that is unimaginably wonderful. We weep, but not as those who are hopeless. We feel sorrow, but not as those engulfed with despair.

Here’s a word from the Word. Let it dry your tears today. May the Spirit of God make it living Truth for us.

"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." (1 Corinthians 15:22-25, NIV)
"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54, NIV)
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV)

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A footnote -
CoffeeBreak may be sent out sporadically over the next two weeks. I will be visiting a surgeon today to consult about a serious medical issue that is complicating life at this time. So, if you don’t see my musing in your email, I thank you, in advance for your prayers for me.

Quiet Before The Storm?

There are few things more impressive than a major thunderstorm. Standing in the sunlight, looking to the west, you can see the clouds billowing high into the sky. Ominously, the sky begins to darken, birds grow still, then there is that first gust of wind which is the signal to seek shelter. A few moments later, trees are bending, lightning is flashing, and the crash of thunder shakes the earth. Sometimes such storm leave a swath of destruction, broken trees, downed power lines; which takes days, if not weeks, to clean up. And yet, after each storm a new normal returns, the broken restored or replaced.

There are moments in life like that. The sun shines! All is well! Then a moment comes that makes everything pause. Your soul senses a storm is on the horizon. Emotional clouds roll in. The first little puffs of troubling winds start to blow, and you can only think: what will be left standing when the storms blows by? What will be shaken? The comes the fury. All is tossed into disarray, plans aborted, the future rearranged. But, just like with a thunderstorm, our inner lives find a new normal, too. We put the pieces back together, a little wiser, a lot more cautious, and hopefully - deeper in faith.

Disciple, we all experience life’s storms; however, in the middle of the storm, there is One who walks alongside of us Who is bigger than the storm. Mark tells a ‘storm story!’ It’s written to inspire our faith. Take a look.
"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”" (Mark 4:35-40, NIV)

Jesus wanted to know why they were such cowards! “Why are you so ready to despair?” He asked. “Haven’t you seen a storm before? Don’t you know Who you’re with?”

If a storm is brewing on the horizon, or even if you’re enduring the height of it with crashing thunder and terrible winds all around, take courage! The summary that Mark reports in his story, which most likely he heard from Peter, is this: "They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!” (Mark 4:41, The Message) Our Lord is Master of the storms. He can command the winds to cease, or He can help us to stand while they blow.

We cannot ask an exemption from life or the storms, we cannot run to some place where we imagine no storms can reach us. We can stand fearlessly! Here’s a word from the Word for those of us facing a storm:

"Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you’ve got, be resolute, and love without stopping." (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, The Message)

"Because we are the sons of God, we must become the sons of God!" - George MacDonald

______________

An Insult to Christ Jesus

Are you attempting to live as a Christian without being one? Millions of people admire the teaching of Jesus that elevates human dignity, that calls for compassion for the poor and the weak. But, at the same time they reject the Cross. “Why did Jesus need to die?” they ask. Some are even arrogant enough to believe that Jesus died as a result of political miscalculation, that he over-estimated his public support as he confronted the religious establishment. Others think that the whole narrative of the Cross was an invention of his disciples to make sense of the end of his life. What nonsense!

The Cross makes it possible for us to live the teaching of Jesus. His mission was to be our Savior first. Many other world religions are built around great teachers but none, to my knowledge, offers us a Savior, a Deliverer! At the Cross, He entered fully into our broken, fallen state that separated us from our Father. His death, far from being sad, is the heart of the Good News. The Word does not merely hint at this. It pronounces it loudly and clearly! "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." (Colossians 1:19-22, NLT)
Without the Cross, Christianity is just another world religion, an ideal to which we may hopelessly aspire! But, because of the Cross, Christianity is a way of life available to all who will believe the Truth, be reconciled to God, and receive the gift of the Spirit. To mistakenly reject the Cross because it is ‘too ugly,’ or ‘too superstitious,’ is an insult to Christ Jesus. The Cross was not an after-thought or mistake. It was His destiny, the crowning achievement of His earthly ministry. Timothy Keller reminds us that unlike other deities who allegedly extracted vengeance at great cost to humans, the true God “becomes human and offers His own lifeblood to order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday He can destroy all evil without destroying us. Therefore, the Cross is not simply a lovely example of sacrificial love. …There was debt to be paid – God paid it Himself.” (The Reason for God)

Far from being a maudlin medieval idea, the Cross is a glorious Truth! It is full of ugliness because it is where sin meets forgiveness. It is full of sorrow for it is where the disappointments of the Fallen creation meet the perfection of the Creator. It is bloody because in the purpose of God, as Jesus Christ explained, "my blood, … confirms the covenant between God and his people." (Matthew 26:28, NLT)
So, I will not insult the Lord Jesus by looking away from the Cross. Instead, I will wear it, love it, and embrace it.

Here’s a word from the Word. May we join Paul in his intention. "As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God." (Galatians 6:14-16, NLT)
___________

Your blood speaks a better word
than all the empty claims I've heard upon this earth;
Speaks righteousness for me
and stands in my defense,
Jesus, it's Your blood.

Your cross testifies in grace,
tells of the Father's heart
to make a way for us;
Now boldly we approach,
not earthly confidence,
it's only by Your blood!

What can wash away our sins?
What can make us whole again?
Nothing but the blood,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can wash us pure as snow,
welcomed as the friends of God?
Nothing but Your blood,
Nothing but Your blood,
King Jesus!

Nothing But The Blood

© 2004 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Matt Redman

CCLI License No. 810055

Recovering Peace

One of the evidences of the Spirit’s life at work in us that is frequently forgotten is the third one: peace! Remember the list? “Love, joy, peace, patience?” (Galatians 5:22) Disciples can enjoy peace in this life. One of the remarks that Bev and I hear over and over from people who spend time in our home is that it is a peaceful place. When our children invited their friends to our home, even those teens would often say, ”We like being at your house. It’s a peaceful place.” We knew that quality did not come from us. What they sensed was the peace of God, the Presence of the Holy Spirit, Who was intentionally invited to fill our lives.

Are you living in God’s promised peace?
Before you answer, let’s explore what the Bible says it is. The Hebrew word translated as “peace” is “shalom.” Shalom describes much more than simply the absence of conflict! It is a word that speaks of being whole, complete, prosperous, as well as tranquil. Shalom is more than a momentary rest. It is a state of being at rest in God.

The Word’s wisdom points us towards recovering peace with this advice: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV) As we see in that passage, enjoying the blessing of God’s holy peace does require that we make some important lifestyles choices. Yes, peace is a gift of God, but we cannot receive it unless we align ourselves to God’s will.

If we want to live peacefully, we must forgive! Bitterness against another, a refusal to release a grudge or an insistence on ‘justice,’ will rob the peace of God from our lives, making us miserable. We must trust. Jesus encourages us to ‘become like a little child.’ No, he did not mean childishly irresponsible, but with a faith that accepts each day, each moment from the Lord along His provisions for that day. We must be responsive to the Spirit. When He says, “no,” we stop! When He says, “go,” we move! A rebellious, willful person cannot enjoy holy shalom!

On a practical level, recovering peace means we will accept our limits. It is important to learn to refuse the requests that come from inside ourselves and the world around that lead us to being overcommitted, exhausted, and stressed out! We cannot be everything that others want us to be. We must choose simplicity as our way of life. The world around you will run your life as long as you allow others to be in charge. Many of us are quite proud of our incessantly ringing cell phones, our overflowing email boxes, and our long hours of work. Even though we complain about our schedules, these things make us feel important and valued. Some people would rather run naked down the street than admit that they have no pressing responsibility on a given day!

Despite having multiple responsibilities, I take charge of my schedule. Sure, occasionally crises arise unplanned and unforeseen that destroy my plans and press me into service for long hours. But, I do not live in crisis mode all the time. Anyone who does needs to take a hard look at their own choices to see if they are trying to do too much, if they are failing to plan well, or if they are simply disorganized. I plan regular times to retreat, times of high output, and times when I know I will focus intensely. And, I have learned that “no” is a good word, too. I get calls all the time in which someone says, “We think your skills or connections could really help us. Would you join our cause?” I’m glad that those people think I could help them, but unless I have a clear leading of the Lord, I say “No, thank you” without any guilt. If I am running around all day and into the night, I will lose the wholeness that is critically important to being who Gods wants me to be.

Disciple, part of our spiritual inheritance is the peace of God. In a fractured, pressured, stressed world, we can be people who enjoy holy peace, the blessing of shalom. We don’t have to escape into isolation, or disconnect from reality to live in it. It flows out of our relationship with the One who loves us most. Here’s a word from the Word. I pray that you will live in the promise.
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27, NLT) "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)

_______________

Far away in the depths
Of my spirit tonight
Rolls a melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial-like strains
It unceasingly falls
O'er my soul like an infinite calm.

Peace, Peace, wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above.
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray,
In fathomless billows of love.

I am resting tonight
In this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus' control.
For I'm kept from all danger
By night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul.

Wonderful Peace
Cornell, Warren D. / Cooper, W. George

© Public Domain

Re-discovering Salvation

“I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind, but now I see!” are the words in which John Newton exults in his transformation from slave ship captain to forgiven child of God. His story is but one in millions. Even after Newton left the ships and slave trade behind, years passed before the Gospel truly changed the man and his destiny. For many years I was involved in ministry to men in prison. One of the more difficult aspects of that work is ‘jailhouse religion.’ Men how live in a rigidly controlled environment start going to church and pick up the language of the Bible. They claims to be morally reformed, ready to live differently on the outside. Within a week of their release, they have forgotten all the claims they made, all the Bible verses they read, and are back in their old ways. Why? Because they ‘got religion.’ They did not experience the Gospel’s grace!

If sin, at its root, is the attempt to establish myself apart from God, then salvation is discovering my true self in Him. Timothy Keller asserts that many people ‘are trying to save themselves by following Jesus.’ He goes on to explain. ‘It is possible to avoid Jesus as Savior as much by keeping all the Biblical rules as by breaking them. … Self-salvation through good works may produce a great deal of moral behavior in your life, but inside you are filled with self-righteousness, cruelty, and bigotry; and you are miserable. You are always comparing yourself to other people, and you are never sure if you are being good enough. … The devil prefers men and women who try to save themselves. They are more unhappy than either mature Christians or irreligious people, and they do a lot more spiritual damage.’ - The Reason for God

Religion restricts, regulates, and judges. It robs joy and celebration from life. True salvation in Christ Jesus liberates, creates, and accepts! Tragically, Christianity is too often known for pronouncements of judgment, for conflicts over who and what is right; than it is for bringing people the experience of the abundant life of which Jesus spoke. The Bible is so clear and so often ignored on this subject. Repeated the Word urges us to stop focusing on managing sin with rules and restrictions. Instead, we love Christ with our whole heart, living openly authentic lives before Him and one another because we believe and trust HIS grace.

Paul shouts a rebuke and challenge to those who would save themselves by moral religiosity.
"“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 2:21-3:2, NIV)
The biggest difference between religion and grace is motive. Religion is fear-based and aims to escape Hell! Relationship is love-based and aims to gain Heaven! Ask many who claim to be Christian if they are really looking forward to Heaven and watch them stutter! They really are not anticipating Heaven because they do not love the One whose Throne is the center of that wondrous place. Untouched by grace, indifferent to the Spirit, they cannot conceive of leaving behind their pleasures, diversions, and things. Yet, because they fear eternal punishment, they cannot enjoy life to the full right now either. What a miserable existence.

Timothy Keller writes of the paradox of grace. “The most liberating act of free, unconditional grace demands that the recipient give up control of his life.” We find grace when we come humbly before Christ, often in complete despair, and release even our best efforts and highest achievements to Him, and trust only in the salvation that begins at the Cross and is completed at the Empty Tomb. In that moment, we become other-worldly, our highest hope fixed beyond this life. Ultimately, the rediscovery of salvation leads to the Resurrection which is the logical hope of those who know grace.

Here’s a word from the Word. I pray that the Spirit will make the words live in your understanding and draw to a re-discovery of salvation.
"And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man (Adam), so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven (Jesus Christ). I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." (1 Corinthians 15:49-50, NIV) But, when we are raised like Him, we will say:
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:55-58, NIV)

____________

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss.
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty Cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide;
Whiter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within!
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Johnston, Julia H. / Towner, Daniel Brink
© Public Domain

Re-thinking Sin

I’ve never murdered anybody. I don’t cheat on my wife. I’m nice to kids and animals. Yet, the Bible says, “Jerry, you are a sinner!” That’s because sin is not what we often think it is. We believe that sin is breaking the Law, doing bad things. Actually sin is something quite different which leads us to breaking those moral rules. Timothy Keller says that ‘sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from God.’  We need to think about that for it gives a whole new meaning to the Scripture’s declaration that ‘all have sinned!’

On Sunday I knelt down to eye level of two little boys at church, ages 3 and 5. They wanted to matter! They told me about their stuff, their trains, and their experiences in an excited conversation. Caleb and Hayden enjoyed being noticed and included! Don’t we all? So we learn what makes us noted and we work at doing it or being it better. Everyone of us makes our life about something or someone. We work at being a person who is valuable or noted for something. A pretty girl takes note that eyes follow her and she works to enhance her beauty and to hang onto it. An athlete experiences the approval of the coach and the crowd and decides to push his body harder, to hone his ability to throw the ball with even more accuracy.  The Christian notes how good he feels when others take note of his devotion and service and redoubles his efforts.  So what’s wrong with any of that? Nothing and everything. Each of those choices become sin when the person makes ‘good things into ultimate things. It is seeking to establish a sense of Self by making something more central to your significance, purpose, and happiness than your relationship to God.’  (Keller)

Only loving God and looking to Him can give our lives true meaning. Anything and anyone else will fail us. Beauty, brains, and brawn will abandon us sooner or later! The Teacher, writer of the book of Ecclesiastes, summarized the end of the life that has misfocused the search for meaning on things of this present world:  “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2, NKJV) Addictions result from a misplaced desire for meaning. At first the addict craves the pleasure, then he longs to find escape. The world is full of addictions to sex, to alcohol, to chemical drugs, to stuff – it’s a long list – precisely because we are all sinners.  St. Augustine famously wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

Disciple, pursue Him! Turn your heart and mind often to quiet love for Him. Confess the disorderliness of your emotions and longings that allow idols to climb onto the throne that belongs exclusively to Him. John promises that in our confession we find "a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s." (1 John 2:1-2, The Message)

__________

Father, I am sinful.

How easily I am deceived by the things around me.

I so quickly make Your good gifts into idols.

In trying to find myself in them, I confess that I sin against You.

The darkness deepens.

Be my Light and my Deliverer.

Be my Hope and my Love.

Jesus, hold my hand. - Amen

"How can a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed according to Your word.

With my whole heart I have sought You;

Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You." (Psalm 119:9-11, NKJV)

"How sweet are Your words to my taste,

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103, NKJV) 

The Big Ten

Rules make us complain but what a chaotic world it is where law and order break down! When I was having our deck rebuilt, I chafed at some of the silly regulations that our town had for construction. However, at the same time I am thankful for those same laws that regulate development in my neighborhood. I don’t like when a police officer pulls me over for going a little too fast, but I am very thankful his presence on the road helps to keep drunk drivers from being a greater threat to my safety. Fences and boundaries can be a very good thing in a world where real sinners live.

God gave His people a summary of His expectations which we call the “Ten Commandments.” Read them recently? They reveal how we conduct ourselves in a way that is pleasing to Him and others. We would do well to memorize them. Make no mistake! Keeping them, if we could, won’t get us to Heaven! No amount of rule-keeping can make us right with God. Only Jesus Christ can forgive our sins, but the big ten serve the purpose of building some fences. Galatians calls them "our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." (Galatians 3:24, KJV) As the Lord was leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, He held a meeting with them to show them the kind of people He wanted them to be. (Exodus 20) Here’s a paraphrase of what He told them.
1. No other gods but Me.
2. No idols in your life.
3. Don’t misuse my Name by claiming to act under my authority when you’re not.
4. Keep one day out of seven for worship (a Sabbath) following the Creation pattern I established.
5. Honor your parents and you’ll live longer.
6. No murder.
7. No adultery.
8. No stealing.
9. No lying about your neighbor.
10. No lusting for your neighbor’s stuff, his wife, or anything belonging to him.

Being human we look for loopholes in the rules, study them to death, and twist them to fit everyone but ourselves. Yet, they stand! They can guide us to faithful reliance on our Savior who makes us holy starting in our heart, or they will stand as a witness against us when we are summonsed to the Throne to face the Judgment! Which will it be for you? Reading that ancient code I found myself challenged anew by the holy expectation of my Father. I am a free man in Christ Jesus, not bound by the Law of Moses, but it does inform me about the quality of the love that God seeks in me for Himself and for those who live alongside of me.

Read the big ten with appreciation today, and then take this Word with thanksgiving.
"Those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”
This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing." (Galatians 3:10-13, NLT)

What a Holy God. Hallelujah, what a Wonderful Savior!