I can't hear You...

I can’t hear You

My dog, Samantha, is an Irish Setter.  Her breed, I am told, is a stubborn one,  a trait borne out by her occasion refusal to respond to my call.  I know she hears me, but the scents in the yard are just so interesting, she  ignores me until she sees me walking toward her. Then, she decides to trot quickly to the door!  During one of her stubborn moments a few days ago, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, “Jerry, you’re sometimes like this with Me.  I call, you hear, but you are so taken up with things that interest you, you choose to ignore Me.”

There are consequences- good and bad – involved in our choices about  obedience. “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 inviting us into a holy covenant, where we will experience the blessing of daily grace.

Do you believe that because Christians live in the era of grace, the principles of obedience and blessings no longer are in effect?  I beg to differ! God, as a good and loving Father, has always been gracious as well as just and holy.  We are His children and as such, we are to live in a way that is responsive to His will, not just when it’s to our liking, but all the time.  In that ready obedience, we discover His provision of peace.   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)  Even obedient Christians will  go through earthquakes and hurricanes, deal with temptation, and have bodies that break with age.  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! 
 
Take care not to fall into an entitled mindset. “I’ve been good, Lord, so You owe me.”  That is an expression of religious duty. It produces the kind of hypocrisy that infuriated Jesus when he saw it in the Pharisees. Those who obey only to gain the favor of the Lord will look for a minimal compliance to God’s demands that will keep the blessings coming. 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?
"You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? 

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.
Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look upon us, we pray, for we are all your people." (Isaiah 64:5-11, NIV)
_________________
Refiner's Fire

Purify my heart,

Let me be as gold

And precious silver.

Purify my heart,

Let me be as gold,

Pure gold.

Refiner's fire!

My heart's one desire

Is to be holy;

Set apart for You, Lord.

I choose to be holy,

Set apart for You, my Master,

Ready to do Your will.

Brian Doerksen

© 1990 Vineyard Songs Canada (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

No Magic In It

Throughout the Bible, there are references to a spiritual discipline that we largely ignore: fasting. Many Christians have no real idea what a 'fast' is. A fast is a voluntary abstention from something we enjoy, most often, food. There are various kinds of fasts. A "Daniel fast" is a diet of plain foods, modeled after Daniel's refusal of the king's choice foods in favor of vegetables. A complete fast is just what is says, not eating at all, usually only for a day or two. Limited fasts are urged by Church tradition during Lent. These fasts are extended and involve setting aside a food group. Some forego meat, for example, during the observance.

So, why all this attention to deprivation? There are two things involved in a fast. The first is the spiritual discipline of subjecting the body's appetites to our control. More importantly, a fast is a way to focus our attention on the Lord and His work. Nearly every reference to fasting in the New Testament is the context of prayer. Jesus fasted when He went through the wilderness testing where He was engaged in intense prayer. The apostles coupled prayed with fasting when they were asking for the will of God to be revealed. Fasting can be a way to add intensity to our prayers. 

It can also be a way to call attention to ourselves! That is a terrible misuse of the discipline and is a sin. Like all our worship, we must not turn it into a performance for people. It is about loving and honoring God. The Lord plainly taught: "And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you." (Matthew 6:16-18, NLT) Nothing twists spiritual devotion inside out more quickly than making it about admiration! And, few things earn more admiration than an extended fast. Why? Because we all know how difficult it is to give up the food we love so much! So, Jesus warns us to keep our devotion to ourselves so that the focus stays on hearing God. 

Some, because of a misunderstanding of the Scripture, attach a magical quality to fasting. They say things like: "You want to get healed? Fast!" In that worldview, fasting can produce all kinds of results. Truthfully, there is no magic in it. That kind of fasting is more like a hunger strike designed to force God into action which is utter foolishness. God is not impressed if I starve. He cares little for what's on my plate! What He does care about is the content of my heart. If my heart needs to be reordered by the discipline of fasting, then I must do it as a means of opening myself to the work of the Spirit . We fast, not for Him, but for ourselves in order that we will know and serve Him better. In that intimacy, we find spiritual power that flows from prayers that go beyond "Bless us everyone, Amen." 

In this season of Lent, I encourage you to use the discipline of fasting as a tool for growth. Experiment with it, prayerfully. Engage yourself deeply enough to feel some pain and offer that to the Spirit. Never forget that the truest fasting involves setting aside our love of ourselves. Isaiah challenges the idea that giving up some food or comfort is the real issue. As you think about this, hear this challenge from the Spirit.

"You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? "No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." (Isaiah 58:5-7, NLT)

"Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day." (Isaiah 58:10, NLT)    

Father in Heaven, I am incurably religious.

I slip too quickly into making our songs, fasts, and Bible Studies

the focus of my faith instead of pursuing You.

Call me persistently. Teach me to wait patiently.

Renew my spirit as You move deeply within me,

As You remind me of Your goodness in moments of wonder

scattered throughout my ordinary day.

When Self struts, call me to a fast that restores order.

Help me  to keep in step with the Spirit,

hearing the cadence of Heaven today.

In Jesus' holy Name I pray. Amen.

It's not in the Bible

We are a few days into the season that many Christians call, “Lent.”  One of the oldest traditions of Christianity, Lent is the name for a fast, extending for 40 days prior to the celebration of Easter, that is intended to make us more aware of the Presence of the Holy Spirit.  When I spoke of Lent one congregant remarked, “but it’s not in the Bible.”  Yes, that is true, but neither is the celebration of Christmas. These fasts and feasts are part of our traditions to help us, not hinder us; to encourage us in our faith, not to become things we worship. It’s easy to miss the point of any tradition. An example is Christmas gift-giving. It should remind us of God’s Gift of His Son, Jesus. Many have made it just an orgy of consumerism. 

Lent can be a time to be reminded of the Eternal Life that gives meaning to our present life. It should  remind us that we more than our appetites for food, pleasure, and/or sex. Some of us miss the point entirely by looking for some little thing to ‘give up for Lent,’ that has no real impact; as in, “I gave up chocolate Hershey Kisses.”  Then, too, some turn Lent into a kind of religious boasting.  “I gave up Facebook for Lent.”  “Oh, yeah? Well, I gave up watching TV entirely!”  Once again, the point of it all is missed entirely. Jesus said “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1, NLT)

The church I grew up in mostly ignored the Church’s calendar.  The thought was that the tradition was ‘too religious,’ and that we who were reputedly ‘people of the Spirit,’ had no need of such reminders.  They had a point. If you and I are living a life that is vibrantly, intimately in touch with the Holy Spirit,  we will already be fasting, serving, giving, listening, praying – all aims of the celebration of seasons like Lent.  Human nature being what it is, though, we forget the Heavenly and become slaves of the urgency of the present, don’t we?  That is why we need regular reminders that life is not just about our next meal.

While Lent is not ‘in the Bible,’ the idea of fasts and feasts certainly is.  God called His people to regular times of renewal.  The Jews were called to festivals that celebrated God’s goodness at intervals spread throughout the calendar year.  A cornerstone of their dedication was the Sabbath, setting aside one day in 7 to worship the Creator whose own creative acts established the pattern of work and worship.  I urge you to take time to pray about a fast during Lent.  Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to set aside some part of daily life for this season and to use that choice as an ‘offering of worship’ that turns your heart towards God, that makes you aware of both your craving for stuff and your desperate reliance on the Spirit for life.

The paradox is that our private devotion can become the fertile soil in which the seeds of a beautiful life grows.  Others will take note, not of our fast, but of the Spirit-life that emerges. Here’s a word from the Word.  “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16, The Message)

Yes, You are Lord!

Yes, You are Lord!

Five years ago as my Dad wrestled with the cancer diagnosis, his soul was restless, his faith tested. Repeatedly, during long nights, we would talk and he would wonder aloud why he was not healed, why cancer was ravaging his body. For a time, he wondered if the Lord had turned away from him. That was hard to see, in many ways worse for me than the physical suffering. I asked him bluntly one night, “Dad, do you think that God, our Father, somehow slapped His head a few months ago suddenly realizing that cancer has slipped up on you, that it somehow eluded His awareness?”   It was hard for my Dad to accept that God, while not the One who causes cancer, certainly knew and had a purpose in allowing it.  But, he is not alone in this test of faith.

The idea is so simple it should be obvious. God is "in charge.” I hear your laugh as you think “Jerry, you really stretched for that one, didn’t you?” Actually, I did. I knew it intellectually long before I owned it! The fact is that a contented, peaceful, faithful Christian rests his entire life on this one key fact - “God is in charge.” Even when circumstances argue against His rule, even when suffering seems meaningless, even when what is going on around appears to be random - God reigns! When we abandon the need to know why and trust Him completely, we find amazing grace. Will you accept the gift of faith that allows you to live in that place?

I am not a fatalist! I know that choices are made by me and people all around me that have an impact on my life! I know that the seeds I plant today by my actions produce a harvest in my life and in the lives that intersect with mine, and yet I know that God is greater and that He is able to "work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28, NIV) From that fact grows real assurance -"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31, NIV) Faith, not fate, allows us to live in peace when life is shaken to its very foundations. 

Jesus commended a Roman commander for his recognition of the sovereignty of God. "When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and racked with pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” Then the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this or that,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all the land of Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 8:5-11, NLT) 

Let’s not be like the ancient Jews who had the Scripture and knowledge of God but who lacked enough faith to radically trust Him. A Gentile who had been trained in a pagan environment exercised a greater faith than those who should have had multiple reasons to truth the Lord. His response of faith opened the door for God to act. He did not need to dictate the outcome. He simply made the request and trusted the Lord with the results. “Just say the word....”and it will be done.

The most pressing prayer we need to pray is for increased faith. As we trust Him more, we become participants in His purposes and when we are living squarely in the center of His will, there is serenity and quiet strength. 

Here’s a word from the Word. May we have the faith to own and to live it. "

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)  

________________________

Mystery

Sweet Jesus Christ, my sanity.

Sweet Jesus Christ, my clarity.

Bread of heaven, broken for me.

Cup of Salvation, held out to drink.

Jesus- mystery!

Christ has died and

Christ is risen

Christ will come again

Celebrate His death and rising,

Lift your eyes, proclaim His coming.

Celebrate His death and rising,

Lift your eyes, lift your eyes.

Sweet Jesus Christ, my sanity.

Charlie Hall

© 2008 worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

The Least Among You

The Least Among You

It’s just an hour each month, but it’s an important one to me.  Several of us from our church gather at a home for the aged on the second Sunday of the month to worship with the residents.  Some of them are only partially aware of their surroundings,  many are severely debilitated by age. Most are simply forgotten, too old to matter to anyone any longer. They matter to us.  We look each one in their eyes, shake their hands, and greet them. We sing together, and I share the hope of Christ.  None of these people will ever become part of the church where I serve as Pastor. None will ever staff a ministry or make a contribution. So why invest the time to lead a worship service there, some might ask?  Let me answer that question with Jesus’ own words.

"All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’" (Matthew 25:32-36, NLT)  "Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ " (Matthew 25:40, The Message)

We naturally tend to focus our attention on those who can contribute something of value.  The bright, the beautiful, the influential, those who have life together, are easy to like, aren’t they? Those with social grace who know enough to put away their cell phone in public, who are showered and combed, who don’t blurt out offensive observations are easy company.  But what about those who have not been so blessed?  Have we fulfilled the law of love if we do not exclude them but continue to ignore them?  When they approach is there acceptance or avoidance?  Does our body language betray what we might never say?  

Jesus was equally at home with Lazarus and his sisters, respectable residents of a Jerusalem suburb, as he was with the ‘tax collectors and sinners.’  He extended the same worth to beggars and prostitutes and rich guys like Zacchaeus.  I cannot help but be changed in my attitude toward others when I know how much He loved me! (and I’m nobody, from nowhere)   

James reminds us of the importance of loving the least.  May this word from the Word  "My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives?

Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the kingdom God promised to those who love him? And yet, you insult the poor man! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s royal command found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you pay special attention to the rich, you are committing a sin, for you are guilty of breaking that law." (James 2:1-9, NLT)

_________________