Endure!

So, here we are at the beginning of 2022. Most of us thought that the pandemic mess would be behind us after nearly two years. Surprise! We are in the middle of an outbreak of a new variant, coping with yet more uncertainty. This tiny virus keeps on reminding me of our tenuous grasp on life. Sickness and death seem to find people quite randomly, shattering any illusions I might have about my mastery of fate. Yes, it’s personal for me.  I have lost too many friends and prayed long and hard for many more.  I can hear your thought about now.  “Jerry, I thought that CoffeeBreak is about encouraging us?”  Yes, friend, it is! 

The reality about our existence that the virus has made more evident is one that the ancient Psalm attributed to Moses declares: "You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust!” For you, a thousand years are as yesterday! They are like a few hours! You sweep people away like dreams that disappear or like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered." (Psalm 90:3-6, NLT) Grim? Perhaps, but living with the knowledge of the brevity of life can help us to gain focus. That same Psalm continues with this prayer: "Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. … Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives." (Psalm 90:12-14, NLT)

God invites us to real life, to live with peace and hope, in spite of  the state of the world in which we are living.

Jesus speaks! “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:25-33, NIV)

Here in the opening days of a New Year, His familiar words challenge me, again, to refocus on what matters, on what cannot be taken from me by the winds of change that blow through my life.

Will you receive those words with faith?
Will you pray, as I have, to find a secure anchor for your life in the eternal promise of God? 

God says that our soul can be secured by Him and that we can find a life that is richer in joy, one that finds meaning. 

How? It is more than the money we acquire, more than the pleasures we enjoy, more than the moments of happiness that we find.  Jesus invites us to live in His kingdom and righteousness. What does that mean? We surrender ourselves to Him, humbly acknowledging that He is in charge, that He directs us, that we live to serve His purposes. 

Given our cultural love of independence, it is difficult for us to accept that peace and fulfillment can be found in submission to Him. Will we pray, as He did, “Lord, not MY will, but Yours be done?”   And He invites us to receive the gift of a right relationship with God that leads us to live as the people of God.  What a key part of knowing the life God intends for us. We need not dread Him, or hide from Him, or work endlessly at ‘proving’ that we are good enough.  He provides us with a gift of grace, acceptance with Him that is beyond our merit or purchase!  Put on the Righteousness of Christ. Secure in Him even death itself loses its terrors.

Reset. Refocus. Refuse the angst so common in the world at the dawn of 2022.  Instead, choose life in Christ.

The word from the Word is a reminder, a little phrase that I pray will find a place in your mind today and for the rest of the coming year. "If we endure, we will also reign with Him." (2 Timothy 2:12, NIV)  

Lord, steady us, help us to seek You above all else that we may live in hope and know Your peace. Amen.

(Video of this blog at this link)
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Be Thou My Vision (Slane)

(Selah sings this beautiful, heart-felt prayer. Pray along with their song)

Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom
Be Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father
I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling
And I with Thee one

 High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won
May I reach heaven's joys
O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O Ruler of all

 Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne © Words: Public Domain

Balancing the checkbook

 

For many years I have used software called Quicken™ to manage my bank accounts. It makes a formerly dreaded task of month’s end - balancing the checkbook – a breeze. In the past, there was always at least one check or bank fee that I failed to enter or entered incorrectly, something that made the reconciliation process difficult. The only solution was to go back through my check register - line by line – comparing it to the bank statement to find my mistake. I learned that doing it every month was important because if I put it off the job would turn into a real bear!  Today, the process is a simple click of a couple of keys on my PC and I know exactly the balances in my accounts.

About 12 hours from this writing, we will be closing out 2020.  I believe we would do well to take some time to balance the books, so to speak.

Alone, with the Holy Spirit, there is benefit to some reflection.

What kind of questions form our reflection? Some suggestions -

-Am I a debtor to someone needing to ask forgiveness, offer thanks, or seek reconciliation?

-To whom should I speak a word of thanks?

-Am I cultivating habits that make me healthy in body and spirit?

-Do I give priority to my relationship with God, with regular worship, prayer, and spiritual disciplines?

-Is the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in evidence:  “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control?” (Galatians 5:22)

-How did I succeed? ... or fail? ... and by whose measure?

I hope that your reflection is not a ‘once a year’ thing. The accounts of our lives can get awfully out of balance in 12 months. As Christians we ought to take a cue from Paul’s instructions about receiving Communion. He tells us that before we take the holy Cup and Bread, there is an important moment.  To avoid being an unworthy, out of balance Believer, he says, "examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking from the cup." (1 Corinthians 11:28, NLT)  "But if we examine ourselves, we will not be examined by God and judged in this way." (1 Corinthians 11:31, NLT)  It is to be a regular discipline.

Christians are blessed with a gift of God to facilitate the process of keeping life in balance. God, the Holy Spirit, lives in us. Of Him, Jesus said that He would convict us when we err, steady us with assurance, and remind us of our hope in things eternal.  In your reflection, take time to become God-aware, inviting the Spirit to speak.  When you feel His gentle urging to change, to make something right, to recalibrate your course – respond quickly, readily saying, “Yes, Lord!”

Most of make some New Year’s resolutions, don’t we? We declare that this year we will …  and you can fill in that blank. But, 99% of them are notoriously forgotten by the 2^nd week of January!  Christian, that is why we need to regularly enter the Presence of God and prayerfully receive His guidance.

I love Paul’s inspired counsel. "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)  The most effective way to change  and to sustain that change is to involve others, to become accountable, to have support. That’s why AA is so helpful in the pursuit of sobriety, why Noom™ (an online plan for weight control) works so well. God has given us His Spirit and called us into His Church with the aim of making us into people who live for His glory even as we become ‘more than conquerors’ in this world.

As we leave this year behind, let’s raise our sights higher, pursuing God with passion and purpose.

Here's a word from the Word for us on the last day of 2020. May the Lord give us insight and wisdom to embrace the calling that is urged on us in it.
"I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish,

that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness,
which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which is from God by faith;...

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended;
but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:8-9, 13-14, NKJV)

Onward to "make a measurable difference for the kingdom of Christ."

(Video of this blog at this link)
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Build My Life

Worthy of ev'ry song we could ever sing
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for You

Jesus the name above ev'ry other name
Jesus the only one who could ever save
Worthy of ev'ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for You
We live for You

Holy there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

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Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Grief and Hope …

 

In the ancient book of Job, the Bible’s story of one man’s terrible trials, there is this pithy observation - "People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire." (Job 5:7, NLT)  Simply said, loss and disappointment are included in this thing that we know as ‘being human.’  Today I remember loss with sharp pain of grief on this 6^th anniversary of my wife’s death. That has left a wound in my life that has not fully healed.

I do not write that in self-pity or seeking sympathy for I know that that all of us must cope with loss.  It finds us in so many ways – sickness, death, divorce, addiction, job loss, pandemic, war -  it’s a long list!  I hasten to add that life can be rich in joy and fulfillment, too. I have known countless blessings in my days for which I am profoundly grateful.

How can we live with loss, doing well in spite of the grief that will come to us all?

Life must be lived with realism and acceptance.

How quickly an illusion that we can control life will consume us. Blessed with strength, full of optimism, we set out on the adventure of life. Our marriage is going to be the best ever. Our job is going to be fulfilling and productive. Our friendships will be rich and last for a lifetime. Until … failure comes; sickness visits, a child dies, our spouse turns out not to be the angel we imagined but rather an ordinary sinner.  

Millions experience the death of their dreams and conclude it must be their fault. If only they were smarter, richer, or famous they could make their life work. Believing the lie so many turn in people filled with envy and bitterness. Others refuse to deal with life and work mightily to sustain the fantasy of unending youth to hide their pain, or the pursuit of ‘success’ to prove their worth, or sensual pleasure in an attempt to soothe a troubled soul. Some will turn to alcohol or drugs to mask the ache of loss.  The wise will understand what they can control and what they cannot and learn to accept each season as it comes.

If we realize that we are not just body and emotions, that God has made us with an eternal soul, we can find meaning and fulfillment that sustains us in those changing seasons, that equips us to kind of person that leaves a blessing wherever she goes.

Life is richest when we anchor our hope in the promises of God.

Solomon, the rich king of Israel, lived for himself, accomplishing much, experiencing every pleasure that could be known. As an old man, full of regret, he offered this wisdom to us. "Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and no longer enjoy living. It will be too late then to remember him, when the light of the sun and moon and stars is dim to your old eyes, and there is no silver lining left among the clouds." (Ecclesiastes 12:1-2, NLT) "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person." (Ecclesiastes 12:13, NLT)

I listened to a man, 80 years of age, who has lived richly, a leader of others known world-wide, a godly scholar, talk about his recent encounter with cancer. He was not angry, nor was he bitter. He acknowledged that mortality crept up on him, surprising him. But, from the well of his relationship with God, he had drawn real and sustaining hope. “In my physical weakness, I have found my spirit growing stronger, my relationship with God deepening” he said. How can he face the limits of human existence with hope?  Because he knows his Creator through Christ Jesus and lives in faith that the grave is not the end.  

Paul, the apostle, tells us that he prayed for God to remove a troubling hardship. It did not happen. Rather God told him “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NIV)

Life need not be grim, nor must we surrender to the sorrow. But, if we would live well, we must look higher in faith. Don’t be taken in by that superficial and fake ‘faith’ that insists you can pray away every problem, claim health and wealth as your God-given right.  That is no faith, at all. It is simply an extension of human pride.  Real faith rests on the Person and promise of God Who has promised His Kingdom come to us all and assured us of that hope in the Resurrection of His Son, who overcame death, Hell, and the grave for us.

So, deal with life as it is.
Learn acceptance.
Pray for grace.

Grow deeper.
Keep faith and live in hope – that there more to life than we can see with our human eyes.

Here is the word from the Word. "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Obey God because you are his children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be his children—is holy. … 

Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently in God. … 

As the prophet says, “People are like grass that dies away; their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall away. But the word of the Lord will last forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:13-15, 21, 24-25, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)
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Beneath The Cross Of Jesus (Saint Christopher)

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand
The shadow of a mighty rock
Within a weary land
A home within the wilderness
A rest upon the way
From the burning of the noontide heat
And the burden of the day

Upon the cross of Jesus
Mine eyes at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me
And from my smitten heart with tears
Two wonders I confess
The wonder of redeeming love
And my unworthiness

I take O cross thy shadow
For my abiding place
I ask no other sunshine than
The sunshine of His face
Content to let the world go by
To know no gain nor loss
My sinful self my only shame
My glory all the cross

Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane | Frederick Charles Maker

© Words: Public Domain

Not feeling “Christmasy?”

 

 The woman looked weary.  “Tired?” I asked. Her reply was interesting.  “I just don’t feel very ‘Christmasy.’  Millions can identify with that feeling as we close out 2020 and come to the holiday.  We are weary of the Covid mess, exhausted by the strife that fills our land, and weighed by the uncertainty of the future.  Then, too, much more personally, many have allowed the chaos of Christmas to overwhelm them.  December’s calendar fills up with events, parties, travel, children’s programs, gift preparation, feasts, and family gatherings.

I celebrate the Christian season of Advent so that the wonder can gradually unfold as I intentionally make my way to the Day! Day by day, week by week, the season emerges as the words of the prophets, the songs of the Season, and the messages of the Gospels help me to prepare my life to celebrate the pivotal event of human history. Jesus entered Creation as a tiny Baby, a mysterious and miraculous coming that announced peace with God, the dawn of the Kingdom come and yet to come.

Dear friend, if we allow bright lights and festivities to steal the Moment, if we substitute mere parties for the substance of the Season, we will quickly grow exhausted, perhaps even Scroogish!  It’s not too late to capture the joy of Christmas.

There is a little phrase buried in the middle of Luke’s narrative of the Nativity that speaks of Mary’s response to the birth of Jesus, the angelic announcement, and the visit of shepherds with the wondrous tale. "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19, NIV) Treasured and pondered- the words that arrest me.  She took time to store the moments in memory and revisited them often. Why? Because they were precious, sweet memories for a mother? Perhaps. 

 More importantly, I believe she treasured and pondered knowing that His birth was the pivotal moment of her life, the reason for her very existence- to bear the Son of God.  I wonder if, as she stood 33 years later at the foot of the cross on that horrific day when her Son hung dying, if she retreated to that Holy Night and drew comfort from the knowledge of God’s plans?

Today carve out some time to treasure and ponder. Before you laugh at the suggestion as you look over your calendar, please consider that God’s gift cannot be found in a store, on Amazon.com, or the holiday music of SiriusXM radio. Oh yes, those parts of the holiday traditions will play a part in our celebration, but the amazing, restorative, joy-bringing love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus will be found in the quiet, where His Spirit can whisper to us about the wonder, the mystery of the Incarnation (God in flesh)! 

Treasure and ponder this familiar word letting become new in your heart - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17, NIV)

Tonight I will gather with friends in the church (Faith Discovery Church, 7 PM) for my favorite worship service of the year.  It will be the first time in decades I will not be leading the worship, but rather sitting among the congregation. But, I am anticipating the opportunity to savor the Story, to sing the songs, and most of all, to treasure and ponder the message that makes all the difference for me and for any who will receive the Christ of Bethlehem.

Yes, I am pondering that momentous message - "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:11-12, NIV)

I pray for you a most blessed Christmas, a renewal of love for the Savior, a re-centering of faith on Him, and a recommissioning to service of the Baby of Bethlehem, now the Lord of Heaven and Earth, our King!

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Joy to the World,
The Lord is Come!
Let earth receive her King.
Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
And Heav’n and nature sing.

 CoffeeBreak will be back in a few days, Lord-willing!
I am taking my own counsel and hope to spend time treasuring and pondering the mystery of the Word become Flesh.

Merry Christmas!