Wisdom and Faith

When does a person cross the line from trusting God to ‘forcing God to act’ with presumption? What is simple faith that includes God’s perspective and what is foolishness that ignores the need to make hard decisions? Those are not just speculative questions for me!
I have a daughter and son-in-law who recently relocated across the country pursuing God’s plan for their lives, and they need jobs, now!
The church I pastor is functioning on a razor thin financial margin, with a major ministry that is trending flat in terms of income, and choices that we make now will be critically important to the over-all health of the church for years to come.
My own earning, while not meager, are – by all human measures- inadequate to prepare me for the future when I would like to think of retiring. In each situation the right response is to – trust God! But, what does that mean?

The whole of the Scripture offers two kinds of counsel which are like the parallel tracks of a railroad. We are commanded to implicitly trust the Lord to provide for us and we are directed to be diligently thoughtful about the choices we make. Just as a train cannot run without both tracks, our lives will quickly derail if we are not both wise and filled with faith. I love the promise that says "My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19, NIV) However, I also note that just a few verses before that in the same passage, there is this recognition that while God promises to provide what I need, He never says He will give me everything I want. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:12-13, NIV)

God equips us with both heart and mind.
If we live guided only by our emotions, we will wander into the land of ‘happy talk,’ living along the river of Denial, incapable of dealing with the reality of the world in which we live.
If we live only by our reason and intellect, we will never venture to do great things, never pray for God to move that mountain! When I read about the selection of the first deacons for the Church in Jerusalem, there is instruction in the way the Apostles told the church to choose these leaders. Note the twin qualifications. "So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task." (Acts 6:3, The Message)

Take this word from the Word with you today. Savor it, pray it, think it over.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:2-5, NIV)

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" (James 2:14, NIV)

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." (James 3:13, NIV)

God Has A Plan!

People tell me about their troubles and I’m glad to share the burden. I hear things like:
“Why did my girlfriend break our engagement?”
“My brother in law may have cancer.”
“My marriage isn’t working and I’m being tempted by someone else.”
“As of tomorrow, I have no work.”

My counsel is often about waiting for God, actively praying for the faith that will keep us steady, while we look for His plan to unfold. He has a plan! Heard that before? Of course, you have. That’s not news, but it is one of the most difficult truths to hang onto when stuff is flying in the storm all around us; when not much is making sense!

In the 18th chapter of John, we read of Jesus’ arrest. A detachment of soldiers, led by Judas, who knew the place, climb the steep hill to the olive grove where He has been praying. It is the middle of the night. Fear grabs the throats of the disciples, but Jesus calmly steps forward and meets this menacing troop. “Who are you looking for?” And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.” “I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” (John 18:7-8, NLT)

What is the source of His peace and strength? His knowledge that God’s plan must unfold!
Peter, on the same night, reacts entirely differently. When the first men show up to arrest Jesus, Peter pulls his dagger and takes a wild swing, cutting off one’s ear! Jesus tells Peter he isn’t being helpful! “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” (John 18:11, NKJV)

Later, when Jesus is facing Annas, the former high priest, for questioning, He doesn’t cower. He stands up boldly, telling the old man that He wants a trial. “If I did anything, or said anything wrong, prove it with witnesses!”

At the same moment, Peter is denying he even knows Jesus! He is full of fear, confused by what’s going on, trying to survive! One Man knew that He was in the center of God’s will. The other did not. Nothing in those circumstances suggested God was at work. There was injustice, corruption of power, and betrayal - but God was bringing about His plan to redeem sinful humanity! Mystery, isn’t it?

Perhaps nothing in your situation appears good or ‘godly!’ Today you may be surrounded by temptation, sickness, doubt, or uncertainty. Before you start lashing out, swinging the sword of self-defense or saying things you don’t really believe - wait on God! Tell the Holy Spirit you’re afraid. Reach out to disciples who will stand with you. Retreat to a quiet spot where you can offer up silent prayer. Pick up the Word and read a passage of promise. Renew your faith in the plans of your Father. "Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own." (Jeremiah 33:3, The Message) My counsel is not to resign to fate. It is to embrace God’s plan. On the outside it may look much the same, but in the latter choice there is hope and peace.

Here’s a word from the Word. Read it and pray for faith to receive it.
"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:14-20, NLT) _______________

The song of my soul,
Since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus who'll save
Whosoever will have
A home in the "Haven of Rest."

O come to the Savior,
He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul
In the "Haven of Rest,"
And say, My Beloved is mine."

I've anchored my soul
In the "Haven of Rest,"
I'll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep,
O'er the wild stormy deep;
In Jesus I'm safe evermore.

The Haven Of Rest
Gilmour, Henry L. / Moore, George D.
© Public Domain

Remember!

Pictures, sounds, smells, faces- an amazing collage of information out of which I formulate memories – is stored in the billions of cells that form that lump between my ears called a brain! On Sunday, Bev and I set off for the little town in Massachusetts where we raised our family and invested a dozen years in God’s work at Calvary Christian Chapel. On Monday, I stood at that little church and was overwhelmed to the point of physical illness by memory. In my mind I could hear the chatter of my children again, the voices of that congregation raised in song, the strains of a song Larry sang on my first Sunday as their pastor – “Welcome To the Family.” My mind flipped through pages that held weddings, funerals, dinners, and faces of friends gone for years. At age 53, I certainly have many more memories than expectations! Yet, I am grateful, beyond words, for those memories for they are my ‘life experience,’ and that, in large part, makes me who I am today! In sum, the satisfactions outweigh the regrets, thank God.

It isn’t, as I discovered this week, always a pleasant thing to ‘see’ the past. There is the ache that comes with longing to re-live happy moments, the stab that comes with recall of stupid or sinful decisions, and the knowledge that all is now out of reach, only a collection of memories, sometimes supported by a photograph or a video! But remembering is important! Burke reminded us that ‘Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.’ Maya Angelou sagely observes that ‘History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, it need not be lived again.’

I find it compelling to note that Jesus Christ commands remembering and makes it one of the core practices of Christians. "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:19-20, NIV) “Never forget,” He says, “what I did on your behalf, the sacrifice at the Cross that reconciles you to God.” Interestingly, He built that ritual meal of remembrance around another – the Passover Seder - that the Jews have celebrated for thousands of years which recalls their own salvation and calling out of Egypt.

The Lord’s Supper or Communion serves not only to remind us of our salvation. It is also a time to renew our ties to the family, the Church. On our trip, Bev and I shared meals with friends. It was remarkable how years of separation fell away as we laughed and listened around tables! When Christians take the cup and the bread together, it should be a vivid reminder of the unity to which God calls us. At Communion, we are all on the same level ground- sinners saved by grace, now children of God, the Elect "who once were far away … brought near through the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:13, NIV)

Disciple, remember!
Remember God’s faithfulness and rejoice.
Remember God’s forgiveness and let go of regret.
Remember with gratitude those who blessed you along the way.
Remember and let experience be your teacher.

Here’s a word from the Word. May the Spirit use it to remind you of God’s goodness.
"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes,
I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?" (Psalm 77:11-13, NIV)
______________

A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble. – Charles Spurgeon

Two lives at the finish line

Ed Thomas, high school football coach from Parkersburg, IA, was shot and killed on Wednesday morning by a man who formerly played on his team. Thomas, 58, was a family man, a phenomenal coach who sent several guys into the pros, and a Christian man deeply respected in Parkersburg, where he invested 37 years coaching and helping out anyone in distress. When the little town was destroyed by a tornado last year, Thomas was at the forefront of efforts to rebuild the community. Hundreds gathered to remember him at a memorial at the football field.
Michael Jackson, 50, the “king of pop music,” died yesterday at his home in Los Angeles from sudden cardiac arrest. Billions (literally!) spoke his name as news traveled ‘round the world. Major networks gave hours to coverage of his death and remembering his art. Amazingly gifted as an entertainer, his personal life was tragic, and to all appearances, he was a very lonely, troubled individual.

The contrast of these two lives occupied my mind for quite a while. One was rich, the other was not. One was famous, the other was not. Both enjoyed a kind of success, but of a very different nature. One was loved for himself, the other loved for his art. One was fulfilled and at peace with his life, the other on an endless quest for what God only knows.

Jesus asks us a pointed question. "What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? " (Mark 8:36-37, The Message)

Jackson was inarguably a man who lived an amazing life, who gained most everything that many crave. He had wealth and recognition, some saying he was known by more people around the world than other person. But, what does he leave and where did he go? He lived for this world and died a spiritual pauper.

"He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much;
who has enjoyed the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has left the world better than he found it,
whether by an improved flower, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of Earth`s beauty or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others and
given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction."
by Betty Anderson Stanley

Here’s a word from the Word. It is my prayer today. Will you make it yours?
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
(Psalm 90:12, NIV)

________________

I’m taking a couple of days off next week. CoffeeBreak will be back on Weds., 7/1.

Got what it takes?

It was reported that Judge Sotomayor, the recent nominee to the Supreme Court, has moments when she feels a sense of inadequacy for her work as a Federal Judge, not because she lacks credentials, but because she feels so human, so ordinary. This woman, born in a working class neighborhood of New York City, is not, to all appearances, in love with herself, unimpressed by her rise in power. She called herself, “an ordinary person blessed with extraordinary opportunities.”

Do you ever wonder if you’ve got what it takes to live your calling?
Does the challenge of living the life of a Christian seem impossible when you consider your capabilities?
When you compare yourself to another disciple, do you feel like a fraud, wondering if you’re even in the same league?

Left on our own, we will not live in a way that consistently honors our God and reflects His goodness to others. To those who insist on the innate goodness of human beings, I present this indictment: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV) David, praying for forgiveness after plotting the death of his friend and taking Bathsheba in adultery cries out to the Lord, "I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. … For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:3,5, NLT)

Before we can experience genuine spiritual transformation, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to bring crushing conviction of our sinfulness. Old revivalist churches had a ‘mourner’s bench.’ It was the place where those who were broken by their sins wept in contrition, made their confession, received the grace of Jesus Christ, and experienced the new birth of the Spirit. We don’t have those today! Instead we have the “boasting couch,” where we brag about our sins, to the world! “I’m OK, you’re OK,” we insist while we comfort each other in our lust, greed, and addictions. I’m all for compassion for sinners! I am one apart from God’s saving grace. I’m all for authenticity! It’s a hallmark of my ministry and I pray I’ll never forget ‘the pit from which He pulled me.’ BUT, I don’t want to leave people in their sins nor do I want to stay there!

The two passages quoted above do not end by bemoaning depravity! They also celebrate the goodness of God and His power to save! "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV)
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ... Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:10, 12, NIV)

The 2nd chapter of Ephesians reminds us that because of Christ and the Spirit, being captives of sin and Self, is a past tense experience for disciples.
"It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. … It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. … He picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah. … Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! … No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." (Ephesians 2:1-10, The Message) WOW!

Disciple, make your prayer like the prayer that Jesus prayed on the night of His betrayal - "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. … I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." (John 17:1,4, NIV) “Glorify” is a word that means to give splendor, to make radiant. We need to be concerned that our lives are radiant, marked by the ‘glow’ of God, so that we bring glory to God! Can you or I do that on our own? To even think we can is laughable! But, God, the Holy Spirit, will live in us and His brilliance, His light will shine through us.

Let’s make it our goal to live in the promise. Here’s a word from the Word. I pray it both challenges and encourages you to live up to your calling today – not by your strength, but in His wonderful power! "Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:16-18, NIV)

In Him, we are all ‘ordinary people blessed with extraordinary opportunities,’ to participate in the Divine Conspiracy to save the world!
______________

Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us;
Set us free by the truth You now bring us.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Lord, I come to Your awesome presence.
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness;
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirror'd here, may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shine.
Fill this land
With the Father's glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze.
Set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow.
Flood the nations
With grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word,
Lord, and let there be light.

Shine, Jesus, Shine

Kendrick, Graham© 1987 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License No. 810055

Throw Your Hat Over the Wall

There’s an old story (it exists in many forms on the Internet!) about two friends were walking together when they came to a high wall. It stretched into the hills on both horizons. “So, Freddy,” Pete said, “I think we’ll have to turn around. We have reached the end of our road!”
Freddy grabbed Pete’s hat, a treasure he never let out of his sight, and threw it over the wall.
Pete flung himself to the ground in despair, angrily asking, “Why did you do that? That is my favorite hat! I’ll never see it again!” “Ah, I knew it was your favorite and that is why I threw it over the wall,” Fred said, “Now we will have to find a way to get over the wall.”

More than a few times in life I have thrown my hat over a wall, creating new challenges for myself, and then wondered why! The truth is I hope I never willingly abandon my journey simply because there is a high wall that appears to block the way. Part of me hates the difficulty of new circumstances, but another part of me knows that to surrender to them is to fail! Life is not trouble-free, but often, our ‘troubles’ become the soil in which God grows new opportunities!

18 months ago, I had no idea of the journey into sickness that my Dad was about to take, nor how his journey would involve me up until he died four months ago. But, when the situation called for it, I threw my hat over the wall and found a way to go after it! I’m so glad I did. I grew to know my Dad and my Heavenly Father in very new ways in that darkness!

When I was called to pastor my present church, I found many challenges. The easiest course of
action would have been to say, “I must have got this wrong. It’s impossible for me to serve here.” But, I knew that where God leads, God provides; that God is a way-maker!

The Word says, "The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." (Psalm 116:6-7, NIV) That word, “simplehearted” is about having a child-like faith, something akin to naivete; the willingness to attempt the impossible because it appears one doesn’t know any better! Is your faith in God so deep and strong that you will follow where He leads even when you look like a fool doing it?

So, what wall have you run into, disciple?
- Is your marriage a joyless one, with high walls standing in the way of rediscovery of your love? Will you quit or throw your hat over the wall?
- Is your faith barren of life, with high walls of doubt or fear blocking your experience of God’s presence? Again, I ask, will you quit or throw your hat over the wall?
- Is it a wall that keeps you from parenting well, from serving God with your spiritual gifts, that keeps you from giving to His work, that prevents you from regular practice of spiritual disciplines, …

There is a temptation to think that by turning away, life will become easier. It may- for a while- but then you’ll run into yet another wall! If you keep running, turning back from every challenge, the walls will close in on you! You will find yourself hemmed in by troubles, trials, doubts, and fears – perhaps even enslaved by sin – if you have refused to look for a way over that wall that stands between you and God’s highway of holiness.

The ancient Isrealites were led by God to the door of the Promised Land, but once there they believed the majority report of the scouts who told them that
“The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night." (Numbers 13:32-14:1, NLT) They refused to throw their hat over the wall and God let them wander for 40 years in the Sinai wilderness ‘til they died!

The next time they came to that moment of decision, they were inspired by the faithfilled leadership of Joshua who heard God tell him to throw his hat over the wall! “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." (Joshua 1:6-8, NLT) And they saw the Promise fulfilled!

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. … And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (Hebrews 11:1, 6, NLT)
___________

My Lord knows the way
Thro' the wilderness;
All I have to do is follow.

Strength for today
is mine always
And all I need
for tomorrow!
My Lord knows the way
Thro' the wilderness
All I have to do is follow.


My Lord Knows The Way
Cox, Sidney E.© 1951. Renewed 1979 Singspiration Music (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Coolsprings Blvd., Franklin TN 37067)
CCLI License No. 810055

The K.I.S.S. Principle

It just all got to me today. Church ministry budgets that don’t balance, human needs for which I have no quick fix, a crazy mixed up world that seems to be getting more upside down recently – these things pressed in on me. “Why can’t it just be easy?” I whined to myself. Then the Spirit whispered, “Jerry, come back to your center. Simplify!” That center? “I am a beloved son of the Heavenly Father and with Him on my side, nothing is too hard.”

Do you know the K.I.S.S. principle? I'm not sure where it originated, but the concept is a GREAT! It's abrupt, maybe even rude. But, what the Spirit whispered to me was an expression of the that principle. K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Our Christian life gets awfully confused if we turn it into long debates about doctrines, slogs through philosophical ideas, or doing enough for God in ministry, whatever that is.
Am belittling doctrine or wrestling with ideas to find the truth? Not at all.
Am I saying that serving God faithfully in our ministry for His kingdom is unnecessary? No, again!

I am reminding you and me that that the heart of the Christ life is relationship -- with God and with others. I have that on the best authority! Jesus Himself said, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’" (Matthew 22:36-39, The Message)

The Beatles (anybody remember them these days?) wrote a simple song, one their earliest, that proclaimed, “All you need is love!” They were on to something. I wonder if John Lennon, who penned those lyrics, ever read the Gospels? The song was a hit, but it only touched one plane of love - people’s love for people – which quickly fails without the primary love – loving and being loved by God!

The writer of the book of Hebrews spends 12 chapters presenting the superiority of the Gospel with carefully reasoned arguments and then under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he circles ‘round to to the K.I.S.S. principle in the last chapter: (13.1) "Keep on loving each other!" All our fine theology must change the way we live from selfishness to love. If we reduce our Christian faith to a set of ideas that conform to orthodoxy, but fail to love- it's all a waste! 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us, "Without love, your preaching is as edifying as a gong or noisy cymbal. The ability to speak lofty theology, the insight to grasp spiritual mysteries, even a mountain-moving faith -- is worthless!"

Those unbalanced budgets are still there. Questions about my competence are still nagging at me. But, there is one certainty born of the K.I.S.S. principle: I love God and He loves me! From that centering Truth, I gain steady footing that lets me deal with my life, ministry, and the tests that will keep coming my way until I am received into His Presence for Eternity. Friend, if you know that, you, too, can deal with the rest of the stuff! So, keep it simple today, OK?

Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones (and big people, too) to Him belong,
when they are weak,
He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible (and the Spirit in my heart) tells me so!

Wimps for Jesus?

From certain points of view, a person could conclude that Christianity is a religion for wimps, that church is a gathering spot for the whiners and the weak. There are those congregations organized around bland programs that promote ‘nice,’ governed by committees of kind ladies whose life purpose is to have a nice church dinner with pretty centerpieces, and led by pastors whose highest goal is to find the lowest common denominator in pursuit of ‘non-offense’ in all proclamations. Prayers, if one could call them that, in that kind of church are all about Aunt Tilly’s infected toe and Uncle Joe’s latest bout with gout. Somewhere in that church, you will likely find that ubiquitous portrait of Jesus Christ that portrays Him as an effeminate man smiling wanly as if life is about to overwhelm Him.

Don’t get me wrong! Churches should promote harmony, be concerned with those marginalized by society, and care for the sick! But, that’s not all we do, nor does such a mission begin to define the true nature of the powerful faith given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ! Your faith and mine is given to us for more than making us nice people who live quietly comfortable lives that intentionally avoid seeing the needs of the world, sated by endless pleasure seeking.

We are called into the service of the Lord of Heaven and Earth, commissioned to engage Evil, equipped with the armor of the Spirit and sent out to change the world by giving our lives for the Call. I’m not ready to die for a committee organizing church suppers, but I am ready to give myself to the One Who can use me to rescue men and women from death and Hell, that will stand up to tyrants, that will fight for those who are enslaved by the Devil and those who do his terrible work here.

We need to re-read the Gospels without our ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild,’ filters in place. Yes, He was a loving Man, who blessed children, and fed multitudes. And, He was a powerful Man who compelled sinners to consider their ways, who took on the powerful hypocrites that had turned faith into a money-making scheme, who walked courageously to the Cross to offer Himself as the Sacrifice for the sins of the world. His prayers were not little poems to inspire. In them He met with God and wrestled with the Devil and sweat blood! He was not timidly suggesting that those who wanted to follow Him should set aside 15 minutes a day to think happy thoughts and gather, if it was convenient, once a week for an hour or so for a nice program!

He demanded that they give up their lives for Him. In fact, one day when He was explaining that He must give His life, Peter tried to speak up and earned this rebuke from the Master. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” He followed up with this challenge – that we need to hear again and again! Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:22-26, NIV)

Christianity is the hope of the world. For two millennia, this Gospel has transformed individuals and entire cultures wherever it was preached by fearless men and women who were captivated by the beauty of the Lord, whose love for Him was not romanticized, but deep and compelling. Wimps for Jesus will not have a voice in this present darkness. Only those prepared to die (perhaps not literally, but certainly to their own purposes and pleasures) will.

Rich Mullins penned the song, “Awesome God,” in which he captured something of the true nature of our God. May his words stir you today.

When He rolls up His sleeves,
He ain't just puttin' on the ritz.
Our God is an awesome God.
There is thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fists.
Our God is an awesome God.
And the Lord wasn't jokin'
When He kicked 'em out of Eden.
It wasn't for no reason
That He shed His blood.
His return is very close,
And so you better be believin'
That our God is an awesome God.

When the sky was starless
In the void of the night,
Our God is an awesome God.
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light,
Our God is an awesome God
The judgment and wrath
He poured out on Sodom;
The mercy and grace
He gave us at the cross.
I hope that we have not
Too quickly forgotten
That our God is an awesome God.

Our God is an awesome God.
He reigns from heaven above;
With wisdom, pow'r and love,
Our God is an awesome God.

Awesome God
Mullins, Rich© 1988 BMG Songs, Inc. (Admin. by BMG Music Publishing)
CCLI License No. 810055

“Don’t frustrate your kids!”

While looking for a book on the shelves in my office a couple of days ago, I came upon a book my son, Sean, prepared for me as gift at Christmas a couple of years ago. In it, he recalled events and moments from his childhood. Being the sentimental sap I am, tears stung my eyes as I read through it again. You know what stood out to me? The fact that he remembered little stuff- breakfast together on Saturday, getting to wear one of my crosses to church, getting bad hot chocolate at Pinky’s Café. (There’s a story there, but no time here to tell it!) I didn’t get to be a good Dad in his eyes by being Super-Dad one or two weeks each year. He didn’t put the trip to Disney in his book. He didn’t write about big, expensive gifts. What he remembered and celebrated was that I was there for him, consistently, fairly, all the time!

Because it will be Father’s Day this coming Sunday, I want to take this opportunity to encourage all those Dads who read “Coffeebreak” to embrace the challenge and high calling of fathering, and to do it in a way that honors God and blesses your kids. Being a good Dad will require constantly adjusting your schedule, re-setting priorities, and living with integrity! Nothing disillusions a child more than the dawning realization that Dad does not keep his word, that he talks a much better Christian game than he lives! More than a few times I’ve counseled a teenager through a rough time when they are ready to throw away their faith because they see the yawning gap that exists between the faith their father professes and the life he lives!

Dad, does that mean you have to be perfect? Not at all. It does mean that you have to work at growing in Christ. It also demands that when you get it wrong, you admit it – to the Lord first and then to your family. Real confession of our sins and failure, offered without excuse, demonstrates honesty and because it is so painful, helps to keep us from doing it again!

The Bible says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4, NIV) The Message says, "Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master."

I will always be Dad, discipling my children even though the youngest is now 27 years of age and a continent away. I am no longer responsible for their discipline, but I am there for them, still offering advice, still blazing a trail for them to follow. My Dad blazed a trail for me and since his death I feel a keen loss. Another friend, who is my age, lost his Dad, too. As we were talking about Dad’s, Mark remarked, “You miss be able to call up the Captain and ask, ‘So, Dad, what do you think?” I miss that, too!

Now my aim is that as long as God gives me life, to be the kind of man, the kind of Christian, that causes my children to seek my friendship and wisdom. This will not happen in my life by sheer determination alone. I must be ‘fathered’ by the Great Father, led by God, inhabited by His Spirit. How I thank God for the promise that He will lead me, teach me, and empower me. Do you want to lead your children to Him?

Be a follower, first. Then you can say, "Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1, NLT)
___________

Surrounded by so great
A cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race
Not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us.
Let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness
Passed on thru godly lives.

After all our hopes and dreams
Have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all
We've left behind,
May the clues that they discover,
And the mem'ries they uncover,
Become the light that leads them,
To the road we each must find.

O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion
Light their way.
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful.

Find Us Faithful

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

Serenity can be yours!

Anxiety is the epidemic of our age, isn’t it? We are stressed by time pressure, unmet expectations, a faltering economy, gloomy predictions for the future … and too many personal things to even begin to mention. For me, the current stressor is the budget for the church and her ministries. We are closing our fiscal year in a couple of weeks and planning for the coming year in this economic climate is not fun! But, I would be in sin if I failed acknowledge the way that the Lord and His people have provided so that the church’s work continued with enough resources through this present year. He has been Yahweh Yireh (The Lord, Our Provider; Genesis 22:14), and I am deeply grateful.

In the second half of John’s Gospel, we read an extended conversation between Jesus and His disciples over the final Passover meal as He prepared them for His imminent arrest and death. It’s a sober, yet at times almost comedic, exchange in which they just don’t get it. They are confused by His words, unable to grasp His promise of a new Comforter that will come to live in them, the Holy Spirit. Jesus does not sugarcoat the future. He warns them that they will be persecuted by the world who will not like them any more than they liked Him. He tells them that when they do good, they will be hated. He says that troubles will come their way. We need to hear those words!

A silly brand of Christianity is ballyhooed by thousands of preachers that implies that becoming a follower of Christ Jesus will bring bright skies, endless horizons, and days of bliss! Those who hear those false promises often conclude that they must be ‘bad’ or have ‘no faith,’ because trouble and trials continue to be part of life. Certainly, we do bring some trouble on our own heads by walking willfully, out of step with the Spirit. However, if we are deeply committed we will be up to our necks in difficulties! Why? Because we are called to serve in hard places, commissioned to live against the current, resisting the Devil and his evil works – even to the point of death!

But…. (don’t you love that conjunctive word?) peace is possible. Yes, serenity is God’s gift to us. Here’s what Jesus said at that supper to men who were confused and stressed by what He had told them about their future:
“Fix this firmly in your minds: You’re going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You’ll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness. “When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there’s no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you’ll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. … I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (John 16:20-22, 33 The Message)

Those men were going to enter into a greater darkness than they had ever known, but in three days the Resurrection would let them put the puzzle together, give them the assurance they needed, and prepare them for the future.

Disciple, we must grasp the promise and the assurance that leads to serenity; to peace in the middle of the storms. “Take heart! I have overcome the world!” is still a promise for you and me. Jesus knows about the budgetary needs of my church, so I need to be as wise as possible, obedient to His leading, and trusting that come what may He still leads. Death, divorce, disappointment, temptation, unemployment, failure, missed expectations, overcoming addictions – there is serenity for those who give their lives into His care.
_______________

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Original Serenity Prayer
by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

All In The Family

Good Shepherd Christian Academy, a ministry of the church I pastor, had graduation exercises for 8th grade last night. One theme glued the evening together- the sense of being a family! The attachments run deep, as evidenced by their tears, real tears that flowed copiously through the whole 90 minute program. Sure, they fight. What brothers and sisters don't? Some of them have been GSCA students for their entire elementary education, others just for a year or two. Even at age 13 or 14, they know the value of 'belonging.'

Oh, that each ministry and participant in our church would find and hold onto that kind of connection! Ours is a fragmented, broken society, with many lonely, isolated people. Large extended families in America are almost extinct, torn apart by our mobility and quest for prosperity; and yet, we need to belong! Few things are more critical to emotional and spiritual health than being part of a network of relationships that provides opportunities for service and support. But, it isn't easy to build or maintain that kind of web, is it? Tragically, too often conflict is allowed to tear up families and churches! (I'm not throwing any stones on that point for I've been there, done that!) Somebody's sin intrudes and because we don't know how to deal with sin and dysfunction with bold, firm, loving discipline; everything blows up! Then, too, many of us hang onto an exaggerated sense of privacy and/or individualism that allows us a high level of autonomy but robs us of the joy of really loving and being loved.

A church that opens her doors and hearts to others will look very messy! Some expect their church to be like an army on parade, in neat uniforms, marching in lockstep. I have to disagree. A real church will resemble a family reunion, chaotic, relational, glued together not by rigid discipline but by profound love! A church family will have the full complement of characters - just like any other family. There will be the leaders and the followers, the stars and the silent workers, the cranks and the jokesters, the sages and the fools, the highly productive and the VNP's (Very Needy People), the good and the bad, the whole and the broken, the joyful and the sad.

Let me ask you a couple of questions today.
Are you part of a church?Are you helping her be a real family?Are you investing yourself in forming and maintaining close relationships that will return rich dividends to you and for the cause of Christ?

Ponder this passage from the Scripture that describes the Church in terms of the body. It's a familiar passage, so I've used The Message to help you read it anew. As you read, invite the Holy Spirit to renew the family of God, to glue us together, to help us to love each other.

"What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way-the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. You are Christ's body-that's who you are! You must never forget this.

Only as you accept your part of that body does your "part" mean anything. You're familiar with some of the parts that God has formed in his church, which is his "body": apostles prophets teachers miracle workers healers helpers organizers those who pray in tongues. But it's obvious by now, isn't it, that Christ's church is a complete Body and not a gigantic, unidimensional Part?
It's not all Apostle, not all Prophet, not all Miracle Worker, not all Healer, not all Prayer in Tongues, not all Interpreter of Tongues."
(1 Corinthians 12:20-30, The Message)

___________

Welcome to the family,
We're glad that you have come
To share your life with us,
As we grow in love
And may we always be to you,
What God would have us be,
A fam'ly always there,
To be strong and to lean on.

May we learn to love each other
More with each new day,
May words of love be on our lips
In ev'rything we say.
May the Spirit melt our hearts,
And teach us how to pray,
That we might be a true family.

Welcome To The Family
Rettino, Debby Kerner
© 1982 Rettino - Kerner Publishing (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055

Ambition in check

The voicemail message was a strange one, “Pastor, would you please pray that God gives me favor so that my worship ‘ministry’ goes world-wide?” I don’t know the person making that request. However, I know this: If his real desire is ministry, it won’t matter whether he is serving 10 or 10,000! It seems clear to me that the guy making that request has his priorities a little mixed up! His ambition is out of focus. I did not pray what he asked! I did ask pray; that his ministry would be God-honoring, marked by faithfulness, and that when he led worship he would become invisible as he led people into the Spirit’s presence.

Ambition gets out of focus easily enough. Last week a person sent me a note that praised my writing skills. I appreciate encouragement. We all do. However, I took that praise and got all puffed up. I imagined myself writing a book and speaking at conferences. It makes me laugh at myself when I think how quickly my sinful human nature can take a little affirmation and go on an extended ego trip! Managing ambition demands constant submission to the Spirit.

The Bible speaks of ambition and not always with condemnation! The Word is replete with examples of people who dreamed of accomplishing much for God, who desired to do amazing in His service. In far too many of their stories, their very success became their undoing. Remember Saul, the first king of Israel? Samuel found him full of pride and rebellious. He asked him to remember when he was nobody and God made him somebody! “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel." (1 Samuel 15:17, NIV) In contrast there is the story of Joseph. A farm boy from nowhere, God gave him a dream! Through years of hard times he held onto that dream, serving God and men faithfully in small ways until God raised him to great prominence as the Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph never forgot Who he served or why he was promoted.

What God corrects is selfish ambition.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3, NIV)
"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." (James 3:16, NIV)

Nothing corrupts ministry more quickly than the need to be recognized, the desire to be first; ambition that is no longer submitted to the Spirit of the Lord.
When our ministry to God and His people, whatever it is that He has called and equipped us to do, becomes about numbers or reputation, it will no longer be ‘ministry.’

Here’s a word from the Word. May the Spirit use it to keep our selfish ambition in check and to encourage service that is focused on the One worthy.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11, NIV)

Not ‘back’ to anything!

After I spoke on the fullness of the Spirit yesterday, somebody remarked, “Sounds like you think we need to get back to an old-fashioned Pentecost.” I didn’t respond but the comment lingers. I asked myself, “Am I, due to my age, longing for the past? Am I remembering days gone by with the soft rosy tint so often imparted by nostalgia?” No! I am eager to experience all that the Lord has for His Church and for me right now. I do not want to re-live any previous ‘glory days!’ I am convinced that there are new and wonderful things prepared in His purposes, that He is not just the God of my fathers, but the God of my grandsons!

After crying out in alarm over the terrible spiritual conditions in Israel, the prophet Joel used a plague of locusts that was devastating the land to illustrate a coming military invasion that would bring terrible destruction. "Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us." (Joel 2:1, NLT) But, Joel’s vision did not stop there! "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-31, NIV) Disciple, walking away from the Lord will invite His correction, but – praise Him – He does not abandon us forever. “His mercies are new every morning!”

I believe that He is holding out the offer of a new Renaissance to us if only we will invite the Spirit to give us new dreams, bigger than ourselves, greater than our personal prosperity. The Renaissance period in Europe, beginning in the 1400’s, which brought about the rebirth of culture and learning after the Dark Ages, brought a whole new way of thinking to the Western World. Many thought that Christianity was done, finished by the dawn of the Enlightenment! But, God’s voice spoke through all that tumult of that time to the heart of a German monk named Martin Luther. Through him, the Spirit gave us the Reformation, which not only changed the Church, but laid the foundation for Western democracy, and our entire way of life. Luther did not have a vision about going back to anything. God showed him a new way to worship, a new vision of the Cross of Christ, a new vision of grace.

His famed five ‘sola’s’ shaped the core principles of the rebirth of vital Christianity:
‘Sola Scriptura,’ only the Scripture;
‘Solus Christus’ – only Christ;
‘Sola Gratia’ – only grace;
‘Sola Fide’ – only faith –
‘Soli Deo Gloria’ – only for God’s glory.

These ideas may seem common, even familiar to us, but the Spirit birthed these visions of the core Truths of the Gospel when God revealed these things to Luther 500 years ago! They came to him in a time of terrible darkness and in great struggle.

Let’s believe God, the Spirit, for a new proclamation of the Gospel that engages our world. The Scripture remains! Christ is the same! Grace is the hope. Faith is the only means of receiving that grace. No matter the age, the purpose of our lives is found only in God’s glory. A backward look was the sin of Lot’s wife that led to her demise. So, if we spend our days longing for another era, gazing fondly backward, we will never experience the renaissance that God, the Holy Spirit, has prepared for us. Lift your eyes to Him.

Here’s a word from the Word. Jesus, speaking to His disciples and to us, urges us to receive the vision.
"Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together." (John 4:35-36, NIV)
_______________

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart.
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, Mighty as Thou art.
And make me love Thee, as I ought to love!

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

George Croly – public domain

The True Focus of Our Prayers

Do you pray? The question is not whether you say a few perfunctory words over your meals or repeat a ritual at bedtime. Nor is my inquiry about those moments of desperation when even agnostics beg God for favor. Winston Churchill, England’s Prime Minister who led that nation through the 2nd World war, was a man without a living faith, by his own profession. Once in a conversation with President Roosevelt he said, “I ask God to protect us on the field of battle.” When I ask about prayer, I am urging an unending conversation with God, which is the heart of real prayer!

“Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.” That line from the hymn is the truth. Prayer is the primary work of the disciple. A disciple who does not pray is bereft of strength, cut off from his Father. One who prays will overcome temptation, will see God’s purposes fulfilled, and will live with greater peace. If those things are true, then why do so many disciples pray so poorly, so little?

In the book, Longing for God, Fosters explores the writings of many Christians for pathways of devotion. In a chapter that explores some of the writing of Thomas Aquinas, a Christian of the 13th century, he includes these insights from Aquinas’ Summa Theologica about some mistakes that keep us from praying effectively.

First is the erroneous belief ‘that the world operates independently of God.’ The deists of the 18th century firmly believed in the existence of God, but they also thought that He left the world on its own. The common illustration among them was that God was like a Clockmaker who built and wound the device, then stepped away to let it run. So, they believed the Creation was self-sustaining and without God’s intervention. Are you a functional deist, disciple? In your heart, do you think that God has left us to our own wits and wisdom, to work it the best we can on our own? If this is your mindset, you will not pray well!

Second, is the ‘error to believe that everything is fixed.’ If everything is pre-determined, if the course of our lives are set, then to pray for change is absurd, an exercise in futility.

Third, there is the error of believing that ‘God changes His mind.’ Certain passages of the Scripture, if read superficially, could bring us to this conclusion. Then, too, many are gripped by a selfish desire to beg God to ‘soften the consequences brought into life by our own actions. Aquinas teaches that we must accept that God’s will has ultimate purpose. Once we settle this matter, we recognize that prayer is a secondary cause in which God invites us to join with Him in accomplishing His purposes. Through prayer we work to sort out what role we will play as secondary agents in God’s primary purposes.’ This is what Jesus teaches us in His words in John 15. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ... If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (NIV)

To think of prayer only as a time to present our ‘wish list’ to God, a begging session to try to get Him to do what we want Him to do, is to make this high and holy occupation much less than it is. Yes, our Father tells us to bring our petitions to Him boldly. But, Jesus also reminds us that if He provides for sparrows, we of much greater value than a bird, can rest assured in His care as well. Then he tells us the true focus of prayer is to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." (Matthew 6:33, NIV) The Message is rich in amplifying this text: "Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Go back and re-read that line a few times! Then ask yourself: do my prayers reveal a heart and mind that is totally oriented around God, loving Him, knowing Him, serving Him?

Prayer is work, first in importance for the true disciple. That is why the Word urges us to ‘pray without ceasing.’ There will be formal petitions, quiet contemplation, tears of desperation, and words of adoration. There will be lengthy times alone with God, urgent words spoken in the middle of life’s messes, and patient waiting through times when He appears silent. All this, and more, is prayer.

The one constant is that prayer is not about me or you, but about Him; about knowing Him, about learning to live in the center of His will. Prayer, rightly focused, enables us to ‘understand what God is doing and how we can join with Him. Thus, we become co-participants with God. His will sets everything in motion. Our will, directed by prayer, allows us to participate in His purposes.” (Longing For God, Foster, IVP, 2008)
_____________

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge!
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do Thy friends despise forsake Thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He'll take and shield Thee;
Thou wilt find a solace there.

What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Scriven, Joseph M. / Converse, Charles C.
© Public Domain

A Spirited Defense

Life, when we are alone, becomes overwhelming! The Teacher wrote that "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NLT) Sometimes the best of friends fail us, however. There are situations where it really does seem that no one understands, no one is available to take our side.

Disciples are never alone! On the night before He went to the Cross, Jesus had a heart to heart talk with His disciples. He told me He was leaving them. He warned them that the world would turn on them, hating them even when they were good because they wouldn’t fit in. Then He promised, "It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7, NIV) The Holy Spirit is always with us, advocating for us, and working through us. He’s on our side! Despite being hated by the world, we need not feel abandoned or afraid. He is not a passive Friend, quietly standing in the shadows, either. Here’s what the Lord says about the Spirit’s work. "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." (John 16:8, NIV)

What we cannot do by our own strength, He will do. Ever tried to ‘guilt’ an unbeliever? They can justify themselves, comparing their lives to somebody worse off than they are- and there is always somebody worse! The Holy Spirit, however, can bring real conviction of sin that is inescapable and inexcusable. Ever tried to tell an unbeliever that righteousness is a desirable choice? “Yeah,” they say, “and diets are fun, too!” Sin is pleasurable, ‘for a season.’ But the Spirit can reveal the joy of serving God, the deep sense of purpose that is found in loving Him. Ever tried to make somebody see coming judgment? Like Annie they’ll sing, “Tomorrow, tomorrow; I love you tomorrow, you’re only a day away.” Judgment will never come, or so they think. But the Holy Spirit can peel away the deception and let them sense the reality of God’s pending judgment.

I am so thankful for the Comfort of the Spirit, but I am equally thankful that He is a powerful Agent of Change in the world. I want to be on His side, trusting Him, praying for His power to be brought to bear on those around me who need a Savior, a transforming experience, a new life! Disciple, don’t try to ‘go it alone.’ The work of God can never be done with intellectual ability, with great financial resources, through intricate organization alone! All of those things are good and, if put into God’s service, useful but the real power belongs to the Spirit.

Jesus went on to explain to His disciples that the Spirit would also remain powerfully at work in them, too. Two words stand out- Truth and Glory! "When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." (John 16:13-15, NIV)

Are you feeling incapable, alone, ineffective, like a reject?
Stop! Meditate on this prayer and make it yours.
Let God be God; around you and in you!

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." (Ephesians 1:17-21, NIV)
____________

Come Holy Spirit, fall afresh on me.
Fill me with Your power,
Satisfy my needs.
Only You can make me whole,
Give me strength to make me grow.
Come Holy Spirit, fall afresh on me.
Fall afresh on me.

Come, Holy Spirit
Malcolm Fletcher © 1986, 1994 Maranatha! Music (Admin. by The Copyright Company)
CCLI License No. 810055

"Oh, come on! It's not a big sin!"

"Pastor, we sold our property. We are giving the total amount to the church." What a great gift, except there was a problem. The gift was not all of the money. Part of it was still in the bank. Do you recognize the story of Ananias and Sapphira? We read it in Acts 5. This couple, early converts to the Christ way, gave the money from the sale to the Church claiming that they were giving the whole amount. Secretly agreeing between themselves, they decided to hold back a percentage for themselves. When Peter questioned them about their contribution, they lied. And, then they dropped dead, right in church!

Pastor Peter's words reveal their sin was not in the gift, but in the lie! "Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this? You didn't lie to men but to God." Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it." (Acts 5:4-5, The Message) If God handed down that same quick and severe judgment on every pretender and hypocrite in the Church today it would be a very small gathering at church this Sunday, wouldn't it?

Here's what we do need to remember: sin always exacts a cost, perhaps not today, but sin collects, with major interest! You think that is just an Old Testament Law concept? Then how do you explain Paul's warning about receiving Communion while hanging onto willful sin? He says, "For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way." (1 Corinthians 11:29-31, NLT)

In our quest for a 'safe' God; a therapeutic and comforting religion, we have conveniently chosen to ignore those texts that remind us that He is a holy, just, and righteous God. We must ever so grateful for the Cross. There the sacrifice of of Christ took away the eternal punishment of our sin, but we must also keep in mind that no sin is without some consequence.Many think only of Heaven and Hell when it comes to wrong-doing.

All the time I am asked, "If a person does __________________, will he go to Heaven?" But that question misses a big point about life right here, right now! It ignores the principle of planting and harvest. What we plant, will produce a harvest - at some point. Take this illustration: A Christ-follower is unfaithful to his wife. He realizes his sin and repents. Yes, God can and will forgive all sin. But, the harvest of the seeds sown by his infidelity will come! There will be great grief and pain to his wife. His children will go through confusion and fear, perhaps even turning against God, mistakenly blaming Him for the sins of their father.

Believer, we must not test God's grace! King Saul chose to disobey God's clear directions and kept some of the plunder from a military campaign. In his mind it was 'no big deal.' When he was called to account, he thought he could 'buy' God's favor with a sacrifice. The prophet Samuel harshly reminded the king he had seriously misunderstood the heart of God. "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols." 1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT

Are you considering 'testing' God, thinking that if you're caught you can play "Let's Make A Deal" with the Almighty? You're wrong. You may find a place of forgiveness, but there will be scars and the name of Christ will be stained.

The better choice is to 'die to self' first, surrendering that desire to God. Put Him first regardless. Trust His way as the BEST WAY. The same planting and harvest principle works for good, too. Plant good seed and expect a harvest of righteousness! Here's a word from the Word. Let it fill your thoughts today.

"Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others-ignoring God!- harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds!

But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith." (Galatians 6:7-10, The Message)

Holy; Wholly, Holey?

Disciple are you wholly holy or is your commitment to the Lord tattered and holey? It’s a fair question! An honest Christian has to acknowledge that he is a work in progress. Who among us has not found himself stunned by the intensity of some temptation or even surprised by failure in himself or another? I can still recall the sick feeling that I felt in the pit of my stomach when, all the way back in 1988, the sexual addiction and sins of Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart became public knowledge. At that time, he was a well-known preacher whose broadcasts could be seen around the world. Then, we found out that his holiness was full of holes!

I am currently reading Longing for God, an exploration of the pathways of Christian devotion, written by Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe. The authors explore the writings of Christians of the past to see how they pursued holiness. In a chapter about John Bunyan who penned the classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, the authors point out Bunyan’s understanding of the Christian life as journey. Bunyan’s allegory places emphasis on “struggle in the spiritual journey. He made much of the grace of God throughout his life, but he never saw grace as opposed to struggle, only as opposed to earning. Christian (Bunyan’s main character) struggles through the Slough of Despond and struggles to enter the Straight Gate and struggles up the Hill of Difficulty and struggles to overcome Apollyon (the Devil). At times he stumbles and falls and he must overcome these setbacks.”

Fighting the good fight of faith does not indicate hypocrisy or lack of holiness. It is the common experience of those who would walk with God in this world. The tragedy of the failure of people like Swaggart is born out of denying that temptation is real and powerful and present! Disciple, you should not conclude that you are unholy because you find the Devil roaring in your face, or the appetites of your body clamoring to be fed, or the bright lights of the world attractive! Nor should any sincere Believer decide that since temptation is so common and God’s grace so great that he should just wallow in the muck of self-indulgence!

The Word makes the declaration that comforts us and challenges us at the same time. "God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?"(Romans 5:20-6:2, NLT)

The only way to become wholly holy is to be set right with God through the gift of grace found in Christ Jesus. By faith we accept the gift we could never earn by any amount of our own goodness. Christ Jesus sealed the covenant (the promise of God to receive us as His children) by His death. His Resurrection is the shout of triumph over sin and death! But we must not forget the journey, the struggle. Right alongside of that majestic message of grace is the call to endure, to ‘work out’ that salvation in our daily lives where we meet temptation.

Here’s a word from the Word.
"…the power of God, … has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. … I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (2 Timothy 1:8-12, NIV)
____________

Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning
My song shall rise to Thee.
Holy, holy, holy!
Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons,
Blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see.
Only Thou art holy;
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power,
In love, in purity.

Holy Holy Holy
Dykes, John B. / Heber, Reginald
© Public Domain

Four months later…

Bev and I visited Dad’s grave yesterday. He’s been gone for 4 months. The cemetery has put topsoil in place and the grass is starting to cover that little scar on the earth’s surface. There’s something symbolic in that, similar to what is happening in my heart. The grief is different these days; less stabbing, more like an ache that comes and goes in intensity. The emotions are different, too. Instead of just remembering Dad in those last hard months when he was so weak and sick, I’m recalling episodes from our life together and feeling emotions that range from sorrow, regret, loss, and even to anger over missed opportunities.

Dad’s death has made me older, not chronologically, but emotionally and spiritually. There is no denying mortality anymore. While Bev and I stood for a few moments at his grave, we both spoke of our own inevitable demise, now much more real given that we are likely entering the last quarter of our race. That might seem morbid, even depressing. For me, it is liberating and creates an impetus for focus. I am much less inclined to do things simply because they ‘ought to be done,’ or because somebody else wants me to do them. I do what I want to do more readily and, of course, I do what I believe God desires me to do. Paradoxically, feeling Heaven closer, makes fully experiencing today more urgent!

I am told that it was a common practice in ages past to keep reminders of mortality close at hand. Many kept skulls sitting in plain view so as not to forget that they would die. Grim? Perhaps, but certainly preferable over our current practice of worshipping perpetual youth and all the foolishness that accompanies that pretense. The teacher reminds us to keep it all in balance. "Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.”" (Ecclesiastes 12:1, NLT)

The treks to Dad’s grave are times of renewal! Standing there I thank God for eternal life and I am drawn to "lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:19, NIV) Legacy, too, takes shape. Dying is not just about gaining heaven, as glorious as that promise may be. It is about who and what I leave behind. I am determined- by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit- to leave no debt outstanding, to faithfully point beyond myself to the Savior.

Here’s a suggestion for you. One of these beautiful days, go visit a cemetery with your friend, your spouse, or maybe alone. Walk among the stones, pausing to read the names and dates. OK, I heard a lot of you just ask, “Jerry, have you lost your mind?” Not at all. Make it a prayer walk, a time to reflect on the priorities of your life. Ask the hard questions of yourself about how you’re living right now. Someday, the book of your life will be closed. God gives us the privilege of writing the text that make the story! Remembering that life here is not forever, will help you to write a better story – of that I am positive.

"Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over. Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends. The body is put back in the same ground it came from. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it. … The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. And that’s it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it’s good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:6-14, The Message)
_____________

Some day the silver cord will break,
And I no more as now shall sing;
But oh, the joy when I shall wake
Within the palace of the King!

Some day my earthly house will fall.
I cannot tell how soon ’twill be;
But this I know—my All in All
Has now a place in Heav’n for me.

And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace;
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace.

Saved By Grace
Fanny Crosby, public domain

Why do they hate me?

True disciples are misfits, oddballs, ‘peculiar people!’ Why? Because they are intentionally weird? No! Because they are beloved of their Father and called to His higher purposes, no longer loving the things that ‘the world’ loves. The “world” is Jesus’ short-hand for the systems around us that are built around getting wealth, gaining power, enjoying pleasure, serving Self. When the Spirit reconciles us to our Abba, we love Him more than ourselves, more than this life. That changes us, makes us noble, altruistic, loving; and markedly different - which sets us up to be hated.

Joseph’s brothers hated him, not because he was cruel, not because he was judgmental, but because he was blessed with his father’s favor! (Genesis 37:4) Likewise, Jesus told His disciples that they would be hated by the world because of their Father’s favor. “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” (John 15:18-19, NLT) That is not one of my favorite verses. I enjoy having people say nice things about me. I like to fit in and be accepted. Don’t you?

I know some ‘Christians’ who take pride in the fact that their family has rejected them or that they are reviled by coworkers, but when I look at their lives even as a fellow disciple of Christ, I don’t like them! Their experience of rejection has nothing to do with being a disciple. Rather, they invite ridicule and rejection by being rude, or cruel, or hypocritical, or because they are a terrible worker! Peter’s first letter is written around the theme of suffering for the sake of Christ. In it he tells us to make sure the insults are not invited by our sinfulness or stupidity! "So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!" (1 Peter 4:14-16, NLT)

As America becomes less and less ‘culturally Christian,’ true disciples will find themselves living as ‘outsiders’ more often. The natural desire for acceptance will cause us to want to accommodate ourselves to the world around us. But we must not love the world’s affirmation more than our Father’s approval. The Word urges us to keep our distinctive love for Him intact, no matter the pressure we feel. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2, NIV)

What is your highest value, disciple?
Do you spend much time and money trying to fit in, being fashionable, following fads?
If so, it’s time to re-discover the One who is our True Center! "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter (completer) of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2, NIV)

Here’s a word from the Word that will deeply challenge you as you grasp the truth in it. May the Spirit give us ears to hear His words. It was originally penned by Peter to slaves who had become disciples! They were not told to ‘assert their rights!’ Their calling, as is ours, was to live in God’s love, awaiting His redemption. What a challenge. Will you embrace it?

"Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you.
He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly." (1 Peter 2:20-23, NLT)

Rahm Emanuel’s Challenge

NBC profiled the Obama White House in a special program that aired this week. In an interview with Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff, Brian Williams took note of the high personal cost that the 49 year old man is paying to be a part of Obama’s administration. Politics aside, one has to be challenged by the dedication to 7 day work weeks and 18 hour days. Emanuel, a four term Congressman whose dream was to become the first Jewish Speaker of the House, gave it up to serve this President. He lives apart from his wife and three children, seeing them only a few times each month. The story of sacrifice was repeated by numerous staffers. These men and women do it for a political cause, for ambition; perhaps for a man.

Disciple, we are called into the service of the Lord of Glory, whose ‘administration’ will never end. When we advance His Kingdom, we not only change the way people live for a few years; we are privileged to change hearts and reconcile people to their Father, bringing them to life eternal! It is a noble cause and it will require sacrifice. "Then Jesus said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?" (Luke 9:23-25, NLT)

Have you put parts of your life off limits before the Lord? Does He own all of you? Those are tough questions that we must answer daily. We receive the life of the Spirit once when we are converted, born anew as children of God. Remaining in His service is an ongoing process, requiring choices along the way. Jesus speaks to this when He says, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62, KJV) In case that metaphor is hard for you, here’s the line in The Message: “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”

Is He able to ask you to forgive when you prefer to hate?
Will you let Him call your kids into His fulltime service knowing that it will mean less comfort, less ‘success?’
Will you put aside personal desires to say ‘Yes,’ to holiness of heart and mind?
Are your weekends His or yours?

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not for wimps! Church-ianity, the preferred religion of many, allows a person to choose the hours of his ‘service,’ to give only as much of himself as he chooses to give, to volunteer and feel good about it. Christianity is an all or nothing Call to the service of a King.

Watching Rahm Emanuel explain his dedication to making the vision of President Obama a reality, I was challenged anew to give myself to my Lord and King. Here’s a word from the Word. Though familiar, I urge you to read it carefully and then take a few moments to re-dedicate ALL to Him.

"Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.
Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained.
So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen." (2 Timothy 2:3-10, NLT)
__________________

You are my life,
O precious Christ.
You are to me
The pearl of greatest price.
My love for You will never die.
Jesus, You are my life.

O Holy Fire,
Love's Purest Light.
Burn all desires 'til
You are my one delight.
My love for You will never die
Jesus, You are my life.

O conquering King,
Conquer my heart
And make of me a pleasing gift to God
My love for You will never die
Jesus, You are my life.

I come to You.
I run to You.
There's no greater joy
Than knowing You.

Jesus You Are My Life
Fry, Steve© 1994 Maranatha Praise, Inc. / Word Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055