The Care of the Ravens

Recently I watched an hour-long documentary about ravens. Yes, I do that kind of thing because I love to learn. I was fascinated by the complex social structures that ravens create. They pair up for life and adopt a home territory which they defend.

Together, they build a nest and raise young together each year. They are devoted to each other, and the male tirelessly feeds his mate during her time of nesting. When the chicks hatch the adults feed their offspring for the first three months of their lives, carrying food to the nest, then teaching them to forage for themselves even after they become fledglings. It might be a stretch to call it ‘love,’ but it sure looks like it to me! (https://youtu.be/7RGmh_C3Kyg?si=QE92p07pdklRJjX_)

As I watched, I was reminded of my Father’s care for me!
Do you realize how much you are loved by your Heavenly Father?
When you think of Him do you think of a remote God or a caring Person?
Is He angry or welcoming?

Jesus tells us "He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

“Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no holes in them. Your treasure will be safe—no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, your heart and thoughts will also be." (Luke 12:31-34, NLT)

What a revelation about the nature of our God. He loves to GIVE. He grants us access to the resources of His world as His children. Meditate on that fact. One of the persistent lies about God rooted in the deceptions of the Devil is that God is an angry Person, uncaring, and demanding. Jesus tells us the exact opposite truth. Secure children of God need not live in fear, nor should they feel orphaned in this world.

John underlines that fact in one of my favorite portions of the Scripture when he writes - "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1, NIV) The love and care of our Father is profusely given, not meted out from a miserly heart. He gladly identifies with us, calling us His children. Yes, I am a child of God through adoption by the Spirit, through the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus. This is the Gospel. Believe it, my friend, and live with joy.

Jesus says that there is a visible result in the lives of those who live the richly resourced life of a child of God.
*They do not need to cling tightly to their wealth for they know that God will provide what they need when they share with others.
*They will invest in true spiritual wealth because they are assured of the value of treasure in heaven where “they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.”
*They know the meaning of real wealth, not merely that of earthly treasure.

Knowing these things, by faith, they will become generous in every way. Loved and secure people are peaceful people.

The words of Paul close these thoughts today. I pray they will inspire us to live joyfully in the Father’s love today. "My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Philippians 4:19-20, NIV)

Live as one whose every need – spiritual, emotional, and earthly – are cared for by a loving Father.

Amen

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

I quit!

A few years ago, the news reported the story of a flight attendant who was harassed by passengers. When the plane arrived at JFK, he announced, with profane language, his disgust for those who had been so difficult. He then opened the door of the plane, deploying the emergency chute, slid down and walked off. What a dramatic way to quit! He was fined $10,000 and banned from the industry.

Ever been so fed up you just wanted to quit?

The story of William Wilberforce inspires me in those kinds of moments. For twenty-six long years he brought up the same subject in Parliament.
*His colleagues mocked him, accusing him of losing his common sense to religious fervor.
*The business establishment threatened that his idealism would destroy the economy.

Stress took a toll on his health, and he aged far beyond his years because of carrying on what many people at the time believed to be a fool’s crusade. But William Wilberforce would not quit!

Using wit and wisdom, he turned the issue of slave trade into the talk of England. Finally in 1807, this great Christian succeeded in getting the House of Commons to vote to end slave trade. The Crown agreed and a vile practice came to an end. This wealthy man, first elected to Parliament at age 21, was tempted many times to abandon his political career, at one point even considering becoming a clergyman, but, urged by his friends, he did not quit the fight and his persistence changed history!

Times come to us all when life’s difficulties turn into monsters. In those moments it may seem that quitting is the only option. When we’re taking a beating, it may seem only reasonable to throw in the towel and end the match. “How much more can I take before I break?” we think to ourselves.

In Genesis we read the story of Joseph who must have wondered if he would break under pressure any time before his God-given dreams were fulfilled.
*His brothers sold him into slavery, motivated less by greed than hatred.
*The wife of his owner, Potiphar, tried to seduce him and when he resisted her, falsely accused him of rape, leading to a long prison sentence!
*A man he befriended and helped in prison was released and promptly forgot all about him.

But he kept his dreams and his faith in God. He refused to become a bitter cynic. When given the ‘perfect’ opportunity to settle the score, he forgave those who hurt him the most. And, after years of disappointment, he saw God’s promises fulfilled as he provided safety for his people.

In years of pastoral ministry, I have watched so many wrestle with hardship, becoming disappointed with God, and choosing to just ‘walk away’ from faith. Others find themselves in a church setting that has turned unpleasant and they choose to abandon fellowship, claiming a newly ‘privatized’ faith, ignoring God’s call into His Church.

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

Quitting too soon has one predictable result - FAILURE.

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

Hang in there, friend. Charles Spurgeon reminds us that “God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

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

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

Filled With Good

Theo of Golden, a novel published by a first-time author, has become a viral phenomenon! It’s a bestseller on many ‘must read’ lists. After reading the story, I agree. The story is about an old man’s gentle acts of kindness in a small Georgia town that changes one life after another. When you put it down you want to be a better person. Yes, it’s just full of goodness.

Are you a good person; not a self-righteous judge of others, but rather someone who makes others feel value, who shares in both joy and sorrow, who makes the burdens of life lighter? Once this way of life was lauded as virtuous. Sadly, the ideal of virtue has become suspect, and often it is the ‘bad boy’ character that gets featured in our stories and pop culture. Ask most people if they want to be known as ‘good,’ and you will most likely get a strange stare because “good” is for the weak, the fearful – or is it? The life that is lived without adventure or risk that grows out of fear of criticism or an unwillingness to step outside of norms is not truly virtuous!

Indeed, real virtue is courageous, goes against the stream, and stands against the normal cruelty of humanity. The Bible says that the Spirit’s life in us will produce ‘goodness.’   Both Peter and Paul urge Christians to be virtuous people, people who live with excellence as their guide; practically and personally. Inspired Scripture tells us that those who claim the Name of Christ will be “true, … noble, … just, … pure, … lovely, … good report, … virtue and … praiseworthy.” (Philippians 4:8, NKJV)

I have no desire to be so void of fire or passion that I am a weak man who is incapable of living an effective life. But I want to be known as a good man. Jesus was a man of virtue, yet He was capable of strong emotion, of challenge to those who abused authority, of resisting evil. Children loved him and moneychangers in the Temple fled His wrath!

There is a famine of personal virtue in our nation. The goodness of character that produces self-restraint and respect for others, which causes the pursuit of excellence is being lost. Our radical self-love is destroying the fabric of a nation. The historian, Alexis de Tocqueville of the 18th century, declared that among the Americans he observed there was such virtue that the need for government regulation was reduced to non-existent. They simply did what was right and good! Call me cynical, but I am certain that were he to walk our streets today his conclusion would be very different.

When personal virtue is lost, law must attempt to restrain selfish acts. Greed and injustice are unthinkable to the person of virtue, but they are a natural, even laudable, choice in a society where radical individualism and self-interest is the highest value.

For the Christian, virtue is not just about learning civility or attempting self-discipline. True virtue is made possible by a transformation of the heart by the power of Christ.

Faith in Him breaks the power of evil. He gives us the Spirit who subdues our sinful nature and create a hunger for the good in us. That will cause us to walk with the broken, the fallen, the debauched, those lost and confused, without adopting their values or being corrupted. Yes, the virtue created by the Spirit living in us allows us to “become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (Philippians 2:15, NIV)

So, are you a person of virtue?
Do you fear being labeld as ‘good’ so much that you will not allow the Spirit of God to develop the beauty of Christ’s holiness in you?
Or are you hungry for God’s goodness, ready to move beyond the natural impulses of selfishness and walk into the Spirit’s plan to make you a noble, holy, and good person?

Here is a word from the Word. May we be challenged to offer ourselves to Jesus and become truly good! “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans (those who do not know God) that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.“ (1 Peter 2:11-12, NIV)

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55