The Good and the ‘Good-er!’

In some choices I make as a disciple of Christ there really is no choice. There is no need to sit around pondering, “should I steal that beautiful car?” It’s no-brainer that I won’t be getting drunk this weekend! If Bev and I have a disagreement, I won’t be using profane and/or filthy language. When the Lord’s Day rolls around, I will be among Believers in church. I will write my tithe check with joy. In these choices, and so many more, the Scripture tells me the will of God for my life. My only choice? Obedience!

Then, there are those choices between the good and the ‘good-er’ that are difficult. If we are a serious disciple, if it is our goal to please God and make His Presence known in our world, if we desire to be a ‘good and faithful servant’ in His kingdom; we will seek to conform our lives to His will in all things. Here’s a dramatic illustration of my point. In Philippians, Paul was describing a time of real trial in his life. He talked about not really knowing how to pray – for deliverance from his troubles or for death! He faced two goods! "Life versus even more life! I can’t lose. As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better . But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here." (Philippians 1:21-24, The Message)

About ten years ago, I was serving a great church as their Pastor. I loved the people, the town, the opportunities that God gave me to minister. But, a part of me was restless, feeling that it was time to be open to moving to a new ministry in another church. No one was dangling any positions in front of me at the time, so I knew I was not being tempted by more money or the prestige of a larger church. I spent months praying and meditating asking the Lord to help me to know whether it was time to go or time to stay.

Then, in the Summer of 2000, events unfolded that made it clear to me that He was sending me to a new ministry. Could I have stayed where I was? Yes, and it would have been good! However, in the will of God, there was something better that I had to receive by faith. By many measures it would have been better to stay where I was than to move to a new set of challenges! But it was my desire not simply to live acceptably before God, but to be right in the center of His will for my life at that time.

Disciple, the choice between good and ‘good-er’ requires more than adding up the pluses and minuses! We cannot always choose the easier way, the more lucrative way, or the way that will make us most comfortable. We are His, awaiting His dispatch, so we must listen carefully, eliminating sin from our lives that would hinder us. “Here I am, Lord. Send me. Use me. Let me choose to live wisely and for your Glory today,” should be our daily prayer.

"So, my son, throw yourself into this work for Christ. … When the going gets rough, take it on the chin with the rest of us, the way Jesus did. A soldier on duty doesn’t get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It’s the diligent farmer who gets the produce.
Think it over. God will make it all plain." (2 Timothy 2:1-7, The Message)
__________

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy pow'rful hand.
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my strength and shield;
Be Thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Bear me thro' the swelling current,
Land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs and praises, songs and praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.


Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
Williams, William / Fosdick, Harry E. / Hughes, John / William, Peter© Public Domain

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow - What then?

Between Young and Old

Last night, I had this strange moment when I felt suspended between two generations. On my left was my father, on his 75th birthday, very ill with cancer, in a hospital bed in the living room of his home. On my right was one of my adopted sisters, age 17, reading a fashion magazine and texting a friend with constant tapping on her cell. I felt old and young at the same time! I remember 17, the eagerness to tackle life that was so much a part of me then. At 17, I thought that life would stretch on endlessly, with opportunities boundless and energy inexhaustible. It didn’t! Now, at age 53 I am close enough to ‘old’ to know the irritant of memory gaps and the limits of lesser physical endurance. Each year I grow less employable for I am on the cusp of growing irrelevance despite accumulated knowledge and expertise. What I know is less and less valuable to those who are a full generation (40 years) behind me for whom knowledge doubles every 7 years!

But, 53 isn’t all bad! I welcome the wisdom that I enjoy today. With maturity, comes the ability to weather the storms of life with steadiness. This is borne of experiencing God’s grace through the years as well as the realization that the sun will, in fact, come up tomorrow after going through quite a few ‘end of life’ moments that weren’t! I have lived long enough that I can cry without self-consciousness. I understand, with much more clarity, the difference between what is merely urgent and what demands my full attention. It’s a relief to have outlived the need to ‘succeed’ by building something bigger than what somebody else has built. My goal now is to successfully hand off the baton of faith and ministry to the next generation, to finish honorably and well for Christ’s sake, and to enjoy simple things like the spontaneity of child’s laughter and the colors of a sunrise!

I am not quite ready to ride off into the sunset to drive a school bus, play golf, or buy a condo in Florida! There are plenty of challenges yet to be met in my life – the Lord-willing. My prayer is that I will be much wiser in choosing the things to which I commit myself in the next 20 years. I pray that the experience of mortality and aging will remind me to lean more heavily on the Spirit, to listen more, and urge on those who are overtaking me on the road! What a tragedy it would be to become a grumpy old man who is a constant critic of all things novel and all persons younger than himself. Those tendencies reside in me (and most of us, I think.) God make me an encourager who is excited to participate in the adventure of life and faith even though it is more and more from the sidelines!

If you’re a 30-something or younger you probably have no clue what I am musing about!
If you’re 40-ish, you probably understand me a little, but hope I get over it!
If you’re my age or older, you probably are smiling and wondering what took me so long to get here!

Let me close with the words of another Preacher. May his inspired wisdom keep you steady in your pursuit of God and things eternal, no matter where you are on the road of life.

"Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young, Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes, Before your vision dims and the world blurs And the winter years keep you close to the fire." "The words of the wise prod us to live well. They’re like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd. But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you’re no good for anything else.

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 12:1-2, 11-17, The Message)

Merely Smart or Truly Wise?

Gaining Wisdom

After a meeting on Monday evening, Don and I were talking about a man whose opinions have been trumpeted across America for 20 years on talk radio. This man is often correct in his insight, but he is so obnoxious and confrontational, he ends up talking only to people who already agree with him. Even allowing for the fact that radio is ‘show business’ his presentation is arrogant. In those two decades, this man has been through some rough times personally and still he maintains the bluff and bluster. I think he is smart, but not wise. Because of his attitude, frequently the issue to which he speaks is obscured by his personality.

When I look back two decades in my own life, I see so many moments when I was ‘correct’ but not wise. I knew the Bible’s truth but I lacked the wisdom to know how to gently bring it to bear in my world. One example is how, when my now adult kids were in public schools, I was too ready to spar with teachers or administrators that failed, in my opinion, to give proper respect to our Christian convictions. I was often so right, I was wrong! I consider it tragic that I often allowed my Self to get in the way of the love and truth of Jesus Christ.

Believer, we need wisdom so that we will know how to ‘correctly handle the Word of Truth.’ The Bible urges us to humility and further says "Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts." (Colossians 3:16, NLT)

The wisdom of Daniel is an inspiration. He was incredibly smart! He survived being carried off by an invading empire and went on to serve four kings in Babylon as a counselor. And, he was wise! He knew the Source of his strength, his insight, and his influence.

Meditate on Daniel’s thankful prayer today. He offered it up after God allowed him to show the king what to do by interpreting a dream. Pray with me for a heart of humility like that of Daniel and for the wisdom that will allow us to bring God’s message to our world in a way that will lead them to Jesus!

“Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.” (Daniel 2:20-23, NIV)
________________

It just breaks my heart

Debra (not her real name) came by my office yesterday. When my secretary brought her in, it was obvious this was no 'stop by and chat with the Pastor about the weather' visit. When she started to talk, the grief that spilled over was so awful that she nearly collapsed. Sobs wracked her body for a long time. "Where is God? Does He exist?" Her questions were not born of self-pity. Her life has been sucked into a whirlwind of events that she cannot control, with problems so big that she cannot see a way to even start to work her way out of them. She cried, "I tried to do all the right things in my life. How did it come to this?" I prayed earnestly for her in that moment. No platitudes could soothe her broken heart. There was only our cry for the comfort of the Spirit.

Debra is living through a year of terrible injustice, where she has been subjected to people with power who are only concerned with protecting themselves and/or avoiding consequences, no matter the cost to those who stand in their way. Her ordeal appears to be long from over. The reality that an evil: a destructive, cruel, selfish evil- has seized this woman and it will not let her go. Only the power of God can overcome and restore her life, but the process may be brutal and bloody! It just breaks my heart!

Evil is everywhere, disciple.
· I have seen evil take over a once loving couple and they lock themselves into power plays which destroy their marriage and sometimes even their lives.
· Good people rise to places of authority and then are seduced by evil and begin to use their power to secure more perks or money for themselves. In the process, they wreck lives and often ruin a company, an organization, even a church!
· Benevolent nations enjoy prosperity and gain strength, only to become imperialistic bent on conquering the world and horrible suffering results.
· Sex, a gift of God designed to create life and bond a man and woman intimately for life, becomes lust and consumes men and women with perversion as they chase pleasure endlessly driven by an insatiable need.
· ... and the list goes on and on.

Jesus describes says that there is Evil that exists only to "kill and destroy!" The Bible speaks of the Devil repeatedly as the 'enemy.' Peter compares Satan to a 'roaring lion seeking for someone to devour.' The book of the Revelation speaks of the reality of Evil in powerful images "the Dragon, that old Snake-the very Devil, Satan himself!" (Revelation 20:2, The Message) In our sophistication, some of us have rejected the idea of evil as just superstition. 'Evil is not real,' we say. 'It is just an illusion, the result of lack of opportunity, misunderstanding, or ignorance!' Rightly discarding the silliness of a horned devil in a red suit carrying a pitchfork, some Christians also throw away the truth that evil is real, personified in a fallen spiritual being named Lucifer, and bent on destroying all that God has made and loves!

If we accept that there is a real Devil and that there are truly evil people and situations, what are we to do?
Some choose to pretend evil is not real, closing their eyes, shutting their ears, blissfully apathetic- until evil finds them!
Some 'make nice' somehow thinking that only saying positive words and being kind is the answer, until they are stabbed by someone they thought they could change with their niceness.

God calls us to War! But, the war is not one of fists, guns, or swords; nor even of words! It is a strange war waged with two primary 'weapons,' love and truth. We learn the truth from the Word and the living Christ- a truth that condemns us as sinners, then frees us from our sinfulness when we confess our utter depravity and grab hold, in faith, of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Seeing His love which brought Him from Heaven's perfection to the sewers of sin, and experiencing that love firsthand, we learn to love. And love conquers! Yes, it is a bold love that costs us our life, which we trade for that life in the Kingdom that never ends.

In a passage that is both full of promise and yet terrifying in the probability of the disturbance of our comfort, the Bible says: "It has come at last- salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth- the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time."
(Revelation 12:10-12, NLT) ______________

Lord, let your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Fill us with Power, not like that of this world, but of the Spirit.
Teach us to live in Truth and Love, able to see evil where it exists,
willing to challenge it, even die to our comfort in dealing with it.
May we love the hateful, absorbing their poison.
May we bring Light to dark places, full of holiness that is bold, yet humble.
Keep us in Your grace, and bring us to Your side,
rejoicing that you counted us worthy of serving You.
In Jesus' Holy Name. Amen.
____________________________

A mighty Fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He, amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world,
With devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear,
For God hath willed,
His will to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
We tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure,
For, lo, his doom is sure;
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours,
Through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also.
The body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still.
His kingdom is forever.

A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Martin Luther © Public Domain

A Rich Man!

Occasionally I allow myself to dream about what I would do if I were a rich man. My thoughts usually run along the lines of philanthropy: I could help that person, pay for some project, fund a scholarship, etc. Sunday evening, at a prayer meeting with a couple of dozen people, I was reminded that I am a rich man with many opportunities to do good! In quiet prayer, the Holy Spirit led me through a time of reflection in which He reminded me of the wealth God has placed under my management:
a rich heritage of faith,
an experience of His grace,
healing of soul, mind, and body,
gifts of the Spirit that equip me for my vocation,
a wide network of friends,
the privilege of service in His Church.
Then, He placed this challenge in my heart; “Jerry, what are you going to do with your wealth?”

We can easily miss the resources that are available to us by looking at the resources that another possesses! God only asks us to use what we have, where we have it, in the opportunities presented to us!

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gave His disciples an ‘impossible’ task of feeding a huge crowd! Evening was approaching and the disciples took the common sense route of suggesting that Jesus send the people home. Instead, He said, “That isn’t necessary-you feed them.” I would have loved these guys! They added up their resources and told him; “Impossible!” . . . We have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” But they were about to learn about what God can do with what’s available!

“Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. And he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God’s blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand men had eaten from those five loaves, in addition to all the women and children!"(Matthew 14:16-21, NLT)

Bring what you have to Jesus Christ today, disciple. It might seem to you to be nearly worthless, too little to be of much value to Him, like a small lunch of five pieces of flat bread and two dried fish when you need dinner for a few thousand! What God can do with your gift only He knows. All He asks is that you faithfully present yourself to Him. The results are up to Him.

Remember, wealth in God’s eyes is counted much differently than wealth as we commonly consider it!_____________________

Does the place you're called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He'll not forget His own.

Little is much when God is in it.
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There's a crown and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus' name.

When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
"Welcome home, my child, well done."

Kittie Suffield
Public Domain