Anxiety is stalking just about everybody in these turbulent times! Teenagers I counsel are less concerned with their pimples than the kind of world they will inherit in a few years. Apocalyptic headlines convince these tender souls that we stand on the brink of the world’s end. We don’t! Our battered economy has young parents anxious about how they will provide for their kids. They will find a way! We middle-aged people hear all the dire news about issues such as health or retirement funding and it makes our ‘golden years’ seem awfully grim! But, why?
Then, too, there is change everywhere! We know that change is good and necessary, but too much change, brought on too quickly, unsettles us, doesn’t it? I also know that some of my anxiety (maybe most!) is the result of the recent death of my father and the new realization of my own mortality. This adds a sense of urgency to each day that co-exists, paradoxically, with a kind of resignation to the now inescapable fact that sooner, rather than later, I will step off this merry-go-round called life.
As disciples of the Lord of Life, there is a promised blessing that we can and should take hold of for each day. That blessing is the ‘peace of God!’ The Bible urges us to choose serenity. Take a look. "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)
Peace results from choosing our Source! If we trust in ourselves, President Obama, or Goldman Sachs - anxiety will surely build. Why? Because these times have revealed the relative impotence of all of the above! But, we also know this: the Lord God is a Rock, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17, KJV) Peace flows out of the certainty that He is able to care for us through each of the change points of our lives. Many Believers have not fully committed themselves to God because, to be honest, they do not REALLY trust Him.
I remember when I thought my Dad was bigger than life. When I was 4 or 5, I was convinced that Dad knew everything and could defeat any foe, any time, anywhere. When I was afraid, if Dad showed up, my fear evaporated immediately. Then, in adolescence, I discovered that he was not Superman. I began to understand that he, too, was sometimes afraid or uncertain. Things happened that he could not control regardless of his wisdom or strength. As an adult, I loved old Dad, but there were no illusions that he was a god.
Have you similarly ‘matured’ past child-like trust in your Heavenly Father? When we are 'new' in faith, we trust Him unquestioningly. With time, we go through experience when He seems distant. He disappoints us by apparently refusing to answer our prayers, at least in the way we want them answered. Such moments can cause us to lose faith in His ability to handle our lives and fear grows. Some of us become even more 'religious' thinking that IF we just do more to earn His gracious favor, we can 'make' Him do what we want Him to do.
The truth is that He is God - unchanging, faithful, omnipotent, omniscient, and loving. He is worthy of our child-like faith. With study of the Scripture and meditation on His wonderful works, elevate your understanding of who He is and what He does. A higher view of God, a revelation of His majesty, will deepen your faith. You will find a bedrock foundation of trust to keep you steady until the day when His kingdom is fully revealed on Earth. Until then, keep faith strong and make the choice to trust.
Lynn DeShazo captures the doubting, distressed Believer's confession perfectly in her great worship song -- Be Magnified.
I have made You too small in my eyes;
O Lord, forgive me;
And I have believed in a lie that You
were unable to help me.
But now, O Lord, I see my wrong,
Heal my heart and show Yourself strong;
And in my eyes and with my song,
O Lord, be magnified,
O Lord, be magnified.
I have leaned on the wisdom of men,
O Lord, forgive me;
And I have responded to them instead of
Your light and Your mercy.
But now, O Lord, I see my wrong,
Heal my heart and show Yourself strong;
And in my eyes and with my song,
O Lord, be magnified,
O Lord, be magnified.
Be magnified, O Lord,
You are highly exalted;
And there is nothing You can't do,
O Lord, my eyes are on You.
Be magnified, O Lord,
Be magnified.
© 1991 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Outrage of Sin!
Does sin make you angry? No, I don't mean do other people's sins personally offend you, as when someone lies about you or steals from you. That makes anyone upset! I mean when you see a report about a child being molested by a pervert, does it make you angry? When you see someone abused or oppressed because they are a different color does it make you angry? When you see what addictions have done to a family does it make you mad? Sin angers God and moved Him to send us a Deliverer, Jesus Christ. God anger is expressed, at this time, in amazing grace that reaches out to us with forgiveness and restoration best demonstrated in this: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, NIV) By that death, He made life possible.
In the 11th chapter of John's Gospel, we find Jesus going to Bethany. Despite the request of Martha and Mary for Him to come and heal their brother, Lazarus, He waited and when He arrived the man was already dead four days. Naturally, He walked into a scene of great sorrow. What happened next is stunning. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see." (John 11:32-34, NLT)
Death was the ultimate result of sin! God is the Giver of Life, the Lover of Humanity, Light and Joy. Death is none of those things. As Mary and her friends surrounded Him that day, He got mad at sin and the Devil for all the suffering visited on people that God loved. The NIV says that Jesus was "deeply moved in His spirit." Yes, He was moved, but it was an anger not a deep grief about His friend, though that was how the crowd read His emotion that day.
Jesus went to the tomb and shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" and a dead man walked into the light, restored to life, the Lord of Glory demonstrating the power of God over sin and death! He had told Martha moments earlier,"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." (John 11:25, NIV)
Disciple, if we really believe Him, we move into Life, right now. We do not have to wait for Heaven to know eternal life! The Cross is the place where death died! The Tomb from which Jesus rose is testimony that sin is defeated! Don’t stay at the Cross, in a repetitive pattern of sin, forgiveness, sin again! Accept Resurrection Life! Be filled with the Spirit, alive to God, dead to sin!
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)
_______________
Make a joyful noise!
Sing unto the Lord!
Tell Him of your love,
Dance before Him.
Make a joyful noise!
Sing unto the Lord!
Tell Him of your love,
Hallelujah!
In Him we live and move
And have our being,
In Him we live and move
And have our being.
In Him We Live
Randy Speir © 1981 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055
In the 11th chapter of John's Gospel, we find Jesus going to Bethany. Despite the request of Martha and Mary for Him to come and heal their brother, Lazarus, He waited and when He arrived the man was already dead four days. Naturally, He walked into a scene of great sorrow. What happened next is stunning. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see." (John 11:32-34, NLT)
Death was the ultimate result of sin! God is the Giver of Life, the Lover of Humanity, Light and Joy. Death is none of those things. As Mary and her friends surrounded Him that day, He got mad at sin and the Devil for all the suffering visited on people that God loved. The NIV says that Jesus was "deeply moved in His spirit." Yes, He was moved, but it was an anger not a deep grief about His friend, though that was how the crowd read His emotion that day.
Jesus went to the tomb and shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" and a dead man walked into the light, restored to life, the Lord of Glory demonstrating the power of God over sin and death! He had told Martha moments earlier,"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." (John 11:25, NIV)
Disciple, if we really believe Him, we move into Life, right now. We do not have to wait for Heaven to know eternal life! The Cross is the place where death died! The Tomb from which Jesus rose is testimony that sin is defeated! Don’t stay at the Cross, in a repetitive pattern of sin, forgiveness, sin again! Accept Resurrection Life! Be filled with the Spirit, alive to God, dead to sin!
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25, NIV)
_______________
Make a joyful noise!
Sing unto the Lord!
Tell Him of your love,
Dance before Him.
Make a joyful noise!
Sing unto the Lord!
Tell Him of your love,
Hallelujah!
In Him we live and move
And have our being,
In Him we live and move
And have our being.
In Him We Live
Randy Speir © 1981 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Here, with me!
What causes thousands of people to endure the inconvenience of standing in lines, the discomfort of sitting in stadium seats, and payment of an exorbitant rate for a ticket to get into a concert featuring their favorte artist? After all, the artist's music is available on a CD recorded to exacting standards. Why not just stay home and enjoy the songs? Because listening to a CD, even on a great system, does not equate to the experience of being in the presence of the artist, even if they are way up there on a stage in a stadium!
We are relational beings, created that way by a Relational Being! Unless we are damaged in some awful way, we want to be with other people; connecting, sharing life. Since Dad died a couple of months ago, I have made my way to his grave site several times. In some unconscious way, visiting that patch of ground is an expression of my longing for him, and each visit deepens my grief as I come to accept what I already know - he is beyond my reach. Sure I remember him, have pictures of him, but memories and pictures are no substitute for his presence!
Disciple, we need to experience the Presence of God! He must be more than an idea, more than a construct of our theology, known beyond the ritual of our religion. Throughout the Old Testament, God promised access to His Presence. The most tragic result of sin, Genesis tells us, was the break from knowing the Lord's Presence. Israel built their nation around the Tabernacle, where the Presence of God was symbolically living in the Holiest Place. Later, the Temple in Jerusalem became the locus of His Presence among His people.
David, when he sinned terribly, cried: "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:11, NIV) a cry repeated by those who have known the joy of walking near to the heart of God and then terror of being forsaken! The most wrenching cry of Jesus from the cross was: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46, NIV) as He carried the sin guilt of all humanity and was separated from His Father.
The sweetest promise Jesus makes to us is "surely I am with you always!" (Matthew 28:20) Disciples no longer need go to some holy place to find God's Presence. The Holy Spirit is with us, living in us for we are His temples!
Do you live in His Presence? Know this, we can grieve Him by living carelessly or sensually or without love! When we choose to go where He is not invited, we can lose the sweetness of knowing His Presence. Once you have known the joy of walking with God, living near to His heart, comforted and secure, the most powerful deterrent to willful disobedience is the knowledge that the Spirit will be grieved and the sense of His Presence lost!
Ponder this passage and then, faithfully live in the promise of His Presence. "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (1 John 3:19-24, NIV) _______________________
O Master, let me walk with Thee
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret;
Help me bear the strain of toil,
The fret of care.
Teach me Thy patience still with Thee
In closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong.
In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future's broad'ning way,
In peace that only Thou canst give,
With Thee, O Master, let me live.
O Master Let Me Walk With Thee
Gladden, Washington / Smith, Henry Percy
© Public Domain
We are relational beings, created that way by a Relational Being! Unless we are damaged in some awful way, we want to be with other people; connecting, sharing life. Since Dad died a couple of months ago, I have made my way to his grave site several times. In some unconscious way, visiting that patch of ground is an expression of my longing for him, and each visit deepens my grief as I come to accept what I already know - he is beyond my reach. Sure I remember him, have pictures of him, but memories and pictures are no substitute for his presence!
Disciple, we need to experience the Presence of God! He must be more than an idea, more than a construct of our theology, known beyond the ritual of our religion. Throughout the Old Testament, God promised access to His Presence. The most tragic result of sin, Genesis tells us, was the break from knowing the Lord's Presence. Israel built their nation around the Tabernacle, where the Presence of God was symbolically living in the Holiest Place. Later, the Temple in Jerusalem became the locus of His Presence among His people.
David, when he sinned terribly, cried: "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:11, NIV) a cry repeated by those who have known the joy of walking near to the heart of God and then terror of being forsaken! The most wrenching cry of Jesus from the cross was: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46, NIV) as He carried the sin guilt of all humanity and was separated from His Father.
The sweetest promise Jesus makes to us is "surely I am with you always!" (Matthew 28:20) Disciples no longer need go to some holy place to find God's Presence. The Holy Spirit is with us, living in us for we are His temples!
Do you live in His Presence? Know this, we can grieve Him by living carelessly or sensually or without love! When we choose to go where He is not invited, we can lose the sweetness of knowing His Presence. Once you have known the joy of walking with God, living near to His heart, comforted and secure, the most powerful deterrent to willful disobedience is the knowledge that the Spirit will be grieved and the sense of His Presence lost!
Ponder this passage and then, faithfully live in the promise of His Presence. "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (1 John 3:19-24, NIV) _______________________
O Master, let me walk with Thee
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me Thy secret;
Help me bear the strain of toil,
The fret of care.
Teach me Thy patience still with Thee
In closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong.
In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future's broad'ning way,
In peace that only Thou canst give,
With Thee, O Master, let me live.
O Master Let Me Walk With Thee
Gladden, Washington / Smith, Henry Percy
© Public Domain
Monday, April 20, 2009
We Fall Down, We Get Up!
Bob Carlisle, best known for a song played at too many weddings about a Daddy's remembering his little girl's "Butterfly Kisses," wrote another song that isn't so sentimental called "We Fall Down." In it he describes a man who envies the monks who he imagines to live above the sins he experiences until he meets one of them outside of the monastery one day. The man tells him that monks are tempted and fall, too. "We fall down, we get up. 'Cause the saints are just the sinners who get up!"
Living 'in Christ' is not a life for those looking for the easy road! One of the Enemy's more effective lies is the one of comparison. "Look at him. He is so much better than you, he does not even struggle with sin any longer!" It is never true! There is no place and no one that has acheived sinless perfection this side of Heaven. A disciple who is growing in Christ will always deal with temptation, often severe, always deeply personal. For one it may be lust, for another greed, for another pride. As the Holy Spirit leads us along the Way, we do conquer temptations, but evil conspires to find another way to neutralize us. I do not wrestle with the same temptations today that I did 15 years ago! But, temptation is ever present and the war continues - sometimes raging, sometimes just a skirmish!
The Word reminds us that "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Corinthians 10:13, NLT) After all my years as a disciple and as a Pastor, I am very suspicious of the authenticity of anyone who claims they have found 'the secret' that allows them to live without any struggles with sin and/or temptation! Either they are self-deceived, lying, or they want to sell you something. The Word reminds us that "sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:7, NIV)
We defeat Self, Satan, and Systems of this World - not by our cleverness, nor by escape to some utopia - but by standing in the Truth of God's amazing grace in the middle of the war! -We know His love is deeper than our sin.
-We know that the Spirit is at work in us giving us the strength to stand.
-If we fall, we reach for Jesus' hand and get up, learning and growing from our failure.
Are you struggling today?
Is some temptation dancing in your mind?
Stand in Christ! Here's a word from the Word. It's the Truth. Hold onto it today."That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time- (remember, you've been raised from the dead!) - into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God." (Romans 6:12-14, The Message)
Listen to "We Fall Down" on YouTube. Click here! http://www.youtube.com/v/AXlfELlcdRM&hl
Living 'in Christ' is not a life for those looking for the easy road! One of the Enemy's more effective lies is the one of comparison. "Look at him. He is so much better than you, he does not even struggle with sin any longer!" It is never true! There is no place and no one that has acheived sinless perfection this side of Heaven. A disciple who is growing in Christ will always deal with temptation, often severe, always deeply personal. For one it may be lust, for another greed, for another pride. As the Holy Spirit leads us along the Way, we do conquer temptations, but evil conspires to find another way to neutralize us. I do not wrestle with the same temptations today that I did 15 years ago! But, temptation is ever present and the war continues - sometimes raging, sometimes just a skirmish!
The Word reminds us that "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Corinthians 10:13, NLT) After all my years as a disciple and as a Pastor, I am very suspicious of the authenticity of anyone who claims they have found 'the secret' that allows them to live without any struggles with sin and/or temptation! Either they are self-deceived, lying, or they want to sell you something. The Word reminds us that "sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:7, NIV)
We defeat Self, Satan, and Systems of this World - not by our cleverness, nor by escape to some utopia - but by standing in the Truth of God's amazing grace in the middle of the war! -We know His love is deeper than our sin.
-We know that the Spirit is at work in us giving us the strength to stand.
-If we fall, we reach for Jesus' hand and get up, learning and growing from our failure.
Are you struggling today?
Is some temptation dancing in your mind?
Stand in Christ! Here's a word from the Word. It's the Truth. Hold onto it today."That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time- (remember, you've been raised from the dead!) - into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God." (Romans 6:12-14, The Message)
Listen to "We Fall Down" on YouTube. Click here! http://www.youtube.com/v/AXlfELlcdRM&hl
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)