The Noonday Devil

There are days when mid-day comes and with a sense of futility. Heaving a deep sigh, I say, "What's the use of it all?" In the middle of opportunities, the devil comes whispering that life is meaningless, my efforts useless, that pleasure waits somewhere other than where I am. The wrong response is to agree and to sink into apathy that says, "Who cares? Let's just float along in the stream of life." A couple of days ago when I was feeling that way, I got up and went for a drive in my car.  I told the Lord how I was feeling at that moment and He ministered to me. (I think my car is a rolling sanctuary sometimes!)  One by one, He brought faces of people to my mind – people who had made new choices for life, people who had found hope and purpose in the Lord, people whose marriages were saved, etc.  Did I do those things? Of course not! But, He used me as His messenger.

Disciple, apathy is just as much a sin as outright disobedience! Our God calls us to active pursuit of the good He has purposed to do through us.  Time and again, the Word reminds of the vital importance of living patiently and persistently. James uses the work of a farmer to illustrate how we must meet the lie that life is without meaning. "Wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time." (James 5:7-8, The Message) So true, right?

Andy Stanley writes, "The daily grind of life is hard on visions. Life is now. Bills are now. Crisis is now. Vision is later. It is easy, therefore, to lose sight of the main thing, to sacrifice the best for the good. All of us run the risk of allowing secondary issues to rob us of the joy of seeing our visions come to completion. Distractions slowly kill the vision."

(Visioneering, Multnomah, 1999)

If we are living with our time and efforts focused only in secondary issues without a real vision that gives 'big picture context' to the work of the day we will feel the frustration. If we make like only about making money, we’ll feel the treadmill effect. If we make ministry just about checking off the ‘completed’ box each week, we will lose enthusiasm.  Every Friday my primary task is to complete the message that I will deliver to my congregation on Sunday. I can choose to view that task in two very different lights. I can see it as 'just getting something to say on Sunday 'cause that's what is expected of me.'  If that’s how I come to my desk at 8 in the morning on Friday, I know that about Noon, I'll feel that what I'm doing is 'vanity of vanities!'  If I see my work as a God-given opportunity to bring His Word, to help somebody whose lost, confused, or without hope to stay the course, I have a vision that makes the effort required much less onerous.

Never lose sight of the ‘why’ behind the ‘what.’

Don't sink into the deception of the day today. Take a few moments right now to re-focus and to set the tasks that await you into a larger context of vision.

"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.

“For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.
And my righteous ones will live by faith.
But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”" (Hebrews 10:35-38, NLT)

____________________

I know there's hope in anger

And some tenderness in shame

Sometimes I find You

On the other side of pain

But sometimes in the heat of day

When I close my eyes to pray

It seems like You are far from me

My prayers are all in vain

In my hour of hopelessness

In my deep despair

The noonday devil whispers in my ear

I know that You are with me

But I can't feel a thing

The noonday devil

Has come around again

Oh Lord make me angry

Oh Lord make me cry

Oh Lord please don't leave me here

To fall into the devil's lies

Father You have called me

To live a life that's true

That all my labors and my words

Would speak my love for You

But walking through this desert

Life is empty and mundane

The noonday devil

Has come around again

Oh Lord make me angry

Oh Lord make me cry

Oh Lord please don't leave me here

To fall into the devil's lies

Oh Lord make me angry

Oh Lord make me cry

Oh Lord break my cold cold heart

So I can know Your love inside

Your love inside

Noonday Devil
© 2004 Curb Songs | Cerdo Verde Music | John Andrew Schreiner Music (Admin. by Curb Records) | (Admin. by Curb Records) | (Admin. by Lori Kelly Rights & Licenses)

Fernando Ortega | John Andrew Schreiner

CCLI License No. 810055

Management, motives, modifications

“Why do some go to church all the time and show no change of heart or behavior?” was the question raised at our Bible class last night. It’s a fair one, for sure, and has many possible answers. The primary one is that we (Christians) allow our majestic message of total conversion, of new birth, to be reduced to what Willard calls, ‘the gospel of sin management.’ (The Divine Conspiracy) Instead of boldly proclaiming that the Spirit will make a man new, using techniques of behavior modification we try to make him marginally better. Then, too, we are guilty of implying that the Gospel exists to make us happier, more well-adjusted people rather than godly servant of the Most High! Jesus Christ did not come to live among us, to die for us, and to rise again to make us nice people and good citizens. He came to buy us back from the Devil, to give us eternal life, and to call us into the service of the King!

The Lord has promised those who serve Him amazing, transformative power through the Spirit! He tells us to ‘go and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything I command.’ His commission is an impossible challenge to those who attempt to fulfill it with gimmicks, church growth techniques, or clever oratory. It is spiritual work which can only be done by the Spirit working deeply in and through us.

Moses met the Lord at the burning bush and was told to go back to Egypt and lead the people of Israel out to freedom and the Promised Land. He knew immediately what he was up against and protested by pointing to his inability. "Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:11-12, NIV)  "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:12, NIV) The whole account is a fascinating and revealing interaction that is a primer of how not to respond to God’s call! Moses looks at his own weakness, God refocuses him, time and again, on His power!

Disciple, our work is not to help people live more successful lives, while adapting to the slavery of Egypt! We are deliverers who are called to lead them out. It’s a simpler task to explain how to be a better slave in Egypt than it is to tell people that there a Promised Land waiting, which they can possess. Seems to me that the Church has developed great skill at explaining sinful urges and helping us to co-exist with the Devil, in the best possible way. All this is not to imply that we should discard education, understanding of leadership, or psychology. These things are tools that can help us to accomplish our task, but the true Power for deliverance is not our cleverness, but His Power which is found only when we come, like Moses to the end of Self and get desperate for intimacy with Him.

Ponder this word from the Word, dear friend. Don’t turn them into a simplistic jingle, another religious cliché. Instead, make them your challenge. Let them drive you to quiet, contemplation of the Lord’s power. May they create faith in you to expect great things as He works deeply in you, making you a true deliverer of those He loves from slavery to sin to glorious freedom in Christ!

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here." (Zechariah 3:7, NLT) “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies." (Zechariah 4:6, NLT)

____________________

Quiet my mind
And draw me near You.
Silence my thoughts
I just want to be with You!
Open my heart,
To hear and listen!
Not my way God,
But your Vision!

And all my fears fall away
In Your presence,
Waiting on You;
Waiting on You.

(BRIDGE)
And as you come to me,
Send your Spirit to minister
Because I am truly desperate
For the promises that you keep.

Waiting On You
-Terry Keenan

Hubris (hyoo-bris)

Hubris is the soft spot, the point of vulnerability in us all! Last night a man we never heard of before won a Senate seat in Massachusetts. Scott Brown capitalized on the hubris of his opponent and her party. Coakley and company were so sure that they had the election won that she went on a week’s vacation just three weeks before the election! While she rested, he ran hard. He won the election pulling away. Hubris caused the American people to turn against the Republicans a little over a year ago. Hubris lost a major election for the Democrats last night.  What’s hubris?  “Excessive pride or self-confidence, arrogance,” is the definition!

I’ve seen marriages crumble because partners’ hubris cause them to take advantage of their spouses for too long. I’ve seen ministers fail morally because hubris blinded them to their own weakness. Hubris that develops in leaders when they find success is the reason behind the destruction of governments, corporations, and even churches.  Here’s God’s warning: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12, NIV)

Humility is a character trait that must be cultivated. Disciple we must remember that pride makes us an enemy of God, who will not share His glory or authority! “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, NIV)  The Lord Himself, though full of magnificence, is also humble. God, humble? Yes! "The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts." (Isaiah 57:15, NLT) A prideful person will not voluntarily associate with those who are weak, failing, or rejected. A humble man lifts them up.

Accomplishment or recognition will not bring on hubris in anyone who realizes that he is who he is only because of the grace of God.  When we feel ourselves becoming impressed with by ourselves, this question needs to come to the forefront of our minds: “Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,” Paul wrote, “but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3)

Hubris or humility? What will it be?  Take the wisdom of Jesus with you today as you meditate on this word from the Word. 
“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4, NIV) 

Into the Misery

While I was leading prayer in our Sunday AM worship, I broke into a strange lament; “Lord, how long? How long until Your kingdom comes?” The images from the broken nation of Haiti, my counseling with people wrestling with sin and temptation, and the unexplained physical suffering of acquaintances converged to press heavily on me. My prayer in that moment was less a formation of my intellect and more a groan from my soul!

My life would be simpler were I to assume that all things are a matter of the “good being blessed and the bad being cursed.” I could distance myself from the pain of those in misery if I allowed myself to see them as getting what they deserved; but He does not offer that option. He sends us into the misery!

Moses saw the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt, responded in self-directed rage and killed a man, then ran off into the desert where he lived in isolation, away from the daily sufferings of his people for many years. He would have died out there tending some sheep except that God showed up and reminded him of his true calling. One day he saw a bush burst into flame, without being consumed. "When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey." (Exodus 3:4-8, NIV) And the LORD sent Moses back to Egypt, to live with the suffering slaves and to lead them out of their misery. It was no easy calling!

Some would say that if we come before the Lord and stand in His holy Presence, the things of earth will recede and we will be caught up into the heavenlies, living in holy bliss. The Scripture argues a different point. Those who enjoy the deepest intimacy with the Father, feel the beat of His heart for the world He created and the people He loves. We are, like Moses and even Jesus Christ, sent to the misery!

The Light in which we live cannot be held only for ourselves, it must be shared. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16, The Message)

As inviting as the cloister of the holy huddle might be, we must not stay there! A retreat, from time to time, to regroup and renew may be in order. But we cannot choose to live in a place of isolation where the leper, the sinner, the broken are not invited because they are judged to be enduring the fruit of their own choices. We are sent into the misery! We share the call of the first Twelve, so let’s go!
"When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." (Luke 9:1-2, NIV)

_______________

I'm calling out to You,
There must be something more,
Some deeper place to find,
Some secret place to hide,
Where I've not gone before.

Where my soul is satisfied,
And my sin is put to death.
And I can hear Your voice,
Your purpose is my choice,
As natural as a breath.

Oh place in my heart
A passion for Jesus!
A hunger that seizes
My passion for You!
My one desire,
My greatest possession,
My only confession,
My passion for You!

The love I knew before,
When You first touched my life;
I need You to restore,
I want You to revive!

Passion For Jesus
© 1999 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)
Brian Houston
CCLI License No. 810055

An Acceptable Sin

The sign stood along the highway, proudly embellished with an American flag, declaring – “Bill’s American. English spoken here.”  The owner of the service station was playing off of the fact that most of the gas stations in NJ are staffed by men from India who speak very little English. (Jerseyans can’t pump their own gas, by law!)  I don’t know Bill and have no idea if he thought his sign was funny or if he hoped it would attract more customers, but I always read it as an expression of bigotry, a way to say, “They are not us.”  Now that same station is owned and staffed by Asian immigrants who, ironically, speak very poor English! I think it is a kind of poetic justice.

Segregation, supported by institutional racism, was an acceptable sin for many Americans. I say ‘was’ hopefully, knowing that racism is very much alive and well. The difference now is that there are many voices that challenge it! Today we celebrate the life of a man who used his God-given gifts to reshape America’s attitudes towards race. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama who saw the evil of segregation and named it for what it was - sin. His vision of non-violent resistance spared many lives as the civil rights movement gained momentum. Ever the preacher, Dr. King drew inspiration from the Scripture, using the picture words of the Old Testament prophets to great effect.  He loved to quote Amos, "let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24, KJV)  Perhaps his greatest gift to us was the formation of a new vision for America, best summed up in what are his most memorable speech which we now call, “I have a dream.” Few, if any, knew the strength of his words when they were spoken that day from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 23, 1963, but his vision reshaped these United States.

(read or watch it at

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm)

Where we see divisions by class, or religion, or race, or sex we must challenge it. We cannot allow this sin to become acceptable. It is a subtle one that hides itself behind all kinds of words. Being ‘different’ becomes being of lesser value. Judgment of behavior becomes a reason to reject persons. Give such thoughts no standing. Disciple, in Christ there is no ‘us’ and ‘them.’  In Him we ALL stand on equal ground. "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28, NIV)  The Scripture insists that how we love God and how we love other people are inseparable. We cannot claim to love God and hate others!

I leave this word from the Word with you today. As you ponder it, let God use it to shape your heart and mind.

"With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:6-8, NIV)

__________________

Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

All are precious in His sight.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

-      George Frederick Root