God allowed THIS to happen?

Suffering and letting God do His will

Christians call this day “Good Friday.”  

  Why?  It was a day of treachery, cruelty, cowardice, and bloodshed.  Judas sold Jesus for silver.  Soldiers with dysfunctional consciences inflicted terrible suffering on Him for sport.  Pilate refused to uphold justice for political expedience.  Jesus died; naked, beaten, alone on a cross.  Good?  Yes!  His humiliation and death was the ultimate identification with humanity, broken by sin.  "He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross." (Philippians 2:7-8, NLT) He trusted the Father’s will.   Good Friday was allowed by His Father in heaven to finish the work of saving the world from sin.  Easter’s joy would not exist without Friday’s darkness.

Are you in a terrible place today? Has the world beaten you up, life gone wrong, God fallen silent?  Good Friday is your day!  Jesus stands alongside of you. He does not gaze down on you in pity, nor does He stand apart from you, pointing at you with judgment.  With His obedience to suffering for the mysterious purpose of God, He invites you to deeper faith, to endurance of your ‘cross.’  Our Father can redeem your suffering if you will trust Him in it.  If your own stupidity or selfishness brought your world crashing down ‘round your head, He can forgive you and lift you up.  If the cruelty of another has broken you, seeming to steal your life, He can restore. If the evil of this world has come to crush you, He can rescue you and empower you. Will you invite Christ Jesus, the suffering Savior, to come and stand with you? Will you ask for greater faith to endure as you wait for your salvation?

Or, you can hate Him!  If you choose that road, you join the darkness. You extinguish hope.  You fall deeper into despair.

God never really explains the ‘why’ of His plan, only the ‘what.’  Was there another way for the Creation to be reconciled to her Creator? Apparently not.  Did our forgiveness require such an awful price? Apparently so.   Can we truly grasp why God demanded so much from His Son? Not really.  So, we trust.  We set aside our demand for an explanation and humble ourselves in simple faith. “Lord, I believe. Help me overcome my doubt.”  This sometimes the only prayer we can pray, and it is heard in heaven.

To the sinful and the suffering, to those who are broken on Good Friday, there is this word from the Word.  Don’t try to rush to Sunday.  Let Good Friday do what God allows it to do, even as you wait.

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven." (Colossians 1:19-23, NIV)

_____________________

Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross

Jesus keep me near the cross,

There a precious fountain,

Free to all a healing stream,

Flows from Calv'ry's mountain.

Near the cross a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me,

There the bright and morning star

Shed its beams around me.

In the cross,

In the cross,

 be my glory ever!

‘Till my raptured soul shall find

Rest beyond the river.

Alfred V. Fedak | Fanny Jane Crosby

© 1988 The Sacred Music Press (Admin. by Lorenz Corporation)

CCLI License # 810055

A Continual Lust for More

Every human brain is wired for sensual satisfaction. We crave rich foods and the expanding size of the average American’s waistline is testament to the abundance of our time.  We enjoy comfort; who doesn’t prefer a hot shower over a cold bath?  Lust is not just about sex, though we often use it that way.  Our sexuality is always a factor in life, though some would strenuously deny it. Lust can find expression in most any desire.  When desire becomes our master, overpowering us, we are in the grip of lust. Lust is no longer considered a vice by most Americans! It’s the way we live in our religion that worships the god, Self.  It is served  with rituals that center on gratification of every whim.  We are convinced that happiness is found in having more of everything. Consequently, lust is on the loose, running rampant.  

 Look around.  

 See those marriages that are wrecked by infidelity? That’s a fruit of lust.    

Notice the spike in rates of diseases brought on by obesity? That’s lust!  

 Those 5 and 6 figure credit card balances which result from unrestrained spending, creating perpetual poverty, that is lust, too! 

The Bible tells disciples of Christ that they  "must no longer live as the Gentiles (godless people) do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." (Ephesians 4:17-19, NIV)  Instead, by the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, we are to "be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love…  among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—(his idol the god, Self!) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." (Ephesians 4:32-5:6, NIV)

Before you decide that the solution is more self-discipline, hear the counsel of the Scripture. "Rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline. But they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires." (Colossians 2:28, NLT)  That person staring at pornographic websites knows it is not a good thing.  We all know that huge slice of cake and super-size fast food meal is not the right way to fuel our bodies.  When we go out and buy that luxury item, financing it with easy credit, we know we are robbing from our future.  Yet, millions of good people do all those things every day, ignoring what they know is right, led by a continual lust for more.

So, how do we defeat this foe that destroys body, soul, and spirit?

Lust is defeated by love! “But, Jerry, that is the problem.  I love things, food, pleasure, women!”  No, what is mistaken for love is often is the parody of it, lust.  Christ Jesus died to break the chains of desire, to offer you and me a higher life.  When we kneel at His Cross, asking for forgiveness and freedom, the Spirit comes and enlivens our spirit, allowing us to become responsive to the will of our Father. Then, we feed that love. We love Christ and all things beautiful.  We love Heaven and bring it to earth.  Captivated by Him we find the desires of our bodies eclipsed by greater purpose, higher vision, and deeper satisfaction.

Here’s a word from the Word. As you celebrate the Resurrection this coming Sunday, may you realize the personal freedom that comes because He lives. "If you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. " (Colossians 3:1-4, The Message)

I know he’s guilty

The story out of Florida is a tragic tale about jumping to conclusions. Trayvon Martin is dead because a neighborhood watch volunteer assumed he was a drug addict looking for a house to rob. George Zimmerman is in hiding because many assume he is a racist who shot the young man without provocation.  The truth is lost under layers of misinformation and opinions!  

 Did you know that we form an opinion about people in about 3 seconds?  Unconsciously, we observe how a person is dressed, his body language, his facial expression and we form a first impression. That conclusion, no matter how flimsy the evidence on which it is based, persists long after we have come to know the person better.  If we conclude that we won’t like them, we may never even have the opportunity to change our judgment.

Jesus teaches His disciples not to judge! “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?" (Matthew 7:1-3, NLT)  This does not mean we abandon discernment, that we lose the ability to hold others accountable for their actions.  Our high calling is to approach people with a loving spirit, expecting the best of them, not the worst.  We make the choice to set our first impressions aside.

Samuel, the prophet, was sent to Jesse’s house in Bethlehem to anoint the next king of Israel. The Bible says when he saw the first born son, Eliab, he immediately concluded that he had found the king! The young man was confident,  accustomed to making decisions, and looked like a leader.  As the prophet readied the anointing oil, the Spirit spoke to his heart.  “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.” (1 Samuel 16:7, NLT)  

Aren’t you glad that God looks past our failures, our weaknesses, our bumbling and fumbling, our natural skills, our intelligence – right into our heart? I am!  He reads my intention, knows my motives, and calls me higher.  He extended the gift of favor to me, making me a member of His family, not because I impressed Him, but because He loved me.  Though we were "dead in (our) transgressions and sins," (Ephesians 2:1, NIV)  "because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ…  it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5, NIV)  "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)  Oh that we would be full of the same kind of grace towards others.  

Those who are changed by love, will love. A Christian who is quick to accuse, who looks at others with harsh application of rigid rules, who just ‘knows’ that the other guy is a worthless piece of trash – needs a love infusion, needs to be reminded again that  “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-8, NIV)

So, here’s the word from the Word, another translation of a passage that started this CoffeeBreak. May the Spirit make it living truth for us today. “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. " (Matthew 7:1-3, The Message)

________________________

Touch through me, Holy Spirit,

Touch through me.

Let my hands reach out to others,

Touch through me.

There’s a lonely soul somewhere

Needing just one friend to care,

Touch through me, Holy Spirit,

Touch through me.

Love through me, Holy Spirit,

Love through me.

I will be my brother’s keeper

Love through me.

Hearts are bleeding deep inside

Love can dry the weeping eyes.

Love through me, Holy Spirit,

Love through me.

Touch Through Me

Dottie Rambo

© 1981 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

Is Life a Lottery?

Is Life a Lottery?

Millions of people dreamed about winning a half billion dollar lottery prize last Friday! They promised themselves (and God, maybe?) how they would do good things for their church, community, and extended family and I am sure most were quite sincere. The stories of past winners of windfall wealth generally confirm that coming into that kind of money quickly is not a good thing. It tears apart friendships and divides families. Some winners become addicts, others get depressed, many wish they had never won. I would like to think that I would be different, but ... we’re designed to work, to grow, to make choices appropriate to our maturity and opportunities of the moment.

Jesus teaches that today’s faithfulness lays the foundation for living with tomorrow’s blessings. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" (Luke 16:10-11, NIV)

There’s an old story about a small-town pastor who visited a farmer. As they leaned on the fence, the farmer talked about how he would love to give to the church. He knew the needs of missions, wanted to help the kids ministry. “Why, preacher, if I had a hundred hogs, I’d give ten to the Lord today,” was the bold proclamation. The preacher’s reply brought the conversation to an awkward end: “Well, Sam, what about giving the Lord one of ten you have?”

Life is full of tough choices, isn’t it? My high-school age boys have to decide between playing basketball with their friends and doing their homework. In a few years, it will be whether to defer dreams to finish college. Gaining the discipline necessary to make the right choice is a key part of maturity. Great Christians don’t win the character lottery! They "continue to work out (their) salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13, NIV) It’s just too easy to let up, to coast, to know a success or two and to quit pushing.

Millions of people suffer from arrested spiritual development because they no longer are willing to make the tough choices. "For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God’s power." (1 Corinthians 4:20, NLT) There is rich reward in consistently making right choices. It may not show up quickly, it may not be a pocket full of money! However, God is faithful to the faithful, and the promise is sure.

Here’s the word from the Word. Pray for wisdom to receive it, courage to accept it, and discipline to live it - for the glory of God.

"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.

No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." (Philippians 3:12-14, NLT)

Press on! As you look at the choices you’re making today, what do they say about the person you will become tomorrow?