The "lost" week

The "Lost" Week

So, Monday started productively; lawn mowed, projects around the house completed, thoughts about the work week I would be starting on Tuesday morning. Except, I didn't! Suddenly in the late afternoon, pain consumed me to the point that Bev took me to the hospital at 9 PM.  Until mid-day Wednesday, pain and medications kept me wrapped in a fog of confusion, unable to think clearly, pray only in the most child-like ways.  Finally, this Friday morning it appears that I will be going home, but weakened.  So, did I awaken this morning with the voice of the Spirit whispering in my ear, "This is the purpose of this 'lost' week?"  No. The suffering, sleep deprivation, and time flat on my back makes no sense; yet!

The book of James says, "For examples of patience in suffering... look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently. From his experience we see how the Lord’s plan finally ended in good, for he is full of tenderness and mercy. But most of all..never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned for it. Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven." (James 5:10-15, NLT)

The choice of the godly during 'lost' weeks is revealed in several words inspired by the Spirit:  "patience, endure, keep on praying."  We just have to keep on trusting God, not changing course with the shifting wind of circumstance. God remains God even when what looks like chaos blows over us. It's not real hard to sing Jesus' praises when the sun is shining, when we feel great, and when life makes sense.  Believe me, it is much harder at 2 am in room 517A, when pain twists me in half. It is quite natural to wonder if He is good and loving.

The Spirit also warns us about trying to put it all behind us too quickly with neat summaries, or big words of faith we don't really own just yet.  Sure I can say, "God has a purpose. God is working. God has done great things."  I 'know' these things but as yet, I cannot honestly say that I can meaningfully apply them to this 'lost week.'  I want to rush to store these hours into some slot that shows a purpose, that makes them valued, that takes some of the sense of loss out of them, but if I do that without the Spirit's revelation, I will offend the living God!  The Message says, "Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no."  The Lord wants us to be authentic, to let the process work; yes, to acknowledge He is God and we are not.

 

Positively, the Bible says to surround ourselves with people of faith in such times. Not simpletons, not those with some superficial happy-talk religion, but 'elders,' those who are tested by life, wise in the Word, and full of God's Spirit. "Ask them to pray for you," James says, "for their prayers bring healing." Healing is a word with a wide scope in the Bible. The word is "sozo," (sode -so) in the first Greek Bible.  It is not just about making pain go away or making cancers disappear, though can be a part of it. It includes the ideas of keeping safe, of rescue, of saving, too! Prayers of those full of faith become life-boats that sail in the storm and carry us home. They keep us trusting, waiting, faithful.

So, on the advice of Pastor James and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I am patiently waiting on the Lord, trying not to make big boasts about the glory of the week (It was a terrible one, full of suffering, for the record.) I have invited the prayers of the saints and elders, which have provided rich comfort.

I am taking this benediction and offer it to those of you who suffer today. "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:16-21, NIV)

Justice in Florida?

The front page of my Monday newspaper shows a group of people protesting the acquittal in the Zimmerman trial in Sanford, Florida. Talking heads on the news channels and Sunday news programs disagreed passionately about the verdict. Some insisted it was a travesty, others were equally convinced that evidence simply was not there for a conviction. I was not in the courtroom, did not hear the evidence, so I take no public stand about the fairness of it all.  My real concern is that money is so much a part of our ‘justice’ system.  If two very expensive (and superbly qualified) defense attorneys had been replaced by public defenders, would George Zimmerman be free today?

Christian, I want to draw two reminders for us from that trial.

First, we have an amazing Advocate who stands with us! "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2, NIV)  One translation of the Bible uses the word, advocate, in place of ‘speaks in our defense.’  The first Bible was written in Greek and the word there is ‘parakletos.’  It described a person who came to the side of one in a dispute, who spoke on his behalf.  We are guilty before a holy God, but we are not left to present our own defense. Jesus Christ stands with us. Going better than that, He settles the case by accepting our guilt and taking our penalty! 

Are you dealing with shame or guilt today?  Does regret about something, big or small, hidden or public, keep you from experiencing a joyful life?  Put your complete faith in the Advocate provided! Accept the gracious judgment of God, provided in Christ Jesus.  You were not acquitted by God. You were found guilty, but the sentence was passed to the One who offered Himself in your place. "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." (Romans 5:1, NLT)

Second, we need to remember that God will hold us perfectly accountable for the way we live.  Many Christians confuse the freedom from sin’s penalty with a license to live as they please.  The faulty line of reasoning goes like this:  if Christ has forgiven all my sins, then why can I not just indulge my whims, follow my own way?  It’s not a new error. The Bible says, "All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end. So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means." (Romans 5:20-6:3, The Message)

Each of us will come before Christ, our King. It will be both glorious and terrifying!  Excuses won’t hold any water.  Rationalizations will be shown for the flimsy things they really are.  Things we have done that were overlooked or forgotten during our lives will be richly rewarded.  The Bible says that the Lord’s vision will go deeper than appearance, seeing to our motives.  No, it’s not about our salvation which is secured by our Advocate. It’s about our reward.  The Word explains,  "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, NIV)

Perfect justice is God’s promise.  It should comfort us that we will never be subject to a flawed system. It should sober us that "Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done." (Hebrews 4:13, NLT)

So here’s the word from the Word –

"With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:6-8, NKJV)

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