Stand up, be bold, shine brightly!

America was riveted by yet another tragedy that unfolded in San Bernardino yesterday. For reasons yet to be determined, a couple went on a murderous rampage at a holiday party and left 14 dead and more wounded before being gunned down. This morning a city weeps and a nation wonders. And, I pray! Yes, I pray for the Church to recover her calling to be Light in a dark world, to be the Salt that preserves from the rot of evil.  I pray that kneejerk reactions will be few and that wisdom will prevail. But, let me speak to your heart today . . .

So many people that I know are dealing with sorrow, disappointment, and fear.  So many are asking, “is there any hope?”  The brokenness of Creation and the evil that stalks the dark corridors of this world seep into our lives. There is personal tragedy. Bev and I live with cancer, evidence of the curse of sin. Many are gripped by the ongoing sadness of family feuds. So-called natural disasters – when the earth shakes, the flood comes, or the storm blows – sweep away homes and livelihoods. Then, there are the kinds of incidents that we watched in horror yesterday in California. We cannot foolishly pretend that ‘all is well’ though many try. We cannot just sing louder, hoping to drown out the cries of the hurting.

What can we who are servants of the King of Kings, sons and daughters of the Almighty Father, do?

We become warriors. Oh, please, not like the ‘warriors’ of ISIS with bombs and bullets; not like the cultural ‘warriors’ who feed hate with twisted bits of Scripture. We are bold warriors of love.  Don’t tune me out yet.  We are called to run to the battle. “Resist the Devil,” the Word says. But, how?  With profound love!  God does not release us to little oases of pleasure in this world. He sends us into the struggle with sin, suffering, and Satan!  “Comfort the broken. Feed the hungry. Be fathers to the orphan.  Stand with the oppressed,” He says.  And, we enter the struggle equipped with the power of His Spirit, protected by the armor of Lord that covers us with the assurance of salvation and life eternal.  We proclaim, more with actions than with words, that Christ is Savior and Lord. We invite the broken to come to Him. We intensely care for those that others overlook, dismiss, or even hate. We speak truth to materialism, greed, sensuality, discrimination, and fear. And, we pray … strong prayers that call for the armies of heaven to throw back the forces of hell!

Do I desire a world without cancer, without divorce, without conflict, without gunmen who shoot down unsuspecting people? Yes, yes, yes! But I am not God and I do not get to shape the universe. What I can do is work faithfully in my little corner of it to build the kingdom of Heaven.  We must tear down those high fences that isolate us from the realities of the world!  We are not the first generation of Christians to deal with evil, though we sometimes think we are.  Paul, at the beginning of the faith, wrote to the Corinthian church and said, "we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body." (2 Corinthians 4:5-11, NIV)  In the middle of the sorrow and suffering, when we are most vulnerable, Jesus shines through the cracks!  But, He cannot shine if we are not renewed with prayer, worship, and humility before Him each day.

Yes, I pray for the ‘Kingdom to come!’  I long for the day when questions of evil will find be answered with the coming of the King, who is the Lord of Righteousness.

In this season of Advent, we remember that He came to us once as our Savior, God Incarnate; and that He will come to us again as King, Lord of Glory. Faithfully we pray the closing words of the Holy Scripture - "He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-22, NIV)

Here's a word from the Word. Take it with you today. "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:10-12, NLT) "Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness." (Ephesians 6:14, NLT)

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Would you pray with me?

Father, my world - both inward and outward- is chaotic today.

The suffering that I see is hard to fit into a system of logic,

but I pray for faith to cling to your promise.

Keep me from fear and make me bold in your service.

Fill me with the love of Jesus and let that love

overflow in my word and actions today,

spilling into the lives of those who are without the comfort of faith.

Break the curse! Defeat the Evil one!

Let Your kingdom come,

Your will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven.

In the mighty and holy Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Dressed Up?

“Clothes make the man,” is the old saying.  Mark Twain borrowed it from Shakespeare, paraphrasing his words – “For the apparel oft proclaims the man.”  Like it or not, we form opinions about others based around their choice of rags, don’t we?  A suit worn by a man headed to work is a fairly good indicator that the he is not employed as a laborer.  A person in military fatigues is probably not a social worker. But, looks are sometimes deceiving. Anybody with a credit card can buy a look, make an impression, but underneath it all – the person is still the same.

Forget fashion and think about how your soul is clothed for a moment.  In Judges, I read this line about one of Israel’s leaders, the famed Gideon. The enemies of God’s people were massing for war and the Bible says, "the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him." (Judges 6:34, NIV) Digging a little deeper, I found that the English translation was weak. The verb, ‘came,’ translates Hebrew that indicates that Gideon was wrapped in the Spirit, clothed with God’s Presence!  The people saw him differently when he was dressed up in the powerful Spirit of God.

How are you dressed as you head into life today? Are you wearing the rags of sin, your character stained, with the appearance of a slave to ungodly, self-centered habits? Or, are you ‘clothed with Spirit’ wearing the beautiful righteousness of Christ, a ‘royal priest’ in the service of the Lord?

Jesus, when He was ending His earthly mission, told the disciples that God would open the wardrobe of Heaven and send them out to change the world. Meditate on this - "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49, NIV) Remember the awesome account of Pentecost (Acts 2) when these ordinary men from obscure origins became world-changers?  They did not gain their abilities from a school or a motivational speaker! They were dressed in the Spirit and the Powerful Presence went down deep into their minds and hearts.  They were given authority, wisdom, and influence that ripples through the centuries to us. My prayer today is not for smarter Christians, richer Christians, or better educated Christians. I pray that we will be newly clothed with the Spirit, marked by Him as the people of the Lord.

Paul uses the same metaphor to describe the holy calling of Christians. Our distinctions of class, race, even sex; he says, disappear when we ‘put on Christ.’ He writes to the Galatians, who had fallen for a Christianity based around religious effort, reminding them that the real power for transformation came from a gift: "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." (Galatians 3:27, NIV) The result of those new clothes was something astonishing in a time when rigid class distinctions separated people. "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. … God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you." (Galatians 3:28-29, NLT)

Let’s take a cue from those first disciples who were promised a new suit from the Spirit. They did not go buy it somewhere. They waited for the Lord to bring His Presence to them.  Too often, we are pressed by the urgent demands of life, so that we rush into the day, having thrown on some clothing without much thought. A mis-matched suit is not a travesty, but a soul naked, without the clothes of the Spirit is vulnerable to temptation, without the ‘glory’ God intends for His children, and bereft of power.  We must spend time in the Presence of the Father, letting Him clothe us with His Presence. We must learn to live in this day – asking Him where we can serve, what we need to know, and to show Himself through us by wrapping us in glorious robes of righteousness not of our own making.

John, in the amazing picture language of the Apocalypse, borrows the clothing metaphor to describe the eternal state of the people of God.  Take this word from the Word with the prayer that God will dress you up, prepare you for His service, and make you as powerful as Gideon in building His kingdom in your world.  "After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands." (Revelation 7:9, NLT)  "Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white." (Revelation 7:13-14, NLT)

Lord, clothe us in Your holy Presence. Amen!

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The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,

O may I then in Him be found.

Dressed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

Edward Mote | William Batchelder Bradbury

© Words: Public Domain

Lead the Way

Are you inspiring anyone, showing the way to another, a positive influence among those with whom you live?  History is filled with stories of people who rose to lead, men and women who courageously stepped to the front of the line and said, “Follow me!”  
What would these United States be today without the leadership of Lincoln who, by stubborn will, insisted on the survival of the Union of the states?
How might Europe look today without a Churchill to lead Britain in her stand against the Nazis? Who can forget his gravelly voice rallying the English people to ‘blood, sweat, and tears?’ 
On the opposite side, there was the mesmerizing leadership of Adolf Hitler who inspired Germany to go to war and plunged the world into chaos and bloodshed!
Martin Luther King gathered black Americans to peaceful protest and sparked the Civil Rights movement in our nation.

Reading in the little book in the Old Testament called Judges, you find one little story after another of leaders who inspired the people to serve God. When leaders failed, the people fell, too.  Here is an excerpt: " The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They forgot about the Lord their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles. Then the Lord burned with anger against Israel, … when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Othniel… The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge. He went to war … and the Lord gave Othniel victory." (Judges 3:7-10, NLT)  … "But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin." (Judges 3:15, NLT) …  "After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He once killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad." (Judges 3:31, NLT)  The next chapter tells the story of Deborah and Jael, two women who led Israel to victory!

And so it goes, down through history.  Proverbs states the principle - "When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans." (Proverbs 29:2, The Message)

Few of us will lead nations or stir thousands, but all of us can inspire someone and lead the way to Jesus! Mom, perhaps you feel unimportant, a servant to your family.  No one can influence those children like you. Susanna Wesley gave the world a spiritual revival by raising Charles and John in a household of faith. Those two men brought thousands to Christ and arguably changed the course of history.  One person can inspire a workplace or tear it apart with demoralization.  Ministries thrive when godly people give themselves to anonymous service for the sake of the kingdom of God.

You may read these words and assume they are written for someone else; your Pastor, your small group leader – somebody with authority or a position in an organization. “I’m no leader,” you insist. In one sense you could be right. Perhaps you are not gifted to coordinate or given the privilege of holding an office, but everyone can influence others. The Word of God says that we all are gifted children of God, enabled by the Spirit to fulfill the calling of God. "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, NLT)  Are you using and developing the gift of the Spirit to lead – in your family, among your friends, in your place of employment, in your neighborhood, at your church?  God calls generals and He calls corporals. Both are indispensable to the effectiveness of His army.

Here is a word from the Word.  Be an inspiring leader. "Pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior." (Philippians 3:17-21, NLT)

Lead the way!  
May you be able to say, like Paul, “Follow me as I follow Christ!” 

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Define the 'win'

Are you a ‘winner?’ How do you know?

When I watch my Patriots play, I know when they win. How? The score! The team with the most points on the scoreboard wins!  When the Pats take the field, they perform with the purpose of raising that score – touchdowns are the only thing that matter. Each player knows why he is on the field, is trained for his position.  Only a win brings celebration. Brave smiles and words about ‘playing well’ are offered up postgame by losing teams, but everybody knows that winning is the real issue. In kindergarten, they hand out ribbons to everyone. It may make a small child have a happy day, but it will not be very long before he knows the difference between winning and losing.

Paul lived his Christian life with a definite purpose- to win!  “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26, NLT)  Before you decide to be offended that I would seem to approve of cut-throat competition, read on. There is nothing wrong with desiring to win. The issue is how one defines the ‘win.’

Some are convinced that winning in life is all about wealth. Remember hearing this? “He who does with the most toys, wins!” No doubt about it, wealth generally allows for a better quality of life and increases the amount of opportunities in life.  However, rich and poor alike, eventually come to the end of the race and leave this world on level ground.  Others are sure that winning is about arranging life in a way that assures their happiness. They work at controlling outcomes, using people and things to make life work as they believe it should. Power is the underlying issue, but once again, Presidents and pawns will eventually lose control of their situation and find themselves at the mercy of others.

Some are convinced that the win in life is in beauty and work hard against the inevitable creases and wrinkles that time etches into every face. Others are convinced that sex is god and pursue one conquest after another. Is there a more sad example of a failed life than Hugh Hefner who founded the Playboy empire?  The old fool is still trying to convince himself that those young women in his mansion care about him rather than his fame or money, but the emptiness of his lust is obvious to anyone with insight.

Paul knew that the ‘win’ was about God and people! Convinced that Heaven was just beyond the finish line here on this earth, he gave himself to loving God. Setting aside the offers of a comfortable, but unchallenged, life; looking beyond the happiness of being socially accepted found by living in a way that was shaped around the norms of his culture, he asked the Spirit to lead him along the Way.  His life did not look very successful from the outside. He was arrested, jailed, reviled by his own people, and often living in dire straits. However, he remained focused on the ultimate definition of a ‘win.’  “In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers (servants) of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us.”(2 Corinthians 6:4-7, NLT)

He measured his effectiveness, not by awards, not by wealth, not by applause – but by the transformed lives he left in his wake. When the Gospel of Christ took root in another heart, changing a sinner to a saint, changing the destiny of another lost soul; Paul knew the joy of a win!  His sense of genuine triumph echoes out of these lines to the church he founded in Corinth. “The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, NLT)

Jesus defines the ‘rules of the game’ in simple terms.  No, it is not easy to apply them to life; quite the opposite.  Clear and simple in declaration, they demand a radical commitment, a humble heart, and surrender to the Spirit on a daily basis.  “Want to win?” Jesus asks. Here are the rules. “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40, NLT)

As you begin this new week, define the ‘win.’  Decide to get in the game and stay in it until the end. Watch out for deadly apathy, for settling for the status quo, for choosing trinkets over treasure.  “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me!” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26, The Message)

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Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee (Ode To Joy)

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,

God of glory, Lord of love.

Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,

Opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,

Drive the dark of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness

Fill us with the light of day!

Thou art giving and forgiving,

Ever blessing, ever blest.

Wellspring of the joy of living,

Ocean depth of happy rest.

Thou our Father, Christ, our Brother,

All who live in love are Thine.

Teach us how to love each other

Lift us to the joy divine.

Edward Hodges | Henry Van Dyke | Ludwig van Beethoven

© Words: Public Domain