Whenever I am afraid

Fear stalks the earth these days!  A couple with guns blazed into a conference room and the report of those shots echoed across America. “Terror” is threatened daily. Then, there are those things that make us quake that are much more personal.  Whatever illusions about life at one time, they are gone as I know too well that cancer comes, that viruses reduce us to fevered sleep, that ‘accidents’ come crashing into our lives. In spite of the best precautions, life can go upside down in a moment.  That is why I have come to treasure two words that appear many times in the Scripture – “Fear not!”

To be completely honest, this passage from Isaiah is equally assuring and unsettling for me at this time. The Lord tells me that He loves me and keeps me, and I believe that. Yet, the circumstances in which I live argue that He does not. “This is what the LORD says— … “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; …  you are precious and honored in my sight … I love you.” (Isaiah 43:1-4, NIV)

“Fear not” is a command, not a suggestion. Living fearlessly demands a choice on my part, so how can obey and overcome the terrors?

Let’s look at the story of Jesus’ birth for some cues. In that story the phrase, “Fear not!” is recorded on three separate occasions when persons encountered the messengers of the Lord.

Mary, when she was told that she would be the mother of Jesus, was not elated.  Luke says that she was “confused and disturbed,” by God’s will. But, the angel assured her that God’s favor would rest on her and then he said, “Fear not!”

Joseph found out that his fiancé was pregnant and knew he was not the father. He was torn between his desire to love her and his honor. He had decided to quietly end the engagement when the Lord showed up and told him “fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1:20, KJV)  Isn’t it amazing?   God told him, “just trust Me!”   And, he did!

Zechariah was doing his priestly work when a messenger of the Lord told him that he was about to become a Daddy. So, what’s the big deal with that? Elizabeth, his wife, had been unable to conceive and was beyond child-bearing years! This priest “was troubled and fear fell on him.”  (Luke 1.12)   And what did God say?   You’ve figured it out by now, right?  Yes, you’re right – “Fear not!”

    Mary did not know how it was going to work out, what God’s announcement would mean for her life, but she trusted God anyway.  

    Joseph did not have any explanation for a virgin’s pregnancy, but he was willing to step over his lack of understanding and do what God wanted him to do as he trusted the Sovereign Lord.  

    Zechariah took a while to come around, but he gained a deeper knowledge of the Person of the God he served, and came to trust Him completely.  

If we desire to live without fear, we must trust Him with all things!

It is our choice to argue for fuller explanations, to demand that He make His plans crystal clear or to choose to live faithfully, just for today.

My life is in His hands.  Either I trust Him or I do not; there is no middle ground.  He is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. I no claim that I understand the San Bernardino terror or Bev’s cancer, but the Lord asks me to trust Him, to secure my life in Him.  Even I write this, I know that some abuse the whole notion of “God’s will” and “faith.”  Many Christians live willfully, choosing their own path, and expecting God to bless them anyway. They have scarcely a care to know Him, to seek Him, to submit to Him.  As casually as they might order a hamburger, they toss off demands of the Almighty!  They justify their own choices claiming they are doing “God’s will.”  And, when they did themselves into a deep hole, they blame Him for their fears.

God reminds us that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” (Isaiah 55:8 NIV)  We are incapable of knowing all of His purposes without submission, true love, and consistent devotion.  But, if we live each day as a ‘living sacrifice,’ (that means laying down our Self for Him)  we will learn to walk in God’s will,  “which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)  And, near to His heart, fear is erased by perfect love!

Here is His promise to those who trust and obey:  “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV)   “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NIV)

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Joy to the world! the Lord is come;

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heav’n and nature sing,

And heav’n and nature sing,

And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove.

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, and wonders of His love.

Joy To The World

Watts, Isaac / Handel, George Frederick

© Public Domain

And you thought you knew about Christmas

One from the archives… Enjoy!
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This CoffeeBreak is compiled from excerpts from
                 Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas (Zondervan).

Up until about 350 years ago, the only universally celebrated Christian holiday was Easter. Christ’s birth was an important part in the Bible but since no date is given, Christians chose different days to remember, with early January being the most common. Ultimately the Roman Catholic Church settled on December 25 in an attempt to erase Saturnalia, a Roman celebration centered on worship of Saturn and involving a lot of drinking, partying and sexual immorality. Church leaders felt that if Christmas were celebrated at that time, the depraved behavior would change. They were partially right. People forgot the Roman holiday, but continued the same kinds of partying on Christmas.

For centuries the time of Christ’s Mass was a season of drinking and violence so many Christians stopped celebrating Christmas entirely. Believe it or not, for  Americans, the national holiday of Christmas, the joyful day of Peace on Earth, is only about 160 years old. The Puritans who settled New England banned Christmas by law in 1659! The prohibition was repealed after a couple of decades, but Christmas celebrations continued to be frowned on in New England until the middle of the 1800’s. That was true of much of the United States.  Even Congress met on Christmas Day until the mid-1800’s.

A Christian, an educator and a father named W. Clement Moore, first published, “T’was The Night Before Christmas.”  This poem established Santa Claus as an important part of the American Christmas, making the date much more secular. His poem opened the door that brought about the beginnings of the kind of celebrations we practice. The popularity of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” one of his works written to protest the brutality visited on the poor in 18th century England, and the introduction of the Christmas tree tradition brought to England and America by Prince Albert from Germany, made the the holiday we know.

Moore’s poem made gifting giving a much more important part of Christmas.  For English and American Christians, who for centuries had little positive to embrace at Christmas, it was Santa Claus who saved the holiday and brought Jesus back into the spotlight.

Santa Claus? Two wonderful Christian men really began the Santa Claus legend through their selfless actions and their faith. The first was Nicholas, a priest who gave presents to poor peasant children in the third century, even before the church actually recognized the holiday. The second was a devout duke in Borivoy, who became the leader of Bohemia at a very early age. Each Christmas Eve, Wenceslaus would go through the snow giving out gifts to his poorest subjects. We now remember him through the old carol he inspired, “Good King Wenceslaus.”  From those roots we have Saint ‘Claus, or Santa Claus!

Christmas ‘colors’ –The gold is easy; this is the color of royalty and the most
precious metal on earth. It was also one of the gifts to Jesus from the wise
men.
The red and green can really be traced to several different important
traditions.  Did you know that holly and ivy, wreaths, Christmas trees, and
mistletoe, were all pagan symbols used in various nature rites during the long European winters?
The green was a reminder that new life would return. It represented life that went on through the difficult times of winter, just like faith that could not die in the difficult times of life.  Gradually Christians adopted these symbols as part of their celebrations.
The red reminded Christians that Christ’s blood was shed on the cross for sins, the real reason for His coming to earth in the first place.

X in Xmas? Few know that using X as a sign for Christ predates even our initial celebrations of Christmas. X or “Chi” is the first letter of Christ’s name in Greek. Many early followers of Christ were Greek and would place an X over their doors or wear something on their persons with this letter to reflect their faith as a disciple of Christ. For more than 1,000 years, the church spelled out Christmas with just an X. It was not done to take Christ out of Christmas, but to put Him there where everyone, even those who could not read, could understand that this day of worship was for the Son of God.
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While the Bible says nothing about December 25, blinking lights, decorated trees, or a rotund jolly man dressed in a red suit – it does tell us about God’s Gift –‘wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.‘ Angels announced the birth as reason for great praise and as a sign of peace and the arrival of God’s favor for all of humanity. A world without Jesus Christ is beyond imagination. His birth and life changed history, and His death and resurrection changes our destiny, promising us eternal life.

Here’s a word from the Word on which to meditate today- “…Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

(Philippians 2:5-8, 10-11, NIV)

“Come and worship,
Come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!

Keep a Quiet Heart

We live in a NOISY world, don’t we? A car passed me a few days ago in the supermarket parking lot vibrating with sound. The sub-woofer was pumping bass that pounded my chest from 20 feet away!  The poor kid driving that car will be deaf by age 40, but he doesn’t know it yet. But that’s not the noise that concerns me most.  I am worried about people going deaf in spirit because of the ear-shattering, heart-breaking, mind-bending stream of information that amplifies every event. The internet and television turns what was once a city’s issue into a national one, causes us to believe that the Apocalypse is upon us by bringing war to our living rooms, and confuses us with information mixed liberally with the pounding beat of hype. Political candidates and talking heads shout at us, using ever more incendiary rhetoric to get our attention over the din! Even some pastors fall into the trap, sensing that their congregations are nearly deaf, they respond by shouting louder about less and less!

My appeal today is that we learn anew how to live with a quiet heart. When all the world is screaming, we need to know how to retreat to the place where the ‘still small voice’ of the Spirit of God can speak to us. When Chicken Little comes ripping through our neighborhood screaming that the sky is falling, we need the discipline to resist the urge to run with the crowd. Christian, our greatest strength is not found in our voice, but in our ears. Too often we speak before we have heard! Has listening, pondering, and deep thought become lost skills?  There is far too much reaction in this world and not nearly enough proactive leadership.  

Young Samuel heard a voice, but did not know the Source. An older, wiser Eli counseled the boy to pray: “Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” (1 Samuel 3:9, The Message) That boy learned to hear the voice of the Lord and became a powerful leader in Israel.  Elijah knew great victory and then fell into a terrible depression. He retreated to an isolated place in the mountains and asked to die, but God renewed the man with a new word.  That word was not shouted to him. It did not arrive in a hurricane or an earthquake. God spoke a new commission to him in "a gentle whisper." (1 Kings 19:12, NIV)  Even Jesus knew that the noisy world in which He lived deafened Him so the Gospels report that "As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer. " (Luke 5:16, The Message)

Richard Foster, who taught me about a disciplined life in the Spirit, wrote these words that I bring often to mind. “Our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness," he will rest satisfied.”  What wisdom and truth!  The Devil applauds even our ‘Christian’ service if it is done in hurry, without inspiration, amped and hyped in the manner of 21^st century life. God’s processes are slow, the growth of a seed, the ebb and flow of history, the ripening of fruit. But, can we, will we, let Him work in us or will we shout louder, urging Him to hurry along on our schedule?

One of my most profound regrets is the pace that I maintained in the first half of my life. I confused activity with results. Oh yes, I prayed, but too often behind those prayers was a subtle implication that more important work was waiting so I hurried from the altar to the pulpit. When life overwhelmed me, so many times I increased the frantic efforts to control outcomes and, in the process, I usually made bigger messes, alienated people, and obscured the face of Jesus!

The appeal to today is not to apathy, nor is it for passive acceptance of turmoil. Rather, the appeal is that we become people who know their Master’s Voice. Let us retreat often to silence and wait. Instead of screaming at God for what we want, make Him truely Lord and wait- actively listening – for His direction and wisdom. I love this Psalm, the metaphor so rich in meaning for me. "A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven. We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal." (Psalm 123:1-2, NLT)   Attentive, waiting, ready – responsive – with a quiet heart.

Here is a word from the Word.  Meditate on it. Savor the Promise. Live in His strength. "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!" … "So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help." (Isaiah 30: 15-16, 18, NLT)

Keep a quiet heart.

Jerry D. Scott, Pastor

Faith Discovery Church

Washington, NJ  07882

http://www.FaithDiscovery.com

Wrestling With God

Marriage metaphors are frequent in Biblical descriptions of God’s relationship with His people. He was Israel’s husband. When they worshipped idol gods, the prophets called their sin, adultery. The Church is called the “bride of Christ.”  I read those words with both a sense of belonging and a wry smile.  Bev and I will be married 41 years in a month and the strength of our relationship has been tested again and again in those years.  There have been seasons of intense romance and times of alienation.  We delight and frustrate each other in equal measure. And, with each year, we realize that in spite of all the time we have spent together, there are still things we discover.  Even yesterday, in the haze of her confusion when it appears her life here on earth is coming to an end, she asked me what I was thinking, wanting to know me!

God can be a frustrating husband! Some days He delights, throwing up a sunset that shouts His glory or drawing me near during a time of worship that is more intimate than words can describe. He provides me great joy and then there are days when I cannot find Him, when my prayers seem to go unanswered, when my tears find no solace.  I would think my relationship with Him flawed were it not for the Psalms where I find complaints similar to mine.   Psalm 74 opens with this cry - “O God, why have you rejected us so long? Why is your anger so intense against the sheep of your own pasture? … Why do you hold back your strong right hand? " (Psalm 74:1,11, NLT)  What are You doing, Husband?

Genesis tells us about Jacob, the lying, cheating man who fled from his brother after defrauding him of his birthright. Years later, as a man with a changed heart, he wanted to go home.  On the way, with his family and wealth, he had an experience that I can identify with, can you?  He went off from the camp alone and in the middle of night a man showed up that challenged him. "So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:24-28, NIV) Apparently this ‘man’ was a messenger of God, some say even a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of the second Person of the Trinity.  Jacob knew he was struggling with someone greater than a mere man and asked for a blessing.  That blessing was a new name. Jacob become Israel, the word meaning – God wins!  But the line that captures my attention is this – “you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

To know Him in the deepest way, to discover the greatest intimacy with our Husband, we will have to press in, go through conflict; yes, wrestle with God!  So many married couples never really become ‘one’ other than sexually because they will not risk conflict, will not make their expectations known, will not press to know the inner-most thoughts of their spouse. Some choose to live only as friends, politely tiptoeing around the issues have the potential to pull them apart. Those couples try to continue to live in the artificial environment of dating. Real marriage has to progress past the dinners for two.  It becomes two lives blending to one, sharing children, dealing with all of life’s challenges – together!  

Christians, too, sometimes choose to live with a superficial spirituality.  They want to know the Lord only in the romance, the candlelit dinners of worship, dating Him. He wants to know us, to reveal ourselves to us and Himself to us, in every part of life. This means we will, like Jacob, find ourselves wrestling with God from time to time!  Oh that we would not give up, that He would say of us – that we have overcome.

Are you struggling with God today?
Are His ways beyond your understanding, His love apparently withheld?
Press in. Hold on. Wrestle! 

This is the word from the Word that declares His faithful Husband love, selfless and sacrificial, to us. "So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness…. No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church." (Ephesians 5:24-27,29-32, The Message)

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How He Loves

He is jealous for me, loves like a hurricane,

I am a tree, bending beneath

The weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of

These afflictions eclipsed by glory;

I realize just how beautiful You are

And how great Your affections are for me.

Oh, how He loves us so,

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us so.

We are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes.

If grace is an ocean we're all sinking.

So Heaven meets earth

Like an unforeseen kiss

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest.

I don't have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about the way that-

He loves us,

Oh, how He loves us.

John Mark McMillan

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