Lost the Glory?

I visited Israel years ago and walked in ancient sites. What a thrill to stand in the ruins of Capernaum’s ancient synagogue and imagine Jesus declaring His Messianic mission to the men assembled there! The streets of old Jerusalem were an indescribable feast of smells, sights, and sounds. At the Western Wall, (sometimes called ‘the Wailing Wall’) the only part of the Temple that stands, I tried to imagine the glory of the ancient structure that stood on that foundation. There were models of its courts and structures that helped. However, the huge blocks of stone left there bear no resemblance of the glorious place that once was at that plot of ground. Pondering that, I am reminded that I am God’s temple, that His Spirit lives in me. And, I too can lose His Glory through neglect of the high calling of my faith!

Samuel was called into holy service as a child. He apprenticed under Eli. Tragically, the Lord removed His holy calling from Eli’s family because of the multiple sins of his sons. They abused their position with corruption and immorality.  At a battle with the perennial enemy of Israel the Ark of the Covenant, the symbolic place of God’s dwelling with His people, was captured and carried off. Eli’s sons were killed. When the old prophet heard of the loss of the Ark, he fell off his chair and died!

But, it was the exclamation of one of his daughters-in-law that is both dramatic and worthy of remembering. "Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them. She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.” (1 Samuel 4:19-22, NLT)

“Ichabod!”  (ick-a-bod)  What an awful declaration. God’s glory, that which makes life beautiful, vital, and full of wonder, is gone. By willful disobedience as well as neglect of the pursuit of the holy, God’s glory can be lost to a church and to an individual. Only a ruin is left to remind us of what/who once was. We cannot take God’s precious Presence for granted.

There are daily disciplines that open up channels for His life to flow into us. Reading of the Word, prayer that engages both our mind and heart, confession of our utter dependence on Him, service that dethrones our ego and enthrones Christ, gathering with His people to worship, giving of ourselves and our resources:  these things are choices we make as the Spirit invites us to come near. When we do, there is a radiance that shines through us. This is His Glory!

Paul reminds that we will grow in that beautiful life. As we choose to live near to Him, we "reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT)  Like a temple tended with care, the Glory remains!

Ah, Christian, choose glory today!  Look up and take life. Don’t risk having the name, Ichabod, written over you, becoming a shell from which His glory is gone.

Here is a word from the Word, Jesus’ invitation to renewal.  “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches." (Revelation 2:2-5, NLT)
_________________

Oh The Glory Of His Presence

O the glory of Your presence
We Your temple give You rev'rence
Come and rise from Your rest
And be blessed by our praise
As we glory in Your embrace
As Your presence now fills this place

Jesus all-glorious
Create in us a temple
Called as living stones
Where You're enthroned
As You rose from death in pow'r
So rise within our worship
Rise upon our praise
And let the hand that saw You raised
Clothe us in Your glory
Draw us by Your grace

Come and rise from Your rest
And be blessed by our praise
As we glory in Your embrace
As Your presence now fills this place

© 1983 Birdwing Music | BMG Songs, Inc. (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)ü(Admin. by BMG Music Publishing) | (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)ü(Admin. by BMG Music Publishing) Steve Fry CCLI License No. 810055

Don’t miss the miracles

I’m not gullible and I do not go around looking for ‘signs.’ My faith in God does not require them. But, nothing in this life compares to those miracle moments when His Presence is near. When I see His love healing a broken life, I see a miracle. When a person responds to the Gospel of Christ and surrenders her life to Him, I see a miracle. When a little child races up to me with an excited greeting and a warm hug, it is a wonderful kind of miracle. Oh yes, I have experienced ‘real’ miracles, too.  On a March morning in 1985, I saw our foster son who had drowned in Dad’s farm pond restored to life, after doctors declared that he would not recover. In those 20 months that Bev and I walked the cancer journey, we experienced the miracle of love. Though we did not receive the miracle of her healing, we were blessed to love each other up to that moment she died in my arms. It is something of a miracle of God’s grace that I have found my way through grief and loneliness without making a wreck of life.

Do you see the miracles that are happening all around you or are you quick to dismiss things as ‘emotional’ or just coincidental?

John tells a story about some men who were so gripped by their ideas about what God wanted and who He was that they missed a miracle that was right in front of their eyes. "Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed— lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him and knew how long he had been ill, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me.” Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat, and walk!” Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up the mat and began walking!”

What an amazing development, a cause for celebration and rejoicing, right?  
After 38 years a man is walking, whole, on his feet! 

If we witnessed a miracle like that, would you not think that everybody who knew him would be infected with his joy, overcome with his excitement?  Some men were not! John goes on to tell us this important detail:  “This miracle happened on the Sabbath day.” So, what, right?  To some religious leaders that was an important fact, even more important than a man being healed. “The Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! It’s illegal to carry that sleeping mat!” He replied, “The man who healed me said to me, ‘Pick up your sleeping mat and walk.’  ”Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded. The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” (John 5:2-14, NLT)

These religious leaders, people who ought to have known God’s’ work when they saw it, were blinded by their traditions. A man who was walked around after being crippled for his entire life was violating their religious traditions! And so they rushed past the miracle to register an objection.  It had happened before to Jesus. Matthew tells about a healing of a man with a deformed hand. There, too, the Pharisees only saw that He did it on the Sabbath, in violation of their prohibition against doing 'work,' so instead of rejoicing that a man was healed, they "discussed plan to kill Jesus." 

Before we shake our heads at these men, condemning their refusal to see the miracles, let us remember that we, too, can become captives of our own ideas about what God can do, where He should do it, and with who He can work. I have missed my share of God’s wonders while being so focused on my plans, my ideas, my needs that I was unable to respond to His leading and unwilling to feel the wonder or share the joy.

Today, the God of wonder is at work!  And He will be working in your neighborhood, and mine, too. The question is, will we perceive His work? Will we rejoice with those in whom He is working?

Here's a word from the Word, Jesus' words of frustration with those who would not see what He was doing.  

Let these words challenge you to celebrate the wonder, to open your eyes to the miracles of the hand of God who is here, now!   

“To what can I compare this generation?  They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ”‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day." (Matthew 11:16-23, NIV)

Abba, give us eyes that can see what You are doing.

Protect us from feeling that we ‘know’ all there is to know about You.

Make us childlike in our faith while keeping us from childishness!

Teach us to rejoice in You, to seek You, to love You.

For Jesus’ sake and His Name, I pray. Amen

________________

I've heard a thousand stories

Of what they think You’re like

But I've heard the tender whisper

Of love in the dead of night

You tell me that You’re pleased

And that I'm never alone

You're a Good Good Father

It's who You are

It's who You are

It's who You are

And I'm loved by You

It's who I am

It's who I am

It's who I am

Anthony Brown | Pat Barrett

© 2014 Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Common Hymnal Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Needed: A Quiet Miracle

“Expect a miracle.” What do you think of that phrase? Christian friend, do you pray expecting God to act, or are your prayers lukewarm expressions of vague desires, offered from a place of wishful thinking? Francis Chan, in his book, “Forgotten God” teaches us about the Presence; God, the Holy Spirit.  The implied question in the book’s opening is this: Who do you believe can better manage your life - the Holy Spirit or you?  If we believe that God is Who He claims to be, we should be able to trust Him without question and when we present ourselves, our lives, our hopes, our fears, to Him we should expect a miracle!  No, we must not demand that He act in a certain way, but we ought to expect that He is at work on our behalf.  Do you?

I sometimes awaken around 2 or 3 AM and, at that hour, there in the dark, the challenges of life – my own and those of the congregation I serve – can bring on fear and a sense of helplessness.  As consciousness overtakes sleep, I adopt a prayerful posture, turning my hands up to God, open palms as in surrender as I pray something like this - “Lord, my faith needs Your strength. Naturally I can only see my inability to control or change the things that concern me. Please give me the courage I need to throw myself into the fight. Give me the wisdom to know to whom I should turn, the vision to know where to lead, and stamina to stand. Help me to conquer unbelief and to live with real joy today. Let me see You at work.” And, I expect a miracle!

If we become Christian agnostics (think about that phrase, friend) we may live as if Jesus only died so we can go to Heaven, but we will act as if He cares nothing for us in this life!  In that place were are vulnerable to all kinds of temptation. The Devil applauds when we become so full of our own resources that we no longer ask God for our ‘daily bread.’  Remember the tragic story of the failure that cost Moses the privilege of leading God's People into the Promised Land?  (Numbers 20)  Thirsty, desperate people demanded the impossible: “Give us water now!” They attacked Moses and Aaron asking, Why did you bring us out of Egypt to this terrible place? Moses went to prayer and God gave him the solution: "Go out and speak to the rock and it will pour out water!" However, Moses held onto the sting of the accusations that he was failing as a leader.  In a self-centered moment he let resentment boil over as he went back before the people who doubted him, accused him, ... and he sinned.

The rest of that story sobers me as I think of how subtly the sin of arrogance crept up on that man of God. “He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.  But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." (Numbers 20:10-12)  By implying that he, not God, was producing the water needed, Moses dishonored the Lord. It’s understandable, but God found it unacceptable!

He dishonored God by taking too much responsibility on himself!

What a powerful lesson for me. Our true Source is Jesus. He is our Rock and from Him pours the waters that bring the fruit of the Spirit into evidence in me and you. Let’s choose to honor Him by declaring our dependence on Him. Defeat Devilish lies. Destroy the fear that produces anxiety and sleepless nights by looking to Jesus in humble confession of your dependence. He knows how to make you wise so you can meet the demands of your boss. He knows what you need to meet the needs of your family. He knows what your needs are TODAY. Expect a miracle!

____________________

Make my life a prayer to You,

I want to do what you want me to,

No empty words, no white lies,

No token prayers, no compromise,

I want to shine the Light You gave,

through Your Son You sent to save us,

from ourselves and our despair,

it comforts me to know You're really there.

Well, I want to thank You now
for being patient with me,

Oh, it's so hard to see, when my eyes on me!

I guess, I'll have trust and
just believe what You say,

Lord, You're coming again,
Coming to take me away.

Make My Life A Prayer

Melody Green © 1978 EMI Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music

Publishing; Admin. by BMG Music Publishing

CCLI License No. 810055

What’s wrong with her?

Last night I remembered thinking about another with a critical spirit, saying to myself, “What’s wrong with her? Why can’t she just be the ‘adult’ in the situation?” The memory was painful, the regret was real. Why? Because when I found myself in a very similar set of circumstances, I reacted in much the same way as she had acted. As my words echoed in my own mind, I confessed my critical spirit, asking God to forgive me, and to teach me to be a person of kindness and mercy.  Judging happens to us all. We see a child out of control and think that the parent is failing. We see a marriage in crisis and wonder why the couple doesn’t just ‘fix it.’

Jesus teaches us to think differently. He says  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:1-2, NIV)  He goes on to use that famous hyperbolic illustration of a person trying to get a speck of sawdust out of another’s eye while have a post in his own eye! When we see what appears to be failure, Jesus is not teaching us to turn a blind eye or excuse it. Genuine love seeks the best and speaks the truth. Is it a loving choice to watch a person going full speed towards their own destruction and say nothing? The answer is obvious.

How do we speak to others? Are we harsh? Do we talk down to them from a lofty perch that supposes our own perfection? Or, do we come alongside as a brother, patient, understanding, offering to listen, and not simply praying for the person, but praying with them for God’s salvation?

Our model is none other than God as He works with you and me. He is a God of amazing love, merciful, and redemptive! We know this and are comforted by it. When we fail, when we are willful;  He does not sweep down upon us to slap us sideways in a divine fit of rage. He does not rail on us, condemning us as defective or stupid! Instead, the Spirit comes with persistent conviction, urging us to turn around. He shows us the Way and offers forgiveness. And, He leads us through the process of spiritual growth that changes us from the inside out.

The balancing truth, however, is this: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:7-9, NIV)  He will not wave away our willful sins as inconsequential.  He convicts us and calls us to shape our daily lives around His will and in so doing, we find life that the best possible. If we love Him, we obey Him and from our obedience grows a rich crop of blessings.

Jesus’ words that forbid harsh judgment, quoted a moment ago, are among the most abused and misunderstood words in the Bible. In our culture of tolerance, they are often used to remove all accountability, to excuse all kinds of choices that are plainly wrong. Jesus never asked us to suspend our good sense, to set aside a discerning heart that sees the truth, or to refuse to seek positive change. What He asks of us, as His disciples, is to be kind and patient, not quick to condemn, ready to step into the messes of humanity to work to make them better.   

The Message translates His well-known words this way:  “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. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor." (Matthew 7:1-5, The Message)

Got a brother in the Lord who’s failing? Love him to life, starting with prayer for understanding. Meet him where he is.

Wrestling with how to help that person who keeps making the same self-destructive choice?  

Frame your response with loving kindness that seeks transformation without condemnation.

Here is a word from the Word. "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else." (Galatians 6:1-4, NLT)

_________

Here With Me

When darkness deepens the path unsure

The sun is hidden by the storms

I look to heaven and cry to Thee

O God be here with me

In ev'ry breath ev'ry joy and tear

Ev'ry passing hour let me know You're near

In life in death for eternity

O God be here with me

When faith is shaken when fears surround

My feet will stand on solid ground

In ev'ry season my song will be

O God be here with me

And in that moment we're face to face

I will not need these eyes of faith

Forever after God I will see

That You've always been with me

Oh You've always been with me

O God be here with me

O God be here with me

Nick Herbert | Phil Wickham | Tim Hughes

© 2015 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Tim Hughes Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Phil Wickham Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055