Are there answers for those questions?

I had a long, interesting conversation about “truth” yesterday.  We talked about Who Jesus is, about the importance of the Scripture, about how to understand the meaning of Creation. What is truth? There is a question that requires careful thought. I do most certainly believe in absolute truth but knowing that Truth is not as easy as it may sound. Remember Pilate’s question of Jesus? When the Lord told him that He was sent into the world to “testify to the truth,” the Roman governor cynically asked Him, “What is truth?” (John 18:37)

The early days of my spiritual journey were shaped around the idea that the world was a place where there were only right answers and wrong answers, where issues were formed around solid black and white principles with no grey areas. As I matured I found that there was an additional category – “things we don’t talk about!”  There were complicated and difficult issues that fell into that category and, if a question was raised, you got a lecture about the importance of ‘just trusting God,’ which I later figured out was code for ‘we don’t know how to answer that and stick with our system of truth!’ I also learned that there were some things that were declared true that were simply preferences. It was all terribly confusing to a teenager trying to hang onto to his faith.

The temptation that came from all that was to discard faith, but God was there. He revealed (an important word in the discussion about Truth) Himself in the created world, through the love of wonderful Spirit-filled people, by the work of the Spirit, and in the Scripture. I learned that honesty in dealing with Truth did not require me to have an answer for all questions; that I could and should say, “I do not know,” and leave it at that. I also learned to live with mystery – with the fact that God and His Truth are just too big to fit entirely inside of my head. Some things He choose to let me comprehend, some He asks me to discover with careful study, and some remain in the ‘to be continued’ category.

God reveals Truth and, at the same time, requires us to discover it!  Sometimes it just shows up like a beautiful new day dawning and sometimes it slowly emerges from long study and reflection. But, willingness to grapple with ‘truth’ be it about physical laws of the universe or spiritual laws about pleasing God – brings great benefit to those who align themselves with it. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, NIV)

Jesus’ most ardent enemies were people who thought of themselves as being pursuers of truth. But their ability to know the truth was corrupted by willful disobedience and by their insistence on maintaining their accepted traditions, which led to their refusal to live in the Spirit, to drink of God’s Living Water. Jesus challenged them - "Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.” (John 7:24, NLT)

Disciple, are you pursuing the Truth?

• Be a student of the Scripture and a person who loves God personally and intimately.
• Invite the Holy Spirit to pull back the curtains and let you ‘see’ the wonders of God’s plans and purposes!
• Watch out for deception that comes from living in open sin. Yes, if we persist in disobedience when we know better, we will become deaf and blind to the things of the Spirit.
• And, do not allow yourself to be intellectually lazy or spiritually tradition bound!

 Are you wrestling to know God’s way for your life in some area. Is your desire to align your life with His will, but the ‘truth’ is hard to discern.  Here is a promise that Jesus made to His disciples on the night of the Last Supper. Meditate on it and take the deep assurance offered by the Word with you into a world full of uncertainty.

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. … But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." (John 16:7,13-15, NIV)

____________

Abba, sometimes the questions weigh heavily on me.

I wonder about the how, the why, the when, the where … of Your will.

Some days Your purpose gets hidden by the pain in this world,

by the insistent voice of sin and evil, or by my own doubt.

Thank you, Jesus, for the promise that the Spirit is with me,

revealing You, showing the Way.
Help me to readily respond to what I know is true and right.
Give me courage to ask myself the hard questions,

the diligence to dig for discovery, and

the patience to wait for revelation.

And, as the beauty of the Truth is revealed,

I will rejoice in You and the world will see You more clearly,

in me!  I praise You for loving me.
Let this Truth be the anchor for my heart.

Amen.

“Do you love me more than these?”

What is it that you value, that helps you to feel safe and secure in this world?  We all have ‘treasure’ that we are tempted to hang onto.  When I asked our Bible study group about childhood treasures, Chris spoke about having a tattered old blanket that her mother threw away. It was worthless to most everyone except to Chris. For her it was a treasure!  Tony told us about driving past the home of a woman who died a couple of months ago. There in the front yard was an industrial sized dumpster. Things of her life were now being discarded, useless to others. 

I remembered a hero to me, a young man named Jim Elliott, who took up the call to missions work in Ecuador after graduating from college in 1952.  Three years later, he was killed by the very people he was trying to reach with the Gospel. He lived out a phrase recorded in his journal – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose!”

Jesus’ words about our ‘treasures’ are not difficult to understand, but actually adopting them as our guiding wisdom is truly a challenge, particularly in a culture like ours.  He said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21, NLT)  Shaping life around a house, collectibles, investments, or other material things will lead to inevitable disappointment because they will, eventually, decay, corrode, or get taken from us. 

What then? Loving things will, beyond question, cause us to lead to a lesser life.  

Let’s not read His words to us and run to the extremes. Jesus does not forbid the ownership of things, the use of money, or the accumulation of financial reserves. The whole of the Bible’s wisdom includes many passages that praise good management, diligent efforts in business, and savings that are there for times of need. Jesus asks us this - Do we own your stuff or does your stuff own you? Do you use what you have to live or do you love what you have gained, making your things into idol gods that give life its purpose and meaning?  

The more we have, the more critical it is for us to invite the Spirit to reveal to us our attitude about our cars, homes, and bank accounts. Jesus spoke of the ‘deceitfulness of wealth!’  Subtly our trust can shift from God, our Father, to the Bank, our security!  

 A man once came to Jesus to inquire about becoming his disciple and finding eternal life. He was very moral, claiming to have observed the Commandments scrupulously. Jesus did not question the truthfulness of that claim, but knowing his heart, he challenged that rich young man to go and sell everything he owned. Then he said, "come, follow me."  His response? "But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions." (Matthew 19:22, NLT) His true treasure was revealed in that last line - he would not let go of what he loved most - his wealth!

Would you answer the Spirit’s call to lead a volunteer ministry or would you tell yourself, “I have too much work to do, a living to make” and excuse yourself from serving?

If the Lord asked you to take a lesser place, would you reduce your standard of living without complaint, or would you insist on keeping your current income to maintain your store of treasure?

As you plan for life, which question is in the forefront of your thinking –

What does the Lord want of me? Or,

What will provide more financial security, pleasure, and/or independence for me?

In the same sermon, Jesus warned we cannot ‘serve two masters.’  We cannot love Mammon (stuff, money) and God, at the same time.

In a post-Resurrection conversation on a beach at the lake in Galilee, Jesus asked Peter, who had gone back to fishing; back to what he knew, back to a ‘treasure’ he could hold in his hands- a hard question. Jesus pointed to the fishing boats, the familiar life of Capernaum and asked him- "Do you love me more than these?" (John 21:15, NLT)  Peter realized that his treasure was misplaced and he left it all behind for the sake of the Gospel!

Here's a word from the Word to ponder today. "True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:6-10, NLT)

_____________

Be Thou My Vision

(worship at this link)

Be Thou my vision

O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art

Thou my best thought

By day or by night

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light

Riches I heed not

Nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance

Now and always

Thou and Thou only

Be first in my heart

High King of heaven

My treasure Thou art

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart

Whatever befall

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

But, who is going to care for me?

My interactions with the man left me so sad for him. His selfishness burned all of his bridges with friends and family. In his anger and pain, he lashed out at others, even me, for not caring for him. His bitterness made him ever more self-consumed, which cut him off, even further, from the love he so desired.  His lonely misery caused me to remember a desolate place that I visited in Israel 20 years ago. It is a lifeless desert surrounding a “Dead Sea.”  That inland lake is about 10 times more salty than the ocean, a place where fish and plants cannot survive.  One reason for the concentration of minerals in that body of water is that there are no outflows. The Jordan River flows into it and water is lost to evaporation, leaving behind the salts and minerals.  Thus it is dead!

There is a life lesson for us. You want to be filled with life, a giver of life? Invite the Spirit of God to flow into you and let the Presence of God spill over, flowing out of you. Refreshed, you will become one who refreshes! John shared this with us-  "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:37-38, NIV)

We all wonder, from time to time, who will care for me? What if I give away too much of myself?  “I must preserve myself, my place, my security,” we tell ourselves. While it is true that we need good boundaries and need to learn where it is appropriate to step away for rest and renewal, it is a deadly choice to put Self first, to take in without pouring out!  We can, quickly and easily, become wrapped up in our own agenda, obsessed with our reputation, turning into a person as dead as the Dead Sea.   

Paradoxically, when we forget ourselves and give generously – of time, of resources, of forgiveness, of love, of service – we open up to being refreshed by God and the love of others.

The richest joy in life is found in the Presence of Jesus, in the awareness of the Spirit at work in us and through us. We will never find the sense of self-worth we desire in the fickle appreciation of others. Being human, we will be tempted to please others, to try to gain their approval. If that is our sole motive, we set ourselves up for disappointment. The writer of the book of Hebrews urges us to faithfulness. He reminds us that God sees deep into our hearts, discerning even our motives. Sound ominous?  Actually, that truth can comfort us, too.  He goes on to assure us that nothing done for Him goes unseen or is forgotten. "God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them." (Hebrews 6:10-12, The Message)

Want to be refreshed, a source of Life for others? Invite the Spirit to pour into you and then, go give Him away. Love somebody who cannot love you in return. Forgive that person who has hurt you deeply, giving the debt to God who will ultimately bring justice. Serve, just for the joy of serving, regardless of reward or recognition.  Meditate on this word from the Word.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:34-40, NIV)

Abba, fill us with Your Spirit today.

As you pour the living water into our lives,

may we let You spill over to those with whom we walk in this world.

As we know grace, let us be graceful.

Loved, help us to be loving.

Forgiven, teach us to forgive.

Served by Your Son, lead us to the joy of selfless service.

And may  Your Name be made greater by the lives we live,

In Jesus’ Name. Amen