Friday, August 03, 2018

Stop whining, for God’s sake.


I hate suffering! There I said it.  I like happy days, when I sing along with the radio, when in spite of the fact of being unable to dance, I go ahead and shuffle my feet.  Tears show up uninvited too often because of all the injustice, pain, and hardship around me.  Yes, I know that there are those who seem to be skilled at shooting themselves in the foot, making one poor choice after another and wondering, “Why is life so difficult?”  There are some who just can’t seem to catch a break, going from one tragedy to the next. And there are a lot of us who live on a planet where things go wrong for reasons we cannot know.

Here is what I do certainly know:  In the hand of God, the suffering that we endure, particularly that which comes our way because we are Jesus’ followers, has a purpose and a reward.  My reading in the Word took me to this extended passage. 

 Peter, God’s man and a guy we can readily identify with, reveals important principles.   
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 

However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." (1 Peter 4:12-19, NIV)

Suffering does not necessarily mean that we are doing something wrong or that we lack enough faith to rid ourselves of it!  Peter says if we are suffering like Jesus, because we are dying to Self and doing God’s will, we ought to rejoice when it gets tough and makes us groan!  There are preachers and teachers by the hundred who will tell you that they have the key to making it all better. They will invite you to their conference, sell you their book, and insist that you can learn some set of spiritual ‘truths’ that will produce miracles on demand.  What utter nonsense!  Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ.”  Faith is not a magic wand in our hands that waves ahead the realities of this sinful world. It is our strength that keeps us on our feet as we wade into the battle, armed with love, and reveal the patience and love of Jesus when the going gets rough.

I love Peter’s blunt reminder that if we are acting wrongly, if we are sticking our noses into other people’s business, we ought to expect the pain that comes our way. If people reject us because we are foolish or sinful, there is no glory in that. “But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!”  (The Message 1 Peter 4:16)

As he finishes his thought, Peter speaks about judgment beginning with the family of God.  It’s time to think hard, to be clear-minded and discerning, about how we live.  No more silly slogans and simplistic answers for us. No more quick fixes and three step solutions for the complexities of life.  Because we have the ‘mind of Christ’ we should be able to see past our problems, understand the spiritual realm that surrounds us, and lead the way to  goodness and godliness.   

Like it or not, Peter asks “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” This Christian life is not a stroll along a country lane in the sun up to the pearly gates of Heaven. Jesus did not make it all soft-focus sentimentality. “Take up your cross and follow Me.” Crosses hurt!

In a hard time? Stop self-pity and excuses. If you’re making bad choices, do not play the victim. Get the help you need. Confess your failures and sins. Then go after Jesus.  If you are feeling the squeeze because you are following Him, then thank Him for the privilege of serving!

The word from the Word wraps it up for us. "So if you find life difficult because you’re doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing, and He’ll keep on doing it." (1 Peter 4:19, The Message)  And that is the Truth!
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Thursday, August 02, 2018

The End is Near!


“Jesus is returning soon!”  That message makes some quake, some sneer, some yawn.  A young man angrily told me how the teaching of his youth about the Lord’s return made him terribly fearful in his teen years, numerous times feeling that he had been “left behind.”  The Blessed Hope was anything but blessed and hopeful for him.  Many others eat up the books that create elaborate stories of wars, famines, and a world gone mad around the prophecy texts of Scripture. For others the promise of Jesus’ return is an escape, a way to avoid dealing with life as it, their attitude basically consigning this world to Hell while they wait for their Savior to show up and carry them away to heavenly bliss.   
Here is what Peter wrote 2 millennia ago. "The end of all things is near.” (1 Peter 4:7)  

What do we make of his statement? Was he mistaken? Or, did he understand something that we need to know as well?  First, he is not wrong. A centerpiece of Jesus’ message was that He would return to the earth in glory and power.  The totality of Scripture is about justice and reconciliation. God’s desire is to defeat the evil that convulses the world, that produces pain and suffering, the restoration of all things. How will He do that? With the coming of the Lord!  Jesus told the band of disciples who clung to Him after the Resurrection that He was going to go and send the Spirit and that He would come back.  In a vision that John had on Patmos, one full of strange images of cosmic warfare told in the book of the Revelation, Jesus says to him - “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:12-13, NIV)

When we try to force dates on that promise we make a basic error that causes us to be foolish.  Hundreds of times in the history of the Church, little sects of people with end time fever have set dates, retreated from the world to wait, and found themselves disappointed.  Why do we so conveniently forget what Jesus said about this?  "Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows." (Matthew 24:35-36, NLT)

The return of the Lord is the hope of the Church. No, we won’t be date-setters, spinning fanciful schemes around the hard to understand texts about His return.  Rather, in faith, we will hold the promise. We will wait for the vindication of our sacrifice, the deferred justice for the martyrs, the full realization of the promises of God will come on that Day.  

Meanwhile, we take our cue for the way we ought to be living from the rest of Peter’s text.  “The End is near,” he wrote.  He went on to tell us this, our word from the Word for today:  Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:7-10, NIV)  

Be a thoughtful Christian, engaged with your world.
Be a loving Christian, connected to the family of God, sharing life.
Be a serving Christian, doing what the Lord equips you  to do for His glory.

And, with John, we all say - "He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20, NIV)
______________

(a song of worship)

He's coming on the clouds
Kings and kingdoms will bow down
And every chain will break
As broken hearts declare His praise
For who can stop the Lord Almighty

Our God is the Lion
The Lion of Judah
He's roaring with power
And fighting our battles
And every knee will bow before Him
Our God is the Lamb
The Lamb that was slain
For the sins of the world
His blood breaks the chains
And every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb
Every knee will bow before Him

So open up the gates
Make way before the King of kings
The God who comes to save
Is here to set the captives free
For who can stop the Lord Almighty

Who can stop the Lord Almighty
Who can stop the Lord (Almighty)

Brenton Brown | Brian Johnson | Leeland Mooring
© 2015 Meaux Mercy (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
The Devil Is A Liar! Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Bethel Music Publishing
CCLI License # 810055


Wednesday, August 01, 2018

A ‘strange’ life?


My friend, Tony, who works with men who are behind bars and with those who getting out, has a phrase for those who are partying, drinking, and avoiding responsibility.  He says, ‘they are working on their testimony.’  

 It’s an off-hand way to express hope that when they finally turn and become followers of the Lord Jesus and they talk about those wasted years, those scrapes with the law, those drunken nights; they will be able to thank God that things are different now. “I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.”

God does make broken people whole, doesn’t He? I have heard the stories of my own grandfather’s conversion. He was a Danish immigrant who had little time for God and church, who liked his cards and alcohol. He was ‘working on his testimony.’  A young woman evangelist preached fearlessly from her pulpit under a tent in a little town in Northwest Iowa sometime in the 1930’s. She declared that God loved him, that he could become a new man.  Walter Scott was transformed.  I only knew a man who occupied the 2nd row of a little church in Truesdale, Iowa whenever the doors were open, who prayed earnestly, who gave generously to support missions.

Are you convinced and converted?
Has Christ entered your life and changed you, inside out?

Not everybody is going to love the new you. Some will be aggravated that you are no longer joining the party. Others will think you a fool for leaving old ways behind for this strange new life directed by an invisible God. Some will be intrigued by the difference, ready to hear about the love of Jesus.  One thing is clear – a true encounter with Jesus will change the course of your life!

Peter wrote to the church reminding them that there were some choices to be made by those who laid claim to Jesus and a heavenly home.  His language is clear and direct.  "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans (godless) choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you." (1 Peter 4:1-4, NIV)  What words.  Who cannot love Peter’s estimate of a godless life as a ‘flood of dissipation?’   Another way to say it is that life lived for sin and Self is a waterfall of wasted opportunities.

We are told to think like Jesus. (Arm yourself with the same attitude as Jesus!) He knew what God wanted and answered the call of heaven. He was not concerned with finding the easy pathway where He could live as He desired! So must we!  Even if our choice to pursue God’s will means suffering, rejection, or wrestling to conquer temptation we do it because we know where true and eternal life is found.  

None of us can even imagine the ripple effect of our decisions.  Whose destiny will be changed? Who will leave a wasted life to find a purposeful one, pleasing to God, enriched by the assurance of Heaven?

The word from the Word reflects on our baptism, the moment that our faith was announced to the world, and calls us to holy living. "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives." (Romans 6:1-4, NLT)

Make it a good day and let the Light shine brightly through you!
___________

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing
Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring
Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for You

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name
Jesus the only one who could ever save
Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe
We live for You
We live for You

Holy there is no one like You
There is none besides You
Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me

I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken

CCLI Song # 7070345
Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett
© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)
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CCLI License # 810055