Always on my mind

It’s Friday morning. Are you wrapping up a busy week, perhaps anticipating some family time on Saturday? Are there some projects left undone, some situations that resist your best efforts at finding a solution? Have you (like me) spent a little too much time watching the chaos of the Kavanaugh confirmation fight in Washington, DC and got caught up on one side of that debate or the other, feeling tension over what you believe to be an injustice for him/ for her?  There are a thousand things that can steal our peace – and there is a word that will restore it.   

Pause – pray this – “Lord, stir faith in me to receive Your Word that I am about to read.”

"This is what the Lord says: “At just the right time, I will respond to you. On the day of salvation I will help you. I will protect you and give you to the people as my covenant with them. … See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of (your need)." (Isaiah 49:8,16, NLT)

When Bev went to Heaven, I wanted always to keep her memory close to me. Some of you will not like the choice I made. I got a tattoo on the inside of my wrist that includes her signature. Yes, her name is etched permanently into my skin, a constant reminder of that person who I loved for 43 years. God uses that image, telling us that we are never out of His mind, as if our names were written onto His hand!  What a wonderful truth, how comforting for us.   

When we are foolishly trying to manage the universe, when we have allowed our rest to stolen by stress resulting from trying to be God, He reminds us that He’s got us, that we are loved.

The Psalmist wrote, {127:1-2}

Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless.

Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night,

anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

We may build a house, but only God controls the wind, the flood, the earthquake that can level it!
We may post our guard to drive away thieves and robbers but only God can secure us against the wily, evil that comes from the Devil and those who do his work.
We may diligently apply ourselves to getting the seed into the soil, but only God can make it grow! We can be thrifty and build our retirement account, but only God can guarantee our home in Heaven. Thus, Solomon, the writer of this Psalm, urges us to set aside anxiety and to trust our Sovereign Lord.

What’s eating away at you this morning? At this moment, commit it to Him. 
Need wisdom? Ask!
Out of enthusiasm? Tell Him!
Need help to cope? Trust!

Just weary of the struggle? He’ll renew you.

Here is a word from the Word.  Though familiar, let the promise that Jesus made become a source of strength and hope today.
"People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things,
but you know both God and how he works.
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.
Don’t worry about missing out.
You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. " (Matthew 6:32-33, The Message)

Remember, it’s as if your name were tattooed on His hand.

________________

What a Friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear,

What a privilege to carry

Ev’rything to God in prayer.

Oh what peace we often forfeit,

Oh what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Ev’rything to God in prayer.

Public Domain

"I love what you did with My stuff"

“It’s my money. I earned it and I’ll enjoy it.”  That’s my paraphrase of the words of a man who had a great crop in a parable Jesus told.  The rest of his story was about the unexpected quick end of that man’s life. The parable ends with this- “Then who will get everything you worked for?” (Luke 12)  Jesus’ words about how we understand wealth are hard for us to understand in our modern economy formed around making a profit. Our companies respond to consumers.  Advertisers create a sense of ‘need’ in us, we choose to spend our money in certain ways, and companies respond with products we want, priced to gain our business. That is an over-simplified model of course for there are many other factors; regulation, global needs, labor costs – to name a few. 

Most of us live in this system assuming ‘that is just the way the world works.’

Woven through the Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, there are themes that challenge our basic assumptions about accumulating wealth.  Let’s get one thing out of the way up front. God does not condemn wealth. In fact it is seen in the Bible as one sign of God’s blessings and something for which we give thanks. However, the wisdom of God constantly reminds us of two radical ideas. 

• First we are told that our wealth cannot become our god, that from which we take meaning in life or trust for our security.
  
• Second we learn that those who have gained wealth have a responsibility to actively care for the poor, to use the influence that comes with their money to provide for those with less, to support just systems that respect everyone.

When we become Jesus’ followers, claiming His Name, He invites us to die to Self and that includes the basic selfishness of our economic system that is built around gaining profit. Whoa! I heard your reaction. “Jerry, are you saying that producing anything to make a profit is sinful?”  Not at all. A reasonable profit that allows a tradesman, a craftsman, a professional, or a corporation to accumulate ‘capital’ to continue to do business is quite in line with the Bible’s approval of diligence and hard work.  But when our economic system is shaped in a way that a few can benefit at the expense of the rest, it is a matter of concern to our Lord and should be for us as well. This is not just political, this involves the spiritual work of the Church.

For me it is nearly unthinkable to believe that our corrupt and self-serving political parties in America should be or could be trusted to redistribute wealth. But, that does not relieve me of personal care for others or for evaluating my own use of resources, if I intend to be a faithful servant of Christ.

James, pastor of the first gathering of Christians in Jerusalem, was brutal in his condemnation of those who had no concern for people in need, who were quick to take advantage of a poorer person.  Read his inspired words slowly. They are disturbing (at least to me) when placed against the current economics values of our nation. 

"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you." (James 5:1-6, NIV)

How much is too much? The question is one that all serious Christians will ask. It is a terrible mistake to think that God’s economics are only written for those who make more than $150,000 a year, or who drive a certain kind of car, or who live in a house that is larger than the one we live in!  Little or much, we are all accountable to God.

The word from the Word today invites our reflection.  May He find us faithful in our response of obedience.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Luke 16:10-13, NIV)

______________

Abba, I thank you for the privilege given me to live

in a time and place where there is wealth and opportunity.

Forgive me when I begin to think that I am somehow better than

those who lack these things and therefore without responsibility for them.

Help me to trust You, not my money, for security;

to see that which I own more honesty as that which

You allow me to manage.

My prayer, Father, is that when I come home

You will be able to say, “I love what you did with My stuff.”

In Jesus’ name. Amen

God has a word for you

The young woman’s heart was in tatters; fear and rage and confusion stirred to a toxic mix. She reflected on the Christianity of her youth and recalled only an angry presentation of moralism based on the pending wrath of a terrible God.  She told of reading the Bible for herself as an adult. She found the stories of the Old Testament awful, the reflection of human failures in the pages were messed up in her opinion.  My heart is sad for her and my prayer is that Spirit would find her with new faith, with the realization that God is for her, not against her. And, I pray for her to come to understand the Bible as the Word of God.

Have you struggled to read and understand the Word as well?
Do you even pick up a Bible on a regular basis outside of a church building?
There is a word for you in the Word!

The Bible is not magical, nor should we come to it superstitiously, treating it like a collection of fortune cookie sayings. But, we can and we should read the ancient words with the faith that the Spirit can make those words become living truth for us.

The Psalm celebrates it - "The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me." (Psalm 119:130-133, NIV)
One way to engage with the Bible is a practice that is a thousand years old, coming to us from the Benedictine monks.  It is called Lectio divina (pronounced "lec-tsee-oh di-vee-nah"), Latin for “holy reading.”

One writer says, “It was originally practiced by monks who spent a large portion of their days praying and reading Scripture. While reading they noticed that at times individual words, phrases, or verses seemed to leap off of the page with a special personal importance. Have you had the same experience? These special words or verses can give a sense of encouragement, comfort, thankfulness, or conviction that often applies to present situations and can draw us closer to God. Lectio divina is an intimate way of communicating with the Lord. All too often in prayer and worship, we talk to God but don’t give him a chance to communicate back to us. Lectio divina employs God’s own words to have a personal conversation with him.”  (Phil Collins, Ph.D.)

Reading Scripture in this way is a four step process- Reading, Meditation, Prayer, and Thought.  It is not the only way we read the Bible as we must study the text in order to remain true to the meaning, to avoid twisting it into saying what we desire. Still we should have an expectation that the Holy Spirit will take the Word and make it alive for us. Is this simple and easy? Not entirely.  Hearing the voice of God through the Scripture requires that we apply ourselves to the process, that we learn to ‘rightly divide the Word of Truth,’ that we remain in a harmonious relationship with the Spirit.

The practice will ask you to set aside time, regularly, where you take the Bible in hand.  There will need to be focus, a sustained attention to the text for 15 minutes or so. Start with familiar passages that are accessible to your understanding like the Psalms or a Gospel. Don’t attempt to devour long passages, rather choose a paragraph or chapter for your time. Read it first to just understand the words. What is the theme? What is being said?  Is it corrective, instructing, teaching, informing, celebrating?

Then, close your eyes and let the Scripture you just read form in your mind, guiding your thoughts, making connections with who you are and where you are. Perhaps it will be a single thought that starts to take shape, an encouragement for you, something God wants to change in you, or even a conviction about some act that needs to be corrected. 

As those thoughts form, begin to pray – perhaps repeating a phrase from the passage, or thanking God for something you have learned about Him, or asking Him to give you faith to receive the promise that He’s made alive to you.

Close your time with thoughtfulness. I encourage a kind of journal. No, you don’t have write well, in complete sentences, with great grammar. This is the place where you take what you believe the Spirit is saying and you commit it to text so you can review it or perhaps even share it when appropriate.

Collins observes – “Lectio divina is a process that will take some getting used to. Try not to quit if you aren’t fond of it after your first few attempts. Remember that it is much like learning to play the piano. At first each step may seem rigid and awkward, but after some practice and experience you can learn to have life-giving communication with God.”

Let me ask you again - are you committed to reading Scripture?  Don’t let the only Word you hear be what comes across the pulpit from your pastor. Don’t only read about the Word, getting only what someone else has prepared for you.  Learn to hear from the Lord.  Get an accessible translation of the Bible. As beautiful as that old King James Version in 17^th century English language might be, you need to be able to understand the words and syntax.  Get an NIV translation, or perhaps if that is too difficult, get a New Living Translation. Then, read it!  Use the ancient practice of lectio divina and become a student of the inspired revelation of God.

Here is a word from the Word.  "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  . . . God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:15-19, NIV)
__________

Abba, I open my mind and my heart to You.
I am thankful for the Spirit Who makes the Word alive in me.
I ask that the seed of Truth will grow into a beautiful way of life
that honors You, that causes other to desire You.
Bring faith, renew hope, inspire transformation is my prayer,
through Jesus Christ.  Amen

He finished and I'm amazed!

A friend of mine did the unthinkable (at least to me) on Saturday. Josh completed an Iron Man™ triathalon. He pushed his body to the limits over a span of about 14 hours. An Iron Man experience  consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile run, raced in that order and without a break.  I tracked him online, each accomplishment filling me with amazement!  “How can he do that?” I wondered aloud many times.  So my admiration and congratulations go to Josh on an accomplishment of endurance.

Sometimes our Christian life becomes something of a test on that order, doesn’t  it?  If you and I are serious about our discipleship, we live against the stream, our lives at variance with the culture. There are days when we feel that we are being pushed beyond our limitations. Paul teaches a quality of character that is a critically important.  Patient endurance, the choice to persevere through difficult times, leads us to maturity and fruitfulness. 

The word in the first language of the New Testament, Greek, is hupomone (hoop·om·on·ay). It's a compound word, the prefix meaning 'under' and the root meaning 'remain.'  It is found in this passage from Hebrews – “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance (hupomone) the race that is set before us," (12:1)  Here we see the distance runner given as an example of how to live as a Christian. Unlike a sprinter who explodes from the starting block, pouring everything she has into a 100 meter dash, Christians are called  run their race - steadily and consistently living for Jesus-- with patience, with endurance (hupomone)!  

 
Ever started something with great enthusiasm, only to collapse before the finish line?  Most of us can remember some time or place where we quit.

Marriages that begin with great romance can go flat, the love buried by a mountain of work.  

Students go off to college with great intentions and too many get sidetracked into the three day weekend party life style.  

That garden we planted demands work in heat, with bugs, and we let it go to weeds.

And...  some people invite Jesus Christ to become Lord and begin the marathon with the finish line in Heaven only to lose the joy, to let the full life of the Spirit, turn into the dull life of religion.  

“Hupomone” is not about a BIG start, it's about a faithful finish!

Let’s be 'finishers;'  people who keep their word, who fulfill their calling, who maintain their Christian witness through joy and sorrow, Summer and Winter, sunshine and rain. Jesus told a teaching story about this. “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’  Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?” (Luke 14:28-32, The Message)

Pleasing the Lord and finding His best, in life and in eternity, will demand “hupomone” – not the grim determination of dutiful compliance, but enthusiastic engagement with life sustained by the Spirit at work! Remember that it isn't "all guts, no glory." Finishers enjoy what mere starters never find: the satisfaction of a job well done,  a life well lived,  a victor's crown!  

Need a boost to stay in the race today? Here is the word from the Word.   “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever.  And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.  (Hebrews 12:2, The Message)

HUPOMONE! You can endure much more than you think – with God’s strength that He pours into you.

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Cornerstone

(a remix of an old favorite!)

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly trust in Jesus' Name

Christ alone cornerstone

Weak made strong in the Savior's love

Through the storm He is Lord

Lord of all

When darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

My anchor holds within the veil

He is Lord Lord of all

When He shall come with trumpet sound

Oh may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless stand before the throne

Edward Mote | Eric Liljero | Jonas Myrin | Reuben Morgan | William Batchelder Bradbury

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