Steady as she goes!

 “Steady as she goes” was the captain’s direction to the helmsmen on ships of old, meaning ‘hold this course.’  I have reminded myself of that old phrase many times in the last couple of months. After making the decision to close the Christian school ministry attached to the church which I pastor, the winds of criticism kicked up. The anger directed at me by people who are disappointed is hard to endure gracefully. The financial stresses that brought the decision and those that followed have caused sleeplessness and driven me to prayer.  And, when these gale force winds are blowing, I listen for the voice of the Spirit Who counsels me – “Jerry, steady as she goes.”

Nobody likes it when the preferred life path, plan "A" - so to speak - is disrupted. The wise have a plan "B" in place for such moments. Perhaps there is even a “Plan C” for what we think is possible but unlikely. But our best efforts, our most carefully developed plans sometimes disappear when a hurricane brings destruction on a scale that we never imagined in our worst nightmares!  There are the circumstances that develop unforeseen in our lives, that change everything. Losing my wife several years ago to cancer was the worst storm in my life, making the current storm seem like a mere gust of wind by comparison.

Years of experience have taught me that allowing myself to get swallowed up by the storms, raging at God, responding to every critic, personalizing the attacks that come my way, is toxic, leading only to bitterness. Honestly, I do succumb to moments of fear and/or anger, but thanks be to God and good counselors, after the thunderstorm of emotions passes, hope is restored. It is far more than sunny optimism. My hope rests a bedrock faith in God’s love and grace, a sure conviction that He knows me better than I know myself, and that He is able to use all things; disappointment, sorrow, success and failure, to bring glory to Himself if I will walk ‘steady on’ with Him.  When we resist Him, when we decide to react rather than to press on, we turn into embittered, miserable people.  But, if we let Him guide and lead, He will use our tears to water the seed from which grows the beauty of Jesus in us.

In the book of James,  the Spirit urges us to faithful acceptance.  “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." (James 1:9-12, NLT)   Let’s not confuse his counsel of acceptance of God's reign with resignation to 'life as it is!'  He tells us to trust and to pray … " Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray.  . . . The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." (James 5:13, 16, NLT)  Those 'wonderful results' are often not at all what we expected!   They are what God, in His infinite wisdom, prepares for us.

Disciple, let your faith grow deep, beyond demanding pleasant circumstances and sunny skies. Let the Holy Spirit of God do His work in you. He is not always 'fair' in the way that we would determine fairness.  His ways are not always pleasant as we would desire.  But He is always good, always present,  and as the Word promises, "always working for the good of those who love Him and who are called to His eternal purposes."   So, steady as she goes!

Here is a word from the Word. It comes from that book in the Old Testament that asks us to trust a God Whose ways are sometimes inscrutable.  Join Job in this declaration of faith today.  "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside." (Job 23:10-11, NKJV)

__________

My faith has found a resting place

Not in device or creed

I trust the ever living One

His wounds for me shall plead

Enough for me that Jesus saves

This ends my fear and doubt

A sinful soul I come to Him

He'll never cast me out

Public Domain

Selling Jesus?

My email inbox receives at least a half dozen messages a day that announce yet another 'church growth' program. Subject lines include leads like this - ‘Pastor, grow your church!’  So much of the material is focused on leadership techniques, programs, and gimmicks to attract a bigger crowd to the church building.  I feel confused, as if I am being asked to be a circus ringmaster rather than a shepherd of God’s people. I pray for understanding to separate gathering a crowd from making true disciples.

What did Jesus say? "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT)

Much of what passes for the work of ‘making disciples’ is just salesmanship using the same methods to sell Jesus that are used to sell consumer products. We learn to capture interest using the right kind of words that ‘hook’ a person’s interest, how to move the conversation along by exploiting the other person’s felt needs, and then how to press for the close –  getting Sam or Sally to pray the ‘Sinner’s prayer.’  Ugh... is that it?  It makes me so ashamed that we would substitute that for the work of the Spirit. It is nothing more than human manipulation and is not aligned with the truth that recognizes the primary place of the Spirit of God as the active agent of salvation!

Christian friend, there is a part in bringing people to Christ for you and me. It isn’t a gimmicky thing, it isn’t learning ‘tricks.’ True disciples begin their efforts to share the Word with prayer and then do the work of serving that makes Jesus visible on earth. If evangelism (our churchy word for sharing the Gospel of Christ) puts you off, probably you are reacting to a program or method.

Jesus led people to the Truth without manipulation or pressure. He found opportunities to meet people and the Spirit flowed through Him.  Look at a story John tells about a day when He met a woman with a heart in desperate need. "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” …Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.  … ”

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him." (John 4:7-30, NIV)

What did He do? He accepted her, listened to her story, answered her questions, and the Spirit brought revelation! 

Are you praying for opportunities to share Jesus’ message?

When He brings people to you, are you ready to love them in His Name and point them to Him?

The hope of the world is Jesus! Our primary mission is to “Go, to teach, and to make disciples!”  It is hard work, slow work. Creating a ‘religion show’ is much easier and doesn’t require the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Building His Church is impossible without knowing the Spirit and living in His Presence. But, when we walk with Him an undeniable reality comes into us that invites others to want to know Him. In that moment we must be ‘prepared to give an answer to everyone that asks the reason for the hope’ that we know.

Here’s a word from the Word.  Pray that the Lord would allow you to cause a party in Heaven today. “Imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”  Luke 15:8-10 (The Message)

Abba, Your great, loving heart must break as You see Your people

substitute the psychology of salesmanship for the experience of the Spirit.

Teach me to walk close to You, filled with the Spirit so that He spills over

from my life, like a refreshing drink of water in a dry, hot afternoon.

Lead me to those in need, to that one hungry for spiritual food.

Give me courage to speak a timely word, willingness to serve tirelessly.

May I know the joy of making disciples, leading others to know You, Jesus;

Giver of Life, Forgiver of Sin, and Hope for now and eternity.

Amen.

Desire

 

The summer of 1974 is unforgettable for it was then that I first came to love Bev. That girl that first caught my eye became the woman who owned my heart for 41 years.  Ours was much more than a functioning partnership, as in - “I do these things, you do those, and we make a home.” Yes, we did complement each other, better together than we could be apart; but there was more than that. There was a desire to know, to be with, to touch, to talk. It went beyond who did what to make life work. Oh yes, the giddy infatuation which was that first Summer love gave way to a deep desire that endured.

Jesus says ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37, NIV)  How do you read that?

For many I think might be written, “Strive for moral uprightness and say good prayers so God will give you the things you want.” Their relationship with God is functional. There is nothing wrong with seeking God’s blessings but it is not the same as desiring Him!  For others Jesus’ words might be rewritten to say “Care for your neighbors and be compassionate and God will feel your love.”  That is rather like a person in a marriage saying, “I faithfully care for your children, spouse. That is the way I love you.” Sharing the love of children is a rewarding experience, but it can never replace the primary relationship, though in many marriages it does and when the children grow and leave, the ‘marriage’ ends. God wants us to love His children, but He desires our love for Him to be primary!

Let’s be blunt – do we actually desire God?
Do we really long for time to be with Him?

When we come into His Presence does our heart settle with a quiet joy, as it would in the presence of our lover?

Before you dismiss my words as some kind of emotional gush, the overflow of sentimentalism, consider just a couple of passages from the Scripture.

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You." (Psalm 73:25, NIV)
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4, NIV)

"I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God." (Isaiah 61:10, NIV)

Repeatedly, the Scripture speaks of God’s people as His bride, beloved by Him, from whom He seeks love.  The entire book of Hosea is a powerful story of God’s love for His wife (Israel) who has turned to other lovers told through the horrible experience of the prophet’s own dysfunctional marriage.  Paul uses the language of betrothal with the church in Corinth “I promised you as a pure bride (virgin) to one husband, Christ.”(2 Corinthians 11:2).  Jesus laments the functional nature of the church in Laodicea, doing many good things but having lost ‘first love.’  Though we do not often read His words as the longing of a lover, that’s what they are. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20, NIV)  He says, “I want you to desire Me.”

Ask any married person about love and they will tell you just how difficult it can be to maintain desire, to keep love fresh and growing. Those that invest themselves in their relationship, who learn how to speak the love language of their spouse, who continue to delight in them, find the reward of intimacy. How precious to see a couple married 50 years, who are still ‘in love,’ not just used to each other, not just together, but who still desire the presence of the one that first captivated their heart.

Is God your heart’s desire?  This is no easy question.  It is, apart from the Spirit, an impossible demand of us. The word from the Word reveals the way come to love Him. “He loves us first.” Oh that we would hear Him and go beyond religious performance for Him to genuine delight in Him.

"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us." (1 John 4:16-18, NLT)

_________

Reckless Love

(worship with this song about His love)

Before I spoke a word
You were singing over me

You have been so so good to me

Before I took a breath
You breathed Your life in me

You have been so so kind to me

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

O it chases me down fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it I don't deserve

Still You give Yourself away

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

When I was Your foe still Your love fought for me

You have been so so good to me

When I felt no worth You paid it all for me

You have been so so kind to me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Caleb Culver | Cory Asbury | Ran Jackson

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