I Hope You Dance

The day was full of ordinary joys – a cup of coffee with an old friend, reading a note from a recent grad who thanked me for a hundred Bible chapels in her elementary years, a few hours handing out bags of groceries and kind words with a faithful team of Christians who love others in this way, some texts from friends and family that made me smile – nothing grand but all worth celebrating.  I chose to remember, to lean into the good, and to turn my mind to the Giver of Good Gifts in worshipful praise. In short, I celebrated! Do you remember to celebrate?  

Maybe I am just too much of a realist, or maybe as a pastor I live too close to the sorrow of others, but without a conscious choice to look up, the ‘stuff’ of life beats me up.  I am a dutiful kind of guy, fairly resilient, so I keep going, but sometimes I forget to hope, looking too closely at the immediate, forgetting the promise. At this time in America, many of us, for various reasons, are finding life more than a little difficult. Planning? Who can even attempt it with the edicts of government and the imperatives of a pandemic changing weekly? Too many of us are forgetting who we really are in Christ, becoming snapping snarling creatures like a dog in pain. When we choose merely to survive, rather than to thrive, all that is whole and holy is lost.

The antidote to the poison of merely surviving is real celebration born of experiencing transcendent wonder – in a baby’s smile, in a lover’s embrace, at the splash of colors in a sunset, or in a moment of worship that connects with the Spirit’s Presence.  Friend, we must choose joy. It is a gift of God that keeps us whole and holy.  We can choose to take a break, pausing to reflect, imposing silence on our soul, so that we can remember God.

Jesus used the illustration of the vine and branches, life only possible when that connection was maintained. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5, NLT) The principle is clear:  No connection, no life!   

 He went on to point out one of the benefits of this relationship:  “Remain intimately connected with Me,” He said, “and you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" (John 15:11, NLT)  There is a caricature of Jesus that hides His true nature. Because we think so often only of His cross (a treasure for us to be sure) we forget His time with children, that He attracted crowds of people who found hope in Him, that He told jokes about the absurd fixations of the Pharisees – i.e., ‘you strain out gnats, but swallow camels.’   Now, that’s funny!

So, how do we live in His joy?

 Worship!
"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11, NIV) 

If we live life with our face to the ground, focusing only on the needs, the duties, the pressing responsibilities – life’s urgent needs will press us to the point of despair. Worship, offering up the sacrifice of praise, lifts our face to Heaven and allows us to regain a view of God's glorious works.  No wonder the Scripture urges us to "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." (Psalm 95:1-2, NIV)

Serve!
Stop, Jerry, didn't you just say we need to step away from duty?  There is joy in moments of selfless service, offering a word of encouragement, listening, picking up somebody’s groceries for them, patiently helping.  Jesus told a story about men who were entrusted with responsibility.   Two of the three were diligent and obedient in their service.  Note their commendation:  "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful . . .  Enter into the joy of your Lord." (Matthew 25:23, NKJV)

Accept!
If we insist on life on our own terms, we write ourselves a script of misery. We belong to God and each other. Being part of a larger, sometimes mysterious universe, means we will run up against things not to our liking. However, we can accepting God's grace for the road we will walk today.  Nothing that happens to you today surprises Him.   Those who are His beloved children can turn to Him and find help, strength, and resources. Sometimes He leads us through dark valleys, along ways we would not choose for ourselves. Even there, He will provide grace for the journey. In that grace, there is joy even in the trials of life.

Joy is a constant work of God's Spirit in us, not something we drum up, create, or paste into place. Pray for God’s grace to change your heart first before you seek a change of circumstances. Let the Vine pour the Life of the Spirit into your mind and heart. Let JOY grow where sorrow was sown. We bring our Lord great honor Him in simple contentment and an authentic smile.

 The word from the Word says "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!" (Philippians 4:4, The Message) "Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." (Philippians 4:6-9, The Message)

May the Lord lead you to joy today is my prayer.

___________

I Hope You Dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

 

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

 

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'

Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'

 

Don't let some Hellbent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to sellin' out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

 

I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)

I hope you dance

I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)

I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone?)

 

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

 

Dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along)

I hope you dance (Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder?)

 

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Tia Sillers / Mark Sanders

I Hope You Dance lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave

Memories of failure?

This week I was looking through an old box I found on a shelf in my closet and came across a couple of cassette tapes. Remember those? On one I heard my voice, recorded in April, 1970, singing in a high school talent show.  The other was a recording of the first time I preached on the radio in 1975. The sounds made me laugh, sending me on a journey through the intervening 50 years. There have been some high points and some low, some successes, some failures. We celebrate our wins but what about our sins? What can we do with those regrets, those failures, those sins?  

The first step always is dealing with them honestly, in confessional, to God, and where appropriate, to those we have wronged. Our Heavenly Father offers, through Christ, both forgiveness and redemption.  My favorite story in the Gospels is found in Luke 15, one that Jesus told about a man who, while still very young, made a profound choice to do wrong! He rejected his father’s love, arrogantly demanded his inheritance and went off to live on his own terms. Of course, he exhausted his resources and found himself broke and hungry. The worst part of it was the shame he felt. Sitting in a pigpen (yes, that is what Jesus said) he formed a plan to go back home. “I’ll just ask Dad if I can work on the farm,” he thought, “because then at least I’ll be safe and fed.”  Off he went and when he approached home, he was shocked to find his dad waiting for his return. 

The old man did not heap shame on the awful son.  This phrase describing the love of the Father fills me with emotion: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)  It’s Jesus’ story… for me, for you. God is not waiting to play a ‘gotcha’ game with us. He’s longing for us to turn around and come home to His embrace – again and again, because His love is deeper than the ocean, beyond our ability to fully understand, unfathomable.

 “God rewards failure,” you ask? No, but He offers us mercy and grace when there is true repentance.  Paul, once known as Saul, persecuted Christians and vehemently rejected Christ Jesus. His past was ugly, his actions worse than regrettable.  When Christ came to him what did he find?  "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." (1 Timothy 1:14-16, NIV)

Beyond finding forgiveness there is a second important step required in dealing with the past.  Listen to Paul’s inspired words. “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13)  While we never forget the lessons of failure, we can and we must, leave the regret behind. The past can paralyze us.  Some become bitter, unable to forgive themselves or others.  Some become fearful, afraid of making the same mistake again. Others hide in shame, as if a singular choice is the total definition of who they are.  “Leave it behind,” the Word says, and look forward.

Stuck in the past? Feeling disqualified and unworthy of God’s blessings?  The scandalous grace of Christ offers a new start with a new heart. 

Here’s the word from the Word. "I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! " …  "We neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing" ((Ephesians 1:15-19, 2:10, The Message)

Whether you are 15, 45, or 75 – trust Christ with your life. Let Him forgive the sins and keep track of the wins, for His is the only judgment that matters when it’s all said and done.

_____________

Who You Say I Am

Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me
Oh His love for me 

Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I'm a child of God
Yes I am

 Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me

 In my Father's house
There's a place for me
I'm a child of God
Yes I am

I am chosen not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me not against me
I am who You say I am

 (Oh) (Yes) I am who You say I am

 Ben Fielding | Reuben Morgan

© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Known!

In 2020 many of us are concerned about privacy.  Huge amounts of personal information are collected that create profiles kept by tech companies like Google™. What we buy, where we use our credit cards, our Netflix viewing habits, our financial data, our internet browsing – all of it ‘paints’ a picture of us that marketers can use. You do not have to a conspiracy nut to worry about the amount of information the government collects on each one of us; information that could be used for all the wrong reasons. But, still, we long to be known!

One of the most wonderful feelings in the world is having someone who really knows you, who understands why you do what you do, who cares when you are struggling, who shares in your joys. One of our greatest fears is being ALONE.

Cheers was a sit-com that played on TV for 10 years, beginning in 1982.  It was based on the people who hung out in a Boston pub. The theme song is compelling (at least to me, smile!) -

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name
And they're always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
The troubles are all the same.
You want to be where everybody knows your name.  (Gary Portnoy)

Ok, so it’s not Shakespeare but we can understand the universal human longing to be known that those words express, can’t we?

God knows YOU and ME. I often remind people in our congregation that the One who knows you best, loves you most. Think about that.

 David, inspired by the Spirit wrote a song about the depth of God’s knowing. He says “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." (Psalm 139:1-3, NIV)  He sings of God’s perfect knowledge of our words before we speak them, that He knew us before we were created in our mother’s womb, that all of our days are written in His knowledge before we live them!  How can it be? But, it’s true!  God, in His perfect and amazing fore-knowledge, knows it all and HE knows me.

 Does that threaten you or comfort you?  Our response to His knowledge largely depends on our willingness to trust Him and to walk with Him as Lord. If we are rebels, if we let things like hate, lust, greed, and selfishness shape our days, we don’t want Him to know. However, if we understand His love and grace, if we trust that He is for us, not against us, His knowledge secures us, helping not to feel lost, alone, or at the mercy of the winds of fate.

Mark tells us a story about Jesus’ love for a woman who was invisible in her world.  She had an “issue of blood,”  a constant hemorrhage, (KJV) the Bible says. Seeking relief "She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse." (Mark 5:26, NIV)  Beyond her misery, in her culture she was considered ritually unclean, isolated from general society, unable to attend synagogue, making others who risked contact with her ritually unclean as well! (It was form of social distancing, not made to be cruel but to stop the spread of disease.)  The worst was the fact that because of a mistaken understanding of the nature of God, most people thought she was getting what she deserved, under the judgment of God, for something she had done. Alone suffering, sick, broke, and judged: a tragic life.

She heard about a Healer named Jesus, Who was coming to her town. “She slipped in from behind and touched his robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on his robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.” (The Message. Mark 5:27)   Jesus knew she needed more than physical healing.  Her broken heart needed to be restored, too. He stopped and asked, “Who touched me?”  His disciples chided Him for the ridiculous question. “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5:31, NIV)  The woman, who was trembling with fear Mark says, emerged from the shadows and identified herself. 

Tenderly, lovingly, Jesus reached out to a woman who was used to being ignored. She expected a rebuke from Him for making Him unclean.  She’s used to being an object but instead He gives her dignity. "Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”  (Mark 5:34, The Message)  Daughter! To Him she is not just ‘woman.’  She’s not just ‘unclean.’ She’s a daughter of God, a person who matters enough that the Master will look her in the eyes and call her His own!

Deep emotion wells up in me as I read that and, by faith, know that He knows MY name, too.  In a world of billions of people, where many of us feel like an object rather than a person, God reminds us that He sees us, loves us.

 Christian friend, He loves YOU. 
Turn to Him in faith and present yourself, as you are, to Him. He will NOT reject you.  
My prayer is that the quiet voice of the Spirit will answer with the revelation that He knows YOU.

 Here’s the word from the Word.  “I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”  (Isaiah 49:15)

__________

He Knows My Name
(A simple song by Tommy Walker. Listen and be loved!)

 I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in His hand

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

 Tommy Walker © 1996 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Songs (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

The power of "YES"

46 years ago one August evening,  I asked a beautiful young woman to be my wife. In later years, we laughed when we looked back on my awkward proposal, anything but romantic. I earnestly told her about my highest calling to Christian ministry and the unique challenges of being a pastor’s wife. Bev wondered if I was attempting to end our relationship, but when I fumbled my way to finally ask her to be my partner-  she said “Yes!”  We were blessed with 41 years together. The journey brought us 4 children, shared ministry in 4 different churches, and enduring love.

We had a few days when we wondered about that “Yes,” but we never set aside the covenant we made that night of January 10, 1975.  What strength and security there is in an unwavering commitment – to God first; then to another. When those dark days of sickness came the deepest joy of keeping our promise emerged. Bev was secure in my love, increasing dependent on me in every way as her life closed. In all of the sorrow of letting her go, there was for me the satisfaction of knowing that I walked with her the last mile of the way. 

Let’s think about the power of saying “Yes” today, not just to someone we love but to the Lord as well. Christians are blessed and a blessing when they live the word of Jesus – "Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37, NIV)  I trust that kind of person with my life!

God has said a POWERFUL “YES” to us.  "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:20-22, NIV)  God’s faithfulness to keep His promise is the foundation of our Christian hope. He made a covenant with us, not a contract. He guarantees the newness of life, our salvation, and our eternal home by His own Word. His “yes” is our security, asking us to receive His grace, by faith.

 There is no need to add anything, to think of our relationship with Him with anything but great assurance.  In the first covenant of the Law, sacrifices where made day after day, year after year for the sins of the people. Sins were covered but not removed. The Word teaches us who are in Christ that we now have a completed salvation, a final and unequivocal “yes” through Him. Jesus Himself opened the Way to Life. "By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. … (so) let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:14,22, NIV)  What a great hope.

Will you answer His invitation to accept His grace with your own “yes” that has no sub-clauses, no hidden reservations?

As you live in the life of the Spirit, there will be days when the Evil One works at diverting attention to those things that disappoint, things for which we have no explanation, suggesting that “God is not faithful” with the aim of making us waver in our faith in God’s promises.  Eve, in the Garden, heard his whisper about her Creator that held the suggestion that God was not good, that He was withholding good from her, and she sinned. He will attempt the same with you, with me.  When we are enjoying blessings, readily join David’s song “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true.” (2 Samuel 22:31) When times like our present come, when we walk with sickness or temptation – we can be tempted to think that God’s promises are only for others. We may be tempted to question Him as David did in another of his songs, “How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?”  (Psalm 35:17)

Today, focus away from your own abilities to ‘hold onto faith’ and away from the vagaries of life. Pray for faith’s sight that sees the face of the One who promises. 

His promises are “Yes and Amen.”  Nothing and no one can steal His love from us. Confess that and defeat your doubts. 

Hope that is fixed on the unchanging promise of our Father is a solid anchor for our lives!

Here is a word from the Word - "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." (Hebrews 10:23, NLT)

________

All Your Promises

(let the joy of this praise song fill your heart)

 Oh Lord our Lord
How majestic is Your name
Your words are true
Your mercy does not change
All Your promises are precious
Reviving our faith
Ev'ry one of them
Will be fulfilled one day oh

All Your promises
Are yes and amen Jesus
Your promises are true
All Your promises
Are yes and amen Lord Jesus
We'll keep running after You

 We will run
We'll run and not grow weary
We will rise upon the eagle's wings
In the presence of the Lord
Our spirits will soar
Till we one day gaze upon our King oh

 My foot had almost slipped
Oh Lord you know I'd almost lost my way
‘Till I entered the house of the Lord
And heard Your sweet Spirit say oh

 All Your promises
Are yes and amen Jesus
Your promises are true
All Your promises
Are yes and amen Lord Jesus
We'll keep running after You

 

Andrew Smith © 1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA) Vineyard Songs Canada (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

CCLI License # 810055