Start a Revolution!

 

Think of the kindest person you know. I wish you could tell me the story. Maybe it was a grandparent who took time to listen to you. Perhaps it was a teacher who saw you as more than a student, who took a real interest in you. We would agree that KINDNESS is in short supply right now. Our ability to gently love, to be kind to those who have failed or fallen has been replaced with a harsh, brutal culture that judges and dismisses. Another prominent figure in conservative Christianity was exposed in hypocrisy this week. While I make no excuse for his sins, I was equally saddened by the outpouring of scorn, from many pastors and Christians! Have we forgotten that the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…?”

Kind –  we read the word and sometimes we unconsciously substitute “weak” or “boring,” don’t we? We may admire kindness but few of us consciously aspire to being ‘kind.’  A kind person is of a gentle nature, helpful, and readily showing concern for others.  Kindness is a not a suggestion that God makes for those who love Him, He requires it of us. In a word particularly needed right now, we are instructed to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32, NIV)   Please re-read that passage! 

Lest some who know me accuse me of preaching a better message than I practice, I confess with sorrow those moments in my life when kindness failed -  when I was willingly critical, harsh, demanding or mean-spirited. Mistakenly thinking that I was defending the faith or some ideal, I was willing to break hearts. Oh, how thankful I am that God has worked to make me a much kinder man than I once was.  I have learned to listen, to extend grace, to be willing to wait out processes for healing and restoration. One of the kindest gifts I have experienced is that person willing to hear my story.  It’s a gift we can offer to others. Will we? 

The world we live in desperately needs Christians who are filled with kindness.  As our raging culture wars fill Twitter, Facebook, sermons, and TV commentary with verbal grenades,  when Christians viciously attack those with whom they differ within the Body of Christ, I pray that God will bring about a revolution of KINDNESS. 

“Lord, start a revolution of kindness in me and through me today,” I prayed as I awakened this morning.  My desire is that He would make me gentle. Kindness need not rob us of courage to live with convictions. Kindness, while softening our hearts with tenderness, is no enemy of discernment and/or insight. But, it will cause us to see people first, to be like Jesus who desired holiness, but who was invariably redemptive except with those who thought themselves ‘too good’ to need God’s grace.

We are like our Father when we are kind, for He is kind to us. He does not treat us contemptuously, does not refuse to hear us because we are ‘less’ to Him. He gives us good gifts, loving us even when we are apathetic towards Him. This weekend, I want to invite you to join me in a simple daily prayer:  “Father, fill my thoughts, words, and actions with kindness.” Thank Him for His compassion. Repent for specific places where you have been mean, judgmental, cruel, or careless. Take time to love, listen, and encourage. Need a model? Look to Jesus. 

Here is a word from the Word - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NIV)

_______

Try a Little Kindness

(The song sung by the man who made it #1 in 1970- Glen Campbell)

 If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he's sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say, you're going the wrong way

You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets 

Don't walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
Will help someone along their way

You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

 Glen Campbell, Flo Price © Bud John Songs, Inc. (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Stand Up! Steady On!

 

Are you weary?  Yesterday I watched “Doc” Rivers, coach of the LA Clippers explain why the NBA would not play. A 58 year old black American, Rivers' emotions took hold of him as he tried to explain how the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha made him feel.  I saw a man who was weary of racial conflict, who was worn down. In that moment, I chose not to react or even to analyze. My desire was to understand, to encourage, to be steady.  If I had the opportunity to talk with the police of Kenosha who are trying to cope with protest and violent reaction, I would do much the same… understand, encourage, be steady. 

America needs men and women who post less, stand steady more, who refuse kneejerk reactions, who are thoughtful, who know that a crisis today does not mean the end of the world tomorrow!

One of the evidences of the Spirit’s life in us is ‘patience.’   God does a work in us that helps us do much more than not lose our temper in heavy traffic or yell at our rowdy kids. The patience that reveals God’s life at work in us is the ability to remain steady in the storm, to overcome and press on. Paul was inspired to teach us that "the fruit (the visible evidence) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)  In the first language of the Bible, the word is makrothumia – meaning ‘to suffer long.’  

Jesus used the metaphor of plowing a field to teach the point. Plowing was a hard thing in His time. The ground had to be broken up to prepare it to receive seed. After hours in the sun, pushing that plow, pulled by an ox, a person would be exhausted but they had to finish. No plowing, no harvest.  He tells us "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62, NLT)  “Go steady on,” He says, “endure the grind by remembering the harvest.

Where have you been tempted to walk away from the plow, to end the patient preparation for a harvest as yet unseen?

Are you thinking that your marriage is over?
Some marriages break down under the weight of terrible abuse or infidelity. Many more die because two people once in love forget to do the hard work of understanding, because people give up in an extended time of crisis and walk away.

Does it seem that you need a new boss or a new place of employment because you’re just fatigued or perhaps bored with the routine?
Quitting too soon can bring financial hardship. A failure of ‘long-suffering’ can lead to a life lived far below the person's potential.

Joe and Sally Christian may tempted to walk away from service, to leave the church, when they have a disagreement with a leader or find the Pastor’s sermons dry or uninteresting.  A better choice is one involving ‘makrothumia’ maturely walking it out, working to make things better, rather than abandoning relationships and/or calling.

Another word for the fruit of ‘patience’ is perseverance. The NT word is ‘hupomone’  meaning to stand up under the weight.  Both ideas are part of faithfulness. Pastor James of First Church in Jerusalem reminds us "My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." (James 5:10-11, NKJV)

Will you cultivate the fruit of ‘patience?’  Will you choose to be that person who shows up to serve on the bad days as well as the good ones?  Let’s decide, God helping us, to be those who who know His call and follow His lead, people whose faith is evident not just in high moments of worship, but in the grind of life.  

Our world needs steady men and women, full of God’s Spirit, who are willing to say:  "My feelings are secondary to my commitment.  I'll serve, I'll stay, I'll love - so help me God!"  Yes, I know that sounds like heresy to the average 'happy hungry' American who can't imagine doing anything hard for any length of time.

In 2020, this country needs Christians who refuse to walk away, who won’t escape into the vapid environment of conspiracy nonsense, who have the discernment to see through sensational theories about the pending end of the world. Instead, focused on the eternal harvest of righteousness they choose to be steady, faithful, and encouraging. This word calls us to an important choice - "Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)

Here is a word from the Word. Note the word “pillar!” God needs people who draw on the Spirit’s life and power who are pillars of faith in a world of chaos. “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. Look, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write my God’s name on them, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And they will have my new name inscribed upon them." (Revelation 3:10-12, NLT)

__________

Overcomer
(An older song by Mandisa. Go ahead, get up and dance!)

 Staring at the stop sign
Watching people drive by
T-Mac on the radio
Got so much on your mind
Nothing's really going right
Looking for a ray of hope

Whatever it is you may be going through
I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you
You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight 'til the final round
You're not going under
'Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You

That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

Everybody's been down
Hit the bottom hit the ground
Oh you're not alone
Just take a breath don't forget
Hang on to His promises
He wants You to know

The same Man the Great I Am
The One who overcame death
He's living inside of You
So just hold tight fix your eye
On the One who holds your life
There's nothing He can't do
He's telling you 

So don’t quit don’t give in you’re an overcomer

Don’t quit don’t give in you’re an overcomer

Don’t quit don’t give in you’re an overcomer

You’re an overcomer

 

Ben Glover | Chris Stevens | David Garcia

© Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

9t One Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Ariose Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Meaux Mercy (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Moody Producer Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

 

The Gift of PEACE

How are you doing with that third characteristic of the life of the Holy Spirit?  Forgotten it?  Love, joy …   and, yes, come on … PEACE!  (Galatians 5:22)  We are not living in an era where peace is easily found. Our political and social states are in turmoil. Prosperity is threatened. The future is murky.

Jesus says that peace is not only possible, it is part of our divine birthright. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27, NIV) Re-read His promise!  Are you living in God’s promised peace?  

Let’s explore how the Scripture defines that word. In the Old Testament, first written in Hebrew, the word “shalom.” Shalom describes much more than simply the absence of conflict! Shalom is a state of being: whole, complete, prosperous, as well as tranquil. Shalom is more than a momentary rest. 

God’s people could live without the fear so common to those who felt that their ‘gods’ were hostile, in need of constant appeasement. God taught that He was a caring, benevolent Father.  When the lived in right relationship with Him, they found ‘rest for their souls.’ (Jeremiah 6.16)  The sense of being ‘at rest’ because of God’s care, continues in the New Testament. "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." (Hebrews 4:9-11, NIV)  

In Christ Jesus, we find completion, full assurance that we are reconciled to God, His very own. When we receive His gift, we no longer live in dread. Indeed, God becomes our Source of serenity.  Paul tells us "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV)  

There are choices we must make to enter His rest, to remain in His peace. Though peace is a gift of God, but we cannot receive it unless we align ourselves to God’s will. 

1. Most basically, we abandon our attempts to prove ourselves worthy, receiving Christ Jesus as Savior. We will never be ‘good enough for God’ through our own efforts. As hard as we may try, we will not live in peace with God on our own merit. Jesus entered His Creation, lived with us, died for us, raised to life, and returned to the Father’s Presence.  When we trust Him, the peace of God envelopes us. 

2. Knowing peace with God, we begin to choose to live ‘in peace’ with others. Are you in constant conflict, simmering resentment with members of your family, angry with your neighbor, quick to defend ‘your rights?’  Jesus makes much of two choices – forgiveness and gentleness.  Forgiveness is a willingness to put offense in the hands of God, trusting Him to bring justice.  Gentleness goes even further. It refuses offense at all!  Neither quality is widely admired in our culture, but they are keys to knowing the peace of God.

3. We trust God to provide.  When He taught us to pray, Jesus showed us how we best think of God: “Our Father.”  He told us  ‘become like a little child.’  No, he did not mean childishly irresponsible, but with a faith that accepts each day, each moment from the Lord along His provisions for that day. We must be responsive to the Spirit. When He says, “no,” we stop! When He says, “go,” we move!  A rebellious, willful person cannot enjoy blessed peace.  

4. Peace requires acceptance of live as it is, not as we think it ought to be.  Related to that is the understanding that we cannot be everything that others want us to be.  We must choose simplicity as our way of life.  Peace is impossible to find as long as we want to be someone else, somewhere else, convinced that life will be better only if and when …
   
   God has provided ALL that we need for peace, right where we are. Don’t confuse acceptance with apathy. Giving up and resigning to ‘fate’ can look like peace but leave our inner being tore up with regret and resentment. True acceptance includes a healthy dose of faith that allows us to take God’s hand, led from this day to the next, confident of His care!

Disciple, part of our spiritual inheritance is the peace of God. In a fractured, pressured, stressed world, we can be people who enjoy holy peace, the blessing of shalom. We don’t have to escape into isolation, or disconnect from reality to live in it. It flows out of our relationship with the One who loves us most.

Here’s a word from the Word. I pray that you will live in the promise.  “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27, NLT) "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)

_______________

In 2020, this song from Kari Jobe and Cody Carnes has become well-known around the world.
As you listen today, let The Blessing become real to you. 

The Blessing

The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make his face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn his
Face toward you
And give you peace 

Amen Amen Amen

May his favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children and their children

May his presence
Go before you and behind you
And beside you all around you
And within you
He is with you He is with you

In the morning
In the evening
In your coming
And your going
In your weeping
And rejoicing

He is for you
He is for you
He is for you
He is for you

 Chris Brown | Cody Carnes | Kari Jobe | Steven Furtick © 2020 Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Kari Jobe Carnes Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Worship Together Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Writer's Roof Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Music by Elevation Worship Publishing (Admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)

CCLI License # 810055

Carry me!

 

The toddler appeared healthy, showing no sign of any pain. As he followed the woman I assumed was his mother, he was whining, “Carry me!” in the most pathetic voice. She paused to assure him that he was capable of walking himself and on they went into the grocery store. When that moment of human drama played out in front of me, I smiled to myself and chalked it up as a lesson for every human being.

 The Bible urges Christians to show compassionate care for one another. Jesus says our love for the brothers is a distinctive mark of our faith’s authenticity. James reminds us that "Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight." (James 1:27, The Message) John says that if our love is just words, it is worthless, “Let us really show it by our actions.” (1 John 3.18)   

Given what we know about humanity, what happened when that kind of concern is paramount? You guessed it.  Among those of genuine need, there are people who just want to be carried who show up and demand that we take care of their needs. They are quite capable but choose to exploit the compassion of the church.

 Our sense that we must always be affirming and loving, makes taking corrective action in those situation a very difficult thing to do. How do we find a way to point those who are simply looking to avoid dealing with life to mature self-sufficiency without seeming to be uncaring? How do we help them best by leading them to become engaged with the daily work that is required to produce resources? 

Then, too, we are reluctant to appear that we are judging someone without fully understanding their issues, and the lack of depth in our community leaves us incapable of having the honest conversation that might reveal the larger need.

 It is not just groceries and/or rent money that can become an issue. The Church has many members who have never found the joy of serving, of being part of the work of God in the world. They want good sermons, inspiration, children’s and youth ministries, comfortable houses of worship, but they do not contribute to the work either with time or resources. Their way of life, if not their words, says “Carry me!” 

Out of a lifetime of pastoral work, I can make this corollary observation – those who contribute the least are often the worst critics of those who are using spiritual gifts and engaged in the work of Jesus. Theirs is a kind of perpetual spiritual infancy that is not the norm for Christian living. In the church in Corinth, there were many who liked showy worship and love feasts but who would not serve. Paul called them ‘infants’ who were incapable of receiving the ‘meat’ of the Word even though they should have matured in faith a long time ago.

Those Christians most deeply satisfied with their faith and most likely to be steady in their church fellowship, are those who find a place to serve, one that maximizes the gift of the Spirit given to them. Do they get tired? Yes, they do. Do they find success in every endeavor? No, they don’t. Are they always rewarded with appreciation? That answer is obvious. Yet, they show up, give, learn the Scripture, deal with the disappointments, and build a life that honors Christ Jesus in the ordinary. Their life is an illustration of Jesus’ words - “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought." (Matthew 5:5, The Message)

Want to honor the Lord, grow in grace, and find lasting joy in the Lord? These words from the Word are a place to start.  

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, NIV)  "We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:11-12, NIV)

There are lives to save, a world to serve, and a God to glorify. Let’s do together not demanding – “Carry me.”

_________

 A Charge To Keep I Have

 A charge to keep I have
A God to glorify
A never dying soul to save
And fit it for the sky

To serve the present age
My calling to fulfill
O may it all my powr's engage
To do my Master's will

Arm me with jealous care
As in Thy sight to live
And O Thy servant Lord prepare
A strict account to give

Help me to watch and pray
And on Thyself rely
Assured if I my trust betray
I shall forever die

 Charles Wesley Public Domain

Propaganda got you down?

 

“I just don’t know what to believe about that,” is a phrase that I utter often 2020. I feel that I am a victim of misinformation. Propaganda, produces by those who desire to control populations, incite wars, or provoke political upheaval is everywhere. There is no doubt in my mind that I am not alone in my suspicions about the bias that colors the information fed to us by our government and our news media. This election season has magnified the problem as both sides try to convince us of the apocalyptic nature of life in the United States if the other side wins.

Christian, we are not adrift in a world of relativity when it comes our hope.  On this Monday morning, we remember that the Gospel, God’s Message of hope and life in Christ Jesus, is not human propaganda or misinformation. It is the revealed Truth of Heaven. 

Paul writes of his joy in the believers who accept that Word by faith.  "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13, NIV)  Peter joins Paul in affirming the truth of the Gospel. "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Peter 1:16, NIV)

Jesus told a teaching story about 4 kinds of soils that represent the responses of the human mind to the truth of the Gospel. "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” (Mark 4:3-8, NIV)   

Some hear and are just hard, the seed unable to germinate. Others hear eagerly, perhaps in a desperate time, but fail to grow roots to sustain their faith. Some let life get too full of other things and the Word Seed’s growth is stunted. Some are fertile rich soil where God’s Gospel produces a rich quality of life.

Are you receiving the Gospel – the truth that Christ has reconciled you to your Creator and secured your eternal life - with joy, so that your life is full of God’s goodness? 

The Holy Spirit conceives the truth in us, a ‘once and done’ moment, in which new life, the gift of God, brings conversion. Jesus told an inquirer it was like being ‘born again.’ (John 3)  And, as we just read, it is also true that the Gospel is received each day, God’s life and love growing in us, making us people who are full of the Spirit’s fruit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5: 22)

When you find yourself confused by the cascade of words thrown at you, Christ Jesus remains True.
When you cannot make sense of life because of pain, disappointment, or circumstances beyond your control, Christ Jesus is still Lord. Whether you are 4, 14, 44, or 84, Christ Jesus is the Source of Eternal Life.

Trust Him. Anchor your life in Him, not in your own goodness, your morality, your achievements – but in Him.  Let the Seed grow!

As you begin a new week, take some time to prayerfully meditate on these words of life. Here is a word from the Word. "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? (Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39, NLT)
___

Anchor
(listen and know peace)

 I have this hope
As an anchor for my soul
Through ev'ry storm
I will hold to You

With endless love
All my fear is swept away
In ev'rything
I will trust in You

There is hope in the promise of the cross
You gave ev'rything to save the world You love
And this hope is an anchor for my soul
Our God will stand unshakable

Unchanging One
Who was and is to come
Your promise sure
You will not let go

Your Name is higher
Your Name is greater
All my hope is in You
Your word unfailing
Your promise unshaken
All my hope is in You

 Ben Fielding | Dean Ussher

© 2012 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055