Investing!

Since retiring, leaving behind a regular income, I have paid more attention to my investment accounts. An uptick in the interest rate of even .5% is cause for happiness.  I celebrate a good day on Wall Street knowing that the bottom line of balance sheet will grow a little bit. I am thankful for those resources that allow me to enjoy this season of life. But, those things are not my true wealth!

Even more valuable to me are the promises of God’s love and the relationships with which I am blessed in this life.  While I was serving at our food pantry yesterday I saw a little girl who was afraid because she couldn’t find her Mom’s car in the parking area.  I called out to her as her lip trembled, “It’s going to be OK, we’ll find your Mom.” She came running and jumped into my arms, her fear quickly subsiding as I pointed her in the right direction. Yes, this grandpa found that brief encounter one of the richest moments of my day.  Earlier that same day I sat for a half hour in the church’s sanctuary and thanked the Lord for His Presence that provides hope, meaning, and purpose for me. My richest resource is His love!

Are you invested in the best things, the true wealth of life?  Jesus challenged the materialism that commands so much of our attention with this story. "Real life is not measured by how much we own.” And he gave an illustration: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. In fact, his barns were full to overflowing. So he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store everything. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Luke 12:15-21, NLT)

Are you 'rich toward God?' (Luke 12:21)
Are you pursuing Him, seeking to live in the center of His goodness, enjoying the wealth of His favor? You can!
I do not belong to an exclusive club that is open only to those of some special bloodline or heritage. I received the grace of God, and you can receive Him, too.

There is a persistent temptation to “fill our barn with Self and not with God.”  We defeat that lie, that false measure of riches, by remembering who we are in Christ, by making times of worship, contemplative prayer, and service a regular part of life. When we trust Christ fully for life eternal, we find peace and love which then flows over from us to those among whom we live. Being ‘rich toward God’ is not a matter of being religious enough; it is about loving Him – heart, soul, mind, and strength- because He has loved us first. 

Let this own your mind -  "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 5:21-6:2, NLT)

Choose now to receive the gift of God's Spirit: an undeserved favor and reconciliation with your Father in Heaven. Pray that your life will be enveloped by His Spirit, your life hidden in Christ. I cannot promise you that all your troubles will go away. Neither the Scripture nor my experience of the Christian life would support such a claim. But I can promise you that you will find a whole new way to calculate your wealth and in becoming ‘rich towards God’ you will know that life to the full which Jesus promised to us.

The word from the Word is the best investment advice ever given, from the Lord Himself. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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How Rich Am I

How rich I am since Jesus came my way

Redeemed my soul and turned my night to day

How very rich how very rich I am

 

Such peace and joy I never knew before

And countless blessings from His boundless Store

How very rich how very rich I am

 

There's a greater glory in a sunset

A brighter twinkle in a star

There's much more promise in a rainbow

More music in a singing bird by far

All things have changed my eyes once blind can see

The whole wide world is now a symphony

And with all this Heav'n is my destiny

How rich I am

 

 

John W. Peterson

1956. Renewed 1984 John W. Peterson Music Company

CCLI License # 810055

Your Resource?

Today, as you do whatever it is you do, from what or whom will you seek security? What is your richest resource?  For some, the balance in their bank account is important. And let’s acknowledge the obvious- having enough money to secure our home, our transportation, our food is comforting. For others security is found in their relationship with another.  When I was a child, nothing made me feel more secure than standing next to my Dad!  Perhaps for you it is a spouse or a close friend that gives you a sense of well-being. Some trust their skills, others find safety in their home, still others build a reputation that provides their foundation.

There is a resource for the child of God that is inexhaustible, eternal, and available to everyone: God Himself!

In a complex story in Genesis, God asks Abraham to take a trip to Mt. Moriah to do a sacrifice. Isaac, his son, accompanies him on the journey and wonders aloud where the sacrificial lamb is. “Dad, we have fire, we have wood, but where is the lamb?” What the boy does not know is that he is to be offered on that altar. Yes, the story is hard for me to fully understand, but the ending is where I want us to focus today. “Lay down the knife,” the angel said. “Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. Abraham named the place “The Lord Will Provide.” (YHWH Yireh)" (Genesis 22:12-14, NLT)

At a moment of 'impossibility' the father of the faithful found the true resource – and named Him, “The LORD, my Provider.”   If you know more of Abraham’s story you will remember that when he made God his resource, he lived in blessings.  When he tried to take care of his own needs in his own way results were awful.

God desires to be our Resource for every need. In the story of Creation, we find that He made this world to be a place of abundance where every need of every person should be met. Human sin- greed, selfishness, exploitation – destroys the balance and creates poverty of spirit and body.  But, when we align ourselves with His way and will, we discover that He is for us, like Abraham, our Provider!

When Paul traveled the empire of Rome to share the message of Jesus – he lived in faith. His testimony is this - "this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19, NLT)

Let’s not make the mistake of thinking of ‘resources’ only in terms of wealth. That is a major temptation of our material culture that loves money above most all else. God’s provision is for the whole person. He provides salvation for the sinful, peace for the anxious, love to the unloved, an identity for those who are without ‘place.’  And yes, He can be trusted to provide what we need.  Knowing the difference between what I need and what I think I need can be a real challenge. 

How easily I confuse ‘I want that’ with ‘I need that.’ 
Does that happen to you, too?

The word from the Word today is Jesus’ reminder of our Resources found in the Father.  These words are taken from His sermon on the mount and I have used a contemporary paraphrase called The Message to help us to think them through. May the Spirit give us faith and understanding so that we will live richly in our Father’s love. Jesus, speaking of God’s care for birds and flowers goes on to say -  

 "What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax,
to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving.
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 6:31-33, The Message)   Lord, increase our faith.

 (Video of this blog at this link)

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Goodness Of God (CeCe Winans does this anthem so well. Be blessed!)

I love You Lord

Oh Your mercy never fails me

All my days

I've been held in Your hands

From the moment that I wake up

Until I lay my head

I will sing of the goodness of God

 

All my life You have been faithful

All my life You have been so so good

With every breath that I am able

I will sing of the goodness of God

 

I love Your voice

You have led me through the fire

In darkest night

You are close like no other

I've known You as a father

I've known You as a friend

I have lived in the goodness of God

 

Your goodness is running after

It’s running after me

Your goodness is running after

It’s running after me

With my life laid down

I’m surrendered now

I give You everything

Your goodness is running after

It's running after me

 

Ben Fielding | Brian Johnson | Ed Cash | Jason Ingram | Jenn Johnson

© 2018 Capitol CMG Paragon; SHOUT! Music Publishing Australia; Fellow Ships Music; So Essential Tunes; Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

 

Where do you find strength?

10 years ago I could not have imagined just how difficult and sad the next two years would be! Bev and I were enjoying life together and then came the cancer diagnosis, her long struggle with treatment, and her death. It was every bit as traumatic and dramatic as it sounds. Do I believe that I am unique in this world?  Of course not.  Life can be going along just wonderfully and bam! we hit a wall: sickness, death, divorce, business failure, a child who becomes troubled …   This proverb is surely true. "People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire." (Job 5:7, NLT) 

What choices will we make in those times? Will we fall apart, become bitter, retreat into self-pity or simmering anger at God and the world? OR, will we make the better choice?

David was anointed by Samuel to be the next king in Israel. While he waited to take the throne, he served King Saul as a brilliant military strategist, played his harp in court, and generally brought good to the nation. The people loved him and his growing popularity ate at Saul until his jealousy drove him into an insane (literally!) obsession with David’s murder.  David eventually became a fugitive and found himself living among Israel’s enemies, the Philistines.

A low point in his life came when David and his army returned from a campaign to find this had happened in their absence. "Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and had burned Ziklag to the ground. They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no more. David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel, were among those captured. David was now in serious trouble because his men were very bitter about losing their wives and children, and they began to talk of stoning him.”  Take note of the fact that David was not above grief and sorrow.  He joined his men in ‘weeping until they could weep no more.’ He was no Stoic, unwilling to allow himself to feel or express his emotions. BUT, he becomes an example for us in what he did next.

“But David found strength in the Lord his God." (1 Samuel 30:1-6, NLT)  He knew his great resource was in the Lord YWHW, the “Great I AM” and so he turned to prayer. The details are spare but given what we know of David’s love for the Lord it is not hard to imagine that he went to be alone, taking his harp and singing the songs he had written over the years, songs we know as the Psalms.  Perhaps he wept as he sang.  Perhaps he choked on the words of faith as he gave voice to truths that seemed to be lies in the moment. Might he have sung this?

"Of David. A psalm. I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD." (Psalm 40:1-3, NIV)  

What we do know is that he found encouragement, comfort, and wisdom to move forward in leadership.  He rallied his men and with God’s help recovered all that was lost in a hard fought battle.

Do you know how to find your strength in the Lord?

Do you know the power of worship,
the value of quiet retreat to prayer?

Will you still your emotions and turn your mind and heart
to the Presence of the Holy?

For so many years of pastoral ministry, when I found myself wrestling with challenges or nearly overwhelmed by the human needs that came my way, I found such peace in the sanctuary.  I would go into the church, find a corner, and lay on my face in prayer, often just quiet, sometimes softly singing, occasionally weeping. What renewal I found in those moments, when I was like a child before his Father, acknowledging my need and His promises!

Jesus shows us the pattern of being ‘encouraged in the Lord’ in His Gethsemane experience. After the Last Supper, as he knew the Cross was just ahead, he did this. "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing." (Matthew 26:36-44, NIV)  He prayed and prayed and prayed until His soul found peace in the will of God and then He went to give Himself on the Cross where He reconciled the world to the Creator!  Oh, Lord, show us how to find Your strength that we would fulfill Your will in our lives!

The word from the Word is both a challenge and a promise. Make your resolve today and always. "Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, no matter what happens. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And a righteous person will live by faith. But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” But we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate. We have faith that assures our salvation." (Hebrews 10:35-39, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God
A bulwark never failing
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe
His craft and pow'r are great
And armed with cruel hate
On earth is not his equal

Did we in our own strength confide
Our striving would be losing
Were not the right Man on our side
The Man of God's own choosing
Dost ask who that may be
Christ Jesus it is He
Lord Sabaoth His name
From age to age the same
And He must win the battle

And tho' this world with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us
We will not fear for God hath willed
His truth to triumph thru us
The prince of darkness grim
We tremble not for him
His rage we can endure
For lo his doom is sure
One little word shall fell him

Martin Luther, Public Domain