A Captive of the Past?

Do you spend a lot of time looking back? These days I tend rummage around in my memories more than I once did. Yesterday I went up to the attic and found a little table and chair set that my late father-in-law made for my kids. As I showed it to my daughter asking if she wanted it for my grandson, I flipped over one of the little chairs where this was stamped “Grandpa Keith 12/23/83.” A flood of memories of a houseful of toddlers swept over me.

Nostalgia can be sweet …   and a trap! Our past should not be forgotten – both trials and triumphs – because those things are the fertile soil from which the present grows, after all! But, it is impossible to be productive and emotionally healthy lives if life is only a back-ward look. 

Genesis tells that sordid and tragic story of the destruction of Sodom, of Lot’s family being rescued by the messengers of the LORD prior to the destruction. Tucked into the narrative there is this little line -"But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19:26, NIV) She could not let go of what was, could not anticipate God’s plans for the future. Her fate is a kind of warning to us all who would only look to the past. We will become frozen, rigid, and resistant to the will of God.

Paul, who we first meet as Saul, was a man who hated Believers in Christ. His zealotry made him a violent persecutor of the Church, a man actively trying to destroy the Gospel and those who followed Jesus.  God’s grace found him and changed him. Now could he, would he, overcome the regrets? If Paul dwelt in the past, he might well have withdrawn from the world, regretful and remorseful. But, he did not forget nor did he revel in those failures.  Later, Paul founded many churches, one being in the city of Ephesus. There his message found great success. Did he abandon his calling to the world to try to hang onto that moment of triumph? No. He celebrated the success and followed Jesus onward. He says of the past - "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: 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 3:12-14, NIV)  He refused to become a captive of the past.

This is our declaration as we meet today – be it full of promise or a thicket of challenges - "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24, NIV)

Most of us, when young, tend to live too much in the future. As we grow older, we tend to live in the past. But, God works in the present!

The word from the Word is from the 90^th Psalm.  
"Teach us to make the most of our time,
so that we may grow in wisdom.

O Lord, come back to us! How long will you delay?

Take pity on your servants!

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
Let us see your miracles again;
let our children see your glory at work.
And may the Lord our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!" (Psalm 90:12-17, NLT)

_________

Living Hope
(young and old, He is our living hope)

How great the chasm that lay between us

How high the mountain I could not climb

In desperation I turned to heaven

And spoke Your name into the night

Then through the darkness Your loving-kindness

Tore through the shadows of my soul

The work is finished the end is written

Jesus Christ my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy

What heart could fathom such boundless grace

The God of ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame

The cross has spoken I am forgiven

The King of kings calls me His own

Beautiful Savior I’m Yours forever

Jesus Christ my living hope

Hallelujah praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There’s salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence the Roaring Lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

(REPEAT)

Jesus Yours is the victory whoa

Jesus Christ my living hope

Oh God You are my living hope

Brian Johnson | Phil Wickham

© 2017 Phil Wickham Music (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC])

Simply Global Songs (Fair Trade Music Publishing [c/o Essential Music Publishing LLC])

CCLI License # 810055

Laughter – the best way

Don’t you love getting together with some good friends and swapping stories that make you laugh out loud? I love when my family hangs out and starts remembering those dumb choices, the silly kid tricks, and telling “Dad” stories, a rich source of humor.  Laughing with others is a great pleasure.  But, if you have been made a fool, becoming the object of ridicule, the laughter isn’t fun. It hurts!

God loves laughter. One of the myths of spirituality is that it demands a serious, humorless personality.  One of the evidences of the Spirit in us is JOY. One of God’s gifts is the ability to overcome the sorrows of life with hope that leads to renewed joy much as the dawn following the night’s darkness.  "You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 63:5-7, NLT) 

On this Monday morning, take a moment to recover joy.  Make the decision that you will not start this week from a place of defeat or despair. Begin to praise Him, for Who He is. Hand off the concerns that weigh you down. Take joy! Let it find you in a song, touch you from the depths as you recall a moment of God’s faithfulness, surprise you from an unexpected place. Laugh with God!

Ah, beware the hollow laughter that is too often found about the pseudo-sophisticates who love to snidely poke fun at those they consider ‘less’ or inferior.  Refuse to let the laughter of the cynic to own your heart, that laughs at others instead of with them.

In Genesis, God came to Abraham and Sarah with a promise that seems like a joke. In advanced age, He said, “A year from now you will be enjoying a baby boy!” Sarah was a woman far beyond child-bearing years.  She had given up all hope of having a child.  As the visitors sat with her husband at the entry to their tent home, she listened in to a conversation that sounded absurd. “Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:10-14, NLT)  Can you blame her for laughing?  But her laughter was not born of delighted faith. It was an expression of disbelief.  She laughed at God, instead of with Him.

But, God was faithful to His word in spite of her.  Later, she had opportunity to laugh with God!  "She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son Isaac. Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” (Genesis 21:1-7, NLT)  Yes, she named her son Isaac which means ‘He laughs.’

Do feel the stirring of the Spirit, the outlines of a promise taking shape in you? How will you respond? 
Will you laugh at God, dismissing His inspiration as something other than what it is?
Or, will you laugh with Him, celebrating His work in your, even in apparently impossible situations?

The word from the Word is from Paul’s letter of joy, written from prison. He refused to let his situation define his response, choosing joy.  He says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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 4:4-7, NIV)   Amen.

_____

Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee (Ode To Joy)

(Michael W. Smith does this hymn well.
Be joyful with him)

Joyful joyful we adore Thee

God of glory Lord of love

Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee

Opening to the sun above

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness

Drive the dark of doubt away

Giver of immortal gladness

Fill us with the light of day

All Thy works with joy surround Thee

Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays

Stars and angels sing around Thee

Center of unbroken praise

Field and forest vale and mountain

Flowery meadow flashing sea

Chanting bird and flowing fountain

Call us to rejoice in Thee

Thou art giving and forgiving

Ever blessing ever blest

Wellspring of the joy of living

Ocean depth of happy rest

Thou our Father Christ our Brother

All who live in love are Thine

Teach us how to love each other

Lift us to the joy divine

Mortals join the mighty chorus

Which the morning stars began

Father love is reigning o'er us

Brother love binds man to man

Ever singing march we onward

Victors in the midst of strife

Joyful music lifts us sunward

In the triumph song of life

Edward Hodges | Henry Van Dyke

Public Domain

A New Name?

In Biblical times, your name was about you, your parent’s hopes for you, where you were born. It was more than a collection of letters that appeared on your drivers license. Sometimes your name changed when God revealed a new calling to you. Such is the story of Genesis 17.  Abram, which meant ‘exalted father,’ had an encounter with the Lord in which God declared that He had plans for him.

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations." (Genesis 17:1-4, NIV)  And God changed his name that day. "No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations." (Genesis 17:5, NIV)  Abraham means ‘father of many.’

There is so much inspiration in this chapter.  Abe was 99 and God still had plans for him! Those plans appeared to nothing but empty words to those who saw things with natural eyes. The only heir Abe had at that point was Hagar’s son, who was not to be the son of promise.  It might have seemed almost cruel to give the old man a new name that seemed ludicrous. Imagine introducing yourself to others, “Hi, I’m Father Of Many”  knowing that you have no son with your wife. But, Abraham believed God!

The Lord went on to tell him to change his wife’s name, too. She was 90 and still going by Sarai, which meant ‘princess.’  Now she was to be called Sarah, meaning ‘noblewoman’ because she was going to bear a son for the old man. Yes, you read that right.  99 and 90 and a child was in the future. They struggled to understand it, too! "Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?” Recovering, Abraham said to God, “Oh, keep Ishmael alive and well before you!” But God said, “That’s not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I’ll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever." (Genesis 17:17-19, The Message)

I read that chapter this morning with a mix of emotion. I laughed, too, at the absurdity of it all, but my laughter changed to deep hope as I realized that God is never finished with us. Parts of me feel my years and temptation comes to slow down and coast towards the exit!  “Give it up, Jerry. Let somebody else do it.”  But, God whispers of further plans, different perhaps than I would have anticipated, but of His ongoing desire to make me useful in a world I find increasingly hard to understand, in a time when I often feel like an anachronism.

Are you facing some hard decision?
Does it seem that much of what you had hoped for has slipped through your grasp?

Perhaps you can only remember some terrible failure and feel defined by that choice made in the past?

Are you letting words of a parent, a former spouse, or someone else name you and define you?

The grace and mercy of God is about renewal and new names! He owns history and is never finished writing ours until that moment when we step from mortal to immortality. Listen for His voice. Ask for greater faith to live as He desires, refusing to let ‘the obvious’ determine your identity.

Meditate on this word from the Word. It is from a passage in the Scripture that fills me with faith every time I read it. May He do the same in your heart today.

"May (you)  have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:18-21, NIV)

“Immeasurably more!”  That’s not just poetry, that is His proclamation.

__________________

A New Name In Glory

(A old Gospel song.

Forget yourself and sing along)

I was once a sinner but I came

Pardon to receive from my Lord

This was freely given and I found

That He always kept His word

There's a new name

Written down in glory

And it's mine

O yes it's mine

And the white-robed

Angels sing the story

A sinner has come home

For there's a new name

Written down in glory

And it's mine

O yes it's mine

With my sins forgiven

I am bound for heaven

Nevermore to roam

I was humbly kneeling at the cross

Fearing naught but God's angry frown

When the heavens opened and I saw

That my name was written down

In the Book 'tis written

Saved by grace

O the joy that came to my soul

Now I am forgiven and I know

By the blood I am made whole

Charles Austin Miles

© Words: Public Domain