Joy In the Journey

Are you so focused on some goal, some destination, some accomplishment – that you have forgotten that there is joy to be found right here, right now? Bev and I drove across the United States in the Summer of 2011 and what a trip it was. We took our time, driving only 300 or 400 miles a day. We actually got off the interstate and ate in local little restaurants. We fully appreciated the beauty of the Moab desert as we drove along the Colorado River, stopping to gaze over that unique landscape. We walked a mountain meadow near the Continental Divide, breathing the air at those heights. There was even a kind of wonder in the wide and vast Great Plains. We knew we had to ‘get home’ but we let ourselves enjoy the trip! That is not always how I travel! Sometimes, I get ‘on the road’ with a single-mindedness. I drive fast through long days to ‘just get there.’ 

Let me ask you – how are you living your life? Are you letting yourself enjoy the journey or are you looking only to some future hope of happiness or anticipating trouble down the road?

Jesus wisely counsels us to live today. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matthew 6:34, The Message)  I promise you that your experience of life will be much richer and certainly more joyful when you choose to be fully present to the people and things that are happening all around you. 

Joy does not ‘just happen’ for the most part. We discover it as we are intentional in our ways.  As a little boy, I learned a Sunday School chorus: “Jesus, Others, and You; what a wonderful way to spell JOY.”  I didn’t really understand the profound truth of those simple words then, but I do now.  Put away Ego and selfishness. Turn upward and outward, giving yourself away.  When we let go of our tenacious grasp of our ‘plan,’ and give ourselves away, choosing to serve, refusing self-centeredness and replacing that we selfless serving, JOY grows inside out. 

The culture in which we live insists that our happiness can only be found if we are dedicated to Self.  We are told to “Find yourself.”  “Do what makes you happy.” The wisdom of God is exactly opposite. We are called into the Body of Christ where we can be most alive only when we deeply connected to others in interdependent relationships.   

Peter points to this radically different way of life when, by the Spirit, he tells us to “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:9 NIV)  The word “hospitality” in that verse translates the original Greek text that speak of ‘loving the other.’  Hospitality is not just prepping a meal for someone in your home.  It is a choice to invite others into your life, to be a welcoming serving person, who is ‘enjoying the trip.’

Beyond that, Peter tells us to “use your gifts to serve!” Some use their gifts to gain influence. Some use them to find favor, others with the desire for applause.  If we want to find joy in the journey we will take God’s gifts to us – big and small – and give them ways - “faithfully administer”- Peter says.  The most joyful Christians that I know are those who are connected and who embrace opportunities God presents to them to make their world a better place.  Those who roll up their sleeves and get to work to serve Jesus, His Body, and the world in His Name have the potential to become content, fulfilled, steady people.  Oh yes, I am realist. Fatigue may come. Criticism will show up, especially from those doing the least. However, the “company of the committed”  are focused on Another’s praise. They are joyful, not because of great results or constant recognition, but because they love God and others.

This Monday morning as you go off to your responsibilities, pray to find joy in the journey.  Choose to accept and serve, to pause and reflect, to listen with true attention.  As you live with this awareness of God’s Presence and other’s needs, you will know a difference in your own life, a kind of joy that flows from the Spirit. Oh that others would say of us what Paul wrote of his friend, Philemon. "I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God’s people." (Philemon 7, NLT)

Here is a word from the Word, a Psalm that uses ancient images to convey the joy of community.  Though they may be somewhat lost to us in their fullness, the sense of full joy still seeps through these words Read them, live them.  Find Joy today.

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore." (Psalm 133, NIV)

Oils, precious and refined, were poured on the heads of the priests symbolizing the Presence of God.  The fragrance spread to those watching. Everyone was enveloped in the experience, part of the rite even through the sense of smell!

Mount Hermon, the highest peak in Northern Israel, was the place from which the waters of the Jordan flowed, bringing life to the desert areas of Mount Zion in Jerusalem.  God gave the snowfall that fell on that high peak. As it melted and flowed down into the Jordan the whole region was watered, the fertility of the ground preserved.  All were blessed by something happening far away. When God's people work together, sharing grace, loving – it is the best of the best, spreading out to touch many lives.

Lord, spread the fragrance of Your goodness through our words and actions today. May we be a refreshing presence to those whose souls are parched.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Joy In The Journey

There is a joy in the journey

There's a light we can love on the way

There is a wonder and wildness to life

And freedom for those who obey

 

And all those who seek it shall find it

A pardon for all who believe

Hope for the hopeless

And sight for the blind

 

To all who've been born of the Spirit

And who share incarnation with Him

Who belong to eternity stranded in time

And weary of struggling with sin

 

Forget not the hope that's before you

And never stop counting the cost

Remember the hopelessness

When you were lost

 

And freedom for those who obey

 

Michael Card

© 1986 Birdwing Music; Mole End Music

CCLI License # 810055

 

The Best!

Wednesday, feeling great after surgery and a long hospital stay, I got out my Miata, put the top down and drove, soaking up the sunshine. I didn’t care who could hear me singing! As I gave thanks, it came to me that the joy I was experiencing was about my present state, my sense of well-being. It is good to give thanks.   

It is true that my life overflows with good things – a comfortable home, my amazing and great children, loving friends, resources beyond my needs, food in abundance, a sense of safety and security. However, these are not the greatest of my blessings.  As my recent brush with mortality revealed again, this earthly existence will end one of these days. Someone else will live in my house, spend my money, and drive my convertible.

What is the best of all, the center of my joy?

Paul expressed it profoundly in these words -"… a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:21-24, NIV)   

 When Jesus’ disciples experienced spiritual authority, they were excited. He pointed them to their best treasure - "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”" (Luke 10:17-20, NIV)

Do not misunderstand me. The privilege of living a good life is not to be overlooked or taken for granted. With those blessings come the responsibility of stewardship, using the opportunities to help others, to be the hands of Jesus in a world of need.  A person will not necessarily be ‘more spiritual’ or pleasing to God if he suffers greatly or lives with deprivation. 

As the blessed children of God, we are commissioned by Jesus to advocate for the poor, to care for the sick, to comfort the dying, to work for justice, and to share what we have with others.  I cannot read the whole of the Bible without concluding that it is good to live securely, with plenty. But, even when hardship comes, when unexplained suffering overwhelms – there is a blessing that is available to all – the promise of being God’s own child, with an eternal home prepared with Him!

“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven!”  Let that phrase fill up your mind, inspiring your emotions today. Make that fact the center of your joy.  And don’t forget that you cannot be moral enough, dutiful enough, selfless enough, or churchy enough – to gain that relationship. God gives this gift to us through the work of His Son, Christ Jesus, because of grace. It cannot be earned, only received by faith.  Trust Him this day. Breath a simple prayer – “Christ Jesus, thank you, for the gift of Your ‘righteousness’ that makes me a child of God who lives without shame, guilt, or fear of the future. Amen.”  Then, rejoice in the best of blessings.

Here is a word from the Word -
"I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit
—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—

that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in.
And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love,
you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love.

Reach out and experience the breadth!
Test its length!
Plumb the depths!\
Rise to the heights!
Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. " (Ephesians 3:16-19, The Message)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Who Am I

Who am I that the Lord of all the earth

Would care to know my name

Would care to feel my hurt

Who am I that the Bright and Morning Star

Would choose to light the way

For my ever wand'ring heart

 

Not because of who I am

But because of what You've done

Not because of what I've done

But because of who You are

 

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

A vapor in the wind

Still You hear me when I'm calling

Lord You catch me when I'm falling

And You've told me who I am

I am Yours

 

Who am I that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love

And watch me rise again

Who am I that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me

 

Mark Hall

© 2003 Be Essential Songs; My Refuge Music

CCLI License # 810055

 

Time Limited

Just about everything I know of has an expiration date. Batteries lose their charge. Milk goes sour in the refrigerator. Cereal gets stale. Bread molds. I was reminded again that my life is time limited during my recent stay in hospitals, 2 facilities, 10 nights in 11 days!  Though I feel much better today, there are still a couple things that require additional medical care.  Am I going to die in the near future? No doctor seems to think so, a fact for which I am grateful, but I know in a new way just how quickly a person can go from strong to weak, from feeling great to awful pain.  

 When I first met my terrible pain I would like to be able to say that I knew a calm and gentle spirit, but … alas, I am all too human and I cried out in great fear. But, loved by God, by family, and friends - I quickly regained a sense of perspective and the balance of my confinement was mostly a time of great peace, resting on faith, entrusting myself to His care.          

Here is the first choice that was impressed on me by the Spirit, through the Word. “Be Thankful!”  Repeatedly, when tempted to complain, I felt His prompt to choose faith. Yes, faith is the foundation of true gratitude.

I am NOT thankful for days of pain, for the necessity of surgical intervention, or the extended stay in the hospital. My thanks was and is sustained by this – “He is God Almighty.”  Laying in that bed, I was challenged by the familiar opening lines of the Apostle’s Creed:  “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth …”  I have recited those words a thousand times or more. During this experience, I remembered them and asked myself  if it were true to me. 

If He is God- FATHER of loving care; and ALMIGHTY – with all things under His direction; then I can be at rest. And so I was, and grateful that He is working in me and through me, in ways that may beyond my understanding in the moment.  There was an interesting side effect of thanking Him.  I  found myself thanking nurses, doctors, and hospital staff for their care with words that were not just polite, but from the heart.

One morning there, around 5 am, a nurse came into my room. I was awake so she asked if she might sit a moment or two. A conversation followed that revealed her soul exhaustion because of struggles in her own life with disappointment and uncertainty. She told me that she sought out my room because ‘there is such a feeling of peace here.’  After praying with her, I thanked God for helping me to be obedient in thanksgiving which allowed His peace to be felt and known. I experienced His word - "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)

Beyond a response of humility that allowed me to express thanks to God I found myself humbled by a renewed realization of my place in this world. There is a subtle kind of pride that creeps up on me (you, too, perhaps?) that makes me feel indispensable. “Whatever will the world around me do if I am not functioning at capacity?”  While it is important to be of service to God and others, if that service is done from duty or pride, it is tinged with Self that obscures the Spirit’s work.

Sidelined by weakness, completely at the care and mercy of others, I remembered that life flows on, that others will close the gap, taking up the reins of responsibility. Of course that may seem like common sense to some but I needed that lesson. We all serve best when we lean into our spiritual gifts with joy in the offering of ourselves for God’s glory. So many other times when sidelined by sickness even for a day, I fretted about ‘getting back’ to work and service. This time, God let me experience the Body of Christ in a new way.  During those times someone stepped up to take my place as a Bible teacher in our Vacation Bible School.  My pastor replaced me quickly at a wedding I was to conduct. Another ministered in my place at a funeral that I was to do.

People to whom I have ministered, for whom I have prayed, prayed for me.  The strength of being ‘in the Body of Christ’ became even more evident to me in my weakness.

So, are you in a hard place, a painful situation, a circumstance that is limiting you? 

Let me urge to you trust your Heavenly Father who is ‘God, the Father Almighty.’  

Pray to know the gift of faith and lean into gratitude for His gracious gifts. 

Let the love of the Body surround you, carrying you when you cannot stand alone. Being part of His Church, His family, in life’s great and happy moments, makes it possible to know the ministry of that Body when life turns quickly. Yes it is true that "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. Now all of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it." (1 Corinthians 12:26-27, NLT)

We are all time limited, will all experience weakness, sooner or later, and at some point, oh cheery thought, we will come to the end of our earthly journey. May God grace us with inner beauty, deep faith, and an experience of being loved and loving in those moments.

Join me in this prayer that David prayed so long ago, our word from the Word.

"Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say,
“I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me." (Psalm 13:3-6, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Breathe On Me Breath Of God

Breathe on me breath of God

Fill me with life anew

That I may love what Thou dost love

And do what Thou wouldst do

 

Breathe on me breath of God

Until my heart is pure

Until with Thee I will one will

To do and to endure

 

Breathe on me breath of God

So shall I never die

But live with Thee the perfect life

Of Thine eternity

 

Edwin Hatch | Robert Jackson

Words: Public Domain

Happy Birthday, America

“America, America, God shed His grace on thee!” The words are part of American, the Beautiful, a prayerful song that Katherine Lee Bates scribbled quickly into her notebook in 1893 after making a trip to the top of Pikes Peak.  She recalled the setting. “One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse.”  Bates, a college professor and pastor’s daughter, had seen the urban misery that the industrial revolution had brought to millions. She despised the discrimination and sexism that was entrenched in society at the time. Yet, she knew the wonder that was America and her song is an impassioned plea for the beauty to overcome the darkness.

More than a century later there has been much progress, but we are a deeply divided nation. Racial, economic, political, and religious divides are deep chasms. Our 24/7 news channels pour fuel on the fires of division and cause too many to believe that this kind of division is unprecedented in our history. Not so, friend! Ours is not the first generation of Americans to be confused by rapid change, nor are we the first to grapple with problems that threaten to tear us apart.  Intrigue, pride, greed, and betrayal were very much a part of the lives of the ‘fathers of our nation,’ though we tend to romanticize them and think of them only as wise, noble, and self-sacrificial people.  The mid-19^th century’s fights over slavery were brutal and led to a war that cost 600,000 lives! But, America lives on. Let us remember this 4th of July that we are a blessed nation, rich, powerful, and still a place of opportunity unlike any other nation in the world.

Christian we are citizens of two ‘kingdoms.’  We are first servants of Christ, called by God to live under His reign to serve His purposes.  Transformed by the Spirit we are invited to love God and others in His Name. We are able, supernaturally, to live honorably as citizens of these United States.  I am humbled to call myself a Christian and glad to be an American.

I pray that my first calling makes me a better citizen of this great nation. The true Church, with her treasure of the Gospel of Christ, remains the true hope of America, and the world. However, it is not a “Sunday religion” that will make a difference. Only disciples who are totally committed to Christ’s call to love will rise above the noise of strife with a welcome to His peace.  Christians cannot join the hate, the intolerance, the racism, the greed, and the xenophobia that infect our nation like a wasting disease!  We are people of hope, our vision inspired by the promise of an eternal home where there will be just rewards and judgment.   If America is to be peaceful and prosperous, we who are in Christ must lead the way from ‘me first’ attitudes that seek only our own good to that kind of nation for which Katharine Lee Bates prays in the song that seems almost naïve in our time.

Happy Birthday, America.  On this Independence Day, I pray for a true spiritual renewal that goes beyond a civil religion of kindly ethics, a place where Christ is Lord and we are people who share in the ‘abundant life’ that He gives. 

The word from the Word is an invitation and a promise for citizens of the Kingdom of heaven. These words are not to be mistakenly applied to our beloved country, but rather to help to understand our true hope as those who live in the care of the King of Heaven.   

"The nations will see your righteousness.
Kings will be blinded by your glory.
And the Lord will give you a new name.
The Lord will hold you in his hands for all to see—a splendid crown in the hands of God.
Never again will you be called the “Godforsaken City” or the “Desolate Land.”

Your new name will be the "City of God’s Delight" and the "Bride of God,"
for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his own.
Your children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem,\
just as a young man cares for his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride." (Isaiah 62:2-5, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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America The Beautiful

(Ray Charles does it right!)

 

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life

America, America may God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And ev'ry gain divine

 

O beautiful for spacious skies

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain

America, America God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea

 

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness

America, America God mend thine ev'ry flaw

Confirm thy soul in self control

Thy liberty in law

 

Katharine Lee Bates © Words: Public Domain

 

A Perfect Game

Though I am not a big fan of baseball, the news caught my eye. “Perfect Game!”   The report informed me that out of about 235,500 Major League Baseball games played, just 24 have been “perfect.”  What does that mean? A perfect game is one in which no batter on the opposing team reaches a base during the full 9 innings. Last night, Yankees pitcher, Domingo German, did it!  Not one player from the Oakland A’s reached a base- not from a hit ball, a walk, being hit by a pitch, or an error.

Perfection is a tough standard. A person who sets herself up for perfection is likely to feel overwhelmed, perhaps even depressed. It is often difficult to measure perfection when we adopt the accomplishment or achievement of others as the standard of for ourselves, though we do not have their experience, skills, or opportunities. What is perfection?  A perfect score on a math test is indisputable.  A perfect baseball game cannot be argued, but much of the time ‘perfection’ is more like ‘better than.’  We live a healthier and more focused life if our goal is personal best rather than some kind of perfection based on comparison. The idolatry of perfection will surely destroy any hope of a joyful, committed, and fulfilled life. Striving for it will make us perpetually desperate, anxious, and cranky!

Instead of looking for perfection, we should ask these questions of ourselves.

Who does God want ME to be?

What gifts and callings has He given to ME?

Where am I in life right now and am I making the most of the realities of the PRESENT?

This idea of perfect success shows up too often in parenting. We can't let our kids be ordinary (almost a curse word to some!) because to do so is to fail to push them to their potential. So, adopting a false standard of success, we turn them into crazy competitors who don't know the joy of doing anything just 'for the fun of it;' who spend the rest of their lives living on with stress and anxiety.   Why don’t we ever just say,  "Just play baseball and enjoy it, son." Oh no, we have to ruin Little League for him, making a 9 year old kid play the game like the destiny of the universe rides on whether his team wins!  A man who coached kids for years told me how the impossible standards of some parents ruined the game for so many. He told me that he wanted to remind those parents that the odds of their little boy becoming a Major League Baseball player were miniscule so let them play and enjoy their childhood.

We will not rejoice in who we are because if we are always focused on what we could be... if only…  

Many spouses suffer under the strain of being compared to that one that is 'so perfect.'
Your husband will never win your heart if you expect him to be Jesus, Brad Pitt, and Superman, rolled into one perfect man.  
Your wife cannot possibly keep a Martha Stewart home, look like a supermodel, and have the compassion of Mother Teresa everyday. 
Would we destroy what could be a great relationship, missing the treasure we have, because our expectations are skewed by our cultural expectations?  

The joy of Christ and His love will be lost to stress and strain IF we measure and compare ourselves to others. God's will is that we surrender to the Spirit's call and allow Him to use us - just as we are, right where we are- for His purposes.  In Romans 14, Paul teaches us that we must never compare ourselves and our gifts to others. The passage directs us to stop judging others and ourselves, understanding this:  "While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord." (Romans 14:8, NLT)  Our grade of success is set by the One who knows exactly what we can do, what we are called to do, and how we are gifted to do those things.  The approval or condemnation of the crowd has little meaning for the true servant of Christ.

Perhaps you are surprised that I would applaud mediocrity. If that what you think I am doing then either I have communicated poorly or you have come to the wrong conclusion.  It's not mediocrity that I'm urging on us today. It is acceptance of who God created us to be, our gifts and abilities, so that we can live with contentment and joy. God has a plan for each one of us, and we can't all be a CEO, an astronaut, or a famous leader.  If we attempt, in the name of excellence, to be someone that we are not called or equipped to be, we will miss out on the great joy that comes to those who are humble - that is, no more and no less than God calls them to be.

Ask God who He is asking you to be, without comparison to some external standard of 'excellence.' Rejoice in the spiritual gifts and opportunities He has presented to you and be the person He wants, not the person others are demanding you become. Give up the need to be recognized, to 'win' the award, to earn applause - except the applause of Heaven earned as we perform for the Audience of One. In this humility and contentment we will find that life is much more pleasant for us and for all those around us. Give up perfection and I am convinced that you will accomplish more, with greater effectiveness, because you are living for God. What He blesses in us is of lasting value!

Here is the word from the Word for today. May the Spirit’s wisdom own our minds and hearts. "Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else." (Galatians 6:4, NLT) "Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." (Galatians 6:8-9, NLT)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Beautiful Things

All this pain,

I wonder if I'll ever find my way?

I wonder if my life could really change,

At all?

 

All this earth,

Could all that is lost ever be found?

Could a garden come up from this ground,

At all?

 

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of the dust.

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of us.

 

Hope is springing up from this old ground,

Out of chaos life is being found,

In You.

 

You make me new, You are making me new!

You make me new, You are making me new!

 

Lisa Gungor | Michael Gungor

© 2009 worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Who Do You Say that I Am?

In February, when traveling in Israel, I visited the northern most part of the country, a rural region that lies at the foot of Mt. Hermon, a snow-capped peak. The headwaters of the Jordan River bubble up from the ground in beautiful springs. There are ruins of Greek and Roman temples to their god and it is a place for Christians to visit. Why?  Mark’s Gospel tells us of an important moment there. "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16, NIV)   His question hangs before each one of us! “Who do you say I am?” 

For three years Jesus lived with those men, eating with them, walking together, doing life. They knew Him as a man from Capernaum, a laborer turned Teacher, but was there more? In that remote region, He asks them to reflect and the Spirit moved on them. Peter is the first to say it – “You are the Christ!” 

Christ! We hear it too often as profanity, spat out in a moment of frustration or anger.  But it means ‘anointed One,’  (the Hebrew equivalent is Messiah). Peter’s declaration is that Jesus is more than a Man; He is God’s Son, bringing God to us. He did not just figure that out or toss it out as a possibility. He was convinced by the evidence and the Holy Spirit that Jesus was the long-awaited Savior of Israel. The carpenter they knew so well was more, much more.  This declaration is the heart of our faith!

Who do you say that He is?  Is He a good moral Teacher?  Is He an unfortunate noble man who became a martyr? OR is He the Christ, the living God among us, who gave Himself to reconcile us to our Creator?

Not so very long after that pivotal day in Caesarea Philippi, after the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, Peter was bringing the Good News to Jerusalem. Arrested and brought before the ruling council. They asked him by whose authority he was acting, he replied with boldness. "They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ”‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:7-12, NIV)

Michael Horton asks us to consider that we might drift towards a “Christ-less Christianity.”   “Christless Christianity is internal rot. It tries to use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as a means to better oneself. It turns His church into little more than a platform for self-help seminars and self-affirming messages. At the heart of Christless Christianity is self-worship, dressed up in Bible verse pieces to make it appear spiritual.”  If we read the Gospels like we read Aesop’s fables;  good moral lessons but not as truth, we gut our faith. The true wonder of the Gospel is the message that God came to live among us, fully human yet fully divine, that He offered Himself a sacrifice to restore what sin had robbed from us, and that because He lives, we will live also. 

So, Who do you say He is?  He is the Lord of Glory, the Savior of the World, the Hope of all who seek Him.  Let’s not slip into a religion that replaces Jesus with some shadow of Himself, that reduces Him to a form or ritual, a mere tradition reserved for Sundays and church buildings. Let us pursue as Christ, the living God.

The word from the Word says that "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together. Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross." (Colossians 1:15-20, NLT)   This is the Gospel!

(Video of this blog at this link)

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In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light my strength my song
This Cornerstone this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love what depths of peace
When fears are stilled when strivings cease
My Comforter my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Keith Getty | Stuart Townend © 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Wise and Insightful!

I knew an older man I’ll call Stan.  God brought him into my life at a time when I was wrestling with myself, my call, and some difficult inner questions. He had lived a simple life in terms of earthly wealth and acclaim but when I became better acquainted with him, I found out that his counsel was sought by leaders of nations, that he sat at tables where the toughest foreign policy issues were debated.  In our conversations his words were direct, but kind; without any attempt at sophistication, yet often profound; grounded in his deep faith and the tattered little Bible he carried with him at all times.  I have no idea what Stan’s IQ might have been, but he was one of the wisest persons I have ever met.

Are you wise? Wisdom is not to be confused with great intellect or advanced formal education. Smart people are not necessarily wise people! Remember Solomon’s prayer when God offered him any gift he desired? He asked God for wisdom to be a good leader of the people, but he did not request that he become ‘smarter’ than others. Wise people know that they may not be the smartest person in the room so they work to gather information, to gain counsel, for their decisions. They possess not just information but experience. They understand that life requires more than pure logic, that there are complex factors that shape the life we lead.  Interestingly to me, I discovered that the  word “wisdom” is mentioned in the Bible just over 200 times, but the word “smart” isn’t used once. (Search done using the NIV translation!)

Christian friend, God gives the gift of wisdom!  An Ivy League degree is not required. You need not have test results that are near perfect in order to live wisely. David sang of God’s work in the life of those who love Him. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight to life." (Psalm 19:7-8, NLT)   

James plainly tells us "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." (James 1:5-6, NIV)

Godly wisdom demands humility and obedience. My friend, Stan, whom I mentioned a moment ago, was amazingly humble, never seeking the place at the head table, never pushing his own agenda, never boasting about his resume or accomplishments. He served God and people with joy, in the smallest ways.  He committed his life to Christ, even as he lived with rich experiences that engaged the world around him, but his first and highest principle was to let God lead, to discover the mind of Christ for each and every day of his life.

Our world is consumed by  “sophisticated” foolishness. We are seduced by a hundred voices that whisper lies about life’s meaning, about our personal choices, about what is good, right, and true into our ears. My prayer is that God will grant us wisdom, preserving us from being the whiz kids of the world even as we become the grounded people of wisdom who are able to sort through the conflicting counsel that comes our way.

Here is a song from the Psalms. This word from the Word is thought-worthy. Spend some time meditating on this godly wisdom, then influence your circle of friends and family with the wisdom of God.

"Blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or
sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish." (Psalm 1, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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The Way Of Wisdom

The way of wisdom starts out

With a step of holy fear

And it makes its way alone

By every good word that you hear

It has to do with passion

And it has to do with pain

It has to do with One

Who has both died and rose again

Died and rose again

 

And the Way of Wisdom is living

The Path of Peace is forgiving

Behold a Man of Meaning

Behold He is the Lord

 

The Way of Understanding lies

In not how much you know

For the Pathway is a Person

That you come to love and so

You can stop pretending

That it all depends on you

For it's not how much you love

As much as how much He loves you

How much He loves you

 

The Way of Wisdom beckons us

To find the end of fear

That perfect love pursues

For Wisdom did not come

To simply speak the words of truth

He's the Word that makes us true

 

The Way of Wisdom starts out

With a step of holy fear

That's only the beginning

And there's much more that is clear

The path leads on to love

And love is fearless in its ways

For Love Himself was not afraid

To die that we'd be saved

To die that we'd be saved

 

Behold He is the Lord

 

 

Michael Card

© 1990 Birdwing Music

CCLI License # 810055