Cleansed of the grime

 

 

It is said that one of the most beautiful places in the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. (a note - I have never been there!) It was built about 1481. Its walls were decorated by Renaissance painters. Between 1508 and 1512 Michelangelo painted the Creation of Adam. The works are among the most notable works of Western art ever created.  One could only imagine what was under the accumulated smoke, grime, and dust of 5 centuries.  What was the vibrancy of the art like when it was created? Imagine no more!   Restorations done over the last half century have uncovered colors and details that had not been seen for centuries.

Christians use the Latin term ' imago dei’  to describe God’s work of Creation in human beings, stamping His own likeness and image in us.  Imago Dei describes the unique relationship between God and humans that makes us distinct from all other creatures.  Genesis says "So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27, NLT)   Since God is Spirit, it is not our temporal body, made mostly of carbon atoms, that bears His likeness. It is soul and spirit, intellect and will, emotions and relationships, primary among them - LOVE!

We were made to display His creativity in our lives, to show His love in our relationships, to demonstrate His qualities in our character and work. Then, sin entered the world, the image marred, and over time, increasing obscured by corruption, selfishness, worship of created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1), and the abuse of the gifts He gave to us.  The image of God remains but under such layers of corruption as to be all but invisible in the lives of those who have not undergone a Divine Restoration!

The Scripture tells us this of Jesus - "The Son reflects God’s own glory, and everything about him represents God exactly. " (Hebrews 1:3, NLT)  "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God." (Colossians 1:15, NLT)   Then there is the amazingly wonderful promise for humanity - you and me!   God acts to restore His image in us,  by conforming us to the image of Christ.   

Through a gift of divine grace, by faith, we receive union with Christ so that we are made like Him: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29).   Again, we read - “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:49).

When we speak of being ‘saved,’ we must not only think of having the sting of separation from God taken from us.  We are saved TO the work of showing off His goodness.   The Word says that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).   Because we are given the Spirit, it si possible to take "off your old self with its practices and put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3:9-10, NIV)

You might wonder why I am focused on this, why it matters?    Because I believe that many Christians do not grasp the high calling, the joyous privilege they are given, in Christ to show off God’s glory.  Many think that Jesus came to forgive their sins and help them limp into Heaven whenever they die.  Yes, He did come to release us from sin’s grasp, and to open the Way to Life eternal to us, yet there is so much more.  God wants to restore the imago dei in YOU.   He wants our lives to be so full of Christ’s goodness, grace, love, and truth that the radiance cannot be ignored by the world around us.  In colloquial terms,He wants us to look like our Dad.

The reason that so many do not find our Christian experience compelling and beautiful is that we have turned this amazing gift into a system of moral laws, often only known through church attendance, with rote recitations of Scripture, and such things.  Nobody is looking for more rules in life or greater duty.  But, we all love beauty!  When Christ Jesus forgives us, He washes and when we lean on Him, we are restored through the Holy Spirit’s action.  The Word says that  "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. " (2 Corinthians 3:18, KJV)   We can become amazingly loving, beautifully authentic, creative, whole, and holy people - beautiful.  No it’s not a superficial beauty of face or social status. It is a beauty that is the reflection of Jesus.

Are you growing in the image of God, the grime and corruption peeled away by the Spirit’s work as you live in holy discipleship?  Ah, yes, it is a process.  The restored beauty of the Sistine Chapel emerged only over decades through the hard work of skilled craftsmen.  So in us, this work - often called sanctification - happens our whole life long.

It will only be completed when Christ appears in His glory. Take this final thought with you today as you pray for and aspire to the Imago Dei to be more and visible in your life. "Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is." (1 John 3:2, NLT)  

Let’s grow into His likeness anticipating the Day when it is made complete in us and we become eternal beings of such glory we are called “children of God!

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(Video of this blog at this link)

 

Be Thou My Vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart!
Naught be all else to me save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night.
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word.
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father, and I thy true son!
Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not nor man's empty praise,
Thou my inheritance now and always.
Thou and thou only, first in my heart.
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art!

High King of heaven when battle is done,
Grant heaven's joy to me, Bright Heaven's Sun.
Christ of my own heart whatever befall,
Still be my vision thou ruler of all.

 Public Domain

Anger, Fear, and Hopelessness

An article I read yesterday reported that anger is now the emotion we share most.  Three-quarters of Americans are angered by the state of the world and their own place in life! That is a lot of angry people!  The writer went on to opine that the source of that anger is the sense of powerlessness over the future that so many people feel.

Confidence in our institutions has eroded leaving us with the feeling that there is no place of safety. 
Christian churches enjoy the confidence of less than a third of us. 
The justice system is viewed by many as corrupt, from the Supreme Court of the US on down. 
Politicians are viewed as self-serving and corrupt by the majority of Americans.  Yes, all this and more, has robbed so many of hope.  How about you?  

 Angry people are not generally hopeful people. They become survivors, protective of themselves, lacking vision and purpose that leads them into the future.

Hope can be dimmed in our lives by personal troubles and crises as well. When our days are overtaken by difficulties for which we cannot find answers or problems that defy any solution that we can think of, hope may fail and with that failure can come depression and darkness.  This kind of hopelessness is magnified in our time by the loss of faith, the feeling that we are alone, the captain of our ship without a god to guide us!  Has hope dimmed for you?  Are you unmotivated in life, wishing to escape to someplace far away, perhaps even despairing of life itself some days.

I would like to invite you to regain perspective by stepping back and reconsidering your conclusions about life and hope.  The Lord God is present. His purposes remain secure.  We can trust Him. His purposes for you and me are greater than the moment in which we find ourselves today!  The Scripture says “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NIV)

Peter tells us to "set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:13, NIV)  Peter, at a most critical moment, had failed.  As he saw Jesus, his hope, on trial before a corrupt court, he grew afraid and hope was lost.  The Gospels tell us that after his dramatic denial of Jesus, he ‘went out and wept bitterly.’   He abandoned his call and went home to Galilee to his fishing boat. Until… the resurrected Jesus found him and restored him to love and faith.

He will restore us, just as He did Peter, IF we are willing to listen, to think, to worship (as in ‘sacrifice of praise’), and turn from our false hopes. Without slipping into cynicism I can agree with you that people fail, governments become corrupt, and preachers and priests can turn out to be empty suits.  Our financial security can evaporate with an economic recession. Our family can fall apart when things like death or divorce visit us.  But, here is what is true:  Jesus never fails.  He is our HOPE. 

Meditate on this passage. "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." (1 John 3:2-3, NKJV)  Our hope in Christ Jesus will create a single-minded focus in us that lifts us out of the gloom, allows us to see past the difficulties of the moment, and to live for that Day when sin, death, and Hell are forgotten as we enter into eternal life.   A hope built on the gift of eternal life through Christ will never be disappointed, nor lost! Nothing can take away God’s gift of salvation and the promise of a home in Heaven.

Remember the focus of our faith, and thus the source of our hope, is not what we believe, but Who we trust!  Near the end of his life, when he was imprisoned on Rome’s death row, Paul said to his young friend, Timothy, that his faithfulness to Christ’s Gospel was solid … “because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (2 Timothy 1:12, NIV)

On who or what have you set your hope?

Give some prayerful thought to that today.  Take a break from the cycle of anger, fear, and hopelessness. Find a quiet place to think deeply about these words from the Word.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Timothy 6:17, NIV)

"Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!" (Psalm 42:11, NLT)

"I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge." (Psalm 62:5-8, NLT)

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(Video of this blog at this link)

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Build My Life

(let this worship song speak to you today)

Worthy of ev’ry song we could ever sing

Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

 

Jesus the name above ev’ry other name

Jesus the only one who could ever save

Worthy of ev’ry breath we could ever breathe

We live for You

We live for You

 

Holy there is no one like You

There is none besides You

Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who You are

And fill me with Your heart

And lead me in Your love to those around me

 

I will build my life upon Your love

It is a firm foundation

I will put my trust in You alone

And I will not be shaken

 

Brett Younker | Karl Martin | Kirby Elizabeth Kaple | Matt Redman | Pat Barrett

© 2016 Martin, Karl Andrew (Admin. by Arkyard Music Services Limited)

Kaple Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

A Net Positive?

Not many of you will remember the name, William Safire.  He was a speechwriter in the Nixon administration who is best known as a New York Times op-ed columnist.  He put a memorable phrase in the mouth of an inarticulate politician, the disgraced vice president, Spiro Agnew, that is still around a half-century it was first spoken - "Nattering nabobs of negativism."  What a description of our current conversation in America.  Dark declarations of disaster eclipse sunny optimism almost everywhere. 

We need people who are filled with hope and who bring net positivity to the world, those who live as lights and encourage others.  I am speaking of more than optimism or trying to see the silver linings in the clouds. Christians are people of great hope and purpose, from whom the goodness of God can shine. Are you one of them?  Do others who converse with you go away lifted up or torn down?  Does your life feed ‘life’ or ‘death?’  These are not meaningless questions!

God, the Spirit, says. "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. … Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:11, 16-18, NLT)  These are not suggestions; they are directives!  This kind of life cannot be achieved by force of will or a shift in personality.

We become people of hope when we are anchored in the love of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, renewed day by day by worship, prayer, and the wisdom of the Word. Hear it again - "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. … Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

In the earliest days of Christianity among the believers was a man who did those very things. Joseph, of Cyprus, sold his possessions and gave the money to those in need. He found those who needed to be lifted up and offered his hand. When Saul, the converted former persecutor of Christians, tried to join the Believers they were afraid of him.  Who built a bridge to the outcast?  Joseph, but we don’t remember his given name. We remember his nickname: Barnabas.  Why that name? "Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus." (Acts 4:36, NLT)   Wow - wouldn’t it greate to be known as the  “Son of Encouragement?”

We are surrounded by critics, complainers, and mean people. Many are so self-absorbed cannot even see, nor do they care, about the needs of humanity that exist all around.  In contrast, those who are Jesus’ own, who walk with Him in the Spirit, will be other-focused, loving, people who encourage.  How I pray to be like Barnabas. Will you?  

Let’s make it our prayer to pour courage, hope, and confidence into our friends and neighbors, not phony positivity, but real hope.

Let’s pray to be owned by Christ Jesus so that no matter what comes, we remain hopeful in the plans and purposes of our God Who rules over all, Who will is accomplished, Who gives life eternal! 

Let’s not be content to passively love each other. The Bible says, “If your gift is to encourage others, do it! . . . And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. . . Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:8-10)  And there is this, too.  "Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24, NLT) Don't just send flowers, get involved and lend a hand.

Suspend the need to judge another and find a way to point to the Way. It is easy to point out another's flaws. It is easy to 'see' (in our self-important opinion) why our sister is in the jam she's in.  Ever said or thought this? "She made her own bed, let her lie in it."  That’s exactly what Barnabas would have thought, right?   No, I don’t think so.

Here’s the word from the Word, a prayerful passage that I love intensely, reading it often, and drawing great encouragement from the words.  It will encourage you and make you a “Barnabas” in your world. You have heard me quote it, pray it, close worship services with it, dozens of times but it is still wonder-filled and faith-packed.
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have (the ability), (with all of God’s people), to grasp (the full dimensions of) 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 3:16-21, NIV)   Oh my, it makes me want to shout “Hallelujah!”

Draw encouragement from the Lord, then go spread hope and light to others. Amen

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(Video of this blog at this link)

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The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

 

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

 

When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In ev'ry high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

 

His oath His covenant His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

 

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

 

Edward Mote, William Batchelder Bradbury

© Words: Public Domain; Music: Public Domain

Resources are yours!

I remember the leans days many years ago our little family when the money that came in was already spent on our necessities, when I wondered how I would pay for that unforeseen expense, when we juggled our funds to keep food on the table.  In retrospect, I see that we always had enough, though not perhaps all we wanted. Much more importantly, I experienced times when the challenges of my life appeared to exceed my resources of faith and/or wisdom.  I was no stranger to questions such as -

“How, Lord, can I possibly go through this experience without collapsing?” 
“What do I do now, Lord, in this moment when I see no way forward in my life?”
“What do I have to offer that person who will come to my office today with so much pain and hardship?”
“Lord, is it possible to serve You faithfully with so many temptations seeking to divert me from Your love?”

I am sure that I am not the only one to ask these questions. Before I reach the end of my road, I am also certain that demands will yet come my way for which my natural abilities and resources are no match! 

In a story I first heard decades ago in Sunday School there is a great principle taught, one that has proven true again and again. Before we go that passage, let me ask you -   Are you feeling more need than resource today?  What situation seems to be more than you can handle? What is draining your resources (physical, emotional, or financial) faster than you can recover?

Listen to this from 1 Kings 17:8-16.   "Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah." (NIV)

Though she had next to nothing, she was willing to trust Elijah’s word and God’s promise to act sacrificially!  In her willingness to act in faith, she discovered the limitless resources of the Lord!  I would have been tempted to ask for more flour and oil first, then make the bread!  She didn’t!  She trusted, believed, and obeyed.

Indulge me as I tell a simple story about God’s faithfulness in my life. I believe in the principle of tithing, giving the first 10% of my income to the work of God in this world, and it is a first line principle for me- now and always has been. I don’t have to tell you how difficult that choice was in those seasons when it was a struggle to put groceries on the table and gas in the car.  I confess that sometimes the pen in my hand was reluctant to write the check that I would place in the offering plate or mail to some charity!  Yet God stirred my faith, and I did what I believed was right.  Never once did my family go hungry or without their necessities!  One time in 1978, when there were no resources in the house and no money to go the grocery store, Bev and I prayed about our next choices.  Then, we found two bags full of food on our back porch, exactly what we needed, though we had told no one about our need. Often God provided wisdom and resourcefulness which were of greater value than more stuff or money.

This passage is often applied only to our money, but it is a life principle for the faithful. "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:10-11, NIV)  God is our resource - for every need.

Please do not cheapen that promise as so do, turning God into a vending machine of blessings. We don’t manipulate Him. We cannot buy His blessings. We must not think He owes us anything.  It is a tragic mistake to believe that if we give a dollar, He will return ten!  We walk in faith and understand that He is with us, gives us what He knows we need, in the time and place that we need it, in ways we may not even see or understand.

On this Monday morning are your needs, whatever they may be, greater than your resources?  Trust Him.  Put Him first - even as you are confessing your weakness or need to Him.  And then, I pray you will begin to see the answers that are promised by this passage, our word from the 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)

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(Video of this blog at this link)

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Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

O God my Father

There is no shadow

Of turning with Thee

Thou changest not

Thy compassions they fail not

As Thou hast been

Thou forever wilt be

 

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning

New mercies I see

All I have needed

Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness

Lord unto me

 

Summer and winter

And springtime and harvest

Sun moon and stars

In their courses above

Join with all nature

In manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness

Mercy and love

 

Pardon for sin

And a peace that endureth

Thy own dear presence

To cheer and to guide

Strength for today

And bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine

With ten thousand beside

 

Thomas Obediah Chisholm | William Marion Runyan

© Words: Public Domain

“My Pleasure?” Serving

When you visit Chick-fil-A™,  if you sy, “Thank you,” to an employee the response will be - "my pleasure."  Sources tell me that the practice dates back to 2001 when founder, Truett Cathy, noticed a Ritz-Carlton employee respond to his thanks with "my pleasure."   He liked the gesture and believed that customers would also appreciate it, so he asked Chick-fil-A employees to adopt the phrase. It is now a mark of the brand!  Yes, I know, that response is programmed, not necessarily the true feeling of that person who is serving a chicken sandwich. 

But, we can, as Christians, experience a change of heart and mind that causes us to feel real joy when we have the opportunity to serve others.  It is the Word and it is true!
Do you find joy and satisfaction in acts of service?

Jesus taught us a new way to live, asking us to set aside our selfish desires for the joy of serving. It was the night before He went to the Cross. He was full of sorrow and His friends were fighting among themselves about their importance, who was the greatest!  Gathered for the Passover, they had walked through the dirty streets and were now ready to eat and no one would make the move to wash the grime from their feet before dinner. Usually this task was relegated to the household servant of least senority, but there were no servants there in the Upper Room!  Not one of those men were willing to take that low place so Jesus did and in the process He taught them (and us) a vivid lesson in serving.

"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." (John 13:3-5, NIV) "When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him." (John 13:12-16, NIV)

Let’s not wrongly interpret His message. He is not setting aside roles of leadership or authority. He acknowledged that He was rightfully their “Lord and teacher.”   “Do as I have done” the Master said inviting those of us who follow Him to serve in true humility, without calculating the return or creating a debt in the one served. We do what we are able to do, where we are, whenever a need presents itself to us, just because we are able.  Nothing will develop humility in us more effectively than the daily choice to be a servant- in our family, in our circle of friends, our casual acquaintances, and in the wider community in which we live.  The phrase ‘it’s not my job’ is one we should never let pass our lips or even occupy a place in our thoughts.

Consider these challenging thoughts penned by William Law in the 18^th century. “Condescend to all the weaknesses and infirmities of your fellow creatures, cover their frailties, love their excellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants, rejoice in their prosperity, be compassionate in their distress, receive their friendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice, be a servant of servants, condescend to do the lowest offices to the lowest of mankind.”   The language may be awkward to our ears but the thoughts are even more difficult for us in our age which values radical Self-fulfillment above all else.

Naturally we might object to the call of service saying, “But, if I do that, people will walk all over me.”  Honestly, they might!   But, servants do not hold onto self-will, choosing when, where, and how they serve. They are servants, not merely acting as one.  When we receive Christ, we become servants - of God and others!  We surrender the desire for power, for rank or position, for recognition, and even equality. 

Our model is none other than Jesus Himself.  “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45, NIV)

So, how can we serve?   In no special order, let me mention some practical ways that illustrate the servant’s mindset.

*We learn to listen!  People love to tell us their stories, inviting us to care for them, admire them, recognize them. Frankly, sometimes that can be tiresome especially if you have heard the stories before, or want to rush along to the end so you can get on your way.  We serve when we patiently listen, taking an interest, responding appropriately with encouragement. 

*We do the ordinary stuff!  It is tempting to think that we will serve in the BIG moments, when it ‘really matters.’  The truth is unless we have learned to pick up the piece of garbage in the parking lot, hang up the towel our spouse dropped on the floor again, go to work without complaint, love the obnoxious fool who lives next door … we will not respond well when our parents age and require our care, our spouse becomes gravely ill and needs basic care, or our child requires our support when their life goes to wreckage. Self-obsessed people do not change overnight. We learn to serve in the ordinary, unseen, little stuff of everyday life.

*We choose to elevate not tear down!  Common courtesy is a form of service that we can adopt. Refusing to join in tearing another person down serves that person, even when she is not present to the conversation.  Giving a push of encouragement to one who is weary or discouraged shows a gentle and serving spirit in us.  Those disciples who joined Jesus for the Last Supper made the mistake of thinking that serving another would diminish their own position.

*We stand with those who suffer!  The natural temptation of humanity is to retreat from pain, to join the party with laughter and run from the place of tears. We serve when we set aside that preference and care for those in pain, without blaming them for their place, correcting them, or even offering unsolicited advice. What an act of service to communicate - “I’m here for you. I care for you. I will share your hurt, your pain, your sorrow.”   It may sound simple, but I assure you that it is not a natural choice.  True servants engage not just with words, but with their whole being, seeking to stand alongside, not to fix the other person.  The Word says "Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law." (Galatians 6:2, The Message)

Love is shown in service offered willingly, from a place of humility.  And, living in that love, we will find joy to full, the smile of our Heavenly Father and His welcome home with these words:  “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of the Master’s house.”

Here is a word from the Word. Let’s allow this wisdom to shape our choices today and always. "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right." (James 2:8, NIV)

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(Video of this blog at this link)

 

Make Me A Servant

Make me a servant humble and meek

Lord let me lift up those who are weak

And may the prayer of my heart always be

Make me a servant make me a servant

Make me a servant today

 

Kelly Willard

© 1982 CCCM Music; Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing; Willing Heart Music

CCLI License #810055

Stuck? Becalmed? Anxious?

At the earth’s equator, there is a belt of nearly windless waters. It was a much dreaded area in the era of sailing ships which could be stuck, becalmed, for days or even weeks. It is called the Intertropical Convergence Zone, more commonly, the Doldrums. by sailors. In the mid-Atlantic, there is an area of thousands of square miles, called  the Sargasso Sea. Four strong currents sweep around that region, causing a unique sea within an ocean, a place that sailing ships avoided because of the seaweed that collected. Various kinds of floating debris accumulate there, too.  What a place to get stuck on a ship with slack sails and no wind. 

What a metaphor for a life becalmed!  This is not a life of calm, nor one of peace. I am thinking of those seasons when we stall - stuck without vision or motivation - unable or unwilling to move ahead.  Ever been in that situation?  Seasons come in my life when I feel as though the wind of the Spirit has stopped blowing.  

One author describes those seasons like this:  "the old ways of prayer, worship, Bible reading become dry and stale. The church worship and preaching that used to encourage us, teach us, and inspire us becomes barren ground. God seems to extinguish one means of feeding our faith in order to make us hungry, even starving, for new ways. ... Now that the way is void and empty, God comes to us in new ways, if only we can perceive them. When we are becalmed, we learn to wait." -Perfect Storm, Abingdon, 2008

The experience is much more common that we might think. Many Christians through the centuries have found the wind of the Spirit subsiding, their intimacy with God apparently non-existent. A natural response is to look inward believing that something must be done, that some failure has brought about the sense of emptiness. It may be that we have grieved the Spirit or walked in our own willful way. Equally true is the fact that these seasons come from much more complex causes - life changes, aging, loss, or grief. 

God is always present! His Word promises that when we are becalmed there is a better choice than frantic activity or self-incrimination.  We choose to wait, to lean into faith. The Psalmist's prayer is one for those who are becalmed. "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel (people of God), put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." (Psalm 130:5-7, NIV) 

Jeremiah’s words are worthy of memorization for such times!  "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." (Lamentations 3:21-26, NIV)

In days of less maturity, my focus in my Christianity was on me, doing good, working at service to others, measuring my daily devotional habits … a long list. That misplaced emphasis made me insecure, prone to a sense of drivenness, harsh with myself and, too often, judgmental of others.  Now I better understand that Jesus Christ is my hope, my salvation, my keeper, and my guide. He makes me right with God, His grace greater than my emotions, present even when in the doldrums of spiritual life!

Yes, when the winds of the Spirit are still, it remains a temptation to attempt to stir up something of God for myself!  “Do more!”  “Sing louder!”  “Read the Bible more!”  And in that effort I become even more weary, risking even deception.  Why?  Because that which is not from the Spirit is either demonic or, more probably, of Self - borne of human emotions and/or desires.  No amount of self-discipline or great effort can grow the fruit of the Spirit in my life, nor do my ‘un-Spiritual’  further the purposes of God. Better to lean in, to trust His promise.

Ponder this, a reference to the Promised Land that Israel anticipated - that was there for them even when they wandered, God’s faithfulness assuring the ‘rest’ to come. "So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God’s rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world." (Hebrews 4:9-10, NLT)

Are you spiritually becalmed, feeling less enthusiasm, wondering where the joy has gone?  Don’t get anxious. God is in His Heaven. Jesus is our Faithful Savior. The Spirit, though unseen, is ever-present. So here is a word from the Word for us today: "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (Psalm 5:3, NIV) "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." (Psalm 27:14, NIV)  "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." (Psalm 37:7, NIV)

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(Video of this blog at this link)

 

Trust In God

Blessed assurance
Jesus is mine
He's been my fourth man in the fire
Time after time
Born of His Spirit
Washed in His blood
And what He did for me on Calvary
Is more than enough

I trust in God
My Savior
The One who will never fail
He will never fail

Perfect submission
All is at rest
I know the author of tomorrow
Has ordered my steps
So this is my story
And this is my song
I’m praising my risen King and Savior
All the day long

I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered
I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered
I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered
That’s why (I trust Him)

 Brandon Lake, Chris Brown, Mitch Wong, Steven Furtick © Brandon Lake Music; Music by Elevation Worship Publishing; A Wong Made Write Publishing; Integrity's Praise! Music