Do you count them as your true wealth?

In his account, every relationship he knew was a disappointment. His father was emotionally distant. His mother was more interested in her social life than in her family. His bosses were ‘idiots.’ His children were ingrates. Tom (a pseudonym) had a painful story, but somewhere in it, he missed a part. He only saw the pain and in his cynicism, he was, at least by the time we talked, part of the problem since he trusted no one.  

Everyone experiences failures in human relationships due to the misunderstandings and missed expectations that are a part of life.  But, Jesus taught us to be forgiving, to break the cycle of retribution and retaliation by reflecting His love into our broken, sinful world. Tom insisted that he would not forgive, nor would he trust anyone.  “It’s just Jesus and me now,” he said without joy.

Thinking about our conversation, I could not help but see the contrast. I have experienced some terrible disappointments in people over the years. I have leaned on some only to find that they were like the “reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand.” (Isaiah 36:6) Others have turned against me without explanation.  But, I also have known amazing joy in partnership in the work of the Lord. The terrible sorrow and loss of my life in these last 2 years would be unbearable were it not for a wide circle of people that I love and who love me, who have cried and prayed with me. More than money, more than stuff; my wealth is found in the people in whom I am invested.

Do you think that all you need is Jesus? Truly He is a “friend that is closer than a brother.” Even those who are close to Christ, filled with the Spirit, need people. A dinner tastes better when it’s served at a table with a friend. A heavy burden is lighter when there is someone who cares.  A renowned psychologist said that his profession would barely exist if people maintained strong ties to friends and family. He provides, for a fee, what people once gave to one another freely:  advice, support, a listening ear, and reinforcement for sound choices. The Word’s wisdom says that "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (Proverbs 17:17, NIV) Knowing this, I refuse to try to do life like the Lone Ranger, protecting my heart from pain in isolation.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon breaks into his cynical rant of frustration over life’s vanity with this gem:  "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12, NIV)  We stand shoulder to shoulder.  Oh, that God would keep us connected and teach us to assign a higher priority to staying in our circle where there is safety.

Friends can either lift us to higher heights or drag us into the pit. Given that amazing influence we do well to choose our close friends carefully. Psalm 1 warns of spending inordinate amounts of time with mockers who reject God’s ways, with sinners who live willfully, and among the wicked who serve Self. Their attitudes will rub off on you. Disciples are called out of the world and into the Body of Christ.  It’s not that we refuse to be-friend those who are yet to come to faith in Christ, but we recognize that we need to join our heart with those who share our love of Jesus.  Jesus loved sinners!  So should we. However, our closest friends must be friends of God.

Here’s a word from the Word.  "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home. Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel. Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do  not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away." (Proverbs 27:6-10, NIV) 

______________

Blest Be The Tie (click here for the story of this hymn)

Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above

Before our Father's throne

We pour our ardent prayers

Our fears our hopes our aims are one

Our comforts and our cares

We share each other's woes

Our mutual burdens bear

And often for each other flows

The sympathizing tear

When we asunder part

It gives us inward pain

But we shall still be joined in heart

And hope to meet again

This glorious hope revives

Our courage by the way

While each in expectation lives

And longs to see the day

From sorrow toil and pain

And sin we shall be free

And perfect love and friendship reign

Through all eternity

John Fawcett

© Words: Public Domain

You Cannot See It All From Here

Here in Northwest New Jersey the roads wind through hills, with trees lining the way. The driver has a fairly limited forward visibility, curves hidden, deer very likely to suddenly appear straight ahead just as the car reaches the crest of the next hill.  In Northwest Iowa, where I was born, roadways are laid out in neat grids, as if on a tabletop. You can see an approaching vehicle when it is a long way down the road. What a difference in perspective. 

Traveling the road of life is much more like negotiating the roadways of NJ than those of Iowa! We cannot see the next curve, have no idea what will happen at the next intersection, and may be surprised by things that appear seemingly out of nowhere! Sometimes I think I would like to be able to see further down the road and at others I am quite thankful that I only have to deal with today’s challenges. How about you?

Our choice, today and each day, is this: will I trust the Lord to lead and make appropriate choices for the road I am traveling? Christian, we know our destination but the way between here and there remains hidden in the mind of God. The Word teaches us that He is leading us along a road that serves His purposes and we are invited to walk with Him faithfully. Paul took the Gospel across the Roman Empire and along the way encountered one curve, one hill, one surprise after another!  It must have been enough to make him wonder if he had chosen the wrong route, if he had wandered out of the will of the Father.

After being jailed on trumped up charges yet again, Paul wrote these amazing words of faith to the church in the city of Philippi. "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. … The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance." (Philippians 1:18-19, NIV)

The road was bumpy, the way forward hidden from view, yet Paul says “I rejoice!”  His faith allowed him to see what was obscured by time – that God was working His purposes. That particular imprisonment in Rome allowed Paul to preach to the elite young men Caesar’s imperial guard and encouraged greater boldness among the Christians in Rome. The apostle disregarded the personal cost, choosing to focus on the Kingdom potential that was created in that situation. At the same time, he had no reason to doubt that ultimately he, too, would know God’s deliverance.

Are you on a road where things are difficult in the moment? Is the future hidden, traveling where, to all appearances you have taken a detour onto a road without an end? If you are walking in obedience, seeking His guidance, you have the assurance that though you cannot see the way ahead from where you are, He does.

Perhaps it is time to soak your understanding in the amazing faith declaration of the first chapter of the letter to the Ephesians. We are not accidents. We are called, known in the mind of God before we even exist, people of destiny in His purposes. We are not weak, victims of the vicissitudes of life. We are filled with the life of Jesus, that same power that led Him to the Cross, through the Tomb, and to Resurrection Life! In the middle of that mind-blowing chapter, Paul writes this: I pray that He will “make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers.”  (Eph 1:17-18, The Message)

Maybe you need to slow down? Perhaps you need to pull over and take some time to listen to the Holy Spirit, who like our divine GPS? Then, trust Him, and let Him lead you – all the way Home.

Here is a word for the road today –
"How well God must like you— 
you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, 
you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, 
you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College. 
Instead you thrill to God’s Word, 
you chew on Scripture day and night." (Psalm 1:1-2, The Message)  

"God charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row." (Psalm 1:6, The Message)

____________

Overcomer

Staring at the stop sign,Watching people drive by,

T-Mac on the radio.

Got so much on your mind,

Nothing's really going right,

Looking for a ray of hope.

Whatever it is you 
may be going through

I know He's not gonna let 
it get the best of you.

You're an overcomer!

Stay in the fight 'til the final round.

You're not going under

'Cause God is holding you right now.

You might be down for a moment,

Feeling like it's hopeless,

That's when He reminds You.

That you're an overcomer,

You're an overcomer!

Everybody's been down,

Hit the bottom, hit the ground.

Oh you're not alone.

Just take a breath, don't forget;

Hang on to His promises,

He wants You to know.

The same Man, the Great I Am,

The One who overcame death,

He's living inside of You.

So just hold tight, fix your eyes

On the One who holds your life.

There's nothing He can't do,

He's telling you.

So don’t quit,

 don’t give in,

you’re an overcomer.

Ben Glover | Chris Stevens | David Garcia © D Soul Music (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

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CCLI License # 810055

Gone, but not forgotten

(My thoughts this morning are borrowed from a blog I wrote a few days after my Dad died 7 years ago. Today marks 4 months since Bev left earth for one of those rooms in our Father’s house. Bear with me as I muse. My prayer is that the Spirit will teach us how to live with Eternity in view.)

I awakened from a dream where she was there next to me in our bed like she had been virtually every night for 40 years! It was so real I turned to find her only to come into full consciousness and realize anew, “She’s gone, not coming back.”  The sadness is like a presence stalking me. I laugh, enjoy a child’s smile, love the sunshine, pray, sing – then it takes me, almost physically holding onto me, paralyzing me for a minute, tears wetting my eyes. I hold books she read and feel a little piece of her with me. I hear others speak of her – friend, teacher, prayer partner, counselor – and know that while she was not perfect, she was wonderful. 

Of course, I am not the first person to know the pain of grief, but it is my unique journey. I know the process, but this is not rational. It is raw emotion. So, how I am living through it?

HOPE! It is the one thing that pushes the presence of grief back. I have worn a path to this place of truth in my mind - "we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NLT) From the Word I gain many reasons for hope. Primary among them is that there will be a Resurrection that will reunite body and soul and all those who await the coming the Lord! And, too, I believe that God is near, His Presence, a refuge. "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!" (Psalm 46:1-3, NLT)

LOVE! It makes this season of my life endurable. I am a blessed man. A wide circle of people have sent notes of love in the weeks since Bev died. Children at our school and church hug me affectionately. Even people don’t know personally stop me in the store or on the street to tell me that they care- and it helps. My kids call and listen to me ramble on. We weep and I feel their love. This loss has reminded me how important it is to have a web of love woven as that proverbial ‘safety net!’

Then, there is LEGACY!  Bev spent her life loving others.  Laura (her best friend) sent me a note today that recalled her love of teaching and her neatly organized first grade classroom. Christian, a young man in college sent me this note this week – “Mrs. Scott was the most caring teacher of which I ever had the pleasure of being a student. Many fond memories from her 1st grade class; it was obvious to everyone that she truly cared for her students as if they were her own children!”  Jay, Sean, Maribel, and Christine remember her gifts, her encouragement, her training, her care – with joy and they call her blessed. Though it’s been almost a year since she stood on our platform at our church singing, people still tell me that they miss her example of worship, her heart open to God as she sang His praises. And, I remember often that it was her steadfast love that held me, anchored me, and helped me to become whatever I am today.

Here’s the thing, friend. It may be a grim thought to you but never the less, it’s true.  We are all mortal. We will all eventually leave this time and place. My prayer is that we will know the hope of eternal life, that our lives will be lived so that we will hear our Lord welcome us into His home with the commendation – “Well done!” 

But, meanwhile, there is a whole lot of living to do. Tim McGraw sings that we need to “live like you were dyin'!” May those who are left to weep have the comfort of the Resurrection hope because we have walked with Christ and in His grace.

Here is a word from the Word. The Hope of the Resurrection- And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.  (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NLT)

 ___________

Let Abba Love You to Life

Do you allow yourself to compare yourself with another, fantasizing about what it would be like to have their life instead of yours?  Wishing we were taller or thinner or more intelligent or more gregarious – and the list goes on – leads to misery.  Even worse, if we think we can construct an image that others will like better than our true self, we will turn into an actor, a slave to the opinions of others, our happiness subject to the whims and fashions of an ever changing world. Our lives will be marred by a terrible insecurity which is fertile soil where all kinds of wrong choices can take root and grow into destructive behaviors. A person without healthy self-esteem finds it all but impossible to accept real love, believing himself unworthy of it.

We are not all that we could be and our desire to be loved is created in us. Sin is real. Guilt is not just imagined. That is why we need the Gospel! The Gospel of Christ, is about the worth that He gives to us, a message of God’s love for all of us. Broken by life, scarred by our sinful choices, we often feel regret and remorse. We wish we could be different. And, we can! "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . .  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5:8,10, NKJV)  God meets us at our need and invites us to transformation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

My favorite parable is about a young man who was a terrible person- selfish, rebellious, without respect, who wasted his life and fortune. He broke his father’s heart by demanding his inheritance before his Dad was dead, took off for the big city, where he ‘squandered his wealth in wild living.’  When he hit bottom, he remembered his father’s house. Thinking he was beyond being loved, he hatched a plan to go home and just ask for employment, forget being a son! "He got right up and went home to his father. “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’ “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time." (Luke 15:20-24, The Message)

Every time I read that story, strong emotion wells up inside of me. Why? Because it is my story. I was that young man, ignoring my Father’s love, wasting the inheritance He gave to me. I was once convinced that His love was not for me, but then – at my worst His grace found me and I was invited to be a son, not a hired hand. I heard His whisper, “I love you, son, not because you’re good enough, but because I am perfect and good and kind.”  And, my insecurities were healed, by sins forgiven, my regrets eclipsed by the bright promise of a future He has written for me.

And, it can be your story, too. Great or small, rich or poor, beautiful or not, loved or not, full of regret over some ‘big’ sin or nagged by guilt over hundreds of hidden ones – we all need to be loved back to whole lives by our Father. Jesus’ story about that wayward son concludes with another part, not nearly so hopeful.  The older brother saw all the singing and dancing and grew resentful. “Why does my father love that ingrate who stole so much from him? I am the good son, I am the one who has been here every day, doing my duty.” And he sulked!  The sad fact was that the ‘good son’ really did not understand the Father’s love any more than his brother did.  Maybe your life is respectable to all appearance. Perhaps you have done all the right things and enjoy the esteem of others, but inside you still hunger for real intimacy.  God knows our deepest secrets and says that if we ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness we will be filled.’

Let God love you to life today!  Reject the fear, the insecurity, the need to do more.  Invite Jesus to heal your heart and restore your self-esteem. And, become a person of beauty, in Him.

Here is a word from the Word. "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” (Abba = Daddy, an intimate relationship) For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children." (Romans 8:15-16, NLT)

"And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir." (Galatians 4:6-7, NLT)

_________

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

How deep the Father's love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the Chosen One

Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross

My sin upon His shoulders

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished

His dying breath has brought me life

I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything

No gifts no pow’r no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward

I cannot give an answer

But this I know with all my heart

His wounds have paid my ransom

Stuart Townend

© 1995 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Playing with snakes

One of the most common phobias, stretching across all cultures, is ophidiophobia- fear of snakes!  While working in the vegetation around my koi pond, a little harmless snake suddenly came into my field of vision. Yes, I jumped back, even though my rational mind knew there was no threat to my safety. The fear goes deep, almost like it is hard-wired into my brain. When we lived in Wyoming, before we let our toddler out to play in the yard, we did a rattlesnake check. We took no chances with the safety of our child. If a venomous snake crawled into my home there would be only one response for me – kill it!

Sin is like a venomous snake, full of poison, prepared to strike and harm. Why is it that we fail to see that the only response is to kill it? So often we try to tame it, keep it like a pet, until it grows too big and strong to control and we are destroyed by it. We cannot just ‘sin a little’ and escape without harm. In a shocking metaphor Jesus told us about the necessary ruthless response to sin: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet." (Mark 9:43-45, NLT) He was not actually counseling self-mutilation! The point was that radical action is required to defeat sin’s control.

Inspired by the Spirit, Paul says "Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God." (Romans 6:13, NLT) Our sin kills us – often physically- always spiritually! "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, NLT)

Some of you are sophisticated and find this talk of ‘sin’ somewhat amusing. “Aren’t you a little over the top on this subject, Jerry? You sound like a fanatic.” What I am is a shepherd of the people. In many years of ministry, I have seen the results of yielding to temptation in the lives of people every day, homes torn apart, children’s lives scarred forever, families weighted down by debt, regrets piled high, tears flowing freely. How many times have I heard?  ‘We thought it was no big deal.’ Some ‘small thing’ was tolerated, like a poisonous snake in the living room, until it struck and destroyed. "And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15, NLT)

Christians need not be sin-obsessed. Indeed, an obsession with ‘sin’ is likely to lead to a fall. Our focus in on the love of the Father, on worshiping Him in a way that leads us to life. If we try to defeat temptation and sin by emptying our lives of them, we only create a large vacuum that needs to be filled. The Word teaches us that we defeat sin by driving it out, by replacing it with holiness. John speaks of ‘light overcoming the darkness.’ A person cannot make darkness leave unless he introduces a source of light, can he? In Colossians, Paul wisely reminds us that we cannot become holy by writing stronger rules for ourselves. "Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth." (Colossians 2:22-3:2, NLT)

Got a sin problem? You’re not alone. "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard." (Romans 3:23, NLT) But, common is not normal, nor is it acceptable. Christ came to set us free, to give us the ability to kill the snake!

Here is a word from the Word. May the promise compel us to a new way of life, where sin’s power is broken and the beauty of a whole and holy life shines through us. "By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next." (Romans 5:1-4, The Message)

______________________

Who breaks the power of sin and darkness?

Whose love is mighty and so much stronger?

The King of Glory, the King above all kings!

Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder?

Who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder?

The King of Glory, the King above all kings!

 This is amazing grace,

This is unfailing love,

That You would take my place,

That You would bear my cross.

You laid down Your life,

That I would be set free,

Oh Jesus, I sing for all that You've done for me.

Who brings our chaos back into order?

Who makes the orphan a son and daughter?

The King of Glory, the King of Glory!

Who rules the nations with truth and justice,

Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance?

The King of Glory, the King above all kings!

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.

Worthy is the King who conquered the grave.

This Is Amazing Grace

Jeremy Riddle | Josh Farro | Phil Wickham

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