Love, Our Life's Melody

This morning I felt led to the following verses - 2 John 1:3-6 NIV:

[3] "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love." 

[4] "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. [5] And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. [6] And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."

My recent focus on the New Commandment that Jesus gave us to love each other, is here the primary focus of this letter of John.  He goes on to warn against anyone that is not bringing this truth or preaching that Jesus didn't really come in the flesh.  This is essentially the whole focus,, and encouragement to continue to walk in this truth, in this command!  

I do love that John does not lose sight of this singular command and call.  

I so appreciate Paul's focus on the importance of Love found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV:

[1] "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3] If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."

Our first and foremost activity and characteristic should be love.  It is foundational, and should be the purpose behind all our actions.  It should be the melody of our lives, and our lives together should be in harmony with all those whole follow the Lord!  Our daily walk should be filled with love, emanating love, exuding love! 

Oh Lord, forgive my judgmental, frustrated and impatient ways!  Forgive me for allowing my focus to be me, and my wants and needs, rather than love.  Help me to embrace You command to love one another!

Amen and Amen!

Let Us Love One Another!

The last three days I have been stuck on these verses from Paul.  These have been verses that I come back to over and over again, helping me to maintain a right focus and mindset.  Here are the verses - Philippians 2:1-8 NIV:

[1] "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 

[6] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 

[7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 

[8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross!"

Every time I read thee verses I am reminded of the significance of the people around me, and really of every person.  Paul's encouragement is really just an extension of Jesus' new commandment found in John 13:34-35 NIV:  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This was so important that Jesus reiterated the command two more times in John 15:12,17 NIV:

[12] "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." 

[17] "This is my command: Love each other."

I just did a quick review of the words "love one another" in the New Testament and I was actually a bit blown away by the consistency of this message.  Here are several of the times it is used:

Romans 12:10 NIV: "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Romans 13:8 NIV: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law."

Galatians 5:13 NIV: "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

Ephesians 4:2-3 NIV:  "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

1 Thessalonians 4:9 NIV: "Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other."

Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, [25] not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another---and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

1 Peter 1:22 NIV: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart."

1 Peter 3:8 NIV: "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble."

1 John 3:11 NIV:  "For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."

1 John 3:23 NIV: "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us."

1 John 4:7 NIV: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

2 John 1:5-6 NIV:  "And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. [6] And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."

I find my heart strongly moved by this theme, this command, this encouragement!  we can get so caught up in so many things, but I believe the simplicity of this command, that we would love one another, should be always be forefront in our minds, and evident in our actions.  We must bring this back to the qualifier of Jesus new command, that we love the way He loved!  That we would love one another in humility!

Oh that the Church would be known for its love!  Oh that the Kingdom of Heaven would advance in love!  Oh that the love of God would sweep across this world!!

Amen and Amen!

A Cursed Generation?

This morning I felt led to read from Matt 11, and while a couple of my favorite are found at the end of this chapter, my mind was drawn to the following verses 0 Matthew 11:16-24 NIV:

[16] “To what can I compare this generation? 

They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 

[17] “ 'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 

[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' [19] The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” 

[20] Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. [21] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. [23] And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. [24] But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

The theme of the verses above is the lack of repentance, and it has to do with control and judgment.  Looking closely, the youth Jesus is referring to are the ones playing the songs but others are not responding the way they want them too!   In other words the others are not acting as expected.  Jesus continues on and says these people don't like John and his fasted lifestyle, and say he has demons, while they accuse Jesus of being a drunkard and a glutton.  Neither John or Jesus followed the religious norms of the day, and the people rejected them.

Jesus goes on to say that people of certain towns refused to repent, or change the way they thought about God, in the very face of miracles, and signs that Jesus worked. It is interesting how Jesus spoke about the generation (vs 16), and I wonder if there is something to that?  I know from my days in education and youth ministry, that there were certain classes (kids from one grade) that were difficult and others that were great to work with, and this seems to be a larger perspective that Jesus is addressing.  We have generational titles these days, like the boomers, the gen-X, gen-z, and we like to group all of those people together and judge them accordingly.  In similar ways we like to categorize people by their political beliefs, their gender, their sports teams, their race, or any number of other labels.  The one thing I know is the Lord, while aware of these groupings, never treats us from only that perspective.

If we look at the generation comments, one could think that Jesus was condemning them all.  In fact, later in Matthew's Gospel Jesus lays some heavy wood to the generation saying - Matthew 23:33-36 NIV:  “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? [34] Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. [35] And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. [36] Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation."

One could think, after reading these statements, that the whole generation was being condemned, and yet it was this same generation that experienced the coming of the Messiah and salvation exploding into the world through Jesus' sacrificial life!   One could make a point that this generation was the most cursed and the most blessed. God is perfectly just, merciful, compassionate and holy all at the same time.  The very generation that crucified the Lord, was invited into the Kingdom.  The very apostles who abandoned Jesus during His passion and death were redeemed, released and empowered as His witnesses!  Later on we find Saul, one of the lead persecutors of the early church converting and becoming Paul, one of the greatest evangelists of all time!  The Lord never gives up on an individual, generation or people group!  He is always at work drawing, inviting, and saving!

Our invitation today is to turn away from our selfish, or worldly mindsets and turn towards Him!  The Lord will never turn His back on us, regardless of how selfish, self-focused we become, or even if we deny Him or attack Him.  As I was writing these last sentences I was reminded of the great songs found in Revelation 5:9-14 NIV:

[9] "And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. [10] You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” 

[11] Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. [12] In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” 

[13] Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 

[14] The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped."

The invitation today is for us to turn to the Lord, and join this heavenly worship with our lives poured out in worship of the Lord!

Amen and Amen!

Holy Saturday Reflections

This morning I was reminded of a few reflections I have written over the last several years on Holy Saturday. I was going back through my journal and thought these two were helpful, and while similar, eahc focused on a bit different theme.  Hopefully you find them helpful!

From 2015: 

Today is Holy Saturday, a day of anticipation for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.  However this morning I am meditating on the first celebration of this day, the day when it really happened.  Jesus died on Friday around 3pm (the ninth hour) and was buried later that day.  Here are the verses describing his burial from Matthew 27:57-61 NIV:

[57] "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. [58] Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. [59] Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, [60] and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. [61] Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb."

Those are the last verses of chapter 27, and verse one of chapter 28 starts with the first hours following the sabbath.  We find the same thing in all four Gospels, no real mention of the day after Jesus death (Saturday or the Sabbath).  I have spent quite some time thinking about those days and years in Jesus' life where there is no Gospel commentary, and I think it is important for us to at least go there in our thoughts, for these days (and Holy Saturday especially) represent those days when God is silent.  

I find the silence of God quite unsettling, and I am sure the Apostles and disciples were greatly troubled that Sabbath.  All their ideas, thoughts, hopes and dreams about what the Lord was going to do appeared to have died when Jesus died on the cross.  They knew He was the Son of God, or at least the Apostles did, and yet He died.  They truly had not grasped what Jesus had been trying to tell them, that He had to suffer and die.  We are told over and over again in the Gospels that the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant when He was talking about his coming death.  I believe that is a indication of what they were dealing with that Saturday, as remembered by them when they wrote the Gospels.  I believe they were experiencing complete and utter despair, complete confusion, grief, fear, failure, and even betrayal.  If they gathered for the sabbath, which it appears they did for they were all together the following day, than it was likely a very quiet gathering, each caught up in their own thoughts and sorrow.  

I wonder if they went through the motions of celebrating the sabbath?  The Sabbath was a day of sacred assembly, considered holy to the Lord.  They were not to do any work, cook or even light a fire in their homes.  They were to be reminded that the Lord created the world in six days and on the seventh day rested.  They were to turn their eyes and hearts to God.  Instead, I can just imagine them gathered together and feeling like everything they believed was now in question.  Jesus had come proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God, demonstrated  the reality of that Kingdom by healing the sick and diseased, raising dead people, cleansing lepers, healing the blind and deaf and casting out demons.  They had been convinced by all these signs that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, and their paradigm and thoughts of the time of the Messiah didn't have any room for Him dying and leaving them alone.  Yet He was dead.

It is amazing how much changed in just a few short days.  They had witnessed Jesus' triumphant arrival in Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, people shouting, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Luke 19:38).  Less than a week later, Jesus was dead, and they "were together, with doors locked for fear of the Jews." (John 20:19).  They were afraid that the same thing might happen to them as happened to Jesus.  One of their own had betrayed Jesus, Peter had denied Jesus, they had almost all abandoned Jesus when He was crucified.  It was not a happy or joyful group of people.  All of their hopes appeared dead, laying in the tomb.  All of the personal sacrifices they had made to follow Him were probably now running through their minds.  They were likely thinking that they hadn't signed up for this, and wondering how they could go back!  

I think at times we can just gloss over these events and days, because we know Easter is coming, we know that Jesus rose from the dead the very next morning.  It is great to read stories when you know the ending, not nearly as much fun to live through the midst of the story without the benefit of knowing how it will turn out.  I think if we are honest with ourselves, none of us ever wants to go through these types of times, and we don't like to be around people who are going through them, for they are painful to behold and experience.  We don't like pain, and yet we all deal with it.  It is so much easier to just ignore the pain in other peoples lives, than to wade in and be there with them in their pain.  Personally, we tend to try to escape our pain, either trying to deaden it, run away from it, or stuff it so far down in our hearts that is doesn't show up for months or sometimes years.   

The point, in going here in our minds, is that Easter (and by Easter I mean the victory of the Lord over sin and death, and the opening of the way to the Father) really does occur, in our own lives as well as it did that first Easter.  No matter where we find ourselves, or what sorrow we are dealing with, Easter will occur. Jesus is alive and will show Himself strong.  He has vanquished the enemy and will destroy his works in our lives.  It is when  God is quiet that all Heaven is about ready to break loose.  God will not abandon us, forsake us, betray our trust or leave us.  He will come.  He will rescue us.  He will pour out His Holy Spirit.  He will break the chains that bind us.  He will walk right into the rooms where we are hiding with the doors locked.  He will breath on us.  He has a better plan than  we can ever imagine.  We have likely greatly underestimated His ability to do good in our lives. 

So let us be encouraged when God is silent, because He is coming, and He has something great planned.  Let us not give into despair, but rather put our hope in the one who has paid the ultimate price for our lives.  Let us be with our friends and family who are in pain and sorrow, whose hopes and dreams and lives appear destroyed and dead.  Let us console them with this truth - Easter is coming.  Let us wait for Easter morning together.

Amen!

From 2019:

This morning , I thought it would be interesting to meditate on the Sabbath day following Jesus’ death on the cross.  This is a day that we know nothing about, as it begins shortly after Jesus’ burial, with the Jewish Sabbath starting at Sunset, and proceeding to the following sunset.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we actually have some verses pertaining to this day, but nothing that talks about the followers of Jesus.  Matthew 27:62-66 describes the fact that the Chief Priests and Pharisees went to Pilate and asked him to have a guard stationed at the tomb, to make sure that Jesus’ followers didn’t steal His body to try and fake the resurrection. In Mark’s Gospel this day is found between the last verse of chapter 15 and the first verse of chapter 16, “When the Sabbath was over”.  In Luke, we are told specifically that His followers, especially the “women who had come with Jesus from Galilee” (Luke 23:55-56) had rested on the Sabbath day, in accordance with the commandment.  Luke then moves right to the beginning of the first day of the week, following the Sabbath, and again, other than the fact that they rested, we know nothing. Finally John’s Gospel, as well, is silent about this day.

So, why my meditation?  I personally think that the silence of God in certain situations reveals much to us about our own mind-set and beliefs.  It is in the silence of God that our faith and trust is tested.  In my life, there have been times of transition, times of change, times of difficulty and what I want more than anything in those times is a sense of purpose, direction and a ‘word from the Lord’.  The thing that I have found, is more often than not, God is quiet in these times.  I don’t believe it is some cruel streak in God, where He holds back the very thing I think I need more than anything.  Instead I have learned that His love and faithfulness are every bit as active in those quiet moments as any other times.

In retrospect, He has always been at work in the background, and that I was too unaware to realize it.  God is a perfect, and so is His timing.  What I want is advanced notice, what God wants is for me to trust in His faithfulness.  My tendency is to slide immediately into unbelief, He wants me to learn to have faith, and stand (Eph 6:13-16).  Thus, I have opportunity to grow.

When I think about the disciples and Apostles of Jesus, resting on the Sabbath following His death and burial, I imagine it was the darkest of days for them.  Just earlier in the previous week, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem, being heralded as the coming King, riding along on the back of a donkey, and now he was dead and buried, and all of their ideas of their future at His side were shattered.  It is clear from the Gospel’s that despite Jesus repeatedly warning them of His impending death that they just didn’t get it.  They continued to believe that as the Messiah He was going to be seated on David’s former throne and restore Israel as God’s people, complete with their national pride, freedom and identity restored.

It is my belief that Instead of glory, they were experiencing the depths of despair.  They were likely gathered together, as would have been their custom on the Sabbath, and they were probably all just shell-shocked from the last 2 days.  I am sure there were tears, and sorrow, real grieving for the loss of the most important person in their lives.  They had committed somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 years of their life to Jesus, following Him everywhere, living together and always His was the direction they followed, and now there was only silence, dead silence.

I think that they might have been racking their brains, trying to remember what Jesus had told them concerning His death and rising from the dead. I think they probably bounced back in forth from wild hope in remembered words, to stunning silence and despair as they remembered his beaten and bloody body. I think they were probably all dealing with His death individually as we all do when a loved one passes.  I am sure everything they said or did reminded them of Him, and that would just revisit the pain of their loss.

I think this was one of the darkest days of all time, for the Light of the World had come, and was lost.  The long awaited Messiah had been revealed, and now He was dead.  Their hope for restoration and revival, God’s blessing and visitation was lying dead in a tomb.  We like to say “its Friday, but Sunday is coming” as a reminder that the joy of His resurrection is following close on the heels of the loss of His death, but the Apostles and disciples didn’t know this, didn’t understand it, and didn’t believe it.  The Gospels recount several times where Jesus told them exactly what was going to happen, and in every one of those times, the writers make a very specific note that His followers didn’t understand what He meant.  I believe this is indicative of the fact that they were all remembering that dark day, that day of shattered dreams and ideas.

So for us, what can we gain from meditating on this dark day?  I think for me the important thing is to look to God, to His word, to His character, to His promises regardless of the circumstances.  I believe that His desire for me is to learn to entrust myself to Him, taking His guidance and direction, and trusting that He has a bigger perspective that I am not seeing. 

I am learning to trust in Him, regardless of how difficult and confusing the circumstances are at present.  I am learning that He knows my circumstances, my weaknesses, my struggles, and He has made a way in spite of them all.  I am learning that He tries to prepare me,  although most of the time I don’t understand Him, or mis-interpret what He means.  He loves me, desires the best for me, and knows the exact time, the exact place and the exact reason for each and every encounter and experience.

Like His followers, I can choose to move forward, even as the Ladies did the next morning.  They weren’t expecting His miraculous resurrection, but they were taking the next logical steps which put them right in the Lord’s path, and into the glory of His resurrection.  Sometimes, all we need to do is to just get through the day, look to Him, and trust that tomorrow will be a better day, and one that we will encounter Him!

I know it is somewhat of a cliché, but there is truth in the saying, ‘Friday might be here, but Sunday is coming’!  God’s provision and purpose are true, and He is faithful!  Let us trust in Him, press through this dark day, and believe that we will encounter Him anew, and fresh!

Amen and Amen!  Come Lord Jesus!

Stop AND Check

This morning I felt led to read from 1 Chronicles 12.  Normally when I read something I haven't read in a while, I will read before and after the section to get better context as to what the Lord is doing in that section.  Sometimes the verses the Lord quickens to me, are in the surrounding verses, as is the case today.  The chapter 1 Chronicles 12 has to do with all the men that joined David in Hebron, once Saul took his own life.  While interesting, the verses that caught my eye were from chapter 13, as there was a bit of a narrative that developed as I read these verses, and the previous chapters.  Here are the verses - 1 Chronicles 13:1-7 NIV:

[1] "David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. [2] He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. [3] Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.” [4] The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people. 

[5] So David assembled all Israel, from the Shihor River in Egypt to Lebo Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim. [6] David and all Israel went to Baalah of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim---the ark that is called by the Name. 

[7] They moved the ark of God from Abinadab's house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it."

In the preceding chapters, David had conquered Jerusalem and made it his city, and all of Israel had rallied to him to support him as their king.  Literally tens of thousands had joined him, and everything he attempted was successful, and the author noted, "And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord Almighty was with him" (1 Chronicles 11:9 NIV).  This statement in large part sets the stage for the verses quoted above.

Although the Lord almighty was with David and he had a heart to bring back the Ark of the Lord, something that had not been done by Saul, it was clear that he did not confer with the Lord!  Instead, in the verses quote above, rather than seeking the Lord he conferred with his officers and the peoples, asking if it seemed good to them to embark on the initiative to bring back the Ark.  

From the outside, and even internally, everything looked great!  He was leading a vast army that the Lord had drawn together, was successful in everything he did as the Lord almighty was truly with Him.  Because of His Love and honor for God, he wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel!  His heart was truly set on the things of God.  When questioned about bringing back the Ark, everyone agreed with him that this made great sense, and they followed his leadership!  David must have really thought that he was the right guy, at the right place, at the right time, and because of his successes, that God was clearly with him, which He was!   What a perfect and fulfilling time that must have been!

Into this awesome season something changed, it appears that David started thinking that God was with him, rather than the fact that He was following God's lead. It seems that he saw the Lord's blessing as a vote of confidence and backing from the Lord, as if the Lord's favor gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted, and God would bless it.  I have unfortunately seen this type of thinking get many Church leaders into trouble, and if they stay in that mindset long enough, falling into sin that destroys their ministries! 

The story continues on following these verses where a man loses his life and in front of all of Israel (verse 5 above), David's mistake is made evident.  David, apparently realizes his folly and spends the next few months inquiring of the Lord and scriptures to make things right.  The Lord is merciful, but Uzzah did lose his life, and David was humiliated in front of all of Israel. 

This was a painful lesson and David appeared to struggle with this type of thinking throughout his life, and in that way I certainly resemble him. I am constantly just plugging along, enjoying the Lord's blessing and favor, and just figuring that the Lord loves me and will bless me.  I am surprised when something doesn't go well, and when I bring it to prayer the Lord will say something like, "Well that didn't go well, would you like to know what you should have done?"  I often forget in my daily walk, to bring things to the Lord, to seek His will and purpose and plan!  I have a free will, as do  we all, and I often exercise that freedom poorly.  sometimes the things I am doing seem right and wise, and even God oriented, but if I am not inquiring of the Lord, I am setting myself up for trouble.  

God, in His mercy, gave David another chance and this time he got it right, and the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem! David lost 3+ months of enjoying God's presence because of the mistake he made as the leader of Israel.  David learned from his mistake and in 1 Chron 14, we see David going to  war with the Philistines and each time inquiring of the Lord, and winning great victories.

My encouragement today is to make sure that I am actually asking the Lord His opinion on my thoughts and plans.  He does have a plan and is willing to share it with me, I just need to ask!  I am encouraged that God, in His great mercy and compassion knows my ways and is always there to provide guidance and correction, and encouragement to move forward in Him!  I am encouraged to stop and check with the Lord, even when it seems like a good idea, when others agree, and when my desire is to honor God!  He always has a perspective and often times a much better plan, and I just need to learn to seek Him and trust Him. I need to remember that I am serving Him, not the other way around!

Amen and Amen!

New Treasure

I am thinking of continuing my study of the "new" things announced by Jesus, or found in the New Testament.  I am continuing on Matthew's Gospel, and the next mention of something new is "new treasures".  The verses below provide context for Jesus' comment n the last verse, which provides my focus this morning - Matthew 13:44-52 NIV:

[44] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

[45] “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. [46] When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

[47] “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. [48] When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. [49] This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous [50] and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[51] “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.

[52] He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

That last line really makes me stop, "new treasures" has such a mysterious and enticing sound to it (maybe its just me!)!  Jesus is clearly laying the groundwork for new revelation, new understanding and expanding the description of the Kingdom of Heaven. This is His most mentioned topic, and yet something we rarely hear from the pulpit.  I think it is critical that we understand His teaching on the Kingdom, for that was a key theme to the good news He was proclaiming. 

Interestingly, Jesus is speaking here of those that are learned in Law, the original Greek "grammateus" would be translated scribes, who normally would be grouped with the Pharisees, and yet here Jesus is speaking of them becoming disciples "matheteutheis".  The Greek help defines this as "helping someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured, growing disciple (literally, "a learner," a true Christ-follower)".  I love that He is laying out an invitation to the learned to become students again, this time of Him and the Kingdom of Heaven.   We sometimes think that Jesus was at war with the Pharisees and such, but He loved them and came to save them just as much as any sinner.

The application here, for us, is to recognize two things.  First, being a disciple requires learning new things, a new discipline.  This is a progressive work, one that takes dedication and application.  We are following Jesus, and we must learn and apply His teachings that we might represent Him to the world.  If we aren't applying ourselves to study, one could argue we aren't embracing discipleship.  Secondly, there is treasure in the Old Testament, and we must not exclusively read from the New Testament. There is much to be learned and understood about the Father in Old Testament, and we must be willing to bring out the treasure from those books.

Finally, the new treasure relates to the revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven.  We would be well served to really study the Kingdom, as described by Jesus, for He is imparting critical understanding to those that will listen and learn.  In the preceding verses, Jesus was speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven, and clearly that is the context of his final statements.  Summarizing His first two descriptions, the Kingdom of Heaven is of greater worth than everything we possess.  When Jesus went through the land, He pronounced the Good News of Kingdom of Heaven being present or at hand, and then demonstrated this reality by healing and working signs and wonders.  This is our call too, so we must understand the Kingdom, learn the ways of the Kingdom, so we can demonstrate this new reality to those in the world.  This is clearly part of the "new treasure".

I was just thinking, that part of the surprise of Jesus' ministry, was that ordinary people, normal humans, could have access to the treasures from the storerooms of heaven, to the very power that flowed from the throne of God (see Ezk 47:1-12).  I am reminded of Jesus' commissioning the disciples found in Matthew 10:1,7-8 NIV:

[1] Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

[7] "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."

This is our call, and our invitation.  We have access to the new treasures, that we might proclaim and demonstrate this Kingdom of Heaven!

Amen and Amen!

New "Wine & Wineskins"

Recently I was thinking about how Jesus brought forth New revelation during His ministry, and I started looking at the times "new" was used in the New Testament, and I thought that would be a good reflection and study theme.  Today is the first focused time on this theme, and I will look to the first mention of "new" in the NT found in Matthew 9:14-17 NIV:

[14]"Then John's disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 

[15] Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 

[16] “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. [17] Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

The "new wine" statement is included in the three synoptic Gospels, also found at Mark 2:21-22 and Luke 5:36-39.  This was clearly an important idea, and my understanding has been that Jesus is essentially laying the ground-work or foundational principals of the New Covenant here.  His ministry was constantly confounding to the teachers and experts of the Law, and the church was definitely going to require a different understanding and way of life if it was to prosper.  

In the Luke version, Jesus speaks of how the people prefer the old wine (See Luke 5:39), and this seems to me to clearly reference the Jewish preference for the Law.  In fact, one of the first real conflicts in the newly birthed church had to do with how much of the Old Covenant Law was supposed to be carried over into this New Covenant.  They had a council in Jerusalem, see Acts 15, and issued a statement recorded in Acts 15:23-28 that essentially limited the carryover to sexual immorality, food sacrificed to idols, blood, and the meat of strangled animals.  The Law and its extras comprised some 600+ items by this point, and we can see how few were actually passed to the New Covenant believers.  Later, Paul showed the latter couple really weren't hard and fast either.

However, after this time there arose the circumcision party, a group of New Covenant believers that started pulling back into the NEW, some expectations from the old.  They were essentially saying they were "better" Christians because they were circumcised.  They were so influential that Peter even became ensnared in this way of thinking. While this is a great example of the "Gospel-plus" ideology, it also represents an old wine skin.  Paul correctly saw this as an affront to the Gospel of Grace, and strongly fought against this type of thinking, ultimately winning the struggle. In my opinion, this is the first of many times the "New Wine" was in danger of being ruined.  

Thinking through the impact of the requirement for circumcision, this would have severely limited the expansion of the Gospel to mostly the Jews.  Even worse it would have destroyed the foundation of the Gospel of Grace and turned it into a Gospel of works, which is clearly not the Gospel Jesus proclaimed, bled, died and rose from the dead to proclaim.  This would just be a reworking of the Old Covenant of the Law.  

In our humanness and weakness, it seems we prefer a Gospel of works over a Gospel of grace.  We like to keep score, we like to judge others, we like lists, and the Gospel of Grace sounds too good to be true!  Put another way, we tend to prefer a covenant of rules over a covenant of relationship. Jesus came proclaiming a new Kingdom reality and a New Covenant, and its key cornerstone was relationship with Him, The Father and Holy Spirit.  The Jews wanted a military leader, a new king with good laws, (or one that fulfilled the Old Covenant Laws), and Jesus came proclaiming a heavenly Kingdom that was primarily established and grown in the hearts of His followers.  There was no geographical boundaries to this Kingdom, nor rite of citizenship, save belief and faith.  His Kingdom was open to all, regardless of race, gender, nationality, or situation.  This was clearly a "New Wineskin" and it caused people to have to think differently. 

I am so grateful for Paul, and his ability to layout the thought and logic, if you will, of this New Covenant, this Gospel of Grace.  He understood it and was able to present it and defend it in such an effective way that we still  can understand it and live our lives embracing this Gospel and living as part of this Heavenly Kingdom.  Paul, clearly helped by the Holy Spirit, provided an understanding of this "New Wineskin" and "New Wine" that flowed within it.  He defended both and provided the clear teaching and understanding required for generations to continue to follow this way of life.  Interestingly, before being names Christians, the followers of this new faith were called "The Way".  This was understood to be a "new way of life".  

My encouragement today is to spend some time reflecting on how this new way of life, this "new wine" and "new wineskin" are applicable to my life.  I am encouraged to spend some time thinking about why we do what we do in church.  I am encouraged to look at my own thinking regarding my faith, to understand where I am allowing old ways of thinking to influence new reality and new revelation.  I am encouraged to look at my own approach to my life as a Christian to see where I might be following a gospel of rules, rather than embracing relationship with the Lord!  Oh Lord, help me!

Amen!

Don't Get In "The Bless Me Boat"

Recently I have been thinking about the Lord, and our difficult times in life.  I think this is actually a very important topic for us to think about and understand so that we do not become offended with the Lord when things don't work out the way we think they should.

Somehow in our modern western Christian thinking, we have developed this idea that Christianity is some sort of "bless me" club, where the Lord's great concern is our happiness, and His favor and blessing in material areas is His primary way of showing His love and affection for us.  This type of thinking can cause us to question God's love when things are not going swimmingly, when we hit a rough patch, or when we encounter difficult times.

The modern "Prosperity Gospel" is a great example of this type of thinking and teaching.  Simply put, this is the teaching that good things happen to people God Loves (the righteous), and bad things happen to sinners.  Without going into much more about this, it is safe to say that Jesus, Paul, Peter and 9 of the 10 other apostles would be considered sinners if one really held hard and fast to this thinking, for clearly bad things happened to them all.

In his defense of his apostleship, Paul writes the following in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29 NIV:

[23] "Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. [24] Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, [26] I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. [27] I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. [28] Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. [29] Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?"

Clearly Paul missed the "bless me boat" and in his mind these difficulties were some of his qualifiers for his call and fulfillment of his life as a follower of Christ.  Paul didn't need fur coats, expensive jewelry, fine clothes, big mansions, or a big salary to showcase his "blessed" relationship with the Lord, instead He bore on his body the marks of Christ (Gal 6:17). 

It was not accidental that Jesus grew up in a poorer household, hidden from the lime-light, nor that He spent much of His time ministering in the "backwoods" of Israel.  There is something inherently tied to His ministry and the character of God.  In our humanness, we envision an all-powerful God, who owns all the silver and all the gold (Hagg 2:8), and the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps 50:10-12) as a loving Father who wants to dote on his sons and daughters, and give them good things, and we aren't wrong!  The issue is that we think that difficult times and struggles are from God as well, and a sign He doesn't love us anymore!  We think that God changes His mind and thinking about us based on our behavior!

Thank God, He is nothing like us!  I am so grateful that God is unchanging (Heb. 6:17) and has a perspective of me that is outside of time!  Paul writes that God has loved me (and you) since before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4-5).  If we wonder whether God loves us now, think back to the time you felt his love the strongest, and that is just a shadow of how much He loves you right now.  One of the unchanging parts of His character is His love for each of us. God's perspective allows Him to see the totality of our life, not jus the here and now, and from that perspective He loves us!  In other words, He sees every thing good we have ever done, everything bad, and everything in-between, and still chooses to love us more than we can ever imagine!  In our humanness this just doesn't make sense, and so we listen to teachers and thinking that invents God in our own image, ugh!

Going back to the theme of difficult times, what has me thinking about this is the fact that my honey has been sick for close to two solid months with the nastiest cold, sinus and bronchial infection I have ever seen.  She is taking antibiotics (just finished her third course), doing everything she can think of to get better, and praying constantly for healing, and yet she is sick.  If we had a prosperity gospel mindset, we could only conclude that she has some major sin in her life, and God is angry with her.  Why else wouldn't He be healing her?  

We read the Gospel accounts of Jesus healing everyone that was sick, everyone that came to Him, and we believe He is the healer and this is what He does!  We aren't wrong!  He is the Healer!  He loves to heal, He came to defeat the works of the enemy and sickness is one of those.  He established His kingdom, proclaimed it and demonstrated it, and one of the characteristics of His Kingdom is that healing is available.  As Jesus said to His apostles,  "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.( Matthew 10:7-8 NIV).  

So, how do we understand God's love, His character and willingness to heal, His Kingdom demonstration of healing, His blessing and provision, and at the same time long-term sickness, difficult times, seasons of unemployment or financial difficulty?  This really is one of the oldest questions out there.  The book of Job, considered the earliest of the books of the Bible, is all about these questions.

First, I certainly don't have all the answers, or even many answers!  In fact I probably have more questions than answers.  I do, however, have a relationship with the Lord, and in that relational context I am able to lay hold of some basic truths that are helpful.  We have walked through difficult seasons of cancer and illness, financial struggles, being laid-off, experienced the death of loved ones, and yet have experienced intimate relationship with the Lord through it all.  Even though at times we didn't feel loved, He loved us.  In the same way that in the midst of tiresome and strenuous times at work, when I can barely see the light, or even spare a moment to think about anything else, and certainly am not feeling any emotional love from my honey, I know she loves me.  In the same way, God's love for us is not related to our emotions, or our feelings!  His love transcends all of that!  

I have been in different Christian services where the Lord is healing people all over the place, and at the same time, others are not being healed!  We struggle to explain this, and so we make up theological explanations.  I have often thought of all the other sick people laying by the pool of Bethesda waiting for god to heal them through the waters, and Jesus walks through their midst and just heals the one guy.  Do we believe that God didn't love all the rest of the people in that room?  Or how do we deal with the fact that there were towns and villages that Jesus didn't visit during His ministry, where sick people weren't healed?  What about the guy that is later healed by Peter and John (See Acts 3:1-10) who was put outside the temple every day, is it possible Jesus walked right by him?  Or the blind man Bartimaeus that Jesus just walked by as he was sitting by the road begging?  (That one turned into a healing, but only after the unrelenting calling out of the blind man - see Mark 10:46-52). There are too many examples to list, but it is clear that our simple human explanations fall far short of understanding and explaining the mysteries of God!

God in His manifest wisdom, chooses to take the path of the lowly, seemingly hidden from the world, revealing Himself to those that seek Him out, doing things in ways we would never do, confounding the wise, seemingly foolishly blessing those that don't even recognize Him (See Matt 5:43-48), hiding His kingdom in the hearts of men and women, loving us beyond knowledge, and yet allowing us to choose however we want.  We can reject Him and He still loves us and chooses to bless us!  God, in His perfect revelation of His nature, in Jesus, shows us His character, and suffers and dies for us!  There are countless saints and followers of Christ who have suffered persecution, even death because of their relationship with Christ. Paul writes of the mystery in his letter to the Philippians 3:7-11 NIV:

[7] "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ---the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. [10] I want to know Christ---yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

There is a great mystery that Paul touches in verse 10, the participation in the sufferings of Christ.  I certainly don't understand it, nor the treasure that is found there, but Paul certainly had grasped something that most of us want to run from.  There is something in the heart of God that highly values the sufferings and difficulties of His beloved ones!  His most visible example is found in Christ Jesus, but our Church is full of other examples as well.  

This morning, I am just encouraged to continue to believe in the Love God has for me and my sweetheart, in the midst of anything and everything we might experience.  I am convinced that there is so much more to relationship with Him, than the provision I am blessed with daily.  

My prayer for us all is that we might know the surpassing love of God, as a solid rock of relationship upon which we can stand!   My prayer is that we do not become offended by god when He doesn't do what we want Him to do!  My prayer is that we would discover the treasures that are present in our sufferings and difficulties as we continue to praise God and worship Him in the very midst of our difficulty.

Amen and Amen

The Great Invitation

This morning I was reading through John's Gospel. Yesterday while traveling I was reading through some of my earlier writing and the particular entries were about Jesus representing the Father perfectly.  This morning that theme was once again the focus of my reading.  Here are the verses - John 8:12-19,27-30 NIV:

[12] "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

[13] The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” 

[14] Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. [15] You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. [16] But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. [17] In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. [18] I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” 

[19] Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 

[27] They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 

[28] So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. [29] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 

[30] Even as he spoke, many believed in him."

The verse that really stands out to me is the end verse 19, where Jesus says, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”   This is such a monumental statement!  I don't think I could say the same thing about my earthly father, for I didn't know him well enough to be able to say that I could represent him in all ways.  I look somewhat like him, have some similar mannerisms, and even have some idea of his heart and mind, but I could never say, if you have known me you have known my Father.

Jesus speaks about the importance of knowing the Father, of His intimacy, and equates this with eternal life, in fact he speaks about Eternal life quite often, and John captured many of those times in his Gospel.  I was just looking at all the verses this morning and think that might be a very interesting study.  He wraps them all into a single statement in John 17:3 NIV: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."  

Jesus goes on to say that their plan and purpose is for us all to be part of their relationship, and in deep relationship with each other.  Jesus continues on praying for us in His final prayer, as captured by John 17:20-23 NIV: 

[20] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one--- [23] I in them and you in me---so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

I guess the point here is that the level of intimacy that Jesus has with the Father is our invitation as well.  We are invited into this deeply intimate relationship, for the Lord desires us to be loved sons and daughters, those that know Him, who know His love and represent that love to the world.  We are invited into that Holy unity, and that is something that will be a sign to the world of God's love.

There is so much to think upon in these verses, and I clearly have much ground to advance.  As I reflect on this theme I see where I am needing to change how I think throughout the day.  I am so rarely focused on representing the Lord in my daily moment to moment existence.  Lord, I don't know how to do this, but I know You do, and that Your help is all I really need.  

Thank You for Your patience, compassion, love and mercy.

Amen and Amen.

God's Love Like a Flood

Yesterday, I was flying back home and thinking about the Love of God.  I had been reading through some of my earlier blog entries and reflecting on how the Gospel is really introducing people to the fact that God loves them and wants a relationship with them.  It really is very simple, and somehow we have made it s complex.  

I was thinking about how people often experience this rush of God's Love when they come to salvation.  We can often associate this "rushing in" feeling with what God's love should feel like, and when we don't continue to feel it, we think that some how God ha left us or no longer present to the same degree.  The truth is that God is all around us and we are now living a life where we can experience His love at all times.

As I was reflecting on this I imagined the Love of God being like floodwaters, and people who haven't heard the Gospel, like a door shut to that flood.  The role of those of us who are representing the Love of God, is to show them that the floodwaters on the other side are love, not judgment!  I was reminded of how when I opened the door of my heart to the Lord, how I was overwhelmed by His Love!  I was aware of His love in a way I had never experienced, and there was absolutely no judgment!  

Once the door is opened, the love of God fills us completely, if we let it do so.  That initial rush was God's love pouring into our lives filling the emptiness that is supposed to be filled with His presence.  The truth is that we were made to know God and His love for us, we were made for intimacy with Him.  We are meant to be in relationship with Him, and it is where we are fulfilled.  Using the imagery of the floodwaters, we are created to live underwater, completely enveloped by the Love of God.

As I think about that this morning, that imagery of flood waters is actually quite rich.  People don't want flood waters in their homes (lives) for they mess everything up, at the very least, and are capable of great destruction. We fear that type of ruin and change as well as the lack of control, and unknown.  We fear what we don't know, fear that which requires change, and have heard that God is angry and hates our sins, and can only imagine that He hates us for all of it.

The Gospel, in its simplicity is stated by Jesus in his dialogue with Nicodemus, where he says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17 NIV).  The impetus for Jesus coming to earth is love!  

The truth is that God has known us and loved us since before the creation of the world.  He sees everything about us from that vantage point, outside of time, and still loves us.  His love doesn't change based on our actions, His Love is eternally set.  God doesn't change His mind about us based on our present circumstances, character, sin, or unbelief!  His love is like an immense ocean just waiting to pour into our lives that we might be filled and realize we were created for this very existence, lives saturated with His love, and filled with His Spirit!   

I am reminded of a couple of verses from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel 47:1-9,12 NIV:

[1] The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. [2] He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side. 

[3] As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. [4] He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. [5] He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in---a river that no one could cross. [6] He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” 

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. [7] When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. [8] He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. [9] Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 

[12] Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. ”

My prayer today is that I might learn how to share the Love of God wit those that I meet, that they might experience this Love for themselves, and that they might be healed of their fear.  I pray that we, as the Church, might better represent the Love of God, not the judgment of God.  I pray that all those whose lives are dry and devoid of the experience of God's Love, might be filled to overflowing!  

Amen and Amen!

Surprise! God Loves You!

This morning I was thinking about our salvation, our coming to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  I was thinking about how surprised people are when they come to the Lord.  They are surprised by His love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness and His desire to have a relationship with them!  In the words of one of my favorite authors, "The Gospel seems to good to be true, but it is!" 

I was also thinking about how today, religion has somehow convinced many in the church today that the only way to experience God's love and salvation, His mercy, compassion and forgiveness is if people conform to a set of rules and behaviours, get their lives cleaned up and take up the same religious mindset.  It is then, and only then that the Lord will bless them, and let them into His Kingdom.  Most churches have difficulty welcoming the truly unchurched, those that don't know the Christian lingo, those that haven't embraced the Christian life-style.  We struggle to welcome people that are different than us, have different values or perspectives, look or act differently.  

I was saddened by this perspective because it sets up a conditional love and acceptance as a part of the Gospel we offer.  To be clear this is NOT the Gospel!  The Lord makes no such requirements upon us!  Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians 2:13 NIV:  "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,..."  He made the way for us while  we were still sinners.  He didn't only accept us once we got our lives in order!  

In fact, the whole time we were sinning, the Lord was right there with us, loving us every bit as much as He does once we receive His salvation.  His love is unconditional!  He loves us in spite of our sin, in spite of our mixed up ideas, perspectives and opinions.  He does not withhold His love from the lost, from the disillusioned, the deceived, the broken, the sinner.  He loves us all and stands with arms wide open! Since before the beginning of the world He has loved us all! (Eph 1:4)  This was my great surprise, recognizing that God loved me all along, and that He was for me!   

I was just thinking that it is a bit like a surprise party, you have no idea there are a bunch of people waiting behind the door, waiting to shower you with their love and gifts.  The moment you open the door the reality of the people gathered just for you hits you.  They are there because they love you!  That is how the Lord is, just waiting for us to open the door so that we might experience His love.

I pray that we might learn to love as Christ loves us, unconditionally!  I pray that we might learn to celebrate each and every person that the Lord loves!  I pray that we might learn to love those the church rejects, those considered unlovely.  I pray that we might learn to love others in spite of their sins, their different ideas,  different ways of acting and even life choices!  How are these people ever going to experience God's love for them if we, His church, cannot learn to express it without condition?

I am encouraged this morning that I need to learn to love without condition!  I know that I struggle with judgment. I am reminded of an encouragement from Paul's letter to the Colossians 3:12-14 NIV:

[12] "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

I pray that we, as the Church, might embrace these words so that others experience the same from us!  Oh, that we might radiate love, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, humility, kindness and compassion!

Amen and Amen!

Rain, Wind and Floods, Oh My!

This morning as I opened my Bible, it opened up to the same verses I was reflecting on the last few days, which is not surprising, most mornings I use the Bible app I have loaded on my pad.  Anyway, I was getting ready to turn to some new passages and my mind strayed back to the verses about the rain, wind and waters destroying the house built on sand, and I started thinking about what the rain, wind and waters represent in the context of the revelation I had yesterday concerning the fact that my battle is almost always in my mind and thoughts?

Here are the verses again - Matthew 7:24-27 NIV:

[24] “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. [26] But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

As I mentioned yesterday, the primary struggle is internal for me, and it requires a daily connecting to the Rock.  This morning, as noted above, I started thinking about the symbolism of the rain, wind and waters.  Here are my first thoughts, starting with rain.  

In my thinking, rain is generally inconvenient.  It is usually something necessary for the earth, occasionally causes flooding, but for the land to produce food, trees and any type of greenery it is essential.  However, whether warm or cold, it is something that generally adds inconvenience.  People have to change plans, wear different clothes, drive differently, think and act differently than they want.   For some people the greyness associated with the rain clouds brings a sort of melancholy or even depression, but overall rain isn't dangerous, super difficult or really troubling.  

If I were to say what the "rain" is in my life, it is the rude people, the slow drivers, the things I get asked to do when I have another plan, the lack of my favorite drink at the store, the slow response of my cell phone, the changing of plans last minute, the lack of affirmation, having to wait in long lines, etc.  None of these are real problems, but they all cause me to grumble, complain and think judgmental thoughts.  Ultimately they uncover my selfish worldview and my judgment of all else, the loss of my perspective based on my relationship with the Lord.  If I let this thinking persist, pretty soon I am thinking that God hates me because nothing is going the way I want it to!  Man, that is ugly to admit.

As for the wind, my lovely daughter hates the wind because it pushes her. I think that is really good working definition for me as to what the wind represents.  These are things that are beyond mere inconveniences, but rather things that I actually find myself doing, through no real choice of my own, at least that is the narrative in my mind.  I would think these are highlighted in my life by thoughts like, "this isn't what I signed up for!"; "when did this become my job?"; "I hate this job!"; "This isn't worth it"; "how did I end up here?"  Suffice it to say these are more difficult or troubling than just a little inconvenience.  

In Missouri we can have stretches where the wind blows hard for multiple days in a row and it can be exhausting.  These scenarios can cause me to seriously think about my life choices, the decisions that have been made that affect my life, and really question the goodness of God, especially as they continue longer and longer.   My peace has gone, my focus is on my own life, and I am counting the cost and not liking what I am seeing.  I am completely caught up in my own narrative, and I have lost any sense of my identity and loving relationship with the Lord.  This is definitely not a good place.

Finally looking at the rising streams, or flood waters.  I think these could represent the major difficulties that we encounter in life, the loss of relationships, the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, the long and difficult illnesses, significant financial struggles or bankruptcy, and the like.  The thing about these types of rising waters is that they have the ability to wash away just about everything that was supporting our lives and worldviews.   These are things that move beyond difficult into traumatic.  

These types of situations really do strike at our core thinking and beliefs, not to mention affect the whole of our lives. As our lives are laid bare, we come face to face with what we really think and believe about God.  Many find it easier to just come to the conclusion that there is no God!  Worse I think is when a person thinks that there is a God and He hates them!   In situations like these, in addition to having lost the sense of peace, we lose hope.  Peace is for the present, and hope is for the future.  

So, how do we stand and even prosper in the midst of rain, wind and floods?  We press into the Lord, we press into His Word, we surround ourselves with those that have survived such experiences.  We need people who can be with us in the difficult places, who can help us sandbag our lives to prepare for the rain, wind and floods.  We listen to and act upon the words of Jesus, for they come from the heart of the Father!  We tune in and listen to His narrative about our value to Him, rather than our own selfish narrative. If we find ourselves far from Him, we turn back to Him, and He will run to us and welcome us with open arms! (Luke 15:20).

My prayer for us all this morning is that we learn to stand, learn to connect to the Rock that we might resist the effects of the rain, wind and floods!  I pray that we might connect to Him, and to those that can love us and surround us and speak life and truth into our minds and hearts!  I pray that we might be warm, dry, and comfortable in our lives connected to Him!

Amen and Amen! 

Foundation on Rock

This morning I felt like the theme of my prayer should be the rock of our faith.  As I was resting and waiting I had a couple of "rock" verses pop into my mind, which had nothing to do with any other thoughts, so it seems like a directive word and theme.  I initially was thinking about some of the Old Testament verses but then remembered Jesus speaking about building our house on the rock.  Here are the verses from Matthew 7:24-27 NIV:

[24]  “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. [26] But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

The key point here is found in verse 24, it is not the "hearing" but the 'putting into practice Jesus' teaching that is critical.  If we only listen and do nothing, changing nothing about our behavior or thoughts, we may appear the same externally, but the results will be very different when difficulty comes.  

I was just thinking that there is a significant difference in the commitment to build between these two examples the Lord give us.  Digging down to the rock is what would be required here in KC, for most locations.  We don't have much exposed rock.  Even if it was exposed, building on rock requires a different approach to building a foundation.  If building in sand or earth  you dig a hole down a bit, make sure its level, compacted a bit and then lay the foundation, all the same level, very basic building block construction.  Building on rock requires you to drill into the rock, setting anchors in place.  Rock is generally not perfectly level, so building a level foundation requires much more planning and careful construction to bring the foundation to a point of being level all around.  Building on sand can be accomplished quickly, while building on rock will take longer, and will require some expertise.  However the longevity of the two variants is extremely different, and that I believe is Jesus' real point here.

Jesus likens our hearing His Words and acting on them as  one who builds on rock.  His teaching is foundational truth, and we must make the effort to connect to it, to choose to change our thinking and our acting.  This doesn't just happen, it requires real effort, and a commitment of time and energy. In my life it requires study, prayer, reading the word over and over, and a commitment to being discipled by Him.  In my experience this is not optional.  My daily investment in my faith, in growing my relationship, in learning and hearing and embracing His word is all part of my continued efforts to be anchored to my Rock (Ps 18:2).  

Most of the time that I have read these verses I have had the perspective that the rain, wind and waters that rose against the house were external circumstances, and troubles, however this morning as I was thinking about my own efforts to stay connected to His words, I realized that most of the time the battle is in my mind, in how I think, in what I think about, in how I perceive situations. There is a regular attacking of my mindset, my thinking that comes from the worldview that surrounds me, my own selfish desires, and finally from the enemy who tries to accuse God of being unloving, uncaring, unmerciful, and angry towards me.  My primary battle in life is not the external difficulties but that which assails me internally.  

My daily regimen of being in the word, of allowing His word to bring conviction, of choosing to change the way I think and act is how I combat those things that assail me.  Knowing the Word, trusting the Word, knowing who I am according to the Word of God is essential.  I guess as I think about it, this building and connecting to the Rock is a daily effort.  Maybe I am weak that way, but in my life this is the case.  My choosing to continue to mine the Word gives me the wherewithal to stand on these truths.

Lord I pray that I might continue to trust in Your Words, believing and embracing what you say about me and my life.  I desire to stand firm every day.  Lord, thank You for Your clear direction, Your words of Life, and Your willingness to disciple me.

Amen and Amen!

Jesus and Pharisees, Enemies?

This morning I was reading through Luke's Gospel, Chapter 13.  As is often the case I ask the Lord where I should read and receive some direction, often book and chapter, and then I begin the treasure hunt of finding the verses that are highlighted to my spirit.  This morning I was struck by the last few verses in the chapter, and decided to take some time reflecting on them.  Here are the verses - Luke 13:31-35 NIV:

[31] "At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” [32] He replied, “Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' [33] In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day---for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 

[34] “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. [35] Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' ”

The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that the Pharisees seemed to be warning Jesus, in a helpful way.  So often in scripture we see the Pharisees as the enemies of Jesus, and this verse seemed out of character with that representation.  One of the things that I have noticed is that Jesus didn't seem to treat them as enemies, more as bad guides who were misrepresenting Him and His Father.  He engaged them constantly in conversations throughout the breadth of His ministry, welcomed invitations to their homes (Luke 7:36, Luke 14:1), and even private meetings (John 3:1).  I think they saw Him as a dangerous challenger to their power and role as the lead teachers in Israel, but Jesus was sent for all sinners, the Pharisees included.  

I am of the opinion that Jesus was always able to see the real person, their heart, mind and spirit.  He was always issuing the invitation to changing the way they thought (repentance) and relationship with Him.  He wasn't going to just affix a label and and judge them based on that label.  He always judges perfectly, and looks at all with the eyes of love, mercy, and compassion.  He looks at them with the heart of their creator and knows their potential and value as one of His creations, created in His likeness.

I often struggle with a judgmental attitude towards those who hold different ideas, different beliefs, different cultural practices.  I work hard not to act on these judgments, but my wife can attest that while driving, I sometimes give full verbal vent to my judgments, based solely on how someone is driving.  Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!  I am so grateful that the Lord doesn't judge me from single interaction, a single snap judgment!  

Continuing on in the verses, we find Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem, because He longs to gather them, yet they have rejected Him.  I am thinking this is His heart towards all that reject Him, and it is not anger, but sorrow.  I am reminded of the famous verses found in John 3:16-17 NIV: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Oh, that we would have the same heart and mind as our Lord!  Lord, help us to look at all, even those who oppose or disagree with us as individuals You love and offer salvation to through Your great gift of Grace!  You love all, desire all to come to You to be saved!  You long to gather us all, to protect and love us!  

Help us to open our eyes, ears and hearts to respond to this great invitation.  Help us to share Your invitation with all, laying down our judgments and biases, instead choosing to love and welcome all, regardless of any differences between us!

Amen and Amen!

Dry Bones, Come Alive!

On Sunday, during worship, we were singing this song about the dry bones rattling, (based on Ezk 37).  As I was singing I had the sudden thought that this prophecy was actually speaking about all of us, for we were all once dead, but are now alive in Christ.  

In context Ezekiel's prophecy was about the restoration of Israel. Here are the verses - Ezekiel 37:1-14 NIV:

[1] The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. [2] He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. [3] He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

 I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know. ” 

[4] Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! [5] This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. [6] I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ' ” 

[7] So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. [8] I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 

[9] Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' ” [10] So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet---a vast army. 

[11] Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' [12] Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. [13] Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. [14] I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. ' ”

I love the imagery here, and this has always been a favorite prophetic image of mine.  One thing I have learned about prophecy and God's word is that is is perfect, and it often is multi-faceted in how it is meant o be understood.  This was clearly a word about the restoration of Israel back to the land they were promised by the Lord God.  Ezekiel was prophesying about the Babylonian exile, sometime in the 600BCs, and return of Israel (something that happened 70 years later), but His words also seem to have a Messianic application as well.  

The verses that came to mind as I had the thought I mentioned earlier were from Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV:

[1] "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, [2] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. [3] All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. [4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved. [6] And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, [7] in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. [8] For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Here, Paul writes that all of us were dead in our sins which could be compared to the dry bones.  We had no way that we could attain eternal life, nothing we could do to change our state.  However God in mercy, through His great grace caused a change to occur.  Through His work, will, Word and Spirit we are made alive again, and joined into the Body of Christ. The purpose of God is a work of joining us together, of causing us to mature and grow in relationship with Him and each other (tendons and flesh) and finally the Holy Spirit breathing life into us, and joining us to God's family as sons and daughters.

Paul writes again of this in his letter to the Romans 8:9-11,14-17 NIV:

[9] "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. [10] But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. [11] And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. 

[14] For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. [15] The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” [16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. [17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

This might not be revelation for many of you, but it was fresh for me, for I don't remember having seen myself as one of the dry bones of Ezekiel 37 before this past Sunday.  I was encouraged about the fact that I was essentially singing a song that was using verses that were written about me (and the Church) some 2600 years ago.  I was filled with gratitude that I am alive through God's amazing grace, mercy and compassion!  

I was clearly dead (and dry) in my transgressions and sins, and the Lord through His great mercy, through grace, gave me the opportunity to become alive again!

To quickly finish the story, I was meditating on all this during worship and then our pastor got up to speak and started with the very verses from Ephesians 2 that I was reflecting on!  Not a huge deal, but certainly a lovely little confirmation that my heart and mind were in the right place. :-)

My the Lord bless you and breathe on you that you might experience the wonder of His life through salvation, and the filling of the Holy Spirit!

It is time for the dry bones to come alive!

Amen and Amen!