Matthew 6:19-34 (NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy,and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
For the last several weeks we've been studying the sermon on the mount at church in the adult Sunday School class. I've been struck each week by something different. The last two sessions dealt with the above passages.
Lately, it has seemed that my family's needs have been building and building with no foreseeable change for the better. But here's the kicker; We have all we need to eat, we have a place to live, we have clothes to wear, transportation to the places we need to be, cell phones, a computer, tablets, televisions, books galore, and so much more.
We have so much more than God ever promised, yet still my eye sees something shiny and new and I want it.
I forget to be thankful for what I do have and the enormous blessings God has given.
See, God's promise is provision for our needs. If I don't have it, I must not really need it. I have to ask myself if what I want is indeed something I need, or just an earthly treasure.
As disciples of the Nazarene, we are challenged to be different. We are challenged to not chase after the impermanent in place of the things that last.
So, the challenge here is; when I feel that the gifts God has provided are not enough, I need to step back, look at the thing I am longing for and put it in God's hands. If I need it, he will provide it. If He does not provide for it, then I don't need it.
God is good and His mercies endure forever.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
The little things
A smile
A kind word
A cold cup of water on a hot day
It's the little things that mean so much.
For the last eight years I've worked in a field that seems thankless. There have been no merit based raises as long as I've been there, no yearly bonuses for the last four or five years, and not even a real cost of living allowance in about seven years (with the exception of a meagre wage increase of a few cents an hour a few years back). It's not enough to run a household on, and there are times when the bills have outnumbered the income.
And I become discouraged because I can't see the active hand of God.
I forget that He called me to this field. I forget that He promised: "whoever is faithul in the little things, is faithful in much."
I forget and I lose sight of my faith.
But then someone else is faithful in the little things and my faith is refreshed, and I see the Hand of God work and know that somehow, if I just stay faithful to what I know is right, God will do an even greater work.
Faithful...in the little things.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Like a good neighbor...
Read Luke 10:25-37
Yes, I know, this is a common topic of my musings, but I think it's important, and with it being a subject close to my heart, it's what I write about.
Love your neighbor. It's such a simple command. We hear it, and it sounds good, but how often do we live it. A recent viral video shows an example of this which parallels a raggedly dressed man with a well dressed man. Both men fall to their knees as if hurt, both cry for help, but in the video, only one person shows even a passing interest in the poorly dressed person, while few passerby don't stop to aid the better dressed man.
The point of the video is to point out how we judge people by appearances, but it illustrates the story of the good Samaritan rather well. After being asked "who is my neighbor?" Jesus tells about a man who has been mugged (by today's definition), beaten, and left to die. The man is ignored by a priest, then by a teacher of the law (the religious and civil arms of the Jewish government), but then a social pariah, a man hated by the leaders of the Hebrew culture of the day because he was not a pure example of Judaism, has compassion on the victim of this brutal crime and sees to his needs.
Here in America, the idea of a neighbor has become something of an enigma. We see the neighborhood cookouts on television shows and movies, but few such events actually take place. We may know the names of our next door neighbors, or maybe even the names of those a few doors down, but beyond that, it's a stretch. We put up fences and walls so we won't be bothered by the noise of the neighbors' conversing on their deck. If their dog happens to relieve itself in our yard, we grumble and protest, or even put up another fence as a silent show of annoyance.
We don't see our neighbors' pain because we don't know their stories. We don't learn their stories because we don't show ourselves as interested. When we do see the need, it's usually too late, and then we say, "oh, they can get government help with that."
We've forgotten our personal responsibility to love our neighbors. It isn't someone else's job. It isn't something we should leave to the government (they usually make things worse instead of better). It's our job. Sure, most of us aren't made of money (I know I'm not). We all have our own needs, but at the very least, we need to become neighborly agai; have a chat over the back fence, share a soda or other cool beverage. Have a neighborhood cookout.
But don't stop there.
We need to keep growing our love outward. Jesus said "...even to the ends of the earth." Yeah, those are our neighbors too. It starts local. It starts with us.
Yes, I know, this is a common topic of my musings, but I think it's important, and with it being a subject close to my heart, it's what I write about.
Love your neighbor. It's such a simple command. We hear it, and it sounds good, but how often do we live it. A recent viral video shows an example of this which parallels a raggedly dressed man with a well dressed man. Both men fall to their knees as if hurt, both cry for help, but in the video, only one person shows even a passing interest in the poorly dressed person, while few passerby don't stop to aid the better dressed man.
The point of the video is to point out how we judge people by appearances, but it illustrates the story of the good Samaritan rather well. After being asked "who is my neighbor?" Jesus tells about a man who has been mugged (by today's definition), beaten, and left to die. The man is ignored by a priest, then by a teacher of the law (the religious and civil arms of the Jewish government), but then a social pariah, a man hated by the leaders of the Hebrew culture of the day because he was not a pure example of Judaism, has compassion on the victim of this brutal crime and sees to his needs.
Here in America, the idea of a neighbor has become something of an enigma. We see the neighborhood cookouts on television shows and movies, but few such events actually take place. We may know the names of our next door neighbors, or maybe even the names of those a few doors down, but beyond that, it's a stretch. We put up fences and walls so we won't be bothered by the noise of the neighbors' conversing on their deck. If their dog happens to relieve itself in our yard, we grumble and protest, or even put up another fence as a silent show of annoyance.
We don't see our neighbors' pain because we don't know their stories. We don't learn their stories because we don't show ourselves as interested. When we do see the need, it's usually too late, and then we say, "oh, they can get government help with that."
We've forgotten our personal responsibility to love our neighbors. It isn't someone else's job. It isn't something we should leave to the government (they usually make things worse instead of better). It's our job. Sure, most of us aren't made of money (I know I'm not). We all have our own needs, but at the very least, we need to become neighborly agai; have a chat over the back fence, share a soda or other cool beverage. Have a neighborhood cookout.
But don't stop there.
We need to keep growing our love outward. Jesus said "...even to the ends of the earth." Yeah, those are our neighbors too. It starts local. It starts with us.
Monday, April 28, 2014
A Father's wisdom
Read Proverbs 4
It's been nearly ten years. It's surreal to even think it's been that long. Shelly and I went north to see my Dad who had been admitted to a hospital in Worcester, Mass.. We visited with him on a Friday afternoon, then when he started to get tired, we left the hospital and went to our motel. He was a little tired, but seemed to be doing ok. The next morning, we received the call that everyone dreads...My dad was gone. We were at Old Sturbridge Village at the time, and I remember closing my phone and heading for the car without saying a word because I knew I'd be incomprehensible. Shelly figured it out pretty quick though.
We met my mom at the hospital, prayed around the body that had so recently held my dad's spirit, then headed back to Westfield. The week was a blur. I know I sang at Dad's funeral. I remember being upset because they had an open casket viewing against his wishes and refused to go in until the casket was closed because that was something he'd been adamant about. I remember a full church at the memorial service held the Thursday after his death. And I remember my dad in my dreams. Even now, it's usually only once a week, but my dad is still there.
Above and beyond that, I remember my dad always pushing me to be wise and not foolish, to embrace wisdom. He seemed to always have a proverb to quote to me from the Bible, and always in the KJV: "Go to the ant thou sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise," or "a rod is for the back of fools," or any number of others.
My dad also taught me the value of integrity. Some people find it strange that I refuse to lie. I've even quit a job because I was asked to lie and I refused to work for an employer who would ask me to be dishonest. But every time it's suggested that I lie, I remember my dad saying: "Always tell the truth, never lie, but you don't have to volunteer information until you're asked." Usually this speech was given after I'd shared a bit of personal family information as young children are apt to do.
I didn't always agree with my dad, but I always respected him.
Now, I have a son of my own. At times I find the wisdom my own father passed on to me coming out of my own mouth. I know that it may not take root for some years yet, but I hope that my father's wisdom will one day be of use to his grandson.
The thing about my father's wisdom is that it was his Father's wisdom. The values my dad drilled into me when I was young are the values, not of his earthly father, who was a good man in his own right, but rather the values of the Heavenly Father who laid down His wisdom in the Bible for us to read and understand. The apostle James wrote that we should pray for wisdom, and God would grant it to us in abundance so long as we trust Him to do so.
And that is what my earthly father passed along to his children. Wisdom is valuable. It is priceless. I hope I never forget the wisdom of my father. I hope that one day, my son embraces it as I have. His memory lives on.
It's been nearly ten years. It's surreal to even think it's been that long. Shelly and I went north to see my Dad who had been admitted to a hospital in Worcester, Mass.. We visited with him on a Friday afternoon, then when he started to get tired, we left the hospital and went to our motel. He was a little tired, but seemed to be doing ok. The next morning, we received the call that everyone dreads...My dad was gone. We were at Old Sturbridge Village at the time, and I remember closing my phone and heading for the car without saying a word because I knew I'd be incomprehensible. Shelly figured it out pretty quick though.
We met my mom at the hospital, prayed around the body that had so recently held my dad's spirit, then headed back to Westfield. The week was a blur. I know I sang at Dad's funeral. I remember being upset because they had an open casket viewing against his wishes and refused to go in until the casket was closed because that was something he'd been adamant about. I remember a full church at the memorial service held the Thursday after his death. And I remember my dad in my dreams. Even now, it's usually only once a week, but my dad is still there.
Above and beyond that, I remember my dad always pushing me to be wise and not foolish, to embrace wisdom. He seemed to always have a proverb to quote to me from the Bible, and always in the KJV: "Go to the ant thou sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise," or "a rod is for the back of fools," or any number of others.
My dad also taught me the value of integrity. Some people find it strange that I refuse to lie. I've even quit a job because I was asked to lie and I refused to work for an employer who would ask me to be dishonest. But every time it's suggested that I lie, I remember my dad saying: "Always tell the truth, never lie, but you don't have to volunteer information until you're asked." Usually this speech was given after I'd shared a bit of personal family information as young children are apt to do.
I didn't always agree with my dad, but I always respected him.
Now, I have a son of my own. At times I find the wisdom my own father passed on to me coming out of my own mouth. I know that it may not take root for some years yet, but I hope that my father's wisdom will one day be of use to his grandson.
The thing about my father's wisdom is that it was his Father's wisdom. The values my dad drilled into me when I was young are the values, not of his earthly father, who was a good man in his own right, but rather the values of the Heavenly Father who laid down His wisdom in the Bible for us to read and understand. The apostle James wrote that we should pray for wisdom, and God would grant it to us in abundance so long as we trust Him to do so.
And that is what my earthly father passed along to his children. Wisdom is valuable. It is priceless. I hope I never forget the wisdom of my father. I hope that one day, my son embraces it as I have. His memory lives on.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Open palms
The story of Palm Sunday was presented in most churches this morning. It's a great story of Christ's triumphant entrance into the city on a donkey's colt. That's all well and good, but what about the rest of the story?
Jesus went into Jerusalem to the adulation of the crowd, and went to the temple where He found people using the Hebrew faith as a means to make money. He threw over tables and kicked out the people who were making a profit off religion. Yes, this story gets talked about a little, but it seems to be often glossed over because we don't really want to think of its implications.
Here in America, there are many Christian religious leaders who preach a health and wealth gospel many of whom are very wealthy because of their "ministry."
Yet, the Man of Sorrows, the Son of God, was not a man of earthly riches. He was a man who said: "it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." That doesn't square well with the idea of Jesus wanting us to be rich. Riches clutter our lives. Material possessions draw our focus away from the Father and His love. They clutter the "temple" of the heart and crowd the space we should reserve for Jesus and the practice of His teachings.
So, on this Palm Sunday, let us come to Jesus with open palms, our hands outstretched to receive the blessing of His love and teaching. Let us clear the temples of our hearts of the materialism and selfishness that crowd Him out and make room for Jesus Christ to teach and lead us. Let us live in faith that He will provide our needs and not stockpile possessions. Let us offer up those possessions we have in service to Him so He can use them to bless others through us.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Everyone has something to give
Read Matthew 25:14-30
It's known by a few different names. Many call it "The Parable of the Talents," to others it's the "Parable of the three Servants," but by any name, it's a great story of God given gifts and responsibility.
We're all different. Some are more different than others, but that's what makes us individuals. We all bring something to the table. Working with people who are looked down upon as "disabled" by the world at large gives one a perspective to observe just how true this is. Over the years, I've ministered to dozens of folks from all levels of ability and I've found that those who've ministered the most to my own heart would probably fall into the category of "the least of these."
I can't really say how it is in the rest of the world, but here in the United States, there is an immense focus on finding out what's wrong with people and trying to fix them. There's a label for every kind of behavior or mental condition imaginable. I'm not discounting or dismissing mental illness, not at all, but it seems some in the mental health field go a little overboard. A therapist once told me that everyone has at least a touch of personality disorder, which begs the question: if everyone has something, how is it a disorder? Why not just call it a personality and be done with it?
Looking into the scriptures we find a different perspective from that of the world of psychology. We find a perspective that everyone has a gift. Everyone has an ability that they can give back to God by using it to serve others. Yes, some of us are a little cracked. Even in the pages of the Bible, we find people who were imperfect, but God used them anyway. Samson had some very deep character flaws, Gideon was no gem, Jonah wanted to see an entire civilization wiped out, and Peter couldn't keep one foot out of his mouth long enough to switch to the other. And that doesn't even scratch the surface!
You are valuable to the God of Heaven. He loves you. He sent his only Son to live on earth as a human and die for your sins. His Son Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day to secure that gift. You have value! Don't think that because the world labels you as defective that you somehow are not valuable. Yes, we are all sinners. We all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but that gift of Salvation is freely given so that we can move on from that and use the wonderful gifts God has given to us through the blood of Jesus Christ.
You are loved.
You have value.
You are not alone.
It's known by a few different names. Many call it "The Parable of the Talents," to others it's the "Parable of the three Servants," but by any name, it's a great story of God given gifts and responsibility.
We're all different. Some are more different than others, but that's what makes us individuals. We all bring something to the table. Working with people who are looked down upon as "disabled" by the world at large gives one a perspective to observe just how true this is. Over the years, I've ministered to dozens of folks from all levels of ability and I've found that those who've ministered the most to my own heart would probably fall into the category of "the least of these."
I can't really say how it is in the rest of the world, but here in the United States, there is an immense focus on finding out what's wrong with people and trying to fix them. There's a label for every kind of behavior or mental condition imaginable. I'm not discounting or dismissing mental illness, not at all, but it seems some in the mental health field go a little overboard. A therapist once told me that everyone has at least a touch of personality disorder, which begs the question: if everyone has something, how is it a disorder? Why not just call it a personality and be done with it?
Looking into the scriptures we find a different perspective from that of the world of psychology. We find a perspective that everyone has a gift. Everyone has an ability that they can give back to God by using it to serve others. Yes, some of us are a little cracked. Even in the pages of the Bible, we find people who were imperfect, but God used them anyway. Samson had some very deep character flaws, Gideon was no gem, Jonah wanted to see an entire civilization wiped out, and Peter couldn't keep one foot out of his mouth long enough to switch to the other. And that doesn't even scratch the surface!
You are valuable to the God of Heaven. He loves you. He sent his only Son to live on earth as a human and die for your sins. His Son Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day to secure that gift. You have value! Don't think that because the world labels you as defective that you somehow are not valuable. Yes, we are all sinners. We all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but that gift of Salvation is freely given so that we can move on from that and use the wonderful gifts God has given to us through the blood of Jesus Christ.
You are loved.
You have value.
You are not alone.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
We're all prodigals...
Read Luke 15:11-32
The story of the prodigal son is possibly the best known Parable of Jesus Christ. The story touches on the love of a father for a son who treats him with contempt. Most parents of teenagers can probably identify with that; I know I can.
The son leaves takes his inheritance and leaves home, squandering his limited wealth and destroying his life and future. He eventually finds himself homeless and alone, living off the garbage fed to a farmer's pigs. It is at this point in the son's life that he realizes how good he really had it at his father's house, so he goes back, ready to plead to be taken in as a servant, and his father throws a feast and welcomes his son back into his home with joy and rejoicing.
I am finally in a place where I can identify with that father's pain. There is so much hope, and so much work put into the training of a child, perhaps a bit of a "spit and a promise" at times as well, but in the end, the child must make his or her decision as to what to do with all that nurturing and training that has been given to them.
When the child seems to have caught on and seems to embrace what you've tried to teach them, there is a sense of pride and accomplishment we parents feel, but when they turn their back on everything they've been taught, it hurts.
But then, we're all broken. God loves us as we are, cracks and all. He may not approve of our choices and actions, but he accepts us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Even as I feel my heart wants to shrivel up inside of me, I know that acceptance and I place my own son in the hands of my Heavenly Father.
As He spoke the words through the Prophet Jeremiah: "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
The story of the prodigal son is possibly the best known Parable of Jesus Christ. The story touches on the love of a father for a son who treats him with contempt. Most parents of teenagers can probably identify with that; I know I can.
The son leaves takes his inheritance and leaves home, squandering his limited wealth and destroying his life and future. He eventually finds himself homeless and alone, living off the garbage fed to a farmer's pigs. It is at this point in the son's life that he realizes how good he really had it at his father's house, so he goes back, ready to plead to be taken in as a servant, and his father throws a feast and welcomes his son back into his home with joy and rejoicing.
I am finally in a place where I can identify with that father's pain. There is so much hope, and so much work put into the training of a child, perhaps a bit of a "spit and a promise" at times as well, but in the end, the child must make his or her decision as to what to do with all that nurturing and training that has been given to them.
When the child seems to have caught on and seems to embrace what you've tried to teach them, there is a sense of pride and accomplishment we parents feel, but when they turn their back on everything they've been taught, it hurts.
But then, we're all broken. God loves us as we are, cracks and all. He may not approve of our choices and actions, but he accepts us through the blood of Jesus Christ. Even as I feel my heart wants to shrivel up inside of me, I know that acceptance and I place my own son in the hands of my Heavenly Father.
As He spoke the words through the Prophet Jeremiah: "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Don't go it alone.
Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT
23Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
24Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
25And
let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but
encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is
drawing near
Heartache seems to be a common thread in life. Sometimes when it seems life can't get any more difficult, it does. My family is going through yet another trial, and it feels like my heart just wants to stop.
My wife and I have been praying for strength and guidance and we keep trying to look to the Father above. This is one of those times that a strong church family is key. One of the older brothers in the church took about an hour with us on the phone just to talk about our struggle. He counseled and prayed with us and it was so good just to have that other person come together with us, even if it could only be over the phone.
It's hard to imagine how it would be to attempt to tackle life's struggles alone. Proverbs 27:17 says "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." It may not seem like it fits, but without others to keep us "sharp" and help us to "hold our edge," We will soon be blunted by the trials of life and lose our ability to cope.
So today, I am thankful for faithful friends and prayer warriors. May God continue to bless His Church with people of love who come alongside when others are brokenhearted.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Truth in action, love in action.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7 (NASB)
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I'm sitting here with a sore jaw. I had a tooth extracted today and It's making me a little irritable. See, about 15 years ago, I had a cavity filled poorly. That tooth was never quite right after that and it turns out the drilling job weakened the tooth up to the point where this afternoon I was a eating a pretzel and the molar in question cracked right in half.
My tooth gets me to thinking about love and people of faith and the way we use our gifts. As broken people before a loving God, we can go one of two ways. We can either live by the old ways of our human nature, or we can live by love. Love is, of course, a prevailing theme in the Scriptures, love and redemption. Especially in the New Covenant teachings we see the theme surface over and over again. It's important. Love is the cement that seals the cracks in our broken hearts. When we fail to practice God's love, we weaken the structure of His Church and we weaken the hearts of His people.
The Apostle Paul puts it mostly in positives, but there are a few negatives as well. But look at love. Love doesn't lie. It doesn't try to destroy other people's relationships (not jealous). It's honest and patient. Love seeks the betterment of others, not the betterment of self, and so much more.
Just like my weakened tooth that was just waiting for the right pretzel to come along, when we act in a way that is opposite to the love of Jesus Christ, we weaken our brothers and sisters and may do irreparable damage.
So when we say: "I love you" to another person, we should keep this in mind. Are we just saying it because we think we should, or perhaps because we really mean what we say? Are we willing to give everything up for that person's well being, or are we more interested in what we can get out of the relationship.
As members of the fellowship of Christ, our actions should always be to the betterment of others. Selfishness is not love and has no place in the fellowship of Christ.
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
I'm sitting here with a sore jaw. I had a tooth extracted today and It's making me a little irritable. See, about 15 years ago, I had a cavity filled poorly. That tooth was never quite right after that and it turns out the drilling job weakened the tooth up to the point where this afternoon I was a eating a pretzel and the molar in question cracked right in half.
My tooth gets me to thinking about love and people of faith and the way we use our gifts. As broken people before a loving God, we can go one of two ways. We can either live by the old ways of our human nature, or we can live by love. Love is, of course, a prevailing theme in the Scriptures, love and redemption. Especially in the New Covenant teachings we see the theme surface over and over again. It's important. Love is the cement that seals the cracks in our broken hearts. When we fail to practice God's love, we weaken the structure of His Church and we weaken the hearts of His people.
The Apostle Paul puts it mostly in positives, but there are a few negatives as well. But look at love. Love doesn't lie. It doesn't try to destroy other people's relationships (not jealous). It's honest and patient. Love seeks the betterment of others, not the betterment of self, and so much more.
Just like my weakened tooth that was just waiting for the right pretzel to come along, when we act in a way that is opposite to the love of Jesus Christ, we weaken our brothers and sisters and may do irreparable damage.
So when we say: "I love you" to another person, we should keep this in mind. Are we just saying it because we think we should, or perhaps because we really mean what we say? Are we willing to give everything up for that person's well being, or are we more interested in what we can get out of the relationship.
As members of the fellowship of Christ, our actions should always be to the betterment of others. Selfishness is not love and has no place in the fellowship of Christ.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Life's hardest lessons...
...are usually the simplest.
Ephesians 4:2-16 NLT
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
But they just don't seem so simple do they? Speak the truth in love...
Yesterday, I was asked to weigh in on a discussion about when it is appropriate to confront another person who claims to be a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ, yet doesn't appear to be following those same teachings.
This is a very difficult question, and it has an easy answer, that's not all that easy; Speak the truth in love.
Balance that with the example of Christ, who confronted the religious leaders of his day by pointing out their hypocrisy and hubris; the example of a man who saw the abuse of his Father's house, the temple of God in Jerusalem, and went into an angry cleaning spree. His example is one of love for others; touching the sick, eating and drinking with the unwanted, speaking to social pariahs, and much worse by the standards of the Jewish faith at the time. But what of his confrontation of sin in the religious leaders of the day? How does that fit in with love?
Well, there's the old proverb; "Spare the rod, spoil the child," which while not exactly biblical, has roots in the Bible Proverb: "the rod is for the back of fools." Previously, this writer has discussed the proverb about arguing with a fool and correcting a fool, and perhaps that bears weight here at times. We can all point to times in our lives when we've been foolish and done things that were really mind numbingly stupid. It's at those times that we all need a brother or sister in Christ, a fellow member of His Body, to come up to us and lovingly use the rod of God's word on our foolish back. We then must humbly submit to that, in love as well, and look closely at our lives and repent. In the same way, when we see a brother or sister in Christ, to whom we are close, stumbling and sinning, and we do nothing to lovingly help them find their way, we become co-conspirators with them and, I believe, are just as guilty as they.
Then there are the times we need to step back and say nothing. The American Author; Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, said it best: "A closed mouth gathers no feet." Following the principle found in Matthew 18, when we've confronted someone, gone through the proper channels and so on, it's time to let them go. There's not much else you can do. This also applies to those minor times when we may want to give another person a piece of our mind, but instead choose to walk away.
The Apostle John wrote: God is Love. That's big, but when we show love to others, we are really showing God to them. That's big too.
Ephesians 4:2-16 NLT
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[c] 10 And
the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the
heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This
will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and
knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up
to the full and complete standard of Christ.14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
But they just don't seem so simple do they? Speak the truth in love...
Yesterday, I was asked to weigh in on a discussion about when it is appropriate to confront another person who claims to be a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ, yet doesn't appear to be following those same teachings.
This is a very difficult question, and it has an easy answer, that's not all that easy; Speak the truth in love.
Balance that with the example of Christ, who confronted the religious leaders of his day by pointing out their hypocrisy and hubris; the example of a man who saw the abuse of his Father's house, the temple of God in Jerusalem, and went into an angry cleaning spree. His example is one of love for others; touching the sick, eating and drinking with the unwanted, speaking to social pariahs, and much worse by the standards of the Jewish faith at the time. But what of his confrontation of sin in the religious leaders of the day? How does that fit in with love?
Well, there's the old proverb; "Spare the rod, spoil the child," which while not exactly biblical, has roots in the Bible Proverb: "the rod is for the back of fools." Previously, this writer has discussed the proverb about arguing with a fool and correcting a fool, and perhaps that bears weight here at times. We can all point to times in our lives when we've been foolish and done things that were really mind numbingly stupid. It's at those times that we all need a brother or sister in Christ, a fellow member of His Body, to come up to us and lovingly use the rod of God's word on our foolish back. We then must humbly submit to that, in love as well, and look closely at our lives and repent. In the same way, when we see a brother or sister in Christ, to whom we are close, stumbling and sinning, and we do nothing to lovingly help them find their way, we become co-conspirators with them and, I believe, are just as guilty as they.
Then there are the times we need to step back and say nothing. The American Author; Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, said it best: "A closed mouth gathers no feet." Following the principle found in Matthew 18, when we've confronted someone, gone through the proper channels and so on, it's time to let them go. There's not much else you can do. This also applies to those minor times when we may want to give another person a piece of our mind, but instead choose to walk away.
The Apostle John wrote: God is Love. That's big, but when we show love to others, we are really showing God to them. That's big too.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Closer than a brother...
Proverbs 18:24 (NIV)
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
For those who don't know me at all, allow me to offer some context prior to plowing onward. For close to eight years of my life, I have worked for an organization called Friendship Community. I have labored as a direct care advisor, working side by side with gentlemen who live in a group home environment.
Due to circumstances of birth, childhood disease, or genetics, all of these men share a common need of someone to assist them with some or all of their daily routines. I, and others like me, each spend forty or more hours a week with them, living their lives alongside them, and caring for them. The pay in this line of work, at least in Pennsylvania, isn't enough to support a single income home. The work conditions are sometimes hazardous just by nature of what is required of us, and sometimes it feels like we are unappreciated or unnoticed.* Sometimes the individuals we work with can be unpredictable, and yes some of them can become violent at times, though this is a small fraction of the folks I've known.
So, why do I do what I do? Well, I'm called to it for one thing. For another, I've come to realize that when one works so closely with another, helping them with their most sensitive care, a bond develops. This bond is so deep, it is perhaps similar to the bond one feels with a sibling. When they are happy, we rejoice with them. When they are sad, we share their tears. When they are hurting, we ache for them. When they die, a little bit of us dies with them.
In my nearly eight years working with developmentally disabled individuals, I have lost five brothers. Peter; the man who loved Coca~Cola and for some reason took a shine to me. John; the quiet one who had a gentle spirit. Curtis; the vibrant one who always wanted to do something and always wanted to be in the center of whatever was happening. Bob; the prankster and my kindred spirit who will always live in my memory with a twinkle in his eye and mischievous smirk on his face. And most recently, Patrick; the servant who loved everyone and loved to do whatever he could for anyone else.
These men and those others still living are why I serve as I do. They are the reason I pray that God will continue to provide so I can continue to do the work I love with the brothers and sisters I've come to know.
Eight years ago, I was unemployed and wondering what God had for me. Now, eight years later, I am thankful that He brought me into this life of uncertainty. It is far from an easy life, and the work, though not always physically taxing, pulls on the heart and can be very spiritually draining. And even then, despite the heartbreak, the rewards are so immense. How else could I ever have an opportunity to be a part of so many families? How else could my life be touched by such amazing and wonderful people?
God has me here at this place in time for a reason. It is by His love and His will I continue to make friends with those who continue to become closer than a brother. I will be my brothers' keeper.
* The above statement is not intended as a reflection on Friendship Community. It is a general sentiment shared with me by others who work for various organizations.
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
For those who don't know me at all, allow me to offer some context prior to plowing onward. For close to eight years of my life, I have worked for an organization called Friendship Community. I have labored as a direct care advisor, working side by side with gentlemen who live in a group home environment.
Due to circumstances of birth, childhood disease, or genetics, all of these men share a common need of someone to assist them with some or all of their daily routines. I, and others like me, each spend forty or more hours a week with them, living their lives alongside them, and caring for them. The pay in this line of work, at least in Pennsylvania, isn't enough to support a single income home. The work conditions are sometimes hazardous just by nature of what is required of us, and sometimes it feels like we are unappreciated or unnoticed.* Sometimes the individuals we work with can be unpredictable, and yes some of them can become violent at times, though this is a small fraction of the folks I've known.
So, why do I do what I do? Well, I'm called to it for one thing. For another, I've come to realize that when one works so closely with another, helping them with their most sensitive care, a bond develops. This bond is so deep, it is perhaps similar to the bond one feels with a sibling. When they are happy, we rejoice with them. When they are sad, we share their tears. When they are hurting, we ache for them. When they die, a little bit of us dies with them.
In my nearly eight years working with developmentally disabled individuals, I have lost five brothers. Peter; the man who loved Coca~Cola and for some reason took a shine to me. John; the quiet one who had a gentle spirit. Curtis; the vibrant one who always wanted to do something and always wanted to be in the center of whatever was happening. Bob; the prankster and my kindred spirit who will always live in my memory with a twinkle in his eye and mischievous smirk on his face. And most recently, Patrick; the servant who loved everyone and loved to do whatever he could for anyone else.
These men and those others still living are why I serve as I do. They are the reason I pray that God will continue to provide so I can continue to do the work I love with the brothers and sisters I've come to know.
Eight years ago, I was unemployed and wondering what God had for me. Now, eight years later, I am thankful that He brought me into this life of uncertainty. It is far from an easy life, and the work, though not always physically taxing, pulls on the heart and can be very spiritually draining. And even then, despite the heartbreak, the rewards are so immense. How else could I ever have an opportunity to be a part of so many families? How else could my life be touched by such amazing and wonderful people?
God has me here at this place in time for a reason. It is by His love and His will I continue to make friends with those who continue to become closer than a brother. I will be my brothers' keeper.
* The above statement is not intended as a reflection on Friendship Community. It is a general sentiment shared with me by others who work for various organizations.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
"Pray for those who persecute you..."
Matthew 5:43-48 NLT
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’[a] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies![b] Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In
that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.
For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends
rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[c] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
People intrigue me. You can be the nicest person in the world, and you'll still have people who hate you. I can think of at least three instances in my life where people have done things to me, personally, intent on destroying me or my relationship with another person.
One in particular happened in college. Someone swapped out the return email address on their email client with mine and sent an email to the entirety of the faculty and staff of the college with a very negative statement in it. I have no idea who it was, and I really don't care at this point, but one way or another, it hurt badly at the time, and only by the grace of God did I not drop out of college because of it. I had a secure alibi at the time, having been no-where near a computer at the time, and this was nearly 20 years ago, long before the time of smartphones, so there was no negative blow-back on me from the college, but it still hurt that someone would do something so hateful.
The second instance occurred a few years back. I was working for the organization I now am employed with, and a rather bitter fellow employee wanted my job. I found out about it much later, but apparently he and another employee did their best to undermine my position. I am thankful that it didn't work, I just kept trying to do the right thing and both of them ended up no longer employed at that same organization. I suppose the proverb, "he who walks in integrity walks securely" held true.
The third instance is more recent. An individual has been trying to undermine my relationship with another person. It hurts because I haven't earned the anger or hatred of this person, but I'm still on the receiving end.
So, what am I to do? Well, I am again turning to the above passage, as I have in the past. I've been praying for the person in question. It's not easy. I want to be angry, I want to verbally attack and give them a piece of my mind, but I can't bring myself to do that.
There are at least three reasons I've chosen this path, aside from the obvious command of Jesus Christ. Firstly; it would just make the other individual angrier than they already are. Secondly; it would do more harm to the relationship that person is trying to undermine. Thirdly; it would do me no good and cause harm to my own spirit.
So, instead I've been praying for the person in question
that God will turn their jealousy into understanding, their anger into
peace, their bitterness into contentment, and their hatred into love.
Again, it's not an easy thing, but look at the example we're given. We're told to "be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect." That's a tall order. It's huge. How on earth can I be perfect? I know I'm not, but forgiveness is a first step.
This is coming from a man who looked down from a Roman cross and asked God the father to forgive the very people who were killing him.
Love your enemies...wow. That's huge.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
The unexpected...
2 Corinthians 5:6-10
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
This past Friday started out much like any other. I went to work, helped the gentleman I work with get ready to go and took him out the door. I dropped him off for his routine Friday appointment, and half an hour later, he was gone from this world.
It was surreal. One moment, he was laughing and smiling, the next, he was gone. Just...like...that.
The above promise from the Apostle Paul is so commonly read at Funerals, but I think the last bit is the most important. Yes, we who have put our trust in Jesus Christ have a blessed hope that we are being sanctified through His blood and will be together with him when we die; but what does that matter if we have not truly lived for Him.
A couple of weeks back, I was heading to an appointment and I ended up behind a funeral procession and it was one of the saddest things I ever saw. Aside from the hearse and the limo, there were only six vehicles in the procession, and they only had one or two people in each. Only six. Now, I don't know the details, perhaps it was a young child who had passed, or perhaps someone who was so old at the time of their death that most of their friends and relatives had gone on ahead of them, but it was still a powerful image to me:
When I die, will I be remembered only by a few, or will I have such an impact for the cause of Christ that my memory will not soon fade? I know when my dad passed away nearly ten years ago now, there was a memorial service in one of the largest churches in Springfield, Mass that was standing room only. A young man whom I had the privilege of serving as a youth leader recently left his pastorate, wife, young son and family behind, and they had to book a bigger church just to hold all the people who went to his memorial service. Both men had an immense impact on those around them because they looked to the cause of Christ, not to themselves.
Now, don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to say I want a huge memorial service when the Father sees fit to call me home. What I'm saying is, I want to have lived my life so much for the cause of Christ that my life will be of value. I'm a person who doesn't really like a lot of attention; one who is content to just do what needs to be done and love and serve the people around me. I don't think I'm really cut out to be a pastor of a church, though I am gifted to teach. I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts with my small audience of friends and family, and I believe that has merit. I enjoy working with the youth at church and working with the various folks at Friendship Community whom I have been honored to serve for nearly eight years.
Yet I wonder: am I doing enough? It's not that I think I will lose my eternal hope of salvation because I'm not doing enough. I suppose it's more a feeling of; "am I adequate? Am I doing everything I can?" Really, I don't know, but I do know that God has used me to touch some lives in a positive way, and for that I am thankful.
As for my friend who passed out of this life into the next just two days past, I look at his life, and it was vibrant. He lived to serve other people, and he will be remembered. Perhaps I will be remembered for the same, but I hope the honor is not given to me, but rather to Jesus Christ whom I serve.
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
This past Friday started out much like any other. I went to work, helped the gentleman I work with get ready to go and took him out the door. I dropped him off for his routine Friday appointment, and half an hour later, he was gone from this world.
It was surreal. One moment, he was laughing and smiling, the next, he was gone. Just...like...that.
The above promise from the Apostle Paul is so commonly read at Funerals, but I think the last bit is the most important. Yes, we who have put our trust in Jesus Christ have a blessed hope that we are being sanctified through His blood and will be together with him when we die; but what does that matter if we have not truly lived for Him.
A couple of weeks back, I was heading to an appointment and I ended up behind a funeral procession and it was one of the saddest things I ever saw. Aside from the hearse and the limo, there were only six vehicles in the procession, and they only had one or two people in each. Only six. Now, I don't know the details, perhaps it was a young child who had passed, or perhaps someone who was so old at the time of their death that most of their friends and relatives had gone on ahead of them, but it was still a powerful image to me:
When I die, will I be remembered only by a few, or will I have such an impact for the cause of Christ that my memory will not soon fade? I know when my dad passed away nearly ten years ago now, there was a memorial service in one of the largest churches in Springfield, Mass that was standing room only. A young man whom I had the privilege of serving as a youth leader recently left his pastorate, wife, young son and family behind, and they had to book a bigger church just to hold all the people who went to his memorial service. Both men had an immense impact on those around them because they looked to the cause of Christ, not to themselves.
Now, don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to say I want a huge memorial service when the Father sees fit to call me home. What I'm saying is, I want to have lived my life so much for the cause of Christ that my life will be of value. I'm a person who doesn't really like a lot of attention; one who is content to just do what needs to be done and love and serve the people around me. I don't think I'm really cut out to be a pastor of a church, though I am gifted to teach. I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts with my small audience of friends and family, and I believe that has merit. I enjoy working with the youth at church and working with the various folks at Friendship Community whom I have been honored to serve for nearly eight years.
Yet I wonder: am I doing enough? It's not that I think I will lose my eternal hope of salvation because I'm not doing enough. I suppose it's more a feeling of; "am I adequate? Am I doing everything I can?" Really, I don't know, but I do know that God has used me to touch some lives in a positive way, and for that I am thankful.
As for my friend who passed out of this life into the next just two days past, I look at his life, and it was vibrant. He lived to serve other people, and he will be remembered. Perhaps I will be remembered for the same, but I hope the honor is not given to me, but rather to Jesus Christ whom I serve.
Monday, March 17, 2014
I'm worn...
Read 1 Kings 19
Sometimes I feel alone. I feel...worn. I was listening to the song by that title by Tenth Avenue North, and it really touched my heart tonight and got me to thinking about Elijah. The Prophet Elijah was tired. He'd been fighting for Jehovah, and still someone wanted to kill him. In fact, he had just come down off the mountain where he had called on the Almighty and had been rewarded with fire from heaven to consume his worthy sacrifice.
We find him as he's run away to the wilderness. He feels God has abandoned him, yet miraculously, a bird brings him food every day. Even then he fears for his life at the hands of a human queen.
But don't I do that too? Don't I run and hide from those who trouble me and threaten me and try to hurt me, forgetting all the while that God is all powerful. He is the power of the wind, and the small voice.
In the words of the song linked below; I want to see redemption win. I want to see the power of God manifested in an undeniable way. Then, He shows His power, He does a great work, and I am in awe...for a moment...
Until the next struggle...
And I run to the wilderness...
And despite my lack of faith, God nourishes me from the stream of His spirit and the bread of his Word, and takes me up onto that metaphorical cliffside to teach me yet again that He is there in the stillness...
When I am quiet...
When I rest in Him...
While the winds of life wear me down, He is the quiet whisper of reassurance...and I can carry on.
Sometimes I feel alone. I feel...worn. I was listening to the song by that title by Tenth Avenue North, and it really touched my heart tonight and got me to thinking about Elijah. The Prophet Elijah was tired. He'd been fighting for Jehovah, and still someone wanted to kill him. In fact, he had just come down off the mountain where he had called on the Almighty and had been rewarded with fire from heaven to consume his worthy sacrifice.
We find him as he's run away to the wilderness. He feels God has abandoned him, yet miraculously, a bird brings him food every day. Even then he fears for his life at the hands of a human queen.
But don't I do that too? Don't I run and hide from those who trouble me and threaten me and try to hurt me, forgetting all the while that God is all powerful. He is the power of the wind, and the small voice.
In the words of the song linked below; I want to see redemption win. I want to see the power of God manifested in an undeniable way. Then, He shows His power, He does a great work, and I am in awe...for a moment...
Until the next struggle...
And I run to the wilderness...
And despite my lack of faith, God nourishes me from the stream of His spirit and the bread of his Word, and takes me up onto that metaphorical cliffside to teach me yet again that He is there in the stillness...
When I am quiet...
When I rest in Him...
While the winds of life wear me down, He is the quiet whisper of reassurance...and I can carry on.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Forever fruits...
Proverbs 22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
The following is an open letter to my son:
Y'know, when you invest your time and love in another person , and you finally start to see your efforts bearing fruit, that is an amazing feeling.
Nine and a half years ago, you came into our lives. Your mother and I weren't sure what to expect when a bespectacled seven-year-old came into our lives, walked into our humble little trailer and exclaimed "sweet! I have my own room!"
The first time you called me Daddy, I knew I was hopelessly lost.
Your life with us has been at times a battle, at times, a heartbreak, and at other times, absolute bliss. There have been times we've been so worried for you, we couldn't sleep.
Now, getting close to ten years later, you've grown into a handsome young man. Not only that, you've grown in other ways that touch my heart. Fewer are the moments of frustration, and greater are the moments when I see a glimpse of the great man you are becoming. Over the last two months, and even moreso, over the last three weeks, I have seen you exercise a maturity and a tender heart that make me realize, I was right to stay strong through the hard times.
I am proud to call you son, and look forward to seeing you grow fully into a man of strength and integrity.
Now I'm going to go have a little cry...a happy one.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Finding peace
John 14:23-27
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
This is probably the time of year I dread the most. No, not winter. Winter I actually enjoy. No, the time of year I dread the most is tax time. Taxes are an unfortunate part of life. Even Jesus paid taxes, and in one instance had help from a fish.
Just the same, every year, the same fears assail me. Will I make a mistake on my taxes? Will I owe money? Will I owe more than I can afford? And so on and so forth. The peace I generally have little trouble grasping, suddenly flees like an elusive wisp of fog.
But then, I force myself to take a deep breath and call on the One who has always been faithful and little miracles happen; like the check I found locked in my safe yesterday that will pay for an eye doctor appointment, or the check that a kindly gentleman at church always gives to my wife and I every Christmas, or an encouraging word from a friend when I'm feeling the most lost.
this weekend is the ninth year for the annual men's retreat of the Bible Fellowship Church of Terre Hill. I've been there every year, and this year I have the privilege of sharing the blessing with my son. And there's another worry on the list; will my son embrace all the things I've tried to show him, or will they be forgotten whenever the road gets difficult?
This I know and have found to be true; God is faithful. Even when things seem at their darkest and even when I cannot see the road ahead, He has always been there and has always made a way. I look back on all the dark times in my life and every single time, He has brought me through, perhaps bruised, and perhaps crawling on my knees, but always into the Light.
There is no time so dark that the Spirit of God cannot give us light; no pit so deep that He cannot reach in and pull us out.
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
This is probably the time of year I dread the most. No, not winter. Winter I actually enjoy. No, the time of year I dread the most is tax time. Taxes are an unfortunate part of life. Even Jesus paid taxes, and in one instance had help from a fish.
Just the same, every year, the same fears assail me. Will I make a mistake on my taxes? Will I owe money? Will I owe more than I can afford? And so on and so forth. The peace I generally have little trouble grasping, suddenly flees like an elusive wisp of fog.
But then, I force myself to take a deep breath and call on the One who has always been faithful and little miracles happen; like the check I found locked in my safe yesterday that will pay for an eye doctor appointment, or the check that a kindly gentleman at church always gives to my wife and I every Christmas, or an encouraging word from a friend when I'm feeling the most lost.
this weekend is the ninth year for the annual men's retreat of the Bible Fellowship Church of Terre Hill. I've been there every year, and this year I have the privilege of sharing the blessing with my son. And there's another worry on the list; will my son embrace all the things I've tried to show him, or will they be forgotten whenever the road gets difficult?
This I know and have found to be true; God is faithful. Even when things seem at their darkest and even when I cannot see the road ahead, He has always been there and has always made a way. I look back on all the dark times in my life and every single time, He has brought me through, perhaps bruised, and perhaps crawling on my knees, but always into the Light.
There is no time so dark that the Spirit of God cannot give us light; no pit so deep that He cannot reach in and pull us out.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Proverbs 12:17-23
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
17 An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.
18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.
but those who promote peace have joy.
21 No harm overtakes the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
22 The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.
23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.
My dad used to tell me to always be honest; to tell the truth when asked, but that it wasn't necessary to tell everything I know. This was usually after, as a child will, I had shared something embarrassing.
Truth and wisdom are commonly intertwined in scripture. The search for truth and knowledge is a noble thing in fact. Solomon wrote about it extensively, then concluded: "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body" (Ecc. 12:12b). In context, that statement is a caution to heed the words of the wise and not add useless extra thinking to it. We seem to do that a lot, particularly in theological circles. Don't misinterpret me here, I love theology and the mental prodding and goading (as in the context of the aforementioned statement); however, over-thinking (the writing of many books) is a failing of theologians; which has led to many a divisive argument (which is one of the fruits of the flesh mentioned by the apostle Paul).
The Apostle Paul also cautions us toward "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15), which, again taken in context, comes from understanding the teachings of scripture and not being taken in by every wind of doctrinal division that blows our way. I do not mean to say that understanding of Biblical doctrine is useless, not by any means; on the contrary: the understanding of Biblical doctrine is of utmost necessity. It is the application and dissemination of extra-biblical discussion and thinking that leads us down the dangerous path toward division.
So, getting back to the original text, truth is a wonderful thing, and the pursuit of the knowledge of truth is excellent and admirable. When we seek out truth and speak it in love, we pursue the epitome of the use of knowledge. Knowledge without understanding is useless, so it is good to study the scripture, and even look at the writings of others to help us understand better what the scriptures tell us. So it's really an endless cycle of study, but if we do not apply ourselves to the study of the Bible, we will have no foundation and no anchor to hold on to when we are confronted with ideas that may fall outside the teachings of the scripture.
While Jesus was on trial, Pilate asked Him; "What is truth?" The irony of that is, he was looking the Truth in the eye. In many ways we do much the same. We search so heavily for truth, poring over scripture and commentaries and the thoughts of men on what the scriptures really mean, we lose track of the very truth staring us right in the face.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Spirits...testing, testing...
1John 4:1-6
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
An intelligent young man with whom I am friends on Facebook, pointed out something which I have mentally chewed on for many years. Denominationalism; or perhaps better put; why do we argue so much about things that don't really matter in the long run and get caught up in divisions that tear apart people of faith rather than building them up?
The apostles spent a fair amount of time fighting just that in the early Church. Early divisions occurred around the topics of circumcision, meat sacrificed to idols, etc. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul nearly came to blows with Peter about the latter apostle's treatment of gentiles in the church. Later issues came up with groups like the Nicolaitans, and the Gnostics.
The apostle John, dealing with early gnostics in the Church, wrote about the "Spirit of Antichrist" and its presence in the world. The Gnostics believed several things that were out of line with the core teachings of scripture. These teachings, based on the thinking of man and heavily influenced by the Greek Sophists, detracted from the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles.
Having grown up in an ultra-conservative Baptist environment where legalism was a way of life, I've seen that same spirit at work up close and personal. It's not a pretty thing. Consider that the greatest commandment of scripture, according to Jesus Christ Himself, is "Love God with all your heart soul and mind, and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself," well, it seems God's greatest commandment is a "do" command, not a "do not" command. Legalism is by its very nature a denial of the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ because it assumes that we must do more things on top of what Christ already has done.
The Apostle Paul, who called himself a "Jew among Jews" due to his training and early devotion to the Jewish faith, spent a lot of time in his letters to the early Church, correcting the erroneous thinking that what we do not do, or what we abstain from, is what makes us people of faith. Not at all.
There is only one thing that makes us people of faith: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9 NIV). That's it. Nothing else. Yes, after receiving God's forgiveness, He does a work of grace in us to produce good works (See Ephesians 2, or James' letter), but that is not our doing, it is His.
I'm not saying here that it's not important for one to know what one believes; on the contrary, understanding at least the basics of theology is helpful for spiritual growth and not knowing at least those basics is a recipe for being led away into various traps that the spirit of antichrist will lay for us (including legalism). What I am saying is that we should know the most important teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles, carry them with us in our hearts and our minds, and live them in such a way that others will see Jesus Christ living in us, rather than us living in a downward spiral of infighting and hypocrisy.
So, we test the spirits. We watch, we pray, and we do...we love.
To quote the great Yoda: "Do, or do not...there is no try"...Ok, well, that doesn't really fit, but he's green and muppetty, so we will let it slide.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
An intelligent young man with whom I am friends on Facebook, pointed out something which I have mentally chewed on for many years. Denominationalism; or perhaps better put; why do we argue so much about things that don't really matter in the long run and get caught up in divisions that tear apart people of faith rather than building them up?
The apostles spent a fair amount of time fighting just that in the early Church. Early divisions occurred around the topics of circumcision, meat sacrificed to idols, etc. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul nearly came to blows with Peter about the latter apostle's treatment of gentiles in the church. Later issues came up with groups like the Nicolaitans, and the Gnostics.
The apostle John, dealing with early gnostics in the Church, wrote about the "Spirit of Antichrist" and its presence in the world. The Gnostics believed several things that were out of line with the core teachings of scripture. These teachings, based on the thinking of man and heavily influenced by the Greek Sophists, detracted from the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles.
Having grown up in an ultra-conservative Baptist environment where legalism was a way of life, I've seen that same spirit at work up close and personal. It's not a pretty thing. Consider that the greatest commandment of scripture, according to Jesus Christ Himself, is "Love God with all your heart soul and mind, and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself," well, it seems God's greatest commandment is a "do" command, not a "do not" command. Legalism is by its very nature a denial of the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ because it assumes that we must do more things on top of what Christ already has done.
The Apostle Paul, who called himself a "Jew among Jews" due to his training and early devotion to the Jewish faith, spent a lot of time in his letters to the early Church, correcting the erroneous thinking that what we do not do, or what we abstain from, is what makes us people of faith. Not at all.
There is only one thing that makes us people of faith: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9 NIV). That's it. Nothing else. Yes, after receiving God's forgiveness, He does a work of grace in us to produce good works (See Ephesians 2, or James' letter), but that is not our doing, it is His.
I'm not saying here that it's not important for one to know what one believes; on the contrary, understanding at least the basics of theology is helpful for spiritual growth and not knowing at least those basics is a recipe for being led away into various traps that the spirit of antichrist will lay for us (including legalism). What I am saying is that we should know the most important teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles, carry them with us in our hearts and our minds, and live them in such a way that others will see Jesus Christ living in us, rather than us living in a downward spiral of infighting and hypocrisy.
So, we test the spirits. We watch, we pray, and we do...we love.
To quote the great Yoda: "Do, or do not...there is no try"...Ok, well, that doesn't really fit, but he's green and muppetty, so we will let it slide.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Faith's refuge
Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
The other day, I woke in a panic. I realized I had misjudged when a bill would fall and was unsure if there would be money in the right account to cover it. I'd been praying for peace, and for a provision of some sort, but I couldn't push the fear aside. But then, I woke, and above my panic, the above verse played itself over in my head just out of the blue, and the peace was there, and the bill didn't fall until the next day, when the money was there to cover it.
The work I do is a ministry. It's not easy and the pay is not great, but something I've learned over the years is that God takes care of those who serve Him; those who take refuge in Him, if you will. There is a joy to be had in watching the Heavenly Father provide, and when you work in any kind of ministry He has to provide a lot.
Earlier in the same passage, the psalmist writes:
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
This promise is huge! I've seen it again and again. If we are faithful, God's provision is vast. Working in any sort of ministry can require seat of the pants faith, but God loves us so much and is such a great deliverer, He rewards that faith and sends his angels to protect us. It's so amazing to live in the middle of God's provision.
This isn't anything like the "God wants you to be rich" message some folks preach. No, it's a "God wants you to rely on Him," message. Do His will, trust in His grace, and He will provide.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
The other day, I woke in a panic. I realized I had misjudged when a bill would fall and was unsure if there would be money in the right account to cover it. I'd been praying for peace, and for a provision of some sort, but I couldn't push the fear aside. But then, I woke, and above my panic, the above verse played itself over in my head just out of the blue, and the peace was there, and the bill didn't fall until the next day, when the money was there to cover it.
The work I do is a ministry. It's not easy and the pay is not great, but something I've learned over the years is that God takes care of those who serve Him; those who take refuge in Him, if you will. There is a joy to be had in watching the Heavenly Father provide, and when you work in any kind of ministry He has to provide a lot.
Earlier in the same passage, the psalmist writes:
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
This promise is huge! I've seen it again and again. If we are faithful, God's provision is vast. Working in any sort of ministry can require seat of the pants faith, but God loves us so much and is such a great deliverer, He rewards that faith and sends his angels to protect us. It's so amazing to live in the middle of God's provision.
This isn't anything like the "God wants you to be rich" message some folks preach. No, it's a "God wants you to rely on Him," message. Do His will, trust in His grace, and He will provide.
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