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.
Monday, April 28, 2014
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.
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