"Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good" Prov 14:22
It happens to everyone sooner or later. Sometime, somewhere, someone crosses you. They may have betrayed you, stolen from you, lied to you. They may be a spouse, a best friend, a neighbor, a pastor, a teacher, a total stranger. The results are the same, you seethe with dislike verging on or spilling over into hatred. You seethe each time you think of them. You see a car that looks like theirs and your blood boils. You catch a glimpse of a head that looks like theirs and you turn the other way. You go ten blocks out of your way to avoid the very possibility of running into them. You even stop shopping at your favorite store because you know they do their shopping in the same place.
You have become possessed by hatred.
A trusted counselor-friend tells you to forgive and forget, but you can't. Your doctor tells you, you need to relax or you will suffer forever with ulcers. Your boss notices that your mind is not on your work and has a long chat with you over a power lunch. That is always bad news. You snap at your kids, you ignore your home. You pace around like a hungry tiger in a cage. Your nerves are ready to snap, and you have bit off more than one head in the last months.
You are a mess.
Who are you hurting? Is it the person who offended you? Hardly. Is it those around you, your family, your friends, your compatriots? Certainly. But most of all, you are destroying yourself. Your hatred is eating you alive, from the inside out. It is deeper than the ulcers; it is more than the thoughts buried in the recesses of your mind. The cancer that is destroying you is rooted in your very soul.
"Edwin, you are describing me. What can I do?" you may be asking. Solomon, who is much wiser than I, he says we should devise good. In this way we will find kindness and truth. Jesus said it in another way, "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." Luke 6:27-28 (NKJV)
"I can't do that!" Sure you can, not of your own strength, but through "Christ who strengthens you!" It is time to put aside your hatred and do good to those who spitefully use you. In this way you will find peace. Praaaaise God, Amen and Amen.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Proverbs 8:1-6,22-31; Romans 10:5-13
Loving God, quicken our hearts again, that we may receive Your Word afresh and anew. Send the refreshing wind of your Spirit upon us Lord that your voice may be heard in our hearts and your loving presence seen in all that we say and do, bless indeed your Word to us - oh though our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen
Today Wisdom calls us, she calls to all living to hear her voice and live. She has built her house; she has made her bread and mixed her wine; she has set her table.
She calls us to come and to eat and drink, to lay aside immaturity and live and walk in the way of insight.
This is the image of the Book of Proverbs concerning the Wisdom of God.
Wisdom calls us - God calls us
The Spirit calls us Christ calls us
And today in a public manner, in a sacramental manner, in a holy and sacred manner, we celebrate as a community the answering of that call.
From little Robert and his mother, young in years to Rosa who is wise with experience, faith in God is being expressed, and from Albert and Josephine - to you and me and the rest of the people of this church a desire is being made manifest:
- the desire to indeed eat and drink at the table of wisdom
- the desire to be filled with the Spirit and to be at one with the God
who made us all,
- and to be at one with his people in a specific way and in a specific
place - at a specific table.
Today, however, we celebrate more than the sacraments of belonging, - we celebrate more than baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, - we celebrate more than the meal that signifies the forgiveness of God and our union with God and with one another, today we celebrate the truth of our faith, today we celebrate the wisdom of our God.
- a wisdom that is beyond our wisdom
- a truth that is beyond our truth. A wisdom that is saving, A truth that is healing.
We celebrate how Wisdom became incarnate in Christ Jesus. We celebrate how truth took on substance in him, how the word of God took on flesh and dwelt among us - calling us towards salvation and becoming salvation to us; - taking us by the hand to bring us to the gates of heaven and with his love opening those gates - offering himself for us - his body - and his blood - so that we might eat and live forever,
so that we might be filled with light
so that we might be made whole
so that we might be instruments of grace and of love.
So how do we do this how do we actually eat and drink and live? How are we made whole? How are we saved?
It is a matter of faith and belief. Of confession and of commitment.
Paul writes that is:
the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'who will ascend into heaven' (that is to bring Christ down), or 'who will descend into the abyss' (that is to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
It says that "the word is near you - on your lips and in your hearts" - that is the word of faith we proclaim - because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Confess with your lips Jesus is Lord - that he is the one promised of God, the one of wisdom and of gentleness, the one who is one with God and has the keys to heaven in his hand, the one to obey and believe in your heart that God in fact uses him to do what we cannot do for ourselves, that in him God's power is made manifest. God's power to give bring life out of death - hope out of despair, joy out of sorrow, order out of chaos....
The essence of Wisdom is the essence of God, and it is God we celebrate today;
the love of God,
the mercy of God,
the forgiveness of God,
the healing power of God,
day by day, one day at a time, forever and ever.
Wisdom has set her table, she has sent out her servants. She calls us to come and eat her bread and drink her wine. She calls us to accept Christ as our wisdom and our life - our Lord and our companion, and to believe that God as God raised him from the dead, so he will raise us to new life through him.
We celebrate the truth and the wisdom of God today.
Paul write in the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews concerning those who confess Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead:
You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
My friends, each of us here today is on a spiritual pilgrimage, and by the grace of God we have found, or are in the process of finding our way to the table that wisdom has spread for us. We are making our way to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God.
From those of you who have found that there is a higher power that can help you with your problems, to those of you have looked upon the heavens above and the world below, and sensed there is one whose glory is above the heavens and whose majesty is greater than the world that he has made, there is a recognition of the call that Wisdom has made and the truth that she reveals at the table she has spread.
We celebrate here today in the sacraments we observe, and the songs that we sing, and the prayers that we make, something that is truly great - something that is truly marvellous, something that speaks more eloquently than the blood of Abel, something that is not only beyond us in mystery, but which is beyond us in love, and yet in love comes to us and calls us and - when we accept it in our hearts and begin making it real on our lips - makes us, and indeed our world - whole.
Blessed be God, day by day. Amen.
Today Wisdom calls us, she calls to all living to hear her voice and live. She has built her house; she has made her bread and mixed her wine; she has set her table.
She calls us to come and to eat and drink, to lay aside immaturity and live and walk in the way of insight.
This is the image of the Book of Proverbs concerning the Wisdom of God.
Wisdom calls us - God calls us
The Spirit calls us Christ calls us
And today in a public manner, in a sacramental manner, in a holy and sacred manner, we celebrate as a community the answering of that call.
From little Robert and his mother, young in years to Rosa who is wise with experience, faith in God is being expressed, and from Albert and Josephine - to you and me and the rest of the people of this church a desire is being made manifest:
- the desire to indeed eat and drink at the table of wisdom
- the desire to be filled with the Spirit and to be at one with the God
who made us all,
- and to be at one with his people in a specific way and in a specific
place - at a specific table.
Today, however, we celebrate more than the sacraments of belonging, - we celebrate more than baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, - we celebrate more than the meal that signifies the forgiveness of God and our union with God and with one another, today we celebrate the truth of our faith, today we celebrate the wisdom of our God.
- a wisdom that is beyond our wisdom
- a truth that is beyond our truth. A wisdom that is saving, A truth that is healing.
We celebrate how Wisdom became incarnate in Christ Jesus. We celebrate how truth took on substance in him, how the word of God took on flesh and dwelt among us - calling us towards salvation and becoming salvation to us; - taking us by the hand to bring us to the gates of heaven and with his love opening those gates - offering himself for us - his body - and his blood - so that we might eat and live forever,
so that we might be filled with light
so that we might be made whole
so that we might be instruments of grace and of love.
So how do we do this how do we actually eat and drink and live? How are we made whole? How are we saved?
It is a matter of faith and belief. Of confession and of commitment.
Paul writes that is:
the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'who will ascend into heaven' (that is to bring Christ down), or 'who will descend into the abyss' (that is to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
It says that "the word is near you - on your lips and in your hearts" - that is the word of faith we proclaim - because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Confess with your lips Jesus is Lord - that he is the one promised of God, the one of wisdom and of gentleness, the one who is one with God and has the keys to heaven in his hand, the one to obey and believe in your heart that God in fact uses him to do what we cannot do for ourselves, that in him God's power is made manifest. God's power to give bring life out of death - hope out of despair, joy out of sorrow, order out of chaos....
The essence of Wisdom is the essence of God, and it is God we celebrate today;
the love of God,
the mercy of God,
the forgiveness of God,
the healing power of God,
day by day, one day at a time, forever and ever.
Wisdom has set her table, she has sent out her servants. She calls us to come and eat her bread and drink her wine. She calls us to accept Christ as our wisdom and our life - our Lord and our companion, and to believe that God as God raised him from the dead, so he will raise us to new life through him.
We celebrate the truth and the wisdom of God today.
Paul write in the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews concerning those who confess Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead:
You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
My friends, each of us here today is on a spiritual pilgrimage, and by the grace of God we have found, or are in the process of finding our way to the table that wisdom has spread for us. We are making our way to Mount Zion and to the city of the Living God.
From those of you who have found that there is a higher power that can help you with your problems, to those of you have looked upon the heavens above and the world below, and sensed there is one whose glory is above the heavens and whose majesty is greater than the world that he has made, there is a recognition of the call that Wisdom has made and the truth that she reveals at the table she has spread.
We celebrate here today in the sacraments we observe, and the songs that we sing, and the prayers that we make, something that is truly great - something that is truly marvellous, something that speaks more eloquently than the blood of Abel, something that is not only beyond us in mystery, but which is beyond us in love, and yet in love comes to us and calls us and - when we accept it in our hearts and begin making it real on our lips - makes us, and indeed our world - whole.
Blessed be God, day by day. Amen.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Matthew 5.4
"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5.4
What a paradox! We think of grief and happiness as being mutually exclusive. In fact, even in Christian circles, we are often taught that the Christian always has a smile on his face and a song in his heart. We are told that to be sad is sinful, that grief represents a lack of faith, and that pain comes from sinful living. Yet, this teaching is directly contrary to what Jesus is saying here.
Let's look for a moment at the word "mourn." In the Greek it means to grieve a loss. This may be the loss of a loved one, but it may be other losses as well: loss of health, loss of security, loss of a relationship, loss of a dream, loss of a job, etc. Too often when a Child of God mentions a loss to another Christian she is met with rebuke for her lack of faith or told she is "having a pity party." It is doubtful that she was having a pity party. To have a party you need guests and, usually, there is no one around to show pity on the Christian in sorrow.
Sometimes the person is alone in their sorrow, not because of lack of concern among the Christian community, but because no one knows about the pain. Many people get up in the morning under a burden of circumstances, filled with pain, but they put on their smile along with their Sunday clothes and go to church. They never let anyone know what they are going through. Sometimes this is because they don't want to appear weak. Sometimes it's because what is causing the pain might seem trivial to others. Sometimes it's because the pain is caused by something no one else would understand. So, even the person sitting next to them, even their spouse, child or best friend doesn't know that something is wrong.
But, Praise God, Jesus is telling us that he knows our heart. He knows when we mourn in silence. He knows that what is trivial to others may be overwhelming to us. And he says, "Child, I know what you are going through. I felt your pain in my body on the cross. And I will heal that pain."
So, when we mourn, when we face hard times, when we are sad, when our hearts break and the pain mounts up inside so badly that we feel we can't stand it any longer, we are Blessed. We are Happy. Why? Because at those times we really know how much we need him. We become "poor in spirit." We feel his presence. And when he does the work (He will do the work), then we will come out on the other side of the loss with a stronger testimony and a greater endurance for what is yet to come.
It is only against the darkness of night that the brightness of the stars be seen. The jeweler displays his most precious diamonds on his darkest cloth. God shows his glory against the backdrop of grief. So, blessed are those who mourn, for we shall be comforted.
Lord, wrap your arms around me in my grief and give me the strength only you have. And let me pass that strength along to others. Amen and Amen.
What a paradox! We think of grief and happiness as being mutually exclusive. In fact, even in Christian circles, we are often taught that the Christian always has a smile on his face and a song in his heart. We are told that to be sad is sinful, that grief represents a lack of faith, and that pain comes from sinful living. Yet, this teaching is directly contrary to what Jesus is saying here.
Let's look for a moment at the word "mourn." In the Greek it means to grieve a loss. This may be the loss of a loved one, but it may be other losses as well: loss of health, loss of security, loss of a relationship, loss of a dream, loss of a job, etc. Too often when a Child of God mentions a loss to another Christian she is met with rebuke for her lack of faith or told she is "having a pity party." It is doubtful that she was having a pity party. To have a party you need guests and, usually, there is no one around to show pity on the Christian in sorrow.
Sometimes the person is alone in their sorrow, not because of lack of concern among the Christian community, but because no one knows about the pain. Many people get up in the morning under a burden of circumstances, filled with pain, but they put on their smile along with their Sunday clothes and go to church. They never let anyone know what they are going through. Sometimes this is because they don't want to appear weak. Sometimes it's because what is causing the pain might seem trivial to others. Sometimes it's because the pain is caused by something no one else would understand. So, even the person sitting next to them, even their spouse, child or best friend doesn't know that something is wrong.
But, Praise God, Jesus is telling us that he knows our heart. He knows when we mourn in silence. He knows that what is trivial to others may be overwhelming to us. And he says, "Child, I know what you are going through. I felt your pain in my body on the cross. And I will heal that pain."
So, when we mourn, when we face hard times, when we are sad, when our hearts break and the pain mounts up inside so badly that we feel we can't stand it any longer, we are Blessed. We are Happy. Why? Because at those times we really know how much we need him. We become "poor in spirit." We feel his presence. And when he does the work (He will do the work), then we will come out on the other side of the loss with a stronger testimony and a greater endurance for what is yet to come.
It is only against the darkness of night that the brightness of the stars be seen. The jeweler displays his most precious diamonds on his darkest cloth. God shows his glory against the backdrop of grief. So, blessed are those who mourn, for we shall be comforted.
Lord, wrap your arms around me in my grief and give me the strength only you have. And let me pass that strength along to others. Amen and Amen.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
John 6:26
"Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled" John 6:26
Call me a "Doubting Thomas" if you want, but there are just some things I won't believe until I see them. Oh, I believe man walked on the moon, I saw the television broadcast as they did it. And I believe they discovered the Titanic, I saw the movie. (Just joking!) But there are things that I don't believe easily. The first time I heard about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, I doubted. Who would believe any human could inflict such a thing on another human? There are just some things that I have to see or hear for myself to believe them.
That leads me to a question: why do we believe in Jesus? I know a lot of people who believes in Him because He has done something wonderful in their lives. He may have saved their marriage, or healed a child, or redeemed them from financial ruin. Those are all good reasons to believe in Jesus, at least to cause us to begin to believe. But, trust me, those are not reason enough to keep us believing. Jesus told His followers that they believed in Him because they ate the bread Jesus multiplied, not because He is the Son of God. Of course they did not have that knowledge yet, but He had been implying such a thing for months before this event. He continues telling them to seek imperishable bread, that which will not get moldy, stale, and dry. He wants them to believe in Him because He is.
"He is what?" you may ask. He is the Son of God. He is the Redeemer for which we have all been waiting. He is the Sacrificial Lamb that has taken away all of our sins. All of these and more, Jesus wants us to accept. And when we do, we will find that our belief, our Faith, is not dependent upon what we have seen, but what we know, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And once we know that beyond the shadow of a doubt, we will never have to fear falling away from our relationship with Him. Why? Our Faith will be from the heart, not the head. It will not depend upon things that can be seen, felt, tasted, smelled, or heard. It will not be founded upon the things of this world, but upon the Solid Rock, the same Rock that Jesus built the Church upon, the knowledge that Jesus is God.
Don't get me wrong; we often need the miracles to cause us to believe in the beginning. It is just that we can't stay there. We need to move up to the next level and develop a personal relationship with the Son of God. That is when we begin to show spiritual maturity. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Call me a "Doubting Thomas" if you want, but there are just some things I won't believe until I see them. Oh, I believe man walked on the moon, I saw the television broadcast as they did it. And I believe they discovered the Titanic, I saw the movie. (Just joking!) But there are things that I don't believe easily. The first time I heard about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, I doubted. Who would believe any human could inflict such a thing on another human? There are just some things that I have to see or hear for myself to believe them.
That leads me to a question: why do we believe in Jesus? I know a lot of people who believes in Him because He has done something wonderful in their lives. He may have saved their marriage, or healed a child, or redeemed them from financial ruin. Those are all good reasons to believe in Jesus, at least to cause us to begin to believe. But, trust me, those are not reason enough to keep us believing. Jesus told His followers that they believed in Him because they ate the bread Jesus multiplied, not because He is the Son of God. Of course they did not have that knowledge yet, but He had been implying such a thing for months before this event. He continues telling them to seek imperishable bread, that which will not get moldy, stale, and dry. He wants them to believe in Him because He is.
"He is what?" you may ask. He is the Son of God. He is the Redeemer for which we have all been waiting. He is the Sacrificial Lamb that has taken away all of our sins. All of these and more, Jesus wants us to accept. And when we do, we will find that our belief, our Faith, is not dependent upon what we have seen, but what we know, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And once we know that beyond the shadow of a doubt, we will never have to fear falling away from our relationship with Him. Why? Our Faith will be from the heart, not the head. It will not depend upon things that can be seen, felt, tasted, smelled, or heard. It will not be founded upon the things of this world, but upon the Solid Rock, the same Rock that Jesus built the Church upon, the knowledge that Jesus is God.
Don't get me wrong; we often need the miracles to cause us to believe in the beginning. It is just that we can't stay there. We need to move up to the next level and develop a personal relationship with the Son of God. That is when we begin to show spiritual maturity. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Monday, May 24, 2010
1 Timothy 5:8
"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8
When love is used as a verb in the Bible, it requires the lover to meet the needs of the one being loved. Love must be given away. God so loved the world that He gave...(John 3:16).
The essence of love is meeting needs, and our most important assignment from God is to meet the needs of those who are closest to us (1 Timothy 5:8). We tend to use the people closest to us instead of meeting their needs. So the busy homemaker is out resolving everybody else's child-rearing problems but her own. Some pastors are available to everyone but his wife and children. And the executive will work overtime to solve company problems while ignoring needs at home.
Take an inventory of your family's needs. I am not talking about the external needs like clothing, education and food. I'm talking about gut-level needs that determine their sense of worth and belonging. When was the last time you hugged your child and told him you loved him? Have you noticed good character qualities in your spouse and pointed them out? If all you ever point out is physical qualities or achievements, your family members will base their worth on how well they perform and look instead of developing character. Do you regularly reinforce good behavior, or do you only notice the poor behavior? When your child does something nice, do you thank him? Does your child know that he is loved and valued from the way you talk to him?
Love can't be separated from action. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). If you love your family members, follow through with loving words and deeds. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
When love is used as a verb in the Bible, it requires the lover to meet the needs of the one being loved. Love must be given away. God so loved the world that He gave...(John 3:16).
The essence of love is meeting needs, and our most important assignment from God is to meet the needs of those who are closest to us (1 Timothy 5:8). We tend to use the people closest to us instead of meeting their needs. So the busy homemaker is out resolving everybody else's child-rearing problems but her own. Some pastors are available to everyone but his wife and children. And the executive will work overtime to solve company problems while ignoring needs at home.
Take an inventory of your family's needs. I am not talking about the external needs like clothing, education and food. I'm talking about gut-level needs that determine their sense of worth and belonging. When was the last time you hugged your child and told him you loved him? Have you noticed good character qualities in your spouse and pointed them out? If all you ever point out is physical qualities or achievements, your family members will base their worth on how well they perform and look instead of developing character. Do you regularly reinforce good behavior, or do you only notice the poor behavior? When your child does something nice, do you thank him? Does your child know that he is loved and valued from the way you talk to him?
Love can't be separated from action. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). If you love your family members, follow through with loving words and deeds. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21
Loving God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, help me to speak and us to hear your living word. On your people pour out your power and grant that each and every one of us may be moved in the way you want us to be moved. We ask of it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
A young boy was wandering around St. John’s Cathedral here in Hong Kong one Sunday morning, and stopped and examined a large bronze plaque that was hanging on the wall. “What are all those names up there?” He asked one of the ushers. “Those are the names of people who died in the service.” The usher replied. Curious, the boy asked the usher – which service, the 9:00 Family Service or the 11:30 Communion service?”
I was reading through Genesis 11:1-9, and the story of the Tower of Babel reminded me of a story I read some time ago. This is story by Victor Hugo, a French writer.
One day a bee got trapped inside Victor Hugo’s study and in its attempts to escape from the room, was frantically beating and hitting itself against one of the windows.
Hugo remembers seeing on the floor other bees that had already got killed by doing exactly the same thing that this bee is doing. So out of pity he decided to rescue the small creature that was beating out its little brains on the window.
He tried to help, by first of all, opening the window, and using a handkerchief, tried to shoo the bee out of the window. However, the bee flew in the opposite direction, back into the depths of his study.
Hugo realized that the only way that he could save the bee was to catch it. And with this in mind, with his handkerchief he began the process of tracking the bee down.
When the bee saw Hugo coming, it flew away towards another closed window, and again beat itself against it. The time the bee was even more frantic than before. AS the bee hit the window time and time again the buzzing got louder. It seems as though the bee was telling Hugo, “Cruel executioner, you would not take away my liberty. Cruel executioner, why do you not leave me alone? Why do you keep on persecuting me?”
Poor bee, for Hugo decided not to pay any attention to the messages that the bee seems to be sending to him. He very gently pinned the bee between the window and the handkerchief and began to fold the bee inside the handkerchief.
Although caught, the bee did not give up its struggle against the fingers of Hugo and the handkerchief, and the bee even tried to sting him. With the bee caught, Hugo managed to take it to the open window, and put the bee outside. For a moment the bee seemed stunned, perhaps it was the shock of sudden freedom when everything seem lost. After a moment it flew off on its chosen destination.
Can you see something similar between this story of the bee and the story of the Tower of Babel?
The similarity of both stories is that we see the subjects of both stories were attempting to do something, and in both stories, they chose a method of doing what they were trying to do in a manner that was harmful to them.
The bee in the story was just like a bird that once flew into my living room some years ago, and then could not get out, tried to escape by attempting to fly through a closed window in its attempt to be free. The people of Shinar on the great plains of Babylonia were attempting to keep their unity intact by building a great city for themselves, and within that city they began to build a great big tower, a tower tall that it would reach into heaven.
In both stories the subjects were seeking freedom of one kind or another. They were seeking not only to get away from danger to themselves, but they were also trying to get to something that they thought were good. They were trying to build or to experience something that to them was glorious.
The Scriptures tells us that God looked upon the people of Shinar, and saw that they were seeking a name for themselves, and that their tower was beginning to ascend into heaven, and knew that if they continued in that course, they would succeed in everything that they proposed, and so God scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth and confused their language so that they would not be able to understand each other and so succeed in their purpose.
I would suggest to you that what God did was an act of mercy!
Yes, an act of mercy!
I would like to further suggest to you that both the story of the bee and the story of the Tower of Bebel are our own stories.
I think that we will all be in agreement if I say to you that each and everyone of us would want to escape from the chaos and the constant threat of being destroyed completely out there in the great wilderness of the world we are living in. We would love to be able to avoid the dangers of our daily life, whether it might be spiritual emptiness or physical hunger, and all of us would love to be able to create a glorious future for our children. A future where we will not have to worry about the possibility of losing our lives and everything that makes life seem so good to each and every one of us. We would all want to have a future when we no longer have to worry about what we shall have to eat, or what we shall have to wear, or what it is that we might have to do in order to make a living. We would all love to have a guaranteed for our future out there for us, and a guaranteed in being successful in everything we do as well as being able to do all the things that we would like to do.
Does such wants seems like evil goals to you? However, just like the bee and the people of Shinar, we often do get into trouble when we tried to work towards these goals. Do you know why? This is because the methods that we often used are the wrong ones.
Very often we push against the current of the river of life, instead of going with its flow. When we go with the flow of the river, we might calmly and easily, in the knowledge that the waters of life will hold us up, and eventually we will end up at our goal, or maybe to an even better destination than what we were hoping for.
Our own drive to security in life, for safety in life and for glorious ease, often leads us to build our own towers - Our own towers of protection. Towers that attempt to reach into heaven and gain for us the powers of God Himself.
Sometime ago world leaders, environmentalists and economists from all the major powers met in Japan. They were trying to deal with all the consequences of our tall building blocks.
As our buildings get higher and higher, countries competing with each other to have the tallest building in the world, millions and millions of different species of plants, animals and insects have perished. As mankind tried to protect ourselves and our future, millions and millions of people have suffered from droughts and starvation. Here we are trying to enjoy a standard of living that is beyond all reason, a standard of living which is actually based on limitless consumption of the world’s limited resources, the ozone layer has thinned. Cancer has increased, wars have multiplied and our own children, who are precious to us, have become bitter, unhappy, troubled and violent, as witness by the news that we read of so very often, children killing others with guns and with knives. Only a couple of weeks ago, we have a 10 year old child going after his own mother with a knife here in Hong Kong.
“Come – let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
Just like the bee in the story, we keep on hitting the window. And just like the bee, we have an author who is trying to save us, trying to get us to the very goal that we are seeking, trying to help us.
Whenever I watch the movie STAR WARS, I always get a groan from Jenny, “not again”. It is one of my favourite films. It is an old film, when Harrison Ford used to be just as good looking as I am. We have in the film a lot of technology. There is the Death Star commanded by the Evil Lord – Darth Vader, and there is the small little fighter ships piloted by the Rebel army.
The movie is a classic adventure story – a battle between Good and Evil. What makes the movie so very fascinating is not the technology or all the machinery, nor was the part of the rescue of a princess in distress, but what makes it such a great success what George Lucas calls the Force.
The hero in the movie is a person by the name of Luke Skywalker, a very young man, full of impulse and eager to make a difference to the world. At the very end, he did make a difference, for he turns into the force.
The force in the movie consists of life energy, the very soul of all living creatures. That force, once you tune into it, can be used to do good, or do evil, although the force is good by its very own nature.
The force is stronger than any technology or any machinery, in fact it was stronger than anything that was, or ever will be, and it is all around us, to be touched and felt and responded to, whenever one is ready for it.
In the first STAR WAR movie, Luke saves the rebels from destruction by remembering the force, by concentrating on the force, and allowing the force to guide his actions.
Luke is not perfect in doing it at all. He does not find it easy to open himself up to the force, however, at the very end, he did managed to tune himself in with the force, and the force did work through him, so in the end, there was a happy ending to the movie.
I mentioned the force to you today, because it is something very similar to the force at the heart of the Christian Faith –what we know comes from the Holy Spirit of God. That very spirit which is the power of God and the essence of God; that very spirit which is the power that upholds the entire universe itself. The very Spirit of God which was poured out upon the first believers of Christ on that day of Pentecost some 2000 years ago, and which has ever since that time come to dwell within each and every one of us who believes in Christ.
In the church’s prayers for new believers we pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and in all our thoughts about God. We understand that the Spirit of God is the one who leads us, teaches us, communicates to us the forgiveness of God, give us dreams and visions and helps us to understand them. It is the Spirit of God who comforts us, sustains, inspires, strengthens and renews us; and at the end it is the Spirit of God who will draws us closer to each other, and to Jesus Christ our brother, and to God the Father, who are one.
It is the Spirit of God that makes our faith comes alive, and it is the Spirit of God that does the work of salvation in our daily lives. The Spirit is all around us, and within us, and that is what the day of Pentecost means.
There is an author to all our personal stories, and author like Victor Hugo, chasing us around in his study, trying to let us go free, so we can fly in the larger world without fear or worry.
Our author, our God, works by his Spirit. God is Spirit, and we need to let his Spirit catches us, to rise up from its dwelling place inside everyone of us, and to blow upon us when we walk outside.
Think about your dreams, listen to what people surrounding you are really saying, stop and read the word that are held up before us, the Word that the Spirit uses in such wonderful ways at times to comfort us or to challenge us. Hear the visions that other people talk about, visions of change towards wholeness, of justice and of plenty for everyone, and is based on love, and mercy and devotion.
Expect to be surprised by God. Expect all good things to occur. Believe in the Spirit and the Power of God, trust in it, and wonderful things will happen.
Although the tower of Babel has fallen, and will forever fall, the unity and the understanding that we all needed so much has come to us and will remain with us all, as it did to the first disciples on the first Pentecost.
"A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen accidentally kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE !!!
He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl,"Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay!?"
She nodded through her tears.
He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church.
It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit."
Praise be to God, the Father, the Son, and The Spirit, One. AMEN
A young boy was wandering around St. John’s Cathedral here in Hong Kong one Sunday morning, and stopped and examined a large bronze plaque that was hanging on the wall. “What are all those names up there?” He asked one of the ushers. “Those are the names of people who died in the service.” The usher replied. Curious, the boy asked the usher – which service, the 9:00 Family Service or the 11:30 Communion service?”
I was reading through Genesis 11:1-9, and the story of the Tower of Babel reminded me of a story I read some time ago. This is story by Victor Hugo, a French writer.
One day a bee got trapped inside Victor Hugo’s study and in its attempts to escape from the room, was frantically beating and hitting itself against one of the windows.
Hugo remembers seeing on the floor other bees that had already got killed by doing exactly the same thing that this bee is doing. So out of pity he decided to rescue the small creature that was beating out its little brains on the window.
He tried to help, by first of all, opening the window, and using a handkerchief, tried to shoo the bee out of the window. However, the bee flew in the opposite direction, back into the depths of his study.
Hugo realized that the only way that he could save the bee was to catch it. And with this in mind, with his handkerchief he began the process of tracking the bee down.
When the bee saw Hugo coming, it flew away towards another closed window, and again beat itself against it. The time the bee was even more frantic than before. AS the bee hit the window time and time again the buzzing got louder. It seems as though the bee was telling Hugo, “Cruel executioner, you would not take away my liberty. Cruel executioner, why do you not leave me alone? Why do you keep on persecuting me?”
Poor bee, for Hugo decided not to pay any attention to the messages that the bee seems to be sending to him. He very gently pinned the bee between the window and the handkerchief and began to fold the bee inside the handkerchief.
Although caught, the bee did not give up its struggle against the fingers of Hugo and the handkerchief, and the bee even tried to sting him. With the bee caught, Hugo managed to take it to the open window, and put the bee outside. For a moment the bee seemed stunned, perhaps it was the shock of sudden freedom when everything seem lost. After a moment it flew off on its chosen destination.
Can you see something similar between this story of the bee and the story of the Tower of Babel?
The similarity of both stories is that we see the subjects of both stories were attempting to do something, and in both stories, they chose a method of doing what they were trying to do in a manner that was harmful to them.
The bee in the story was just like a bird that once flew into my living room some years ago, and then could not get out, tried to escape by attempting to fly through a closed window in its attempt to be free. The people of Shinar on the great plains of Babylonia were attempting to keep their unity intact by building a great city for themselves, and within that city they began to build a great big tower, a tower tall that it would reach into heaven.
In both stories the subjects were seeking freedom of one kind or another. They were seeking not only to get away from danger to themselves, but they were also trying to get to something that they thought were good. They were trying to build or to experience something that to them was glorious.
The Scriptures tells us that God looked upon the people of Shinar, and saw that they were seeking a name for themselves, and that their tower was beginning to ascend into heaven, and knew that if they continued in that course, they would succeed in everything that they proposed, and so God scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth and confused their language so that they would not be able to understand each other and so succeed in their purpose.
I would suggest to you that what God did was an act of mercy!
Yes, an act of mercy!
I would like to further suggest to you that both the story of the bee and the story of the Tower of Bebel are our own stories.
I think that we will all be in agreement if I say to you that each and everyone of us would want to escape from the chaos and the constant threat of being destroyed completely out there in the great wilderness of the world we are living in. We would love to be able to avoid the dangers of our daily life, whether it might be spiritual emptiness or physical hunger, and all of us would love to be able to create a glorious future for our children. A future where we will not have to worry about the possibility of losing our lives and everything that makes life seem so good to each and every one of us. We would all want to have a future when we no longer have to worry about what we shall have to eat, or what we shall have to wear, or what it is that we might have to do in order to make a living. We would all love to have a guaranteed for our future out there for us, and a guaranteed in being successful in everything we do as well as being able to do all the things that we would like to do.
Does such wants seems like evil goals to you? However, just like the bee and the people of Shinar, we often do get into trouble when we tried to work towards these goals. Do you know why? This is because the methods that we often used are the wrong ones.
Very often we push against the current of the river of life, instead of going with its flow. When we go with the flow of the river, we might calmly and easily, in the knowledge that the waters of life will hold us up, and eventually we will end up at our goal, or maybe to an even better destination than what we were hoping for.
Our own drive to security in life, for safety in life and for glorious ease, often leads us to build our own towers - Our own towers of protection. Towers that attempt to reach into heaven and gain for us the powers of God Himself.
Sometime ago world leaders, environmentalists and economists from all the major powers met in Japan. They were trying to deal with all the consequences of our tall building blocks.
As our buildings get higher and higher, countries competing with each other to have the tallest building in the world, millions and millions of different species of plants, animals and insects have perished. As mankind tried to protect ourselves and our future, millions and millions of people have suffered from droughts and starvation. Here we are trying to enjoy a standard of living that is beyond all reason, a standard of living which is actually based on limitless consumption of the world’s limited resources, the ozone layer has thinned. Cancer has increased, wars have multiplied and our own children, who are precious to us, have become bitter, unhappy, troubled and violent, as witness by the news that we read of so very often, children killing others with guns and with knives. Only a couple of weeks ago, we have a 10 year old child going after his own mother with a knife here in Hong Kong.
“Come – let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens and let us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
Just like the bee in the story, we keep on hitting the window. And just like the bee, we have an author who is trying to save us, trying to get us to the very goal that we are seeking, trying to help us.
Whenever I watch the movie STAR WARS, I always get a groan from Jenny, “not again”. It is one of my favourite films. It is an old film, when Harrison Ford used to be just as good looking as I am. We have in the film a lot of technology. There is the Death Star commanded by the Evil Lord – Darth Vader, and there is the small little fighter ships piloted by the Rebel army.
The movie is a classic adventure story – a battle between Good and Evil. What makes the movie so very fascinating is not the technology or all the machinery, nor was the part of the rescue of a princess in distress, but what makes it such a great success what George Lucas calls the Force.
The hero in the movie is a person by the name of Luke Skywalker, a very young man, full of impulse and eager to make a difference to the world. At the very end, he did make a difference, for he turns into the force.
The force in the movie consists of life energy, the very soul of all living creatures. That force, once you tune into it, can be used to do good, or do evil, although the force is good by its very own nature.
The force is stronger than any technology or any machinery, in fact it was stronger than anything that was, or ever will be, and it is all around us, to be touched and felt and responded to, whenever one is ready for it.
In the first STAR WAR movie, Luke saves the rebels from destruction by remembering the force, by concentrating on the force, and allowing the force to guide his actions.
Luke is not perfect in doing it at all. He does not find it easy to open himself up to the force, however, at the very end, he did managed to tune himself in with the force, and the force did work through him, so in the end, there was a happy ending to the movie.
I mentioned the force to you today, because it is something very similar to the force at the heart of the Christian Faith –what we know comes from the Holy Spirit of God. That very spirit which is the power of God and the essence of God; that very spirit which is the power that upholds the entire universe itself. The very Spirit of God which was poured out upon the first believers of Christ on that day of Pentecost some 2000 years ago, and which has ever since that time come to dwell within each and every one of us who believes in Christ.
In the church’s prayers for new believers we pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and in all our thoughts about God. We understand that the Spirit of God is the one who leads us, teaches us, communicates to us the forgiveness of God, give us dreams and visions and helps us to understand them. It is the Spirit of God who comforts us, sustains, inspires, strengthens and renews us; and at the end it is the Spirit of God who will draws us closer to each other, and to Jesus Christ our brother, and to God the Father, who are one.
It is the Spirit of God that makes our faith comes alive, and it is the Spirit of God that does the work of salvation in our daily lives. The Spirit is all around us, and within us, and that is what the day of Pentecost means.
There is an author to all our personal stories, and author like Victor Hugo, chasing us around in his study, trying to let us go free, so we can fly in the larger world without fear or worry.
Our author, our God, works by his Spirit. God is Spirit, and we need to let his Spirit catches us, to rise up from its dwelling place inside everyone of us, and to blow upon us when we walk outside.
Think about your dreams, listen to what people surrounding you are really saying, stop and read the word that are held up before us, the Word that the Spirit uses in such wonderful ways at times to comfort us or to challenge us. Hear the visions that other people talk about, visions of change towards wholeness, of justice and of plenty for everyone, and is based on love, and mercy and devotion.
Expect to be surprised by God. Expect all good things to occur. Believe in the Spirit and the Power of God, trust in it, and wonderful things will happen.
Although the tower of Babel has fallen, and will forever fall, the unity and the understanding that we all needed so much has come to us and will remain with us all, as it did to the first disciples on the first Pentecost.
"A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen accidentally kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE !!!
He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl,"Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay!?"
She nodded through her tears.
He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly."
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"
He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"
Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.
If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church.
It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day.
You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit."
Praise be to God, the Father, the Son, and The Spirit, One. AMEN
Saturday, May 22, 2010
1 John 1:5 -7
"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" 1 John 1:5 -7
The story is told of the viper that wanted to get across a river, but didn't know how to swim. Seeing a nearby and very large turtle, the snake asked the shelled creature to carry him to the other side. The amphibian, being no stranger to the likes of the serpent, refused: "You will bite me before we can cross and I will die. It is your nature." With all the guile and shrewdness inherent in the slithering creatures personality, he convinced the turtle that he had been reformed. He was no longer longing to kill turtles, especially one who was helping him cross the river: "After all, if I bit you in the middle of this torrent, not only would you die, but so would I; remember, I don't know how to swim." With great reluctance the turtle accepted the explanation and allowed the serpent to climb upon his back. About half way across the stream, the viper coiled and struck the turtle in the soft part of his outstretched neck. With his dying gasps the turtle said, "I thought you were reformed. Why did you do that?" The serpent lisped back to him, "You were right. I am a viper by nature and I cannot help myself."
John tells us that Jesus is the light, Jesus said that of Himself as well. John goes on to share his thoughts on the nature of man. "If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie . . ." And here is the truth the turtle learned in our little parable: the man who is dark by nature, cannot help but be dark even though he clothes himself in the garments of a light-filled individual. Since we are all children of darkness by nature, is there any hope for us?
Indeed there is. This hope is in the form of the blood of Jesus. We can have the darkness driven from us by walking with the Master of light. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him and the application of His blood to our sin-sick souls drives all sin from us. Does that me we will remain sinless for the rest of our lives? Hardly! But we have the assurance that our sins can be washed away every day by the cleansing power of the Blood. Eventually, our souls become whiter and whiter and stay whiter much longer between "cleaning cycles." In this way we are made into true children of light.
Is your light shining brightly? If it is, praise God! If it is a bit dim, or in danger of going out, call upon the name of Jesus, He will gladly rekindle your flame and cause it to shine brightly in the darkness that surrounds you. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
The story is told of the viper that wanted to get across a river, but didn't know how to swim. Seeing a nearby and very large turtle, the snake asked the shelled creature to carry him to the other side. The amphibian, being no stranger to the likes of the serpent, refused: "You will bite me before we can cross and I will die. It is your nature." With all the guile and shrewdness inherent in the slithering creatures personality, he convinced the turtle that he had been reformed. He was no longer longing to kill turtles, especially one who was helping him cross the river: "After all, if I bit you in the middle of this torrent, not only would you die, but so would I; remember, I don't know how to swim." With great reluctance the turtle accepted the explanation and allowed the serpent to climb upon his back. About half way across the stream, the viper coiled and struck the turtle in the soft part of his outstretched neck. With his dying gasps the turtle said, "I thought you were reformed. Why did you do that?" The serpent lisped back to him, "You were right. I am a viper by nature and I cannot help myself."
John tells us that Jesus is the light, Jesus said that of Himself as well. John goes on to share his thoughts on the nature of man. "If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie . . ." And here is the truth the turtle learned in our little parable: the man who is dark by nature, cannot help but be dark even though he clothes himself in the garments of a light-filled individual. Since we are all children of darkness by nature, is there any hope for us?
Indeed there is. This hope is in the form of the blood of Jesus. We can have the darkness driven from us by walking with the Master of light. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him and the application of His blood to our sin-sick souls drives all sin from us. Does that me we will remain sinless for the rest of our lives? Hardly! But we have the assurance that our sins can be washed away every day by the cleansing power of the Blood. Eventually, our souls become whiter and whiter and stay whiter much longer between "cleaning cycles." In this way we are made into true children of light.
Is your light shining brightly? If it is, praise God! If it is a bit dim, or in danger of going out, call upon the name of Jesus, He will gladly rekindle your flame and cause it to shine brightly in the darkness that surrounds you. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
2 Kings 6:15
"And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" 2 Kings 6:15
Sometimes things really get spicy when we do what God wants us to do. Take Elisha. He had been feeding the King of Israel information that would protect them from attacks by the king of Syria. Obviously the heathen king was not thrilled with the arrangement. At first he thought there was a traitor in the inner circle - that's how good the information was! When it was pointed out that Elisha, the prophet was the culprit, an army was dispatched to take care of ONE MAN! Do you think the Syrian king was a bit leery of crossing Elisha and his God?
Sometimes we get all excited about doing something for Jesus and it seems like everyone from non-believing family, to good Christian friends, to solid church leaders, try to talk us out of it. I know a woman who was told that age 53 was too old to begin the life of a missionary. Now at 83 she has made a mighty big impact on Dominica's orphaned children problem! If God tells you to do something, nothing should stop you - NOTHING!
Elisha's servant looked out the window of their cottage the next morning and saw the mighty army. I can hear it now. "My Lord, Elisha, we are in big trouble now! Look what has been sent our way. We are surrounded. We cannot escape. Maybe we should give ourselves up and hope for the best. Perhaps they will spare our lives if you will just promise to keep your prophesies to yourself."
"Friend," Elisha says calmly, "don't worry." Looking to heaven he prays, "Lord, open his eyes to see what You and I see." "Holy God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Look at that! I see whole army of angels. The cavalry has indeed arrived! We are SAVED, Elisha. WE ARE SAVED!" "Friend," Elisha speaks with great patience, "you should never doubt God when He sends you on a mission. He will provide all your needs - even a security force if needed."
What was true for Elisha is still true today. God always provides for His willing servants. I recall stories of provided funds, airline tickets, and support for missionaries. I know about food, medicine, and canceled debts when things just look like they can't get any darker. I am acquainted with a missionary to Columbia who's compound was surrounded with angels during one of the many revolutions there. He never saw them - but the invading soldiers did! They related the story to my missionary friend after the conflict. Remember, we are not alone. God's army is bigger than Satan's army. God is always by our sides. He knows what we need even before we ever ask or think. And best of all, HE WILL SEE TO IT THAT WE ARE SUPPLIED FOR THE TASK, if we will only trust and obey. There really is "no other way! "Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Sometimes things really get spicy when we do what God wants us to do. Take Elisha. He had been feeding the King of Israel information that would protect them from attacks by the king of Syria. Obviously the heathen king was not thrilled with the arrangement. At first he thought there was a traitor in the inner circle - that's how good the information was! When it was pointed out that Elisha, the prophet was the culprit, an army was dispatched to take care of ONE MAN! Do you think the Syrian king was a bit leery of crossing Elisha and his God?
Sometimes we get all excited about doing something for Jesus and it seems like everyone from non-believing family, to good Christian friends, to solid church leaders, try to talk us out of it. I know a woman who was told that age 53 was too old to begin the life of a missionary. Now at 83 she has made a mighty big impact on Dominica's orphaned children problem! If God tells you to do something, nothing should stop you - NOTHING!
Elisha's servant looked out the window of their cottage the next morning and saw the mighty army. I can hear it now. "My Lord, Elisha, we are in big trouble now! Look what has been sent our way. We are surrounded. We cannot escape. Maybe we should give ourselves up and hope for the best. Perhaps they will spare our lives if you will just promise to keep your prophesies to yourself."
"Friend," Elisha says calmly, "don't worry." Looking to heaven he prays, "Lord, open his eyes to see what You and I see." "Holy God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Look at that! I see whole army of angels. The cavalry has indeed arrived! We are SAVED, Elisha. WE ARE SAVED!" "Friend," Elisha speaks with great patience, "you should never doubt God when He sends you on a mission. He will provide all your needs - even a security force if needed."
What was true for Elisha is still true today. God always provides for His willing servants. I recall stories of provided funds, airline tickets, and support for missionaries. I know about food, medicine, and canceled debts when things just look like they can't get any darker. I am acquainted with a missionary to Columbia who's compound was surrounded with angels during one of the many revolutions there. He never saw them - but the invading soldiers did! They related the story to my missionary friend after the conflict. Remember, we are not alone. God's army is bigger than Satan's army. God is always by our sides. He knows what we need even before we ever ask or think. And best of all, HE WILL SEE TO IT THAT WE ARE SUPPLIED FOR THE TASK, if we will only trust and obey. There really is "no other way! "Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Gal 6:2-3
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself" Gal 6:2-3
After his eventful day of murder and mayhem, Cain asked God if he was his brothers keeper. Some centuries later a popular musical hit of the 60's stated "he's not heavy. He's my brother." There is a lot of history in between those two events. The most significant moment in time between them was the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is he who brought about the change from "no" to "yes" (from the human standpoint) to the brother's keeper question. For He taught that we should bear one another's burdens. He said we should love our neighbors. When asked who our neighbor was, He replied "whoever is in need."
By bearing each other's burdens, we fulfill the "law of Christ." What law is that? Try this one on for size. "Love your neighbor as yourself." Or, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Can you imagine what our world would be like if we would only "bear on another's burden?" Who would sell drugs on that dark corner? Who would rape the first girl he saw? Who would commit murder? Who would rob or steal? Would you dare lie to a brother who's burden you were carrying? Would you cheat on your wife or husband? Of course not! You are to bear their burden, not make them heavier. Just in case you think you might be above this command, Paul tells us the man who thinks he is something when in actuality he is just a little, frail human like the rest of us, is deceived - not by Satan, but by his own thoughts. This means that none of us are so high and mighty that we can forget about our brother or sister in their need.
Truthfully, the person who has the most should be willing to help the most. Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating socialism in any way. What I do suggest is that we willingly share out of our bounty with those who are in want. This type of generosity cannot be legislated through taxes. Nor can it be commanded by "generosity police." It only comes through the firm belief that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and that He alone gives us the love we need to be generous. Granted, there are those who have an innate goodness without Jesus, but they are the exception, not the rule. And even then, they are most likely to have a Christian background. Let's take the opportunity this week to develop a bit of generosity. Instead of looking down on the poor, let us help to lift them up. Instead of shunning the "ugly," let's find the "beauty" in them. Instead of hoarding our meager wealth, let's give it away! I can guarantee that there is no way you will ever out give God. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
After his eventful day of murder and mayhem, Cain asked God if he was his brothers keeper. Some centuries later a popular musical hit of the 60's stated "he's not heavy. He's my brother." There is a lot of history in between those two events. The most significant moment in time between them was the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is he who brought about the change from "no" to "yes" (from the human standpoint) to the brother's keeper question. For He taught that we should bear one another's burdens. He said we should love our neighbors. When asked who our neighbor was, He replied "whoever is in need."
By bearing each other's burdens, we fulfill the "law of Christ." What law is that? Try this one on for size. "Love your neighbor as yourself." Or, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Can you imagine what our world would be like if we would only "bear on another's burden?" Who would sell drugs on that dark corner? Who would rape the first girl he saw? Who would commit murder? Who would rob or steal? Would you dare lie to a brother who's burden you were carrying? Would you cheat on your wife or husband? Of course not! You are to bear their burden, not make them heavier. Just in case you think you might be above this command, Paul tells us the man who thinks he is something when in actuality he is just a little, frail human like the rest of us, is deceived - not by Satan, but by his own thoughts. This means that none of us are so high and mighty that we can forget about our brother or sister in their need.
Truthfully, the person who has the most should be willing to help the most. Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating socialism in any way. What I do suggest is that we willingly share out of our bounty with those who are in want. This type of generosity cannot be legislated through taxes. Nor can it be commanded by "generosity police." It only comes through the firm belief that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and that He alone gives us the love we need to be generous. Granted, there are those who have an innate goodness without Jesus, but they are the exception, not the rule. And even then, they are most likely to have a Christian background. Let's take the opportunity this week to develop a bit of generosity. Instead of looking down on the poor, let us help to lift them up. Instead of shunning the "ugly," let's find the "beauty" in them. Instead of hoarding our meager wealth, let's give it away! I can guarantee that there is no way you will ever out give God. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Psalm 70:5
"But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay" Psalm 70:5
"Poor" is not a word I associate with David. It is difficult for me to fathom David in poverty. Though a shepherd boy, he was the son of a wealthy land owner. Then he became a member of the royal house hold, enjoying the privileges of that position. Perhaps during his period of fleeing from Saul, David experienced a bit of poverty - but he was rich in friends. Then he became king of all Israel and collected great wealth, both personal and national. No "poor" and "David" don't fit too well in the same sentence.
Yet, David says in today's verse that he is not only poor, but needy. That seems to mean "destitute." I know what it means to be poor. I have lived parts of my life in that condition. There have been times that we lived in sub-standard housing. We have lived on the handouts of others. We have experienced what it is like to go to the cupboard and find it bare. But "destitute"? I have never been destitute. I don't really know how to define the word. At least not from experience.
How could David have been needy? What happened to him that drove him to pray this prayer? I believe David is talking about poverty and destitution of soul, not body. There had been times that he fit this description. When Saul was trying to kill him, he could have felt needy, destitute. After all, going from the king's palace to living in caves is a rather hard come-down. Then there is the experience with Bathsheba, while he was king, a wealthy one at that. I can see how he would feel destitute then. Or when his son, Absalom, was ravishing his wives in Jerusalem and he was fleeing for his life, yes, he could easily have felt like his great spiritual wealth had deserted him then. God had abandoned him - or he had abandoned God. That would make him feel destitute. Anytime a person who has come to know God on an intimate basis finds himself without God, he feels severe poverty of spirit. I can understand that. I've felt it. I have spent some time on the "outs" with God. And I have been the poorer for it.
But David, in his poverty, his destitution, cried out to the source of all riches. He cried out for a quick deliverance. He plead for a rapid return to the riches of God's presence. Was his prayer answered? We have only to turn to the records in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles to see that David did not languish in poverty, physical nor spiritual. Indeed God did return to him and restore him.
He has done the same for me. The times I felt lost, He came when I cried out to Him. He comforted me in my lostness and despair. He restored my spirit, my wealth, His presence. Did I suffer loss? Yes. Was I a better man for having suffered? Certainly, for it is in the dark valleys of our lives that Jesus becomes more real. It is in our poverty that His riches shine brightest.
Perhaps you are in one of those valleys now. Perhaps you are crying out for God to deliver you from your poverty and need. He will reply. He will restore. He will, I promise. Better yet, He promises. And He will never fail. Hang in there, I hear the sound of the bugler of God. Help is on the way! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
"Poor" is not a word I associate with David. It is difficult for me to fathom David in poverty. Though a shepherd boy, he was the son of a wealthy land owner. Then he became a member of the royal house hold, enjoying the privileges of that position. Perhaps during his period of fleeing from Saul, David experienced a bit of poverty - but he was rich in friends. Then he became king of all Israel and collected great wealth, both personal and national. No "poor" and "David" don't fit too well in the same sentence.
Yet, David says in today's verse that he is not only poor, but needy. That seems to mean "destitute." I know what it means to be poor. I have lived parts of my life in that condition. There have been times that we lived in sub-standard housing. We have lived on the handouts of others. We have experienced what it is like to go to the cupboard and find it bare. But "destitute"? I have never been destitute. I don't really know how to define the word. At least not from experience.
How could David have been needy? What happened to him that drove him to pray this prayer? I believe David is talking about poverty and destitution of soul, not body. There had been times that he fit this description. When Saul was trying to kill him, he could have felt needy, destitute. After all, going from the king's palace to living in caves is a rather hard come-down. Then there is the experience with Bathsheba, while he was king, a wealthy one at that. I can see how he would feel destitute then. Or when his son, Absalom, was ravishing his wives in Jerusalem and he was fleeing for his life, yes, he could easily have felt like his great spiritual wealth had deserted him then. God had abandoned him - or he had abandoned God. That would make him feel destitute. Anytime a person who has come to know God on an intimate basis finds himself without God, he feels severe poverty of spirit. I can understand that. I've felt it. I have spent some time on the "outs" with God. And I have been the poorer for it.
But David, in his poverty, his destitution, cried out to the source of all riches. He cried out for a quick deliverance. He plead for a rapid return to the riches of God's presence. Was his prayer answered? We have only to turn to the records in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles to see that David did not languish in poverty, physical nor spiritual. Indeed God did return to him and restore him.
He has done the same for me. The times I felt lost, He came when I cried out to Him. He comforted me in my lostness and despair. He restored my spirit, my wealth, His presence. Did I suffer loss? Yes. Was I a better man for having suffered? Certainly, for it is in the dark valleys of our lives that Jesus becomes more real. It is in our poverty that His riches shine brightest.
Perhaps you are in one of those valleys now. Perhaps you are crying out for God to deliver you from your poverty and need. He will reply. He will restore. He will, I promise. Better yet, He promises. And He will never fail. Hang in there, I hear the sound of the bugler of God. Help is on the way! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Daniel 3:14
"Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up" Daniel 3:14
In this world there are leaders and there are followers. Almost every human can be considered one or the other. Of course there are a few exceptions, those who are total loners, emotionally cut of from other people. These are the oddballs of society who tend to be destructive. But let's concentrate on the first two categories.
We can all think examples of each. Most presidents come to mind as leaders. The great evangelists of our days and past ages also fit the bill for this category. Perhaps you are a leader. But then, if we watch most leaders carefully, we find they are followers as well. They follow greater leaders. They pattern themselves after great leaders of the past. So, it could be said that great leaders are great followers.
Let's take a look at followers for a moment. These are the backbone of our societies. They can be compared to the "worker ants" of the insect world. They go about their business working under the direction of the leaders. Without them all the leadership ability in the world would be fruitless. Workers, it could be argued, are more important than leaders. Then again, without direction, workers become destructive. They are incapable of making decisions for themselves, therefore, after the instinctive work is accomplished, they cannot find other things to do and the assembly line of life grinds to a predictable halt.
The world cannot do without either one of these types of people. But, we can also see that out of the ranks of the workers, the followers, comes leaders. Take our three friends in today's verse for examples. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego started out as followers. It was Daniel who insisted on eating vegetables instead of the rich foods from the king's table. Daniel was the leader; our three stars were the followers. But along the way they learned a few things from Daniel. They learned to stand up for what they believed. They learned what it meant to pick their fights. They learned what the important things in life were and they learned their lesson well. When it came time to follow the evil dictated by their enemies in order to save their lives, they lead in the direction of God's holiness, even though it meant certain death in the fiery furnace.
Most of us can be classified as followers. We have put ourselves under the authority of spiritual leaders who see to it that we are fed from the Word of God, watered from the "well that never runs dry," and protected from the onslaughts of the enemy. But, most of us are also leaders. We lead our families in the ways of the King. We lead our co-workers by the lives we live on the job. We lead our friends in paths of righteousness when we refuse to wander into the paths of iniquity they might try to tempt us to follow. And, as we lead our small groups, we gain the confidence necessary to lead larger assemblies. This is the nature of leaders and followers. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
In this world there are leaders and there are followers. Almost every human can be considered one or the other. Of course there are a few exceptions, those who are total loners, emotionally cut of from other people. These are the oddballs of society who tend to be destructive. But let's concentrate on the first two categories.
We can all think examples of each. Most presidents come to mind as leaders. The great evangelists of our days and past ages also fit the bill for this category. Perhaps you are a leader. But then, if we watch most leaders carefully, we find they are followers as well. They follow greater leaders. They pattern themselves after great leaders of the past. So, it could be said that great leaders are great followers.
Let's take a look at followers for a moment. These are the backbone of our societies. They can be compared to the "worker ants" of the insect world. They go about their business working under the direction of the leaders. Without them all the leadership ability in the world would be fruitless. Workers, it could be argued, are more important than leaders. Then again, without direction, workers become destructive. They are incapable of making decisions for themselves, therefore, after the instinctive work is accomplished, they cannot find other things to do and the assembly line of life grinds to a predictable halt.
The world cannot do without either one of these types of people. But, we can also see that out of the ranks of the workers, the followers, comes leaders. Take our three friends in today's verse for examples. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego started out as followers. It was Daniel who insisted on eating vegetables instead of the rich foods from the king's table. Daniel was the leader; our three stars were the followers. But along the way they learned a few things from Daniel. They learned to stand up for what they believed. They learned what it meant to pick their fights. They learned what the important things in life were and they learned their lesson well. When it came time to follow the evil dictated by their enemies in order to save their lives, they lead in the direction of God's holiness, even though it meant certain death in the fiery furnace.
Most of us can be classified as followers. We have put ourselves under the authority of spiritual leaders who see to it that we are fed from the Word of God, watered from the "well that never runs dry," and protected from the onslaughts of the enemy. But, most of us are also leaders. We lead our families in the ways of the King. We lead our co-workers by the lives we live on the job. We lead our friends in paths of righteousness when we refuse to wander into the paths of iniquity they might try to tempt us to follow. And, as we lead our small groups, we gain the confidence necessary to lead larger assemblies. This is the nature of leaders and followers. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Ruth 2:8
"Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women" Ruth 2:8
Every time I read in the Book of Ruth, I am amazed at the provision of God. Here we have a little foreign woman who chooses to go with her Jewish mother-in-law. She had no reason to. She was a widow; her Jewish husband had died. She could have stayed with her own people. But she went to Israel, a land where she would be an outcast. But, she was going to honor her Mother-in-law and perhaps to "see the world." I suspect there was a bit of the adventurer in Ruth.
Because of Ruth's faithfulness, God provides for both women. Ruth gleans in the fields, a custom established in the law. Each farmer was to leave the outskirts of the field un-harvested in order to provide for the poor. After the field hands had left a field, the poor would invade the abandoned land, reap what was not cut, and pick up what was left behind.
But Ruth was unusual. She caught the eye of Boaz who told her to harvest right along with his own people, not to wait until she had to contend with the other poor folk. What's more, he told his harvesters to leave plenty for her and to make sure it was easy for her to gather. We know the outcome. Ruth and Boaz eventually marry and produce a son who would be in the direct lineage of David who would be the great (several times removed) grand father of Jesus.
God is in the providing business. He provides for us on a daily basis. Jesus said, "Give us this day our daily bread." He didn't encourage us to ask for our annual supply. He wanted us to have a "now" reliance upon the Father. And what were the conditions imposed upon Ruth for this daily provision? Faithfulness. That's it, pure and simple. One condition and one only, God rewarded her for her faithfulness.
And that same condition applies to us today. All He asks of us is our faithfulness. When He has that, and even then it does not need to be a perfected trait, He will supply our daily needs. I can testify to the fact that He has never let us down. We have always had our need supplied. Always. We may not have had all or any of our wants (though that was also a rarity), but we always had food to eat, a roof over our heads, and a vehicle to get us back and forth to work. Sometimes the food was humble (the food pantry comes to mind, hey, it was cheap, I'm sorry, Christians are not cheap. We are inexpensive, thank you very much.!), but it was enough to keep us going. We may not have had the finer things in life, but we had some thing many families don't have God's Love and the Love for each other.
God will honor your faithfulness as well. Try to be true to Him and He WILL be true to you. He will not fail. He cannot fail. To fail once would remove Him from the status of God. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Every time I read in the Book of Ruth, I am amazed at the provision of God. Here we have a little foreign woman who chooses to go with her Jewish mother-in-law. She had no reason to. She was a widow; her Jewish husband had died. She could have stayed with her own people. But she went to Israel, a land where she would be an outcast. But, she was going to honor her Mother-in-law and perhaps to "see the world." I suspect there was a bit of the adventurer in Ruth.
Because of Ruth's faithfulness, God provides for both women. Ruth gleans in the fields, a custom established in the law. Each farmer was to leave the outskirts of the field un-harvested in order to provide for the poor. After the field hands had left a field, the poor would invade the abandoned land, reap what was not cut, and pick up what was left behind.
But Ruth was unusual. She caught the eye of Boaz who told her to harvest right along with his own people, not to wait until she had to contend with the other poor folk. What's more, he told his harvesters to leave plenty for her and to make sure it was easy for her to gather. We know the outcome. Ruth and Boaz eventually marry and produce a son who would be in the direct lineage of David who would be the great (several times removed) grand father of Jesus.
God is in the providing business. He provides for us on a daily basis. Jesus said, "Give us this day our daily bread." He didn't encourage us to ask for our annual supply. He wanted us to have a "now" reliance upon the Father. And what were the conditions imposed upon Ruth for this daily provision? Faithfulness. That's it, pure and simple. One condition and one only, God rewarded her for her faithfulness.
And that same condition applies to us today. All He asks of us is our faithfulness. When He has that, and even then it does not need to be a perfected trait, He will supply our daily needs. I can testify to the fact that He has never let us down. We have always had our need supplied. Always. We may not have had all or any of our wants (though that was also a rarity), but we always had food to eat, a roof over our heads, and a vehicle to get us back and forth to work. Sometimes the food was humble (the food pantry comes to mind, hey, it was cheap, I'm sorry, Christians are not cheap. We are inexpensive, thank you very much.
God will honor your faithfulness as well. Try to be true to Him and He WILL be true to you. He will not fail. He cannot fail. To fail once would remove Him from the status of God. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; John 17:6-19
Let us pray: O Lord, You have given Your Word to be a Lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Grant us grace to receive Your truth in faith, hope and love - that we may be obedient to Your Will and live always for Your Glory; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Did it ever strike you how a passage like those read today would be utterly unintelligible to a person who had no faith in the risen Christ? Which is probably as it should be. In fact, the whole faith story told in the Bible only makes sense if you believe. When you believe you find these kinds of passages, not just making sense, but warming you from the inside out
So it is with the story of Ascension. At first it makes no sense at all. Why in the world would this story, with its tale of Jesus, in his resurrection body being lifted bodily from the earth into heaven, recorded only by Luke, end up forming such a central part of the gospel and the creeds of the church?
How does it go in the Apostle's creed?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; He ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
He ascended into heaven - and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Or, as it says in The Book of The Acts of The Apostles:
He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee", they said, "Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
This record of the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven after his death and resurrection is strange story to those who do not believe, one that is hard to understand, but for me - and for all who believe - it is a story of tremendous comfort - for it points to - and completes - the story of who Jesus was - and is - namely the Son of The Living God, the one who came from heaven and took upon himself our flesh, and who, having died for us - takes the essential part of our nature back with him into heaven - where he - and by implication we, are made holy.
Christ Jesus, is at the right hand of the Father - even as he shares completely in the nature of the Father. He is there - with the saints - to intercede for us and to care for us until he returns again - in the manner he left us - upon the clouds.
The Ascension is that part of the story of Christ Jesus that allows us to say that where two or more are gathered in his name, there he is.
The Ascension is that part of the gospel that allows us to say that unto Jesus - every knee shall bow - in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
The Ascension preserves - and indeed helps to create - what we call the Trinitarian mystery - namely that God is both three and one.
He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
Our Jesus - our Saviour - did not simply fade away like some breath on the wind after the resurrection. His form, his substance, his identity, are instead made one with the Father's - and yet remain unique - much as we believe our form, our substance, our identity, will also, in a similar manner become one with the Father - and yet remain unique.
It is a marvellous tale - this tale of the Ascension - when you believe. It assures us of the integrity of the story - and of our own future within it.
If the story of the ascension is hard for unbelievers to read and understand, then the gospel passage today is even more so. For here we have recorded a portion of prayer of Jesus on the night of his betrayal - that section which is often labelled in modern editions of the Bible: "Jesus Prays For His Disciples".
Its talk of being in the world, but not of the world, is confusing to those outside of the church. So too is the talk about how Jesus and the Father share all things both in this world - and in the next - including us. So much so it can obscure the message that Jesus is giving his followers even as he prays to the Father for them and about them.
If you read the passage a couple of times as a believer however, two things came out. One is that Jesus is worried about the rag-tag group of followers he is leaving behind. (His concerns are well founded).
The second thing is that Jesus is grateful to God that he has these followers (including you and I).
Jesus prays for the disciples - and for us - knowing what difficulties they will have to face. He reminds them and us that we have been called and consecrated or - to use the word most commonly used in the translation of this passage, sanctified.
In the Hebrew tradition, to be consecrated meant to be set apart for a specific purpose. Things were set apart for use in the Temple, but more importantly, people were set apart to do God's work.
To be set apart means that we not go into protective hiding, but that we realize we have been called and are to be agents of God in the world. We are sanctified or consecrated in truth.
This sense of being consecrated was a repetitious theme of the prophets as well. The People of God were a consecrated, a chosen people. They were not to gloat and feel privileged, but had a responsibility.
They, and we as Jesus' community, must live out the responsibility of that call, that "consecration in truth". We are called to work for justice, peace, love and ethical behaviour in the world. The forces against us belong to "the world" that Jesus mentions in his prayer, and knowing the power of "the world", he is praying for us as we go out to bring his message.
It is evident from Jesus' words that he has planted something in us that gives us a different vision, a different way of being and acting. He has planted in us a Word that he has received from his Father. It causes us to see things in another light, to evaluate ourselves and others by a different kind of standard; a standard of love.
Hence the talk of being in the world, but not of the world. It serves to identify us more fully with him - who himself was in the world but not of the world.
Jesus doesn't want his disciples to pull out of this world and start a new nation on some distant island. If that was the plan for us - he would have said so. Rather he sends us equipped to go into the world and make a difference, and to do so as one who is not of this world, but rather is "consecrated in truth".
What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world.
The struggles of Northern Ireland have long contained stories of offenses of one side against another and then reprisals for the offenses. An Irish Methodist minister, Cheryl Jane Walter, tells a story that exemplifies being "in the world but not of it ".
A bombing of civilians in the town of Ennishillen, Northern Ireland in 1987, killed many civilians. The IRA claimed responsibility, leaving no doubt of the perpetrators. A 20 year old student nurse Marie Wilson, was trapped in the rubble with her father, Gordan. She asked him if he were all right, and clutching his hand said her last words, "Daddy, I love you very much." She was removed from the rubble, but later died in the hospital. Gordan Wilson grieved for his 20 year old daughter, yet he said he felt no ill will. Indeed, he said he would pray for the people who planted the bomb. Normally reprisals are the response to such an act. Gordan Wilson's words of forgiveness defused the community's anger.
Isn't that what it means to be in the world but not of it? And isn't that what it means to be "consecrated to truth" and, as Jesus prays in the opening of the prayer, protected by God's Holy Name?
It doesn't make sense - unless you believe. But then it does.
And so does the Ascension - it makes clear just who and what we have in Christ Jesus
We have the story not only of God taking on flesh and coming among us, in this world but not of it, fully human, fully one of us, but we also have that human one taking our nature with him back to God, being there, ruling, being everywhere.
It is the completion of the story, save one item, the giving of the Holy Spirit, which we celebrate next week.
As it is found in the prayer of Jesus...I will remain in the world no longer, but I am coming to you.
Because Jesus is glorified and lifted up to God. Because he is ascended into Heaven, he is able to be with us now. Because he has been sanctified, he can sanctify us. His prayer for us is heard.
We need not look up and wonder where he is, for by his going, he is able to come. What we are to do is to open ourselves to the Spirit, listen to the word that God has given us, and go out into the world, and do what we are to do, knowing that God will protect us - and bring us safe to his side when our work and witness is done.
May His name be praised day by day! Amen.
Did it ever strike you how a passage like those read today would be utterly unintelligible to a person who had no faith in the risen Christ? Which is probably as it should be. In fact, the whole faith story told in the Bible only makes sense if you believe. When you believe you find these kinds of passages, not just making sense, but warming you from the inside out
So it is with the story of Ascension. At first it makes no sense at all. Why in the world would this story, with its tale of Jesus, in his resurrection body being lifted bodily from the earth into heaven, recorded only by Luke, end up forming such a central part of the gospel and the creeds of the church?
How does it go in the Apostle's creed?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; He ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
He ascended into heaven - and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Or, as it says in The Book of The Acts of The Apostles:
He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee", they said, "Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
This record of the bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven after his death and resurrection is strange story to those who do not believe, one that is hard to understand, but for me - and for all who believe - it is a story of tremendous comfort - for it points to - and completes - the story of who Jesus was - and is - namely the Son of The Living God, the one who came from heaven and took upon himself our flesh, and who, having died for us - takes the essential part of our nature back with him into heaven - where he - and by implication we, are made holy.
Christ Jesus, is at the right hand of the Father - even as he shares completely in the nature of the Father. He is there - with the saints - to intercede for us and to care for us until he returns again - in the manner he left us - upon the clouds.
The Ascension is that part of the story of Christ Jesus that allows us to say that where two or more are gathered in his name, there he is.
The Ascension is that part of the gospel that allows us to say that unto Jesus - every knee shall bow - in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
The Ascension preserves - and indeed helps to create - what we call the Trinitarian mystery - namely that God is both three and one.
He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
Our Jesus - our Saviour - did not simply fade away like some breath on the wind after the resurrection. His form, his substance, his identity, are instead made one with the Father's - and yet remain unique - much as we believe our form, our substance, our identity, will also, in a similar manner become one with the Father - and yet remain unique.
It is a marvellous tale - this tale of the Ascension - when you believe. It assures us of the integrity of the story - and of our own future within it.
If the story of the ascension is hard for unbelievers to read and understand, then the gospel passage today is even more so. For here we have recorded a portion of prayer of Jesus on the night of his betrayal - that section which is often labelled in modern editions of the Bible: "Jesus Prays For His Disciples".
Its talk of being in the world, but not of the world, is confusing to those outside of the church. So too is the talk about how Jesus and the Father share all things both in this world - and in the next - including us. So much so it can obscure the message that Jesus is giving his followers even as he prays to the Father for them and about them.
If you read the passage a couple of times as a believer however, two things came out. One is that Jesus is worried about the rag-tag group of followers he is leaving behind. (His concerns are well founded).
The second thing is that Jesus is grateful to God that he has these followers (including you and I).
Jesus prays for the disciples - and for us - knowing what difficulties they will have to face. He reminds them and us that we have been called and consecrated or - to use the word most commonly used in the translation of this passage, sanctified.
In the Hebrew tradition, to be consecrated meant to be set apart for a specific purpose. Things were set apart for use in the Temple, but more importantly, people were set apart to do God's work.
To be set apart means that we not go into protective hiding, but that we realize we have been called and are to be agents of God in the world. We are sanctified or consecrated in truth.
This sense of being consecrated was a repetitious theme of the prophets as well. The People of God were a consecrated, a chosen people. They were not to gloat and feel privileged, but had a responsibility.
They, and we as Jesus' community, must live out the responsibility of that call, that "consecration in truth". We are called to work for justice, peace, love and ethical behaviour in the world. The forces against us belong to "the world" that Jesus mentions in his prayer, and knowing the power of "the world", he is praying for us as we go out to bring his message.
It is evident from Jesus' words that he has planted something in us that gives us a different vision, a different way of being and acting. He has planted in us a Word that he has received from his Father. It causes us to see things in another light, to evaluate ourselves and others by a different kind of standard; a standard of love.
Hence the talk of being in the world, but not of the world. It serves to identify us more fully with him - who himself was in the world but not of the world.
Jesus doesn't want his disciples to pull out of this world and start a new nation on some distant island. If that was the plan for us - he would have said so. Rather he sends us equipped to go into the world and make a difference, and to do so as one who is not of this world, but rather is "consecrated in truth".
What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world.
The struggles of Northern Ireland have long contained stories of offenses of one side against another and then reprisals for the offenses. An Irish Methodist minister, Cheryl Jane Walter, tells a story that exemplifies being "in the world but not of it ".
A bombing of civilians in the town of Ennishillen, Northern Ireland in 1987, killed many civilians. The IRA claimed responsibility, leaving no doubt of the perpetrators. A 20 year old student nurse Marie Wilson, was trapped in the rubble with her father, Gordan. She asked him if he were all right, and clutching his hand said her last words, "Daddy, I love you very much." She was removed from the rubble, but later died in the hospital. Gordan Wilson grieved for his 20 year old daughter, yet he said he felt no ill will. Indeed, he said he would pray for the people who planted the bomb. Normally reprisals are the response to such an act. Gordan Wilson's words of forgiveness defused the community's anger.
Isn't that what it means to be in the world but not of it? And isn't that what it means to be "consecrated to truth" and, as Jesus prays in the opening of the prayer, protected by God's Holy Name?
It doesn't make sense - unless you believe. But then it does.
And so does the Ascension - it makes clear just who and what we have in Christ Jesus
We have the story not only of God taking on flesh and coming among us, in this world but not of it, fully human, fully one of us, but we also have that human one taking our nature with him back to God, being there, ruling, being everywhere.
It is the completion of the story, save one item, the giving of the Holy Spirit, which we celebrate next week.
As it is found in the prayer of Jesus...I will remain in the world no longer, but I am coming to you.
Because Jesus is glorified and lifted up to God. Because he is ascended into Heaven, he is able to be with us now. Because he has been sanctified, he can sanctify us. His prayer for us is heard.
We need not look up and wonder where he is, for by his going, he is able to come. What we are to do is to open ourselves to the Spirit, listen to the word that God has given us, and go out into the world, and do what we are to do, knowing that God will protect us - and bring us safe to his side when our work and witness is done.
May His name be praised day by day! Amen.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Luke 17:5-10
A nun who works for a local home health care agency was out making her rounds when she ran out of gas. As luck would have it there was a station just down the street. She walked to the station to borrow a can with enough gas to start the car and drive to the station for a fill up.
The attendant regretfully told her that the only can he owned had just been loaned out, but if she would care to wait he was sure it would be back shortly. Since the nun was on the way to see a patient she decided not to wait and walked back to her car.
After looking through her car for something to carry to the station to fill with gas, she spotted a potty she was taking to the patient. Always resourceful, she carried it to the station and filled it with gasoline. As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her car two men walked by. One was heard to exclaim, "Now that is what I call faith!"
Back to the sermon:
I am going to tell you a story, this story about a business traveller who was on his way from his home town to a large city in the Middle East by road. One night he met two other travellers travelling on the same road as he was. Their name was Fear and Plague. Plague told the traveller that once they arrived at the city, they were expected to kill 100,000 people in that city. The traveller asked Plague if Plague was to do all the killing by himself. Plague said, “Oh, no. I shall only be killing a few hundred people; it is my friend ‘Fear’ who will do the killing of all the others.
Fear, whether it is real or imagined, can discourage us, overwhelm us, beaten us and even strangle us. Dreadful things happen everywhere. There are people around the world paralyzed by fear. Fear is such a terrible thing!
Fear is widespread in this society of ours; in fact it is widespread throughout the world. We have personal fear – fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of not being loved, a fear of having no work, a fear of not being up to the measurements of our peers, a fear of not being able to help our families, a fear of being looked down by others. We also have social fear, fear that war and disasters will go on forever, a fear that society will collapse, a fear that the pollution in the air will kill us, and so on and so on. Even inside the church too there are fear, personal fears, social fears and spiritual fears. Do you have any fears?
There are many people who feel:
- That they are not able to do anything of real importance
- That they cannot and do not make a difference to society
- That they cannot and do not make a difference to anyone
- That they are unable to do even a part of what it is that God asks them to do
- That they will let God down or that God will let them down.
There are so many Christians in this world who are in a mess. They have forgotten what their faith is all about. They have forgotten that as long as it is the will of God, God will give to you the strength and the means to have it accomplished. Do these feelings describe your life – fear, despair, a sense of failure, a sense of not being competent, and a sense of hopelessness? Do you feel unexcited by your worship of the Lord? Do you feel unsure of just what the good news of the Gospel is? Do you feel burdened by life and by the tasks set to you by God? And yet wanting to believe, wanting to do the right thing, wanting to have the life that God has promised us even in the here and now?
Wanting, and yet……
How can I feed the hungry?
How can I clothe the naked?
How can I help the sick?
How can I bring peace to those around me?
How can I help my family?
How can I help others?
How can I spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?
How can I forgive the people who have hurt me so badly?
How can I even experience the joy that is supposed to be part of life with God, let alone help bring it to others?
The disciples had exactly the same feelings. From our Gospel reading of today, we hear of them crying out to Jesus. A cry similar to one that you may have made to God at one time or another.
They were feeling that what they were facing in life, not to mention what they were facing or will be facing as the ones following Jesus was too much for them to bear, too much for their small faith to handle and so they cry out to the Lord, “Jesus please increase our faith”. “Lord, help us believe enough so that we can do what it is that you have commanded us to do – help us trust enough so that we can live as you say we should be living. Lord, take away our fear.”
Jesus please increases our faith.
And what did Jesus do – how did he answer their prayers? Did he laid his hands upon them and pray and give them more faith as they asked? Did he just snap his fingers and grant them a double dose of his Spirit and his Faith?
No, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ – he did not – instead he told them that “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted it in the sea and it would obey you.”
If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and plated it in the sea and it would obey you!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do you not find that answer of Jesus to be a strange answer? But really it is the best answer that could be given, for you see, the real issue for everyone of us is not “how much faith do we have?” but rather the question of “do we have any faith at all?”
I would like to share a story with you: Many years ago a shoe company in England sent one of its sales people to Africa to start a business. After a few months this salesperson sent a message back to his head office telling them that he is coming home as nobody in Africa wear shoes and therefore it is a waste of time and money being there. This shoe company did not give up, so they sent another salesperson to Africa to replace the returning one. After a few months this second salesperson sent an urgent message to head office asking them to send more order forms as nobody in Africa is wearing shoes and there are plenty of opportunities making sales. The second salesperson saw the opportunity in his situation – not the difficulties that he is facing, and more to the point, he had in himself and in his products, and because of that he succeeded where the first salesperson failed.
I would like to suggest to you that faith is a bit like being pregnant. You see, you cannot make a valid distinction between having a little faith and a lot of faith, anymore than claiming someone is a little pregnant but not really a lot pregnant. I think you will be completely confused or started laughing if one day I tell you that my wife, Jenny is a little bit pregnant. You would think that Edwin must have either gone crazy or he is too happy and said the wrong thing for there is no such thing as being a little bit pregnant. It is a matter of either she is pregnant or she is not. Same with faith, it is either you have faith or you do not. You cannot just have a little bit of faith. It is something that does not make sense to the one who is listening. If we do believe in the promises of Jesus, the promises of God our Father in Heaven, even a little bit, then my brothers and sisters, we are already on the right path. I do sincerely believe that all of you who are here today are on the right track. All of you, who, if you are like the disciples were asking for an increase of our faith, are already, going on the right way.
Having said all that, and having understood the distinction between having faith and not having any faith, the question for us to answer is not how much faith we have, but what do we really have faith in.
There are many Christians in this world who look at themselves instead of God. Often we look at ourselves and say – I cannot do that. I am not strong enough, loving enough, giving enough, wise enough; I do not have the income or the money, the power or the faith to be successful in what I am doing. And those doubts, my brothers and sisters are completely true – we by our own powers are not able to accomplish what God wants us to achieve. We do not have what it is needed what it comes to dealing with what is truly important matters. We will not even last a day in this world without God looking after us. But my brothers and sisters in Christ, God has the power; God is able to do anything that he wishes to do. All we need to do is pray to him and believe in him. Ask God for help and his power will be able to flow through us, and he will work through us to complete what he wants us to complete.
Some of us, at one time or another has met people who have been through very difficult and trying times, and our thoughts were that they must be people of great faith to come out of their trial and tribulations as well as they have. If we ever say to them with respect and admiration that we do not think that we could have faced what they have faced. Your faith must be very strong indeed. Do you know what their answer would be? Their answer would almost always be with words like these: “My faith is no greater than anyone else’s. I just did not know what I had until I have need for it. God helped me through it. If it was not for him I would never have been able to make it.”
Have you not heard of this kind of thing yourselves? Is it not one of those times when we may have said to ourselves: “I wish I had a faith like theirs”?
I wish I had a faith like theirs!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you know that those people of faith that we admire are correct in what they tell us. We very often do not realise just what we have in ourselves. We let our faith in God lie sleeping inside of us, and we go out looking for it. While all the time, God is there, and our faith in God is there, but our faith is doing nothing because we allow it to go to sleep.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ covers all areas of human life:
- It tells us of forgiveness and peace
- It tells us of eternal life
- It addresses the problems of poverty and of war
- It gives solutions to despair and answers to human distress.
But most of all, my brothers and sisters in Christ, it tells us:
- That alone by ourselves we can do nothing
- That we are, as many of us think, inadequate, incapable, sinners lost in a dark world.
- It tells us that are not alone, and that God cares for everyone of us
- That God works in the lives of all those who believes in him
- That God’s good purposes cannot be stopped by anyone or anything
- That his word does not return to him empty
- That he desires to transform not just the human heart but he wants to transform the world in which we are all living in
- And that all we need to do is to reach down to that little seed within us and begin to do what we have been called by God to do and God will do the rest
God will do the rest, which is his promise, however, we must do our part, just like Moses having to stretch out his rod, , just like Moses striking the rock with his staff in order to get water for the people, or the people who need healing must come to Jesus first. God will work in us and through us and bring his word to pass. He will pluck up the mountains and fill in the valleys. He will bring about the kingdom of God here on earth as we pray for. We are after all his partners in his work in this world.
What I am trying to say this morning is not ‘have more faith’ – but rather work with the faith that you already have inside you. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when we started acting in faith the very first thing we will notice is that a little is a lot.
There is a Chinese proverb that tells us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I should know as I am Chinese by race, and I am suggesting to you to take the step; follow he commands of God – hear his advice found throughout the scriptures and believe – believe in what God has promised us will come about. He is not one who speaks empty words.
Remember that no matter how small the step you may be taking, each step will bring you closer to your destination when it is taken. But you have to take the step, you have to start claiming God’s word as your own if you are to receive what God has promised and do what God has called you to do.
When you practice your faith, when you pray, when you believe and when you do, then in the language of the story that I began this talk with, you will overcome – God will overcome – plague and his far more dangerous companion – fear, and the blessings of life will be completely yours, yours and your family and the world. Praise be to God, day by day – Amen.
The attendant regretfully told her that the only can he owned had just been loaned out, but if she would care to wait he was sure it would be back shortly. Since the nun was on the way to see a patient she decided not to wait and walked back to her car.
After looking through her car for something to carry to the station to fill with gas, she spotted a potty she was taking to the patient. Always resourceful, she carried it to the station and filled it with gasoline. As she was pouring the gas into the tank of her car two men walked by. One was heard to exclaim, "Now that is what I call faith!"
Back to the sermon:
I am going to tell you a story, this story about a business traveller who was on his way from his home town to a large city in the Middle East by road. One night he met two other travellers travelling on the same road as he was. Their name was Fear and Plague. Plague told the traveller that once they arrived at the city, they were expected to kill 100,000 people in that city. The traveller asked Plague if Plague was to do all the killing by himself. Plague said, “Oh, no. I shall only be killing a few hundred people; it is my friend ‘Fear’ who will do the killing of all the others.
Fear, whether it is real or imagined, can discourage us, overwhelm us, beaten us and even strangle us. Dreadful things happen everywhere. There are people around the world paralyzed by fear. Fear is such a terrible thing!
Fear is widespread in this society of ours; in fact it is widespread throughout the world. We have personal fear – fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of not being loved, a fear of having no work, a fear of not being up to the measurements of our peers, a fear of not being able to help our families, a fear of being looked down by others. We also have social fear, fear that war and disasters will go on forever, a fear that society will collapse, a fear that the pollution in the air will kill us, and so on and so on. Even inside the church too there are fear, personal fears, social fears and spiritual fears. Do you have any fears?
There are many people who feel:
- That they are not able to do anything of real importance
- That they cannot and do not make a difference to society
- That they cannot and do not make a difference to anyone
- That they are unable to do even a part of what it is that God asks them to do
- That they will let God down or that God will let them down.
There are so many Christians in this world who are in a mess. They have forgotten what their faith is all about. They have forgotten that as long as it is the will of God, God will give to you the strength and the means to have it accomplished. Do these feelings describe your life – fear, despair, a sense of failure, a sense of not being competent, and a sense of hopelessness? Do you feel unexcited by your worship of the Lord? Do you feel unsure of just what the good news of the Gospel is? Do you feel burdened by life and by the tasks set to you by God? And yet wanting to believe, wanting to do the right thing, wanting to have the life that God has promised us even in the here and now?
Wanting, and yet……
How can I feed the hungry?
How can I clothe the naked?
How can I help the sick?
How can I bring peace to those around me?
How can I help my family?
How can I help others?
How can I spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?
How can I forgive the people who have hurt me so badly?
How can I even experience the joy that is supposed to be part of life with God, let alone help bring it to others?
The disciples had exactly the same feelings. From our Gospel reading of today, we hear of them crying out to Jesus. A cry similar to one that you may have made to God at one time or another.
They were feeling that what they were facing in life, not to mention what they were facing or will be facing as the ones following Jesus was too much for them to bear, too much for their small faith to handle and so they cry out to the Lord, “Jesus please increase our faith”. “Lord, help us believe enough so that we can do what it is that you have commanded us to do – help us trust enough so that we can live as you say we should be living. Lord, take away our fear.”
Jesus please increases our faith.
And what did Jesus do – how did he answer their prayers? Did he laid his hands upon them and pray and give them more faith as they asked? Did he just snap his fingers and grant them a double dose of his Spirit and his Faith?
No, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ – he did not – instead he told them that “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted it in the sea and it would obey you.”
If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and plated it in the sea and it would obey you!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do you not find that answer of Jesus to be a strange answer? But really it is the best answer that could be given, for you see, the real issue for everyone of us is not “how much faith do we have?” but rather the question of “do we have any faith at all?”
I would like to share a story with you: Many years ago a shoe company in England sent one of its sales people to Africa to start a business. After a few months this salesperson sent a message back to his head office telling them that he is coming home as nobody in Africa wear shoes and therefore it is a waste of time and money being there. This shoe company did not give up, so they sent another salesperson to Africa to replace the returning one. After a few months this second salesperson sent an urgent message to head office asking them to send more order forms as nobody in Africa is wearing shoes and there are plenty of opportunities making sales. The second salesperson saw the opportunity in his situation – not the difficulties that he is facing, and more to the point, he had in himself and in his products, and because of that he succeeded where the first salesperson failed.
I would like to suggest to you that faith is a bit like being pregnant. You see, you cannot make a valid distinction between having a little faith and a lot of faith, anymore than claiming someone is a little pregnant but not really a lot pregnant. I think you will be completely confused or started laughing if one day I tell you that my wife, Jenny is a little bit pregnant. You would think that Edwin must have either gone crazy or he is too happy and said the wrong thing for there is no such thing as being a little bit pregnant. It is a matter of either she is pregnant or she is not. Same with faith, it is either you have faith or you do not. You cannot just have a little bit of faith. It is something that does not make sense to the one who is listening. If we do believe in the promises of Jesus, the promises of God our Father in Heaven, even a little bit, then my brothers and sisters, we are already on the right path. I do sincerely believe that all of you who are here today are on the right track. All of you, who, if you are like the disciples were asking for an increase of our faith, are already, going on the right way.
Having said all that, and having understood the distinction between having faith and not having any faith, the question for us to answer is not how much faith we have, but what do we really have faith in.
There are many Christians in this world who look at themselves instead of God. Often we look at ourselves and say – I cannot do that. I am not strong enough, loving enough, giving enough, wise enough; I do not have the income or the money, the power or the faith to be successful in what I am doing. And those doubts, my brothers and sisters are completely true – we by our own powers are not able to accomplish what God wants us to achieve. We do not have what it is needed what it comes to dealing with what is truly important matters. We will not even last a day in this world without God looking after us. But my brothers and sisters in Christ, God has the power; God is able to do anything that he wishes to do. All we need to do is pray to him and believe in him. Ask God for help and his power will be able to flow through us, and he will work through us to complete what he wants us to complete.
Some of us, at one time or another has met people who have been through very difficult and trying times, and our thoughts were that they must be people of great faith to come out of their trial and tribulations as well as they have. If we ever say to them with respect and admiration that we do not think that we could have faced what they have faced. Your faith must be very strong indeed. Do you know what their answer would be? Their answer would almost always be with words like these: “My faith is no greater than anyone else’s. I just did not know what I had until I have need for it. God helped me through it. If it was not for him I would never have been able to make it.”
Have you not heard of this kind of thing yourselves? Is it not one of those times when we may have said to ourselves: “I wish I had a faith like theirs”?
I wish I had a faith like theirs!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you know that those people of faith that we admire are correct in what they tell us. We very often do not realise just what we have in ourselves. We let our faith in God lie sleeping inside of us, and we go out looking for it. While all the time, God is there, and our faith in God is there, but our faith is doing nothing because we allow it to go to sleep.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ covers all areas of human life:
- It tells us of forgiveness and peace
- It tells us of eternal life
- It addresses the problems of poverty and of war
- It gives solutions to despair and answers to human distress.
But most of all, my brothers and sisters in Christ, it tells us:
- That alone by ourselves we can do nothing
- That we are, as many of us think, inadequate, incapable, sinners lost in a dark world.
- It tells us that are not alone, and that God cares for everyone of us
- That God works in the lives of all those who believes in him
- That God’s good purposes cannot be stopped by anyone or anything
- That his word does not return to him empty
- That he desires to transform not just the human heart but he wants to transform the world in which we are all living in
- And that all we need to do is to reach down to that little seed within us and begin to do what we have been called by God to do and God will do the rest
God will do the rest, which is his promise, however, we must do our part, just like Moses having to stretch out his rod, , just like Moses striking the rock with his staff in order to get water for the people, or the people who need healing must come to Jesus first. God will work in us and through us and bring his word to pass. He will pluck up the mountains and fill in the valleys. He will bring about the kingdom of God here on earth as we pray for. We are after all his partners in his work in this world.
What I am trying to say this morning is not ‘have more faith’ – but rather work with the faith that you already have inside you. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when we started acting in faith the very first thing we will notice is that a little is a lot.
There is a Chinese proverb that tells us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I should know as I am Chinese by race, and I am suggesting to you to take the step; follow he commands of God – hear his advice found throughout the scriptures and believe – believe in what God has promised us will come about. He is not one who speaks empty words.
Remember that no matter how small the step you may be taking, each step will bring you closer to your destination when it is taken. But you have to take the step, you have to start claiming God’s word as your own if you are to receive what God has promised and do what God has called you to do.
When you practice your faith, when you pray, when you believe and when you do, then in the language of the story that I began this talk with, you will overcome – God will overcome – plague and his far more dangerous companion – fear, and the blessings of life will be completely yours, yours and your family and the world. Praise be to God, day by day – Amen.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Luke 17.11-19
Many years ago a new Tsar came to the throne in Russia. One day as he walked around the palace grounds, he noticed a guard posted at a particular spot. He could see no reason for a guard just there, and the guard was under orders and had no idea what he was guarding.
Digging back into palace records he unearthed the surprising story. A hundred years before the wife of the Tsar - the Tsarina - had been walking in the palace grounds in early spring. To her delight she discovered a flower unexpectedly in bloom. She called a guard to watch the spot while she went into the palace for some secateurs. Back at the palace she became caught up in other more pressing business. She never did get back to pick up that flower, but for the next hundred years guards had faithfully - but pointlessly - watched over that spot.
We are asking today, "Why do we worship?" That's an important question. We don't want to be like those guards who just did it because they had always done it - but they didn't know why!
Jesus told the Samaritan woman - the woman at the well (John 4) - that true worship is "in spirit and in truth". In other words it is based on the solid reasons of who God is and what he has done - it is based on "the truth". But it springs from the very heart of our being, where our spirit communicates with God's Spirit - it is not a thin respectable veneer, a form of nice pious words.
The Ten Lepers
Jesus was making his way from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem. This led him along the border of Samaria and Galilee. He was making for a village when he was met by "ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease" - so the Good News Bible has it. The original simply calls them "lepers", but some scholars are unsure whether the term always denotes the disease we know by that name.
Listen to what the encyclopaedia says about leprosy. "Once a disease so dreaded that its victims were isolated in so-called leper colonies, leprosy can now be controlled and its resulting disfigurements prevented. The infectious agent, Mycobacterium leprae, is a bacillus in the same family as the one that causes tuberculosis. (It was discovered in 1874 by a Norwegian physician, Gerhard Hansen, and leprosy is sometimes called Hansen's disease.) The agent is thought to be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and nasal discharges. About 95 percent of the persons exposed to the bacterium are immune, however, so leprosy is not considered highly contagious. Because the bacterium is very slow growing the incubation period can range from 1 to 30 years, but the average is about 3 to 5 years. The organism invades the peripheral nerves, skin, and mucous membranes, damaging the nerves and causing anaesthesia. The resulting insensitivity can lead to unnoticed and therefore neglected injuries; this accounts for many of the deformities - such as loss of fingers - that occur in leprosy. Paralysis may also result; in advanced cases, numbness of the eyes may lead to blindness through trauma or infection."
But in those days there was no treatment and Jewish and Samaritan lepers alike were required to live outside their own towns and found comfort in one another's company. Leviticus directs that the leper "must wear torn clothes, leave his hair uncombed, cover the lower part of his face, and call out 'Unclean, unclean!' He remains unclean as long as he has the disease, and he must live outside the camp, away from others" (Lev.13.45).
These ten men stood at a distance and shouted, "Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!" Their usual warning, "Unclean, unclean!" became a request, "Wannabeclean! wannabeclean!" Somehow they had heard that Jesus had the power to heal. They were not just asking for pity - most people had a genuine sympathetic pity towards them. They were asking for action - for healing!
Anyone who was cured of leprosy had to be declared cleansed by a priest (Lev.14). So Jesus' direction to "go and let the priests examine you" was a clear promise that they would be healed. They were still lepers, but they had to obey his words in faith - "on the way they were made clean". They demonstrated their faith by their actions - that's when the miracle of healing occurred! The symptoms of the disease disappeared. Fresh energy was pulsing through their bodies. Their skin became new and healthy. All of them were aware of the amazing change in their physical condition.
One came back…
"When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice."
We are not sure whether they had to go to the priests in Jerusalem or simply to those living in this area of Palestine. (One was a Samaritan and would have had to go to the Samaritan priests on Mount Gerizim.) But that requirement should not have stopped them from their immediate need to relate to Jesus their Healer. All of them could have turned around at once and come back to Jesus. They should have done it while Jesus was in easy reach. There is no saying where Jesus would have gone next while they were away - even though he was heading towards Jerusalem! Their duty to show themselves to the priests could have waited till afterwards.
But one of them turned back as soon as he he realised that he was healed. He "praised God in a loud voice" and then "threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan."
The Jews, of course, had been brought up on the Bible. They knew all about worship and about all the correct things to do. Not that the Samaritans were totally ignorant. They had been brought in by the Assyrians to caretake the northern Israelite Kingdom after the Israelites were taken into exile in 722 BC. They intermarried with the remaining Israelites and adopted the first five books of the Bible and set up their own Temple on Mount Gerizim. Much later they offered strong opposition when the Jews (the southern Kingdom) returned from exile to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. There was a great deal of bitterness on both sides. Such attitudes had no place in a lepers' camp. But now that they were healed they had to go their separate ways and do what was required.
"There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?" The nine were interested in themselves and in their cure. They would go through all the formalities and the sacrifice that gave them the right to be accepted back into society. Jesus didn't "unheal" them. Their physical healing remained, but they lost the opportunity of publicly identifying themselves with Jesus, their God-given Healer. One writer speaks of "the worse leprosy of shameful thanklessness and superstitious ignorance" that befell them.
The original uses three healing words in this story. All were "made clean". All were "healed". But to the thankful Samaritan Jesus says, "Your faith has saved you." For he has received more than physical health but full salvation, forgiveness of sins and a place among God's children.
Why do we worship?
So we are back to our original question. Why do we worship? All of the ten had the faith to be healed of their leprosy. All showed it by their action. All would be showing themselves to the priests and offering the sacrifices to God that the Law required. All would be declared free from the disease and allowed back into society. All would continue to be involved in "worship" - the nine at the Temple in Jerusalem, the one on Mount Gerizim. But why would they worship? Their experiences would be similar, but would their motives be the same?
Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 1: "Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!… he has blessed us… he has chosen us to be his…" "Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son… we are set free, our sins are forgiven… he will bring all creation together with Christ as head… he has put his stamp of ownership on us by giving us the Holy Spirit… he will give complete freedom to those who are his…"
Paul punctuates what he is saying with "Praise God's glory!" "Let us praise his glory!" Paul is moved to thankfulness as he thinks of all that God has done for us. But worship is not just remembering what God has done - it is remembering who God is and submitting all of our lives to him. It is more than our relationship with God at this point of our life - it has to do with our relationship with him in all our life.
Unlike the other nine, the Samaritan leper moved from the point of "wannabeclean" to worship - praising God and laying down his life before the Lord Jesus.
Why do we worship? Because we need to acknowledge that God is the Creator and to lay down our lives before him. Because we need to acknowledge that God is the standard of what is right and to confess that we are sinners before him. Because we need to acknowledge that God is love and to receive the forgiveness he offers us in his Son, Jesus.
Worship "in spirit and in truth" is truly and honestly coming to God with this humility and openness. He has promised to meet with us as we reach out to meet with him.
Digging back into palace records he unearthed the surprising story. A hundred years before the wife of the Tsar - the Tsarina - had been walking in the palace grounds in early spring. To her delight she discovered a flower unexpectedly in bloom. She called a guard to watch the spot while she went into the palace for some secateurs. Back at the palace she became caught up in other more pressing business. She never did get back to pick up that flower, but for the next hundred years guards had faithfully - but pointlessly - watched over that spot.
We are asking today, "Why do we worship?" That's an important question. We don't want to be like those guards who just did it because they had always done it - but they didn't know why!
Jesus told the Samaritan woman - the woman at the well (John 4) - that true worship is "in spirit and in truth". In other words it is based on the solid reasons of who God is and what he has done - it is based on "the truth". But it springs from the very heart of our being, where our spirit communicates with God's Spirit - it is not a thin respectable veneer, a form of nice pious words.
The Ten Lepers
Jesus was making his way from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem. This led him along the border of Samaria and Galilee. He was making for a village when he was met by "ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease" - so the Good News Bible has it. The original simply calls them "lepers", but some scholars are unsure whether the term always denotes the disease we know by that name.
Listen to what the encyclopaedia says about leprosy. "Once a disease so dreaded that its victims were isolated in so-called leper colonies, leprosy can now be controlled and its resulting disfigurements prevented. The infectious agent, Mycobacterium leprae, is a bacillus in the same family as the one that causes tuberculosis. (It was discovered in 1874 by a Norwegian physician, Gerhard Hansen, and leprosy is sometimes called Hansen's disease.) The agent is thought to be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and nasal discharges. About 95 percent of the persons exposed to the bacterium are immune, however, so leprosy is not considered highly contagious. Because the bacterium is very slow growing the incubation period can range from 1 to 30 years, but the average is about 3 to 5 years. The organism invades the peripheral nerves, skin, and mucous membranes, damaging the nerves and causing anaesthesia. The resulting insensitivity can lead to unnoticed and therefore neglected injuries; this accounts for many of the deformities - such as loss of fingers - that occur in leprosy. Paralysis may also result; in advanced cases, numbness of the eyes may lead to blindness through trauma or infection."
But in those days there was no treatment and Jewish and Samaritan lepers alike were required to live outside their own towns and found comfort in one another's company. Leviticus directs that the leper "must wear torn clothes, leave his hair uncombed, cover the lower part of his face, and call out 'Unclean, unclean!' He remains unclean as long as he has the disease, and he must live outside the camp, away from others" (Lev.13.45).
These ten men stood at a distance and shouted, "Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!" Their usual warning, "Unclean, unclean!" became a request, "Wannabeclean! wannabeclean!" Somehow they had heard that Jesus had the power to heal. They were not just asking for pity - most people had a genuine sympathetic pity towards them. They were asking for action - for healing!
Anyone who was cured of leprosy had to be declared cleansed by a priest (Lev.14). So Jesus' direction to "go and let the priests examine you" was a clear promise that they would be healed. They were still lepers, but they had to obey his words in faith - "on the way they were made clean". They demonstrated their faith by their actions - that's when the miracle of healing occurred! The symptoms of the disease disappeared. Fresh energy was pulsing through their bodies. Their skin became new and healthy. All of them were aware of the amazing change in their physical condition.
One came back…
"When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice."
We are not sure whether they had to go to the priests in Jerusalem or simply to those living in this area of Palestine. (One was a Samaritan and would have had to go to the Samaritan priests on Mount Gerizim.) But that requirement should not have stopped them from their immediate need to relate to Jesus their Healer. All of them could have turned around at once and come back to Jesus. They should have done it while Jesus was in easy reach. There is no saying where Jesus would have gone next while they were away - even though he was heading towards Jerusalem! Their duty to show themselves to the priests could have waited till afterwards.
But one of them turned back as soon as he he realised that he was healed. He "praised God in a loud voice" and then "threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan."
The Jews, of course, had been brought up on the Bible. They knew all about worship and about all the correct things to do. Not that the Samaritans were totally ignorant. They had been brought in by the Assyrians to caretake the northern Israelite Kingdom after the Israelites were taken into exile in 722 BC. They intermarried with the remaining Israelites and adopted the first five books of the Bible and set up their own Temple on Mount Gerizim. Much later they offered strong opposition when the Jews (the southern Kingdom) returned from exile to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. There was a great deal of bitterness on both sides. Such attitudes had no place in a lepers' camp. But now that they were healed they had to go their separate ways and do what was required.
"There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?" The nine were interested in themselves and in their cure. They would go through all the formalities and the sacrifice that gave them the right to be accepted back into society. Jesus didn't "unheal" them. Their physical healing remained, but they lost the opportunity of publicly identifying themselves with Jesus, their God-given Healer. One writer speaks of "the worse leprosy of shameful thanklessness and superstitious ignorance" that befell them.
The original uses three healing words in this story. All were "made clean". All were "healed". But to the thankful Samaritan Jesus says, "Your faith has saved you." For he has received more than physical health but full salvation, forgiveness of sins and a place among God's children.
Why do we worship?
So we are back to our original question. Why do we worship? All of the ten had the faith to be healed of their leprosy. All showed it by their action. All would be showing themselves to the priests and offering the sacrifices to God that the Law required. All would be declared free from the disease and allowed back into society. All would continue to be involved in "worship" - the nine at the Temple in Jerusalem, the one on Mount Gerizim. But why would they worship? Their experiences would be similar, but would their motives be the same?
Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 1: "Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!… he has blessed us… he has chosen us to be his…" "Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son… we are set free, our sins are forgiven… he will bring all creation together with Christ as head… he has put his stamp of ownership on us by giving us the Holy Spirit… he will give complete freedom to those who are his…"
Paul punctuates what he is saying with "Praise God's glory!" "Let us praise his glory!" Paul is moved to thankfulness as he thinks of all that God has done for us. But worship is not just remembering what God has done - it is remembering who God is and submitting all of our lives to him. It is more than our relationship with God at this point of our life - it has to do with our relationship with him in all our life.
Unlike the other nine, the Samaritan leper moved from the point of "wannabeclean" to worship - praising God and laying down his life before the Lord Jesus.
Why do we worship? Because we need to acknowledge that God is the Creator and to lay down our lives before him. Because we need to acknowledge that God is the standard of what is right and to confess that we are sinners before him. Because we need to acknowledge that God is love and to receive the forgiveness he offers us in his Son, Jesus.
Worship "in spirit and in truth" is truly and honestly coming to God with this humility and openness. He has promised to meet with us as we reach out to meet with him.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Temptation
We don't know what is in our own hearts. Do you remember when Peter told Jesus that he would never deny him? Peter really believed this, but Jesus knew better, and later circumstances were a demonstration to Peter that he was mistaken about himself. He wasn't the blameless man he thought he was.
He thought he would be willing to die for Christ, but he was wrong about this. We make the same mistake about ourselves. We usually don't see our own most serious shortcomings.
This is why God allows temptations to come into our lives. They have an important purpose. Temptations show us whether we are really the men and women of God we think we are. Jesus told the disciples, just before His crucifixion, that they should pray that they might not enter into temptation. I believe that He meant that they should pray that they might not yield to temptation. I think this is why He taught us to pray, "lead us not into temptation." He was not telling us to pray that we never encounter temptation. Rather, He wanted us to pray that we not succumb to temptation when faced with it. He said that we should ask the Father to "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," or, "deliver us from the evil one." The way we can be kept from the evil one, or from Satan, is to avoid yielding to temptation. Although it is true that the enemy is the tempter, he cannot harm us if we do not yield to temptation. If we could somehow appropriate the grace of God in such a way as to avoid temptation whenever and wherever it presented itself, then the devil would have absolutely no power over us whatsoever. This is why it is so important for us to pray to the Father that we not yield to temptation.
Nevertheless, we will always encounter temptation. We must be prepared for it and be ready to deal with it whenever it comes. We should decide ahead of time how we will react when we are tempted, and act accordingly. The enemy will do all that he can to get us to fall prey to temptation, because he knows that if this happens, then he is able to take dominion over us in certain areas of our lives.
Nobody avoids facing temptation. By the grace of God, we can avoid falling prey to it when it comes, but we cannot avoid being tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. Temptation is the proving ground of life. It demonstrates either that we have certain weaknesses or that God has granted us the strength of character to overcome. In a very real sense, temptation is a test. We either pass or we fail. If we "flunk," then we often find that we have another opportunity to take the test. Toward the end of his life, Peter passed the test that he had once failed, and he gave his life in martyrdom during the persecutions under Nero.
Temptation is actually very helpful to us as a way of showing us if there are areas in our lives that are in need of improvement. If we yield to temptation, it is God's way of showing us, through these circumstances, that we have certain weaknesses that need to be addressed. But it is far better to ask God, beforehand, to help us not to fall prey to temptation, since there are always negative consequences when we yield to the tempter, who is out to destroy us.
Temptation is often very subtle. The tempter is a deceiver, and he will do all that he can to fool us and coax us into yielding to his enticements. He will use very clever arguments in order to convince you, if he can, that your situation is unique, or that circumstances warrant disobedience to what would ordinarily be God's command. What we must remember is that it is never in our best interest to listen to these arguments, howeverconvincing they may seem. You can be sure that the devil does not have your interests at heart when he introduces a temptation to you. He'll say, "nobody will know the difference." The only problem is that God, who knows everything, is not only observing your every action, but He is observing your very thoughts and motivations. And in His sovereignty, He is also capable of making known any evil act that you commit in secret. He may do this for your own good if it will help you to refrain from yielding to similar temptations in the future.
We have a tendency to continue to sin more and more in a given area of our lives once we have fallen prey to temptation. The enemy begins to strengthen his stranglehold in that particular area, and we tend to succumb to greater and greater temptations. This process often begins rather innocuously, or so it would seem, but as time goes on, we literally become enslaved to it unless there is a concerted effort to appropriate God's grace in that area of our lives through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, things generally go from bad to worse, until many different aspects of our lives are affected.
The enemy will try to make you think that God's way is too difficult. Or, he will try to make you think that God is not really concerned about your own best interests. Nothing could be further from the truth. Without fail, it is always in your best interest to obey God, even if things don't look that way. You will always suffer adverse consequences if you disobey Him and yield to temptation.
Dwight L. Moody used to preach constantly about the love of God, and one of his reasons for doing this was to remind people that when God requires something of us, it is because He loves us, and He wants the very best for us. It is not because He wants to lay heavy burdens upon us, as the enemy would have us to believe. The enemy wants us to think that it is an onerous and burdensome task to obey God. In reality, however, what becomesburdensome is to do the very thing that Satan tells us is the easy way out. Do you remember the story of Sarah and Abraham and Hagar and Ishmael? Sarah thought that the only way she was going to have children would be through Abraham and her servant Hagar. They chose the easy way out of their dilemma, and Ishmael was born. But it turned out that this was not the easy way. It was the difficult way. The family never had peace. There was constant rivalry between Sarah and Hagar--so much so that eventually they could no longer live with one another. What the enemy had convinced Sarah and Abraham was the easy way, or even the only way, turned out to have very bitter consequences. Don't let this happen to you. When the tempter comes to you and tells you that yielding to temptation will make life easier for you, recognize it for what it is--a ploy that will only make life far more burdensome.
God doesn't want our lives to be difficult. That's why He doesn't want us to yield to temptation. The enemy tries to turn this around and make us think that God wants our lives to be difficult. Don't believe it. You can be sure that it is the enemy who wants your life to be difficult. And he will do all that he can to bring that about.
This is true even for those who think they are on the devil's side. The devil is out to get you, and this is true whether you are a Christian or a satanist. The devil will betray all of those who have joined his forces, because he is out to get all of humanity. The only safety for anybody is under the canopy of love for God and obedience to Him.
If we fail to believe that God wants the best for us, then we begin to have difficulties, and we fall prey to temptation. Whenever you are faced with temptation, it is because a tremendous battle is being waged for the control of your mind and spirit. On the one hand, Satan wants you to think that the best course of action is for you to yield to it. He tries to convince you that God does not necessarily want the very best for you. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit speaks through your conscience that you are about to be hoodwinked. Satan wants you to be disbelieving, because then you will miss out on the blessing that God has for you in the area of your life that is being tested.
Parenthood is very helpful to us as an illustration of the importance of obedience to God in the face of temptation. As parents, we know what is important for our children. We love our children, and we want the very best for them. We try to see to it that they not do things that would be harmful to them. We ask them to eat their vegetables. We tell them to do their homework. We send them to bed at night so that they won't be too tired thenext day or get sick. We see to it that they don't eat too much candy. Our own perspective on these things is so very different from that of our children. They often think that we are being too strict when we try to get them to do what is best for them. They don't have our perspective with respect to what is in their own best interest.
This is one of the reasons that God gives us children. It helps us to see how we sometimes lack the perspective of our heavenly father when it comes to what is really in our own best interest. We are faced with a temptation and we yield to it. Our conscience tells us we're disobeying. We don't understand. Why would God want us to take the more difficult path? We don't see that, in the long run, things will be much easier for us if we simply obey conscience, resist the enemy, and refuse to yield to whatever temptation might be before us.
This is a very difficult decision to make, because we are usually in tough circumstances when faced with temptation. It usually comes in our weakest moments. One way to guard against falling prey to temptation is to be prepared ahead of time. Make a decision prior to the time of your moment of weakness. Ask the Lord for help to strengthen you, that you will be able to resist temptation when it comes. This is what the Lord exhorted the disciples to do while they were in the Garden of Gethsemane. He kept waking them up and asking them to pray. Why? So that they would resist temptation. An hour of decision was fast approaching when they would be called upon either to deny the Lord or to face possible martyrdom. The time of temptation was fast approaching. This was why Jesus wanted them to pray. He wanted them to be strengthened, so that they would not take the easy way out. He wanted them to do the right thing, so that they would avoid the evil consequences of succumbing to temptation.
We are told that all of the disciples forsook Jesus and fled. Can you imagine the sorrow that they all must have felt for having forsaken the Lord? Can you imagine the feelings of remorse that they must have had? This could have been avoided if they had taken the time to watch and pray prior to the hour of temptation. May we all watch and pray and ask God for the strength to resist in the hour of temptation that will soon come upon the whole world.
He thought he would be willing to die for Christ, but he was wrong about this. We make the same mistake about ourselves. We usually don't see our own most serious shortcomings.
This is why God allows temptations to come into our lives. They have an important purpose. Temptations show us whether we are really the men and women of God we think we are. Jesus told the disciples, just before His crucifixion, that they should pray that they might not enter into temptation. I believe that He meant that they should pray that they might not yield to temptation. I think this is why He taught us to pray, "lead us not into temptation." He was not telling us to pray that we never encounter temptation. Rather, He wanted us to pray that we not succumb to temptation when faced with it. He said that we should ask the Father to "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," or, "deliver us from the evil one." The way we can be kept from the evil one, or from Satan, is to avoid yielding to temptation. Although it is true that the enemy is the tempter, he cannot harm us if we do not yield to temptation. If we could somehow appropriate the grace of God in such a way as to avoid temptation whenever and wherever it presented itself, then the devil would have absolutely no power over us whatsoever. This is why it is so important for us to pray to the Father that we not yield to temptation.
Nevertheless, we will always encounter temptation. We must be prepared for it and be ready to deal with it whenever it comes. We should decide ahead of time how we will react when we are tempted, and act accordingly. The enemy will do all that he can to get us to fall prey to temptation, because he knows that if this happens, then he is able to take dominion over us in certain areas of our lives.
Nobody avoids facing temptation. By the grace of God, we can avoid falling prey to it when it comes, but we cannot avoid being tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. Temptation is the proving ground of life. It demonstrates either that we have certain weaknesses or that God has granted us the strength of character to overcome. In a very real sense, temptation is a test. We either pass or we fail. If we "flunk," then we often find that we have another opportunity to take the test. Toward the end of his life, Peter passed the test that he had once failed, and he gave his life in martyrdom during the persecutions under Nero.
Temptation is actually very helpful to us as a way of showing us if there are areas in our lives that are in need of improvement. If we yield to temptation, it is God's way of showing us, through these circumstances, that we have certain weaknesses that need to be addressed. But it is far better to ask God, beforehand, to help us not to fall prey to temptation, since there are always negative consequences when we yield to the tempter, who is out to destroy us.
Temptation is often very subtle. The tempter is a deceiver, and he will do all that he can to fool us and coax us into yielding to his enticements. He will use very clever arguments in order to convince you, if he can, that your situation is unique, or that circumstances warrant disobedience to what would ordinarily be God's command. What we must remember is that it is never in our best interest to listen to these arguments, howeverconvincing they may seem. You can be sure that the devil does not have your interests at heart when he introduces a temptation to you. He'll say, "nobody will know the difference." The only problem is that God, who knows everything, is not only observing your every action, but He is observing your very thoughts and motivations. And in His sovereignty, He is also capable of making known any evil act that you commit in secret. He may do this for your own good if it will help you to refrain from yielding to similar temptations in the future.
We have a tendency to continue to sin more and more in a given area of our lives once we have fallen prey to temptation. The enemy begins to strengthen his stranglehold in that particular area, and we tend to succumb to greater and greater temptations. This process often begins rather innocuously, or so it would seem, but as time goes on, we literally become enslaved to it unless there is a concerted effort to appropriate God's grace in that area of our lives through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, things generally go from bad to worse, until many different aspects of our lives are affected.
The enemy will try to make you think that God's way is too difficult. Or, he will try to make you think that God is not really concerned about your own best interests. Nothing could be further from the truth. Without fail, it is always in your best interest to obey God, even if things don't look that way. You will always suffer adverse consequences if you disobey Him and yield to temptation.
Dwight L. Moody used to preach constantly about the love of God, and one of his reasons for doing this was to remind people that when God requires something of us, it is because He loves us, and He wants the very best for us. It is not because He wants to lay heavy burdens upon us, as the enemy would have us to believe. The enemy wants us to think that it is an onerous and burdensome task to obey God. In reality, however, what becomesburdensome is to do the very thing that Satan tells us is the easy way out. Do you remember the story of Sarah and Abraham and Hagar and Ishmael? Sarah thought that the only way she was going to have children would be through Abraham and her servant Hagar. They chose the easy way out of their dilemma, and Ishmael was born. But it turned out that this was not the easy way. It was the difficult way. The family never had peace. There was constant rivalry between Sarah and Hagar--so much so that eventually they could no longer live with one another. What the enemy had convinced Sarah and Abraham was the easy way, or even the only way, turned out to have very bitter consequences. Don't let this happen to you. When the tempter comes to you and tells you that yielding to temptation will make life easier for you, recognize it for what it is--a ploy that will only make life far more burdensome.
God doesn't want our lives to be difficult. That's why He doesn't want us to yield to temptation. The enemy tries to turn this around and make us think that God wants our lives to be difficult. Don't believe it. You can be sure that it is the enemy who wants your life to be difficult. And he will do all that he can to bring that about.
This is true even for those who think they are on the devil's side. The devil is out to get you, and this is true whether you are a Christian or a satanist. The devil will betray all of those who have joined his forces, because he is out to get all of humanity. The only safety for anybody is under the canopy of love for God and obedience to Him.
If we fail to believe that God wants the best for us, then we begin to have difficulties, and we fall prey to temptation. Whenever you are faced with temptation, it is because a tremendous battle is being waged for the control of your mind and spirit. On the one hand, Satan wants you to think that the best course of action is for you to yield to it. He tries to convince you that God does not necessarily want the very best for you. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit speaks through your conscience that you are about to be hoodwinked. Satan wants you to be disbelieving, because then you will miss out on the blessing that God has for you in the area of your life that is being tested.
Parenthood is very helpful to us as an illustration of the importance of obedience to God in the face of temptation. As parents, we know what is important for our children. We love our children, and we want the very best for them. We try to see to it that they not do things that would be harmful to them. We ask them to eat their vegetables. We tell them to do their homework. We send them to bed at night so that they won't be too tired thenext day or get sick. We see to it that they don't eat too much candy. Our own perspective on these things is so very different from that of our children. They often think that we are being too strict when we try to get them to do what is best for them. They don't have our perspective with respect to what is in their own best interest.
This is one of the reasons that God gives us children. It helps us to see how we sometimes lack the perspective of our heavenly father when it comes to what is really in our own best interest. We are faced with a temptation and we yield to it. Our conscience tells us we're disobeying. We don't understand. Why would God want us to take the more difficult path? We don't see that, in the long run, things will be much easier for us if we simply obey conscience, resist the enemy, and refuse to yield to whatever temptation might be before us.
This is a very difficult decision to make, because we are usually in tough circumstances when faced with temptation. It usually comes in our weakest moments. One way to guard against falling prey to temptation is to be prepared ahead of time. Make a decision prior to the time of your moment of weakness. Ask the Lord for help to strengthen you, that you will be able to resist temptation when it comes. This is what the Lord exhorted the disciples to do while they were in the Garden of Gethsemane. He kept waking them up and asking them to pray. Why? So that they would resist temptation. An hour of decision was fast approaching when they would be called upon either to deny the Lord or to face possible martyrdom. The time of temptation was fast approaching. This was why Jesus wanted them to pray. He wanted them to be strengthened, so that they would not take the easy way out. He wanted them to do the right thing, so that they would avoid the evil consequences of succumbing to temptation.
We are told that all of the disciples forsook Jesus and fled. Can you imagine the sorrow that they all must have felt for having forsaken the Lord? Can you imagine the feelings of remorse that they must have had? This could have been avoided if they had taken the time to watch and pray prior to the hour of temptation. May we all watch and pray and ask God for the strength to resist in the hour of temptation that will soon come upon the whole world.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
II Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8
God our days and our nights, of our coming and our going, bless we pray thee, the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts and by them and the power of your Holy Spirit, make us more fitting servants of your most Holy Will. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.
There was a barber who thought that he should share his faith with his customers more than he had been doing lately. So the next morning when the sun came up and the barber got up out of bed he said, "Today I am going to witness to the first customer who walks through my door."
Soon after he opened his shop that morning his first customer came in and said, "I want a shave!" The barber said, "Sure, just sit in the seat and I'll be with you in a moment." The barber went in the back and prayed a quick desperate prayer saying, "God, the first customer just came in and I am going to witness to him. So please give me the wisdom to know just the right thing to say to him. Amen."
Then quickly the barber came out with his razor knife in one hand and a Bible in the other while saying "Good morning sir. I have a question for you... Are you ready to die?
For very good reasons perseverance is a character that is very much admired in this world of ours.
People who do not try and try again, until they are successful in whatever ventures they may be undertaking, are bound to fail. While those who do persist, and who labour unceasingly, who hang on, will generally accomplished a great deal.
If we go through the Bible, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, we can find many examples of perseverance. We have Jacob wrestling with the angel at the River Jabuk, refusing to let this much stronger opponent go until he receives a blessing. We have Paul, who despite being imprisoned, stoned, flogged, beaten, shipwrecked and having to endure hunger, thirst, nakedness, and rejection, went to all the known world and preached the Gospel and therefore completed the job given to him by Christ at his calling.
The Gospel reading of this morning seems to me to be a classical example of the link between perseverance and blessing; between unceasing determination and the achieving of one’s goal.
Luke told us the story in the context of a challenge Jesus makes to his disciples to always pray and never to lose heart, in other words, do not give up until the prayer has been answered by God. His story told us of a widow who would not give up until she got what she wanted from an uncaring and unjust judge. Jesus concluded the story by saying “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”
The lesson from the story seems to be very clear – persevere and you will be blessed.
Today I want to lay down a challenge to you by questioning that teaching. Indeed I want to suggest to you that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples something entirely different.
I am certain that we will be in agreement if I tell you that we believe in a God of Grace, a God who freely gives to his people what they need.
In the Scriptures we can hear Jesus telling us over and over again: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” And over and over again we are told by him and by the Apostles that Jesus went to the cross for us. He died for us, while we were yet alienated from him, while we were his enemies.
Indeed the fundamental message contained in the Gospels is found in the Scripture that say: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not your own doing, it is a gift of God.”
So how can we take this passage of the Scriptures and be in agreement that if we do something like praying hard enough, or just kept on banging on God’s door without mercy, then God will just roll over and give to us what we want?
This kind of saying reduces this Gospel to a mere matter of works and it makes a mockery out of any statement that tries to assert hat God is loving and giving.
Furthermore, these kinds of thinking will not only reduce the Gospel to a matter of works – it lays guilt traps for some people and creates pride in others.
“If you try hard enough – God will give you what you asked for – see what I have…”
And,
“If you do not try hard enough – God will not listen to you – you will not be getting what you want or need…”
How can we ever say such things and look one another in the eye?
How can we ever tell the person who is suffering from cancer – “You have not prayed hard enough?”
How can we suggest to the person whose child has been killed in an accident – “If you had remembered to pray to God every day this would not have happened?”
And how can we stand the person who suggests – that everything they are in possession of is because they worked hard and prayed hard to God until they got it?
Persevere and you will be blessed is simply not Gospel! This is definitely not the message that this parable is trying to teach us.
Of course, it is important to have virtues such as fidelity, commitment, and hard work, for those are attitudes in life that do take us places in this world, but it is not the good news that we celebrate in church each and every week.
Think for a minute another story in the Gospels that may be rather familiar to you – the story of the man who goes to a neighbour at midnight to borrow food for an unexpected guest. Consider the punch line of the story – how Jesus says that the neighbour will get up and give the man some bread, not because he was acting as a friend, but only because of that man’s persistence.
And think for a moment of the punch line of today’s story – how the unjust judge say to himself: “Though I have no fear of God and no respect fro anyone, yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by her continually coming.”
Although both stories sound as if their lesson is “persevere and you will be blessed”, the reality is that they are told to draw a contrast:
- A contrast between God and the reluctant neighbour;
- And a contrast between God and the uncaring judge.
If a corrupt and unjust judge will give out justice just because the plaintiff is so persistent, how much more is God, who loves us and is concerned about us, willing to answer us when we call upon him?
This leads directly to the point of the parable – to the very reason that Jesus told this story. The words with which the story started – and indeed the word with which the story closes.
Just as a reminder – the opening line was: “Then Jesus told them a story about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.”
The concluding line is “I tell you, God will quickly grant justice to those who cry to him day and night….and yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Jesus is teaching us, with the example of the widow and the unjust judge, to have faith, to trust that God in all his goodness will bring about the justice that we all seek, the blessings that we all require from God – and that we should continue in prayer for these things until they happen.
It is simply a matter of timing.
I once heard of a story which is a good illustration as to how often we confuse God’s timing with our own.
A newspaper in a certain village in the United States had been running a series of articles on the values of attending church. One day, a letter addressed to the editor was received. It read as follow:
“Print this if you dare. I have been doing an experiment. I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I did all the cultivating on Sunday. I gathered the harvest on Sunday and hauled it to my barn on Sunday. I find that my harvest this October is just as great as any of my neighbours’ who went to church on Sunday. So where was God all this time?”
The editor printed out the letter in full, but added his reply at the bottom of the article. “Your mistake was in thinking that God always settles his accounts in October.”
That is often our mistake as well, is it not? Many of us think that God should be acting when and how we want Him to act, as according to our own timetable and according to our heart’s desires. I know that I used to think that way, and used to keep on asking God as to why He has not taken any action as yet. However, by my own experiences I found that prayers do get answered, although they get answered not at the time I would like it to be answered, but a timing which I found to be better than what I was hoping or expecting.
We often forget the fact that our vision is limited, and that none of us are able to see the end from the beginning. We also often forget the fact that our own desires, although often very good, frequently runs against the freedom that God has given, for good or ill, to all people….
Bad things do happen to good people, my brothers and sisters.
And sometimes it would seem to some that God does not care:
- that he does not make a difference in our lives
- that justice will not come about
- that evil will prevail
- that death will have the last word
That is the reason why Jesus we need to pray always and not lose heart. That is why he asked “when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth?”
Being persistence in prayer is part of what faithfulness is all about.
It means refusing to give in to appearances and continuing to trust in God to act in His way and in His time. It may sometimes appear that we are all alone. It may seem at time that God does not hear. It may appear that injustice and evil are prevailing. However, faith dares us to go on praying. Faith dares us to approach the reality that we cannot see and live by it.
This is what makes people of faith different from other people. People of faith, like and me are willing to live by what we cannot see, but believe to be real, rather than living by what we can see, and what the world tells us is real.
Many people in this world pray, my dear brothers and sisters, and they pray for different reasons:
- Many people took to prayers when they are in a jam and are desperate just because they cannot come up with some fast and efficient human solution.
- Many pray because they have an incurable disease.
- Many people took to prayer just because they cannot figure out any way in order to help themselves.
And often when they do not get the answer they are expecting from God when they expect it, they may be tempted to stop praying and starting to ask “Why?”
Is that faith? I do not think that is faith. It is not faithful living. It is not what Jesus calls us to do. Jesus calls us to pray always and not to lose heart.
God has a blessing in mind for us.
He has promised to stand by us and to vindicate us.
He has promised us a new heaven and a new earth.
He has promised to save and deliver those who trust in Him.
He makes His promises to those who are joined to His people, those who have faith.
Our God is a faithful God and He will always keep His promises, although His timing may not be the same as ours.
The real lesson behind today’s Gospel reading is not – persist and you will get a blessing.
There should not be a single bit of doubt in the minds of those who believe in God and His promises.
The real lesson is found in our reaction to the world around us – in our reactions to our trails and tribulations and to the trials and tribulations of this world.
Do we really trust in God? Do we really believe in God and His promises? Do we pray always and not lose heart in God and His promises? Or do we see this world as all there really is – and only go to God when we cannot do anything else, and then abandon God when things are not happening as we think or imagine that they should?
Where is the point in your own life at which you will need to let go of your fears, your frustrations, your impatience, your anger, and sink down into a patient trusting in God’s timing and His way of working?
Where is the point in your life at which you will need to stop asking ‘Why’ and instead trust in God to bring about that which He has promised you? That which he calls us to pray for and to look for and to expect during the time when nothing at all seems to be happening.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
That is the question that this parable asks of each and every one of us.
May you be blessed in your own answering of this question, day by day, until the day when our Lord and Savior returns. Amen.
There was a barber who thought that he should share his faith with his customers more than he had been doing lately. So the next morning when the sun came up and the barber got up out of bed he said, "Today I am going to witness to the first customer who walks through my door."
Soon after he opened his shop that morning his first customer came in and said, "I want a shave!" The barber said, "Sure, just sit in the seat and I'll be with you in a moment." The barber went in the back and prayed a quick desperate prayer saying, "God, the first customer just came in and I am going to witness to him. So please give me the wisdom to know just the right thing to say to him. Amen."
Then quickly the barber came out with his razor knife in one hand and a Bible in the other while saying "Good morning sir. I have a question for you... Are you ready to die?
For very good reasons perseverance is a character that is very much admired in this world of ours.
People who do not try and try again, until they are successful in whatever ventures they may be undertaking, are bound to fail. While those who do persist, and who labour unceasingly, who hang on, will generally accomplished a great deal.
If we go through the Bible, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, we can find many examples of perseverance. We have Jacob wrestling with the angel at the River Jabuk, refusing to let this much stronger opponent go until he receives a blessing. We have Paul, who despite being imprisoned, stoned, flogged, beaten, shipwrecked and having to endure hunger, thirst, nakedness, and rejection, went to all the known world and preached the Gospel and therefore completed the job given to him by Christ at his calling.
The Gospel reading of this morning seems to me to be a classical example of the link between perseverance and blessing; between unceasing determination and the achieving of one’s goal.
Luke told us the story in the context of a challenge Jesus makes to his disciples to always pray and never to lose heart, in other words, do not give up until the prayer has been answered by God. His story told us of a widow who would not give up until she got what she wanted from an uncaring and unjust judge. Jesus concluded the story by saying “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”
The lesson from the story seems to be very clear – persevere and you will be blessed.
Today I want to lay down a challenge to you by questioning that teaching. Indeed I want to suggest to you that Jesus was trying to teach his disciples something entirely different.
I am certain that we will be in agreement if I tell you that we believe in a God of Grace, a God who freely gives to his people what they need.
In the Scriptures we can hear Jesus telling us over and over again: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” And over and over again we are told by him and by the Apostles that Jesus went to the cross for us. He died for us, while we were yet alienated from him, while we were his enemies.
Indeed the fundamental message contained in the Gospels is found in the Scripture that say: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not your own doing, it is a gift of God.”
So how can we take this passage of the Scriptures and be in agreement that if we do something like praying hard enough, or just kept on banging on God’s door without mercy, then God will just roll over and give to us what we want?
This kind of saying reduces this Gospel to a mere matter of works and it makes a mockery out of any statement that tries to assert hat God is loving and giving.
Furthermore, these kinds of thinking will not only reduce the Gospel to a matter of works – it lays guilt traps for some people and creates pride in others.
“If you try hard enough – God will give you what you asked for – see what I have…”
And,
“If you do not try hard enough – God will not listen to you – you will not be getting what you want or need…”
How can we ever say such things and look one another in the eye?
How can we ever tell the person who is suffering from cancer – “You have not prayed hard enough?”
How can we suggest to the person whose child has been killed in an accident – “If you had remembered to pray to God every day this would not have happened?”
And how can we stand the person who suggests – that everything they are in possession of is because they worked hard and prayed hard to God until they got it?
Persevere and you will be blessed is simply not Gospel! This is definitely not the message that this parable is trying to teach us.
Of course, it is important to have virtues such as fidelity, commitment, and hard work, for those are attitudes in life that do take us places in this world, but it is not the good news that we celebrate in church each and every week.
Think for a minute another story in the Gospels that may be rather familiar to you – the story of the man who goes to a neighbour at midnight to borrow food for an unexpected guest. Consider the punch line of the story – how Jesus says that the neighbour will get up and give the man some bread, not because he was acting as a friend, but only because of that man’s persistence.
And think for a moment of the punch line of today’s story – how the unjust judge say to himself: “Though I have no fear of God and no respect fro anyone, yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by her continually coming.”
Although both stories sound as if their lesson is “persevere and you will be blessed”, the reality is that they are told to draw a contrast:
- A contrast between God and the reluctant neighbour;
- And a contrast between God and the uncaring judge.
If a corrupt and unjust judge will give out justice just because the plaintiff is so persistent, how much more is God, who loves us and is concerned about us, willing to answer us when we call upon him?
This leads directly to the point of the parable – to the very reason that Jesus told this story. The words with which the story started – and indeed the word with which the story closes.
Just as a reminder – the opening line was: “Then Jesus told them a story about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.”
The concluding line is “I tell you, God will quickly grant justice to those who cry to him day and night….and yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Jesus is teaching us, with the example of the widow and the unjust judge, to have faith, to trust that God in all his goodness will bring about the justice that we all seek, the blessings that we all require from God – and that we should continue in prayer for these things until they happen.
It is simply a matter of timing.
I once heard of a story which is a good illustration as to how often we confuse God’s timing with our own.
A newspaper in a certain village in the United States had been running a series of articles on the values of attending church. One day, a letter addressed to the editor was received. It read as follow:
“Print this if you dare. I have been doing an experiment. I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I did all the cultivating on Sunday. I gathered the harvest on Sunday and hauled it to my barn on Sunday. I find that my harvest this October is just as great as any of my neighbours’ who went to church on Sunday. So where was God all this time?”
The editor printed out the letter in full, but added his reply at the bottom of the article. “Your mistake was in thinking that God always settles his accounts in October.”
That is often our mistake as well, is it not? Many of us think that God should be acting when and how we want Him to act, as according to our own timetable and according to our heart’s desires. I know that I used to think that way, and used to keep on asking God as to why He has not taken any action as yet. However, by my own experiences I found that prayers do get answered, although they get answered not at the time I would like it to be answered, but a timing which I found to be better than what I was hoping or expecting.
We often forget the fact that our vision is limited, and that none of us are able to see the end from the beginning. We also often forget the fact that our own desires, although often very good, frequently runs against the freedom that God has given, for good or ill, to all people….
Bad things do happen to good people, my brothers and sisters.
And sometimes it would seem to some that God does not care:
- that he does not make a difference in our lives
- that justice will not come about
- that evil will prevail
- that death will have the last word
That is the reason why Jesus we need to pray always and not lose heart. That is why he asked “when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth?”
Being persistence in prayer is part of what faithfulness is all about.
It means refusing to give in to appearances and continuing to trust in God to act in His way and in His time. It may sometimes appear that we are all alone. It may seem at time that God does not hear. It may appear that injustice and evil are prevailing. However, faith dares us to go on praying. Faith dares us to approach the reality that we cannot see and live by it.
This is what makes people of faith different from other people. People of faith, like and me are willing to live by what we cannot see, but believe to be real, rather than living by what we can see, and what the world tells us is real.
Many people in this world pray, my dear brothers and sisters, and they pray for different reasons:
- Many people took to prayers when they are in a jam and are desperate just because they cannot come up with some fast and efficient human solution.
- Many pray because they have an incurable disease.
- Many people took to prayer just because they cannot figure out any way in order to help themselves.
And often when they do not get the answer they are expecting from God when they expect it, they may be tempted to stop praying and starting to ask “Why?”
Is that faith? I do not think that is faith. It is not faithful living. It is not what Jesus calls us to do. Jesus calls us to pray always and not to lose heart.
God has a blessing in mind for us.
He has promised to stand by us and to vindicate us.
He has promised us a new heaven and a new earth.
He has promised to save and deliver those who trust in Him.
He makes His promises to those who are joined to His people, those who have faith.
Our God is a faithful God and He will always keep His promises, although His timing may not be the same as ours.
The real lesson behind today’s Gospel reading is not – persist and you will get a blessing.
There should not be a single bit of doubt in the minds of those who believe in God and His promises.
The real lesson is found in our reaction to the world around us – in our reactions to our trails and tribulations and to the trials and tribulations of this world.
Do we really trust in God? Do we really believe in God and His promises? Do we pray always and not lose heart in God and His promises? Or do we see this world as all there really is – and only go to God when we cannot do anything else, and then abandon God when things are not happening as we think or imagine that they should?
Where is the point in your own life at which you will need to let go of your fears, your frustrations, your impatience, your anger, and sink down into a patient trusting in God’s timing and His way of working?
Where is the point in your life at which you will need to stop asking ‘Why’ and instead trust in God to bring about that which He has promised you? That which he calls us to pray for and to look for and to expect during the time when nothing at all seems to be happening.
When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
That is the question that this parable asks of each and every one of us.
May you be blessed in your own answering of this question, day by day, until the day when our Lord and Savior returns. Amen.
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