"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
Son of God. Son of Man. Master Teacher. Miracle Worker. Is there anything more that a person could put on a resume? This is quite a person and there is probably nothing that He can't do. But there is one task yet to perform, one role yet to play. Jesus above all else came to be Savior, Messiah, Redeemer.
We know the account. I suspect that many of us have witnessed the graphic depiction of the event at some time or form. And we were moved. We were challenged. We began to understand the suffering of the Messiah. And that is probably as it should be.
However, I have a warning to give. Not that I want to pour cold water upon the blaze of the Spirit, but we must understand something about what we saw. It touched our emotions. Some of us will weep. Some will cry. We will all suffer. Some of us will change. However, there are still many lost souls to save.
So what can we do? After we have wept, after we have cried, after we have suffered, we can pray. As a matter of fact, we can begin praying now, for the salvation of people who don't know Jesus or who know Jesus, but have left the fold. Pray that the Blood of Jesus was not lost into the earth and bear witness to those whose eye's are closed and ears are sealed. Be aware of peoples needs, be aware of the Holy Spirit's leading and offer to do "whatever it takes" to bring them to Christ. Pray that the churches will have open doors to accept those who are ready to get "Right with God". Pray that someone will have the long-term answers that these people long for.
Indeed, I believe that most men and women are looking for a Savior, they are just looking in the wrong places. I believe that God is using all His people as an evangelistic tool, but we are just a tool. Only the Living, Breathing, Loving Son of God can bring the desired results, but He can't do it without willing hands, yours and mine.
May God use your hands to bring His results in His ways. Amen and Amen.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Prov. 23:17-19
"Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way" Prov. 23:17-19
Some things are hard to grasp. Where do square fish come from so that fast-food shops can make square fish sandwiches? Why do we play a round of golf, but we square dance? Why does a business have to tell the truth about his product, but politicians can lie about each other? Why does a can of dog food have more nutritional information on it than a jar of baby food? Why are women's size 6 shoes smaller than a man's size 6 shoe? Why do British drivers drive on the left side of the road and some other drivers in the world drive on the right side? Why does it "rain cats and dogs" and not "catfish and bass"? Why do sinners become rich and the righteous live in comparative poverty?
It appears that Solomon wondered about that last item as well for he warns his son to refrain from envying sinners. What is there about the sinner that is worthy of envy? There could be several things, I suppose, that could appear to be desirable. 1) Wealth. 2) Power. 3) Lifestyle. 4) Beautiful women (or handsome men) hanging on every word spoken. 5) PARTIES!!!! 6) Health (or the ability to buy the best medical attention possible.) Does that cover most of the reasons you could think about?
OK. Now let's look at reasons NOT to envy those same people. 1) Happiness. While wealth wrongfully acquired might by smiles and parties and beauty, that wealth will not buy happiness. When the party is over, another one must be planned, bigger and better than the last. Beauty fades, even with the best of plastic surgeons (ask Phyllis Diller!!) 2) Power. Power is a fleeting thing, and it corrupts as completely as flies corrupt pie left outside. 3) Contentment. If you think a sinful man is content, look again. Why do you think the Purple Pill is so popular? Contented people sleep at night, without reflux. 4) Peace. There is a difference between contentment and peace. Contentment has to do with things. We can be content with a few things. Peace is a state of the spirit.
Sometimes we forget that the future is long in coming. The future is more than tomorrow or next week or next year. The future is eternal, and where we spend THAT is much more important than the next fifty or sixty years. All the wealth and power this world has to offer is not worth one second in Hell!!!
So, we would be wise to follow the admonition of Solomon to his son. "Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way." And what is the way? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me." Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Some things are hard to grasp. Where do square fish come from so that fast-food shops can make square fish sandwiches? Why do we play a round of golf, but we square dance? Why does a business have to tell the truth about his product, but politicians can lie about each other? Why does a can of dog food have more nutritional information on it than a jar of baby food? Why are women's size 6 shoes smaller than a man's size 6 shoe? Why do British drivers drive on the left side of the road and some other drivers in the world drive on the right side? Why does it "rain cats and dogs" and not "catfish and bass"? Why do sinners become rich and the righteous live in comparative poverty?
It appears that Solomon wondered about that last item as well for he warns his son to refrain from envying sinners. What is there about the sinner that is worthy of envy? There could be several things, I suppose, that could appear to be desirable. 1) Wealth. 2) Power. 3) Lifestyle. 4) Beautiful women (or handsome men) hanging on every word spoken. 5) PARTIES!!!! 6) Health (or the ability to buy the best medical attention possible.) Does that cover most of the reasons you could think about?
OK. Now let's look at reasons NOT to envy those same people. 1) Happiness. While wealth wrongfully acquired might by smiles and parties and beauty, that wealth will not buy happiness. When the party is over, another one must be planned, bigger and better than the last. Beauty fades, even with the best of plastic surgeons (ask Phyllis Diller!!) 2) Power. Power is a fleeting thing, and it corrupts as completely as flies corrupt pie left outside. 3) Contentment. If you think a sinful man is content, look again. Why do you think the Purple Pill is so popular? Contented people sleep at night, without reflux. 4) Peace. There is a difference between contentment and peace. Contentment has to do with things. We can be content with a few things. Peace is a state of the spirit.
Sometimes we forget that the future is long in coming. The future is more than tomorrow or next week or next year. The future is eternal, and where we spend THAT is much more important than the next fifty or sixty years. All the wealth and power this world has to offer is not worth one second in Hell!!!
So, we would be wise to follow the admonition of Solomon to his son. "Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way." And what is the way? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me." Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Matt. 15:34
"Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." Matt. 15:34
God used so many small things in preparing mankind to receive the Gospel. There is the account of the small cake given to the prophet Elijah that saved the life of the prophet, the widow and her son until the rains returned to Israel. Jesus talked about the widow who placed two small coins in the offering box - and how those coins were worth more than all the gold the rich had deposited. The Master talked about the small mustard seed and how it demonstrated the nature of the Kingdom of God. In today's verse we see the reference to seven small loaves and a few small fish. With these, Jesus fed the multitudes.
A man came to Jesus with a demon-possessed son. Jesus asked the man about the strength of his faith. The man responded that he believed, but sought help with his unbelief - his small faith. It is always the small things that mean so much; the small action, the little kind word, the small widow who prays, or the small contribution.
Nothing or no one is too small for God to use.
Jesus tells us that it is the little people, the invisible people, the seemingly insignificant people who are the greatest in the Kingdom. While you and I may look at the great and the famous with awe, God looks at the simple man who is praying for that person - and considers him to be great. While we make room for the famous politician to speak in our pulpits, God looks at the janitor who, at his own expense, ministers to the poor of our community. While we pay the great expositors of the Word huge sums of money to proclaim the Good News from our pulpits, God seeks out the man or woman who will speak an appropriate word at the right time. That is the person God can use to reach the hearts of lost.
Do not despair if you are one of those who is always overlooked by those around you. If you are doing the simple things you know God wants you to do, you are one of the greatest in the Kingdom. God can trust you to do what is needed. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
God used so many small things in preparing mankind to receive the Gospel. There is the account of the small cake given to the prophet Elijah that saved the life of the prophet, the widow and her son until the rains returned to Israel. Jesus talked about the widow who placed two small coins in the offering box - and how those coins were worth more than all the gold the rich had deposited. The Master talked about the small mustard seed and how it demonstrated the nature of the Kingdom of God. In today's verse we see the reference to seven small loaves and a few small fish. With these, Jesus fed the multitudes.
A man came to Jesus with a demon-possessed son. Jesus asked the man about the strength of his faith. The man responded that he believed, but sought help with his unbelief - his small faith. It is always the small things that mean so much; the small action, the little kind word, the small widow who prays, or the small contribution.
Nothing or no one is too small for God to use.
Jesus tells us that it is the little people, the invisible people, the seemingly insignificant people who are the greatest in the Kingdom. While you and I may look at the great and the famous with awe, God looks at the simple man who is praying for that person - and considers him to be great. While we make room for the famous politician to speak in our pulpits, God looks at the janitor who, at his own expense, ministers to the poor of our community. While we pay the great expositors of the Word huge sums of money to proclaim the Good News from our pulpits, God seeks out the man or woman who will speak an appropriate word at the right time. That is the person God can use to reach the hearts of lost.
Do not despair if you are one of those who is always overlooked by those around you. If you are doing the simple things you know God wants you to do, you are one of the greatest in the Kingdom. God can trust you to do what is needed. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Micah 6:8
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
What an opening! I don't know about you, but if the Lord requires something of me, I want to know what that is. What is this requirement? Church attendance? Good deeds? Giving money to the poor? All those things are good, but God tells us something even more profound. What does the Lord require of me? "...to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God."
Think about it. If we master these three things, our church attendance, good deeds, giving, working in the kingdom will all take care of themselves. Let's look a little closer at each of these.
First, we are called on to "do justly." This literally comes from the field of civil law and it means to render a verdict which is right and fair. By extension, it means to live in a way which considers first what is right and later what is profitable. Unfortunately in this modern world of ours what is right is often treated as being secondary to that which works." Practicality and profit have become the twin gods of business, politics, family life and even, sad to say, some organized religious groups. I heard a minister once defend lying to his congregation because it worked. This scripture says that God requires that we do right regardless of our assessment of its practicality.
Secondly, God requires that we "love mercy." In the process of holding myself to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct, I must be careful not to despise those who fail to meet those standards. I have failed and depended on others (especially God himself) to show me mercy. If I expect to receive mercy I must show it. One of the beatitudes says, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." This showing of mercy doesn't mean excusing wrongdoing. Rather, my act of mercy directs the person to the one who can give full forgiveness of sin by demonstrating in my life that forgiveness in word and deed.
Finally, we are required to "walk humbly with thy God." Humility before the Father says, "I'm afraid as hard as I try. I can't walk justly all the time, and my mercy is inconsistent and shallow. I need help. Take me and shape me into the type of person who can truly live up to the requirements you have set before me." Fortunately, God has made a provision for our inability to meet his requirements. He sent his Son to die on a Cross so that we might "be made the righteousness of God." If you're having trouble meeting God's requirements, turn to Him today and ask His Son to come into your heart. It's easier to walk a difficult path, if you have the road builder with you on the journey. Lord, please help me to simply do what you require of me in my daily life.
Help me to remember justice and mercy and humility as I draw closer to you each day.. Amen and Amen.
What an opening! I don't know about you, but if the Lord requires something of me, I want to know what that is. What is this requirement? Church attendance? Good deeds? Giving money to the poor? All those things are good, but God tells us something even more profound. What does the Lord require of me? "...to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God."
Think about it. If we master these three things, our church attendance, good deeds, giving, working in the kingdom will all take care of themselves. Let's look a little closer at each of these.
First, we are called on to "do justly." This literally comes from the field of civil law and it means to render a verdict which is right and fair. By extension, it means to live in a way which considers first what is right and later what is profitable. Unfortunately in this modern world of ours what is right is often treated as being secondary to that which works." Practicality and profit have become the twin gods of business, politics, family life and even, sad to say, some organized religious groups. I heard a minister once defend lying to his congregation because it worked. This scripture says that God requires that we do right regardless of our assessment of its practicality.
Secondly, God requires that we "love mercy." In the process of holding myself to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct, I must be careful not to despise those who fail to meet those standards. I have failed and depended on others (especially God himself) to show me mercy. If I expect to receive mercy I must show it. One of the beatitudes says, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." This showing of mercy doesn't mean excusing wrongdoing. Rather, my act of mercy directs the person to the one who can give full forgiveness of sin by demonstrating in my life that forgiveness in word and deed.
Finally, we are required to "walk humbly with thy God." Humility before the Father says, "I'm afraid as hard as I try. I can't walk justly all the time, and my mercy is inconsistent and shallow. I need help. Take me and shape me into the type of person who can truly live up to the requirements you have set before me." Fortunately, God has made a provision for our inability to meet his requirements. He sent his Son to die on a Cross so that we might "be made the righteousness of God." If you're having trouble meeting God's requirements, turn to Him today and ask His Son to come into your heart. It's easier to walk a difficult path, if you have the road builder with you on the journey. Lord, please help me to simply do what you require of me in my daily life.
Help me to remember justice and mercy and humility as I draw closer to you each day.. Amen and Amen.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; John 4:5-42
"Gracious God - bless now the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts. Breath your Spirit into us and grant that we may hear and in hearing be led in the way you want us to go. Amen.
Someone shown me a newspaper article sometime ago, which I would like to share with you. It was titled: "In Times of Stress, Just Call on Rover". It goes like this:
When it comes to times of stress, the most reassuring companion isn't your sweetheart - it's your schnauzer.
A study has found that people who were under stress showed the least amount of tension when accompanied by their dog. The stress levels were highest when the people were with their husbands or wives.
"I think that dogs are non-evaluative, and they love us", said Karen Allen, a research scientist at State University of New York at Buffalo's medical school.
This item caught my attention, not because of what it says about stress and our spouses - It caught my attention because of what asserts about how dogs love us - and of the benefits that kind of love has.
There is something very biblical in the assertion made by Ms. Allen that non-evaluative love, non-judgmental love, reduces tension.
In fact the scriptures testify that this kind of love does far more than reduce tension - it in fact gives life - it gives hope - it gives assurance - to all who receive it.
Non-judgmental - accepting - all embracing love is the essence of the gospel message: it lies behind such statements as: "Do not judge others lest you be judged - for the judgement you give will be the judgement you receive" and it is at the root of what has happened whenever we find Jesus being criticized by the scribes and pharisees for the company that he keeps.
Jesus accepts and embraces those whom others find wanting. He loves those who seem unlovable - to others - and to themselves.
I'm not much of gardener, but one thing I do know is that every plant needs water to grow.
And I know this as well - the plants that are in the driest soil: - the ones that are struggling the hardest and beginning to wither - the ones whose leaves are being to curl and which look worse than the rest need more water than those who are in damp ground and whose leaves are rich and full of moisture.
And I know too that dry plants respond better to water than they do to added heat -that they thrust down their roots to where they can find it or turn their leaves over so that they better receive it - and receiving it - they change - they begin to look better - they begin to grow - and at length - they produce the fruit that they have been designed to produce.
We are the plants in God's garden - placed here for a reason and a purpose - and some of us are awfully dry - and some of us are not.
But each one of us, whether we be dry or moist at this very moment, needs the living water that Jesus says he has come to give: - that water which wells up to eternal life, - that water which overflows and brings life to other plants near to it.
I give thanks to God today for his love - for that love shown by Christ - that love which was poured out me when I was withering and perishing as a young man - alone in a large city call London, and which even now is poured out upon me -even though I am far from perfect.
I give thanks for his love which has given me hope that I never had, a peace that at one time I could only long for, and an assurance that I thought I would never see at work in my life.
In giving thanks before you today I do what thousands, indeed millions of people have done before me, I do what the woman at the well did after first encountering Jesus: I point to the one who is the Saviour promised from long ago, I point to the one who has accepted me - the one who calls me brother and does not hold my human failings against me, - the one who encourages me and challenges me and never - even when I argue with him - rejects or condemns me.
That is what Jesus did with the woman at the well. He accepted her.
He accepted her though she was a Samaritan and an enemy to his people.
He spoke to her of God though she was a woman and not thought worthy of such conversation.
He offered her his blessing - even though she debated with him and questioned his statements.
He regards her as a dear sister - and gives her the same title of endearment he gave Mary when he calls her woman in verse 21 and asks her to believe his words concerning how the time is coming when true worshippers will worship Father in Spirit and in Truth.
And that is why she sang his praises in her village. Because of his acceptance - because of his love.
It was not just because knew her past - It was not just because he could tell her things that no stranger should know that she spoke of him to her friends and neighbours.
It was because in knowing her - In knowing her nationality, her gender, her religious attitudes, and the mixed history of her marriages or relationship, he none-the-less treats her as if she was an equal, as if she was a person worthy of respect, worthy of affection -
worthy of love.
And that is where it is at.
When we treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated - when we can talk to kings and to beggars and not show any preferences to the one and not the other, - when we can debate with sinners and with saints - and have both feel that you respect them - when we can open our homes to both friends and strangers - and have both feel welcomed - when we can encounter people and not judge them - not put them down - not patronize them - then we know something of God's love then we show something of God's love.
Blessed be God, day by day. Amen.
Someone shown me a newspaper article sometime ago, which I would like to share with you. It was titled: "In Times of Stress, Just Call on Rover". It goes like this:
When it comes to times of stress, the most reassuring companion isn't your sweetheart - it's your schnauzer.
A study has found that people who were under stress showed the least amount of tension when accompanied by their dog. The stress levels were highest when the people were with their husbands or wives.
"I think that dogs are non-evaluative, and they love us", said Karen Allen, a research scientist at State University of New York at Buffalo's medical school.
This item caught my attention, not because of what it says about stress and our spouses - It caught my attention because of what asserts about how dogs love us - and of the benefits that kind of love has.
There is something very biblical in the assertion made by Ms. Allen that non-evaluative love, non-judgmental love, reduces tension.
In fact the scriptures testify that this kind of love does far more than reduce tension - it in fact gives life - it gives hope - it gives assurance - to all who receive it.
Non-judgmental - accepting - all embracing love is the essence of the gospel message: it lies behind such statements as: "Do not judge others lest you be judged - for the judgement you give will be the judgement you receive" and it is at the root of what has happened whenever we find Jesus being criticized by the scribes and pharisees for the company that he keeps.
Jesus accepts and embraces those whom others find wanting. He loves those who seem unlovable - to others - and to themselves.
I'm not much of gardener, but one thing I do know is that every plant needs water to grow.
And I know this as well - the plants that are in the driest soil: - the ones that are struggling the hardest and beginning to wither - the ones whose leaves are being to curl and which look worse than the rest need more water than those who are in damp ground and whose leaves are rich and full of moisture.
And I know too that dry plants respond better to water than they do to added heat -that they thrust down their roots to where they can find it or turn their leaves over so that they better receive it - and receiving it - they change - they begin to look better - they begin to grow - and at length - they produce the fruit that they have been designed to produce.
We are the plants in God's garden - placed here for a reason and a purpose - and some of us are awfully dry - and some of us are not.
But each one of us, whether we be dry or moist at this very moment, needs the living water that Jesus says he has come to give: - that water which wells up to eternal life, - that water which overflows and brings life to other plants near to it.
I give thanks to God today for his love - for that love shown by Christ - that love which was poured out me when I was withering and perishing as a young man - alone in a large city call London, and which even now is poured out upon me -even though I am far from perfect.
I give thanks for his love which has given me hope that I never had, a peace that at one time I could only long for, and an assurance that I thought I would never see at work in my life.
In giving thanks before you today I do what thousands, indeed millions of people have done before me, I do what the woman at the well did after first encountering Jesus: I point to the one who is the Saviour promised from long ago, I point to the one who has accepted me - the one who calls me brother and does not hold my human failings against me, - the one who encourages me and challenges me and never - even when I argue with him - rejects or condemns me.
That is what Jesus did with the woman at the well. He accepted her.
He accepted her though she was a Samaritan and an enemy to his people.
He spoke to her of God though she was a woman and not thought worthy of such conversation.
He offered her his blessing - even though she debated with him and questioned his statements.
He regards her as a dear sister - and gives her the same title of endearment he gave Mary when he calls her woman in verse 21 and asks her to believe his words concerning how the time is coming when true worshippers will worship Father in Spirit and in Truth.
And that is why she sang his praises in her village. Because of his acceptance - because of his love.
It was not just because knew her past - It was not just because he could tell her things that no stranger should know that she spoke of him to her friends and neighbours.
It was because in knowing her - In knowing her nationality, her gender, her religious attitudes, and the mixed history of her marriages or relationship, he none-the-less treats her as if she was an equal, as if she was a person worthy of respect, worthy of affection -
worthy of love.
And that is where it is at.
When we treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated - when we can talk to kings and to beggars and not show any preferences to the one and not the other, - when we can debate with sinners and with saints - and have both feel that you respect them - when we can open our homes to both friends and strangers - and have both feel welcomed - when we can encounter people and not judge them - not put them down - not patronize them - then we know something of God's love then we show something of God's love.
Blessed be God, day by day. Amen.
Acts 7:47-49
"But Solomon built Him a house. "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?" Acts 7:47-49
The Old Testament concept of God included a dwelling place. His house was first a tent, then, through Solomon, it became a Temple. The prophets came to realize that God could not be kept in a box - no matter how beautiful and stoutly built. God's throne was the vastness of the heavens and the earth was simply His footstool. This demonstrates the awesome "bigness" of God.
The New Testament saw God as big - but human - in the form of Jesus - God in man form. He dwelt on earth. He walked the same roads and sailed the same seas as they did. This Man-God was big, not because He towered over all others when He stood in a crowd (like Saul), but because He spoke with such authority on topics that the rabbinical school of the day either avoided or reiterated the teachings of others. Jesus was a "fresh voice" promising deliverance from the kingdom of this earth. The Jews interpreted this to be Rome. We know it to be Satan's power.
Jesus put a new twist on the matter when He introduced the necessity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had all the attributes of God the Father and God the Son with one simple change. Being spirit, He would dwell in the heart of man. We can now see God in all of His majesty, perfect humanness, and indwelling power - from the great big to the invisible, God was and is and is yet to come.
It is important for us to remember all three of these attributes. We need to recognize that God is bigger than we are - or any nations - or our world. He created it. He dwells in it. He controls it. We need to remember that God, in the form of Jesus, took on the shape of man - and did it victoriously. He neither stumbled nor fell to the temptations that we face every day. This should give us hope that, when we have the Holy Spirit, God in spirit form, dwelling in - indeed, possessing - us, we can be victorious like Jesus.
I encourage you to let the Spirit possess you. Give Him complete control. Let Him run your life. He will not fail. Amen and Amen.
The Old Testament concept of God included a dwelling place. His house was first a tent, then, through Solomon, it became a Temple. The prophets came to realize that God could not be kept in a box - no matter how beautiful and stoutly built. God's throne was the vastness of the heavens and the earth was simply His footstool. This demonstrates the awesome "bigness" of God.
The New Testament saw God as big - but human - in the form of Jesus - God in man form. He dwelt on earth. He walked the same roads and sailed the same seas as they did. This Man-God was big, not because He towered over all others when He stood in a crowd (like Saul), but because He spoke with such authority on topics that the rabbinical school of the day either avoided or reiterated the teachings of others. Jesus was a "fresh voice" promising deliverance from the kingdom of this earth. The Jews interpreted this to be Rome. We know it to be Satan's power.
Jesus put a new twist on the matter when He introduced the necessity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had all the attributes of God the Father and God the Son with one simple change. Being spirit, He would dwell in the heart of man. We can now see God in all of His majesty, perfect humanness, and indwelling power - from the great big to the invisible, God was and is and is yet to come.
It is important for us to remember all three of these attributes. We need to recognize that God is bigger than we are - or any nations - or our world. He created it. He dwells in it. He controls it. We need to remember that God, in the form of Jesus, took on the shape of man - and did it victoriously. He neither stumbled nor fell to the temptations that we face every day. This should give us hope that, when we have the Holy Spirit, God in spirit form, dwelling in - indeed, possessing - us, we can be victorious like Jesus.
I encourage you to let the Spirit possess you. Give Him complete control. Let Him run your life. He will not fail. Amen and Amen.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Isaiah. 35:1
"The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" Isaiah. 35:1
Jonathan Edwards in his great sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" asserts that the earth, animals, and plants long to kick man off the face of earth - man is that far from the perfection that God created. It seems that I came upon a few people who did not like that idea. First, they said, the earth is not a person and thus has no emotions or thinking ability to WANT to kick man off. Second, they said, man is not that bad.
In light of today's verse, I propose that the earth DOES have emotions. Isaiah says that the wilderness and the desert will be glad - glad for what? They will be glad for the return of the Messiah as He sets the earth aright. He continues to say that the desert or "Arabia" - the great southern desert separating Israel from Egypt - will rejoice and blossom. Sure sounds like emotion to me; do you not agree? Isaiah continues with other personifications of the earth and its natural inhabitants and how they will be glad at the return of the Messiah's reign. Allow me to show you with another scripture:
"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now" Romans. 8:19-22
Paul tells us that the whole of creation is straining under the sins of man and is longing for the day it will be delivered from that burden. Indeed, Mr. Edwards was a powerful preacher with a very deep insight into the ways of God.
Unfortunately, man today does not have that great insight. We, as a whole, believe that we have the ability to fix ourselves and the world. Many people in this world follow the example of Benjamin Franklin who thought he could master thirteen "virtues" and thus become nearly perfect. He failed. And even if he succeeded to become "nearly" perfect, that would not have been good enough to get him into Heaven. Only that which is absolutely perfect can stand before the unstained God of the Universe. No man is that good.
Only through the application of the cleansing blood of Jesus can we be made pure enough, whole enough, perfect enough to stand in God's presence. Fortunately, THAT perfection is attainable to those who believe and are willing to die to themselves and live for Jesus and Him alone. Only then will we find that creation is willing to support us and yield to our control. Until that day, the day we ALL are purified by Jesus' sacrifice, the earth would rather cease producing gravity and fling us out into the universe. As Edwards said, we are here only because of the grace of God, and an angry God at that. Amen and Amen.
Jonathan Edwards in his great sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" asserts that the earth, animals, and plants long to kick man off the face of earth - man is that far from the perfection that God created. It seems that I came upon a few people who did not like that idea. First, they said, the earth is not a person and thus has no emotions or thinking ability to WANT to kick man off. Second, they said, man is not that bad.
In light of today's verse, I propose that the earth DOES have emotions. Isaiah says that the wilderness and the desert will be glad - glad for what? They will be glad for the return of the Messiah as He sets the earth aright. He continues to say that the desert or "Arabia" - the great southern desert separating Israel from Egypt - will rejoice and blossom. Sure sounds like emotion to me; do you not agree? Isaiah continues with other personifications of the earth and its natural inhabitants and how they will be glad at the return of the Messiah's reign. Allow me to show you with another scripture:
"For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now" Romans. 8:19-22
Paul tells us that the whole of creation is straining under the sins of man and is longing for the day it will be delivered from that burden. Indeed, Mr. Edwards was a powerful preacher with a very deep insight into the ways of God.
Unfortunately, man today does not have that great insight. We, as a whole, believe that we have the ability to fix ourselves and the world. Many people in this world follow the example of Benjamin Franklin who thought he could master thirteen "virtues" and thus become nearly perfect. He failed. And even if he succeeded to become "nearly" perfect, that would not have been good enough to get him into Heaven. Only that which is absolutely perfect can stand before the unstained God of the Universe. No man is that good.
Only through the application of the cleansing blood of Jesus can we be made pure enough, whole enough, perfect enough to stand in God's presence. Fortunately, THAT perfection is attainable to those who believe and are willing to die to themselves and live for Jesus and Him alone. Only then will we find that creation is willing to support us and yield to our control. Until that day, the day we ALL are purified by Jesus' sacrifice, the earth would rather cease producing gravity and fling us out into the universe. As Edwards said, we are here only because of the grace of God, and an angry God at that. Amen and Amen.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Col. 3:23
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" Col. 3:23
The other day I was in a five star restaurant, and quite frankly the service was very slow. I heard a couple of waitresses talking. One of them was complaining about being reprimanded by the manager for not serving a customer expeditiously. Apparently she let the customer sit for 10 or 15 minutes before waiting on them because she was talking to a friend on the cell phone. She was very upset about the fact that she was reprimanded and she was saying to the other waitress "I don't see why I needed to be that anxious to work after all if it's just a part-time job."
Sad to say, I think a lot of Christians treat the work they do as being only important enough to get by. However, I think if we read scripture we can see clearly that God expects us to do more than simply get by
In Colossians Paul tells is that we are to do everything heartily as unto the Lord. That word heartily means from the very depths of your soul with great enthusiasm. That means it doesn't matter how much you're getting paid on the job or how many hours that you're spending there, you still do that job with all of your energy.
If you're doing something in church, if you've taken on a job teaching a Sunday school class, leading a song service, being in the worship team, whatever you do, you do it heartily as unto the Lord with great enthusiasm, with great excitement. Paul goes on to say that it is of the Lord that you will receive it your reward. Think about this when you go in to work today don't think about doing your job for the boss, for the manager, for the supervisor or even for the customer or client. Think about doing your job for God.
If Jesus walked into the store where you are a clerk, how would you wait on him. If Jesus was a student in your class ,how would you teach that class? If Jesus was a patient coming into your medical office how would you treat him? I am quite sure that we would treat him with all our skills, we would be most courteous to Him. Well, Jesus says "in as much as you have done it unto me least of these my brethren you have done it unto me."
So today, let's decide on a different way to do our work. Let's do our job as if Jesus Christ was supervisor. I can guarantee that if you do the it will radically transform the way you do business. Who knows, you might also find a greater degree of satisfaction in the work that you do. Lord, today let me do my job as unto you and not as unto men, knowing that it is from you that I will receive my reward. Amen and Amen
The other day I was in a five star restaurant, and quite frankly the service was very slow. I heard a couple of waitresses talking. One of them was complaining about being reprimanded by the manager for not serving a customer expeditiously. Apparently she let the customer sit for 10 or 15 minutes before waiting on them because she was talking to a friend on the cell phone. She was very upset about the fact that she was reprimanded and she was saying to the other waitress "I don't see why I needed to be that anxious to work after all if it's just a part-time job."
Sad to say, I think a lot of Christians treat the work they do as being only important enough to get by. However, I think if we read scripture we can see clearly that God expects us to do more than simply get by
In Colossians Paul tells is that we are to do everything heartily as unto the Lord. That word heartily means from the very depths of your soul with great enthusiasm. That means it doesn't matter how much you're getting paid on the job or how many hours that you're spending there, you still do that job with all of your energy.
If you're doing something in church, if you've taken on a job teaching a Sunday school class, leading a song service, being in the worship team, whatever you do, you do it heartily as unto the Lord with great enthusiasm, with great excitement. Paul goes on to say that it is of the Lord that you will receive it your reward. Think about this when you go in to work today don't think about doing your job for the boss, for the manager, for the supervisor or even for the customer or client. Think about doing your job for God.
If Jesus walked into the store where you are a clerk, how would you wait on him. If Jesus was a student in your class ,how would you teach that class? If Jesus was a patient coming into your medical office how would you treat him? I am quite sure that we would treat him with all our skills, we would be most courteous to Him. Well, Jesus says "in as much as you have done it unto me least of these my brethren you have done it unto me."
So today, let's decide on a different way to do our work. Let's do our job as if Jesus Christ was supervisor. I can guarantee that if you do the it will radically transform the way you do business. Who knows, you might also find a greater degree of satisfaction in the work that you do. Lord, today let me do my job as unto you and not as unto men, knowing that it is from you that I will receive my reward. Amen and Amen
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Colossians 3:23
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" Colossians 3:23
One of the characteristics of the Christian life should be enthusiasm. The origin of the word enthusiasm is enlightening. It comes from the Greek word enthusiasmis. This word literally means to be possessed by a god or to be given over to poetic or prophetic frenzy. There is something about touching the eternal which produces enthusiasm.
It's impossible to be cool about meeting the creator of the universe face to face, and he calls you his child. There is an excitement resident within the gospel message. It is "good news," "glad tidings," full of "great joy." It is not to be whispered about in the basement. It is to be shouted from the rooftops.
The Christian is enthusiastic because he or she carries this God- Consciousness within his or her heart. This person exults in the mere fact of existence knowing that every breath taken is a gift of the creator. This person sees God's handiwork in all of creation. This person sees God's handiwork in the mirror. Every new day is a cause for excitement. The adventure is continuing. The journey has turned another corner. Exciting things are waiting just around the next turn. Sure there are rocks in the road and danger along the path. There may be battles ahead. But these are but other forms of excitement. Because beyond the rocks lies a beautiful meadow. And following the battle is the victory celebration. So we clamor over the rocks and we run to the battle with as much enthusiasm as when we play in the meadows and celebrate the victory.
It is all one. The rocks and the meadows. The battles and the victories. They are all part of the great adventure. They are all causes for excitement and for enthusiasm. And we know, that the enthusiasm of the present is but a foretaste of that great. final, everlasting celebration. The call to the party is imminent, and with spiritual ears we listen for that call. Is that a trumpet I hear? It is faint, but growing nearer. I guess Gabriel is just tuning up. Amen and Amen.
One of the characteristics of the Christian life should be enthusiasm. The origin of the word enthusiasm is enlightening. It comes from the Greek word enthusiasmis. This word literally means to be possessed by a god or to be given over to poetic or prophetic frenzy. There is something about touching the eternal which produces enthusiasm.
It's impossible to be cool about meeting the creator of the universe face to face, and he calls you his child. There is an excitement resident within the gospel message. It is "good news," "glad tidings," full of "great joy." It is not to be whispered about in the basement. It is to be shouted from the rooftops.
The Christian is enthusiastic because he or she carries this God- Consciousness within his or her heart. This person exults in the mere fact of existence knowing that every breath taken is a gift of the creator. This person sees God's handiwork in all of creation. This person sees God's handiwork in the mirror. Every new day is a cause for excitement. The adventure is continuing. The journey has turned another corner. Exciting things are waiting just around the next turn. Sure there are rocks in the road and danger along the path. There may be battles ahead. But these are but other forms of excitement. Because beyond the rocks lies a beautiful meadow. And following the battle is the victory celebration. So we clamor over the rocks and we run to the battle with as much enthusiasm as when we play in the meadows and celebrate the victory.
It is all one. The rocks and the meadows. The battles and the victories. They are all part of the great adventure. They are all causes for excitement and for enthusiasm. And we know, that the enthusiasm of the present is but a foretaste of that great. final, everlasting celebration. The call to the party is imminent, and with spiritual ears we listen for that call. Is that a trumpet I hear? It is faint, but growing nearer. I guess Gabriel is just tuning up. Amen and Amen.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Prov 25:4-5
"Take away the dross from silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry. Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness" Prov 25:4-5
Purity. It's more than a bakery! It is a way of life. It is a virtue that will stand the test of time. A jeweler can't use silver that is laced with dross - impurities. When he begins to draw it - pull it into wire, it will break. When he wants to solder it together, the dross splatters and causes the joint to fail. Or, the dross will turn a different color and spoil the appearance of the silversmith's creation. Dross will not due. The removal of imperfections start in the purifying process. Incomplete refining produces an inferior end product.
So it is in the hearts of man (the king in this case. Easily translated Governor, Mayor, King, Queen, President, Chief Executive, Judge, etc.). Improper refining of the heart produces inferior men and women. They are not necessarily inferior on the basis of outward appearance, but a rottenness of soul. Some of the worlds most beautiful people are rotten at the core. Just look at some of the most popular movie stars. I don't have to name them. You can come up with a list of your own. Some of the most successful have the foulest vocabulary, the most repugnant reputations. The old saying "beauty is only skin deep," though not scripture, is oh so true, non the less.
Or take a look at some of today's highest paid athletes. They sport freaky hair styles, and even more bizarre lifestyles. They fight on the court and party off of it. There is much dross there - if they were a silver ornament, we would certainly call them "ugly," "flawed," and even "worthless."
Righteousness comes from the purifying of the blood of Jesus. Only that cleansing action will produce results worthy of the Master Jeweler's craft. The interesting part is this: you have the choice as to how pure you will be. You can jump out of the refiner's fire any time you want. However, rest assured it is easier to go through it with God the first time around than to endure the refiner's fire a second, third, or fourth time. Amen and Amen.
Purity. It's more than a bakery! It is a way of life. It is a virtue that will stand the test of time. A jeweler can't use silver that is laced with dross - impurities. When he begins to draw it - pull it into wire, it will break. When he wants to solder it together, the dross splatters and causes the joint to fail. Or, the dross will turn a different color and spoil the appearance of the silversmith's creation. Dross will not due. The removal of imperfections start in the purifying process. Incomplete refining produces an inferior end product.
So it is in the hearts of man (the king in this case. Easily translated Governor, Mayor, King, Queen, President, Chief Executive, Judge, etc.). Improper refining of the heart produces inferior men and women. They are not necessarily inferior on the basis of outward appearance, but a rottenness of soul. Some of the worlds most beautiful people are rotten at the core. Just look at some of the most popular movie stars. I don't have to name them. You can come up with a list of your own. Some of the most successful have the foulest vocabulary, the most repugnant reputations. The old saying "beauty is only skin deep," though not scripture, is oh so true, non the less.
Or take a look at some of today's highest paid athletes. They sport freaky hair styles, and even more bizarre lifestyles. They fight on the court and party off of it. There is much dross there - if they were a silver ornament, we would certainly call them "ugly," "flawed," and even "worthless."
Righteousness comes from the purifying of the blood of Jesus. Only that cleansing action will produce results worthy of the Master Jeweler's craft. The interesting part is this: you have the choice as to how pure you will be. You can jump out of the refiner's fire any time you want. However, rest assured it is easier to go through it with God the first time around than to endure the refiner's fire a second, third, or fourth time. Amen and Amen.
Prov. 26:4-5
"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes." Prov. 26:4-5
Just when you think you have the Word of God figured out a pair of verses like today's jumps up and bites us! "Do not answer... Answer..." What is a man to do? Like I tell my bible study class before, "Let's take a dig a little deeper."
The obvious observation is that Solomon is out of his mind. One of his wives must have given him a hard time the night before he came up with this word of wisdom. Which are we to do? Answer the fool or don't answer him?
The first verse seems to indicate that we should not answer him. Why? "You will be like him." Hummm. If a fool comes up with some sort of idiotic statement or idea and we play along with him, wouldn't we look like a fool... just like he does? On the other hand, the proverbialist tells us to answer a fool! Why? So that the fool's actions are made apparent to him and he realize that those actions are not in any way wise. We want to educate the fool. We want to improve his state. It is not impossible... just difficult.
It seems that Solomon knew what he was talking about. Our response to the fool determines whether we have become like him or helped him out of his foolishness. While the proverbs seem contradictory, they are actually complimentary... like two pieces of the puzzle that appear to be incompatible, until they are turned in just the right relationship. Then they fit perfectly! Amen and Amen.
Just when you think you have the Word of God figured out a pair of verses like today's jumps up and bites us! "Do not answer... Answer..." What is a man to do? Like I tell my bible study class before, "Let's take a dig a little deeper."
The obvious observation is that Solomon is out of his mind. One of his wives must have given him a hard time the night before he came up with this word of wisdom. Which are we to do? Answer the fool or don't answer him?
The first verse seems to indicate that we should not answer him. Why? "You will be like him." Hummm. If a fool comes up with some sort of idiotic statement or idea and we play along with him, wouldn't we look like a fool... just like he does? On the other hand, the proverbialist tells us to answer a fool! Why? So that the fool's actions are made apparent to him and he realize that those actions are not in any way wise. We want to educate the fool. We want to improve his state. It is not impossible... just difficult.
It seems that Solomon knew what he was talking about. Our response to the fool determines whether we have become like him or helped him out of his foolishness. While the proverbs seem contradictory, they are actually complimentary... like two pieces of the puzzle that appear to be incompatible, until they are turned in just the right relationship. Then they fit perfectly! Amen and Amen.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19 and Matthew 4:1-11
God of law and of love, dispenser of justice and of mercy, judge of our actions and saviour of our lives - help us to hear your word this day. Bless my lips and our hearts - so that in speaking and in hearing your will may be known and that which you want us to have and do may be had and done - we ask it though Christ our Lord. Amen
Our texts today deal with sin and temptation and with grace and
faith.
- the first text tells us the story of how Adam and Eve were tempted and sinned against God in the Garden of Eden.
- the second shows Christ living blamelessly in the face of evil, by the power of faith.
Temptation and sin, grace and faith - these are the great motifs of our lives here and now in the world - the axes around which everything else revolves.
As Christians we believe that sin has power - a deadly power - that comes from evil; but we also believe that faith has power - a live giving power that comes only from God.
In our lives we experience a struggle between these two powers, and even when we are on the side of life, even when we have faith in the God of life, we experience temptation, we feel desires and live through events that test our faith and seek to lure us away from God and have us serve evil instead.
There is an old Scandinavian legend about mighty Thor and how one day he visited the land of the giants.
When Thor arrived there he found that the giants were engaged in various contests of strength. They asked him if he would like to take part in their games and he said that he would. So it was that they proposed three tests of strength for him.
First Thor was asked to drink all the liquid in a large two handed drinking bowl. But as much as he could drink of it, only a tiny portion of the liquid in it disappeared. Finally he had to put down the bowl and admit defeat. To him the giants seemed sympathetic - and they proposed something a bit easier for his second test.
A black cat was walking by and Thor was instructed to lift it up. He grabbed hold of the animal, thinking it should be easy to hoist it up, but strain and tug as hard as he could, he couldn't even begin to budge the cat.
By this time the giants were beginning to be openly amused at Thor's predicament. "You are supposed to be strong", they said, "but it seems you are not. Well - we will give you something even easier for your third test."
So for the third test the giants challenged Thor to wrestle with an old woman and throw her to the ground. With every bit of strength that Thor could muster he grabbed hold of the toothless old woman, but all his pushing and pulling and twisting was in vain. He simply could not meet the challenge.
As Thor, humbled and dejected, left the giants to head back home, one of them went with him for a part of the way and told him that their was magic in the contests. "The cup," he said, "contained the sea and who can drink that? The cat was the evil in the world, and who is able to lift that up and take it away? And the old woman was time, and who is able to contend with her?"
I believe that most of us feel, when it comes to the sin that is in the world, that we are living in the land of giants.
We are tempted to give in to despair - the despair that nothing we can do will make a difference; the despair that says that there is no help or hope for us our for our world.
Indeed I believe that this is the greatest temptation of our age.
But my friends, we have within us one who is stronger than the world, one who is greater than the tempter, one who has triumphed over evil both in life - as we see in the story of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness, and in death - as we see in the cross - and again three days later - in the resurrection.
Some people - most people perhaps - dwell too much on the negative side of things. - all their answers to life's problems are expressed in the form of questions. They see the problems that exist all round us - but do not lay hold of the solutions - of the good news that also exists all round us - of the salvation that is offered to us all - without condition or qualification.
They despair on account of the giants - forgetting perhaps the story of David - and of how one small stone in his hands brought an end to the Goliath that threatened his nation that caused even Saul and his mighty army to despair of ever being victorious.
I once read of a man by the name of Richard Lederer who collects funny signs. Some of these are simply the result of people in foreign countries having difficulty translating into English. He says that at the entrance to a hotel swimming pool on the French Riviera there is a sign that reads like this: "Swimming is forbidden in the absence of a Saviour."
Maybe the person who put up that sign knew English better than we may suppose. Not only swimming but life itself should not be lived in the absence of a Saviour.
We have a Saviour - one who remembers who we are - one who loves us as a father loves his children - one who seeks to nurture us as a mother nurtures her brood.
This Saviour has ventured into the same waters that we swim in each day. He has battled the currents - fought the foes - and shown that he is able and shown that we - when we swim with him - are able as well.
Our Saviour remembers who we are - and he loves us - and seeks the best for us. He knows that we are weak swimmers - that we from time to time we will flounder and thrash - and sink. He knows the waters we are in - and that is why he has been appointed the judge of the living and the dead.
Our Saviour is our judge. He does not judge us for the sake of condemning us - he takes no delight in catching us in our sin, he has no joy when we hurt ourselves or hurt others - rather he reaches out to us - he calls to us - he seeks to guide us and help us - and like all good parents - he forgives us and does all that he can to make sure that we start each day new and fresh and bathed in love.
Kenneth Filkins has caught this beautifully in a poem entitled "The Pit." Let me share just a little bit of it with you: Visualize, if you will a great pit - a pit perhaps of your own devising - or perhaps one devised for you by others - visualize a pit into which you have fallen and cannot get out of.
Filkins writes: A man fell into a pit and he couldn't get out.
BUDDHA said: "Your pit is only a state of mind."
A HINDU said: "This pit is for purging you and making you more perfect."
CONFUCIUS said: "If you would have listened to me, you would never have fallen into that pit."
A NEW AGER said: "Maybe you should network with some other pit dwellers."
A SELF-PITYING PERSON said: "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
A NEWS REPORTER said: "Could I have the exclusive story on your pit?"
A FEDERAL BUREAUCRAT said: "Have you paid your taxes on that pit?"
A COUNTY INSPECTOR said: "Do you have a permit for that pit?"
A REALIST said: "That's a pit."
An IDEALIST said: "The world shouldn't have pits."
An OPTIMIST said: "Things could be worse."
A PESSIMIST said: "Things will get worse."
BUT JESUS, SEEING THE MAN, TOOK HIM BY THE HAND AND LIFTED HIM OUT OF THE PIT.
A pit is an awful place to be -particularly the pit of created by the power of sin and temptation. But there is One who will help. There is one who has managed to avoid the pit and who seeks to help us out of the pit. His name is Jesus - and he lives and reigns with God - and with God he is able - able to help - able to save - able to redeem
Not only is he able - he is willing.
And not only is he willing - he has already acted - acted to save us - acted to bring to the world a new day. Acted to bring to each of us a new life.
Do not dwell in the pit - Do not accept the pit - Rather reach out your hand to the one who has stretched out his hands for you - and who still reaches out for you today. Reach out to Christ - and through Christ - reach out to others around you and let the know that there is a better life to be had - a life that is given freely to all who desire it. May His name be praised day by day. Amen!
Our texts today deal with sin and temptation and with grace and
faith.
- the first text tells us the story of how Adam and Eve were tempted and sinned against God in the Garden of Eden.
- the second shows Christ living blamelessly in the face of evil, by the power of faith.
Temptation and sin, grace and faith - these are the great motifs of our lives here and now in the world - the axes around which everything else revolves.
As Christians we believe that sin has power - a deadly power - that comes from evil; but we also believe that faith has power - a live giving power that comes only from God.
In our lives we experience a struggle between these two powers, and even when we are on the side of life, even when we have faith in the God of life, we experience temptation, we feel desires and live through events that test our faith and seek to lure us away from God and have us serve evil instead.
There is an old Scandinavian legend about mighty Thor and how one day he visited the land of the giants.
When Thor arrived there he found that the giants were engaged in various contests of strength. They asked him if he would like to take part in their games and he said that he would. So it was that they proposed three tests of strength for him.
First Thor was asked to drink all the liquid in a large two handed drinking bowl. But as much as he could drink of it, only a tiny portion of the liquid in it disappeared. Finally he had to put down the bowl and admit defeat. To him the giants seemed sympathetic - and they proposed something a bit easier for his second test.
A black cat was walking by and Thor was instructed to lift it up. He grabbed hold of the animal, thinking it should be easy to hoist it up, but strain and tug as hard as he could, he couldn't even begin to budge the cat.
By this time the giants were beginning to be openly amused at Thor's predicament. "You are supposed to be strong", they said, "but it seems you are not. Well - we will give you something even easier for your third test."
So for the third test the giants challenged Thor to wrestle with an old woman and throw her to the ground. With every bit of strength that Thor could muster he grabbed hold of the toothless old woman, but all his pushing and pulling and twisting was in vain. He simply could not meet the challenge.
As Thor, humbled and dejected, left the giants to head back home, one of them went with him for a part of the way and told him that their was magic in the contests. "The cup," he said, "contained the sea and who can drink that? The cat was the evil in the world, and who is able to lift that up and take it away? And the old woman was time, and who is able to contend with her?"
I believe that most of us feel, when it comes to the sin that is in the world, that we are living in the land of giants.
We are tempted to give in to despair - the despair that nothing we can do will make a difference; the despair that says that there is no help or hope for us our for our world.
Indeed I believe that this is the greatest temptation of our age.
But my friends, we have within us one who is stronger than the world, one who is greater than the tempter, one who has triumphed over evil both in life - as we see in the story of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness, and in death - as we see in the cross - and again three days later - in the resurrection.
Some people - most people perhaps - dwell too much on the negative side of things. - all their answers to life's problems are expressed in the form of questions. They see the problems that exist all round us - but do not lay hold of the solutions - of the good news that also exists all round us - of the salvation that is offered to us all - without condition or qualification.
They despair on account of the giants - forgetting perhaps the story of David - and of how one small stone in his hands brought an end to the Goliath that threatened his nation that caused even Saul and his mighty army to despair of ever being victorious.
I once read of a man by the name of Richard Lederer who collects funny signs. Some of these are simply the result of people in foreign countries having difficulty translating into English. He says that at the entrance to a hotel swimming pool on the French Riviera there is a sign that reads like this: "Swimming is forbidden in the absence of a Saviour."
Maybe the person who put up that sign knew English better than we may suppose. Not only swimming but life itself should not be lived in the absence of a Saviour.
We have a Saviour - one who remembers who we are - one who loves us as a father loves his children - one who seeks to nurture us as a mother nurtures her brood.
This Saviour has ventured into the same waters that we swim in each day. He has battled the currents - fought the foes - and shown that he is able and shown that we - when we swim with him - are able as well.
Our Saviour remembers who we are - and he loves us - and seeks the best for us. He knows that we are weak swimmers - that we from time to time we will flounder and thrash - and sink. He knows the waters we are in - and that is why he has been appointed the judge of the living and the dead.
Our Saviour is our judge. He does not judge us for the sake of condemning us - he takes no delight in catching us in our sin, he has no joy when we hurt ourselves or hurt others - rather he reaches out to us - he calls to us - he seeks to guide us and help us - and like all good parents - he forgives us and does all that he can to make sure that we start each day new and fresh and bathed in love.
Kenneth Filkins has caught this beautifully in a poem entitled "The Pit." Let me share just a little bit of it with you: Visualize, if you will a great pit - a pit perhaps of your own devising - or perhaps one devised for you by others - visualize a pit into which you have fallen and cannot get out of.
Filkins writes: A man fell into a pit and he couldn't get out.
BUDDHA said: "Your pit is only a state of mind."
A HINDU said: "This pit is for purging you and making you more perfect."
CONFUCIUS said: "If you would have listened to me, you would never have fallen into that pit."
A NEW AGER said: "Maybe you should network with some other pit dwellers."
A SELF-PITYING PERSON said: "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
A NEWS REPORTER said: "Could I have the exclusive story on your pit?"
A FEDERAL BUREAUCRAT said: "Have you paid your taxes on that pit?"
A COUNTY INSPECTOR said: "Do you have a permit for that pit?"
A REALIST said: "That's a pit."
An IDEALIST said: "The world shouldn't have pits."
An OPTIMIST said: "Things could be worse."
A PESSIMIST said: "Things will get worse."
BUT JESUS, SEEING THE MAN, TOOK HIM BY THE HAND AND LIFTED HIM OUT OF THE PIT.
A pit is an awful place to be -particularly the pit of created by the power of sin and temptation. But there is One who will help. There is one who has managed to avoid the pit and who seeks to help us out of the pit. His name is Jesus - and he lives and reigns with God - and with God he is able - able to help - able to save - able to redeem
Not only is he able - he is willing.
And not only is he willing - he has already acted - acted to save us - acted to bring to the world a new day. Acted to bring to each of us a new life.
Do not dwell in the pit - Do not accept the pit - Rather reach out your hand to the one who has stretched out his hands for you - and who still reaches out for you today. Reach out to Christ - and through Christ - reach out to others around you and let the know that there is a better life to be had - a life that is given freely to all who desire it. May His name be praised day by day. Amen!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Neh 4:2
"And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble - burned as they are?" Neh 4:2
There it was, public humiliation. The Jews were no builders. They had been captive in Babylon - but they lived lives of relative ease. Now they come to a destroyed city, scraped together a few stones for a house, but they had no experience in rebuilding a city. The Jews had two choices, step up and finish the task or buckle under the pressure and give up. Some chose the latter option.
Judah cried out in agreement (sound familiar? "Let's go back to Egypt. At least we had food on the table - not this manna!") Fortunately, Nehemiah was a good and faithful leader who saw things as they were meant to be - rebuilt! He called the people to ignore the insults and keep on building. We've all faced discouragement. Perhaps we face it today.
We have two choices. Step up or give up. The latter brings defeat and death. The former brings victory and life. When the enemy shouts insults at us, we need to do as Nehemiah did. First, he set guards. Second, he armed the people. Third, he kept building. We need to guard against the enemy's attacks. We need to always be alert to his presence and tactics. If he gets too close, we need to take up the sword - the Word of God. Satan cannot take continual strikes from the Sword of the Spirit - it penetrated too deeply into his weaknesses.
Finally, we need to keep on keeping on doing the will of God. Sure, there are times when it seems like nothing happens and we're getting no where. But if we keep trying, God will bring the results. He will support our sagging spirits. He will be our encouragement and our strength. The next thing you know, the walls of God's protection will be around us and the gates of His splendor will be our protection from the enemy and victory will be secure! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
There it was, public humiliation. The Jews were no builders. They had been captive in Babylon - but they lived lives of relative ease. Now they come to a destroyed city, scraped together a few stones for a house, but they had no experience in rebuilding a city. The Jews had two choices, step up and finish the task or buckle under the pressure and give up. Some chose the latter option.
Judah cried out in agreement (sound familiar? "Let's go back to Egypt. At least we had food on the table - not this manna!") Fortunately, Nehemiah was a good and faithful leader who saw things as they were meant to be - rebuilt! He called the people to ignore the insults and keep on building. We've all faced discouragement. Perhaps we face it today.
We have two choices. Step up or give up. The latter brings defeat and death. The former brings victory and life. When the enemy shouts insults at us, we need to do as Nehemiah did. First, he set guards. Second, he armed the people. Third, he kept building. We need to guard against the enemy's attacks. We need to always be alert to his presence and tactics. If he gets too close, we need to take up the sword - the Word of God. Satan cannot take continual strikes from the Sword of the Spirit - it penetrated too deeply into his weaknesses.
Finally, we need to keep on keeping on doing the will of God. Sure, there are times when it seems like nothing happens and we're getting no where. But if we keep trying, God will bring the results. He will support our sagging spirits. He will be our encouragement and our strength. The next thing you know, the walls of God's protection will be around us and the gates of His splendor will be our protection from the enemy and victory will be secure! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Friday, March 18, 2011
A Prayer for Japan
With the Rev Roger Hutchings (B.B.C Radio 4)
GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
There are going to be lots of jokes today, because it’s Red Nose day, and we’ll enjoy the laughter. But if you’re a person who turns to prayer at this time of the day, you’ll not be thinking of humour this morning. You’ll be thinking of the unimaginable grief, pain, hunger, cold, and fear currently being experienced by so many people in Japan. A few months ago, our son was in Tokyo, visiting, with his girlfriend, the home of her sister who lives and works there. Yet their anxiety this week is as nothing compared with what thousands are experiencing, but personal connection gives the news headlines a personal, human face. So how might I pray today? When the forces of nature combine with the inadequacies of human technology to bring such suffering to innocent women, men and children, does it make sense to try to pray at all?
My own, Christian thoughts delve back into Hebrew scripture. There’s a fearlessness about some of their ancient prayers. They weren’t afraid to shout angrily at God, to express their sense of injustice and protest at God’s apparent forgetfulness and lack of care for the lives of those he created. With a profound awareness of God’s absence, they dug deep into their traditions to weep and wail, to challenge God. And somehow, through the honesty of their anger and despair, they found their way towards an inner peace. Maybe, just maybe, we can do the same.
God of compassion, when we are overwhelmed by the suffering we hear about and see, hear our grief and anger as we pray for the people of Japan. Teach us to hear your word of consolation. We ask this in the name of the crucified Christ. Amen.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
There are going to be lots of jokes today, because it’s Red Nose day, and we’ll enjoy the laughter. But if you’re a person who turns to prayer at this time of the day, you’ll not be thinking of humour this morning. You’ll be thinking of the unimaginable grief, pain, hunger, cold, and fear currently being experienced by so many people in Japan. A few months ago, our son was in Tokyo, visiting, with his girlfriend, the home of her sister who lives and works there. Yet their anxiety this week is as nothing compared with what thousands are experiencing, but personal connection gives the news headlines a personal, human face. So how might I pray today? When the forces of nature combine with the inadequacies of human technology to bring such suffering to innocent women, men and children, does it make sense to try to pray at all?
My own, Christian thoughts delve back into Hebrew scripture. There’s a fearlessness about some of their ancient prayers. They weren’t afraid to shout angrily at God, to express their sense of injustice and protest at God’s apparent forgetfulness and lack of care for the lives of those he created. With a profound awareness of God’s absence, they dug deep into their traditions to weep and wail, to challenge God. And somehow, through the honesty of their anger and despair, they found their way towards an inner peace. Maybe, just maybe, we can do the same.
God of compassion, when we are overwhelmed by the suffering we hear about and see, hear our grief and anger as we pray for the people of Japan. Teach us to hear your word of consolation. We ask this in the name of the crucified Christ. Amen.
Matt. 7:15-17
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" Matt. 7:15-17
Have you ever read MacBeth? MacBeth was an interesting character of our friend William Shakespeare. He was unlovable, unlikable, unconscionable, and unforgivable. But he didn't start out that way. He was a conquering general, and a favorite of King Duncan. Great favors were heaped upon him, and more were to come. But, out of his own greed, his own imagination, his own unholy thoughts, MacBeth killed his king. And, like all murderers, he left behind some evidence. Two bloody daggers were found with the king's two drunken bodyguards - both later killed by MacBeth supposedly out of revenge for killing king Duncan.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Scotland, there were no crime scene investigators and the rudimentary evidence collected pointed in the wrong direction. MacBeth was honored by being made king of Scotland in Duncan's place. But that is not the end of the story. MacBeth could not stand what he had done. He became paranoid and his paranoia caused him to eventually die.
Why do I give you a lesson in Shakespearean literature? I do it to show you that the evil man will be known by his fruit. I truly believe that the problem with the perfect crime is that the criminal cannot be satisfied with just one. Greed eventually drives the perpetrator to commit another, and another, and eventually he makes a mistake. That mistake brings and end to his crime spree.
Jesus agrees. He encourages us, while not being judgmental, to be inspectors of peoples "fruit." By that He means that our actions show what is in our hearts. Granted, our acts of kindness will never buy us free passes to heaven. But, our free pass to heaven WILL cause us to do good deeds.
Anyone can do something good - perhaps even on a regular basis. But, like our greedy criminal, eventually we will show the true color of our hearts and some word, some action, some indicator of our sinful nature will show it's ugly self to the world. There is no way around it. Only a cleansing in the blood of Jesus will remove that sin and cause our fruit to always be fresh and good. And that goodness, or lack thereof, will tell the brothers and sisters of the faith volumes about our spiritual lives.
Now, don't rush out and condemn anyone who commits a sin. We all do that. Instead, Jesus is telling us to be wary of our leadership (the prophets of today's verses) lest they be ravenous wolves setting out to destroy the flock of Jesus. How can we tell the difference? By their fruits. What fruits? The works they perform, whether they are good and wholesome and wise. Or whether they are self-centered, overpowering, and destructive.
We must all be fruit inspectors - and we can do it without judging - as long as we do not condemn a man for his works, but pray for his salvation out of a sincere love. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Have you ever read MacBeth? MacBeth was an interesting character of our friend William Shakespeare. He was unlovable, unlikable, unconscionable, and unforgivable. But he didn't start out that way. He was a conquering general, and a favorite of King Duncan. Great favors were heaped upon him, and more were to come. But, out of his own greed, his own imagination, his own unholy thoughts, MacBeth killed his king. And, like all murderers, he left behind some evidence. Two bloody daggers were found with the king's two drunken bodyguards - both later killed by MacBeth supposedly out of revenge for killing king Duncan.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Scotland, there were no crime scene investigators and the rudimentary evidence collected pointed in the wrong direction. MacBeth was honored by being made king of Scotland in Duncan's place. But that is not the end of the story. MacBeth could not stand what he had done. He became paranoid and his paranoia caused him to eventually die.
Why do I give you a lesson in Shakespearean literature? I do it to show you that the evil man will be known by his fruit. I truly believe that the problem with the perfect crime is that the criminal cannot be satisfied with just one. Greed eventually drives the perpetrator to commit another, and another, and eventually he makes a mistake. That mistake brings and end to his crime spree.
Jesus agrees. He encourages us, while not being judgmental, to be inspectors of peoples "fruit." By that He means that our actions show what is in our hearts. Granted, our acts of kindness will never buy us free passes to heaven. But, our free pass to heaven WILL cause us to do good deeds.
Anyone can do something good - perhaps even on a regular basis. But, like our greedy criminal, eventually we will show the true color of our hearts and some word, some action, some indicator of our sinful nature will show it's ugly self to the world. There is no way around it. Only a cleansing in the blood of Jesus will remove that sin and cause our fruit to always be fresh and good. And that goodness, or lack thereof, will tell the brothers and sisters of the faith volumes about our spiritual lives.
Now, don't rush out and condemn anyone who commits a sin. We all do that. Instead, Jesus is telling us to be wary of our leadership (the prophets of today's verses) lest they be ravenous wolves setting out to destroy the flock of Jesus. How can we tell the difference? By their fruits. What fruits? The works they perform, whether they are good and wholesome and wise. Or whether they are self-centered, overpowering, and destructive.
We must all be fruit inspectors - and we can do it without judging - as long as we do not condemn a man for his works, but pray for his salvation out of a sincere love. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Matthew 13:33
"Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." Matthew 13:33
This is truly an intense message in the power of the Truth - God's 'life' saving grace. I believe we do not always recognize what a miracle He has wrought in us, for He has blessed us abundantly twice over. We consider the word 'life' with little regard for its profoundness. And it is so often in Scripture that His message is contained in a single word. Life. This word rolls off our tongues with such ease we barely conceive its truth any longer. When we read in scripture any reference to 'life', we hardly pause to think about what we have just read. And yet, the entire Bible is based on this simple word - Jesus came that we might have 'life.' The world plagiarizes its meaning, giving it a definition wholly unintended by God. We walk further and further away from the miraculous impact of this divine wonder.
In the beginning, before time was, before we were, He knew us, and so we were given 'the breath of life.' This in itself is a miracle beyond imagining. There isn't a DNA experiment ever designed, nor one that will ever be conceived that will enable man to 'breath life' into anything. We must take that breath of life already given. It cannot be found for it belongs solely to the Creator of all things.
What egotists we are to even consider that we might be able to recreate 'life.' How slowly does the mind of the most intelligent species on earth sometimes work. Man has yet to acknowledge that which we so desperately seek, "that which causes life to be," is not ours to give, and will never be. We live simply because our Father God determined that we should and 'gave us life.'
We are then doubly blessed with one more miracle of miracles. The One True God chooses to give us, for all eternity, a renewed life, a new life in His Son, Jesus Christ. With this, the breath of life that is us, is transformed, made new, polished until its light shines forth. We are now the embodiment of the truest definition of 'life' - living as a child of God by the grace of His Holy Spirit in love and forgiveness.
With this second miracle, we have come full circle, and are now one with the Father in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So whenever we see the word 'life' written so quietly in the pages of His Word, perhaps we should pause for a moment, and praise His Holy Name for the unfathomable miracle He has wrought in us - His gift - His breath of life become eternal in Jesus, - Immanuel - God with us. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
This is truly an intense message in the power of the Truth - God's 'life' saving grace. I believe we do not always recognize what a miracle He has wrought in us, for He has blessed us abundantly twice over. We consider the word 'life' with little regard for its profoundness. And it is so often in Scripture that His message is contained in a single word. Life. This word rolls off our tongues with such ease we barely conceive its truth any longer. When we read in scripture any reference to 'life', we hardly pause to think about what we have just read. And yet, the entire Bible is based on this simple word - Jesus came that we might have 'life.' The world plagiarizes its meaning, giving it a definition wholly unintended by God. We walk further and further away from the miraculous impact of this divine wonder.
In the beginning, before time was, before we were, He knew us, and so we were given 'the breath of life.' This in itself is a miracle beyond imagining. There isn't a DNA experiment ever designed, nor one that will ever be conceived that will enable man to 'breath life' into anything. We must take that breath of life already given. It cannot be found for it belongs solely to the Creator of all things.
What egotists we are to even consider that we might be able to recreate 'life.' How slowly does the mind of the most intelligent species on earth sometimes work. Man has yet to acknowledge that which we so desperately seek, "that which causes life to be," is not ours to give, and will never be. We live simply because our Father God determined that we should and 'gave us life.'
We are then doubly blessed with one more miracle of miracles. The One True God chooses to give us, for all eternity, a renewed life, a new life in His Son, Jesus Christ. With this, the breath of life that is us, is transformed, made new, polished until its light shines forth. We are now the embodiment of the truest definition of 'life' - living as a child of God by the grace of His Holy Spirit in love and forgiveness.
With this second miracle, we have come full circle, and are now one with the Father in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So whenever we see the word 'life' written so quietly in the pages of His Word, perhaps we should pause for a moment, and praise His Holy Name for the unfathomable miracle He has wrought in us - His gift - His breath of life become eternal in Jesus, - Immanuel - God with us. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Prov. 26:4-5
"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes." Prov. 26:4-5
Just when you think you have the Word of God figured out a pair of verses like today's jumps up and bites us! "Do not answer... Answer..." What is a man to do? Like I tell my bible study class before, "Let's take a dig a little deeper."
The obvious observation is that Solomon is out of his mind. One of his wives must have given him a hard time the night before he came up with this word of wisdom. Which are we to do? Answer the fool or don't answer him?
The first verse seems to indicate that we should not answer him. Why? "You will be like him." Hummm. If a fool comes up with some sort of idiotic statement or idea and we play along with him, wouldn't we look like a fool... just like he does? On the other hand, the proverbialist tells us to answer a fool! Why? So that the fool's actions are made apparent to him and he realize that those actions are not in any way wise. We want to educate the fool. We want to improve his state. It is not impossible... just difficult.
It seems that Solomon knew what he was talking about. Our response to the fool determines whether we have become like him or helped him out of his foolishness. While the proverbs seem contradictory, they are actually complimentary... like two pieces of the puzzle that appear to be incompatible, until they are turned in just the right relationship. Then they fit perfectly! Amen and Amen.
Just when you think you have the Word of God figured out a pair of verses like today's jumps up and bites us! "Do not answer... Answer..." What is a man to do? Like I tell my bible study class before, "Let's take a dig a little deeper."
The obvious observation is that Solomon is out of his mind. One of his wives must have given him a hard time the night before he came up with this word of wisdom. Which are we to do? Answer the fool or don't answer him?
The first verse seems to indicate that we should not answer him. Why? "You will be like him." Hummm. If a fool comes up with some sort of idiotic statement or idea and we play along with him, wouldn't we look like a fool... just like he does? On the other hand, the proverbialist tells us to answer a fool! Why? So that the fool's actions are made apparent to him and he realize that those actions are not in any way wise. We want to educate the fool. We want to improve his state. It is not impossible... just difficult.
It seems that Solomon knew what he was talking about. Our response to the fool determines whether we have become like him or helped him out of his foolishness. While the proverbs seem contradictory, they are actually complimentary... like two pieces of the puzzle that appear to be incompatible, until they are turned in just the right relationship. Then they fit perfectly! Amen and Amen.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Neh 4:2
"And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble - burned as they are?" Neh 4:2
There it was, public humiliation. The Jews were no builders. They had been captive in Babylon - but they lived lives of relative ease. Now they come to a destroyed city, scraped together a few stones for a house, but they had no experience in rebuilding a city. The Jews had two choices, step up and finish the task or buckle under the pressure and give up. Some chose the latter option.
Judah cried out in agreement (sound familiar? "Let's go back to Egypt. At least we had food on the table - not this manna!") Fortunately, Nehemiah was a good and faithful leader who saw things as they were meant to be - rebuilt! He called the people to ignore the insults and keep on building. We've all faced discouragement. Perhaps we face it today.
We have two choices. Step up or give up. The latter brings defeat and death. The former brings victory and life. When the enemy shouts insults at us, we need to do as Nehemiah did. First, he set guards. Second, he armed the people. Third, he kept building. We need to guard against the enemy's attacks. We need to always be alert to his presence and tactics. If he gets too close, we need to take up the sword - the Word of God. Satan cannot take continual strikes from the Sword of the Spirit - it penetrated too deeply into his weaknesses.
Finally, we need to keep on keeping on doing the will of God. Sure, there are times when it seems like nothing happens and we're getting no where. But if we keep trying, God will bring the results. He will support our sagging spirits. He will be our encouragement and our strength. The next thing you know, the walls of God's protection will be around us and the gates of His splendor will be our protection from the enemy and victory will be secure! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
There it was, public humiliation. The Jews were no builders. They had been captive in Babylon - but they lived lives of relative ease. Now they come to a destroyed city, scraped together a few stones for a house, but they had no experience in rebuilding a city. The Jews had two choices, step up and finish the task or buckle under the pressure and give up. Some chose the latter option.
Judah cried out in agreement (sound familiar? "Let's go back to Egypt. At least we had food on the table - not this manna!") Fortunately, Nehemiah was a good and faithful leader who saw things as they were meant to be - rebuilt! He called the people to ignore the insults and keep on building. We've all faced discouragement. Perhaps we face it today.
We have two choices. Step up or give up. The latter brings defeat and death. The former brings victory and life. When the enemy shouts insults at us, we need to do as Nehemiah did. First, he set guards. Second, he armed the people. Third, he kept building. We need to guard against the enemy's attacks. We need to always be alert to his presence and tactics. If he gets too close, we need to take up the sword - the Word of God. Satan cannot take continual strikes from the Sword of the Spirit - it penetrated too deeply into his weaknesses.
Finally, we need to keep on keeping on doing the will of God. Sure, there are times when it seems like nothing happens and we're getting no where. But if we keep trying, God will bring the results. He will support our sagging spirits. He will be our encouragement and our strength. The next thing you know, the walls of God's protection will be around us and the gates of His splendor will be our protection from the enemy and victory will be secure! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Matt. 7:15-17
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" Matt. 7:15-17
Have you ever read MacBeth? MacBeth was an interesting character of our friend William Shakespeare. He was unlovable, unlikable, unconscionable, and unforgivable. But he didn't start out that way. He was a conquering general, and a favorite of King Duncan. Great favors were heaped upon him, and more were to come. But, out of his own greed, his own imagination, his own unholy thoughts, MacBeth killed his king. And, like all murderers, he left behind some evidence. Two bloody daggers were found with the king's two drunken bodyguards - both later killed by MacBeth supposedly out of revenge for killing king Duncan.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Scotland, there were no crime scene investigators and the rudimentary evidence collected pointed in the wrong direction. MacBeth was honored by being made king of Scotland in Duncan's place. But that is not the end of the story. MacBeth could not stand what he had done. He became paranoid and his paranoia caused him to eventually die.
Why do I give you a lesson in Shakespearean literature? I do it to show you that the evil man will be known by his fruit. I truly believe that the problem with the perfect crime is that the criminal cannot be satisfied with just one. Greed eventually drives the perpetrator to commit another, and another, and eventually he makes a mistake. That mistake brings and end to his crime spree.
Jesus agrees. He encourages us, while not being judgmental, to be inspectors of peoples "fruit." By that He means that our actions show what is in our hearts. Granted, our acts of kindness will never buy us free passes to heaven. But, our free pass to heaven WILL cause us to do good deeds.
Anyone can do something good - perhaps even on a regular basis. But, like our greedy criminal, eventually we will show the true color of our hearts and some word, some action, some indicator of our sinful nature will show it's ugly self to the world. There is no way around it. Only a cleansing in the blood of Jesus will remove that sin and cause our fruit to always be fresh and good. And that goodness, or lack thereof, will tell the brothers and sisters of the faith volumes about our spiritual lives.
Now, don't rush out and condemn anyone who commits a sin. We all do that. Instead, Jesus is telling us to be wary of our leadership (the prophets of today's verses) lest they be ravenous wolves setting out to destroy the flock of Jesus. How can we tell the difference? By their fruits. What fruits? The works they perform, whether they are good and wholesome and wise. Or whether they are self-centered, overpowering, and destructive.
We must all be fruit inspectors - and we can do it without judging - as long as we do not condemn a man for his works, but pray for his salvation out of a sincere love. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Have you ever read MacBeth? MacBeth was an interesting character of our friend William Shakespeare. He was unlovable, unlikable, unconscionable, and unforgivable. But he didn't start out that way. He was a conquering general, and a favorite of King Duncan. Great favors were heaped upon him, and more were to come. But, out of his own greed, his own imagination, his own unholy thoughts, MacBeth killed his king. And, like all murderers, he left behind some evidence. Two bloody daggers were found with the king's two drunken bodyguards - both later killed by MacBeth supposedly out of revenge for killing king Duncan.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Scotland, there were no crime scene investigators and the rudimentary evidence collected pointed in the wrong direction. MacBeth was honored by being made king of Scotland in Duncan's place. But that is not the end of the story. MacBeth could not stand what he had done. He became paranoid and his paranoia caused him to eventually die.
Why do I give you a lesson in Shakespearean literature? I do it to show you that the evil man will be known by his fruit. I truly believe that the problem with the perfect crime is that the criminal cannot be satisfied with just one. Greed eventually drives the perpetrator to commit another, and another, and eventually he makes a mistake. That mistake brings and end to his crime spree.
Jesus agrees. He encourages us, while not being judgmental, to be inspectors of peoples "fruit." By that He means that our actions show what is in our hearts. Granted, our acts of kindness will never buy us free passes to heaven. But, our free pass to heaven WILL cause us to do good deeds.
Anyone can do something good - perhaps even on a regular basis. But, like our greedy criminal, eventually we will show the true color of our hearts and some word, some action, some indicator of our sinful nature will show it's ugly self to the world. There is no way around it. Only a cleansing in the blood of Jesus will remove that sin and cause our fruit to always be fresh and good. And that goodness, or lack thereof, will tell the brothers and sisters of the faith volumes about our spiritual lives.
Now, don't rush out and condemn anyone who commits a sin. We all do that. Instead, Jesus is telling us to be wary of our leadership (the prophets of today's verses) lest they be ravenous wolves setting out to destroy the flock of Jesus. How can we tell the difference? By their fruits. What fruits? The works they perform, whether they are good and wholesome and wise. Or whether they are self-centered, overpowering, and destructive.
We must all be fruit inspectors - and we can do it without judging - as long as we do not condemn a man for his works, but pray for his salvation out of a sincere love. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Genesis 2:25-17,3:1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
The reading from Romans today helps us to unite and make sense of the readings from the Book of Genesis and the Gospel According To Matthew.
In the first reading Paul speaks to us of how in Adam all die - and how in Christ all are given life. Of how by the sin of one death entered the world - and how by the righteousness of one death has been made no more.
He writes:
The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
That my friend's is part of what this church believes - part of what the whole church since the day of resurrection believes.
We understand death to have entered the world as the penalty for Adam and Eve's disobedience - for their turning away from God and doing that one single thing they had been told not to do, for on the day that they did they would surely die.
The story of Adam and Eve is much is discussed and disputed not just for it's historical truth - that is a dead horse it seem to me - but for it's theological truth.
Some people think Adam and Eve have gotten a bad rap. They ask us to take a hard look at their situation at the moment the serpent spoke to them.
Had they encountered deceit before?
Did they have any idea what a lie was?
Would they have had reason to doubt anyone?
How could they have known what "to die" meant?
These are good questions - questions that have allowed some people to conclude that Adam and Eve were "set up" by God - with no way to defend themselves - that God knew they would sin and created the conditions for them to sin in regardless.
In short they blame God for what happened.
This strikes me as an all too familiar modern theme - the theme of abandoning responsibility and of blaming others for the faults that lie within us.
You know how it goes:
Spill hot coffee on your lap and burn yourself -and blame MacDonald's for making it too hot and collect a cool two million dollars.
Kill someone when you are drinking - blame the alcohol for it - and get a tap on the wrist.
Live in a dysfunctional way, hurt those around you, or drive them to distraction with your neediness and your fragile self esteem - and blame your behaviour on how your parents raised you.
Hit your brother or kick or sister in the playground - and blame them for provoking you.
It is a familiar theme - and one as old as Adam and Eve who, upon being confronted by God after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, promptly blamed God, one another, and then serpent for their act.
Adam's name, I hope you remember, means "human kind" and the name of Eve quite simply means "Mother of all living"
Adam and Eve are you and I.
And whether we intend to or not we all play their game - we take and eat the forbidden fruit. And like them, most of us, if we don't just outright deny doing the deed, - blame someone else for it.
At least at first, before we finally embrace the truth, before we finally say "mia culpa" and mean it.
Set up or not, the simple fact is that in the story of Adam and Eve there was one simple command given them - the command to not eat the fruit of a particular tree in the Garden; and knowing that - as Eve so obviously knew that when she responded to the Serpent's invitation - they went ahead anyway.
That invitation, you will remember, was "to become like God - knowing good and evil"
And so Adam and Eve, who were already made in the image of God and therefore like God turned away from the one who made them and sought to be like God in some other way, in the way that their inclinations and the inducements of the serpent suggested to them.
They sought to take a short cut to the very state of existence that God had already planned for them; to do it their way instead of God's way.
Think of the many children - never mind children - think of the many adults who have insisted taking short cuts to their destinations - short cuts that have been forbidden to them - or that they have been warned about, only to find out that there were very good reasons for the rule, very sound reasons for the advice.
No matter who you blame my friends, the simple fact is that although the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good to the eye and desirable to make one wise it was - and it still is - very bad for the tummy.
Within the Gospel Reading we see another child of God, another person made in God's image, deal with the same tempter and the same temptation that tempted Adam and Eve.
One way of approaching the story of Jesus' being tempted in the wilderness is to see it as a personal struggle for Jesus, another is to see it as a story about a new Adam and a new beginning for the world.
After fasting 40 days, it must have been very 'tempting' for Jesus to turn anything into bread.
And already knowing where his journey was going to take him, it must have been tempting to take the short cut to dominion and power and glory - how much better to gain the whole world with one simple act of homage - than to gain it on journey that would involve dying on a cross.
And as to having proof that God really is with you if you are going to insist on going the long way round - surely there is nothing better than a little demonstration of divine love and protection - it will really pump you and help show the people that you are someone really special.
But Jesus took no short cuts to glory either in the wilderness or later.
He dealt with the world as it is - as it has become - because of the power of sin and death and, with no special advantages other that which his faith gave him (and which our faith gives us) he walked the path of obedience to God in the midst of a very difficult world.
He avoided eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil even though that fruit is very tempting indeed.
Jesus walked the path of his destiny as one made in the image of God - like you and I - and he suffered and he died - as we suffer and die - to undo what Adam and Eve did. - to undo what we do.
No short cuts.
He took the long way, around because, in the end, that is the only way to take if one hopes to arrive.
And Jesus arrived. And because he did - he is able to help us arrive.
As in Adam death came into the world for all so in Christ life comes to all who receive him.
I'm sure it's been said before, but whenever we're dealing with sin and temptation it seems useful to recollect that rarely is a person tempted to choose what seems an outright evil, rather we're tempted to a good. A partial good, a short-term good, but still a good. That is why temptation is hard to resist. If it were always a clear choice between good and evil, it would be easy.
That is why the law is given to us - from the first law in Eden about the tree in the middle of the garden to the law given to Moses.
It is given to help us know what is wrong and what is right and to use it and the word of God as a whole - in our struggle to resist temptation; much as Jesus used the word of God as found in the scriptures to help him turn away from each temptation the tempter offered to him after his baptism in the River Jordan.
He used the word of God - the commands of God - like they were sign posts on the roadway - showing which route is safe and which is not, which is good and which is bad.
And when the devil attempted to twist those sign posts around on him the Spirit of Truth that was poured out on Jesus kept him on course.
Jesus arrived - and he helps us to arrive.
His death as one whose way was blameless opens the way to life for us, it cancels the debt that we owe but which cannot pay ourselves.
When all is said and done however, our faith is about what Jesus has set us free for, not just what Jesus has set us free from.
It is not so much about what not to do - but about what to do. It is positive - not negative.
So should be our time in Lent, our time before the joy of Easter.
We should indeed avoid certain things - we should resist the tempter - we should, as the Season of Lent has traditionally suggested, give up certain things.
But we should go on to express ourselves positively - as did Jesus as he moved from the River of his Baptism and the wilderness of his temptations towards the cross and ultimately to his resurrection.
As the most ancient creed of the church - the Kerygma - expresses it - "beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached - he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."
God is with us as well. We are anointed with the Holy Spirit. And though we may succumb to temptation, we are empowered - thanks to the one who did not succumb - to do all he did.
Simon says - clap your hands. Simon says - flap your elbows. God says - love your neighbours as yourselves. Jesus says - love one another as I have loved you.
Listen to the word of God - do what Simon says - Do good and heal those under the power of the devil. Get so busy doing the does of our faith that you don't have time to do the do nots and before you know it you will have arrived at the destination for which we all long for.
Going the long way round is not always easy - but it always gets us there while the shortcuts all end up in muck and mire.
Brothers and sisters should simply help one another if they can and not look for advantages or repayments for it. The church is about caring for all people. Pass on the kindness and love shown by Jesus to someone else sometime.
My friends Christ Jesus is here to help us in the battle against sin and temptation.
And when (notice I don't say if, but when) - and when we succumb to sin and temptation, be it in obvious ways or in ways that are only interior (buried deep in our hearts) God is here to shower his forgiveness upon us, his forgiveness and his grace for the meeting of a new day, the grace to get up and to move on doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.
We go the long way round - because that is the road travelled by Jesus and because Jesus is still on that road to help us walk it and to help us arrive at the destination he has already reached.
Praise be to God - for being with us and in us and for making us able be with him and in him. Amen
The reading from Romans today helps us to unite and make sense of the readings from the Book of Genesis and the Gospel According To Matthew.
In the first reading Paul speaks to us of how in Adam all die - and how in Christ all are given life. Of how by the sin of one death entered the world - and how by the righteousness of one death has been made no more.
He writes:
The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
That my friend's is part of what this church believes - part of what the whole church since the day of resurrection believes.
We understand death to have entered the world as the penalty for Adam and Eve's disobedience - for their turning away from God and doing that one single thing they had been told not to do, for on the day that they did they would surely die.
The story of Adam and Eve is much is discussed and disputed not just for it's historical truth - that is a dead horse it seem to me - but for it's theological truth.
Some people think Adam and Eve have gotten a bad rap. They ask us to take a hard look at their situation at the moment the serpent spoke to them.
Had they encountered deceit before?
Did they have any idea what a lie was?
Would they have had reason to doubt anyone?
How could they have known what "to die" meant?
These are good questions - questions that have allowed some people to conclude that Adam and Eve were "set up" by God - with no way to defend themselves - that God knew they would sin and created the conditions for them to sin in regardless.
In short they blame God for what happened.
This strikes me as an all too familiar modern theme - the theme of abandoning responsibility and of blaming others for the faults that lie within us.
You know how it goes:
Spill hot coffee on your lap and burn yourself -and blame MacDonald's for making it too hot and collect a cool two million dollars.
Kill someone when you are drinking - blame the alcohol for it - and get a tap on the wrist.
Live in a dysfunctional way, hurt those around you, or drive them to distraction with your neediness and your fragile self esteem - and blame your behaviour on how your parents raised you.
Hit your brother or kick or sister in the playground - and blame them for provoking you.
It is a familiar theme - and one as old as Adam and Eve who, upon being confronted by God after they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, promptly blamed God, one another, and then serpent for their act.
Adam's name, I hope you remember, means "human kind" and the name of Eve quite simply means "Mother of all living"
Adam and Eve are you and I.
And whether we intend to or not we all play their game - we take and eat the forbidden fruit. And like them, most of us, if we don't just outright deny doing the deed, - blame someone else for it.
At least at first, before we finally embrace the truth, before we finally say "mia culpa" and mean it.
Set up or not, the simple fact is that in the story of Adam and Eve there was one simple command given them - the command to not eat the fruit of a particular tree in the Garden; and knowing that - as Eve so obviously knew that when she responded to the Serpent's invitation - they went ahead anyway.
That invitation, you will remember, was "to become like God - knowing good and evil"
And so Adam and Eve, who were already made in the image of God and therefore like God turned away from the one who made them and sought to be like God in some other way, in the way that their inclinations and the inducements of the serpent suggested to them.
They sought to take a short cut to the very state of existence that God had already planned for them; to do it their way instead of God's way.
Think of the many children - never mind children - think of the many adults who have insisted taking short cuts to their destinations - short cuts that have been forbidden to them - or that they have been warned about, only to find out that there were very good reasons for the rule, very sound reasons for the advice.
No matter who you blame my friends, the simple fact is that although the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good to the eye and desirable to make one wise it was - and it still is - very bad for the tummy.
Within the Gospel Reading we see another child of God, another person made in God's image, deal with the same tempter and the same temptation that tempted Adam and Eve.
One way of approaching the story of Jesus' being tempted in the wilderness is to see it as a personal struggle for Jesus, another is to see it as a story about a new Adam and a new beginning for the world.
After fasting 40 days, it must have been very 'tempting' for Jesus to turn anything into bread.
And already knowing where his journey was going to take him, it must have been tempting to take the short cut to dominion and power and glory - how much better to gain the whole world with one simple act of homage - than to gain it on journey that would involve dying on a cross.
And as to having proof that God really is with you if you are going to insist on going the long way round - surely there is nothing better than a little demonstration of divine love and protection - it will really pump you and help show the people that you are someone really special.
But Jesus took no short cuts to glory either in the wilderness or later.
He dealt with the world as it is - as it has become - because of the power of sin and death and, with no special advantages other that which his faith gave him (and which our faith gives us) he walked the path of obedience to God in the midst of a very difficult world.
He avoided eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil even though that fruit is very tempting indeed.
Jesus walked the path of his destiny as one made in the image of God - like you and I - and he suffered and he died - as we suffer and die - to undo what Adam and Eve did. - to undo what we do.
No short cuts.
He took the long way, around because, in the end, that is the only way to take if one hopes to arrive.
And Jesus arrived. And because he did - he is able to help us arrive.
As in Adam death came into the world for all so in Christ life comes to all who receive him.
I'm sure it's been said before, but whenever we're dealing with sin and temptation it seems useful to recollect that rarely is a person tempted to choose what seems an outright evil, rather we're tempted to a good. A partial good, a short-term good, but still a good. That is why temptation is hard to resist. If it were always a clear choice between good and evil, it would be easy.
That is why the law is given to us - from the first law in Eden about the tree in the middle of the garden to the law given to Moses.
It is given to help us know what is wrong and what is right and to use it and the word of God as a whole - in our struggle to resist temptation; much as Jesus used the word of God as found in the scriptures to help him turn away from each temptation the tempter offered to him after his baptism in the River Jordan.
He used the word of God - the commands of God - like they were sign posts on the roadway - showing which route is safe and which is not, which is good and which is bad.
And when the devil attempted to twist those sign posts around on him the Spirit of Truth that was poured out on Jesus kept him on course.
Jesus arrived - and he helps us to arrive.
His death as one whose way was blameless opens the way to life for us, it cancels the debt that we owe but which cannot pay ourselves.
When all is said and done however, our faith is about what Jesus has set us free for, not just what Jesus has set us free from.
It is not so much about what not to do - but about what to do. It is positive - not negative.
So should be our time in Lent, our time before the joy of Easter.
We should indeed avoid certain things - we should resist the tempter - we should, as the Season of Lent has traditionally suggested, give up certain things.
But we should go on to express ourselves positively - as did Jesus as he moved from the River of his Baptism and the wilderness of his temptations towards the cross and ultimately to his resurrection.
As the most ancient creed of the church - the Kerygma - expresses it - "beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached - he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."
God is with us as well. We are anointed with the Holy Spirit. And though we may succumb to temptation, we are empowered - thanks to the one who did not succumb - to do all he did.
Simon says - clap your hands. Simon says - flap your elbows. God says - love your neighbours as yourselves. Jesus says - love one another as I have loved you.
Listen to the word of God - do what Simon says - Do good and heal those under the power of the devil. Get so busy doing the does of our faith that you don't have time to do the do nots and before you know it you will have arrived at the destination for which we all long for.
Going the long way round is not always easy - but it always gets us there while the shortcuts all end up in muck and mire.
Brothers and sisters should simply help one another if they can and not look for advantages or repayments for it. The church is about caring for all people. Pass on the kindness and love shown by Jesus to someone else sometime.
My friends Christ Jesus is here to help us in the battle against sin and temptation.
And when (notice I don't say if, but when) - and when we succumb to sin and temptation, be it in obvious ways or in ways that are only interior (buried deep in our hearts) God is here to shower his forgiveness upon us, his forgiveness and his grace for the meeting of a new day, the grace to get up and to move on doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong.
We go the long way round - because that is the road travelled by Jesus and because Jesus is still on that road to help us walk it and to help us arrive at the destination he has already reached.
Praise be to God - for being with us and in us and for making us able be with him and in him. Amen
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Matthew 13:33
"Another parable He spoke to them: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened." Matthew 13:33
This is truly an intense message in the power of the Truth - God's 'life' saving grace. I believe we do not always recognize what a miracle He has wrought in us, for He has blessed us abundantly twice over. We consider the word 'life' with little regard for its profoundness. And it is so often in Scripture that His message is contained in a single word. Life. This word rolls off our tongues with such ease we barely conceive its truth any longer. When we read in scripture any reference to 'life', we hardly pause to think about what we have just read. And yet, the entire Bible is based on this simple word - Jesus came that we might have 'life.' The world plagiarizes its meaning, giving it a definition wholly unintended by God. We walk further and further away from the miraculous impact of this divine wonder.
In the beginning, before time was, before we were, He knew us, and so we were given 'the breath of life.' This in itself is a miracle beyond imagining. There isn't a DNA experiment ever designed, nor one that will ever be conceived that will enable man to 'breath life' into anything. We must take that breath of life already given. It cannot be found for it belongs solely to the Creator of all things.
What egotists we are to even consider that we might be able to recreate 'life.' How slowly does the mind of the most intelligent species on earth sometimes work. Man has yet to acknowledge that which we so desperately seek, "that which causes life to be," is not ours to give, and will never be. We live simply because our Father God determined that we should and 'gave us life.'
We are then doubly blessed with one more miracle of miracles. The One True God chooses to give us, for all eternity, a renewed life, a new life in His Son, Jesus Christ. With this, the breath of life that is us, is transformed, made new, polished until its light shines forth. We are now the embodiment of the truest definition of 'life' - living as a child of God by the grace of His Holy Spirit in love and forgiveness.
With this second miracle, we have come full circle, and are now one with the Father in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So whenever we see the word 'life' written so quietly in the pages of His Word, perhaps we should pause for a moment, and praise His Holy Name for the unfathomable miracle He has wrought in us - His gift - His breath of life become eternal in Jesus, - Immanuel - God with us. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
This is truly an intense message in the power of the Truth - God's 'life' saving grace. I believe we do not always recognize what a miracle He has wrought in us, for He has blessed us abundantly twice over. We consider the word 'life' with little regard for its profoundness. And it is so often in Scripture that His message is contained in a single word. Life. This word rolls off our tongues with such ease we barely conceive its truth any longer. When we read in scripture any reference to 'life', we hardly pause to think about what we have just read. And yet, the entire Bible is based on this simple word - Jesus came that we might have 'life.' The world plagiarizes its meaning, giving it a definition wholly unintended by God. We walk further and further away from the miraculous impact of this divine wonder.
In the beginning, before time was, before we were, He knew us, and so we were given 'the breath of life.' This in itself is a miracle beyond imagining. There isn't a DNA experiment ever designed, nor one that will ever be conceived that will enable man to 'breath life' into anything. We must take that breath of life already given. It cannot be found for it belongs solely to the Creator of all things.
What egotists we are to even consider that we might be able to recreate 'life.' How slowly does the mind of the most intelligent species on earth sometimes work. Man has yet to acknowledge that which we so desperately seek, "that which causes life to be," is not ours to give, and will never be. We live simply because our Father God determined that we should and 'gave us life.'
We are then doubly blessed with one more miracle of miracles. The One True God chooses to give us, for all eternity, a renewed life, a new life in His Son, Jesus Christ. With this, the breath of life that is us, is transformed, made new, polished until its light shines forth. We are now the embodiment of the truest definition of 'life' - living as a child of God by the grace of His Holy Spirit in love and forgiveness.
With this second miracle, we have come full circle, and are now one with the Father in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So whenever we see the word 'life' written so quietly in the pages of His Word, perhaps we should pause for a moment, and praise His Holy Name for the unfathomable miracle He has wrought in us - His gift - His breath of life become eternal in Jesus, - Immanuel - God with us. Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Prov. 26:2
"Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight." Prov. 26:2
Like all of you, I have gone through various "stages" in my spiritual development. The new believer stage happened for me some years ago. That moved into the next stage, you know the one; the stage where you wonder why you exist, why God chose you, and why does anyone care? The key statement in this stage, seems to be, "Does anyone love me?" After this stage, I moved into the serious stuff. I call it the "late adolescent, early adulthood" stage. That is the time when we are really struggling with what God wants us to do with our lives. Does He want us in "specialized Christian ministry"? You know; does He want me to be a preacher or something?
Later on we really get into the crazy things. I moved into a charismatic spiritual church. We talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.. and wondered which one or ones we had. We experimented with all of them. We played like we were "super spiritual" not wanting anything we said to be negative lest the door be opened for the enemy to get a hold of our souls and cause us serious problems. We were content to look at the Charismatic verses and the promises and live by those.
It is during this stage that I began to examine the subject of demons and demonology. Did demons exist? Jesus dealt with them. Do they exist now? There is no reason to believe they don't. Do they possess people like they did in Jesus' day? It sure seems like it. Can they possess God's children? That one was up for debate. I studied many arguments either way...and concluded that as is often the case, the arguments came down to semantics. How did the writer define "possess" and "oppress"?
In the process of this examination, I found today's little verse toward the end of Proverbs. You see, we honestly believed that we could be cursed by some evil person and some great calamity would befall us. We certainly watched who we spend time with! We also spent a lot of time "pleading the blood of Jesus" over ourselves, our families, our homes, our houses, our pets, our friends, our church... Today's verse gave me a great relief from this spiritual schizophrenia that plagued me.
Solomon tells us that curses are like sparrows. Have you ever watched one of those little fellows? They never stand still. Watching one in the fields the other evening. He was rustling through the mulch under a bush. It sounded like some kind of animal was digging to the Philippines! For such a little fellow, he sure made a loud noise... and he did it for many minutes, never resting, always scrounging for bugs. After a thorough search of the area, he flitted to another area... never once stopping for breath. He just dug and flitted, dug and flitted. If I only had half of his energy!
Solomon tells us that unwarranted curses are like that. They can't land and hang upon the unsuspecting believer, because there is no just cause. Some witch or warlock can't lay a curse on any believer just because that individual is a believer in Jesus. A past president of the United States was known as the "Teflon president" because none of his indiscretions would stick to him.
Well, I have news for you. You are a Teflon Christian if you do your best to remain pure in Jesus. No curse can stick to you! You are indeed "covered by the blood of Jesus!" And the best part is this: you don't have to plead for it on a daily basis. It is given to you freely by our Savior. He took the curses for us. He paid the penalty. He covers us with His protective coating! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Like all of you, I have gone through various "stages" in my spiritual development. The new believer stage happened for me some years ago. That moved into the next stage, you know the one; the stage where you wonder why you exist, why God chose you, and why does anyone care? The key statement in this stage, seems to be, "Does anyone love me?" After this stage, I moved into the serious stuff. I call it the "late adolescent, early adulthood" stage. That is the time when we are really struggling with what God wants us to do with our lives. Does He want us in "specialized Christian ministry"? You know; does He want me to be a preacher or something?
Later on we really get into the crazy things. I moved into a charismatic spiritual church. We talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.. and wondered which one or ones we had. We experimented with all of them. We played like we were "super spiritual" not wanting anything we said to be negative lest the door be opened for the enemy to get a hold of our souls and cause us serious problems. We were content to look at the Charismatic verses and the promises and live by those.
It is during this stage that I began to examine the subject of demons and demonology. Did demons exist? Jesus dealt with them. Do they exist now? There is no reason to believe they don't. Do they possess people like they did in Jesus' day? It sure seems like it. Can they possess God's children? That one was up for debate. I studied many arguments either way...and concluded that as is often the case, the arguments came down to semantics. How did the writer define "possess" and "oppress"?
In the process of this examination, I found today's little verse toward the end of Proverbs. You see, we honestly believed that we could be cursed by some evil person and some great calamity would befall us. We certainly watched who we spend time with! We also spent a lot of time "pleading the blood of Jesus" over ourselves, our families, our homes, our houses, our pets, our friends, our church... Today's verse gave me a great relief from this spiritual schizophrenia that plagued me.
Solomon tells us that curses are like sparrows. Have you ever watched one of those little fellows? They never stand still. Watching one in the fields the other evening. He was rustling through the mulch under a bush. It sounded like some kind of animal was digging to the Philippines! For such a little fellow, he sure made a loud noise... and he did it for many minutes, never resting, always scrounging for bugs. After a thorough search of the area, he flitted to another area... never once stopping for breath. He just dug and flitted, dug and flitted. If I only had half of his energy!
Solomon tells us that unwarranted curses are like that. They can't land and hang upon the unsuspecting believer, because there is no just cause. Some witch or warlock can't lay a curse on any believer just because that individual is a believer in Jesus. A past president of the United States was known as the "Teflon president" because none of his indiscretions would stick to him.
Well, I have news for you. You are a Teflon Christian if you do your best to remain pure in Jesus. No curse can stick to you! You are indeed "covered by the blood of Jesus!" And the best part is this: you don't have to plead for it on a daily basis. It is given to you freely by our Savior. He took the curses for us. He paid the penalty. He covers us with His protective coating! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Isaiah 55:7
"Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon" Isaiah 55:7
Some things are predictable. I flip the switch in my bedroom... and the lights come on. I turn the key in my door... and the door opens.
Isaiah tells us of one thing that is very predictable. When a person seeks the Lord, he abandons his evil ways. How does this happen? Why is it predictable? Simple. Only those who truly desire to have their sin-burden lifted will seek God. Only those who truly seek God will have the burden lifted. And only those who truly have their burdens lifted will desire to walk in a new way. We call this process "conversion." Conversion involves "repentance." And repentance is indicated by a complete change in direction.
Isaiah tells us that God will have compassion on him. Our heavenly Father is longing to receive new children into His household. His "adoption agency" is never closed. He has already filled out all the paperwork and has paid all the fees. Nothing is left except for individuals to "seek Him and forsake their evil ways." God's love will overflow any such individual and cleanse him from the sins that have stained him from birth. God will "abundantly pardon" those sins. They will be wiped off the books and there will remain no trace of them on Judgment Day!
My friends, if you know you are walking in the wrong direction, turn around. Repent. Seek God. He is waiting for you. He has been waiting a long time. His arms are open wide longing to hold you close. Call on Him. The time has not yet passed. Amen and Amen.
Some things are predictable. I flip the switch in my bedroom... and the lights come on. I turn the key in my door... and the door opens.
Isaiah tells us of one thing that is very predictable. When a person seeks the Lord, he abandons his evil ways. How does this happen? Why is it predictable? Simple. Only those who truly desire to have their sin-burden lifted will seek God. Only those who truly seek God will have the burden lifted. And only those who truly have their burdens lifted will desire to walk in a new way. We call this process "conversion." Conversion involves "repentance." And repentance is indicated by a complete change in direction.
Isaiah tells us that God will have compassion on him. Our heavenly Father is longing to receive new children into His household. His "adoption agency" is never closed. He has already filled out all the paperwork and has paid all the fees. Nothing is left except for individuals to "seek Him and forsake their evil ways." God's love will overflow any such individual and cleanse him from the sins that have stained him from birth. God will "abundantly pardon" those sins. They will be wiped off the books and there will remain no trace of them on Judgment Day!
My friends, if you know you are walking in the wrong direction, turn around. Repent. Seek God. He is waiting for you. He has been waiting a long time. His arms are open wide longing to hold you close. Call on Him. The time has not yet passed. Amen and Amen.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Phil. 1:21
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" Phil. 1:21
We don't talk about providence much any more. In the old days people did, and people attributed a lot of events to providence. It wasn't just any providence; this was THE Providence of God. If a storm blew up out of the west and hail destroyed a house, it was God's providence. If the crops produced more than enough food for the winter, it was God's providence. If a wondrous sight appeared in the night sky, it was God's providence. As you can see, God's providence was deeply ingrained in their lives. But what IS God's providence?
Providence is the understanding that God is in total control. Everything that happens is first filtered through God's purposes and plans. Satan's work in our lives... approved by God. Natural occurrences that change our lives... approved by God. Illness, health, marriage, death, success, failure, victory, defeat... all approved by God. We don't believe much in providence anymore.
We believe we are in control of our circumstances. We want to be in charge of every aspect of our lives and we are all like that... if we are perfectly honest.
But that is not God's way. The Bible uses a word we translate as "trust". It is the same word that we also translate "faith". God asks us to trust Him... put our complete faith in His ability to run our lives. Most of us can heartily accept God's ability to forgive us and save us from our sinful natures. We firmly believe (have faith in) that God paid the price for our transgressions. Where we fail is in trusting Him with our finances, our marriages, our children, our purchases, our needs and wants. We say we have faith in God... but by our actions, our insisting on controlling our own lives, we are telling Him, and the world, that we can do a better job of it ourselves.
Paul didn't have that problem. He totally entrusted his life to the Father. More than once he faced death in the midst of his ministry. He lived to tell us about it. He was stoned to death (he himself doesn't know but what his spirit had left him and he visited heaven) but God sent him back to the same town to finish his ministry there. Three times he faced shipwreck, the most severe on the way to Rome as a prisoner. Each time he trusted God to take care of him. He lived only to be bitten by a viper. Even that did not kill him but opened doors to preach the Gospel. Now, as he faced the death penalty for doing no wrong, he was satisfied that whatever God wanted to do was fine with him.
"For me to live is Christ... " Paul says he is satisfied to live if that is what God wants for in living he is free to testify of the great things God has done for him. "... but to die is gain." And if he should be crucified on the next day, or the next, or the one after that, he is satisfied that he will hear Jesus say, "Enter in good and faithful servant. Great is your reward in Heaven." Paul believed in providence...God's providence.
Do you? Amen and Amen.
We don't talk about providence much any more. In the old days people did, and people attributed a lot of events to providence. It wasn't just any providence; this was THE Providence of God. If a storm blew up out of the west and hail destroyed a house, it was God's providence. If the crops produced more than enough food for the winter, it was God's providence. If a wondrous sight appeared in the night sky, it was God's providence. As you can see, God's providence was deeply ingrained in their lives. But what IS God's providence?
Providence is the understanding that God is in total control. Everything that happens is first filtered through God's purposes and plans. Satan's work in our lives... approved by God. Natural occurrences that change our lives... approved by God. Illness, health, marriage, death, success, failure, victory, defeat... all approved by God. We don't believe much in providence anymore.
We believe we are in control of our circumstances. We want to be in charge of every aspect of our lives and we are all like that... if we are perfectly honest.
But that is not God's way. The Bible uses a word we translate as "trust". It is the same word that we also translate "faith". God asks us to trust Him... put our complete faith in His ability to run our lives. Most of us can heartily accept God's ability to forgive us and save us from our sinful natures. We firmly believe (have faith in) that God paid the price for our transgressions. Where we fail is in trusting Him with our finances, our marriages, our children, our purchases, our needs and wants. We say we have faith in God... but by our actions, our insisting on controlling our own lives, we are telling Him, and the world, that we can do a better job of it ourselves.
Paul didn't have that problem. He totally entrusted his life to the Father. More than once he faced death in the midst of his ministry. He lived to tell us about it. He was stoned to death (he himself doesn't know but what his spirit had left him and he visited heaven) but God sent him back to the same town to finish his ministry there. Three times he faced shipwreck, the most severe on the way to Rome as a prisoner. Each time he trusted God to take care of him. He lived only to be bitten by a viper. Even that did not kill him but opened doors to preach the Gospel. Now, as he faced the death penalty for doing no wrong, he was satisfied that whatever God wanted to do was fine with him.
"For me to live is Christ... " Paul says he is satisfied to live if that is what God wants for in living he is free to testify of the great things God has done for him. "... but to die is gain." And if he should be crucified on the next day, or the next, or the one after that, he is satisfied that he will hear Jesus say, "Enter in good and faithful servant. Great is your reward in Heaven." Paul believed in providence...God's providence.
Do you? Amen and Amen.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Acts 17:26 - 28
"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring." Acts 17:26 - 28
There he was, standing in the middle of a hostile crowd. No one believed what he was saying. No one expected to hear anything sensible from him. Everyone knew more than he did, everyone. Still, he continued in exactly the same manner that he always did. A bit brash, a bit humble, a bit arrogant, a bit extravagant, a bit extreme. That was Indiana Jones. If you know Jones, you know that he always managed to bungle into some outrageous situation and just as bunglingly made his way out of it.
Paul was no Indiana Jones. He stood before the learned Greek philosophers on their own territory. He was confident of what he was doing. He never bungled, never. In the midst of these hostile intellectuals, Paul stood firm, argued the facts of the Gospel using their own language... and their own literature... to prove that there is but one God and He is the Father of all. Paul didn't back down. He spoke of the creation and the God who set the universe in motion. He spoke of a God who did not abandon man to his own devices. He spoke of a God who knew the sinful plight of mankind... and never thought of turning His back on His finest creation. However, Paul also spoke of a God who set boundaries... times and seasons... and announced that "this is the time" and that the window of opportunity might close. He spoke of a people who were "groping" for that One God...searching in all the wrong places, and finding nothing but futility and despair. He spoke of a people who, if they kept groping, would find that the feet of the Father were nearby and could be grasped. He spoke of a Father who was so big that the people lived in Him, moved in Him, and had their being in Him. Yet, that God was so personal that He could dwell within them... if they allowed Him too. And the scoffers scoffed; the philosophers laughed; and fools heckled. But Paul preached on, undaunted, unafraid, thoroughly convinced of the Truth he preached. And a few believed, some wanted to hear more.. and Paul secured a victory in the midst of the enemy's camp.
So you have responded to the call. You have sought. You have found. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you take Him for granted, calling upon Him when times get rough? Will you accept Him as a regular fixture in the temple of your heart... but place Him on a pedestal to be viewed and appreciated on special days? Will you use Him as your personal prophet, seeking His advice when you need answers, going your own way when you "know what you want"? Or will you take Him as the Son of God? Will you let Him be the one who sits on the throne in your temple? Will you follow Him wherever He leads you... across the street or around the world?
What will you do with this Jesus you have found? Amen and Amen.
There he was, standing in the middle of a hostile crowd. No one believed what he was saying. No one expected to hear anything sensible from him. Everyone knew more than he did, everyone. Still, he continued in exactly the same manner that he always did. A bit brash, a bit humble, a bit arrogant, a bit extravagant, a bit extreme. That was Indiana Jones. If you know Jones, you know that he always managed to bungle into some outrageous situation and just as bunglingly made his way out of it.
Paul was no Indiana Jones. He stood before the learned Greek philosophers on their own territory. He was confident of what he was doing. He never bungled, never. In the midst of these hostile intellectuals, Paul stood firm, argued the facts of the Gospel using their own language... and their own literature... to prove that there is but one God and He is the Father of all. Paul didn't back down. He spoke of the creation and the God who set the universe in motion. He spoke of a God who did not abandon man to his own devices. He spoke of a God who knew the sinful plight of mankind... and never thought of turning His back on His finest creation. However, Paul also spoke of a God who set boundaries... times and seasons... and announced that "this is the time" and that the window of opportunity might close. He spoke of a people who were "groping" for that One God...searching in all the wrong places, and finding nothing but futility and despair. He spoke of a people who, if they kept groping, would find that the feet of the Father were nearby and could be grasped. He spoke of a Father who was so big that the people lived in Him, moved in Him, and had their being in Him. Yet, that God was so personal that He could dwell within them... if they allowed Him too. And the scoffers scoffed; the philosophers laughed; and fools heckled. But Paul preached on, undaunted, unafraid, thoroughly convinced of the Truth he preached. And a few believed, some wanted to hear more.. and Paul secured a victory in the midst of the enemy's camp.
So you have responded to the call. You have sought. You have found. What will you do with this Jesus? Will you take Him for granted, calling upon Him when times get rough? Will you accept Him as a regular fixture in the temple of your heart... but place Him on a pedestal to be viewed and appreciated on special days? Will you use Him as your personal prophet, seeking His advice when you need answers, going your own way when you "know what you want"? Or will you take Him as the Son of God? Will you let Him be the one who sits on the throne in your temple? Will you follow Him wherever He leads you... across the street or around the world?
What will you do with this Jesus you have found? Amen and Amen.
Luke 8:48
"And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace." Luke 8:48
There's just something about a touch - both given and received. Note the next time you are in the presence of a newborn baby. Everyone wants to touch it. Men will rub the soft cheeks with the back of a finger. Women will touch the child with the front of a finger. All make comments about how soft the newborn skin is. That feel is the closest to perfection man will ever know on earth! We all like to be touched. The human touch is more than a contact, it is an emotional link.
The woman in today's verse was no different. All she wanted to do was touch Jesus. She didn't want to talk to Him. She didn't want to shake His hand. She didn't even want Him to know she did it. All she wanted was to touch the hem of His garment! The unusual thing about this was that she was an "unclean" woman, shunned by society. She had been sick for years. Everyone knew her. Everyone stayed away from her. If they had realized she was there, she could have been stoned to death for her social infraction. Still she persisted. She pressed her way through the potentially hostile crowd. She finally reached the back side of Jesus, reached down, and touched Him. Her intention was to slip away silently, but Jesus stopped. "Who touched me?" He asked. In that crowd, many people touched Him. They were all grabbing for Him.
But this touch was different. It was not a greedy touch. It was not a pushing touch. It was a touch of faith. Who touched Him? Who could tell? But He knew. He wanted to talk to the individual. Shyly, fearfully, the little, sick woman stepped forward. "I touched you, sir." "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." Her faith - because she said "If only I could touch the hem of His garment." Her faith - to fight the crowd. Her faith - that Jesus could do some thing for her. Her faith - had made her well.
How about you. Do you need a touch from Jesus? Are you one of those who are reaching just to get a touch of the hand. Are you one of those who are bumping into Him? Or are you willing to just get a touch of that dirty, grimy, grass stained hem of His garment. Is your touch greed? Or is it a touch of faith. Jesus knows the difference. Let your faith make you whole! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
There's just something about a touch - both given and received. Note the next time you are in the presence of a newborn baby. Everyone wants to touch it. Men will rub the soft cheeks with the back of a finger. Women will touch the child with the front of a finger. All make comments about how soft the newborn skin is. That feel is the closest to perfection man will ever know on earth! We all like to be touched. The human touch is more than a contact, it is an emotional link.
The woman in today's verse was no different. All she wanted to do was touch Jesus. She didn't want to talk to Him. She didn't want to shake His hand. She didn't even want Him to know she did it. All she wanted was to touch the hem of His garment! The unusual thing about this was that she was an "unclean" woman, shunned by society. She had been sick for years. Everyone knew her. Everyone stayed away from her. If they had realized she was there, she could have been stoned to death for her social infraction. Still she persisted. She pressed her way through the potentially hostile crowd. She finally reached the back side of Jesus, reached down, and touched Him. Her intention was to slip away silently, but Jesus stopped. "Who touched me?" He asked. In that crowd, many people touched Him. They were all grabbing for Him.
But this touch was different. It was not a greedy touch. It was not a pushing touch. It was a touch of faith. Who touched Him? Who could tell? But He knew. He wanted to talk to the individual. Shyly, fearfully, the little, sick woman stepped forward. "I touched you, sir." "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." Her faith - because she said "If only I could touch the hem of His garment." Her faith - to fight the crowd. Her faith - that Jesus could do some thing for her. Her faith - had made her well.
How about you. Do you need a touch from Jesus? Are you one of those who are reaching just to get a touch of the hand. Are you one of those who are bumping into Him? Or are you willing to just get a touch of that dirty, grimy, grass stained hem of His garment. Is your touch greed? Or is it a touch of faith. Jesus knows the difference. Let your faith make you whole! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Exodus 24:12-18; Psalm 99; II Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
For at least the last five hundred years in the Western World - the industrial and scientific world - has been intolerant of mystery. Ours is an age which is obsessed with the idea of knowing and explaining everything.
A story is told of a little boy who lived in a religious home whose father expressed the usual before dinner command - "Hurry up, and wash your hands and come to the table so we can say a prayer and eat."
As the boy went toward the bathroom, he was heard to mutter, "Germs and Jesus, germs and Jesus! That's all I hear around here, and I can't see either one of them."
There are many things, my friends, that we can't see, many things that we can't touch, which are real and powerful:
- the light from the Sun
- the electrons which flow through the billions of miles of wires we have strung up around the world
- the radiation that we transmit from microwave dishes and radio antennae to power our telephones and televisions
- the love that we experience from our parents and our partners...
All these things are unseeable and untouchable - yet real.
Yet despite the evidence that there are real but invisible and untouchable forces all around us many people refuse to believe in God; and of those who do believe in God there are many who refuse to believe that God can do anything out of the ordinary:
- they refuse to believe in miracles
- they refuse to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit
- they refuse to believe in the healing touch and in prayer as a powerful instrument of change and transformation.
Sometimes it seems that we of the Church - particularly of the Western Church - are completely out of touch with why our faith has been so powerful a force in the world - sometimes it seems that we are out of touch with the invisible force that underlies our dogma and our belief.
Have you noticed that many people today seem to be hungry for some experience of what I call Spiritual Realities?
The dramatic upswing of interest in the existence of angels, of witches, and the number of people who consult psychics and future tellers speak of a longing that people have to go beyond the merely rational and scientific.
Certainly this longing is reflected in the New Age movement.
I recall that a company by the name of "Chi Pants", a US company, in keeping with the New Age belief in quartz crystals, was marketing a new line of pants.
Each pair of the pants has a tiny crystal sewn into the back seam which will rest at the base of the spine when the pants are worn. The company advertises, "You won't feel the crystal; you'll just feel the energy."
There was a news story sometime back. An artist from Jersey City by the name of Marybeth Strobel explained why she wears a large chunk of quartz on a strap around her neck.
"It puts a circle of power around you that keeps you feeling protected," she says.
You and I may scoff at such beliefs, however such beliefs have a great appeal for many people.
They have that appeal - because too many of us - especially those of us in the mainline churches have failed to connect others - let alone ourselves - to the very real power that is spoken of throughout the Bible and the history of our faith.
We have been too head oriented and have placed too little emphasis on the heart for too many years - and the result has been confusion and the rise of charlatans and cheats who mislead those who suspect that there is more to the world than meets the eye - but who do not know how to test and evaluate other people's claims about the nature of the spiritual universe that exists all around us.
There is something we ought to acknowledge, something we need to confess and it is this.
Mystical experience is very much a part of our faith. Indeed it lays at the root of all that we believe in.
From stories like those we heard today where we see Moses going up on a mountain and hearing God speak and Jesus being transfigured by a bright light in the presence of three of his disciples, to the indescribable peace and joy that groups of praying and praising Christian pilgrims experience; unexplainable and unprovable - in the scientific sense at least - spiritual realities undergird and indeed, permeate, our faith.
Indeed throughout history right until the present day many of the greatest Christians or followers of Jesus the Christ, who ever lived have reported experiences that are outside the realm of rational experience.
It is said that a friend wandered into Handel's room just as he was finishing the last notes of the "Hallelujah Chorus." He found the composer with tears streaming down his cheeks. The magnificent work lay completed on the desk in front of him. "I did think," Handel exclaimed to his friend, "I saw all heaven before me, and the great God Himself."
What do you make of an experience such as Handel reported? Is he speaking metaphorically? Or did he really see heaven?
And what do you make of the man who reports that a friend prayed for his sick brother - a man who was expected to die within a day - and that this brother was given another five years?
What do you make of reports that Elijah raised a poor woman's son from the dead or of the hundreds of people who reported that they saw Jesus alive and well long after he was laid in the tomb?
How do you explain the absolute conviction of those people who have died on an operating table or in a hospital room and on being brought back to life reported travelling down an ever brighter tunnel till at last they met their loved ones and were beckoned to either move onward toward God or to return to life and finish what needed finishing?
If we but believed what we have long preached, what we have long read in this book - how much different might our world be today?
My friends - today I do not want to do with you what so many generations of preachers have done with the story of Jesus and his transfiguration - I do not want to rush you down the mountain and tell you that what happened up there is not as important as what happens in the valley below.
What I want to do:
- is have you understand that there really are spiritual realities that exist and which defy our conventional wisdom - our scientific reason
- and to give you one essential tool for evaluating them.
The first thing to be said about mystical experiences is - be careful.
The human brain is a tricky piece of machinery. It can see things that do not exist - or take the wrong message from what lies before it.
William James, a psychologist of religion early in the last century once pointed out that you can toss a bag of marbles on the floor and by selectively ignoring certain marbles find any pattern you wish. Our eyes and our minds can play tricks on us and lead us in directions that have no profit to them.
We see that tendency displayed in some Christians' obsessions with numbers.
Charles Swindoll tells about a lady in Kansas City who went to court to get her license plate changed because it ended with 666. She stated that her fellow church members were shunning her. As you may know, the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation is 666.
Swindoll goes on to note that the 666 scare stuff is getting downright ridiculous. The fact is that those three digits can be uncovered in almost anybody's name if you're willing to work at it hard enough. Using the code A=100, B=101, and so on, Hitler adds up to 666, The same technique works on the word computer - a coincidence to which some of us might attach some validity.
By adopting the so-called "devil's code" whereby the alphabet is numbered backward from zero; Z=0, Y=1, X=2 as so forth - and then multiplying each letter-value by 6 (whew!), fundamentalist leader Jerry Falwell's last name equals 666. Even Billy Graham's name is not exempt. His initials are WFG. (William Franklin Graham). Using the A=1 code, the letters add up to 36. The sum of the counting numbers from 1 through 36 is 666, and 36=6x6. When Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected president, mischievous Democrats pointed out that each of the President's names had six letters - 666 - and so forth.
Maybe you find all this fascinating, maybe not. There are some people, though, who are very susceptible to such logic. And there are unscrupulous people who look for these susceptible people to manipulate to their own ends. Often they do it in the name of religion. They tell you that what they are saying is based on the invisible spiritual realities which undergird the world. Be careful.
If you wonder why most Christian churches put more emphasis on being true to the historical faith than on any one particular subjective experience, this is it.
We know feelings are subject to distortion and manipulation. It may make us seem somewhat dry and unexciting at times but we know that when we are faithful to Scripture and the teachings of the Church we cannot be misled by passing fads or sensations.
Be careful. But also be tolerant.
We don't know how God may choose to work in individual lives. It is the height of arrogance for any of us to declare that God can only work in one way or another - that God can only be found in one group or another.
Most of us would be thrilled to have the kind of mountaintop experience that Peter, James and John had where they beheld Christ transfigured before them; we would love to go up on a Mountain as did Moses and hear God's voice, but we may live a lifetime and never experience any more than a lump in our throat and a calm assurance in our hearts.
If that's all we experience, that is enough. God knows what we need. If other people discover a wider range of experiences, if they shout and dance and speak in tongues, then who's to say but that God knew their needs as well.
Remember this - and this is the crux of the matter: The test of faith is not our experience of, or our knowledge of, invisible spiritual realities, but in whether we bear fruit that is pleasing to God.
The fruit of the Spirit, says St. Paul, is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Gal 5:23)
Does your special experience make you more loving, more peaceful, more trusting, more humble? Does your knowledge of the Spiritual Realities which undergird the world make you more faithful, more prone to give God praise? Does your conviction that God has sent an angel to you to bring you comfort it result in your being a better neighbour? A better citizen?
If it does, then no matter what that experience is, you are not far from the Kingdom of God.
There are, my friends, spiritual realities that undergird not only our faith, but the very world around us.
There are angels. There is a resurrection. Miracles still occur - the blind can still be made to see and the lame to walk. Demons still chill the air and prayers still reach the ear of God. And God still speaks - in dreams and in visions - and through his Word.
And there are many here who can testify to these things.
My friends - there are spiritual things - spiritual realities that are beyond our ken - wonders that still reach out and touch those who expect them and those that don't.
The transfiguration of Jesus is one of these. It happened to strengthen Jesus before his journey to Jerusalem - and it was witnessed so that we might be encouraged in our faith. The spiritual reality - the spiritual power made evident that day - had a purpose. A good purpose.
And so it should be for all those things we call Spiritual.
The important thing is that we believe not simply in the power of the world that is beyond our everyday sight - but in the truth behind that power and in the God who makes it so - and that in believing in the one true God and in his power - we strive - without fear - to live out a worthy life - a life like that of Christ Jesus our Lord.
For at least the last five hundred years in the Western World - the industrial and scientific world - has been intolerant of mystery. Ours is an age which is obsessed with the idea of knowing and explaining everything.
A story is told of a little boy who lived in a religious home whose father expressed the usual before dinner command - "Hurry up, and wash your hands and come to the table so we can say a prayer and eat."
As the boy went toward the bathroom, he was heard to mutter, "Germs and Jesus, germs and Jesus! That's all I hear around here, and I can't see either one of them."
There are many things, my friends, that we can't see, many things that we can't touch, which are real and powerful:
- the light from the Sun
- the electrons which flow through the billions of miles of wires we have strung up around the world
- the radiation that we transmit from microwave dishes and radio antennae to power our telephones and televisions
- the love that we experience from our parents and our partners...
All these things are unseeable and untouchable - yet real.
Yet despite the evidence that there are real but invisible and untouchable forces all around us many people refuse to believe in God; and of those who do believe in God there are many who refuse to believe that God can do anything out of the ordinary:
- they refuse to believe in miracles
- they refuse to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit
- they refuse to believe in the healing touch and in prayer as a powerful instrument of change and transformation.
Sometimes it seems that we of the Church - particularly of the Western Church - are completely out of touch with why our faith has been so powerful a force in the world - sometimes it seems that we are out of touch with the invisible force that underlies our dogma and our belief.
Have you noticed that many people today seem to be hungry for some experience of what I call Spiritual Realities?
The dramatic upswing of interest in the existence of angels, of witches, and the number of people who consult psychics and future tellers speak of a longing that people have to go beyond the merely rational and scientific.
Certainly this longing is reflected in the New Age movement.
I recall that a company by the name of "Chi Pants", a US company, in keeping with the New Age belief in quartz crystals, was marketing a new line of pants.
Each pair of the pants has a tiny crystal sewn into the back seam which will rest at the base of the spine when the pants are worn. The company advertises, "You won't feel the crystal; you'll just feel the energy."
There was a news story sometime back. An artist from Jersey City by the name of Marybeth Strobel explained why she wears a large chunk of quartz on a strap around her neck.
"It puts a circle of power around you that keeps you feeling protected," she says.
You and I may scoff at such beliefs, however such beliefs have a great appeal for many people.
They have that appeal - because too many of us - especially those of us in the mainline churches have failed to connect others - let alone ourselves - to the very real power that is spoken of throughout the Bible and the history of our faith.
We have been too head oriented and have placed too little emphasis on the heart for too many years - and the result has been confusion and the rise of charlatans and cheats who mislead those who suspect that there is more to the world than meets the eye - but who do not know how to test and evaluate other people's claims about the nature of the spiritual universe that exists all around us.
There is something we ought to acknowledge, something we need to confess and it is this.
Mystical experience is very much a part of our faith. Indeed it lays at the root of all that we believe in.
From stories like those we heard today where we see Moses going up on a mountain and hearing God speak and Jesus being transfigured by a bright light in the presence of three of his disciples, to the indescribable peace and joy that groups of praying and praising Christian pilgrims experience; unexplainable and unprovable - in the scientific sense at least - spiritual realities undergird and indeed, permeate, our faith.
Indeed throughout history right until the present day many of the greatest Christians or followers of Jesus the Christ, who ever lived have reported experiences that are outside the realm of rational experience.
It is said that a friend wandered into Handel's room just as he was finishing the last notes of the "Hallelujah Chorus." He found the composer with tears streaming down his cheeks. The magnificent work lay completed on the desk in front of him. "I did think," Handel exclaimed to his friend, "I saw all heaven before me, and the great God Himself."
What do you make of an experience such as Handel reported? Is he speaking metaphorically? Or did he really see heaven?
And what do you make of the man who reports that a friend prayed for his sick brother - a man who was expected to die within a day - and that this brother was given another five years?
What do you make of reports that Elijah raised a poor woman's son from the dead or of the hundreds of people who reported that they saw Jesus alive and well long after he was laid in the tomb?
How do you explain the absolute conviction of those people who have died on an operating table or in a hospital room and on being brought back to life reported travelling down an ever brighter tunnel till at last they met their loved ones and were beckoned to either move onward toward God or to return to life and finish what needed finishing?
If we but believed what we have long preached, what we have long read in this book - how much different might our world be today?
My friends - today I do not want to do with you what so many generations of preachers have done with the story of Jesus and his transfiguration - I do not want to rush you down the mountain and tell you that what happened up there is not as important as what happens in the valley below.
What I want to do:
- is have you understand that there really are spiritual realities that exist and which defy our conventional wisdom - our scientific reason
- and to give you one essential tool for evaluating them.
The first thing to be said about mystical experiences is - be careful.
The human brain is a tricky piece of machinery. It can see things that do not exist - or take the wrong message from what lies before it.
William James, a psychologist of religion early in the last century once pointed out that you can toss a bag of marbles on the floor and by selectively ignoring certain marbles find any pattern you wish. Our eyes and our minds can play tricks on us and lead us in directions that have no profit to them.
We see that tendency displayed in some Christians' obsessions with numbers.
Charles Swindoll tells about a lady in Kansas City who went to court to get her license plate changed because it ended with 666. She stated that her fellow church members were shunning her. As you may know, the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation is 666.
Swindoll goes on to note that the 666 scare stuff is getting downright ridiculous. The fact is that those three digits can be uncovered in almost anybody's name if you're willing to work at it hard enough. Using the code A=100, B=101, and so on, Hitler adds up to 666, The same technique works on the word computer - a coincidence to which some of us might attach some validity.
By adopting the so-called "devil's code" whereby the alphabet is numbered backward from zero; Z=0, Y=1, X=2 as so forth - and then multiplying each letter-value by 6 (whew!), fundamentalist leader Jerry Falwell's last name equals 666. Even Billy Graham's name is not exempt. His initials are WFG. (William Franklin Graham). Using the A=1 code, the letters add up to 36. The sum of the counting numbers from 1 through 36 is 666, and 36=6x6. When Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected president, mischievous Democrats pointed out that each of the President's names had six letters - 666 - and so forth.
Maybe you find all this fascinating, maybe not. There are some people, though, who are very susceptible to such logic. And there are unscrupulous people who look for these susceptible people to manipulate to their own ends. Often they do it in the name of religion. They tell you that what they are saying is based on the invisible spiritual realities which undergird the world. Be careful.
If you wonder why most Christian churches put more emphasis on being true to the historical faith than on any one particular subjective experience, this is it.
We know feelings are subject to distortion and manipulation. It may make us seem somewhat dry and unexciting at times but we know that when we are faithful to Scripture and the teachings of the Church we cannot be misled by passing fads or sensations.
Be careful. But also be tolerant.
We don't know how God may choose to work in individual lives. It is the height of arrogance for any of us to declare that God can only work in one way or another - that God can only be found in one group or another.
Most of us would be thrilled to have the kind of mountaintop experience that Peter, James and John had where they beheld Christ transfigured before them; we would love to go up on a Mountain as did Moses and hear God's voice, but we may live a lifetime and never experience any more than a lump in our throat and a calm assurance in our hearts.
If that's all we experience, that is enough. God knows what we need. If other people discover a wider range of experiences, if they shout and dance and speak in tongues, then who's to say but that God knew their needs as well.
Remember this - and this is the crux of the matter: The test of faith is not our experience of, or our knowledge of, invisible spiritual realities, but in whether we bear fruit that is pleasing to God.
The fruit of the Spirit, says St. Paul, is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. (Gal 5:23)
Does your special experience make you more loving, more peaceful, more trusting, more humble? Does your knowledge of the Spiritual Realities which undergird the world make you more faithful, more prone to give God praise? Does your conviction that God has sent an angel to you to bring you comfort it result in your being a better neighbour? A better citizen?
If it does, then no matter what that experience is, you are not far from the Kingdom of God.
There are, my friends, spiritual realities that undergird not only our faith, but the very world around us.
There are angels. There is a resurrection. Miracles still occur - the blind can still be made to see and the lame to walk. Demons still chill the air and prayers still reach the ear of God. And God still speaks - in dreams and in visions - and through his Word.
And there are many here who can testify to these things.
My friends - there are spiritual things - spiritual realities that are beyond our ken - wonders that still reach out and touch those who expect them and those that don't.
The transfiguration of Jesus is one of these. It happened to strengthen Jesus before his journey to Jerusalem - and it was witnessed so that we might be encouraged in our faith. The spiritual reality - the spiritual power made evident that day - had a purpose. A good purpose.
And so it should be for all those things we call Spiritual.
The important thing is that we believe not simply in the power of the world that is beyond our everyday sight - but in the truth behind that power and in the God who makes it so - and that in believing in the one true God and in his power - we strive - without fear - to live out a worthy life - a life like that of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Eph 4:1-3
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Eph 4:1-3
As I was pondering the "prisoner" aspect of this verse, I began to realize that Paul's comments were not only about his prisoner status, but also about you and me. As a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Paul is calling us to walk worthy of our calling.
What is our calling? We are called to be a child of the King. Now that's a calling. Some time ago, I was reading an article in a business newsletter by August A. Bush IV - the great, great, great grandson of the founder of the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis. I almost didn't read it because it was written by a beer monger, but my curiosity got the best of me. One of the things that struck me is how Mr. Bush IV walks in a manner worthy of his calling. He is a fourth generation beer man. He is in the business. He is the chief salesman for the business - just like his fathers before him. He started at the bottom of the business and worked his way up. He will most likely replace his father at the top. His son Mr. Bush V, will start at the bottom - and replace him in due course. Mr. Bush IV is most worthy of the name he carries and is proud of it, I could tell by the way he spoke of his role and his business.
So, how should we walk since our calling is greater? Humbly, without pride in our own efforts giving all the glory to our Father and preferring each other above ourselves. Gently, careful to do no damage, but to do all things well. Patiently, perfection, whether our own, or the work we do, or the work God is doing in us or other people, takes time. Be willing to wait. Lovingly, Peter says love covers a multitude of sins. Our love can help someone else overcome his sin. I've seen it happen many times. Someone is lost and antagonistic towards the kingdom, but because a friend or loved one keeps on loving, even when it hurts, that person is eventually brought to the Father for adoption as one of God's children. Preserving unity, how can you preserve unity? By keeping all the other items in this list. Above all, walk as a child of the King of Kings would walk!
Who is more worthy of the calling? August A. Bush IV or you? I believe you have the greater calling. And I believe you are worthy of that calling - because you are chosen by God to be His son or daughter! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
As I was pondering the "prisoner" aspect of this verse, I began to realize that Paul's comments were not only about his prisoner status, but also about you and me. As a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Paul is calling us to walk worthy of our calling.
What is our calling? We are called to be a child of the King. Now that's a calling. Some time ago, I was reading an article in a business newsletter by August A. Bush IV - the great, great, great grandson of the founder of the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis. I almost didn't read it because it was written by a beer monger, but my curiosity got the best of me. One of the things that struck me is how Mr. Bush IV walks in a manner worthy of his calling. He is a fourth generation beer man. He is in the business. He is the chief salesman for the business - just like his fathers before him. He started at the bottom of the business and worked his way up. He will most likely replace his father at the top. His son Mr. Bush V, will start at the bottom - and replace him in due course. Mr. Bush IV is most worthy of the name he carries and is proud of it, I could tell by the way he spoke of his role and his business.
So, how should we walk since our calling is greater? Humbly, without pride in our own efforts giving all the glory to our Father and preferring each other above ourselves. Gently, careful to do no damage, but to do all things well. Patiently, perfection, whether our own, or the work we do, or the work God is doing in us or other people, takes time. Be willing to wait. Lovingly, Peter says love covers a multitude of sins. Our love can help someone else overcome his sin. I've seen it happen many times. Someone is lost and antagonistic towards the kingdom, but because a friend or loved one keeps on loving, even when it hurts, that person is eventually brought to the Father for adoption as one of God's children. Preserving unity, how can you preserve unity? By keeping all the other items in this list. Above all, walk as a child of the King of Kings would walk!
Who is more worthy of the calling? August A. Bush IV or you? I believe you have the greater calling. And I believe you are worthy of that calling - because you are chosen by God to be His son or daughter! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.
Prov. 26:1
"As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool." Prov. 26:1
Some things are just meant to go together: love and marriage, joy and happiness, grace and peace, mercy and forgiveness. These are but a few of the Siamese twins of rightness.
Other things just don't mix well: oil and water, cats and dogs, frogs and little girls, hate and love, rain and drought, war and peace, grace and hatred, honor and a fool. Hey, that is just what Solomon said in today's verse.
It has been said that opposites attract... and I suppose there is some truth to that statement. Without opposites, magnetism would not be valuable in electric motors. Without opposites, all electricity would be direct current. Without opposites, everyone would be like everyone else. Opposites create a sense of excitement, mystery, and intrigue. Where would every author be if there were no opposites? Authors live and die with conflict. Conflict is a direct result of opposition. The good guy is always opposed by the bad guy. If ultimate truth is subscribed to, the good guy will ultimately win while the bad guy, in due course, gets what is coming to him. There are a few successful authors who make a living by creating a story in which the bad guy wins... but they haven't read the last chapter of Revelation!
Solomon declares that snow is totally foreign to the nature of summer. While we can wish for it on a 33 degrees C August day, it isn't likely to happen. And rain in the harvest time? Any farmer will tell you that rain will ruin a good harvest. Rain will beat down a good stand of wheat making it impossible to reap. Too much rain in the harvest season will cause the corn to rot on the stalk. Excessive rain will prevent the farmer from entering the field for days and maybe weeks until the crop is totally destroyed and not worth gathering at all. No, rain and harvest do not belong together any more than snow and summer.
Neither is honor to be granted to a fool. The fool is not worthy of such recognition. The fool is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He always opens his mouth and says the wrong thing. His actions destroy and never redeem. No, the fool is unworthy of honor. Should he receive recognition, he is emboldened to try harder... and the results are even greater acts of foolishness.
Jesus said it another way, "Don't cast your pearls before swine." At best a pig will trample a string of pearls into the mud. At worst, he will devour such a prize thinking it dessert after a wonderful meal of slop! The interpretations of Jesus' proverbial saying are many. The most common is that we should not preach the Gospel to those who will obviously reject it. The Gospel is "the pearl of great price." The hardened non-believer is the "swine." The unbeliever will not recognize the value of salvation, thinking he can earn his own way into some version of heaven. Why waste our time? Don't get me wrong. I am not against evangelism. We should all be preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, we need to recognize that sometimes our particular calling is to "preach and run".
Remember, one man's fool is another man's mission field. God will not suffer anyone to die without having multiple opportunities to receive the love of God into his life. Amen and Amen.
Some things are just meant to go together: love and marriage, joy and happiness, grace and peace, mercy and forgiveness. These are but a few of the Siamese twins of rightness.
Other things just don't mix well: oil and water, cats and dogs, frogs and little girls, hate and love, rain and drought, war and peace, grace and hatred, honor and a fool. Hey, that is just what Solomon said in today's verse.
It has been said that opposites attract... and I suppose there is some truth to that statement. Without opposites, magnetism would not be valuable in electric motors. Without opposites, all electricity would be direct current. Without opposites, everyone would be like everyone else. Opposites create a sense of excitement, mystery, and intrigue. Where would every author be if there were no opposites? Authors live and die with conflict. Conflict is a direct result of opposition. The good guy is always opposed by the bad guy. If ultimate truth is subscribed to, the good guy will ultimately win while the bad guy, in due course, gets what is coming to him. There are a few successful authors who make a living by creating a story in which the bad guy wins... but they haven't read the last chapter of Revelation!
Solomon declares that snow is totally foreign to the nature of summer. While we can wish for it on a 33 degrees C August day, it isn't likely to happen. And rain in the harvest time? Any farmer will tell you that rain will ruin a good harvest. Rain will beat down a good stand of wheat making it impossible to reap. Too much rain in the harvest season will cause the corn to rot on the stalk. Excessive rain will prevent the farmer from entering the field for days and maybe weeks until the crop is totally destroyed and not worth gathering at all. No, rain and harvest do not belong together any more than snow and summer.
Neither is honor to be granted to a fool. The fool is not worthy of such recognition. The fool is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He always opens his mouth and says the wrong thing. His actions destroy and never redeem. No, the fool is unworthy of honor. Should he receive recognition, he is emboldened to try harder... and the results are even greater acts of foolishness.
Jesus said it another way, "Don't cast your pearls before swine." At best a pig will trample a string of pearls into the mud. At worst, he will devour such a prize thinking it dessert after a wonderful meal of slop! The interpretations of Jesus' proverbial saying are many. The most common is that we should not preach the Gospel to those who will obviously reject it. The Gospel is "the pearl of great price." The hardened non-believer is the "swine." The unbeliever will not recognize the value of salvation, thinking he can earn his own way into some version of heaven. Why waste our time? Don't get me wrong. I am not against evangelism. We should all be preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, we need to recognize that sometimes our particular calling is to "preach and run".
Remember, one man's fool is another man's mission field. God will not suffer anyone to die without having multiple opportunities to receive the love of God into his life. Amen and Amen.
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