Directional Signals

 

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

—Matthew 2:1-2

Consider all the “directional signals” surrounding the birth of Jesus. The phenomena of angel who came to Mary, to Zechariah, to Joseph, to the Magi, and the host of angels who serenaded the shepherds. This phenomenal “happening”—the entering of our physical world by these divine Beings—demanded unusual attention to their guidance for the main characters of the story.

Then, we read of the astronomical sign of the unusual star—or merging of several planetary objects—that “led” the Magi to the vicinity of Jerusalem around the time of Jesus’ birth. This spectacle in the sky signaled to the Gentile world that God was entering earth in wonder and amazement.

But, what of divine direction for us in our ordinary lives in the 21st century? Rarely do we ever hear of such spectacular signs and directions. Does God still guide? How should we decipher His ways for us?

It seems to me that, for those to whom God appeared in miraculous events, He had already prepared by giving them humble and watchful hearts. They awaited His coming. They watched for signs. And, they prayed for their world. These ordinary men and women gladly obeyed the signs they believed to have come to them through the Holy Spirit, no matter the sacrifice and personal pain that their obedience would cause.

We not only have the Scriptures known to the people of that time, we also have the written Word given by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, as well. God still speaks to us through His written Word. He does not speak through magic, or some kind of spiritual voodoo. Yet, we can clearly perceive His direction in His written Word, as we follow and obey this Word day by day.

God also speaks to us through circumstances, sometimes obviously and, at other times, hidden from our consciousness. Sometimes God guides through the words or actions of dear fellow Christians. At still other times, God gives direction in unique ways through the actions and words of ungodly people—remember how the Magi learned from the words of King Herod.

We know that God still wishes to direct His people. As we stay close to Him in prayer and in faithfulness to His sacraments and holy worship, He continues to guide His searching people on their way through this difficult life. He wishes us to see His directional signals, to trust Him, even when we can’t see ahead. And, He delights to have us follow the admonition of Proverbs 3:5,6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

 

 

Suddenly Christmas

 

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven— praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

—Luke 2:8-14 NLT

The familiar story of the shepherds on the night of our Savior’s birth never gets old. This band of societal outcasts, watching their smelly sheep on a hillside, reminds us that God came to earth for all people, no matter how rich or poor, no matter their social stratum, no matter… well, anything. The suddenness of the angel’s announcement and the suddenness of the vast host of angels must have totally blinded and stunned these humble men.

The people of that time may have known the prophecy recorded in Malachi 3:1:

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

Even so, they certainly didn’t expect Him to come in this manner and to these men. They had waited some 400 years since this prophecy was given to the people of Israel.

Recorded in Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus left a guide for his disciples pertaining to His second coming, telling them the manner of that coming, but admonishing them to stay vigilant. In Matthew 24:42, 44 Jesus told them:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…So you must be ready, because the son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Jesus instructs His followers in Matthew 25 by telling them the parable of “The Wise and Foolish Virgins,” that He, the Bridegroom will come. And, He will come to those alone who stand prepared for Him.

How do we prepare for such a coming? We allow the Holy Spirit to do His work of filling our lives with His light, His love, and by watching expectantly for Him.

In this context, I love the hymn, “Lo! He Comes, with Clouds Descending.” To us who wait for Him—if we remain alive on this earth at the time of His coming—we will see the glory of the Lord, and hear the heavenly choirs praising and singing, hallelujahs to our Everlasting God.

As you take in the music of this glorious hymn, allow the text on the screen to fill you with wonderful anticipation of the next advent of our King of Kings!

 

 

 

Stumbling

 

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”

—Isaiah 9:2

Even when we walk in places we know well, we can lose our way in the dark, stub our toe, or run into objects. Just ask anyone who has ever tried to escape a smoky blaze in their home or other building. Bottom line: we aren’t good at walking in the dark!

In Isaiah’s time, the whole culture lived in the land of darkness with the inability to find their way, or to make sense of life. When God sent Jesus, He sent a “Light” that would help His people—including us, as well—to find the way out of a life that Satan had shrouded with sin and death.

I love the Season of Advent. It is a time of darkness that reminds us of our lost-ness, of our need for a Lamp to guide us and to light up our sin so that God can remove that sin and bring us into His glorious light. I love the reminder that no matter how dark our lives may become—with troubles, sorrows, pain, or disappointment—Christ comes to offer us His healing light.

Psalm 91 tells us that the person who dwells in the shelter of the Most High rests in His shadow of protection. I like the way Psalm 91:11 (MSG) explains our tendency to stumble and God’s ability to protect us:

He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling.

We have the tendency to stumble in the dark, trying to find our way into places we may have been, as well as into places we may have never been. If we try to walk in God’s way, He will give us the Light of His presence and command His angels to lift us high enough above our troubles to keep us from stubbing our toes.

During this Season of Advent, take comfort in your darkness today. Be assured that God knows the way that you take, and that He knows how to keep you from falling. Trust His hand and His guiding light. Amen!

—Posted: Monday, December 16, 2019

 

 

A Beautiful Silence

 

“The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”

—Habakkuk 2:20

Silence adorns the Season of Advent. While the world around us goes crazy with shopping and parties, God calls us to wait in quiet for Him.

In the northern climes, nature hides the earth in a blanket of white stillness. No birds call to us from the wooded glens. Even the sleeping animals and foliage wait in quiet. We, who recall the Nativity, wait in silence for the coming celebration of our newborn Savior.

To prepare for this coming—to prepare for the Holy Spirit’s coming at any time—or for the hearing of God’s word, we should prepare in silence and wait to recognize the coming of His awesome presence. We must practice silence and wait for Him.

Can you imagine the period of silence before God first spoke, when He said, “Let there be light!”? Or, the 400-year period of silence between the last prophecy of the Old Testament from Malachi until the angel spoke to Mary? In Heaven, at the opening of the seventh seal, a half hour of silence preceded the blowing of trumpets and the message of the seven angels. (Revelation 8:1-2)

We need to pause and refresh our poor brains in silence, separating ourselves from the cacophony of our materialistic world by spending time before our God and in His written Word. Many people can find this kind of re-set walking in the penetrating stillness of nature. Others experience a re-set in the ministry of quiet music. Still others gain a re-set by contemplating great works of art. God’s written Word speaks so much more powerfully when we have prepared ourselves for its work in silence.

This silent waiting for Christ, this Advent stillness, often results in giving us the most blessedness of the Season. We know from Genesis 3:8-9 that God waited for Adam and Eve in the quietness and beauty of the Garden. He waits for companionship with us, as well. The Babe came for this very reason—to restore fellowship between heaven and earth.

This Season of Advent, let’s purposefully appreciate the anticipation and joy of waiting for the Promised One to come to us with His gifts of joy, hope, light, power, and presence. He waits this Advent Season to bless us.

—Posted: Monday, December 9, 2019

 

 

Half-Spent

 

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

—Isaiah 9:2

In the Christmas Carol from as far back as the fourteenth century, the images of the rose with its tender stem, its fragrance, and the half-spent night, remind us of the largely unnoticed way in which Jesus, the Messiah, came into our world. The first and second stanzas of the carol “Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming” use this phrase: “When half-spent was the night.”

When we think about that phrase, it suggests that the night still goes on. We continue to have darkness in our world. Yet, in the last stanza of the carol we see that “this Flower dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere.”

This tender rose depicts our Savior, who has come to us as a beautiful baby and at a time in history that God chose while things were void of His light. Depending on our circumstances, we may face a time of darkness and seeming absence of light this Advent season. But, we must remember that we do indeed have a Savior. And, we must remember that He does come to us in the darkness of our lives. When we know Him—when we look for Him and seek Him—He has promised to come in His glorious presence to us.

Lo, how a rose e’er blooming
   from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
   as men of old have sung.
It came, a Flower bright,
   amid the cold of winter,
When half-spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
   the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it,
   the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright
   she bore to men a Savior,
When half-spent was the night.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender
   with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
   the darkness everywhere.
True man, yet very God,
   from sin and death he saves us
And lightens every load.¹

The Baylor University Chamber Singers share this lovely carol:

______________________

1 Lo! How a Rose E’er Blooming. German Carol, Public Domain.

 

 

Sweet Ponderings

 

“I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.”

—Psalm 77:12

In this season of Thanksgiving, we need to curb our rush, even if for only a brief time, and consider the goodness of our Lord. Over and over in the Psalms, we see the admonition to give our praise and thanksgiving to God.

In Psalm 111:4 we read:

He has made His wonderful acts to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and merciful and full of loving compassion.

God intends for us to notice and meditate on the wonderful acts He does for us. He wants us to observe them and to purposefully review them. We can blow our minds, so to speak, by recounting the mercies and providences—as Christians in past centuries referred to them. Seventeenth century Presbyterian minister, John Flavel, wrote the following:¹

There is not a more pleasant history than our own lives. If you would but sit down and review, from the beginning, what God has been to you, and done for you. Consider the special manifestations and out-breakings of his mercy, faithfulness, and love in the conditions you have passed through. Let your thoughts dive as far as you can to the bottom, to plumb the depths of providence, and admire them, though we can’t touch the bottom.

If you will allow me to do so, I would like to suggest the following exercise to help us understand how God has worked in our lives:

Let us sit in a quiet place and center our minds, perhaps by reading a Psalm full of thanksgiving. Then, taking paper and pen, we should go back over our lives—yes, from the very beginning—and write down major mercies and graces that God has given to us. Think of family, education, life experiences, people, church life, health, and material goods. Think of talents and noble work afforded to us and think about our understanding of and personal relationship with God Himself.

I sincerely believe that we will encounter so many mercies and graces that God has poured into our lives that we will have trouble putting down our pens. Next, we should review our lists during this week and arrive at Thanksgiving Day with joy and gratitude in our hearts—joy like we’ve never before experienced.

Through this exercise, I believe that we will come to understand that God has given His wonderful acts for us see and to remember!

______________________

1 Flavel, John (author) and Richard Rushing, editor. Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Reading, Vol. 2. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2016. p. 272.

 

 

Rest

 

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”

—Isaiah 32:17-18

Through the Prophet Isaiah, God gives us a picture of rest as He intends it. Our world does everything it can to prevent such rest, to rile us up, to give us fear instead of confidence, and to take away our faith in the God of Peace. Even though God allows troubles in our experience, He wants us to see Him and His powerful rest in the midst of these troubles. Rest does not come naturally. We learn it from Him.

Scottish evangelist of the 19th century, Henry Drummond, puts it this way:¹

Two painters each painted a picture to illustrate his conception of rest. The first chose for his scene a still, lone lake among the far-off mountains. The second threw on his canvas a thundering waterfall, with a fragile birch-tree bending over the foam; at the fork of a branch, almost wet with the cataract’s spray, a robin sat on its nest. The first was only Stagnation: the last was Rest. For in rest there are always two elements—tranquility and energy; silence and turbulence; creation and destruction; fearlessness and fearfulness. This it was in Christ.

Christ’s life outwardly was one of the most troubled lives that was ever lived: Tempest and tumult, tumult and tempest, the waves breaking over it all the time till the worn body was laid in the grave. But the inner life was a sea of glass. The great calm was always there. At any moment you might have gone to Him and found Rest. And even when the bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem He turned to His disciples and offered them, as a last legacy, “My Peace.”

We would think that the absence of trouble would spell rest, but as we read here, it consists of peace in the midst of trouble. As Peter quickly learned on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus makes the peace available (see Matthew 14:22-33). However, our focus must be on Him, rather than on the storm. We must rely on the inward voice of His Holy Spirit, and not the roar of the waterfall.

Have you learned this kind of rest? God wants to teach all of us the same strong confidence and quietness that only comes from Him. I pray we all find it, to the praise of His glory!

______________________

1 Drummond, Henry. The Greatest Thing in the World and Other Addresses. London: Collins, Public Domain. pp. 117, 119

 

 

Remember Who You Are

 

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

—Matthew 5:16

We are the Vincent Chorus.
We will look our best, perform our best,
    and act our best.
We represent our chorus, our school
    and our families.
They have allowed us to proudly show what
    kind of singers and students we are.
We will not disappoint them.

I always had my chorus children recite this mantra before every concert and every field trip. I wanted them to rise to their very best when representing from where they came.

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his sermons on the “Sermon on the Mount,” spends sixteen chapters telling Christians who we have become in Christ. He begins with the Beatitudes and describes us in terms of poverty of spirit, mourners over sin, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, peacemakers, and how we behave as persecuted people. Then He compares us to salt and light.

But, when he gets to the seventeenth chapter, he goes from describing Christians to reminding us of how we manifest this essential character we carry with us. He says:

We are children of God and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Because of that, we have to manifest the characteristics of such people. We do this in order to manifest His glory, so that others may be brought to glorify Him.¹

Because Jesus came directly from the Father, He was not a Pharisee, or trained as a Pharisee. He detested their interpretation of the Law and the Prophets. He sought to live and teach a new way of living. Jesus did not abolish the Scriptures. But, He fulfilled them in new and vibrant ways, which caused the Pharisees to criticize Him. And, He wanted His followers to see the difference so they could properly represent themselves, as Christians, in His footprints.

Upon careful study, we often learn that the Old Testament Scriptures taught unorthodox ways compared to the leaders in Jesus’ day who were exponents of the Pharisaical laws. Jesus taught us to follow Him, to represent Him, to apprehend the spirit of the Law, so that the world might know He has come to bring a new way of living empowered by His Holy Spirit.

Just as I wanted my chorus children to represent a different character from what culture believes children should look like, sound like, and behave like, so Jesus wants us to proudly represent Him and His Kingdom to the world. This will happen only as we live by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which He has given us, and as we study His written Word to understand His ways for us. Then, let the world sit up and take notice!

______________________

1 Lloyd-Jones, Martyn D. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co./Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1971. p. 180.

 

 

A Unique, Beautiful Frame

 

“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

—Psalm 16:5-6

When looking at a picture, do you notice the frame? The frame can either enhance or detract from the picture it holds. It can reflect as much beauty as the picture. I am convinced that our lives compare to frames. They get more ornate as the years add up and reflect the imagination of God the Creative Artist who fashions them.

As time works on us, our struggles bring out a rich patina to the metal. The trials and deadly effects of life add swirls and cut deep into the wood, adding carved designs to the frame. In the end, we realize that Romans 8:28 has become true for us:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Recently, in preparing to teach from 1 Samuel about Samuel’s mother, Hannah, I came across this quote about her:¹

When Hannah took a very young Samuel to Shiloh and knelt with him in worship before leaving him behind to serve the Lord all the days of his life, the frame around her words was her long history of infertility and persecution for her faith in God. Hannah knelt in prayer that day within the context of a relationship with God that had withstood the tests of time and adversity.

When we feel the effects of wear and tear on our bodies, or the scraping and carving of the knife on our emotions and heart, we must realize that God considers the unique, beautiful frame with which He has surrounded us.

Our prayers and our words of encouragement to others have been framed by those circumstances that God the Artist has allowed us to experience. The picture may not be completed yet. Nevertheless, along with the finished frame, that picture will sometime reveal a more beautiful piece of art than we have ever realized.

______________________

1 James, Carolyn Custis. Lost Women of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2005. p. 132.

 

 

Nooks and Crannies

 

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

—1 John 1:8-9

“I’d like to go down to Grandma’s and help her clean today. I don’t think she sees as well as she used to and doesn’t see the dirt,” my mom said to my sister and me. Indeed, though my grandma kept a neat house, her glaucoma had diminished her eyesight to the point where sharp vision no longer allowed her to see the grime in the corners.

We all get used to seeing through eyes that no longer pick out the details of our “dirty” ways. God calls this dirt “sin.” He sent His Son, Jesus, to us so that He can purify us from all sin.

However, just as daily cleaning around the sink needs doing, we need a daily washing away of the filth we accumulate, even in a day’s time. Jesus addressed this idea to Peter when He said, in John 13:10:

“A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.”

With these words, Jesus indicates that, as Christians, He has washed us and made us clean. But, the sinful nature still clings to us and we frequently need to cleanse away this sinful act or that one. In my house, I abhor having to give anything a thorough cleaning now and then. Likewise, we seem to abhor coming to God with our filthy deeds and thoughts, asking for His cleansing.

We quite often have to work at this kind of examination of our hearts. And often, it means coming to God for a new, even repeated, cleansing. We need to use our “near-sighted” vision to see what God sees in us.

“Far-sighted” examination of our neighbors seems to come easier for us. Even Jesus observed that tendency in us when He said in the “Sermon on the Mount” from Matthew 7:3-5:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”

As I recall, my grandma gratefully accepted the help to make her kitchen sparkle again. We, too, need to thank our blessed Lord Jesus Christ for the offer of His help in keeping our hearts and minds cleansed and ready for His use.

Happy cleaning!

 

 

Passion for the Game

 

“Never be lacing in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

—Romans 12:11

I can still see him: a little boy, Bobby Martin, running the bases all alone after the church softball league had finished their game. Of course, no one would have allowed him to play in the actual softball game. He was too young to have what it would take to play effectively—except for one thing: Bobby had passion.

In Scripture, the word for “passion” is “zeal.”¹ The word “zealous” comes from the same Latin root as the word “jealous.” In our zeal, we are to be jealous for the Lord and careful to do our best work for Him.

The Puritan, Samuel Ward, likens zeal to fire. He writes:²

Zeal leaps over all obstacles as fire passes from house to house. Before it all of God’s enemies fall… It is ever climbing and aspiring higher; aiming beyond that which was before and aiming on toward perfection… Fire cannot be long smothered; it will either find a vent or go out.

Often, others will think of us Evangelical Christians as too strait-laced, or as goody-two-shoes, if we exhibit genuine zeal for God and His church. When the Holy Spirit at Pentecost came to the first church, flames of fire appeared and rested on all of those present in the room. As these newly Spirit-filled disciples went out and began to speak in the languages of the throngs of foreign people gathered in Jerusalem, the outsiders mocked them and asked if they were drunk. Today, God still wants His church to “burn” with the fire of Pentecost.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Paul tells the early church:

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.

We would do well to check for passion in our lives. And then, if necessary, ask God to rekindle that flame, so that we can serve Him with the kind of zeal that leaps from person to person with the flaming power of the Holy Spirit.

______________________

1 The King James Version of Scripture renders the word “passion” as “not slothful.”

2 Ward, Samuel (author) and Richard Rushing, editor. Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. Pp. 141, 142.

 

 

Look Who You’re Talking To!

 

“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”

—Ecclesiastes 5:2

I can hear a sassy child talking to his teacher, or an impertinent teenager talking to her mother, each one complaining and wanting his or her way, NOW! And, I can also hear the response from the adult, “Look who you’re talking to!”

I ask myself if God feels like the adults feel in this situation. Does He wonder who we think we are when we speak to Him in the manner of a spoiled child. We need to be reminded that God is in heaven and we are on earth. He is God and we’re not.

When the mother says, “I carried you for nine months and spoiled my figure over you! I buy your clothes and clean up your messes.” We see the teen respond by rolling her eyes and not really changing her mind.

But, when we think about our Heavenly Father, we should know better. He simply does not react to our impertinence the way a parent might. Yes, He indeed deserves our deepest respect and our trust in His plans for us. After all, He created us, maintains us, provides everything for us, and, through His Son, He even carried our sins on His back to the cross. He chose us to know Him and anticipate heaven with Him. Look who we’re talking to! Indeed.

I like the way that the Puritan writer William Gurnall puts it:¹

Who are we praying to? Is he not the great and glorious majesty of heaven and earth? Would it not be insufferable sauciness in a servant to complain that his master sat too long and required too much waiting at his hands? Is he not a righteous, holy God? Surely he does you no wrong to make you pray, and that long, for a mercy which you do not deserve when it comes at last. Is he not wiser to know how to time mercies? Will you have God overthrow the course of providence, which he thinks fit, to gratify your impatient spirit?

We are wise to take this reminder to heart when we get impatient and testy in our prayers, stomping our spiritual feet and demanding immediate answers: “Look who you’re talking to!”

______________________

1 Gurnall, William and Richard Rushing, editor. Voices From the Past, Volume 2. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2016. p. 261

 

 

Moses’ Rod and Sampson’s Jawbone

 

Then the Lord said to him [Moses], “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it.”

—Exodus 4:2, 17

All of us can probably recount some of the ways God used Moses’ staff (or rod) in the book of Exodus. The plagues God sent on Egypt began with a raised staff in obedience to God’s commands. The parting of the Red Sea and the water from the rock came as a result of Moses’ use of his simple staff.

Then, we recall Sampson, the judge God used to help Israel defeat the warring Philistine army through the use of a simple jawbone of a donkey, recorded in Judges 15. He used this available instrument to wage war and kill a thousand Philistines.

The men of Gideon, in Judges 7, used torches and trumpets at God’s command. In Judges 6:14, we read:

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

The boy David used a slingshot to defeat Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. Scripture tells of too many more heroes God used to do His work through something simple than we have room for here.

Maybe you think God can’t use you because of some real, or perceived, weakness, some handicap, some lacking of financial goods, or the lacking of some special talent. Maybe age has crept up on you and you wonder if God has finished using you.

Just remember the Biblical stories of weakness and lack. Remind yourself of what Paul said about the Lord’s message to him in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Well said, Paul. Thank you for those words of encouragement!

 

 

Jigsaw Puzzles

 

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.”

—1 Corinthians 12:12

I like to think of you and me as jigsaw puzzles. We’re made up of many parts that God has placed here. He takes the many parts of us and puts those parts together with the parts of other people to create an even greater, more magnificent puzzle. That greater puzzle becomes the breath-taking reality of His Kingdom, along with the Body of Christ, the Church.

We become small, yet integral, pieces in other people’s puzzles, too. Have you ever considered how God’s magnificent wisdom allows each of us to perfectly fit into the final, truly wonderful picture He is making in this world?

Yes, we can easily see how our parent’s love and care formed a good deal of the puzzle that we have become. Yet, their choice of place to live, the particular year in which we were born, and the friends, colleagues, mentors, teachers, and ministers we have met have helped form us—put together our pieces—in ways we could never have put those pieces together by ourselves.

Trace just one thread of your life back to its origin and see all the people who handled the puzzle pieces for you. How did you get that position? How did you end up in the city, the marriage, the church in which you have found yourself? Who taught you to read? Who introduced you to your chosen profession? Who helped you develop your passion for whatever brings you the most joy?

Psalm 115:1 gives glory to God.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

God’s love saw the final completed puzzle from the very beginning. In fact, God designed it. He saw the finished picture of you, complete and totally unique as a part of His great plan.

Praise Him for the way in which He has placed you in the big-picture puzzle next to others with whom you can share a spot. Thank Him for His wonderful wisdom, far above us all, and for His completed work of art that depends upon and totally involves you and me!

 

 

Not Seen As Yet

 

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of righteousness which is by faith.”

—Hebrews 11:7 KJV

Noah found favor with God. And, according to Scripture found in Genesis 6 and 7:

God found him (Noah) righteous, blameless, among the people of his time, and he walked with God.

Noah was chosen by God for a very unique and historical appointment. In great detail, God laid out for Noah plans and promises for building an ark because God intended to send a great flood of judgment on the world.

Scripture tells us in Genesis 6-8 just how Noah dedicated his time, effort, and faith in doing exactly what God had said. This act of extraordinary faith landed Noah in the “Faith Hall of Fame” found in Hebrews 11:7.

Noah no doubt suffered cruel mocking by the godless people who lived around him. Yet, he followed every element of God’s plan. Noah may not have understood these life-changing commands of God, but Noah was rewarded with the saving of himself, his family, and all the living creatures when the world was indeed destroyed by a great deluge and flood.

Consider the extraordinary matter of this story. The key to the strength of Noah’s faith is contained in that phrase: “…of things not seen as yet.” Despite what Noah could not see, he believed God and obeyed.

Puritan Thomas Manton comments on Noah’s faith:¹

Though Noah only had the naked word of God, he believed. Also, the means of an ark was an improbable and incredible way of safety. The ark was made like a coffin where Noah was buried with all kinds of living creatures for many days. Certainly so great a work was done at great expense and labor… He had a thousand discouragements, yet being moved with fear, he prepared the ark. These things being so remote from sense, and only certain in God’s word, show the great force and virtue of his faith… It is the property of faith to be moved by such things that are not open to sense.

Could this account of Noah speak to us in 21st century America? Does God see things in our lives that we “have not seen as yet”? In His good season, does God intend to ask us to step out in faith? Are there new relationships He wants us to form? Does God have a new ministry that He wants us to create or join? Does God intend to give us new talents that He wants us to develop for His use?

While God may not ask us to build an ark to save those we love from the judgment He intends to bring against our generation, certainly He calls us—and all Christians in this day—to step out in faith for the saving of His people and for the performance of the work of His church.

______________________

1 Manton, Thomas (author). Richard Rushing (editor). Voices From the Past. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2016. Vol. 2, p. 255.

 

 

Shimmering Aspens

 

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

—John 3:8

As a follow-up to the devotional I wrote in the last blog post about “Roots and Fruits,” I would like to share with you another tree image worth comparing to the Christian life. This tree, widely distributed throughout North America, nevertheless, has the thickest concentration in Colorado.

These beautiful trees, not extremely tall, can live for 150 years or more and often survive best and recover best from wildfires. Their root system can live and reproduce by cloning for thousands of years.¹

When God places in us His powerful Holy Spirit, He puts within us the capacity to withstand the storms of life. He knows such storms will strengthen us and ultimately prepare us for use to His glory. Even when we think the fiery experiences of life might destroy us, we can come through those experiences by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The leaves of the aspen shimmer in the wind and “quake.” They show a lacey daintiness that belies their strength. They move in the slightest breeze. Here’s how Joni Eareckson Tada compared them to a Spirit-led life:

I want to be that sensitive to the Spirit’s touch, don’t you? A soul that is sensitive to sin, that resonates at the slightest movement of the Spirit. A soul that quivers when the breath of God all but touches it. How do we become this sensitive? Simple: be ready, stretch out your branches, unfurl your heart to God, for you never know when his wind will rise your way. After, all, like the wind, the spirit is uncontrollable and unpredictable. ²

Each season of the year, God has something to teach us. As we view His world of creation and ponder the lessons it provides, let’s pray He will help us grow deep and strong, able to withstand the storms, and yet free and sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit, as we live day to day in order to declare His glory.

______________________

1 Information about “Aspens” from Wikipedia and from an article by R. Scott Rappold in “Out There Colorado,” September 19, 1918, published in the Gazette.

2 Tada, Joni Eareckson. More Precious Than Silver. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. Entry for September 11th.

 

 

Roots and Fruits

 

“He shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

—Psalm 1:3

Trees fascinate me. I love the variety, the shapes, the different leaves, and how the trees and leaves look in different seasons. Trees have often seemed like major décor in God’s world—decorating and defining space, shading, and quietly fluttering in the breeze.

I am impressed that, often, the Scriptural writers use trees to teach us, to describe a characteristic, and to liken the trees to some quality in our lives. In the verse at the beginning of this blog post, we see the offspring of a healthy tree: leaves and fruit. Often these elements supply life-sustaining food for humankind and animals. They also give evidence to us of health, strength, usefulness, and beauty.

Yet, we don’t often see the most important part of the tree because that part lies deep underground. In a healthy specimen, more than half of a tree remains beneath the surface of the ground. There, it reaches out for nourishment from the soil and for deep springs of life-giving water.

Trees that have stunted roots, those that grow quickly and sprout early, often do not have the stabilizing power of those that have grown over many years. Jesus uses this principle in His well-known “Parable of the Sower” found in Matthew 13:5, when He teaches about the farmer’s seed:

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Our growth in grace follows a similar timeline. God plants His Spirit in us. But, God wants to grow us deeply into the “soil” of His written Word wherein we will grow in our knowledge of, and relationship with, Him and His church.

We must not look for our Christian lives, or our churches, or our ministries to “spring up overnight.” Rather, we must allow time, difficulties, and the seasons of life to develop God’s process of deeply rooted spiritual growth.

Seeds of vegetation scattered on a soil with rocky places will spring up quickly and die off quickly because they haven’t grown deep roots into the nourishing soil. Likewise, our personal spiritual formation that develops too rapidly with unnatural enthusiasm and without putting deep “roots” into God’s written Word, without cultivating faithfulness to a local church, and without spending time with mature fellow Christians will ultimately run the risk of burning out and of failing to produce useful spiritual fruit.

Instead, let’s find a beautiful large tree. And, let’s think of the seasons of its life and how deeply the roots must have reached. Then, let’s allow God to mature us spiritually in the same way. We must remain patient and look forward to the sweet fruit and beautiful leaves which will surely appear.

 

 

Digging Ditches

 

Digging Ditches

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For this is what the Lord says: ‘You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.’ This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

—2 Kings 3:15-18 NIV

Are you ready for a blessing? King Joram of the Northern Kingdom and King Jehoshaphat of the Southern Kingdom had been marching with their armies for seven days. But, they had no water for themselves, or for their animals. They knew that they could never fight their enemy, Moab, in this condition.

They asked Elisha, the prophet of the Lord, what they should do in their helpless, desperate state. I like the fact that before Elisha gave an answer, he asked for a harpist to come and play music. During the music, God spoke to Elisha so he could share the words captured in the Scripture verses above.

Even though they asked Elisha to petition God in their behalf, these kings were not prepared to receive the blessing for which they were asking God. As Charles Spurgeon suggests,¹ they needed to make a…

…believing preparation for the divine blessing; they were to dig the trenches in which the precious liquid would be held.

How often do we pray, asking for God’s blessing, while we remain unprepared to receive the answer?

In a story recorded in Acts 12, when the disciples gathered for prayer for Peter’s release from prison, they were astonished when he stood at their door. Like them, we often pray without really believing in God’s miraculous ability to answer our sincere prayers.

If God has led us to pray for a blessing of deliverance, or enlargement, or wisdom, or protection, or peace, or anything else we desperately need, we must also show our faith in Him by preparing to receive that blessing. Although God may not use our expected methodology in answering our prayers, if we make a believing preparation to receive that answer, we will clearly see His answer come to pass.

______________________

1 Spurgeon, Charles H. Morning and Evening. McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company, Public Domain. p. 275.

—Posted: Monday, September 2, 2019

 

 

Sibling Rivalry

 

“If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.”

—Galatians 6:3-4

Where does sibling rivalry come from? Largely, I’d say, it comes from jealousy, selfishness, or both. Even the Bible has stories of such family arguments. These stories caution us about the common, but contentious, occasions between brothers and sisters, both at home and within our churches.

One such story occurs in Luke 10:38-42. You know how this story goes. Martha is cooking, while pots and pans pile up in the kitchen. But, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet listening to Him teach. Martha complains to Jesus and He sides with Mary because she chose to do “the most important thing.” Mature Martha loves Jesus. So, she undoubtedly responds in humility and love for her sister, as well.

Jesus tells another well-known story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. In this story, the younger brother rebelliously takes his inheritance money, recklessly spends it on foolishness, but later returns home to ask forgiveness from his father. The older brother, who has remained faithful and continued to work for his father at home, doesn’t appreciate the celebration and the banquet given to this ne’er-do-well sibling. The rift may have separated these brothers permanently. But, we aren’t told.

My last illustration from Scripture can be found in Mark 10:35-45. This story shows what can happen within a faith community infected with rivalry. Brothers James and John come to Jesus and ask if they can sit in the two most prominent seats in heaven—one on Jesus’ right and the other on His left. The remaining ten disciples became so indignant that Jesus has to sit them all down and tell them:

…whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.

These stories illustrate the way that small rifts between brothers and sisters can cause disunity in our homes, workplaces, and in our churches. Each such rift provides an entrance for the work of the evil one. This kind of disharmony harms the witness of the body of Christ and affects the power of the Holy Spirit to work freely in that body. Scripture admonishes us often to work at keeping peace with our brothers and sisters, particularly within the church.

As Paul tells Christ’s followers in Ephesians 4:3:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

We may expect, even tolerate, sibling rivalry between little children. But, among mature believers, we must ask God to protect us from the sins of jealousy and selfishness that create an atmosphere ripe for disunity. In our homes, in our places of work, and particularly in our churches, may God’s peace grow and abound to Christ’s glory!

 

 

Move Ahead

 

The Lord said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance.”

—Deuteronomy 1:6

I am “risk averse.” As a pianist and organist, I always look at printed music, even though I have a particular piece completely memorized. I try to stay out of crowds, afraid of the danger that may lurk there. I avoid certain sections of highway during snowstorms, lest I become involved in an accident. I like to plan ahead. And many times, I have opted to stay put rather than move ahead.

The Israelites showed this same kind of aversion to risk. Or, let’s be honest, they displayed a decided lack of faith during the time they wandered in the wilderness. They had certainly seen God perform amazing miracles for them in their escape from Egypt. He had supplied their needs and protected them. Still, they persisted, with heavy cement-laden feet, to resist forward movement in their lives, individually and as a nation.

When God calls us to take a risk, our arguments usually begin with a long list of “what ifs.”

• What if we come up against things we’ve never seen before—men that look like giants, violent land owners, walled cities we may have to conquer?
  
  
• What if we die of plague, starvation, wild beasts, or warring enemies?
  
  
• What if we run out of food or water?
  
  
• What if we take a wrong turn and lose our way?
  
  
• What if…

In the first two chapters of Deuteronomy, God reminded the Israelites of His faithfulness. And, He reminded them of their lack of faith. He had prepared really big things for them in the days ahead and He needed them to get moving.

Twice we read that God said, “You have stayed here long enough.” He reminded them that He had watched over them and provided for them for forty years. Later, He egged them on to move and take possession of the land He had promised them since the days of Abraham.

I like the second verse of the hymn, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.”¹

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy, and shall break
with blessing on your head.

When God prompts us to move on, to venture out and trust Him, we must move forward in faith, fully relying on His provision and protection. If we turn a deaf ear to God’s call to move onward and insist on standing still, mired in the fast-drying cement of our current situation, we stand the greater risk of getting stuck where nothing will move us.

______________________

1 Cowper, William. God Moves in a Mysterious Way. Verse Two. Public Domain.

 

 

Reflection

 

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

—John 8:12

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

—Matthew 5:14-16

Have you ever considered how differently the brightness of the moon affects what we can see at night? Driving seems so much easier. And, the distance we can see is so much farther. Nights with a full moon allow us to see so much more than we can see when the moonlight is absent or diminished.

Scientists tell us that the phases of the moon, and the amount of light we observe from the moon, results from how much of the moon’s surface faces the sun and reflects the sun’s radiance. The moon produces no light of its own. It serves only to reflect the glory of the sun.

When we meditate on Jesus’ words in the first Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post, where He told is that He is the Light of the World, we must realize that Jesus has given us the same designation that Creator God gave to the moon. As His devoted followers, Jesus expects us to understand that we give divine light to those around us only to the extent that we reflect Him. The more “face time” we have with Him, the more fully we will reflect His powerful light.

In the second Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post, where Jesus said that we are lights of the world, He used the illustration of a lamp. Even if we shine as lamps in this dark world, we must have oil, or power, from some source other than ourselves. The image of oil in the Bible often refers to the power of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot expect to give off the Light of Christ in this world unless we reflect Him, just as the moon reflects the sun, nor can we shine as lamps without the oil of the Holy Spirit. The divine light must come from outside our own selves.

This question, then, is worth asking ourselves: “Is the ‘light’ I give off coming from the dimly lit bulb of my own selfish glory, or do I truly reflect the glory of my blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the glory of God, my Father in Heaven?”

How we answer that important question makes a difference. And, that difference is like night and day!

 

 

Slaying the Dragon 1

 

	“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
	—James 4:7

David and Karen Mains, in their marvelous children’s book, Tales of the Kingdom,² tell a story of Amanda, a princess, who, despite warnings, takes home a dragon egg, hatches it, and makes a pet of the baby dragon. At first she enjoys playing with the little guy and does everything she can to domesticate it. But, before she realizes it, the dragon has become much too formidable for her to control and she has to kill it to save her own life.

Private sins are like that. We try to housebreak them and keep them under our control. Our secret fantasies, the so-called minor offenses we hide and whitewash, never stay the same. Like the dragon, they grow too large for us. The gossip we share with just one friend becomes too easy to share with many more. The anger we allow to spill out in occasional verbal outbursts at others soon becomes a way of life.

Recently I read this quote from J. C. Ryle in the book, Diamonds in the Dust ³ by Joni Eareckson Tada:

We are too apt to forget that temptation to sin will rarely present itself in its true colors. Never when we are tempted will we hear sin say to us, ‘I am your deadly enemy…I want to ruin your life.’ That’s not how it works. Sin, instead, comes to us like Judas with a kiss. It comes to us like Joab with outstretched hands and flattering words. Sin, in its beginnings, seems harmless enough—like David walking idly on his palace roof which happened to overlook the bedroom of a woman. You and I may give wickedness smooth-sounding names, but we cannot alter its nature and character in the sight of God.

We need to remember that the dragon has a burning breath and a dangerous tail. When we first entertain the idea of letting him near us, or even domesticating him for our pleasure, we need to slam the door on him and flee.

We can never hope to serve God effectively with known sins in our lives. The longer we let them grow, the more attached we become to them, and the harder it gets to slay them.

Please pray with me:

Oh, Lord, give us Your Holy Spirit’s power to recognize the first sign of a deadly sin and flee from it. Help us to stay very close to You, hour by hour, so that we can be protected by Your loving arms and have the power You give us to resist the devil. Amen.

______________________

1 This blog post was originally published on June 16, 2014.

2 Mains, David and Karen. Tales of the Kingdom (Kingdom Tales, Book 1). Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Publishing Company, ©1983, Chapter 10.

3 Tada, Joni Eareckson. Diamonds in the Dust. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, ©1993, Devotional for June 8th.

 

 

Little is Much

 

“Your procession has come into view, O God… There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them.”

—Psalm 68:24, 27

Jesus understood small things and appreciated their worth. In Luke 21:1-2, He remarked about an incident, barely noticed by anyone else:

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” He said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.”

Jesus honored the smallest things by pointing them out and using them for His glory. The story recorded in John 6:1-15 of the five thousand plus people who came to hear Jesus speak, points to His use of small things.

These people had come out from nearby towns and had been there many hours listening to Jesus. He told the disciples that they needed to feed them. They brought Jesus all they could find: the small lunch of a little boy that contained five small barley loaves and two fishes. Jesus showed His appreciation and used this small gift by multiplying it to serve all five thousand people present, with twelve baskets of food left over.

What do we have so little of that we feel God cannot use? Time? Money? Talent? Strength?

In Judges 6-8 we read the account of Gideon in the days when the Midianites invaded the land of Canaan. God called Gideon to save His people. In Judges 6:14-15, God said to Gideon:

“Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The story goes on to point out how God chose to use this reluctant warrior. God chose to use Gideon because Gideon was the weakest available: the runt of the litter.

We need to think beyond ourselves, too. Maybe God wants our family, or our neighborhood, or our work department, our school, or our office staff to do something big for Him. Even more, maybe He purposes to use our little church for a big ministry, when it may seem that plenty of mega-churches in our area could do the job so much easier.

God’s voice asks of the prophet in Zechariah 4:10:

“Who dares despise the day of small things?”

Instead of bemoaning our lack of anything, let’s praise God for small things and small strength. He wants to show His mighty power through us. May we submit to His will and watch the blessings follow!

 

 

Stepford Christians

 

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

—2 Corinthians 11:13-15

The 1975 movie, The Stepford Wives, has remained in my memory, not only as a very bizarre story, but as an example of how very like the “Men’s Association” our enemy—the prince of this world, Satan—operates.

The story takes place in the affluent idyllic town of Stepford, Connecticut. A new resident, Joanna, notices how strange all the women seem to appear. They are fawning wives, mindless, and perfect in every way.

What she doesn’t realize is that one-by-one, the husbands of the “Men’s Association,” who make it their mission to completely control their wives, have killed off their wives and replaced them with perfectly engineered robots. These robots look identical to the wives. And, the robot wifes have absolutely no flaws whatsoever.

These formerly very successful professional women, now transformed into robots, think only of pleasing their husbands in every way. Since they are not real, they have given up any resemblance to the actual personhood of each wife they have replaced.

Joanna watched as one of her more “normal” neighbors seemed to go through this metamorphosis. For one thing, her tennis court in the back yard was dug up and replaced with a putting green for her husband. Only when Joanna’s own family becomes victims of the “Men’s Association” does she try to escape in order to protect her own life.

We would all love to be the perfect model of a Christian, not only pleasing to God, but especially pleasing to each other. We study the right “moves” of Christians we admire and try very hard to imitate them. We learn to play the game of “church” and strive to never allow our own sinful natures to become visible. To openly acknowledge sin, to repent, to ask forgiveness takes too much humility. To do that we would have to admit we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength.

While it may seem honorable to overlook faults in others and to look for the best in each other and in our churches, we should never tolerate to just plainly cover-up sin and hide horrific wrong-doing. Christ did not die for people who pretend to be without fault. He died for sinners and welcomes anyone who in reality comes to Him in honest confession.

The world, like Joanna, watches us. Anything that smacks of being phony is clearly evident to them. Why would they want to join a group of perfect people anyway, especially when they know their own hearts?

We glorify God the most when we rely on Him for His grace to live our lives according to His desires and when we willingly acknowledge and repent of our sins. Away with the plastic complexion and the nylon hair, and the mindless play-act!

 

 

The End in Mind

 

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

—Philippians 1:6

I love the title of Eugene Peterson’s book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.¹ In this book, Peterson shares the “Psalms of Ascent.” Pilgrims repeated these Psalms as they traveled up to Jerusalem for feast days. Peterson likens the Christian walk to this pilgrimage.

God sees our lives, beginning to end, and plans to mature, or “complete,” us throughout. I understand the concept.

As a teacher, I can remember the fall when the school system changed my schedule from being an iterant teacher—in two or three buildings—and placed me at one elementary school full time. I could now think of these children as “mine.” And, I could map out what I felt they needed to learn, step-by-step, from kindergarten through the fourth grade. Even more, I could see them grow over these years.

This long view, or “longitudinal” plan, allowed me to plot each year. Then, I could plan each month or season. Finally, I could plan each individual lesson.

God has a longitudinal plan for our lives. Just as I didn’t share the full scope of the curriculum with my second graders, or burden them with constant assessments and adjustments for their growth, neither does God do this with us.

Sometimes, it looks as though God must not have a plan. Or, it appears that we have gotten off track somehow. In Romans 8:28, God assures us that:

…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Said another way, His plan for us, though it may seem hidden, will weave all the threads together in the end.

Carolyn Custis James, in her book, Lost Women of the Bible,² describes those who walk this long walk as theologians. She writes:

The word theologian doesn’t appear in the Bible. Old Testament writers used a warmer, user-friendly expression, describing people who “walked with God.” A theologian takes a long walk through life with God—living in his presence, going his way, learning to see the world through his eyes, and getting to know his character so that trusting him in the dark stretches won’t be quite so hard. The theologian sees God at the center of everything. She lives with a profound confidence that he holds the whole world (including her) in his hands.

Sometimes it seems we are not moving forward. From day to day, things look and feel the same to us. But, when we look back, and we can do this through meditation and through looking at former journal entries we’ve written, we see that, indeed, God has led us, and we have moved closer to His ideal.

While on the pilgrimage, enjoy the sights. Know that God has planned this marvelous journey with a magnificent end!

______________________

1 Peterson, Eugene H. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction 2nd edition. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2000.

2 James, Carolyn Custis. Lost Women of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing Company, 2005. p. 34.

 

 

The Child Proclaims the Parent

 

“Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

—Matthew 5:16

When people observe a male child, we often hear them remark, “He looks so much like his father.” Within a family, we can see, even more closely, the presence of family resemblances. “Aunt Roberta’s hands remind me of Grandma’s.” Or, “I see that Joey is losing his hair at just about the same age as his father did.”

During my years as an elementary and middle school teacher, I heard the comment after colleagues met parents at conference time: “Well, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree!” Our children do not only carry the physical characteristics of their parents. They also often carry the personality traits and life styles, as well.

The sentence from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” stated at the beginning of this blog post, speaks to us in a similar vein. When people see our good deeds, they shouldn’t praise us, but rather they should praise our Heavenly Father.

Do we often think of the loving Creator-Sustainer God when we see His good works in the people that we know? Do we cause people to pause and consider our own behavior, as though Christ Himself is living His life in us and through us?

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones puts it this way:¹

The child tells us a great deal about his parents, does he not? The child not merely tells us things about himself, he tells us much more about his parents. As you watch the behavior of a child you are really learning a great deal about the discipline, or lack of it, at home. The child proclaims the parent.

In referring to Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus speaks about loving our enemies, blessing those that curse us, doing good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us. Why should we do all these things? We do these things that we may be children of our Father who is in heaven.

Again, Dr. Lloyd-Jones writes:²

That is why we have to do it, that we may be like our Father, that we may proclaim the family to which we belong… So the next time you are in doubt about some course of action, whether you should do a certain thing or not, do not spend your time arguing with someone as to whether it is right or wrong, simply ask, “Is that sort of thing worthy of my Father’s son [or daughter]? Is it consistent with the family to which I belong, the Father who has put His own name on me and whom I represent among men?”

Parents hope for their children to represent the family well, to make them proud, to have others observe what the years of training, disciplining, and loving have produced. In the same way, our Heavenly Father looks at us and desires that we represent the family into which He has placed us. Out of sheer gratitude, we should apply ourselves to look like Him!

______________________

1 Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. God’s Way of Reconciliation. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972. p. 334.

2 Ibid.

 

 

Imitate

 

“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

—1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV

Can you say, “Imitate me?” Can I? I’m not talking about a “Simon Says” game here. This declaration to “Imitate me” comes from the divinely inspired words of the Apostle Paul.

When I held my public school teaching position, I often thought about my “off-duty” persona, my example in the community. I know many teachers who say, “What I do on my own time is my own business!” They give little or no thought about the kind of influence they have on anyone watching them during non-school hours. But we, as Christ’s ambassadors, have a higher calling (2 Corinthians 5:20).

We study God’s written Word to see what God may instruct us about this or that circumstance and how we should live among those who don’t know Him. According to 1 Timothy 4:12 (NKJV), God wants us to:

…be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Even knowing these words of instruction, we constantly fail at this kind of living. But, if we study our own behaviors and stay attuned to the Spirit of Christ—the Holy Spirit—He will prick our conscience when we need His forgiveness and restitution because of our deeds, and when we need a heartfelt turn-around.

We must remember that people watch our lives and either have their negative suspicions about God and the church verified by the way we behave. Or, through our faithful behavior, they come to understand our Savior, as they view His divine Presence in our lives.

In addition to unbelievers, we can be sure that children and new believers in the faith constantly look to us for examples of behavior they should imitate. Whether we present them with good behavior or bad behavior, we have a profound effect on their spiritual growth. Their Christian formation, their language, their reverence for the things of God, their priorities all take on the qualities they see in us.

In a day when young people see popular “models to imitate” in rock stars, celebrities, even political figures, we must attune our hearts and our lives so that we imitate the Lord Jesus Christ in all things. If we do this, we will live our lives in a way that will become worth imitating!

 

 

Perspective

 

“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.”

—Isaiah 40:22

You may remember the 1989 movie, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” in which a scientist father accidently shrinks his two teen-age children and two of their friends. This poses all kinds of dangerous threats to these teens, as they battle to stay away from danger while their father searches for them.

Sometimes our perspective gets out of whack, just as things did in this movie. We see problems that loom nearby in such a way that we dwarf God by allowing Him to fall away into the background. In such a case, we need an adjustment to our perspective.

Many of the Psalms reveal the way in which saints of the past had to deal with their perspective. Some Psalms begin with tales of woes too large with which the psalmists can cope. Once they get a different view of God, the enormity of their problems contract to a much more manageable size.

In Psalm 73, Asaph, the musician, begins his Psalm remembering how he had nearly slipped away because he was looking at the prosperity and the seeming good luck of the wicked. He says he felt oppressed until he entered God’s sanctuary and got a different perspective. He ended the Psalm praising God’s goodness and sharing his gratitude for the riches of God’s grace. Verses 25 and 26 give us a glimpse:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Many times the psalmists have to remind themselves of the greatness of God. They do this by talking directly to themselves through the words they write in their Psalms.

This same kind of reminder can stir us, as well. We can see God, in His proper perspective, in our church services, or after a prolonged period of time spent in reading His written Word. When this happens, we see the extent of our woes in a much clearer way. We can shrink them down to size and allow God to show us His power and wisdom that rule over us.

I like the way that Paul explains the process of moving from despair to faith by means of a new perspective in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

It’s important for us to remember that a proper perspective can change everything!

 

 

The Art of the Blend

 

“God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

—1 Corinthians 12:18

When we think of the work of an oil painter, we often neglect to consider the artistic competence and sensitivity needed to prepare the paint used for the project. A good artist considers the pigments of color and the medium through which to use those colors. He or she also chooses between solvents for the viscosity (thickness) of the paint and the varnish that will give the appropriate glossiness to the finished work.

Perfumers also study their art by learning about the distinguishing characteristics of fragrances. Because of the keen sense of smell needed, the most skilled ones of these people get dubbed “Noses” by those in that field. Such perfumers know the strengths and power of each fragrance and carefully blend only those which augment the others.

Similarly, organists exhibit concern about what choices they make in registering the sounds for each piece of music they play. My first organ teacher quizzed me for the names of each pipe when I had my eyes closed. Is the sound a reed, a flute, a diapason, or a string? Does it match the intended mood the composer of the music requires for this particular piece? Is one stop too sharp to play alongside another because it will cover the sound or blend poorly?

God, the most creative of all artists, looks at His church in much the same way as these other professionals look at the works they produce. He desires to create something beautiful for His world out of the flesh and blood of His people in specific locations. Look around at your local church. God has placed people of various ages, various races, various abilities, and various limitations.

He has carefully gifted His people with talents and abilities, and with a wide range of life experiences. Children love to gather around old Uncle Pete because of his kind and loving ways. Grandma Pearl gets everyone laughing each time they talk with her. Roy has such knowledge of Scripture that people flock to his class. And, Ruby sings like an angel and brings the Holy Spirit near whenever the congregation hears her voice.

Carrie and Fred have owned a successful business for many years and they freely give of the wealth God has provided them. They love to see God’s church blessed through their giving. Beverly doesn’t have money or abilities to teach, but when she gets in the kitchen she blesses the entire congregation through the foods that she so lovingly prepares.

God also places His people in churches where they need growth and maturity—perhaps even through learning to get along with others who see things in opposite ways from them. He is creating a beautiful body of work for His glory. We should stand in awe of His workmanship.

Look at those in your church as instruments in God’s hands, as gifts to you and others, and see yourself in a way that makes you happy to share with others the qualities that God has given you. Stand back and look at the picture God is painting in your congregation. Take time to smell the aroma of His blessing. Pause in a quiet moment to hear the music of His joy in your midst.

Praise the Artist of Heaven today for the magnificently creative way He has blended the people in your church into a powerful force for His Kingdom!