God’s Hidden Face

 April 30, 2021

“In my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved...You hid your face and I was troubled.” 

—Psalm 30:6

Years ago when we first contemplated mission trips to Cuba, I told Willie, our connection to the nation, that if our going was a one-way street, I wasn’t interested. By that, I didn’t mean one-way ticket, but that if mission work is to be healthy, there must be learning, giving, and receiving on both sides. We were able to bring in resources unavailable to them—medicines, educational materials, cash. They were often unable to obtain even basic supplies we take for granted, but they had something we have been unable to obtain—faith tested in the fires of adversity.

It’s easy to be confident when everything is going our way. Americans often seem to specialize in “Good-Time Christianity.” God’s blessings are measured in prosperity, health, and the absence of difficulties. So when trouble hits, we collapse like a house of cards. We understand that building muscle requires the adversity of weights, of pushing oneself beyond comfort, but we often fail to see the same is true in the realm of the spirit. Building spiritual muscle is impossible without adversity—when God “hides his face.” When the medical test results indicate cancer, when served with divorce papers, when handed the pink slip or failing grade, when we cannot see or feel his presence, will we even then trust and follow Christ? 

There is an ebb and flow to faith reflected in this psalm; from rejoicing to desperation to dancing and thanksgiving. All are part and parcel of a living faith in Christ. Christianity is not all “happy, happy, joy, joy.” C.S. Lewis put it this way: “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” What faith in Christ can do however, is give the fortitude to handle adversity with a calm and steady soul. In these present times, that is no small grace.

Through the Storm

 April 29, 2021

“The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon.

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!”” —Psalm 29:3-5, 8-9 

It’s been raining all day, so the creek behind our home is angry and swollen. It’s been worse, the water edging toward the top of the bank, but in the eight years we’ve been here, it’s never overflowed. I’ve lived through a flood. Our oldest was born in the middle of a flood that ravaged the entire Southern Tier of New York. Our drive to the hospital was somewhat circuitous, finally ending short of the destination when the rising Allegany River halted our progress. As I was parking our borrowed car, Linda was taken across the flood waters in an Army duck; I managed to follow later, and filled sandbags to help contain the river the next three days and sleeping on a two-person love seat in the hospital at night. Floodwaters are powerful and destructive. 

This psalm gives glory to God in the face of creation’s violence; the waters rise, thunder fills the air, trees are snapped like twigs, the land trembles, and the LORD rules over it all. When this psalm was written, the popular culture worshipped a god named Baal, the fearsome god of the storm. “The LORD,” writes David, “sits enthroned at the flood; the LORD sits as king forever.” As terrifying as a storm can be, even in all its destruction, our God rules; he decides how hard the wind blows, how far the waters rise, where and how the earth splits and quakes.

But David isn’t writing merely about natural disasters here; he speaks also to the crises of our day, the political and social upheaval that at a moment can sweep away the order and structure of society that has been built up for centuries. People today are trembling in fear at the storm raging in our land; that which had seemed so steadfast and secure is yielding to the onslaught of forces seemingly unstoppable. The foundations are being shaken. How are we to respond to such events?

The psalm begins with “Give to the LORD the glory due to his name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (v.2), and ends with, “THe Lord will give strength to his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” When we begin with worship, when we live in holiness, no matter how furious the storm, our God who rules above the storm and all its false gods, gives strength and peace. It rained all day; the creek rages, but the day began in worship. I’ve found my strength, and am at peace. 

The Briar Patch

 April 28, 2021

In case anyone is wondering, Linda is by far the more spiritually minded person in the Bailey household. Let me explain. 

Being such a beautiful day, I decided to tackle one of the pre-wedding reception chores on Linda’s list—pulling and cutting down the briars between our yard and the creek bank. They have been growing there for quite a few years, so are deeply rooted and are an ugly, intertwined mess. Leather gloves are mandatory for such projects, but there isn’t much protection for the arms. Inevitably, the arms get impaled with prickers; there is no realistic way to prevent it, so when she came out to check my progress and saw my arms running with blood, she was sympathetic. That’s good.

Even better was when she commented that every time she has anything to do with pricker bushes (as she calls them), she thinks of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns as he was crucified for our sins. “I can’t imagine the pain he went through for us,” she mused. Like I said, she is more spiritual than I.

“When I think of briars like this,” I responded, “I think of Bre’r Rabbit begging Bre’r Bear and Bre’r Fox not to throw him into the briar patch.” In case you’re not familiar with the story of Bre’r Rabbit and the Tar Baby, the pertinent part goes like this:

I've got you this time, Brer Rabbit," said Brer Fox, jumping up and shaking off the dust. "You've sassed me for the very last time. Now I wonder what I should do with you?"

Brer Rabbit's eyes got very large. "Oh please Brer Fox, whatever you do, please don't throw me into the briar patch."

"Maybe I should roast you over a fire and eat you," mused Brer Fox. "No, that's too much trouble. Maybe I'll hang you instead."

"Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."

"If I'm going to hang you, I'll need some string," said Brer Fox. "And I don't have any string handy. But the stream's not far away, so maybe I'll drown you instead."

"Drown me! Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."

"The briar patch, eh?" said Brer Fox. "What a wonderful idea! You'll be torn into little pieces!"

Grabbing up the tar-covered rabbit, Brer Fox swung him around and around and then flung him head over heels into the briar patch. Brer Rabbit let out such a scream as he fell that all of Brer Fox's fur stood straight up. Brer Rabbit fell into the briar bushes with a crash and a mighty thump. Then there was silence.

Brer Fox cocked one ear toward the briar patch, listening for whimpers of pain. But he heard nothing. Brer Fox cocked the other ear toward the briar patch, listening for Brer Rabbit's death rattle. He heard nothing.

Then Brer Fox heard someone calling his name. He turned around and looked up the hill. Brer Rabbit was sitting on a log combing the tar out of his fur with a wood chip and looking smug.

"I was bred and born in the briar patch, Brer Fox," he called. "Born and bred in the briar patch."

And Brer Rabbit skipped away as merry as a cricket while Brer Fox ground his teeth in rage and went home. —from Joel Chandler Harris

Linda thinks of the wounds of Jesus, and all I think of is Bre’r Rabbit and the briar patch. Go figure! 

There is however, one thing about the briar patch that is worth a moment’s reflection. Sin is like those briars; left to grow, their roots go deep, and the branches get intertwined. Where one touches the ground, it too, takes root, and getting rid of them takes a lot of often painful work. Even when we want to be rid of them, they grab at us, sink their barbs into us, leaving us bleeding and sore. The more I let sin build up, the harder it is to rid myself of it. When I try pulling it out or cutting it down, its barbs dig into my soul, clinging tightly and letting go only by the greatest of effort. In Hebrews 12:1, we are commanded to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The writer adds, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” —Hebrews 12:1-2

If we need any motivation to do this, it is simply this: Jesus went through the briar patch of our sins, and even more, to secure our salvation. How can I do any less than to do whatever it takes to root out and rip up those thorny sins, even if it leaves me bleeding?

Sweeter than Honey

April 27, 2021

“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; 

The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 

More to be desired are they than gold, 

Yea, than much fine gold; 

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” —Psalm 19:9-10

“How sweet are Your words to my taste, 

Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

—Psalm 119:103 

When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, he repeatedly told them of the land to which they were going, describing it as a land “flowing with milk and honey.” These words described the fecundity of their inheritance, the richness of the land and its ability not only to provide for them, but to provide richly. In our modern Western world where the supermarket shelves are full and produce from all over the world is available year round, we have lost the ability to appreciate the wonder such a bountiful land would have appeared to people whose entire lives were spent living on the knife-edge of survival. 

The Psalms take this abundance and connect it to the Word of the Lord. It’s not just the land, but the presence of God manifested in his Law and words that blesses his people with abundance. 

Today was invested in the two young girls being tutored by our granddaughter Alex. Al called me a few days ago to tell me one of the magazines she uses as a teaching aid had an article about honeybees, and wondered if she could bring the girls over for a hands-on experience. Of course, I readily agreed, and set about making adequate preparations. I had two colonies die over the winter, so had plenty of honey ready for harvesting. Some of it had crystallized, but there was still plenty ready for harvest. I dug out my extractor, gathered other supplies so I could show the girls up close the inside of a hive. We had a wonderful time, seeing the bees working the honeycomb, watching young bees emerging from their cells, and seeing the larvae curled up and growing, waiting to be sealed in. 

They watched the bees landing and entering the hive, legs laden with pollen. For two little girls who had been afraid of bees, they were troopers! We made beeswax candles, they tasted the difference between the processed honey sold in stores and honey fresh from the comb. They scraped the capping from the comb and spun out the honey. Alex sent me a photo of them enjoying the honey I sent home with them as they had their afternoon snack. 

Honey is such a concentrated sugar that it cannot spoil. It is antibacterial, and local honey can help those suffering from pollen related allergies. But only a few are willing to risk being stung in order to harvest it. Handling the boxes of frames filled with honey is not for the faint of heart or body, as a single box can weigh 80-100 pounds. Getting the honey from the comb to the table takes a lot of work. So it is also with God’s Word. Many eager to let others do the heavy lifting so they can enjoy its sweetness at the table, are unwilling to do the hard work of studying the Scriptures and tasting its sweetness first hand. Too many never experience the unparalleled sweetness of God’s Word straight from the comb, settling for the processed stuff that cannot compare with the real thing. I am privileged to keep bees, but even more so to be able to dig into God’s Word for myself. It is so very sweet!

 

Discrimination

 April 26, 2021

“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.”

—James 2:1 

The language has changed over the years, but the problem hasn’t. James is warning his people of the sin of discrimination. The Jewish believers to whom James wrote were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, and had experienced their share of discrimination. The early Church, largely made up of the lower classes, were often ostracized and mistreated without any possibility of recourse. When these kinds of things happen, we tend to huddle with people who understand and are supportive, i.e. people like ourselves. It’s understandable, but can be dangerous if we gravitate only towards people who look, act, and think like ourselves. Our perspective can become truncated and narrow—just the opposite of the God who loved the world so much he sent his only Son to die on a cross to save us.

Most churches struggle with this. We forget that when a stranger walks into a church for the first time, it takes an enormous amount of courage. He doesn’t know the culture, doesn’t know the people, doesn’t know what is expected. Church is an alien country with no familiar landmarks. In spite of this, most church goers are so busy catching up with their friends that they don’t notice the nervous newcomer who is left to fend for himself. We are unintentionally discriminating, erecting walls that to the visitor hold enormous invisible signs saying, “You’re not welcome here!” 

James says discrimination is as much of a sin as adultery or murder. He doesn’t address the larger cultural issues of discrimination that are tearing our country apart. Most of us cannot do much to affect those matters, but we can make sure people are welcome in the family of God, no matter how they look, smell, or behave. As some wag once said, “When Jesus told us to be fishers of men, he gave us the job of catching them. It’s his job to clean them.”

A Way Out

 April 25, 2021

Whenever we imagine things have never been worse than they are today, a little history is helpful. In Hosea 4:1-3, Hosea looks around and sees a culture in decay. “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God; only cursing, lying, murder, theft, and adultery...They break all restraint, and there is bloodshed upon bloodshed.” If Hosea were alive today, he would be saying the very same things. As Solomon observed, “There is nothing new under the sun.” 

After describing the moral climate of the day, Hosea turns to the physical—the geologic and meteorological climate, but with a different perspective than we se in today’s news. He speaks of climate change, but links it to the moral decline: “The land mourns, people waste away, animals die.” Our modern obsession with climate change cannot explain nor cure our planet’s problems, which according to Hosea, are more spiritual and moral than physical.  Until we clean up our lives and culture, things will only get worse.

We are enamored with education, which unfortunately, has become polarized and politicized by media and politicians. We are told how we need to educate ourselves about these matters, but when people do so in a way that crosses the cultural narrative, the quest for knowledge is cut off at the knees. Hosea anticipates this as he says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...they have rejected knowledge, ignored the truth” (v.6). Knowledge is good unless we know a bunch of things that aren’t true.

There is good news in all this, however. At the end of the chapter (v. 15), he says, “Though you commit adultery, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty.” Israel was the northern kingdom that had originally been united with Judah under David and Solomon. A separate nation for generations, they plunged headlong into idolatry right from the start. Hosea speaks to his people in Judah. We don’t have to follow the evil and ill-advise ways of those around us. God in Christ gives freedom. 

Purity

April 24, 2021

When something is pure, it is unmixed with anything else. Pure gold has no other elements in it. Pure water has no contaminates. A pure heart is singly devoted, unmixed with alternate loyalties. Psalm 24 posits purity as a condition for ascending the hill of the LORD, ie. presenting oneself for worship. “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (vv. 3-4). 

This presents us with a problem: Who can say their heart is pure? As Jeremiah noted, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (17:9). That certainly describes me; my only hope is to even with a hopelessly impure heart, to seek Christ. The psalmist describes those who can stand before and receive the blessing of the LORD: “They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob” (vv. 5-6). The promise of the Gospel is that if I seek him, he will be found. Isaiah commands us: 

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. 

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, 

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

—Isaiah 55:6-7 

What’s more, if I open the gates of my deceitful and wicked heart, the Lord of Glory will enter in:

“Lift up your heads, you gates; 

be lifted up, you ancient doors, 

that the King of glory may come in. 

Who is this King of glory? 

The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.”

—Psalm 24:7-8 

As Luke 15 reminds us, he has been seeking us long before we began seeking him. As imperfect as I am, if I merely open the gates of my heart and turn from my unrighteousness, he will enter, and when he enters, he bestows upon me his own purity. I know the times I have been double minded, when my heart is torn between my will and God’s. It is unsettling, and weighs me down. But when I, even with a divided mind, begin to seek him, I discover he has been looking for me, and when I open the gates of my heart, he strides in victoriously, rooting out any remnants of resistance and establishing the peace that only comes from a pure heart.

 

A Proud Heart

 April 23, 2021

Pastor Joe read Psalm 131 for this morning’s online devotional, telling people in the process that it’s my favorite psalm. It is, and his meditation got me to thinking. One of the reasons it’s my favorite is that it’s short and therefore, easy to memorize. At my age, I’ll take any advantage I can get. Here it is in it’s entirety:

“My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; 

I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 

But I have calmed and quieted myself, 

I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. 

Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”

Psalms 131:1-3 NIV

The key to this psalm is the verb tense in verse 3. “Surely I HAVE quieted my soul.” Before thinking about great matters, he quieted his soul before God. No matter how compelling it might be, I cannot start the day with the news, or my soul will spend the entire day playing catch up with God. Too often, I get things out of order. Instead of starting the day quieting my soul in the presence of the LORD, I concern myself with things beyond me, reading the news or thinking about all the craziness in the world today. Now wonder there is so much anger and anxiety, when we stay glued to the news all day long.

One of the mistakes we make in our life of faith is when we fail to distinguish between what God does in and for us, and what he intends for us to do ourselves. Verse 2 begins, “I have quieted my soul.” He doesn’t expect God to settle him; it is his own responsibility. We want God to give us peace, to calm us down when we feel anxious, but the Bible here tells us it is something we need to do ourselves. The only way I know to calm down is to slow down. We cannot quiet our souls when we’re in a hurry. It takes time for the soul to settle, to breathe deeply of the atmosphere of heaven. If all I give God is a few quick minutes before I rush into the day, it isn’t God’s fault if the matters of life overwhelm me.

One of the lessons I learned when i began my journey of gratitude is how hard it was to detach myself from political and social ruminations. It felt as if I were shirking my duty when I didn’t respond to a Facebook post, but over time, I learned that in social media, we’re preaching to the choir, and no one’s mind gets changed because I came up with a witty response to some of the crazy stuff people put out. It’s a matter of pride. The psalm begins by saying, “My heart is not proud,” but what else is it when we think it’s our responsibility to change someone’s mind, especially when it’s someone we’ve never even met? Fixating on the issues of the day only serves to secure pride in my heart while it keeps us from our proper focus in the presence of Christ. I am thankful tonight for this short psalm that helps me keep grounded in the presence of the Almighty Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

COVID Salvation

 April 22, 2021

Words have meaning. Words also have power, so if the meaning can be changed, the power shifts, which is why so much political talk is all about subtly altering the meaning of words till they no longer convey what they mean, but what the speaker wants them to mean. But words are still important, which is why when reading Scripture, we pay attention to them.

In the 17th chapter of the Gospel that bears his name, Luke relates an incident involving ten lepers. Jesus was passing through the area when these men accosted him from a distance. Back then, leprosy wasn’t understood except for the fact that it was contagious, disfiguring, and resulted in social isolation. A person with leprosy was required to live in a separate place from the general population, and if someone got near, had to cover his mouth and nose and cry out, “Leper!” as a warning. 

Leprosy is now known as Hansen’s disease. Contrary to common understanding, it doesn’t rot the skin and make fingers and toes fall off. It affects the nerves, rendering them incapable of communicating pain, so someone with this affliction may pick up a hot pan that without them feeling anything, severely burns them. People with untreated Hansen’s disease injure themselves without realizing what is happening. In the days before modern medicines, the result would be infection and gangrene. 

In Luke’s story, Jesus encounters ten lepers, nine of whom were Jewish, and the tenth a Samaritan—a despised half-breed. They all called from the proper distance; their plea was simple: “Have mercy on us!” Instead of reaching out to touch them one by one, he merely told them to go and show themselves to the priests who were charged with the responsibility to determine if someone were able to re-enter society. This is where the story gets interesting. Luke says, “as they were going, they were cleansed.” Somewhere along the way, their skin was no longer blemished with oozing sores. They were, in the words of the text, “cleansed.” 

One of them realized that something significant had happened. Luke says “he saw that he was healed” (v. 15). This was more than a clearing up of the skin like what would happen if a medicinal creme were applied. Something had happened inside him, so he turned back to say thank you. 

Jesus’ response is classic. “Ten were healed. Where are the other nine?” He spoke to this one who had returned, “Get up and go your way; your faith has made you well.” This latter word is translated in the old versions as “whole.” It is the same word used for “salvation.” 

In this short narrative, three different words are used to describe the healing Jesus offered. They all were made clean, one was healed, and not only was his body made well, but he was made whole, ie. relationships interrupted by the rules of the day could now be restored, the parts of his life that had been shattered by this disease could be put back together, and life in its fullness was again possible.

In a world devastated not only by the disease of COVID, but by the mandated restrictions imposed by the powers of government, we are needing more than a superficial cleansing of the disease. We need inner healing, and we need our communities and families to be made whole once more. It’s not enough to “flatten the curve,” or to gain herd immunity. The division and isolation imposed upon us will continue to plague us unless we are made whole, ie. reunited with one another. Jesus tells us how that can happen: “by your faith.” People are living in fear that causes them to live in distrust. Until we begin to trust one another, to believe in the healing power of Christ, and to move from fear, anger, and distrust to gratitude for all God has done for us, we may find somewhat of a cure, but will never be made whole, never be saved from the devastation of this pandemic.

Contemplation

 April 21, 2021

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a right spirit within me.”

—Psalm 51:10

David had sinned grievously, raping Bathsheba, then arranging for the murder of her husband. He thought he had everything figured out, that he had covered everything up, attended to all the details. Time went by, and it looked like he had gotten away with it. The baby Bathsheba had carried for nine months was born. Nobody knew. But God saw, and informed the prophet Nathan, who confronted David. The guilt must have been building for those nine months, because David didn’t deny it, offer excuses, or justify his actions. He repented and confessed. And he wrote this psalm, a wrenching heart cry of guilt and grief. 

I wonder how long it took him to write this. These are not words dashed off in a fit of inspiration. They are words wrenched from the depths, shaped and chiseled and polished laboriously till they glow with a dark light and wail with anguish. I once listened to this kind of wailing of guilt and despair, and hope I never have to hear it again. Nine months it built up within him till Nathan hit the pressure valve and the guilt and shame came bursting forth. But these words...these words relive the agony that still haunted him.

I’ve listened to Christians who speak as if they are beyond sinning. Oh, they may commit some minor piccalilli, some inadvertent misstep, but real gut-wrenching sin? Oh no; that is long behind them. I imagine David thought so, too, until Nathan stood before him, stretched forth his hand, pointed his finger and whispered, “YOU are the man!” 

I’ve mentioned this before, but one thing I appreciated about the Orthodox tradition is their awareness of sin. It is never something only in the past, but always present before them. This sounds somewhat morose until we give it a bit of reflection. This awareness only comes through spending much time in prayer and worship. One cannot cultivate such spiritual sensitivity with short, casual encounters with the Holy One. Such truncated devotional times may feel good, but don’t allow the mirror of the Word to reflect the light of Christ into the dark places our hearts where we keep our secret sins hidden away from the gaze of others. 

Just as a bleached white shirt stands in stark contrast to an un bleached white shirt, so it is with us. We wear our white shirts into God’s presence and expect him to be impressed. We offer our prayers, read our Scriptures, and go on our way before God has the chance to reveal to us Christ in all his blazing glory. If we only waited a little longer in prayer, we might have seen the contrast and repented of our shabby self-righteousness. 

The glory of the Cross is that when we humble ourselves before the Thrice Holy One, confessing our sins, as minute or heinous as they might seem to us, when we give the Holy Spirit time to percolate deep into the recesses of our hearts. Jesus comes to us, removes our faded clothes of man-made righteousness, and drapes the glory of his purity over us.

Survival Guide

April 20, 2021

“One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”

When a dear Christian sister posted this recently, its significance struck me. We often ask God why we must go through the difficulties we encounter, why he doesn’t just make it all go away. I think the answer is in part because we don’t live just unto ourselves, but for one another. The Bible is filled with stories of people who overcame; they often failed and fell short, but in refusing to give up, they overcame. We read their stories and are encouraged, but often forget that those stories are still being written today.

Chuck Swindoll said something today that underscores the importance of our stories. He said stories are pictures that become mirrors that become windows. We read or hear the story—a picture of what God is doing. We hold it up and if we look, we can see ourselves somewhere in that story. If as James says, we look into the mirror of God’s Word (his stories), we have a choice as to whether or not we make changes according to what we see. I know when I read these stories, more often than not I see things in me that need to change. If I follow through, then the mirror that I held before me begins to become a window through which I see others and the world.

If we tell our story of God’s grace for those times we went through the valley of the shadow of death, the listener can hold it up and perhaps see himself in it. If he then makes the changes needed, that story can become a window through which he beholds an entirely new life. Our story becomes their survival guide.

 

Tough Times

 April 19, 2021

When I read, I have to know how things fit together. A novel is more than a collection of random thoughts or story lines. A good novel may have two or three subplots that seem unrelated but come together in the end. The same is true of a good movie or TV show. Linda and I like watching British mysteries where it’s necessary to pay attention to little details that seem to have no purpose. It’s those details that bring the various story lines together into a coherent whole.

This need to fit things together applies to my Bible reading also. The various books of the Bible are not random and unrelated stories. They have a coherency that may be foreign to us in Western 21st century, but it is there, waiting to be ferreted out. Yesterday, pastor Joe began a sermon series on the book of James, and tonight at men’s group, we began a corresponding study of this same book. It doesn’t readily yield its structure; we had to work hard to coax it out of hiding.  

In the first chapter, James begins by talking about enduring tough times, inserts a couple verses about wealth and poverty, then resumes his thoughts about trials and temptations. On the surface, it appears to be a hodge-podge of thoughts written down in a stream of consciousness, but there is more order to it than meets the eye.

In verses 2-8 James speaks of tough times as God’s tools for shaping us into people of character and endurance. He tells us to learn to endure trials because that’s the only way we become all God intends us to be. When tough times come however, we need wisdom to know how to handle them. God doesn’t lead us by the nose; he gives us the freedom to make decisions within the boundaries of the moral, ethical, and spiritual guidelines given in the Scriptures. When making decisions, James tells us to ask for wisdom, and God will give it. We ask in faith, trusting his promise and refusing to second guess our decisions.

Sometimes however, even though we ask for wisdom and make the best decisions we know how to make, things can blow up in our faces. That’s what verses 12-18 are all about. At such times, we’re tempted to blame God for our bad decisions: “I prayed and trusted Jesus. It must have been his will to do this to me to teach me a lesson.” James corrects that kind of thinking. “Let no one say when he is tempted (or goes through trials—the same Greek word is used for testing, trials, and temptations—that God is doing this to me. God doesn’t work that way.” God is the giver of good gifts, James says. In spite of our best intentions and motives, sometimes we miss the mark. It’s not God’s fault; it’s life. We face a difficult situation. We ask God for wisdom. We make a decision. It may work out, in which case God is happy to share the honor with us. It may explode in our faces, but when it does, it isn’t God punishing us. We simply got it wrong, so we confess it and move on (1 John 1:9). 

The most common New Testament word for sin means “to miss the mark.” It is unintentional; we tried our best, but our aim was off or our technique was faulty and we missed the bulls-eye. When we acknowledge our sin, we confess it, receive forgiveness and cleansing, and move on. And if we’ve been paying attention, we actually got a little wiser in the process; God has answered that prayer, just as he said he would. We endured, and are a bit more fit for God’s purposes than before. That’s worth offering a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to our good heavenly Father.

Anthems of Praise

 April 18, 2021

One of God’s special gifts to us is music. It has almost divine potential to stir or soothe the spirit. God used David’s harp to settle king Saul when the latter was oppressed by demonic beings. Choirs often led Israel’s soldiers into battle. The entire book of Psalms are songs, often prayers set to music. Melody, harmony, and rhythm are the musical trinity that comprises composition. It’s tragic that among the casualties of COVID induced hysteria are the music programs of our public schools. At a time when we need such expressions the most, they have disappeared. Musical venues across the country have been on standby for a year, and the damage is almost palpable. 

Churches often are among the first casualties of the dearth of musicians. Churches used to be where musicians cut their teeth. Many of the most popular singers of the 50’s through the 90’s got their start in church choirs. In our increasingly secularized society, this is less and less common, but our church is one of the exceptions to the rule. The music this morning lifted my spirit and opened my heart to receive God’s blessing. Ashley led, not only singing the lyrics, but gracing us with her incomparable smile and the warmth of her heart. Bri’s lead on “The Great I Am” was soul-stirring, while Nate’s enthusiasm with the rockabilly “Get Up,” and Katie leading the way on “Just a Closer Walk” rounded out a joy filled morning. The instrumentalists laid the foundation so well, I was itching to start a conga line. COVID related guidelines did manage to intervene to spare the congregation that spectacle.

Fast forward to 5:30, and I had the privilege of teaching beginning bass to Ethan, a young man who is eager to learn, and will hopefully someday add his talent and heart to the worship team. I am so grateful for the musicians God has given us; I know congregations who would consider themselves blessed to have a single person who could play the piano or guitar even in a rudimentary fashion. We have been blessed with three different teams and a youth band whose harmonies are exquisite. With the kids taking lessons in our School of the Arts, the excellence that blessed us this morning will continue for years to come. I am not only grateful for the musicians we have, but also for the foresight of those who saw an opportunity and poured time and energy into assembling a team of teachers who are reproducing themselves in the budding talents of the kids who are just starting out. 

The Bible tells us that God gives a new song to his people. He did that this morning, along with some old ones, too. Together, they formed an anthem of praise, and offering of our lives laid before him in musical form. It has been a great day!

Orthodoxy

 April 17, 2021

When I was a young Christian, I listened to older, experienced Christians like my pastor speak of their constant struggle against sin. I read the words of saints like Tozer, Spurgeon, Moody, Pink, and Ironside, telling us that the longer they followed Christ, the more intense became the temptations. Their words puzzled me. How could someone who obviously loved Christ and served him faithfully still struggle with sin? 

As I got older, I was exposed to the teaching of others who claimed to have moved beyond temptation and were living on an entirely different level of sanctification. One by one, many of them succumbed to sexual or financial temptation, their ministries and families rent apart by their fall. I am glad when I hear the stories of Christians who struggle mightily, but by the grace of God are faithful. Most who acknowledge such struggles also confess their failings in many areas; they would never claim to have reached perfection, but as Wesley said, were merely “moving on to perfection,” ie. getting closer, while not quite there.

Recently, I’ve been following the online postings of various persons from the Orthodox branch of the church, and what I’ve noticed is what first appears as a preoccupation with sin. It seems every other article or post is a recognition of the author’s sins and a confession of them. Repentance is much more central to the faith and life of the Orthodox Christian than it is to those of us from the Western Church, both Catholic and Protestant. And it resonates with me. 

Most of the sins that plagued me as a young man have faded into the background, but others have risen to take their place. I often struggle with prayer, am dull of mind and heart when reading the Scriptures, can be judgmental and miserly, and too cautious about sharing my faith. Some might feel this to be a bit nit-picky, but a cold heart is as dangerous to the soul as a lustful or greedy one. So I am thankful for my Orthodox brothers and sisters who remind me that repentance is a virtue, and that the consciousness of sin does not mitigate the mercy of God, the efficacy of the Cross, or the power of the Holy Spirit. As one of these brothers recently wrote, 

“My hope is the Father,

my refuge is the Son, 

my protection is the Holy Spirit: 

O Holy Trinity, glory to Thee!”

Road Crew

April 16, 2021

Tonight is a simple thankful night. Sometimes my mind just isn’t engaged; this is one of those times. The day however, began with a gift—We woke up to the sounds of a chainsaw whining away in our front yard. The ash trees are dying from the ash borer beetle, and the ones in our yard are no exception. If there are no wires, buildings, or other obstructions nearby, felling a tree isn’t a big deal—if you know what you’re doing. But when a tree is near the road and there are electric wires nearby, the only way to get it down is with a cherry picker—a cage on a boom truck that lifts the sawyer to the top of the tree so he can take it down in smaller sections. 

Last year we had the main trunk of this particular tree cut down. A friend gave us a great deal to do it for us, and he laid it down perfectly between two grapevines I had planted the year before. The two other trunks leaned towards the road, making their removal a bit of a problem until this morning when the county crew showed up and cut them down, even chipping the smaller branches and leaving the trunks for me to chunk up for firewood. They saved me a bundle of money! I am thankful tonight for these men who were protecting the road from the possibility of a branch falling on a passing vehicle or blocking traffic. Borrowing my son’s chainsaw and peavey this afternoon, I had it all chunked up in about an hour. A couple hours with the splitter, and this dangerous eyesore will keep me warm next winter.

Singleminded

 April 15, 2021

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, 

that will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the LORD

And to inquire in his temple.” —Psalm 27:4

I don’t believe I’ve ever been completely singleminded about anything in life. On the positive side, there is so much that interests me; on the negative, so much that distracts me. This creates a significant problem. The Bible tells me that our God is a jealous God, and will not tolerate rivals for our affections and loyalty. 

David was far from perfection. He was an adulterer, a murderer, a terrible father. He made many mistakes as a man and as a ruler. Somehow in spite of all that, he knew where his strength lay, and sought its Source with unwavering determination. He was a warrior king, but his heart’s desire was to be a priestly king—to dwell in the LORD’s house all the days of his life. 

At our men’s prayer group this morning, this psalm led the way into our intercession. David spoke of all his enemies amassed against him, and his confidence in facing them. That confidence came from the time he spent in the house of the LORD. In that house, he not only found quiet contemplation, but the company of fellow seekers, of priests and Levites, of others who came to offer sacrifices. There would have been crowds of people, sheep bleating, cattle bellowing, blood and smoke, an intoxicating mix of sounds, smells, and sights. There, he was not king, but part of the crowd, needing redemption, seeking guidance, offering praise.

In verse 7-8, we read, “”Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” He called with his voice, but it was the response of his heart that mattered. God commands us to seek him, not out of duty, guilt, or compulsion, but from the heart. My heart, as Jeremiah said, “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” needing to be transformed and renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit. By myself, my heart would not seek him, so I thank God that the Good Shepherd continues to search the hillsides for his lost sheep, and never fails to find the wandering ones. 

“Lord, give me a pure heart, 100% devoted to you. Forgive my wandering ways. Thank you for your house where with others, I can come seeking you. When we seek you together, we help each other through those times of stumbling and weakness so that from the heart we can seek the One who has sought and found us.”  

Color Guard

 April 14, 2021

Before modern communications, armies carried colorful banners into battle so companies, battalions, and platoons could see if they were where they needed to be. Particularly in the era of black powder, smoke would blanket the battlefield, so the banner was often the only way a soldier could tell where he was. The one carrying the banner (or colors) was the color guard, a prestigious and dangerous position.

If a banner carrier were killed or wounded, another would drop his weapon and pick up the colors, lest they fall to the ground. It was considered an honor to be the banner carrier, but it was also the most dangerous assignment one could receive because the banner being what kept a battle unit together and fighting as one, taking out the banner would sow confusion. The flag bearer was therefore a prime target of the enemy.

The Bible says the Lord is our banner (Exodus 17:15). Isaiah 11:10 says “the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner to the people, and the Gentiles shall seek him.” Jesus stood high on the hill of Calvary, targeted by all the enemy’s host, drawing fire to himself, crucified in our place so we could live.

Now he calls us to hold the banner high, to not let it fall, for there are those who, if they are to successfully wage their war, need to be able to see the banner we hold high. It means becoming a target, attracting the hostile fire of the Enemy and is forces. Holding the banner means we have dropped our both defensive an offensive weapons, standing exposed, drawing fire to ourselves. Still, it is an honor to be a banner bearer for Christ.

“Nevertheless”

 April 13, 2021

“We have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.” —Luke 5:5

“Nevertheless, at your word...” The old maxim that doing the same thing will only give the same results is not always true. “At your word” changes everything. Three things are required.

1. Jesus must be Master. If I usurp that role, all bets are off. It’s not my place to make the rules or decide reality; I don’t get to choose which commands I will follow. Absolute surrender to Christs is absolutely necessary even if I cannot understand his ways. It is never enough to trust him only when things are going well; actually, trust isn’t necessary then.

2. I must be able to discern his word as opposed to all the other voices trying to garner our attention. There are many imposters, not only in this life, but also in the spiritual realm. The Enemy constantly whispers in our ear to worry, fear, doubt, retaliate. When life is dark, the whispering campaign starts, poisoning our hearts and minds. Recognizing Christ’s command—his word—is essential if I am to find success.

3. I must be willing to stand alone.”We” labored all night, but “I” will let down the net. The lyrics to the old song ring true: “Though none go with me, still I will follow.” The decision is mine: Is Jesus Master? Will I train myself in hearing his word? Will I follow even if no one else goes with me? Will I give up or cast my net one more time? One more time... 

Is There Not a Cause?

April 12, 2021

When chastised by his older brother Eliab for asking about the reward for killing the giant Goliath, David answered, “Is there not a cause?” Modern translators aren’t happy with this old rendering of the Hebrew, changing it to, “Can’t I even talk?” This modern rendering may be a bit more accurate, but the old King James preserves an important nuance. “Is there not a cause?” Ie. Is there not a reason to stand against this blasphemy and arrogance?

Saul’s soldiers trembled before Goliath because Saul himself was afraid. As they gazed across the valley to the enemy lines, all they could see was this huge Philistine. They couldn’t see their destiny, their calling, because that’s not where they were looking. They had no cause; the only reason they were on the battlefield was that they had been conscripted into the army, but they had no stomach for the fight. Only David had a cause—the honor of the Name of the LORD.

If our culture is winning the war, it’s not because it has a better argument; it’s because we fail to see a cause worth for which we’re willing to risk our lives. The cause is there, but we spend more time looking at the Philistine, and fail to look to our God. We surrender before the fight even begins. A man or woman without a cause stays on the sidelines, trembling in fear because the giant on the other side of the valley looks so big. The culture taunts our faith, mocks our God, and challenges our values, and we stand by, trembling with fear. We may protest loudly on social media, but when it comes to actually marching to the field of battle and getting in the fight, like the Israelite soldiers, we are nowhere to be found. We imagine that if we’re nice enough, the other side will yield and we won’t have to worry about getting bloodied. Being accepted is more important to us than the honor of the Name of Jesus.

I wonder how much I have surrendered because I don’t have a cause, a reason to fight. In retirement, this has become a burning issue with me. What is my cause, now that I’m not leading a church? I like the freedom of retirement, but it’s not a cause worth dying for. So I keep searching the Scriptures, praying, and looking for opportunities to serve. Like David who prepared for this fight by tangling with lions and bears, I’ve been in a few scrapes myself, and am eager to discover how my past experience prepared me for what God has in store. There is a cause, if we’re willing to set aside our fears and pursue it.

 

Hearing in the Dark

 April 11, 2021

“The LORD shut him in.” —Genesis 7:16 NKJV

Have you ever felt shut in? You were careful to listen to God, to do all he commanded; you were told that coming to Christ would give you freedom, but God shut you in. The wide field of opportunities you expected constricted to four walls, a floor and ceiling. God shut you in. You were no longer able to catch the vision you once had; everywhere you turned, you faced another wall you couldn’t get over, under, or around. God shut you in. Instead of the sun warming your face and lighting your way, there was only darkness. God shut you in.

It may have been illness, or a broken marriage, failure in business or school. You battled depression, addiction, the demons of bad advice you followed. God shut you in, and the storm raged around you and within you. You long for, pray for God to open the prison doors, walk you into the sunshine, and smile upon your face. You remember the days when you stood on the mountain top, surveying the blessings God showered upon you. Life was good until God shut you in. 

So you pray. You want to know why—what purpose God has in withdrawing his hand from you.  Why can you no longer see the blue skies, the clouds, puffy and white, the mountains in the distance, and the meadows in between? God has shut you in, and doesn’t seem to be listening to your cry. The tears flow, the heart weeps, the spirit sags. God has shut you in.

But consider this. On a beautiful, sunny day, you can see for miles. In fact, you can see 93 million miles as you gaze at the sun. That’s pretty impressive! But at night when the sun is hidden and darkness lies heavy all around you, you can see the galaxies! Stars and worlds so distant they have to be measured in light years. And you can only see such vast distances in the dark. Sometimes God shuts us in and leads us into the darkness so we can see further than in the day. We love the daytime; we see beauty in its light. But only in the darkness can we even glimpse the majesty of God, the immensity of his ways.

Jesus told his disciples, “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light.” —Matt. 10:27. There are words Jesus wants to speak that we can only hear in the darkness. If we do not shrink from it, he will reveal his heart in ways he cannot speak to us in the light. The only condition is that what he whispers in the dark, we reveal in the light. If we keep to ourselves what he has spoken, soon he will cease to speak. But if we are willing to enter the darkness and listen for his voice, he will speak, and expects us to do the same, bringing light and life into someone else’s darkness.

Light in the Darkness

 April 10, 2021

The narrative in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth is an interesting study in contrasts. Joshua records the victories Israel amasses as she conquers Canaan and settles in. There are hints of the incompleteness of the conquest, but by and large, it is a story of victory. 

Judges on the other hand, tells of Israel’s failure; how the conquest was incomplete, the failure of the people to follow the LORD, and their repeated apostasy and lawlessness. Its final chapters are a gruesome account of a Levite who, to protect himself from some perverse townsmen who were determined to force him into homosexuality, pushed his common-law wife out the door where they literally raped her to death. Shocked (?), he cut her body into twelve parts and sent them to the twelve tribes, calling them to avenge this atrocity. There is more to this bizarre story, but the overall message is a depiction of the near total collapse of civic and moral life. It was a dangerous time to be alive, much like in some of our cities today.

Following Judges comes Ruth; a story of love and loyalty, of people doing the right thing even in the midst of cultural chaos. The final chapters of Judges take place in and near Bethlehem, where the story of Ruth also unfolds. The message is clear: the culture does not have to determine the direction of our lives. Boaz chose to live honorably, Ruth likewise, and God used these two people to forge the future of the nation and world.

When it seems that everything around us is falling apart, we can still be faithful. It may not seem like much, and we ourselves may not see the end result, but God is faithful and will use our faithfulness to change the course of the world. The difficulties that come our way due to the decay of a degenerate culture are no excuse for us to give up or give in. The darker the night, the more even a feeble light can be seen. John said the Light of Christ came into the world and the darkness was not able to overcome it. It cannot overcome us either, unless we allow it to be extinguished. I want mine to shine, so I keep stoking the fire. Tonight, Scripture and prayer, and tomorrow, worship will feed the flame. I may live in a Judges world, but I plan to be a Boaz man in the middle of it.

Managing the Melancholy

 April 9, 2021

It’s no wonder so many people walk around discouraged and defeated in life. They don’t begin their day in the right place. For awhile, I got into the habit of starting the day checking the news online, one of the most foolish habits I ever acquired. There is never any good news from the media. They don’t talk about the beauty of a sunrise, the joy of children playing together, or the mystery of love between a man and a woman married for fifty years. Those things don’t get ratings, even though they’re the some of the building blocks of our lives. 

I’m melancholic by nature, and have had to learn the discipline of praise and thanksgiving. It doesn’t come naturally for me, but is one of the most significant disciplines I’ve ever learned. Psalm 9 sets a pattern for how to handle the challenges of life, beginning with praise to God for his deliverance and protection before even mentioning the challenges of the day. Only after praising God for his majesty and protection does he speak of the enemies that surround him, but even then they are mentioned only to declare their defeat and destruction, after which he returns to praise as he recalls the works of God.

A correct perspective will never come from an incorrect ordering of life. If I begin the day with the news, it will color everything dark and foreboding. The enemy will only be put in his proper place if i position myself in my proper place at the feet of Jesus.

Solid Footing

 April 8, 2021

Integrity. “What you see is what you get” is perhaps one of the best colloquial definitions of the word, but it misses an important component: the moral and ethical imperative. Billy Graham had integrity; Billy the Kid did not. 

“Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.

“But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the LORD.” —Psalm 26:1-2, 11-12 

Psalm 26 begins and ends with a meditation on integrity. He begins by claiming to have it, even challenging God to test him on the matter—a noble gesture, but one that may have opened up a can of worms he wasn’t prepared to handle. By the end of the psalm, he has been examined by the Lord, and instead of claiming to have walked in integrity, asks for redemption and mercy  to be able to do so. If my personal experience is any measure, this pattern is pretty true to life.

The psalm highlights an important but easily overlooked facet: Integrity enables one to take a firm stand for what is good and right; our feet shall not slip, we stand in an even place. Integrity gives us a solid footing for life, which is not only good for us, but for those who depend on us. If I am going to be the man, the Christian, the husband, father, and grandfather I need to be, I need to be able to stand not only for me, but also for those who depend on or look to me. Integrity is not merely a private or personal matter; it affects others by its presence or absence. 

I wish I could claim to have always acted with complete integrity, but God knows my mind and heart, and my need for redemption and mercy. Fortunately, redemption and mercy are, through the sacrifice of Christ, God’s specialty. My footing has not always been solid and secure, but with Christ’s help, it slips less and less; the ground beneath my feet is even, and I am thankful each day for the grace and mercy of Christ, the Solid Rock on which I stand.

Courage

 April 7, 2021

“Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart.” Whenever courage is called for, I want to feel strong enough to face the music; unfortunately, that’s not the way things work. God wastes nothing, and doesn’t give strength to those who aren’t willing to go out on a limb for him. 

Courage doesn’t come from strength, it precedes strength. It isn’t a feeling; it’s a commitment to act in the face of danger. too often, we want to feel courageous while doing nothing. We want God to strengthen us, to make us feel confident before actually doing anything. But as I said, God wastes nothing. We only receive necessary strength. Strength isn’t necessary until after we have taken the first step toward a challenging task. Too often, we play it safe, attempting only what looks possible. God on the other hand, wants us to attempt that which is impossible apart from him.

Courage to act comes from waiting on God (Isaiah 40:31). In his presence we learn what he wants us to do, and when we decide to do it, we find the wait has strengthened us. We are week because we get up from our knees too soon, forfeiting the courage we need to accomplish the miracle we want to see. I’ve often lacked the strength to accomplish great things because I lacked the courage to accomplish great things. I lacked the courage because I didn’t linger in prayer long enough to hear God’s voice encouraging me to step out beyond what I believed I could do. I am thankful for Scripture which reveals the root of the matter and prayer which shows me what the next step should be.

Remembering

 April 6, 2021

In his old age, John Newton, the former slave trader who came to Christ, became a minister of the Gospel, and wrote the lyrics to “Amazing Grace,” spoke of how often God had reached out to him, “but I forgot.” Over his desk he had the word “Remember” carved. The Scriptures repeatedly call on us to remember...where we were, and what God has done for us.

The tote in my closet has a stack of old journals with years of reflections in them; I’ve never reviewed any of them. Some contain confessions and prayers I wouldn’t want to see the light of day; funny how easily I remember the failures but cannot recall the successes. Whenever he fills up a journal, before starting another, my son reviews it to recall what the Lord has done. Maybe I should do that, too. Looking only in the rearview mirror isn’t a good way to drive, but it is good to glance at it occasionally, especially if backing up. It’s not good for navigating the future, but can give perspective on the past.

The first entry in my last journal was for August 8, 2020; not that long ago. We were in the throes of the pandemic by then, in full lockdown. Even without my journal, I can remember many of my thoughts and reactions to the limitations being imposed. “Two weeks to flatten the curve” was our governor’s deceptive mantra. That first entry was a commentary on Romans 12:1-2, about conforming to this world. Genuine nonconformity is harder than it looks, and I didn’t always do well at it. As St. Paul said, it takes a renewed mind to be a non conforming one, which requires we spend more time in the Word than in the world. It’s taken the entire 365 days since the pandemic began for me to actually let it go, and even now, it’s a struggle. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, we are instructed to “take every thought captive to Christ.” My thoughts keep wanting to escape and run wild. As soon as I rope one in, another breaks loose. The only corral strong enough to keep them where they belong is the Word of God. So I keep reading, prayerfully, remembering God’s unceasing mercy, and thankful for his continual grace which keeps drawing me back, reeling me in.