Not About You

 May 31, 2022

“It’s not about you.” If there is anything we need to learn, it’s this. So much of how we Americans approach life is narcissistic. The only parts of the news that interests us is what affects us personally. Most of the time we are completely ignorant of what is happening in other countries unless it has some bearing on our economy or interests at home. Our passions about covid, inflation, politics, are centered on how we personally are impacted. Take the abortion debates raging since the leak of the Supreme Court’s preliminary deliberations regarding Roe v. Wade. Proponents of abortion on demand chant, “My body; My choice,” giving no weight to the fact that there is another body that is always affected, and always negatively. To be fair, the same thing can be said of arguments in support of the Second Amendment, with which I wholeheartedly agree.

Even in religion, we can be narcissistic and self-centered. We want God to bless us as we see fit, hop from church to church because we don’t like the music, the preaching, or someone in the congregation. If church doesn’t meet all our expectations, we bolt. As a pastor, I often heard people say that the reason they left their church (mine or others’) was because they “weren’t getting fed,” as if they had no responsibility for feeding themselves spiritually or contributing to the well being of someone sitting in the pew across the aisle.

It really gets sinister when we run into unexpected difficulties; a marriage falls apart, the company downsizes, the kids go wild, our investments tank, we get a bad report from the doctor. Our plans are shattered, so we rail against God. “It isn’t fair!” 

In Acts 16, Paul’s plans fell apart. He wasn’t permitted to go to the mission field he envisioned; when he finally set off in the direction God laid out for him, he ended up beaten and in jail on trumped up charges. Locked away in the deepest part of the jail, hands and feet in stocks, backs sore and bleeding, suddenly he and Silas felt a trembling. Earthquake! A dungeon is the last place you want to be in an earthquake. If the whole place collapses, no one is going to bother to dig you out.

As it turned out, the only thing that happened was their chains came loose from the walls, and the prison doors were shaken off their hinges. The jailer came in, terrified that his prisoners were escaping, which was a capital offense. Paul reassured him, and preached the Gospel to him, whereupon he and his family believed and were saved. 

None of the things that happened to Paul and Silas were about them. God was setting the stage for the jailer and his family to know Jesus. Over the course of his ministry, Paul endured all sorts of difficulties. He didn’t complain; he knew everything was for the sake of the Gospel. He even said so in Philippians 3:7-8.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”

Your troubles are not merely your troubles. They are the means chosen by God to perfect you and to minister to someone else. Don’t take them lightly; through them, God may be setting the stage for someone who needs to know that his great love for them values them so much he was willing for his Son to die on a cross for their sins, and is willing for you to be a part of his plan, as  Peter said, “rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” —I Peter 4:13 NKJV

The problems are never fun, but they can be fulfilling when through them we see someone else encouraged, challenged, corrected, saved. It’s not about you.

 May 30, 2022

On this Memorial Day, I honor my father with a tribute I wrote back in 2014.

It’ s hard to imagine when the people we've known as mom and dad were young. Dad died at 91, on Father's Day in 2012, frail and worn out with the years. Mom lasted another eight years, passing into the arms of Jesus a month after her 98th birthday. Mom kept the photo albums of dad when he was in basic training, pictures taken of him with his Army buddies. Dad was scheduled to be deployed in the European theater during the war, but a routine physical detected a heart murmur that kept him stateside while his buddies went over the pond, some of them never to return.

One day about thirty years ago when mom and dad were visiting on Memorial Day, he and I happened to be watching a movie on the Turner Classic Movies channel. It was "The Fighting Sullivans," a film about the five Sullivan brothers who were stationed on the USS light cruiser Juneau in the Pacific. The ship was torpedoed during the action at Guadalcanal, and all five of the brothers were lost, along with 682 other sailors. As we watched the movie, I became aware of a snorting sound off to my side. I turned and saw my father in near total meltdown, sobbing like a little child. When I questioned him, he told me of boyhood friends who served and never came home. It was fifty years after the war, and as fresh as the day he first received news of his friends' deaths. 

I've talked with other vets, one who had been a crewman of a WWII bomber that was shot down in Europe and became a POW in Germany. I asked him one day about how it affected him. He came home, raised a family, became a successful local businessman, and even mayor of our little village. He told me of nights when his wife would wake him up to stop his thrashing around from the nightmares he had thirty years hence. 

We are more aware of the tragic effects of PTSD than people knew back then. Everyone then knew ex-soldiers who became alcoholics, abusive, suicidal, but no one seemed to make the connections until Vietnam. Now we are seeing (mostly) men coming home with injuries from which they would have died even thirty years ago to a VA system fraught with fraud and incompetence.  

Today we remember and honor those soldiers who never had the chance to live, raise families, enjoy the peace they fought to preserve. My father came home, leaving many of his youthful friends behind. I am grateful he lived a full life, and honor the other fine men never had the privilege to know because their sacrifice was as Lincoln said, “the last full measure of devotion,” men who answered the call of duty and served, bequeathing to us through their blood, sweat, and tears the freedoms we enjoy today. It is a gift easily squandered; may we instead value and guard it for the treasure it truly is.

How Far?

 May 29, 2022

I had the privilege of preaching this morning on the story of the Philippian jailer’s conversion in Acts 16. There is much to learn here, but first and foremost is the extent to which God is willing to go for someone’s eternal soul. In the ordinary scheme of things, this story should never have happened.

Paul had intended to spread the Gospel in Asia Minor, but twice was prohibited from doing so. The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what happened, but whatever it was, Paul took it as a sign from God that he wasn’t to go in that direction. While he was trying to figure things out, he had a dream in which a man from Macedonia was calling out for Paul to come help them. That was all it took; Paul booked a flight to Macedonia that very next day (OK, it wasn’t quite like that, but it was the 1st Century equivalent).

When he got there, he had a successful beginning with Lydia’s conversion. Some time after, everything began to fall apart. He was hounded by a demonized slave girl who made quite a tidy income for her handlers by telling fortunes. She kept announcing that Paul and Silas were servants of the Most High God, a true enough statement, but not exactly a prime endorsement. Be careful who praises you; a character reference from Vladimir Putin would not look particularly good on your résumé. 

Paul exorcised the demon, which didn’t set too well with her handlers, who had them dragged before the local magistrates on trumped up charges. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown into jail, even having hands and feet fixed in stocks. If that had happened to many of us, we would be whining and crying, “After all I’ve done to serve you, Lord, why is this happening to me?” Paul and Silas were made of sterner stuff and instead were singing and praying.

An earthquake followed, shaking the prison so hard that their chains fell off and the doors flew open. The guard burst in asking what he needed to do to be saved. He was thinking of his skin; letting prisoners escape was a capital offense. Paul thought of his soul: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved; you and your house.” 

Follow the sequence of events. Circumstances preventing Paul from going to Asia Minor, a vision calling him to Macedonia, harassment by a demonized slave girl, an exorcism, being arrested, beaten, and thrown into prison, and finally, an earthquake. God really wanted that jailer and his family to know Jesus. And he wants no less for you and me.

I’ve listened to people claiming that they were too far gone to be saved. Maybe you’ve felt that way yourself. Don’t believe it! If God was willing to send his Son to the cross, and was willing to arrange all these things for this jailer to be saved, what do you suppose he’s willing to do for you? There is no limit to his love, no extent to which he is not willing to go for you. God loves you that much! Don’t let it be for nothing. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you too, can be saved.

God Hears

 May 28, 2022

“Blessed be the LORD because he has heard the voice of my supplications.” Psalm 28:6. The psalm begins, “I will cry out to You, O LORD my Rock! Do not be silent to me.” For four verses he prays to be heard, then in v.5, he proclaims his faith by declaring that there is a divine cause and effect: “Because they do not regard the works of the LORD…he shall destroy them.”

The writer is trusting God to do justly, to uphold his Word of promise. On this basis, he then declares his faith that God has already heard his prayer because it is in line with God’s character. This prayer is no wistful hope that somehow things will turn out right. It is a calling upon God to be true to his character, and confidence that he will do so.

He ends his prayer in praise for what he knows is already done. In a devotional this morning, my friend Beth Burden said it well: “The devil doesn’t know what to do with our praise in times of trouble. It confuses him.” So in my prayers, I praise because when I pray according to God’s character, he always hears…and saves. 

“Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.”

So with what song shall I praise him? (V.7). I think it’s significant when he says, “My heart trusted in him and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices.” He didn’t say anything about his head; only his heart. When I look at circumstances logically, they often don’t make sense. It’s sometimes hard for the head to trust. But when the heart trusts, the head eventually must follow, and then the heart can rejoice while the head is still trying to figure out what’s going on. So sing, heart of mine! Sing!

Three Men

 May 27, 2022

Three men asked today. Two have no discernible faith they practice, the other Jewish in both heritage and practice. The latter has never met my son; the former are our mechanic and a local odd-jobber. 

I met with Clark to begin Spanish lessons. He is a retired Spanish professor from our local SUNY college who agreed to tutor me just because we are friends. He also happens to be Jewish. The lesson was somewhat informal, and during the course of our conversation he asked me how Nate is doing. 

Tommy is our local odd-jobber. He plows snow in the winter, runs backhoe, hauls gravel and does whatever needs to be done by way of moving dirt. He asked about Nate.

Adam is one of three mechanics who has worked on our vehicles for years. Nate was the first to have them service his vehicles, and has bought a couple from them. He’s spent a fair amount of money having them keep his rather high-mileage vehicles up and running. They asked about him when I picked up my truck from having them replace the rack and pinion steering after my power steering went out last week.

Many of those who over the past month have asked about him are active Christ-followers, but perhaps as many who make no such profession of faith. Each in his or her own way has reached out in support of Nate and ourselves. When I read in the paper or hear on the news of people who are so isolated from significant and meaningful human contact that they can without compunction take another’s life, I am aware that the life I know, with the many caring people in it, is almost nonexistent in our modern world. People live in cities surrounded by others, and are still alone and aloof. 

Gun violence is in the news again, but what doesn’t get said is that most of it is death by suicide; people (mostly men) who don’t believe there is a single other person for whom they matter enough to keep living. I and my family are surrounded by people who care enough to ask, and even if they aren’t normally praying people, will say a prayer for Nate. We are blessed to have these people in our lives, both in and outside the church. This experience makes me aware of the many who don’t believe anyone cares, and drives me to prayer and to making more of an effort to listen and let everyone I meet know they have at least one person who cares enough to pray and to be a friend.

Friends and Brothers

 May 26, 2022

I’m guessing most denizens of the USA who read my posts are familiar with those television ads showing some poor soul stretched out on the floor pushing the button on a device hanging from their neck. “Help! I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” That’s right—Life Alert. I’m not much of a thespian, but I’m putting the world on notice: I could be very convincing with that ad tonight. 

I don’t know how my co-conspirators feel, but I ache in places I didn’t know I had. Today, for the price of an ice cream cone which wasn’t even a part of the original plan, my friends Harry, Kent, Otis, Doug, and Jerry spent more than three hours blocking up tops from the trees that had been logged on my son’s land. Three hours, and we all emerged from the woods with all our extremities intact! (Thank you, Jesus!) There would have been others, but prior responsibilities kept them away today. Young man Brandon worked alongside us, but had to leave early and so missed his ice cream. 

Here’s the deal (as my son often says): Except for Brandon who had to get back to work, all these guys are retired, which means they like me, are looking at the top of life’s hill in the rear view mirror. I haven’t asked, but if they are as tired and sore as I am, they’ll be heading for bed a bit early tonight. 

The other day I was talking with a fellow retired pastor who like me, spent most of his pastoral life in one church. We talked about the blessings associated with such ministries. Like myself, he has married children of people he married years ago. My comment to him was that every pastor has a choice: We can move around and have a breadth of experience, or we can stay in one place and have depth of experience. We cannot have both. 

These men working alongside me today have been friends for close to forty years. I officiated at some of their weddings, baptized and married their kids, attended conferences together and even vacationed together. We are a Band of Brothers who are willing to drop our own plans to help each other out, have coffee together, pray together. I am blessed beyond measure by them, and thank God for their love for Jesus, for his church, for my son, and for me. Most of the research into such matters tells us that pastors are some of the loneliest people on earth. I was told at the beginning of my ministry that it was inappropriate for me to have friends in the congregation. I am so glad I ignored that conventional wisdom, and wish every pastor could have friends like this.

My brothers, today you were what you have been to me for years—gifts from Jesus Christ, true friends and brothers. Thank you, and thank God! And don’t forget the ibuprofen tonight. If you’re like me, you’ll need it!

Average

 May 25, 2022

In 1954, Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins teamed up as the “Tennessee Two” backing Johnny Cash. They were rank amateurs, rhythm guitarists all, but in order to record, Perkins learned how to do a single string lead while Grant picked up a second-hand double bass for the first time in his life. “I didn’t even know how to tune the thing,” he later admitted. A friend showed him how, taped “frets” to the neck so he would know where the notes were, and he was off and running.

He told Perkins to play an E chord, no changes, just E, and began to pluck and slap the strings. Before long, he had developed the iconic Johnny Cash “boom-chick-a-boom” sound. After both Perkins and Cash had died, Grant was interviewed about those early days. “We didn’t know what we were doing,” he said. Little did they know at the time that they would be on the cutting edge of modern Country-Western music.

Perkins and Grant had been mechanics when they met Johnny Cash through his older brother Roy Cash, Sr. Johnny had just completed a stint in the Air Force. Three young men who had a dream, but not much else, not even talent, reached for the stars and made it.

I’ve often heard people make excuses for why they are stuck where they are. “The boss is a jerk,” “I never get any breaks,” “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” All of those may be true, but if three relatively untalented men (by their own admission) could accomplish what they did, what’s my excuse for not trying? We live in crazy times, it’s true; Our regulatory bureaucratic state makes it difficult to start a business, inflation is eating up our money faster than we can make it, there’s always someone who can give us a hundred reasons why we can’t or shouldn’t attempt what God has placed in our hearts.

Often, the most talented people get left by the wayside as less gifted but more passionate people leave them in the dust. Talent is no substitute for vision and passion. Will you succeed like Marshall Grant? Maybe, maybe not. But you’ll never know until you try.

The Bible tells us that Abraham “went out, not knowing where he was going,” and became the model of faith and faithfulness in spite of more than one failure and a few rabbit trails, simply because he believed God. We don’t know how God spoke to him about leaving home to travel to Canaan; but however it happened, he knew staying in Ur of the Chaldeans wasn’t an option.  Wherever we are, whatever stage in life we find ourselves, God continues to call, not the talented, but the trusting. Fear of the future is real until we understand that it is God himself calling us into it. 

For, or Against?

 May 24, 2022

How often I’ve listened to people praying “against” illness, a moral or political issue, or some tragedy that shows up on the news. We’ve all done it, but I wonder if it’s the right approach. I can’t recall Jesus praying against anything; he prayed, and taught us to pray that his Father’s kingdom come and his will be done, not that Satan’s kingdom be destroyed. If the former happens, the latter will follow. Instead of focusing on the kingdom that is coming, we focus on the one already here and passing away.

When we pray against something, the focus of our prayers is the situation, not the Savior. We fixate upon the problem and wonder why it never seems to resolve. It’s unlikely you’ll hit a target you don’t aim at. Our prayers may be more accurate in our aim than we realize—we aim at the problem, and that’s where we end up. If we aimed our prayers at the solution, ie., to the Father in the name of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, maybe we would see more of what we desire. 

Daniel 7:27-28a—“Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most Hight. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. This is the end of the matter.”

If all we do is look around us, the kingdoms of this world assume in our minds an importance they don’t deserve. It’s only when we aim our prayers at the future we, and Jesus, envisioned, that our prayers can assume their full import and effect. So I’m not praying against the problems of this world. I’m praying for the kingdom of God, for health, integrity, and the power and holiness of the Holy Spirit to sweep across this land. 

Spirit-led

 May 23, 2022

How can you know whether a course of action is from the leading of the Holy Spirit, or merely from your own desires, or worse, a temptation from the enemy of our souls? In Men’s Bible Study tonight, we were looking at Paul’s Macedonian call in Acts 16. Luke relates that Paul tried twice to go east into Asia (Minor), but was “forbidden by the Holy Spirit.” My question is, “What actually happened that Paul interpreted as the Holy Spirit putting the brakes on his plans?” The Bible doesn’t say, so we are left to wonder, not only for Paul, but for ourselves.

I’ve often heard people tell of being led by the Holy Spirit to say or do this or that; there are plenty of times I can agree with their understanding of the situation, but there are also times when people have made that claim and I say to myself, “I don’t think so.” Part of the problem is that success isn’t the measure of God’s plan at any particular time. 

In the 17th chapter, Paul is alone in Athens, waiting for the rest of his team to arrive. It says he was troubled in his spirit by all the idolatry he saw, so he went to the place where all the philosophers met to talk philosophy, and reasoned with them, speaking their philosophical language. They listened politely until he spoke of the resurrection and judgment to come. These words were met with less than enthusiasm. There is no Biblical record of a church being founded in Athens. He then went to Corinth where he testified that he came in weakness and trembling, not with words of wisdom, but solely with the message of the Cross (1 Corinthians 2). His work in Athens was pretty much a failure, but he learned from it, and had great success in Corinth. Failure is not always failure.

As we studied together, Kent made an important observation. The account recorded in Acts was written some time after the fact; sometimes we only know God’s plan for certain when we look back in retrospect. We pray, we study Scripture, we counsel together, think things through, and make the best decision we can. Sometimes it works out gloriously; sometimes it blows up in our face. Either result can be the work of the Holy Spirit. I’ve had successes that I knew were the work of God because there is no way I was smart enough to pull it off. There were other times everything fell apart, but the failure humbled me and paved the way for God to do a work in and through me that wouldn’t have otherwise happened.

My point in everything tonight was merely that we need to put ourselves into the Biblical story so it doesn’t become for us merely quaint and interesting tales. This Book was written for our benefit, to lead us to faith in Christ and eternal life. If we keep it at arm’s length, it never gets the chance to do its work in us. How did Paul know those obstacles to Asia were the work of the Holy Spirit? Maybe he didn’t, until later when he could look back on that experience and say to himself, “God was in this.” How do we know the leading of the Holy Spirit today? Maybe not until we look back and see the hand of God that explains the unexplainable in our lives.

Hosanna Again

 May 22, 2022

When I started writing nightly articles back in 2013, it was a personal discipline in gratitude as a means of changing my outlook on life. Every night I wrote about three things, gifts of God’s grace, for which I gave thanks. A little over a year later, I noticed the cloud of melancholy that had hung over my head for as long as I can remember had disappeared. I became a firm believer in the power of gratitude.

Over time, my musings turned to reflections on Scripture and life in general, but gratitude hasn’t been abandoned. I still maintain that discipline, but only write about it occasionally. Tonight, I return to it to give thanks for my son being able to join the worship team this morning. For most of the service, he stayed in the background playing guitar, but as the service concluded, Todd began singing “Multiplied,” and at the chorus, Nate joined him as he has done so many times before. The last time Nate was able to be up front was Palm Sunday. Today, I would give thanks and sing again, “Hosanna!” “God saves!” to our Lord Jesus Christ who gave this morning to us as we lifted hands and voices in praise.

Time

 May 21, 2022

Time is a funny thing. We measure it by the spinning of the earth and its annual path around the sun. Step outside of our solar system, and what becomes of hours, days, months, and years? God stands outside of all that confines and ages us, and invites us into his world of timelessness through faith in Jesus Christ. We call it eternal life.

The other day, our son Nate told a story about the orderly who ushered him here and there when he was receiving treatments for his melanoma. He was a pleasant, talkative man, and Nate asked him about his interactions, to which he replied that he listens a lot, and admitted that things got a bit dicey around the time of the last election. He laughingly said, “I just quote Daniel 7:27, and that usually shuts them up.” I’ll let you look that one up for yourself. 

I got to thinking about Daniel. Time plays a central role in the book, being mentioned 26 times. Let me set the stage. Nebuchadnezzer was the most powerful man on earth; his armies had conquered little Israel along with the rest of the known world. His authority was unparalleled and unchallenged. Or so he hoped. He was actually nervous about his power, paranoid and worried about treason within the ranks. 

When he had his dream, he was so unnerved about it that he demanded his ministers and sorcerers tell him the substance of the dream. When they protested that no one could do such a thing and begged to be told the dream so they could interpret it, the king accused them of stalling for time—the first occasion of the word in the book that bears Daniel’s name.

As the story unfolds, the king erects a huge statue of himself and demands that everyone bow down and worship it as a sign of loyalty to himself. He is worried that his power may be slipping; perhaps he is starting to feel his age, the years slipping by. His mortality is in view. He is well to be worried. He believes he has conquered all the lands, but Daniel sees things differently: It wasn’t Nebuchadnezzar’s power; God delivered Israel into his hand. 

When God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to Daniel, he praised the LORD with these words:

“Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.” —Daniel 2:20-22 

“Times and seasons; [God] removes kings and raises up kings.” Nebuchadnezzar’s mortality was staring him in the face. Time was rolling on, and the king was powerless to stop it. His fears were not without foundation.

The times in which we live are as tenuous as that of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. Back then, one man who had it all feared the march of time; the other man knew that God was still in control, even though everything familiar to him had been ripped away when the king’s armies swept through his nation.

We can “have it all,” like Nebuchadnezzar, and yet live in fear, or we can lose it all like Daniel, and live in confidence and faith. The difference is in our relationship to time. If our time in this world is all we have, the times in which we live will produce fear. If on the other hand, we live not for time, but for eternity, time holds no fear. Nebuchadnezzar faced his mortality trembling. Our son Nathan is facing his triumphantly, because he lives for eternity, not for time.

Cross Purposes

 May 20, 2022

“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” —Mark 8:34 

Bruce Downes the Catholic Guy spoke this morning on this verse. He related some challenges that have come his way recently, and said, “I often want to lay the cross down.” Like most of us, he doesn’t relish the trials that come his way in life, but he added these words: “When we lay down the cross we’re carrying, we get nailed to it. As long as we are carrying it, we aren’t nailed to it.” 

The burdens and challenges of life are often hard to bear. We wish, and sometimes pray that God would ease up a bit, that we would be allowed to lay down our cross. But Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The cross he has given us to carry he shoulders along with us. We never carry it alone. It is when we try to lay down and discard the challenges of life that we somehow in the mystery of life get nailed to them. 

I can avoid working out and get nailed to weakness and ill health. I can refuse to forgive and get nailed to bitterness. I can scorn self-discipline and get nailed to dissolution and frivolity. I can abandon frugality and get nailed to debt. It is only by picking up the cross of Jesus, only by walking the Way of the cross, that we find life. At least, that’s what Jesus said in the very next verse of today’s text: 

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” —Mark 8:35 

Take up Jesus’ challenge and pick up the Cross. It’s the only way to freedom and life.

Groaning

 May 19, 2022

I am an unabashed purveyor of Dad jokes and puns which were the delight of my children both then and now. Actually, that sentence is only half true. They called them “Groaners.”

In Romans 8, Paul uses that word three times, admittedly in a different context, first referring to Creation, then to us, and lastly, to the Holy Spirit. His first mention of the term describes what we call the natural world. “We know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (v.22). Urban sentimentalists often think of the natural world in idealistic and unrealistic ways, imagining that if somehow we could go back to Nature, all would be well. They’ve not seen a lion bring down a wildebeest, ripping flesh from its struggling body. Those who decry hunting haven’t seen a whitetail deer starving through a bitter winter. They blanche when the neighbor’s cat catches a bird at their feeder. There is a literal groaning in the world around us as the earth literally heaves with volcanos, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, floods, and blizzards.

We humans echo that groaning, knowing there is more to life than this world can give. We experience joy and pleasure, but also sorrow and pain. As we age, our bodies begin to betray us, and the inhumanity of mankind is evident for all to see. Our capacity for evil seems to grow deeper with each passing day, and we groan for something better, even if we cannot put our finger on what that might be. As Christians, we know there is more, and look to the day of resurrection when these bodies are finally transformed for eternity. “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (v. 23).

Best of all is the knowledge that God fully understands our longings, even when we can’t quite put words to them. There have been many times when I’ve not known how to pray. There is a groaning inside me—an almost physical ache that I can’t explain. I am grateful that when I cannot find the words for my prayers, God knows. The Holy Spirit understands my spirit, and takes these feeble prayers, interprets and improves them till they glow with a spiritual light I myself do not possess. And even better, Jesus himself is praying for us. Hebrews 7:25 tells us Jesus is always praying for us. When Jesus prays and the Holy Spirit edits and improves my prayers laboring to the point of groaning, how can such prayers be ignored by the Father? If he wouldn’t be inclined to listen to me, he’s not going to ignore his Son and the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (v.26).

Sometimes when carrying a heavy weight, we groan. Sometimes the weight of prayer is almost too heavy as we groan in our souls. But whatever weight we carry, it will someday be overshadowed by an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17), which is weighty in significance and value, but easy to bear because it is borne by Christ in us, which is our glorious hope (Colossians 1:27).

What Do You Fear?

 May 17, 2022

They aren’t quite commandments; more like strongly worded suggestions based on what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Each of these “suggestions” begins with the words, “let us…” They appear more than 200 times in the Bible, sometimes in a positive light, but just as often they record a negative or sinful suggestion. These words appear twelve times in the book of Hebrews, all of them encouragements to holy living as the appropriate response to the grace and goodness of God. I first noticed them when reading the tenth chapter, but they appear four times in chapter four, once in chapter six, three times in chapter ten, twice each in chapters twelve and thirteen. It will take a few days, but it’s worth contemplating these words of encouragement.

Even after God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, instead of grateful obedience and loyalty, they hardened their hearts to the point where God refused to let that generation enter the Promised Land. They all “fell in the wilderness” (4:17), the writer commenting, “they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Immediately following, he adds, “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Years ago when I was in college, our New Testament professor was Warren Woolsey, who had memorable sayings about certain phrases in the Bible, one of which was, “When in the Bible you see a “therefore,” find out what it’s there for.” These are connective phrases that tie the conclusion to the preceding argument. Ih this case, the connection is simple: “The children of Israel failed to enter in because of their unbelief; Don’t be like them.”

I wonder how many of God’s promises lie unclaimed because like those Israelites, we looked around us and saw problems instead of possibilities? They saw obstacles instead of opportunities, giants instead of grace. I’m afraid I’ve fallen into that same trap more times than I care to recall. The text says, “Let us therefore fear…” Too often, I’ve feared the wrong things. Instead of being afraid to miss out on God’s promises, I’ve been afraid to step out in faith, and like those Israelites, fail to know the joy of victory.

Fear is not evil; what we fear is what is important. What we fear depends on where we focus our attention, where we are looking. The old Gospel song says it well:

O soul are you weary and troubled

No light in the darkness you see

There's light for a look at the Savior

And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in his wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace

Did you catch it? Turn your eyes upon Jesus! Let us be afraid to take our eyes off the Goal, Jesus himself!

Weights

 May 16, 2022

“Let us lay aside every weight…” —Hebrews 12:2

I can’t ever remember watching a track meet where the contestants wore heavy boots and coats. There is nothing wrong with wearing such clothing if one is outside shoveling snow, but it’s not exactly helpful in the 100 yard dash. I think that’s what the writer here is getting at. There should be no question about laying aside sin—those habits and proclivities that are clearly forbidden in Scripture. But there are other things that are not wrong in themselves, but can be hindrances to the life to which we have been called as Christians. They weigh us down so we cannot run well.

But there is another kind of weight that has lately been on my mind; the weight we carry in our hearts. For some, it is guilt, for others, regrets, for still others worry or fear. There is also the weight of responsibility. Jesus said of these weights, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” We are often wearied with life itself. We remember missed opportunities, we worry about the future, we stew in unforgiveness, we fret over circumstances of life we are powerless to change. “Bring these weights to me,” Jesus says. They aren’t sins; but they are obstacles that prevent us from running the race and winning the prize. 

One thing we forget about weights is that it is possible once we’ve laid them down, to pick them up again. Our minds go back and rehearse over and over again whatever issue has been weighing us down. We lay it down, only to pick it up again. Keep laying it down! What weight are you carrying today? Lay it down once more!

It Never Gets Easy

 May 15, 2022

Sometimes it only takes a word to help you see life from a completely different perspective. Today, that word came from my former DS and current friend Roy Miller. Our Sunday School lesson this morning was about faith. There is Propositional faith, the things we believe, as when we recite the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in…” These are the intellectual statements that form the boundaries of our belief systems. They are important inasmuch as such systems guide the choices we make in life.

There is, in addition to Propositional faith, Experiential faith, ie, the actual living out of our beliefs in real time. It’s one thing to say, “I believe in God, the Father;” it is quite another to actually trust him when we are going through difficult times. As one participant this morning said, “Trials can steel our faith, or steal our faith.” Though those words sound alike, there is a world of difference between them.

We talked about the difficulties of faith; the challenging circumstances in which God places us, and the opportunities for witness these circumstances bring to one who believes in God’s sovereignty and love. Roy spoke of the times he has prayed for people publicly; the waitress at a restaurant, the checkout girl at the supermarket. Matt asked if anyone ever was angry at this offer of prayer. “Not once!” Roy said, although he did have someone decline his offer. “They really get surprised when I start praying for them then and there,” he added, noting that they probably hadn’t expected that.

It was then that Roy said something that surprised me. “I’m an introvert, and it never gets easier to do this. I don’t even like calling people on the phone.” Knowing Roy’s track record of prayer and witness, this caught my attention. I totally understand this difficulty. But he then drove it home. “If witnessing were easy, we wouldn’t need faith; we would do it in our own strength.”

I suspect most of us secretly hope Christian living and witness will somehow come naturally; that it will with enough practice, get easy. We assume that those who share their faith regularly are naturally outgoing and skilled in ways we are not. Thinking this way lets us off the hook; we excuse ourselves, saying, “Talking to people about Jesus just isn’t my gift.” No, it’s not, but Jesus never limited his command to witness to those who are naturally talkative or gifted. Hearing Roy say it never gets easy was such an encouragement to me, and explaining that if it were easy, we wouldn’t need faith gave me a different perspective and a much-needed kick in the spiritual pants. Thank you, Jesus for this introverted man whose faithful witness spoke divine truth into my spirit today!

Embraced by Grace

May 14, 2022

“They embraced [the promises] and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” —Hebrews 11:13

Christians often speak of God’s promises in glowing terms—promises “to bless…and give a future with hope,” (Jeremiah 29:11), or “to be with us till the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:19-20), or to make sure that “the righteous [shall not be] forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25). However, it is one thing to claim God’s promises, and quite another to embrace them. 

Embrace is a strong word. When we embrace someone, we hold them close; we hold them tightly. There is nothing casual about an embrace, although it can be done deceitfully, like Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss. Embracing the promises of God is more than mere declaration; it includes the confession that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. So the question must be asked: “What do I really embrace?” Do I cling to, am I intimate with this world with all it has to offer? Do I cling to what I can see and touch more than I cling to promises of a better world that can only be seen by faith? It’s easy to deceive ourselves into imagining that we long for heaven while we are clinging desperately to earth.

What I embrace determines what I confess. My mouth may say one thing, but what I embrace always speaks more loudly. That which I hold tightly, even in secret, will eventually reveal itself in my confessions, and my confessions will eventually shape my actions. So what am I embracing? It’s easy to embrace the things of this world that give comfort and a sense of security—my home, my retirement income, the stuff I use to keep our home and lifestyle intact—even while confessing to embrace eternity.

This is more than idle talk, more than a mere academic reflection. Our son’s diagnosis of a melanoma in his lung pushes to the forefront our embracing of the family life we’ve enjoyed for so many years. We can’t know for sure, but what if God is calling us to embrace promises that require us to confess that we are only passing through this life; it isn’t our final home? I remember singing that old song, “This world is not my home; I’m just a-passing through…” It’s one thing to sing it, but quite another to embrace it, to cling tightly to promises that not only comfort, but challenge us. 

Embracing this kind of future is only possible through the faith exemplified in the entirety of Hebrews 11. We hold tightly, embracing this faith, but it is a faith that also holds us in the grip of a grace that is both savage and serene, flowing from the horrors of the Cross to the heart of Communion with the Father through the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Blessings

 May 13, 2022

It’s a late ending to a busy day. I finished re-plumbing the entire house, which enabled me to finally wash the car, started filling the raised garden bed I made for Linda for Mother’s Day. It’s been a day of ups and downs. The down part is wrapping our minds around the melanoma diagnosis that Nate received today. He is Nate, taking it all in stride, looking for ways to use his circumstances to talk about Jesus. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it is often easier to go through something yourself than to have to stand by helplessly, watching the one you love go through it. That’s where we are, trying to wrap our minds around what all this means. We are praying for healing, but not assured that it will come the way we want.

On the bright side, an acquaintance gave me three colonies of bees today. Theirs not only survived the winter; they were so strong it became necessary to split the colonies to prevent their swarming. They ended up with seven colonies, but only wanted four. I was the recipient of their kindness and generosity.

Then this evening, Pastor and Mrs. Bender from the Sinclairville Baptist Church stopped over to visit. Their people have been praying for Nate, and wanted to bless Linda and me also. They gave us what they called “Hugs in a Mug,” coffee cups with little gifts inside, from their congregation. Best of all, they prayed for us. The family of God crosses denominational lines; we are brothers and sisters in Christ, saved by his blood, united in his Spirit. This difficult time in our lives has been made a bit easier because of the love of so many people who bear us up in their prayers and help carry the burden, making it lighter. Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Pastor and Mrs. Bender were Jesus manifest to us tonight in the flesh.

Hope

May 12, 2022

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” —2 Corinthians 10:4-5 

This past Sunday, our class talked about hope, and how hopeless so many people feel these days. Paul’s words to the Corinthian Christians are a blueprint for handling what seem to be hopeless situations. One of the women in the class noted how we try to take our circumstances captive instead of our thoughts, ie. we try to control the situation, which as often as not, leads to frustration. Some things we can control, but the really knotty problems are often beyond our ability to influence to any significant degree. We maneuver and manipulate, but find out in the end that the only thing we can control is ourselves.

When we cease attempting to control everything around us, and instead focus on bringing our thoughts captive to Christ, something amazing happens. A mind centered on Jesus is a settled mind, and a heart centered on Jesus is a heart at peace, and a heart filled with hope. 

Peter tells us that we should “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” —1 Peter 3:15 

When Christ is truly Lord in our hearts, we have peace and hope, which people will notice. “Why aren’t you bothered by all the mess in our world?” “How can you be so calm with the inflation, crime, international instability?” The questions are myriad, but the answer is simple: our hope is not tied to what happens in this world, so we can cease worrying about it and simply live in joy and peace as we do our best to change the world by letting Christ change us.

Captivating Thoughts

 May 11, 2022

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” —2 Corinthians 10:4-5 

“Bringing every thought captive to Christ” is not as easy as it might seem. When I received the phone call from Linda telling me about our son’s brain tumors, I had an entire afternoon and evening and all the next day to think, wonder, and brood. My mind tended towards the worst possible scenarios, over and over again. My thoughts were like a herd of springtime calves; one would break loose and run off. As I rounded it up, I became aware that another had escaped. And another. It was a constant mental and spiritual battle to bring those thoughts captive, over and over again. But I had to do it; if I let them go, they would take me places I didn’t want to be. If I didn’t take them captive, they would take me captive. 

Thankfully, as Paul says, the weapons God gives us to fight these battles are more than mere human willpower. He gives us his Word, the Holy Scriptures that give me his thoughts. Years ago, I memorized Joshua 1:8, and its truth helped me round up those wandering thoughts:

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

—Joshua 1:8 

I memorized it in the old Authorized Version, and quote it here as such. The word “meditate” here is the word used elsewhere for a cow chewing its cud to get every bit of nutrient out of its food. Long ago I learned the discipline of memorizing and meditation, which served me well when my thoughts wanted to run away with me. My mind isn’t as sharp as it once was, so memorizing is a bit more challenging these days, which makes me ever more grateful for those Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teachers who insisted we memorized Scripture. Like a cow, I can (pardon the analogy) regurgitate many of those same Scriptures, giving my mind something on which I can fix my thoughts, bringing them captive to Christ.

Taking my thoughts captive, deliberately dragging the wandering ones back into the corral of God’s Word gets me through stressful times. Taking them captive prevents them from taking me captive and imprisoning me in despair. God’s Word frees me for joy.

Throne of Grace

 May 9, 2022

When I was a young man, I memorized Hebrews 4:16—“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” This verse was a call to prayer, but I didn’t understand it then as I do now. I thought of these words as calling me to prayer when faced with imminent temptations, rather than as a preparatory call to prayer prior to the onset of temptation. No wonder I stumbled so many times! The time for a soldier to learn to handle his weapon isn’t the hour before the battle. Once the struggle is on, it’s often too late for prayer.

My other mistake years ago was divorcing this call and it’s accompanying promise from what had been said just prior to these words. The entire context is long and involved, but the immediate context is as follows:

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” —Hebrews 4:12-16 KJV

First, there is the Word of God. Prayer divorced from the Word of God is shorn of its power, just as surely as Samson was shorn of his power when he lost his hair. Prayer isn’t like a vending machine—put in the money and out pops the answer—it is the means by which we engage the Scriptures and open ourselves to receive what God wants to say and do. Prayer is a way of standing naked before God, stripped of our pretensions and self-righteousness, our hands empty and uplifted, our hearts bare before the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.

Prayer is coming before the Sinless One with our sins and shortcomings, not because we deserve to be in his presence, but solely because having offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins, he has invited us. On this basis, and this basis only, we find mercy and grace to help in time of need.

Unbelief & Disobedience

 May 8, 2022

“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin…Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” —Hebrews 3:12-13, 17-19 

Two different words are used to define the problem the author addresses here: disobedience and unbelief. They are almost equated here; disobedience is the fruit of unbelief. It was because of their unbelief that they disobeyed and therefore could not enter the rest God had prepared for them.

The argument here leads to the next chapter where he talks about temptation. Yielding to temptation leads to sin, but unbelief is why we yield, ie. We don’t believe God is able to keep us, and to be honest, we aren’t willing to be kept.

Hebrews 4:16 gives the remedy: “Come boldly to the throne of grace,” not merely in the face of immediate temptation, but in anticipation of it. We are told to “Come now (“Today”) so we will have the grace needed when the temptation/trial comes. Waiting to pray till we are in the midst of trouble is the path to failure. The soul that is at rest is at rest because of the daily routine (3:13) of coming before the Lord corporately and individually.

The argument culminates in 4:12, with the Word of God central to the process, as it alone exposes the hardness of our hearts and gives birth to faith (Romans 10:17).

Restlessness

 

May 7, 2022

Linda was almost freaking out. A woman from our church had called her up saying, “The Lord told me you had a message for me from him.” 

“Well, he didn’t let me know about it!” she responded, and later to me, she added, “What am I supposed to say?” This having happened back in the ‘70s, I can’t remember what I told her, but things haven’t changed much in the nearly fifty years since. Preachers and prophets (often self-proclaimed) often claim Holy Spirit authority for their various pronouncements and proclamations. They say things like, “The Holy Spirit spoke to me about…” or, “The Spirit is moving powerfully here…” It is always possible, but it is also always possible to be deceived by the inner working of our own will and desires. 

I’ve been reading in the book of Hebrews, today in chapter 3, verse 7: “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says…” He goes on to quote Psalm 95:7-11. The only sure “witness of the Spirit” is the Word of God. It is through the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit speaks assuredly and unfailingly. And when he speaks, he often does so with words similar to those found here, warning of the danger of unbelief hardening our hearts. 

One of the tests of the state of my heart is the very condition stated here, ie. restlessness. The unbelief of the Israelites kept them from entering God’s rest—“You shall not enter my rest.” (v. 11). There is a lot of restlessness in the world today, even in the Church. Many are in a continual panic over all sorts of things. We are restless; we HAVE to be busy; we are so jittery we can’t even take a full Sabbath. We are as Jeremiah says, “like the restless waves of the sea,” never still.

The work of the Holy Spirit always brings an end to our restlessness. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit “will testify of me.” (John 15:26), and “he will glorify me.” (16:14). Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) 

The Holy Spirit always points us to Jesus Christ, who gives peace to the restless heart. Which begs the question: “What does the state of my rest or restlessness reveal about the work of the Holy Spirit in me? If I am troubled, I must, as Hebrews 3:7-11 says, turn to the Word of God which through the Holy Spirit, points me to Jesus, who replaces my restlessness with peace.

Wisdom

 May 6, 2022

One of the first Scripture verses I memorized after coming to Christ as I entered my teenage years was Proverbs 3:5-6, in the old King James Version, of course. 

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; 

And lean not unto thine own understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him, 

And he shall direct thy paths.”

Thumbing through my old Bible, these words popped out at me once again, but with the added perspective of old age. The words, “all thine heart” convict and challenge me. The longer I live, the more aware I am of the division within my heart. I would like to say I am trusting the LORD with all my heart, but I am too aware of the truth of the prophet Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (17:9) 

Pop psychologists tell young people to “follow your heart;” some of the worst advice that can be given. Our culture has taught an entire generation that we are basically good people, despite the witness of thousands of years of wisdom and the realities that surround us every day. Trusting in the LORD with ALL our heart is a continual battle of the spirit versus the flesh, as St. Paul puts it.

The Proverb continues: “Lean not to thine own understanding.” Modern versions put it this way: “Don’t rely upon your own understanding.” I must confess, I’ve done that more often than I care to remember. I did my research, thought the matter through, and charged ahead without sufficiently (read: “any”) praying. Like Israel with the deceitful Jebusites, I never failed to pay a price for trusting in my own wisdom, which is limited by human limitation, sinful nature, and selfish desires. I’ve too often believed I had better answers, knew more than others; in short, I was wise in my own eyes, which, had I read verse seven, I might have known better: 

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: 

Fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”

There is only one reliable source for wisdom—that Old Book I’ve been reviewing these past few days. I like the way Psalm 119 puts it: 

“I have more understanding than all my teachers: 

For thy testimonies are my meditation. 

I understand more than the ancients, 

Because I keep thy precepts.”

—Psalm 119:99-100 

Any wise decisions I’ve made have been due to the Word of God that somehow seeped into my soul to penetrate a heart that was often hard and dull, till it brought forth fruit from a seed I didn’t always know was there.

God is faithful, and in addition to giving wisdom to his people, he picks up the broken pieces and loose ends I offer to him when I finally wise up. That’s something for which to be thankful tonight!