A Special Ordinary Evening

 June 29, 2022

“You didn’t post about tonight?” Linda sounded surprised, but I had been thinking all day about the morning’s Scripture and wasn’t ready to change horses in the middle of the stream, as they say. So tonight I’m reflecting on last night.

It’s pretty straightforward; our three children and their spouses took us to dinner for our anniversary, followed by a short walk to an ice cream shop for after-dinner cones; nothing unusual, but everything very special. I know families so fractured that a gathering like ours would be all but impossible. Our conversation was so normal I cannot tell you what we talked about, but the enjoyment of the evening is something I will remember for a long time. 

Recently, someone complimented me on raising the children we have. Before we were married, Linda and I talked about having children, the goals we had for them, and how we could best reach those goals. We worked hard at it, prayed a lot, and as the Bible says about Noah, we found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Last night, Linda and I reaped some of the rewards, and were blessed. As a footnote, Linda asked me to take a photo of the kids sitting outside the ice cream shop. I did, but I wasn’t in it, so a selfie was in order. I don’t do selfies, so my attempt led to one of our kids’ favorite activities—humor at dad’s expense. It was a normal, very good evening.

Do You See?

 June 28, 2022

Luke tells us about the incident of “the sinner” woman and Simon the Pharisee. Simon had invited Jesus for dinner, and as they lay around the table (back then, the tables were low; people reclined on one side as they ate), a woman crashes the party, Weeping profusely, she broke a jar of perfume over Jesus’ feet and washed them with her hair—a rather provocative act, when you think about it.

Simon was annoyed and it showed, so Jesus told him a story about forgiveness and love. When he was done, Luke tells us he turned to face the woman while talking over his shoulder to Simon. “Do you see this woman?” he asked. She was one of the invisible people we encounter every day. She wasn’t a mover or shaker, someone valued for who she was. She was one bought and sold on the street. “Simon, do you see her? Can you look beneath or behind the sin to see the woman herself?” 

Jesus wasn’t looking at Simon as he asked the question. He had turned to look at her, to notice her, to show her some respect, something she hadn’t had perhaps for years. I can imagine Simon, the anger rising within him as Jesus turns his back to him. He wasn’t used to being ignored and disrespected in this way. “Simon, do you see this woman?” 

“Jim, do you see this woman? Or do you only see what she has done, what she has become? Do you see the brokenness, the regrets, the hopelessness, fear, and pain? Can you not see her?” Too often, instead of seeing people, I’ve gotten irritated because they crashed my party, upset my plans, intruded upon my nice, neat little world. What do I see when I look? Do I see problems, or do I see people? What I see is a good measure of how well I know the Savior. 

What do you see? Jesus isn’t looking at you when he asks the question. He is looking at the one ignored and overlooked, honoring her and blessing her with forgiveness and hope.

Unending Praise

 June 27, 2022

How would you describe the automobile to a Stone Age native islander who had never seen such a thing? How do you translate into his understanding something which for him has nothing with which to compare it? He has never seen a wheel, has no conception of the internal combustion engine, doesn’t even have basic metal tools. There is nothing in his experience that even remotely correlates with a car.

This is the basic Biblical problem, particularly when we deal with the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. In Revelation 4, John uses the best language at his disposal to describe something unlike anything in his experience. It’s no wonder scholars have difficulty interpreting this book! We are limited to our experience in time and space; God is not.

In this chapter, four strange-looking living creatures continually worship God saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” (v.8). Whenever these creatures “give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne” (God), the twenty-four elders representing the twelve tribes of Israel and the “spiritual” Israel of the New Testament, bow down in worship, casting their crowns before the throne (v.10). Here is where the imagery is so limited: if the creatures are continually worshipping, and when they do, the elders cast their crowns before the throne, those crowns never actually sit upon their heads as it says in verse 4. If this is all taken literally, it’s an impossibility.

John is pulling back the curtain to a different, spiritual reality, describing the continual worship he sees in this other dimension. Instead of a small, powerless band of believers who are left to struggle on their own against the might of Rome (or any other oppressive political entity), John shows them that they are part of a cosmic display of God’s glory. They may be cast in prison, denied the opportunity to worship together, but their earthly reality is not all there is to the story.

I particularly like what it says of these four creatures: “They do not rest day or night…” Even God Almighty rested after the Creation, but his glory is so great, there is no resting, no pause in the praise. I cannot conceive how all this can be, but I am humbled to be a part of this great divine drama, knowing that one day, “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11).

His Back is Turned

 June 26, 2022

“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil…

Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.””

—Luke 7:36-38, 44-47 NKJV

This morning I had the opportunity to preach on this text, some of which I’ve left out for brevity’s sake. I’ve heard sermons on this story, all of which seem to focus on the woman’s love and the Pharisee’s judgmentalism. I see something else going on here, as well.

How did Jesus know this woman “loved much?” She said nothing; gave no testimony, spoke not a word. When I asked this question earlier today, someone answered, “her actions,” which is true, but not specific enough. If we read carefully, we discover it was her generosity. An alabaster jar of perfume was prohibitively expensive in those days; to break open this flask and pour it out was a sacrifice on her part. 

When I was in seminary, we were poor. Our income was cut to about a third of what we had been making before, which wasn’t a lot. Linda’s cousin loaned us $600 to pay our insurances and later refused repayment. That was nearly fifty years ago, but I remember it as clearly as if it had been yesterday. More recently, the outpouring of generosity for our son as they navigate their journey with cancer has been eloquent testimony of love, even more than people’s offer of prayer. I don’t want to minimize the latter, but I know how easy it can be to say “I’ll pray,” and how easy it is to forget. Both years ago and weeks ago, we saw love in generosity. It reflects the heart of God who generously gave his only Son for our salvation.

There’s something else I notice in this story. It says that when confronting the Pharisee, Jesus turned to the woman and spoke to Simon. Do you understand what is happening here? Jesus is facing her, respecting her, giving her honor as he turns his back and talks over his shoulder to the Pharisee. I’m guessing Simon was not used to being treated that way. Being noticed and honored was more his style, but Jesus was speaking to him in an offhand manner, in essence, cutting him down to size. 

I wonder how often I’ve approached Jesus from the same privileged, arrogant place as Simon. How often has Jesus turned away and spoken to me over his shoulder, showing me that I am not as important as I imagine, and that the person I look down upon has his full attention? We don’t even know this woman’s name. We know Simon, but not her. Sometimes recognition is the last thing we should desire. Simon had it for all the wrong reasons, and instead of the admiration he was used to, for centuries he has been known for the wrong reasons, while this unnamed woman is held up as an example of the kind of faith that genuinely saves.

Being

 June 25, 2022

I don’t generally like bike “rides.” Riding a motorcycle to no particular destination for no particular reason seems to me like a waste of time and gas. Doing this with other bikers is somewhat of an oxymoron. Unless you have Bluetooth helmets, you can’t talk to anyone while riding—hardly a team sport.

Panama UM Church had a “blessing of the bikes” this morning. The ride was preceded by a devotional in which pastor Steve Taylor encouraged us to enjoy the countryside and use the time for prayer. I have to admit, the countryside around Panama is extraordinarily beautiful with roads winding through its rolling hills of Amish farmland. One would have to be blind not to give thanks for such beauty, in which case, one ought not be driving a motorcycle.

I’ve often wondered how people are able to spend entire weekends on their boats, riding their motorcycles, going camping, or just sitting around. Don’t these people have things to do? Don’t they have lawns to mow, gardens to tend, jobs and to-do lists? But as I was riding this morning, enjoying the ever-changing scenery, I remembered God’s command to observe a Sabbath each week; to take time to pull back from work in order to recalibrate and remember to live. There are always things to be done, and it’s easy to get caught in the trap of “the list.” When we do so, we end up measuring life by what we do rather than by who we are. 

God measures on the “to be” scale, not the “to do” scale, and we all would benefit from focusing more on who we are, or ought to be than on what we do. There will always be more to do, but without stepping back to look around, to look up and give thanks, we are in danger of becoming empty shells devoid of our humanity, unable to recognize divinity. That would be a sad state, indeed. Today, I rode. Instead of doing, I simply rode, and prayed with thanksgiving for the wonder that surrounded me and the wonder of Christ within me and I in him, as Jesus said in John 15:4–“Abide in Me, and I in you.”

Holy Spirit

 June 23, 2022

It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if l depart, I will send him unto you. —John 16:7

“Have you been filled/baptized with the Holy Spirit?” I remember the first time I heard these words. Having been raised in an independent, fundamental Baptist church, we believed in the Holy Spirit, but were less than comfortable with what we considered the excesses of the Pentecostals. It wasn’t until I was in my first full-time appointment as a United Methodist pastor that I was confronted with the Pentecostal/Charismatic teachings about the Holy Spirit. 

The church to which I was assigned (I found out after I arrived) was within a single Sunday of splitting because of the disagreement over the gifts of the Spirit, specifically, speaking in tongues. The previous pastor had gotten quite deeply involved in the Charismatic Movement, and while there was a strong contingency in the congregation who agreed with him, there were others who were very uncomfortable with it all. I guess I was expected to somehow bring the two sides together, which is exactly what happened.

At first, I didn’t know how to answer that question. I hadn’t spoken in tongues, which seemed to be the touchstone of authenticity. I bought books, talked with the charismatics, listened, and did my best to bring the two sides together. The strange thing about it all is that in terms of devotional life, I was in the Charismatic camp, but in terms of the “demonstrations of Holy Spirit power,” I sided with the traditionalists. It wasn’t until one evening when I sat down with the leader of the Charismatic contingency that things began to fall into place. I am forever indebted to Everett Scofield for his understanding and wisdom as we talked together.

He said to me, “Pastor, you have the gift of preaching. You don’t need to speak in tongues. Accept your gift for what it is and use it for Christ.” He continued, explaining how speaking in tongues worked for him: “I was pretty wild before Christ, and he had to hit me over the head with a two by four just to get my attention. You didn’t need that.” This wasn’t the kind of talk that was coming out of the mouths of some of the folks I knew, but Everett was recognized as the leader, and as we blessed each other’s ministry, the church began to heal.

This morning’s Scripture reading came from Our Daily Light, a devotional Linda and I have used on and off for fifty years. As I read those words, the memories came flooding back. How do we know we have the Holy Spirit? It’s not necessarily speaking in tongues, performing miracles, or even anointed preaching. How do we know? Simply because He was promised to us by Jesus. He told his disciples, “if I don’t go away, the Comforter won’t come unto you; but if l depart, I will send him unto you.” Guess what? Jesus did go away. As the Creed says, “he ascended to the right hand of the Father.” He said, “If I go away, I will send him.” That was a promise from Jesus Christ himself, and he always keeps his promises. 

Don’t look for signs, don’t lean on ecstatic feelings. Those things come and go, and can be faked and manipulated. Lean on the unchanging Word of God, the promises that are as certain as God himself. Do I have the Holy Spirit? Well, Jesus ascended, so there’s no debating it! End of discussion. Now, if I can just live out what is in me…

So Thankful!

 June 22, 2022

When I started writing nine years ago, it was all about being thankful. God had convicted me of the sin of ingratitude, of disobeying his clear command to continually give thanks in every situation (2 Thessalonians 5:18). Although my writing has expanded to include Biblical commentary, the necessity of gratitude has never left me. 

Sometimes gratitude is easy; the blessings are obvious even to someone as thick-headed as me. Sometimes giving thanks is a discipline, a deliberate choice in the midst of terrible circumstances. It is perhaps the most telling act of faith we can offer—to trust God when it makes no earthly sense to do so.

Tonight it’s easy to give thanks. Our son had his MRI to see how his body is responding to the gamma knife and immunotherapy infusions. Here’s the news, straight from the horses’ mouth (Sorry Deb; it’s just a saying):

Nate update!! We had his Oncology follow up on the brain today. All tumors have started shrinking except one, but they said that one was the largest to start with and is swollen due to treatment, something they expected. So all in all good news!!  

And he’s allowed to drive!! He is not off the seizure meds like he wanted, but he is only on them as a precaution and they cleared him for driving, working and LIGHT exercise. So if you see him pushing it, tell his wife! 

Nate will continue Immunotherapy for the lung and to help prevent new brain spots. His next brain MRI is in 2 months. 

Thank you to all of you for your support and prayers!! We appreciate you so so much!!

To top it all off, today is his 50th birthday. What a gift from God!

 Am I thankful tonight? With ease!

Don’t Fear

 June 21, 2022

Jesus utters strange words in Revelation 2:10

“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Why would we not be afraid if we know we are about to suffer? Imprisonment, trials, even death awaits God’s faithful ones, but don’t be afraid? Our culture thrives on fear. Turn on the TV, go online, listen to the radio—if it makes the news, it’s pretty sure to be hyped in such a way as to make us fear, because fearful people are more easily controlled. 

For the past two years, we’ve masked, quarantined, social distanced, been vaxxed, double-jabbed, and boosted. If we didn’t react the way we were supposed to, we couldn’t travel, eat out, or attend concerts or sports events. We were bombarded with daily stats on infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. Now we’re hearing that maybe all these precautions weren’t as effective as we had been told. But the experiment succeeded. We now know how easily the populace can be manipulated. Fear is a terrible thing in the hands of the wrong people.

We have lived in fear for the past 30 months, not because anyone put a gun to our head, but because we thought we might get sick and die. Of course, some did, but how many were the result of Covid, we’ll never know. Just ask the nursing homes in New York State.

Fear of the future doesn’t change the future, but it surely changes today. The future will come, but in reality, it never does. It always remains the future. If we allow uncertainty of what lies ahead of us to rob us of our joy today, we’ve lost both the present and the future to fear. There’s no guarantee we’ll be kept safe, as so often we pray. Actually, the opposite is promised—not safety, but persecution, prison, and even death. In spite of all this, we are not to fear. Why?

The answer is simple, though not necessarily easy to swallow. Whatever happens to us here is temporary. Jesus gives us the long view when he offers a crown of life. The first death is nothing, he asserts. It’s the second death we want to avoid. We do that by becoming overcomers. To become an overcomer, there must be some trouble, some difficulty, some challenge to overcome. God doesn’t intend for life to be smooth sailing because an easy ride doesn’t produce the character he prizes. If we understand that troubles are part of his plan to shape us into a people of character, integrity, faith, and love, instead of fearing those troubles, we may even learn to appreciate them. 

Out of Hiding

 June 20, 2022

I remember my first love. I was twelve, and other than the love of my parents, for the first time in my life understood what love was like. No, it wasn’t that first kiss, unless you count the kiss of God himself. I had learned that even at that young and inexperienced age, I was a sinner in need of God’s grace and Christ’s salvation. The invitation was given and I stood up, climbed past grown-up knees, and walked down the aisle to stand beside pastor Ellis, who had just issued the invitation to be saved.

To this day, I can remember how happy I was, how eager to tell my friends…until I was ridiculed. No one had prepared me for this, and I countered by hiding in the safety of the familiar and friendly, ie. the church. As I look back, I believe I’ve spent much of my life hiding in the church. I have no trouble at all proclaiming the Gospel within its walls, but sharing my faith in the  marketplace is another story. It’s only been fairly recently that I’ve mustered courage enough to venture out in the rock’em-sock’em world the people I preached to for fifty years inhabit daily. Maybe another word for love is courage.

Jesus told the Ephesian church that if they didn’t change, he would come quickly and remove their candlestick, ie. the church itself. His reason? They had left their first love. They began with passion, but over time their hard work had degenerated into predictability. His remedy? Repentance; changing how they thought about life and service.

God has been gracious, giving me many years to reflect and repent; to change my thinking, to get back to my first love, but a lifetime of hiding requires a lot of repenting. Here’s what I know: it’s possible to work hard for Jesus, to be faithful to his Word, even to be successful in ministry—all without love. We can serve out of guilt or obligation, or from a force of habit. It’s not that we intend to serve in any other way, but ask anyone whose marriage has fallen apart; it’s easy to drift out of love. Jesus is looking for love, which comes from a recognition of the depth of our sin and the greatness of our salvation. The one forgiven much is the one who loves much, and as Mother Theresa used to say, “If you cannot do great things, do small things with great love.”

Where is Your Faith?

 June 19, 2022

Pastor Roy preached this morning on Luke’s account in chapter 8 of the healing of the Gadarene demoniac, with a number of thoughts well worth repeating. I’ll only share a couple here. 

“It happened on a certain day that he got into a boat with his disciples. ANd he said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side.” So they launched out.”  —Luke 8:22

A storm blew in, and it must have been a doozy, because these experienced fishermen thought they were going to capsize. Jesus was sleeping, but the storm got so violent they woke him up. “We’re going to drown!” they shouted above the wind. Jesus spoke to the storm, it suddenly became calm, and he asked them, “Where is your faith?” (v.24).

That’s a good question for us today. Where is our faith? Jesus had told them they were going to the other side of the lake, which means he had no intention of only going halfway. The obvious answer to his question was that what faith they had was primarily in their own skills, which weren’t adequate for the storm they faced. Their faith was certainly not in Jesus’ word.

We expect when Jesus invites us on a trip that it will be pleasant sailing. We can relax with our coffee and snacks, enjoying the view and the breeze. Storms are not on our radar; after all, isn’t Jesus with us? Doesn’t he protect us from such things? When life’s storms crash in upon our little vacation, upsetting our plans and threatening to swamp our boat, we do what the disciples did; we work harder, applying our skills to the storm. Our faith is in our abilities, or that of the doctors, or lawyers, or counselors, instead of the word of Christ.

The disciples didn’t drown that day. There was a drowning, but it wasn’t the disciples. They landed safely on the other side. No; it was a herd of pigs suddenly tormented by the demons that had infested the poor Gadarene at Jesus’ command. The Word of Christ is powerful, if we will but believe it instead of what we see happening around us. If they aren’t already raging, storms are brewing, calling out to us in their fury, “Look at us! We are going to destroy you!” They don’t have that power when Jesus Christ has spoken, calling us to the other side. We only have to answer his question, “Where is your faith?”

Holding Steady

 June 18, 2022

I entered the United Methodist Church in 1972 when the old Erie Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren became part of the new UMC. I remember the transition. The first half of Annual Conference that year was held at the Findley Lake campground. It was the last for the old Erie Conference and the EUB denomination. Two days at Findley Lake were followed by two days at Roberts Wesleyan College as newly minted United Methodists. I remember coming home from  that first Annual Conference as a United Methodist and telling my wife, “They use the same words, but don’t mean the same thing.” 

For the past fifty years, we have worked together, agreed and disagreed, held together by a covenant called the Discipline. I’ve learned from my “less conservative” brothers and sisters, have had friendships with people I wouldn’t have met and befriended had we not had that merger fifty years ago. And now it is all unraveling. My United Methodist Denomination is imploding. It isn’t official yet, but it’s coming. Battles over human sexuality make the headlines, but the interpretation and authority of Scripture is where the real divide takes place.

The vision of the Son of Man in Revelation 1 has long impressed me. When disagreements are deep, the temptation is often to demonize the other side. We are seeing it in politics, and it’s present in the Church. But here, Jesus is seen walking among the candlesticks holding stars in his hand. In the last verse of the chapter, the symbolism is explained: “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

In chapters two and three, these churches are described. Some have been faithful, some have tolerated immorality and doctrinal error, one was outstanding in its missionary work, and one was almost a complete failure. In spite of all that, Jesus walked among them and held their leaders in his hand. He didn’t kick some churches to the side or cast out ineffective or even errant leaders. He walked among them and held them tightly.

Whenever I’m tempted to write someone off, or thrown in the towel with a clearly dysfunctional denomination (which temptation I’ve faced many times), I remember Jesus walking among the candlesticks and say to myself, “If Jesus can stick with them, I can, too.” So I do, even when in my heart of hearts, I want to do otherwise. If Jesus can do it, so must I.

Purpose in Place of Plans

 June 17, 2022

When my good friend Clark agreed to tutor me in Spanish, I never imagined how it would impact my Bible study. In English, the word “for” has more than one meaning. If I say, “I’ll give you ten dollars for your lunch, “for” means “in place of.” If I say, “I am here for the conference,” it points to the end purpose or goal of my being here. 

Recently, I learned that in Spanish, there are two different words for “for.” “Por” is “in place of, or “for the sake of,” while “para” looks towards the goal—“I am working for the election.” As I was reading Revelation 1:9, John says he was on Patmos “for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.” In the original Greek, the word “for” is like our English word; it has multiple connotations, which made me wonder about what John said here.

John was on Patmos “for the Word of God”—this was God’s purpose for having him there. But he was also there “for the testimony of Jesus.” This was what landed him on the island. He never intended to vacation on Patmos, but his testimony put him there. He crossed the powers that were, so they exiled him to shut him up. That was the mechanism that placed him on the island. But the mechanism wasn’t his purpose for being there. His purpose was “for the Word of God.” God wanted this book to be written, and the only way he could get John to do it was to place him where there wasn’t much else he could do.

Often, we have ideas for how we want to live our lives; how we can be most effective, reach the most people, accomplish the most. We have plans for our lives, but God has purposes for our lives which in order to accomplish, must often cut our plans off at the knees. God had a wider audience for John’s message than John ever could have imagined, and it was by being constrained, hemmed in, exiled on a lonely island that God began to weave his tapestry for John’s life in a way John probably couldn’t see when he first landed on those isolated shores.

He was on Patmos for the Word of God—that was God’s purpose. He was on Patmos for the testimony of Jesus—that was God’s means. All this tells me I must be quite careful in my prayers. If I only see my purposes, my desires and plans, I am apt to pray prayers that in effect, short-circuit God’s greater plans. I think I know what is best, just like the child believes eating bowls full of candy and not going to bed are best. But God sees a larger picture that I often cannot imagine. We see “in a glass darkly,” Paul said; unable to discern or imagine what God wants to do with our distress. The trick is to pray beyond our plans into God’s purposes, which is why we’re told to pray always “in the Holy Spirit,” according to the Word of God.

Babylon is Falling

 June 16, 2022

September 11, 2001…do you remember where you were when you heard the news? The previous spring we had moved into our new facilities at Park church; I was walking from my office to the secretary’s office when someone said, “A plane just hit one of the towers!” Shortly afterwards came the news that a second plane had hit the South Tower. We watched as they burned, then were horrified when they collapsed. We watched over and over again, willing it to be a mistake or a lie, but it was neither.

The most chilling part of the day came when they aired video clips of Palestinians smiling, shouting with glee, shooting their AK-47s in the air. Rejoicing in such destruction and loss of life was, and remains foreign to me. But as evil as I saw this rejoicing to be, like whiplash snapping my neck, my mind turned to the Revelation, chapter 18.

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:” —-Revelation 18:1-3, 9-11 

“Babylon the great is fallen…the kings of the earth…and the merchants of the earth weep and mourn.” Then comes the rest of the story:

 

“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”” —Revelation 19:1-3 

As again and again I watched the towers collapse and the Palestinians cheering, I couldn’t help but wonder about my relationship with the systems of this world represented by Babylon. Would I be among those who weep at the loss and destruction of this world’s systems which are spiritually aligned in virulent opposition to the kingdom of God, or when that day comes, will I be among those who rejoice? 

I used to be quite confident where my loyalties lay, but since 9/11, I’m not as sure. I certainly mourned the towers and was stunned by the Palestinians’ rejoicing, so which side does that put me on? Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.” We want to believe we will rejoice at his coming, but John is clear: ALL the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Will I mourn or rejoice? I fear the former and hope for the latter. As with 9/11 It all depends on our citizenship. We mourned; the Palestinians rejoiced. When Jesus comes with the clouds, the tribes of earth will mourn; the saints will rejoice.

Paul tells us that because our citizenship is in heaven, we wait eagerly for him. (Philippians 3:20). Do we? We have a choice in the matter. We who were citizens of hell can become citizens of heaven, but to have such citizenship means renouncing our loyalty to this world. That is easier said than done, which is why we have the Scriptures to challenge, convict, and correct us. 

Who He Is, What He Does

 June 15, 2022

“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” —Revelation 1:4-6 NKJV

If the Revelation is, as I believe, about Jesus Christ, John wastes no time in telling us who Jesus is, what he has done, and what this means for us. He begins with an unusual trio of phrases: “Him who is and who was and who is to come.” Normally, when we speak like this we would say, “Him who is, who was, and who will be,” but John doesn’t do that because to say Jesus “will be” implies a changeability that he does not have. As Hebrews 13:6 says, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.” We can speak of Jesus Christ as the One who is in the present, as the One who was in eternity past and when he walked this earth, but we cannot speak of him as one who “will be,” because that implies that he will be something he is not at the present. 

Jesus is coming, but he isn’t changing, and that’s good news!

I notice also how John describes Jesus in three phrases: “faithful witness,” firstborn from the dead,” and “ruler over the kings of the earth.” These three phrases describing who he is correspond with the next three describing what he does: he loved us, washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father. As faithful witness, he loved us, giving witness to the love of his Father. As firstborn from the dead, he washed (better translation: “loosed”) us from our sins through his blood. As ruler over kings of the earth, he made us kings and priests to his God and Father. I like to say it this way: “He loved us, loosed us, and lifted us.” For those trapped in the slavery of sin, that’s a pretty good deal!

Revelation

 June 14, 2022

It’s been awhile since I’ve tackled the Biblical book of Revelation, but it’s where I am in my personal readings at the moment, and hearing a lot of apocalyptic talk lately, maybe it’s time to deal with it in this more public way, so here goes:

How we interpret the very first words of the book will impact how we interpret the rest of it, so it is important to understand at the beginning what John is all about in writing this book. He begins with these words: 

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

—Revelation 1:1-3 NKJV

The words “the revelation of Jesus Christ” can mean two things; either “the revelation about Jesus Christ,” or “the revelation from Jesus Christ.” Which way we see this makes a big difference in how we see the rest of the book. It’s tempting to see this as the latter—the revelation from Jesus Christ—because John goes on to talk about things which must shortly take place, implying that the main purpose of the revelation is to inform us of the future.

I think this is a mistake. To read the book of Revelation this way is to reduce it to fortune-telling, a Christian sort of divination. We often say we want to know what the future brings, but once it is here, we’re often glad we didn’t know beforehand what was coming down the road; we would be tempted to back up and beg for a do-over. The Revelation isn’t merely FROM Jesus; it is ABOUT Jesus. He is the central figure of the entire book, and to miss this is to miss its message and make the mistake so many have made of setting dates and interpreting it’s symbols in terms of their present circumstances.

If we look at the Revelation as Jesus pulling back the curtain to show us more of himself rather than more of the future, we can avoid the sensationalism that causes many to dismiss us as quacks and fanatics, and it might even keep us from the foolishness of selling everything, donning white robes, and sitting on a mountaintop to await Jesus’ return. If anything, this book is an encouragement to faithful living in difficult times—something much needed today.

Finally, there are these comforting words: “Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things with are written in it; for the time is near.” John omits a blessing for those who understand this book, which is a good thing. We don’t have to understand everything in it to be blessed by it. All we have to do is read, listen, and do. The time is always near; none of us knows when Jesus will return, and none of us knows when he will call us home in the meantime. The time is always near, so a revelation of Jesus Christ is always timely for his servants, for which I am grateful in this particular time of my life.

React or Respond?

 June 13, 2022

People have told me on numerous occasions how impressed they are with how our son Nathan is dealing with his cancer diagnosis. His positive attitude, his determination to make every moment count, and his witness to Jesus Christ is not what most people expect from such a medical report, perhaps because most of us would react differently. Three facts are important here.

First, there is a world of difference between reacting and responding to circumstances. Think of the difference between reacting and responding to medication. You want your body to respond to medication, not to react to it. The same is true of life. Often, we react to circumstances when we should be responding to them, particularly when those circumstances are not to our liking. As Christians, we react when we are living in the flesh; we only respond through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Second, we can only response to circumstances when we have prepared for them before they come. The spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible reading, worship, generosity, witness, and gratitude cannot be conjured up at the last minute. As I’ve often said, you can’t obtain by trying what requires training to accomplish. My grandson has been weight training, and recently deadlifted 300 lbs. I could try, but trying wouldn’t cut it. The same is true of spiritual tests. Only by doing the work in the gym of spiritual disciplines will we be able to do the heavy lifting when trouble comes.

Last, Nate is no superhero. He is an ordinary man, a human being just like you and me. In tonight’s Bible study, we read John 16. :14—“He (the Holy Spirit) will glorify Me…” How does the Holy Spirit glorify Jesus? John has already told us: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

—John 15:26-27 

Did you catch it? “You also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning. The only way the Holy Spirit can glorify Jesus is through ordinary people who respond to circumstances in extraordinary ways. That only happens when we’ve been with Jesus. God’s intent is that every single one of us would glorify Jesus in decidedly un glorious situations. What people have been saying is unusual should be the norm for us all. Extraordinary responses (not reactions) to extraordinary situations can bring extraordinary glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faultless

 June 12, 2022

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…” —Jude 1:20-21, 24 

Jude is one of the shortest books in the Scriptures, less than a single page in most Bibles. He writes to encourage Christians and to warn them about false teachers who even in those early years had infiltrated the church. He says some interesting things in the verses I’ve chosen for today, the first being, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” He doesn’t explain exactly what he means by this, but in three adverbial phrases, he does tell us how it happens:

1. “Building yourselves up in your most holy faith.” In v. 3, he speaks of “contending for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” In other words, don’t let yourself get led astray by false teachers. He then gives their identifying characteristics: dissolute and arrogant lifestyles, and encourages his readers to listen to the words of the original apostles; in other words, check everything a preacher says by the Scriptures. Too many Christians are so deficient in their personal study of the Bible that they are easily led astray by anyone charismatic and convincing in their speech.

2. “Praying in the Holy Spirit.” Jude doesn’t give us any clue to what he means here, apparently assuming his readers know about this. At the very least, he is encouraging his readers to be men and women of prayer, something most of us could stand to do more of.

3. “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.” His best clue to his meaning here is in the following two verses where he speaks of doing all we can do to rescue the lost: “And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” The love of God isn’t merely something offered to bless us, but something we offer to bless others.

It is instructive that he begins this section with, “Keep yourselves in the love of God,” but concludes with God’s ability to keep us from falling. We have the responsibility to keep in God’s love, but he is the only one able to keep us from falling away. It is the disciplines Jude outlines which are the means by which God keeps us from falling. There are times when he reaches down and divinely intervenes to rescue us, but his most common means of keeping us from falling is when we build ourselves up in faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, and keep focused on being merciful like Jesus. The best part of it all is the last promise: “He is able…to present us faultless before his presence with exceeding joy.” He keeps us from falling away, but in our frailty we often stumble and fall. But the day is coming when we stand before the glorious and almighty Father, completely clothed in the righteousness of Christ…faultless. What a day that will be!

Spirit Filled work

June 11, 2022

Somehow, projects around here tend to morph from one thing to another. Fortunately, that sometimes works out to the good. A couple months ago, son Matthew had a garage built He even had the concrete floor poured, which meant that once it cured, the 1942 Harley that’s been sitting in my garage for years could have a new home. Last Sunday afternoon when we went to Ellie’s birthday party, I loaded the bike in the bucket of my tractor and drove to the party, stopping at Matt’s to deliver said bike. Step one.

The part of our garage floor where the front left tire sits has been sagging for at least a year. Deciding it was time to get it fixed, I bought lumber from an Amish sawyer, and instead of waiting to have it done by professionals, yesterday I tackled the project myself. Turns out, instead of completely tearing out the old plywood and replacing it with the lumber I bought, all I needed to do was screw a sister to the joist at the seam of the plywood, and we were in business. But in the process of moving all the garage contents to the other side in anticipation of replacing the entire floor, I decided to rearrange my shelving to give me more available work space. Once all the antique motorcycle parts get delivered to Matt, I’m not going to need as 

much shelving as before. 

As it so happened, today was village clean up day, when we can take anything at all down to the village barn and load it into the dumpster at no charge. When rearranging the garage, it’s amazing how much unnecessary stuff you find lying around. I filled up the truck and further emptied the garage. Things are shaping up!

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” —Genesis 1:2

The best part of it all is knowing that cleaning my garage is a work of the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:2 tells us how the Holy Spirit brought order .  out of chaos, which is exactly what I’ve been doing.  Anytime we bring order out of chaos, we are participating in the work of the Holy Spirit  

Floor Boards

June 10, 2022

Meema/Beepa night is underway, with most of the grandkids present and accounted for. It’s good to hear the conversations even though these defective ears of mine can’t make out most of what they’re saying when they all talk at once. 

One of the features of these Friday nights is “High—Low,” when we go around the dinner table, each one telling the best and worst of their day; the “high” is required, the “low” is optional. This little exercise often gives insight into the inner workings of their minds as they reveal thoughts and experiences that otherwise might not see the light of day.

It’s a wonderful time of the day. Cell phones are put away, conversation flows, as does the laughter. They actually listen to each other, probably because early on when they were much younger, we would quiz them on what the person before them had said. It’s easy to be thinking of your own narrative when you should be listening to someone else. They listen, thanks to early conditioning at our table.

I was the last to speak tonight. I am thankful for my friend Clark who is tutoring me in Spanish. The hour or so we spend together is becoming a high point of my week as we laugh our way through the lessons. He is a good teacher, with tips and pointers that are helping me learn much faster than if I tried doing it on my own.

I had two highs tonight, Clark being the first, and repairing my garage floor the second. For the past year, when we put the car in the garage, the floor would sag where the left front wheel would come to rest. A week ago, I bought from an Amish sawyer 150 square feet of inch and a half hardwood. Hemlock and larch are about impossible to get, but he had maple, oak, and cherry. His price was right, so I am the owner of a hardwood garage floor. Almost.

When I pulled up the sagging plywood, I discovered the reason for the problem. It wasn’t as I feared, rotted floor joists. In this particular spot, the joist that was sistered to the main joist had dropped away. The wood was fine, but the nails holding the two together had disintegrated. Reattaching the sistered joist put me back in business without having to tear up the entire floor. That was my “high.” My “low” is that now I have 150 square feet of 8 inch maple 2 X 6’s with no plan for them. Yet.

United

 June 9, 2022

“Unite my heart to fear your name. I will praise you, O LORD my God, with all my heart.”          —Psalm 86:11-12

One of the problems of modern life is how easily our lives get fragmented, divided up into various categories, tasks, loyalties that are often in conflict with each other. We have so many things going on that we are unable to really focus on what is most needful at any given time. Often, we don’t even know what that most necessary matter is. Until catastrophe strikes.

We Christians give lip service to God, but he is but one item in our busy lives, available when we need him, but usually sitting on the shelf somewhere out of sight. Until catastrophe strikes.

Ukrainian citizens were in the same kind of circumstances at the beginning of the year. They went about their lives much as we do, attending school, going to work, playing sports, going to church. Then Russia invaded, and everything changed. They became single-minded in defense of their country. All other priorities suddenly faded into the background as this single catastrophe burst upon them and stared them in the face. Their hearts were instantly united in a cause.

“Lord of heaven and earth, come closer till you fill my entire field of vision, crowding out all else that has occupied my attention. Unite my divided heart, stripping away all other loyalties till you alone remain. False familiarity has made me proud, and whenever my heart is lifted up, it is to my own destruction.

“You had David write these words: “I will praise your name with all my heart.” While I am waiting for you to unite my heart, you are calling on me to make a decision, a choice to praise your name in the meantime. Praise isn’t necessarily the result of a united heart; it is the source of it, so I choose to praise you with this often divided heart, that it may by your grace be united, wholeheartedly worshipping and serving you.”

Humility

June 8, 2022

“As long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper…But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction.” —2 Chronicles 26:5, 16.

As a nation, we prospered because we sought the Lord—not perfectly by any means—but we at least gave recognition and honor to God. But we grew strong, and our hearts have become proud. We’ve thumbed our collective noses at God and his commandments. We have said, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth” (1Chronicles 22:18). We have sown the wind, and are reaping the whirlwind.

If this were only a national malady, I could hold my head high, but sadly, these words have too often been true of me personally. I’ve often claimed to trust in God, but I’ve always had an income and good health to fall back on. With our economy going down the drain, am I worrying about tomorrow? Do I let the media shape my mood? If so, I am not trusting God as much as I claim. The Bible says God is near to the humble, not to those whose hearts are lifted up. May we humbly bow before the Lord in repentance, giving thanks for the richness of his provision, and calling upon him for mercy and grace. 

Two Dates

 June 7, 2022

“I’ll be there!” So said Linda on my next-to-the-last call. It was before cell phones, and I was at Annual Conference, every so often running out to the phone in the foyer of Wesley Chapel for an update. I was waiting to be ordained in the evening, and Linda was nine months pregnant. Bishop Yeakel had given me his word that no babies were to be born on this day, but strangely enough, never did say whether or not this word was from the Lord. Apparently, it wasn’t, because on my next call, Linda said, “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” Bishop Yeakel was a better bishop than prophet.

Of course, she wasn’t. She was on the hall phone in the hospital, gowned up and ready to deliver, which she did, ten minutes later. Of course, I wasn’t apprised of the immediacy of the delivery, so I hopped in the car and drove like a maniac so I could be there for the birth of our daughter. No ordination for me!

I should have known my luck wouldn’t hold out. Nate was born in the middle of the biggest flooding the area had ever seen; Roads were closing behind us all the way to the hospital; we got most of the way there when a flooded road halted our progress. The local volunteer firemen took her across the swollen river in an army duck, while I found a place to park our borrowed car. When I finally made it through myself, it was to spend the next 72 hours bagging sand by day and sleeping on a two-seat hospital couch by night.

Matthew’s birth was without incident, except for how quickly he came. I think the obstetrician must have played football in college, because he had to catch Matthew like a wide receiver.

We have faded newspaper accounts of the flood of ‘72, only memories of Matthew in ‘74, but Jessie’s birth is forever engraved, not only on our hearts, but also literally, on the communion set which was the Conference gift to all the ordinands. Mine is the only one—the ONLY one—with two dates engraved on the chalice; the date I was supposed to have been ordained, and the next year’s date when it actually happened. We had one extra participant that next year. As Bishop Yeakel intoned, “Take thou authority…,” Linda stood beside me, holding in her arms the reason for the two dates. And now, every time that chalice is raised in thanksgiving, I have double reason to give thanks: for the gift of salvation in Christ, and the gift of my daughter 43 years ago today.

This Day

 June 6, 2022

D-Day, 1944, 78 years ago, Allied forces storm the beaches of Normandy, France, marking the beginning of the end of Hitler’s brutal Third Reich. More than 6,000 American and British men died on that dark day, paying the full price for freedoms we too often take for granted and are bit by bit squandering today.

It was a much brighter day 52 years ago when Linda and I stood face to face before our pastors, family, and friends, promising to “love, honor, comfort, and keep each other…till parted by death.” It was the beginning of an adventure in many ways every bit as challenging for us as that which stood before our men years before. We’ve had our battles, our victories and defeats. We’ve stormed the gates of hell together, forging a bond that has stood the test of time. 

We thought we knew love those many years ago, but the years have taught us so much that we look back with knowing glances and look ahead with the confidence born of half a century of commitment to a future as uncertain as we faced then. This afternoon, we had our anniversary lunch (the senior portions of lunchtime fare suit us at our age) after having bought more flowers and a coffee maker. Romantics that we are, we know how to party! I pulled some honey from my bees, we went to Bible study, and are now home, writing, thankful for the blessings we have known. Some didn’t seem like blessings at the time, but even the difficulties have had the touch of our Father’s hand. Few people have the privilege of celebrating 52 years together, so I give thanks tonight for the sweetness of the honeycomb, and the even greater sweetness of our marriage.

Grace

 June 5, 2022

Linda and I have often wondered at the blessings that have characterized our lives. We’ve had bumps in the road; times when we wondered how we were going to make it; when we moved to Chicago for seminary in 1975, our income dropped from a whopping $12,000/year to about $3500. When we came back to NY in 1977, we were debt-free. Those years were tight. When someone broke into the church I was pastoring and stole the boys’ Christmas gifts, we had no cushion with which to replace them. Someone gave us money to make sure their Christmas wasn’t toy-less.

In 2004, the church went through a major upheaval that left us drained. We took a 10% pay cut (“we” being ourselves and our church staff); it took 10 years for Park church to get back on her feet, but we were able to bless our successor with a healthy congregation.

And now we are dealing with Nate’s melanoma. But if you add it all up, three major challenges in more than fifty years is a pretty good average. We’ve had all the normal ups and downs of marital life, but we have been blessed beyond measure. How is it that we’ve watched others deal with financial ruin, family dysfunction, catastrophic health issues, and not been touched ourselves? At times, we’ve almost felt guilty, like the soldier who made it home when so many of his buddies died.

We don’t understand the mystery of God’s ways. Of course, I would rather be the one with the cancer than to have my son dealing with it, but for some reason beyond our understanding, God chose otherwise. And on this day, Linda and I look back with deep gratitude one year to our Abi and Jake’s wedding. Tomorrow, we celebrate our fifty-second, and bow before the mystery of the grace that has gone before us each step of the way.

Diligence

 June 4, 2022

It was late. The day had been busy with preparations for the celebration, capping a week of intense teaching and political subterfuge. Things were no different then than now; the power brokers were doing all they could to shut down speech they didn’t like, but the pushback from the people was significant. By the time the evening meal was over, it was late; the tension around the table was almost palpable, and now they were going for a short walk to a favorite place of prayer and meditation to finish out the day.

Little did Peter know what would happen before morning. He, along with John and James, were invited to an exclusive prayer meeting with Jesus, which they attended, but not altogether. Worn out as they were, try as they might, they couldn’t keep their eyes open. Jesus walked a little further and prayed as he had never before prayed, till he sweat blood. Meanwhile, Peter and the others slept. After awhile, Jesus came back and gently chastised them, to no avail. 

Suddenly, there were lights and shouting! The religious leaders saw their chance and took it. Led by one of Jesus’ own followers, they descended upon Jesus, and dragged him off. Peter followed from a distance, but before sunrise, just as Jesus had predicted, he had denied three times that he had ever known Jesus. John tells us he wept bitterly.

I wonder if Peter was thinking of that long-ago night when he penned his second letter as preserved in our Bibles. Twice in chapter 1, he speaks of diligence: 

 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,…Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;” —II Peter 1:5,6, 10 

I’m guessing he remembered all too well how he stumbled that night in the garden. Perseverance was not his strong suit back then, but he learned his lesson well, and was diligent, working hard to make sure that never again would he deny his Lord. 

It is tempting to think of prayer in the terms of the old gospel song, “In the Garden,” where we walk and talk with Jesus in sweetness and light, forgetting that in the garden that night, Jesus found only a battlefield with the devil and perhaps with his own soul, as he prayed “Let this cup pass from me.” This was no comforting time of peace and safety. Peter remembered, and calls us not to comforting, but to combative prayers, where we must diligently…with determined effort persevere. 

With my son’s melanoma diagnosis, I have been driven to my knees more than ever before, and have been challenged through the Word of God to dig in, praying without ceasing, not only for Nate, but for souls to be saved, for the work of God to prosper, for the darkness to be pushed back by the light of Christ. This is no stroll through the park, but a fight to the finish! May we stand firm in the power of the Holy Spirit, holding one another up as Aaron and Hur held Moses’ arms so Joshua could win the fight. Our prayers are not only for ourselves, but for others unnamed, who struggle in the valley below against a determined enemy who must be met with even the even greater determination and endurance that comes only through persistent prayer.

Growing

 June 3, 2022

How do we measure our knowledge of God? What is the test that lets us know we really know him? Fortunately, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:5-8.

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” —II Peter 1:5-8 NKJV

Notice verse 8: “If these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter doesn’t leave much wiggle room here. A fruitful knowledge of Jesus is guaranteed if we meet the conditions aforementioned. What are the things we need to have in abundance? 

He tells us: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. According to Peter, it requires diligence to obtain these; we must unceasingly work at them, but in doing so, we are assured of a knowledge that actually makes a difference. It’s not a mere head knowledge or an academic exercise; it bears fruit in our lives. No matter how wonderful I may feel about Jesus, without these characteristics, there is no genuine knowledge of Christ, only a deceptive lie.

Two of the required characteristics are self-control and perseverance. They are like twins, and is often where I have gotten stuck, especially when it comes to prayer. If I want to know Christ, I must exercise self-control, refusing to let lesser things distract me, and then to persevere in prayer. I cannot claim to know Jesus apart from persevering prayer. It’s exactly what Paul commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:17—“Pray without ceasing.” It’s a learning process; hopefully, one never stops growing in grace and in spiritual disciplines. I’m nearly 73, and have been following Jesus since I was twelve. I’m still learning, still growing. Lord willing, I’ll never stop. 

Prayer Unity

June 2, 2022

Our Thursday morning prayer time always begins with a Psalm; today’s was 85, a prayer which begins by remembering God’s favor and forgiveness, before praying for restoration and revival:

“Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin… Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, Lord, And grant us Your salvation.” —Psalm 85:1-4, 6-7

In verse 8, he then pauses, something we would do well to imitate:

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak, For He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly.”

Quietly listening is just as much a part of prayer as is voicing our requests. God often is ready to answer our prayers, but we’re too busy talking to hear what he has to say. In v. 10, God says something remarkable: “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.” This actually happened in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The holy righteousness of God was fulfilled in his life and death, as he fulfilled the Law in both deed and in his atoning sacrificial death, making peace, as Paul said in Romans:

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit…To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” “ —Romans 8:3-4, 6

This morning, I was praying this text about righteousness and peace kissing, and thanking God for his Word which gives us assurance when our feelings fail us. I had no sooner finished praying when pastor Joe read a text message he had just received from Nathan, who was praying at home. This was his text:

This is my prayer. Please share with the guys! 

Amen! 

“Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!”

Psalm 85:10 NLT

We can't receive His unfailing love outside the truth revealed about him in scripture. We can't experience the peace of God outside of righteousness (holy living). 

Help us to do our part Lord, so that we can lay hold of what you've already made available to us.

Neither Nathan nor I was aware of the other’s prayer until after we had each prayed THE VERY SAME PRAYER! When Jesus said “Where two or more of you are gathered together, there am I in the midst,” he included gathering in the Spirit as well as in physical proximity. He was with us both as we prayed from different locations the very same prayer thanking God for what he has done in Jesus, making righteousness and mercy kiss, and thanking him for his Word which unswervingly guides us where our feelings fail.