Risen Indeed!

 March 31, 2024

“Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!” This ancient Easter greeting and response still reverberates in churches and among Christians all around the world. These words, shouted joyously with the claim that death has been conquered, is the foundation for the hope to which we cling in a fallen and desperate world. 

Many who utter these words do so through tears of grief and loss. They hope for this promise of resurrection, but the wound is still too raw for them to truly grasp it. Then there are those (I believe that most of us, even the most ardent of Christians), who struggle to understand the magnitude of these simple words. We in the Western world have grown up immersed in a culture that reaches into the future with confident assurance that life can be better. Even those who claim no religious affiliation or who are adamantly opposed to Christianity have been infected with the optimism and hope of a life that extends beyond the grave. We have a hard time understanding the despair and hopelessness of cultures with no hope of eternal life, or live in fear of angry gods. I’ve attended and officiated at numerous funerals of people who have little or no observable Christian commitment, but who believe their loved one is finally at rest with those who have died before. “Christendom” casts a long shadow.

So even if you don’t feel particularly joyous today, still give thanks for the gift of life and the promise of eternal bliss that we who believe in a risen Christ possess. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed.

Saturday

 March 30, 2024

It’s Saturday night. The air is still, laden with heaviness. A small gathering of people huddles in silence, feeling confused and not knowing what tomorrow will bring. The world they had known for the past three years has crumbled, leaving them in fearful disarray. The night slips in upon them, casting shadows that mirror the shadows in their minds and hearts.

“Why did I run? Why was I so weak?” Questions lead to guilt, and more questions about forgiveness. But over all is a pale of sadness and fear; If happened to him, it can happen to any one of us.

In years to come, it would be called Holy Saturday, but it felt anything but throughout that long and lonely night. It’s one thing when someone doesn’t meet my expectations to be disappointed in him; it’s quite another matter to be disappointed in myself. It’s Holy Saturday, and I’m disappointed with me. As someone recently said, “Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. We do it for free.”

On this Holy Saturday, my only hope is for tomorrow. Unlike the first disciples, I know what tomorrow brings. As with Mary, my sadness will be turned to joy when Jesus calls my name. Tonight, I await that call. Tomorrow, I shall hear it, and worship.

Freedom and Bondage

 March 29, 2024

Tonight I want to share some thoughts from Dr. W.H. Griffith Thomas. He writes,

“One reason many have never realized their bondage to sin may seem very paradoxical, but it is, nevertheless, very true. It is because they have never tried to get free. There is a yard where a dog is heavily chained. The dog however, is fast asleep, and so he does not realize his bondage. Later one e may even notice the dog eating his food, still chained, but as the food is close to the kennel his chain is not irksome, and he is thus still unconscious of his bondage. Gut soon comes the owner of the dog who, forgetting the chain, calls the dog. The animal sprints up, eager to reach his master. What happens the? All his efforts are in vain, and now for the first time he feels the irksomeness and restraint of his fetters. It is exactly similar with sin. Try to get free, and you feel your bondage.”

This is very good news! If you are struggling, it means you are trying to be free. If there is no struggle, no conviction, no sorrow over sin, maybe it’s because you’ve grown so accustomed to it that you don’t even realize the bondage you’re in. Struggling against sin isn’t pleasant, but the struggle at least is indication of conviction, and where there is conviction, there is the possibility of redemption and freedom in Christ.

Radiance

March 28, 2024

Good evening. Tonight’s meditation comes from Psalm 34:

1. I will bless the Lord at all times; 

His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

2. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; 

The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 

3. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, 

And let us exalt His name together. 

4. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, 

And delivered me from all my fears. 

5. They looked to Him and were radiant, 

And their faces were not ashamed. 

6. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, 

And saved him out of all his troubles. 

7. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, 

And delivers them. 

8. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; 

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!“

Psalm 34:1-8 

Verse 5 presents us with a question: “Who is the ‘they’ who looked to God?” 

“They looked to Him and were radiant, 

And their faces were not ashamed.”

You must go back to verse two for the answer: it is ‘the humble’ who hear our boasting in God. No one likes to be humbled. Whether it’s ridicule, having a sin exposed, or being bested in a fight, humbling is a bitter pill to swallow. But when because of our praise and boasting in God those who have been mistreated or humbled begin to look to the Lord instead of how they feel from being mistreated, they learn that they do not have to feel ashamed. Many of God’s choicest saints were humbled and mistreated; like Paul, the humble can boast in our weaknesses, knowing that in Christ, when we are weak and trusting in him, we are strong, and instead of moping about, our faces can be radiant. And if ours are, it just might be the encouragement that someone else needs to look to Christ and be radiant, too.

Taste

 March 27, 2024

I’ve been writing a short daily devotional for my grandchildren in which I choose a verse each week and unpack it day by day. A single verse for the week is easily memorized, so hopefully seeing it every day will help them remember. This week’s verse was actually more than one; I chose eight verses from Psalm 34. (So much for memorizing!)

The 8th verse has been on my mind all day today: 

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; 

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

I’ve been battling a cold for the past couple days. It’s no big deal, but it has made me look at this verse a bit differently than ever before. Most of our sense of taste is really the sense of smell. We taste a barbecue or a warm apple pie more through our noses than our mouths. THe combination of spices, the nuances of flavors that we love so much are due to the aromas that waft up our nostrils and register in our brains.

For the last couple days, my head has been stuffy; I am breathing mostly through my mouth; If you taped my mouth shut, I think I would suffocate. I can barely taste my food. And it got me to thinking, “What in life gives us spiritual stuffy noses so we cannot taste and see that God is good.?” Deliberate sin stuffs my head with congestion. The distractions of the internet or TV fill my head with spiritual congestion. Pride, jealousy, laziness, lust…the list goes on, and every one of them blocks the sweet aroma of Christ that God intends us to enjoy. We live on a bland diet and miss out on the lavish feast because we can’t smell anything. Sin congests the head and heart. 

God’s spiritual decongestant is the Holy Spirit acting through his Word, the Bible. Let him cleanse your palate so you can taste…really taste…and see that the Lord is Good!

Peace

 March 25, 2024

“May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Heb. 13;20-21

If God is at work in us and his purpose is to enable us to do what pleases him, the obvious question is, “What exactly, pleases God?” There are lots of answers to that question, but the first one is found in these very verses. If God is the God of peace, then it pleases him when we have renounced our rebellious, sinful ways, surrendered to Jesus, and are at peace with God. 

Secondly, it pleases God when we live in peace with one another, which means we do our best to get along even with those who want to harm us, and not allow differences of opinion to cause us to reject one another.

It also pleases God when we have peace within ourselves. This is a direct result of our finding peace with God. Most of our dissatisfaction with ourselves stems from our not being at peace with God in whatever area of our lives that is causing us stress. We’re trying to live life on our own terms, to do things our way. We can’t be at peace with ourselves when we aren’t at peace with God.

Drowning

 March 24, 2024

If you worshipped at Park church this morning, you’ve already heard the story I’m about to tell. When I was a kid, our family went camping every summer for two weeks. We camped numerous times at Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks, once on an island on Lake Huron, and once or twice at Silver Lake, somewhere in Ontario, Canada. It was here that the incident took place when I was seven or eight years old. 

The campground at Silver Lake fronted a bay about the size of a baseball diamond. The bay opened up to the rest of the lake at the far end, and it was there the adults were swimming. I was lazily floating on an air mattress about halfway out when I fell off. The water was over my head, and I couldn’t swim. I frantically thrashed about, desperately but unsuccessfully trying to keep my head above water, and in my mind’s eye can still see the sticks and mud on the bottom of the bay as I went under, painfully aware I was drowning.

The next thing I know, I was standing on the shore with no idea how I got there. Over sixty years later, when I think of it, it feels like yesterday. I never told my parents about it, so why do I tell you? 

On this Palm Sunday, I’ve been thinking about salvation. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day, the crowds were shouting, “Hosanna,” which means “Save us!” They didn’t understand the kind of salvation Jesus was bringing, but that’s not my point. When I think back on that incident of years ago, I LOVED the salvation, but hated being in the spot where I needed it. We are much like that. We love the idea of salvation, but don’t like to think of ourselves as needing it. We prefer to think we’re doing the best we can, that all we need is a little help or encouragement…but not salvation. Salvation implies we cannot help ourselves in any way, and we don’t like feeling helpless, needy, sinful. We love the results of salvation, but not the conditions of it.

So today I’m asking the hard question: From what do I need to be saved today? What in my life is so damaged that I cannot rescue it? Where am I drowning, needing someone to reach out and pull me from the waters that are closing in over my head? We don’t like to go there in our thoughts, but if I don’t recognize my helplessness and need, I’ll never be able to receive the salvation God offers in Jesus Christ. And that would be a worse place than in water over my head.

Stay Close to the Shepherd!

 March 23, 2024

“May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

The God of peace is the one who raised Jesus from the dead. That’s the miracle and muscle of our faith. If he can do that, there is no problem so big that he can’t handle it. Some people say that if you have a sexual disorder, you can never change, or if you are an addict, you’ll always be an addict. You may be telling yourself that your relationship is too broken to repair, or you will always hurt this bad, or there is no hope. Don’t believe it! If God can bring a dead man back to life, he can breathe life into the deadness and hopelessness you feel inside. 

He does this through Jesus, the Great Shepherd. We are far removed from this imagery that would have been easily understood by the first century Jew. The shepherd was an important part of ancient Jewish life. Sheep were a staple of life, from their wool, to food, to the religious sacrificial system. The first-century Jew would have seen layers of meaning when Jesus was seen as the great Shepherd. I’ll give you just one: sheep are pretty stupid. Which means they are vulnerable to wild animals and their own herd instinct. Without a shepherd to care for and protect them, they wouldn’t survive. We don’t like to think of ourselves as stupid, but most of us can be. We almost by nature engage in behavior destructive to ourselves and others. 

Additionally, we are more vulnerable than we realize to the tricks of Satan. Without the continual protection of God, none of us could stand. We need the great Shepherd to protect and guide us to those places where we are safe and nurtured. I’ve watched too many people who are smarter, more talented, and stronger than I crash and burn because they thought they could handle life on their own. They couldn’t; I can’t; you can’t. If he can come back from the dead, he’s been through it all; there is nothing he cannot guide you safely through. So stay close to the Shepherd!

Who’s Side?

 March 22, 2024

“So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”” —Joshua 1:16-18 

Moses, the only leader they had ever known, was dead. Across the Jordan was the Promised Land, the very place filled with the giants their fathers had feared. Joshua was in charge now, but was he up to the task? Could he do half the job Moses had done? All sorts of questions must have been on their minds…except one: “Are WE ready for this?”

That’s the question they should have been asking. Instead, they presumptively affirmed their readiness. I wonder what Joshua thought when they put in the words, “Just as we heeded Moses in all things…” Joshua had been there. He knew how well they had listened to Moses. It must not have been very reassuring. No wonder a week or so later, God sent his angel to meet him. He needed reassuring, but he also needed to understand God’s ways; that it wasn’t a matter of whether God was on their side, but whether they were on God’s side.

It’s easy to portray our hopes and desires as God’s will, God’s plans. A lot of people have gotten caught up in some devilish schemes by leaders who claimed to have heard from God when they were using God’s name to bolster their own egos and plans. The wise leader doesn’t pin his hopes upon human enterprise or ingenuity, and neither does he caste his own plans as God’s will. The better way is that of the apostles in Acts 15:

”For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:“ —Acts 15:28 

“It SEEMED good…” I like the sound of this much better than, “The Lord said…” Sometimes the latter is true, but often it is not. The former hints at asking whether we are on the Lord’s side, the latter, whether God is on our side. I think the former is better.

Control

 March 21, 2024

I’ve often said words to the effect that we should give control of our lives to Jesus Christ. I even once wrote a song that had in it the phrase, “We give your Spirit full control.” It sounds spiritual and holy, but I am beginning to wonder if it is what God really desires from us. 

When standing before Pilate, Jesus told him, “My kingdom is not of this world.” What did he mean by this? Think about how the world’s kingdoms and nations operate. Power, manipulation, deception, corruption, violence, and a host of other evils are stock in trade for the political systems of this world. To a greater or lesser extent, they demand authority and control of our lives whether it be through taxes, police power, laws and regulations so numerous and complex that we all are guilty of some obscure offense that could be brought against us if deemed necessary.

Jesus refused to TAKE control. The only crown he accepted was made of thorns; his only throne a cross. He resisted Satan’s temptations to assert his divine prerogatives, and when the crowds ceased following him, didn’t let it shake him from his resolve. He beckons us to follow us, but refuses to drive us with the lash.

Instead of taking control of our lives, Jesus gives control back to us. Paul says we were slaves to sin; Jesus set us free. But with that control, with that authority comes also responsibility. We can no longer blame God for the mess we make of things. If I do well, while I give honor to Jesus’ work in me, I can also take pride in my work. And if I do not do well, I must take responsibility for it and receive the consequences of my bad behavior. 

Jesus GIVES control; he doesn’t TAKE it. That makes all the difference in the world!

Peace

March 20, 2024

“May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

You have had this verse prayed over you on Meema and Beepa nights as long as you can remember. I want to unpack some of its depths for you this week.

I think it’s significant that our God is a God of peace. That can be understood in two different ways. First, his very character is peace. There is no disunity or dissension in God. You don’t get one thing one day and something else the other. He is absolutely reliable and consistent…in a good way. Secondly, he is the source of peace for us. Peace—the absence of conflict and confusion plus positive well-being—is only found in God. Jesus said it best: 

“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 

This is our God; the God of peace. Jesus gives it to us. The only question is, “Do I believe him; Will I receive this gift from him?”

Choose Life

 March 19, 2024

“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. 

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”

—Deuteronomy 30:19 

The Law had been given; the blessings accompanying obedience, and the consequences of disobedience had been spelled out. There wasn’t much wiggle room, only a decision, a choice. 

It’s the same today. We don’t follow all the rituals or even all the OT laws, but the basics of the Ten Commandments haven’t changed. Most of us know the difference between right and wrong, between judgment and grace. We can’t plead ignorance. It’s all a matter of choice. Will I choose what I know to be right, or surrender to what is wrong? 

I can’t think of a single time I sinned that I didn’t know it was wrong. Not a single time. Well, maybe when I was a kid and called another kid a name I had heard but didn’t know what it meant. But the name-calling itself I knew to be wrong. 

Choosing life isn’t always easy. It often means swimming upstream against the crowd. It often means swimming upstream against what my sinful self really wants to do. But the good news is, I always have a choice. You do, too. 

Polycarp was the last living Christian bishop to have studied at the feet of Jesus’ disciple John. He was an old man when arrested for his faith and sentenced to die. The governor asks him to deny Christ and promises that if he will, his life will be spared. But the faithful bishop answers, “Fourscore and six years have I served him, and he has never done me injury; how then can I now blaspheme my King and savior?” Polycarp made a choice that cost him his life; he was burned at the stake. You and I have choices between right and wrong, faithfulness and faithlessness, Jesus and self. Choose life!

Trust Jesus

 March 18, 2024

Occasionally when I don’t have an early morning meeting, I turn on the tv to one of the YouTube worship music channels. The uplifting music and beautiful scenery form the backdrop for different Scripture verses. Today’s was,

“Let the morning bring me word 

of your unfailing love,

For I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go,

For to you I entrust my life.”

I needed this. It’s been a busy and difficult week, and the one to come doesn’t look to be much easier. It’s easy when the pressure is on to begin thinking that everything depends on you; that the whole world is on your shoulders. When things are going wrong, I need to know of God’s unfailing love, and to be reminded to place my trust in the only One who knows the way I should go. 

When the OT king Jehoshaphat found himself on the battlefield surrounded by his enemies, he cried out to the Lord, 

“We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; 

nor do we know what to do, 

but our eyes are upon you.”   

When surrounded by problems and you don’t know what to do, keep your eyes on Jesus! He knows the way; matter of fact, he IS the Way!

What You See

 March 17, 2024

Last night, I listened to a message from Mark Slegg, who along with his wife Anne, is coordinator of the Chautauqua County Footsteps, a ministry by teenagers for teenagers. In the course of his message, he quoted a life-long friend’s words of wisdom: 

“People are drawn to you not because of what they see in you, but because of what you see in them.”

It’s late; it’s been a long and difficult week, so I’m not going to say much about this. Chew on it awhile. Ask yourself how you relate to others; do you see in others their possibilities or only their liabilities? If people aren’t drawn to you, what does this quote have to say about your way of relating to others? 

The author of this quote was a basketball coach. I couldn’t even tell you his name, let alone what team he coached, but I’ll tell you this much: I bet he had winning teams. Because he saw  in the young men winners where others saw only players. What do you see in others?