Laugh

 November 20, 2024

What are you thankful for today? I’m thankful to be able to get out of bed and go to work. Awhile back, when I woke up, everything hurt—my back, my wrists, my ankles. I left for church at 7:00 am, and didn’t get home till 7:30 pm. Two services, funeral, funeral dinner, cleanup, bass lesson, and discipleship group. I was tired when I got home, but unlike thousands of people in North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, I had a house to go home to. 

I listened to an elderly comedian the other day. By elderly, I mean he’s 75–my age—but I think he looks older. I might need to double check that with a mirror, but at any rate, he was pretty good. He said he went to the doctor with what he thought was arthritis. “It wasn’t that. Turns out it was early onset rigor mortis.” I’m thankful I can laugh at myself.

The Bible says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”

(Proverbs 17:22) There is a lot of truth here. When your our kids were growing up, we laughed a lot at Nate and Matt’s antics, so much so that Matt once told Linda that one of the things that kept him from some of the things his friends were doing was that we laughed a lot, probably at times we shouldn’t have. 

There’s a caveat here: Laugh at yourself, not at others. I am not a fan of much modern “comedy.” The joke is always at someone else’s expense, and has a barb that cuts deep. I grew up on the comedy of Jackie Gleason and Lucille Ball, who knew how to laugh at themselves. It’s that kind of laughter that is healthy. The other ages everyone.

Too many people take themselves too seriously, and as the Proverb says, “it dries the bones.” They are brittle, dreary, and old before their time. So laugh at yourself and at the often absurdity of life. It will do much to keep you young even when you’re old.

Drawing the Curtain

 11/19/24

One day last month as I was praying, a picture came to mind—somewhat of a vision, I suppose. I was in a theater where a heavy curtain was being pulled back to reveal what was about to take place on stage. Usually when I think of something like this, I am in the audience watching the curtain being drawn to the wings revealing the set with actors ready with their first lines.

As I prayed, I wondered, “Is God pulling back the curtain so I can see what he has planned?” I can tell you this—I have no clue as to what God has up his sleeve. So the next question is, “Am I pulling the curtain back so someone else can see what God is doing?” I think that is a most important question. We are God’s stage hands. If we don’t pull back the curtain, God’s activity remains hidden from the audience who never gets to see the wonders of his salvation plan for them.

“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” —Isaiah 42:6-7 

Years ago, God gave me this verse as a theme for my life, but it’s not for me only. There are people waiting anxiously, straining to see what God has in store, but if we fail to pull back the curtain, they’ll never be able to see. It’s not the most glamorous job, but being God’s stage hand is an important one, so when your time comes, pull on those curtain ropes as hard as you can.

Were/Are

 November 18, 2024

Following Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart. St. Paul said it best when he declared, “I die daily” (1 Cor 15:31). Yesterday I mentioned one benefit; here’s another: 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Though it’s been over sixty years, I remember well the day I prayed and asked God to forgive my sins and for Jesus to live within me. If you do the math, you’ll know I was just entering my teenage years, so I hadn’t really done a lot of what most people consider “bad stuff.” But even then, I could see the direction I was heading, and knew it wouldn’t end well. In the years since, God has delivered me from all sorts of pits and traps I would have fallen into were it not for his Holy Spirit living within me. 

It hasn’t always been easy, but I also haven’t had to deal with the harsh consequences of the bad decisions I surely would have made otherwise. God has given me a life I didn’t deserve and couldn’t have achieved on my own. For me, the best part of it all is having had the opportunity to pour this New Creation through Christ into the lives of others over the years. 

Maybe you had more “bad stuff” in your past than I. If so, God’s promise is still true: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” It may not feel as if everything is new. In your mind you may have memories of the old life that haunt you, but remember God’s Word is true; as far as he is concerned, the old has passed away. Don’t believe the devil’s lies that you are what you were. You WERE a child of the devil; you ARE a child of God. You WERE wandering in sin; you ARE home with your Heavenly Father. You WERE lost; you ARE found. You WERE dead in your sins; you ARE alive in Christ.

You Can

 November 16, 2024

Can you imagine being crippled for 38 years because you believed a lie? That’s what had happened to a man Jesus met one day in the city of Jerusalem.

“Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.” —John 5:5-9 

Jesus asked what must have sounded like a ridiculous question: “Do you want to be well?” It may have sounded ridiculous, but Jesus hit the nail on the head. Instead of answering the question, the man made excuses. Don’t judge him too harshly; we do the same thing all the time. We give Jesus excuses for why we can’t do this or that. What if we simply took him at his word, got up and did what he said we can do? What would change in your life if you believed Jesus instead of the lie that says, “I can’t?”

Later in this incident, Jesus tells us that “I can’t” isn’t just an admission of inadequacy; it’s a sin to be forsaken (5:14). Today would be a good day to listen to Jesus and say, “With your help, I can!” Paul did it (Philippians 4:13–“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”). You can do it, too.

Boundaries

 November 15, 2024

Pastor Brandon’s sermon awhile back ignited a spark that I just had to investigate further. I did, and it raised some questions I can’t answer. Here’s the Scripture:

“Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.””                    —Luke 4:24-27 

Jesus didn’t minister to everyone in Galilee or Judea. He ministered to those to whom he had been sent. He supported his position by telling of Elijah and Elisha who instead of ministering to their own people, ministered to foreigners. So here’s my dilemma:

Linda and I live busy lives for people our age. We don’t get much down time; if we want to do something together, we have to check our calendars to make sure we both have the time available. Yet we look around us and see so many more who need a friend, a listening ear, a helping hand. There are more of them than there are of us, so where and how do we draw the line? 

This is not just a question for us; it’s for you, too. If we are serious about Christian living, we’ll see people all around us who need what we have to offer. And if we begin to offer it, we’ll see even more who need us. If we aren’t careful, we’ll become overwhelmed by it all and find ourselves running out of energy. People who don’t set boundaries find themselves overrun, or they themselves crash and burn with emotional breakdowns, self-destructive behavior, or improper relationships.

Jesus understood this and didn’t try to minister to everyone he met. The question is, how did he choose, and how did he deal with those he couldn’t or didn’t help? And how do we handle those situations? The danger here is one of balance. There is always more need than any one of us can meet, but there is also our tendency to waste time, pamper ourselves, turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to those who need what we have to offer. The only answer I can think of regarding this dilemma is that which Jesus himself found:

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” —Mark 1:35 

In these times alone with his Heavenly Father, he learned one thing:

“Jesus said… “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” —John 5:19 

Spend time alone with your Heavenly Father. It’s the only way you can know to whom he sends you, and where the boundaries are.

Check the Box

 November 14, 2024

Awhile back as I was driving and praying, I thought of what I wrote the night before about the mystery of our salvation. I’ve found that it’s way too easy to do all the spiritual disciplines we’re supposed to do, but to do them with an “I’ve checked that box for today.” When I read my Bible, am I just going through the motions? Listen to what Jesus said about that: 

“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

—John 5:39-40 

It is very easy to search the Scriptures without coming to Jesus. We do it all the time. As I was driving, the Holy Spirit convicted me of doing just that. I was reading to check the box, not to encounter the risen and living Christ. Often the difference is simply the attitude I bring to my reading, but even more, that I don’t give myself enough time to actually listen. Linda and I are close because we spend time together—we MAKE time together just to be with each other. We get close to God the same way, so don’t just check the box; take the time to get your mind set and your spirit ready to just be with Jesus. You won’t regret it.

Mystery

November 13, 2024

 Most Christians and plenty of pagans are familiar with Jesus’ words in John 3:16 & 17—

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

But we aren’t quite as familiar with what he said just prior to this.

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

—John 3:8 

I suspect the reason we aren’t as conversant with this verse is that it isn’t something we can define, quantify, or measure. We like our world to be orderly, predictable, comfortable, but Jesus’ description of the life of the Spirit is anything but. It’s mysterious, unpredictable, unmeasurable. We can’t see it, hold it in our hands, control it. All we can do is observe its effects. But it’s those effects that are so important. One must believe in Jesus to be born again, but if that belief doesn’t translate into a life driven by the Holy Spirit, it isn’t complete. And that Holy Spirit driven life is not the safe and predictable lot we would often choose. God is a God of order, but also of surprises.

So as God brings order out of the chaos of an unredeemed life, also allow space in your heart for the mystery and wonder of redemption—that which you can’t fully explain or measure, but which is the stuff of life itself.