Never Got it Together

March 7, 2024

”All the ends of the world 

Shall remember and turn to the Lord, 

And all the families of the nations 

Shall worship before You. 

For the kingdom is the Lord’s, 

And He rules over the nations. 

All the prosperous of the earth 

Shall eat and worship; 

All those who go down to the dust 

Shall bow before Him, 

Even he who cannot keep himself alive.“

—Psalm 22:27-29 NKJV

”From the four corners of the earth people are coming to their senses, 

are running back to God. 

Long-lost families are falling on their faces before him. 

God has taken charge; 

from now on he has the last word. 

All the power-mongers are before him —worshiping! 

All the poor and powerless, too —worshiping! 

Along with those who never got it together —worshiping!“

—Psalm 22:27-29 MSG

Sometimes it takes a fresh look at the Scriptures to get fresh insight. That happened to me in this morning’s Men’s prayer time. We always begin with a psalm; today’s was Psalm 22, which I commented upon yesterday. Towards its end, the above words appear. It’s plain enough in the more conventional translation, but stands out in bold relief in Eugene Peterson’s The Message.

I wouldn’t claim ultimate clarity or orthodoxy in my musings, but these words give me great comfort. That last phrase as Peterson puts it, is particularly striking: “those who never got it together—worshiping.” I know a lot of people who never got it together, and I have often wondered about their eternal destiny. It is comforting to me to picture my friends Crazy Kenny, Rick the Roofer, my buddy James, all bowing before God Almighty in worship and praise. It’s not much of a stretch for me to see this in my mind’s eye; after all, I can picture myself doing so, and I certainly don’t have it all together.

More than fifty years ago, my seminary theology professor, Dr. Paul Hessert, once told us that he believed everyone will spend eternity in the presence of God. He added, “For some, that will be heaven; for others, it will be hell.” I’ve thought about that many times over the years, and though it isn’t traditional orthodoxy, his view has some merit. Some would say it borders upon universalism, where everyone ends up saved. I’m not sure about that, but I do believe God’s grace extends further than mine, and that for everyone I’ll be surprised to see in heaven, there’ll be more than a few who are surprised to see me.

At any rate, this last phrase gave me deep comfort. I certainly hope to finish well this race of life, but I also sincerely hope that those who have to be carried or dragged over the finish line will too join in the praise and worship the saints and angels offer before the throne of Almighty God:

“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: 

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain 

To receive power and riches and wisdom, 

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: 

“Blessing and honor and glory and power

Be to Him who sits on the throne, 

And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Revelation 5:11-13 NKJV

 

Never Alone

 March 6, 2024

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

…The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. 

They pierced My hands and My feet; 

I can count all My bones. 

They look and stare at Me. 

They divide My garments among them, 

And for My clothing they cast lots. 

But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; 

O My Strength, hasten to help Me! 

Deliver Me from the sword, 

My precious life from the power of the dog. 

Save Me from the lion’s mouth 

And from the horns of the wild oxen! 

You have answered Me.“

Psalm 22:16-21 

As Jesus hung on the cross, his life-blood slowly draining from his body, he quoted this psalm, perhaps in its entirety. The Gospel authors knew this psalm well, and remembered it when they wrote about the crucifixion. The sense of abandonment written here is palpable; perhaps worst than the physical pain of the cross was that for the first time in eternity, the Son of God who became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), was separated from his Father, who in his holiness could not look upon sin. The intimate fellowship that heretofore was eternal, was broken in those moments. Jesus was absolutely, completely…alone, which is as accurate a description of hell as you’ll find anywhere.

So upon the cross, in physical and existential agony he cries out for deliverance …and finds it. The psalm changes in verse 21. In the middle of what was a plea for mercy suddenly pops up the words, “You have answered me.” We don’t know at what point as he hung there that these words were uttered, but it must have been before Jesus cried with a loud voice, “It is accomplished,” and whispered, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus’ first words were directed to God; the intimacy had disappeared as he took on our sins. But at the end, he addressed God once more in the intimate term he used so often in his teaching—“Father…”

There are times we feel as Jesus did; alone, abandoned, forgotten. But what was actually true for him is never true for us. God never abandons us. Only his Son experienced total abandonment. We may FEEL alone, but even in our darkest hour, our Heavenly Father is with us. And as we pour out our hearts to him, we have the same assurance Jesus had: “You have answered me.” Not, “You will answer me,” but, “You HAVE answered me.” Even in your loneliness and despair, those prayers that seem to have bounced off the ceiling have already been answered. This is Good News, indeed!

Grace Abused

 March 5, 2024

Yesterday’s reading was the amazing statement that “[The LORD] has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.” —Numbers 23:21 

Following directly upon those words, today’s reading tells of Israel chasing after the perverse and promiscuous gods of Moab and suffering as a result, a plague that killed 20,000 of them. It makes me want to say, “Israel, what were you thinking?” The problem was that they weren’t. We never are when we sin. St. Paul said that the god of this world blinds our minds. “Our MINDS.” I can’t remember a single time I’ve sinned that I thought I would get caught. We think we can get away with it, that the Scripture that says, “Be sure your sins will find you out” doesn’t apply to us.

The lesson is clear: Grace abused and abandoned is a dangerous thing. Presuming upon the goodness of God can take you to places you don’t want to go, and usually, like a flood, it carries along with you those you care most about. It is a wise person who knows how to pray, “Lord, preserve me from presumptuous sin. Hold tightly onto me when my grip upon you weakens, lest I profane your name and bring disgrace upon mine.”

Sinless

March 4, 2024

Israel was on the move. They had been out of Egypt for forty years, but finally were on the border of their Promised Land. But to get there, they had to go through Moab. Moab’s king Balak was, along with his people, terrified. Forty years is a long time, but not so long that they had forgotten Israel’s miraculous escape from slavery. So Balak sent for help from the East in the form of a soothsayer named Balaam, who dealt in the occult arts.

Balak offered Balaam a sizeable reward if Balaam would only curse Israel on his behalf. We don’t put much stock in such things today, but back then, a curse or blessing was considered powerful stuff. They understood the spiritual power of words more than we do, which is unfortunate, because our culture is filled with people who suffer the effects of curses. Parents berate and belittle their children in a twisted and distorted idea of punishment. These children are sworn at, negatively compared to others, told they are inferior, unacceptable, unwanted. Words have a powerful effect, both in cursing and blessing.

Even though Balaam was a practitioner of the occult, he knew of Israel’s God, and used his name in his incantations. He told Balak that he could only say what the LORD told him to say. Surprisingly, God actually spoke to this false prophet, and instead of cursing Israel, blessed them, much to Balak’s dismay. In his blessing, he said something utterly amazing:

“[The LORD] has not observed iniquity in Jacob, Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them.” —Numbers 23:21 

What is astounding about these words is that this is God’s evaluation of a people who had exasperated him with their sin to the point that he was ready to wipe them all out and start over with just Moses. How could God then say he had not observed iniquity in Jacob, or wickedness in Israel? Because of the last sentence in verse 21: “The shout of a King is among them.”

It is the same for us. Our King, the Lord Jesus Christ, is among us, and he has taken our sins upon himself so when God looks at us, he sees no iniquity or wickedness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 spells it out for us:

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” —II Corinthians 5:21 

If that isn’t Good News, I don’t know what is!

 

Losing it All

 March 3, 2024

This morning’s sermon text was Philippians 3:12-4:1. There’s so much in these verses that I could easily spend a week or more commenting on them, but for tonight, there’s just one thing that stands out to me. 

“I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” —Philippians 3:8-12 

Paul here tells us his life goal—to know Christ, and to fulfill the purposes for which God saved him. Of course, he gives us more detail than this, but the two “thats” are the clues to his intention. I suspect many of us would echo Paul’s desire; to know Christ and his life-purpose for us. As they say, the devil’s in the details. We want the end result, but often are reluctant to buy in to the process. 

To know Christ and his purposes, Paul tells us we must suffer the loss of all things. We don’t mind suffering the loss of some things; after all, the weight of sin, the expense and destruction of addictions are gladly dispensed with, but what about my comfort, my standing in the church or community? Am I willing to suffer the loss of my bank account, my retirement, my health, my friends or family? 

Do I want Christ enough to let go of all this? That little word “all” bothers me. I haven’t suffered much of anything in this world, so how much do I really know of Christ and his purposes? As I said recently, it’s not the things in the Bible I don’t understand that bother me; it’s the things that I do understand that bother me. Those words “the loss of all things” bother me…challenge me…convict me. But have they converted me?

Average

 March 2, 2024

How often are we encouraged to be our best, to excel, to reach for the stars? I wonder how much the drive to excel is driven by pride. I’m glad I’m only average at most things I’ve attempted. I’m not even close to being an athlete, barely passable as a musician, pretty good as a preacher, a terrible administrator, but I believe I am a good husband, father, and grandfather.

I’ve known enough failure and near disaster to keep my pride at bay. My forays into mission work have been only marginally successful. I often feel like the guy who wrote,

“Remove falsehood and lies far from me; 

Give me neither poverty nor riches— 

Feed me with the food allotted to me; 

Lest I be full and deny You, 

And say, “Who is the Lord?” 

Or lest I be poor and steal, 

And profane the name of my God.“

—Proverbs 30:8-9 

Abraham Lincoln once said, “God must have loved the common man; he made so many of them.” Sometimes, average is best.

Restoration

 March 1, 2024

Psalm 23 has long been a source of strength and comfort to God’s people. This morning, I started reflecting upon it with my grandkids. I suspect we’ll be camping here for some time, but instead of starting at the beginning (just saying that makes me want to sing “Do, Re, Mi” from the Sound of Music), I want to start tonight in the middle of the psalm. A pastor friend shared this morning from the words, “he restores my soul.” 

Have you ever needed that? I’m sure you have; I know I’ve needed that restoration time and again. Life has a way of draining us; if it’s not a major crisis that temporarily knocks us off our feet, the daily grind can wear us down. Solomon said it well: “The little foxes…spoil the vine.” (Songs 2:15) 

I was once asked what qualities I bring to ministry. I thought about it and answered, “I’m an OK preacher and a terrible administrator, but the one thing I do well is, I don’t give up. I’m not aggressive, but when it comes to tenacity, I’m like a bulldog at holding on. But even for me, the little daily concerns, the weight of caring for people, and when I was actively pastoring, of leading the church, would over time simply take the wind out of my sails. At such times, my soul needed restoring. 

And it still needs restoring today. Just about the time I think I know what I’m doing and that life is settling down into a comfortable routine, something happens that blows it all to smithereens. I think it’s God’s way of making sure I keep trusting in him instead of my own wisdom and abilities. The challenges and switch-backs of life are not all bad; they can be gifts that keep us humbly calling out to God for the strength and wisdom we need to keep from going off the rails. One writer calls these “hard eucharistos,” ie. “difficult gifts of grace.”

So we return to that phrase, “he restores my soul,” with emphasis on the pronoun “he.” There’s only one place my soul—my deepest inner self—can be restored, renewed, revitalized, and that’s at the feet of Jesus Christ. He restores my soul—present tense, not “restored.” It’s a continual coming to Jesus so he can continually restore my soul. And if you come to him, he’ll restore yours, too.