Tasting God

 April 5, 2021

“O taste and see that the LORD is good!” —Psalm 34:8. COVID robbed me of my sense of taste and smell for almost two weeks. I guess I’m fortunate; some have gone for six months or more. Food had no appeal to me; texture was the only difference between a noodle and a pretzel. A gourmet meal would have been waste on me. The good part is that going back for seconds was pointless. I only ate till I was moderately full—good for the waistline.

Some children are notorious for not wanting to try new foods. I didn’t grow up that way. Mom never cooked special meals; we had two options: take it or leave it. Actually, we had only one option. We had to try everything set before us, maybe just a taste, but refusal was not an option. Some kids never outgrow that pickiness; I on the other hand, will eat whatever is placed before me. Except sushi. I like my fish cooked, thank you. The lessons learned as a child has served me well as an adult traveling to other countries and eating whatever is placed before me. I remember old time missionaries who modified lyrics to the old hymn: “Where he leads me I will follow/What he feeds me I will swallow.”

it isn’t enough to admire the place setting,to marvel at the presentation of a meal. At some point, we must lift the fork and dig in. The psalm says to “taste” God—all the marvelous nuances of flavor, from honey sweet to bitter herbs. When we treat God like a buffet, taking only what is appealing to us, our diet gets unbalanced and our health suffers.

Too often we suffer from spiritual COVID, unable to taste due to the virus of sin raging through our souls. It is no way to live—insipid, tasteless, bland. Digging into the Word of God, persevering in prayer, stepping out in faithful witness can make our spiritual taste buds explode with flavor. “TASTE and see that the LORD is good!”

Three Women

 April 4, 2021

Three ordinary women trudged through the half-light of early morning, carrying jars of anointing oil, their hearts laden with grief. The man who had delivered one of them from the demonic oppression that had haunted and controlled her for years had been executed in the most cruel and heartless manner the authorities could devise. Circumstances had prevented a proper burial, so they were determined to finish the job, unpleasant though it would be. Approaching the tomb, their worst fears rose within them, lodging in their throats—grave robbers! They were to be denied this last gift of gratitude they hoped to offer.

Hesitantly they approach, afraid to look upon the scene they knew they would find; closer they moved, tentatively, eyes darting back and forth between them, trembling with each step till they were almost at the entrance. A flash of light and suddenly a man was sitting on the stone that had been rolled across the doorway. “Don’t be afraid! You’re looking for Jesus; he isn’t here. He is risen as he said!”

Three ordinary women were the first to hear this strange message. They were just women—in those days, their testimony would have been considered irrelevant, unreliable; just foolish women-talk. But from those three, the message has spread all around the world, mocked and scorned by many, but believed by many more whose lives have been transformed by it. Despair gives way to hope, sin yields before grace, and death bows to life as one by one, people hear and believe that message. Even today, tears of sorrow mingle with tears of joy as believers lay their loved ones in the ground, longing and looking for the day when every ear will hear his voice and rise from graves to glory. “I am the resurrection and the life...because I live, you shall live also!” (John 11:25 & 14:19) Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Psalm 34

April 3, 2021

We’ve prayed for over a week, pleading with our God to heal our brother. He is being buried tonight. There are so many questions we have that go unanswered; why this effective pastor should be taken in the prime of his life and ministry, why he must leave behind a grieving wife and children, why the prayers of thousands of people from all over the world should be denied. The skeptic would throw this up in our faces: “There is no God, or if there is, he certainly doesn’t care for you; he won’t even answer your very reasonable prayers.” In the dark night of our souls, it is tempting to listen to those whispers of the Enemy, but they only lead to despair.

This morning’s reading was from Psalm 34. It begins, “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Before I had heard of our brother’s passing, these words spoke powerfully to me. He says, “I WILL bless the LORD at all times...” Praise and thanksgiving is a choice we make; we don’t always feel like doing so, but it is only when we choose to do it that we find strength and comfort. He says he will bless the LORD at all times, not just the good times. It is harder to do in the dark, but it is more necessary then.

He continues: “O magnify the LORD with me...” We do it better together. When something is magnified, it doesn’t get bigger; it just looks bigger. When God’s people gather to praise him, he becomes bigger in our hearts; we see him more clearly; he is magnified. When we go through dark valleys, the presence of others worshipping God can strengthen our own worship as they hold us up in prayer. Years ago when we were going through some difficult times in the church, I told our district superintendent that if he moved me like some people were urging him to do, I was done with ministry. I didn’t have the energy to start over in a new congregation, but here, though there were many difficulties, I had people who stood by me, supported me, prayed for me. They literally held me together when I was falling apart. They magnified the Lord so I could see him when my own eyes of faith were failing.

The psalm goes on to say, “They looked to him and were radiant.” No radiance comes from looking at our circumstances. There is no light there. Only by looking to Jesus do I find the light I need when my way is dark. In 2 Kings 6:17, the city of God is surrounded by enemies, and the servant of Elisha is frightened. Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes, whereupon the servant looked and saw the hillside filled with chariots of fire surrounding the enemy. “There are more with us than with them,” Elisha explained. Note that these were chariots of fire, lighting up the mountains. At first, the servant couldn’t see them. His entire vision was limited to the enemy surrounding him. But as the psalm says, “the angel of the LORD encamped around those who fear him.” We only see them by divine revelation when God miraculously opens our eyes and gives light. But they are there, and we are kept in his care.

I still don’t understand, but I trust, and I pray for my sister and her children, for Jose’s extended family, and for his congregation which now has to face life without their pastor. Their way is dark, but it was dark for the disciples as Jesus was laid in the tomb. Good Friday and Holy Saturday do not have the final word; tomorrow is Easter—Resurrection Sunday! Jesus lives, and so do those who have put their trust in him. He is the firstfruits, and the day is coming when Jose and all those who sleep in Jesus will rise again and we shall forever be together with the Lord.

 

Good Friday

 April 2, 2021

It’s been years since we last had one. Good Friday was the one day each year that the churches in the Valley worked closely together. The old three-hour service running from noon till three was the order of the day, with each pastor preaching on one of the seven words from the Cross, and individuals and choirs from each of the churches providing music for their time slot. 

Most who attended only came during the time scheduled for their pastor, but there were those who stayed for the adjacent slots, and a few who sat through the entire service. These were solemn and holy times. I got to hear the preaching of fellow pastors, something that rarely happened since we all were preaching on Sundays. The music consisted of many of the old hymns of the cross: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” “Man of Sorrows,” “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” “In the Cross,” “In the Cross of Christ I Glory,” and others. 

There was no frivolity, no casual conversation, just people silently filing in and out, sitting quietly, singing softly, bowing before the awful glory of the Crucified One. Three hours to reflect, to remember, to ponder the depth of our sin and the magnitude of God’s love. I haven’t heard of anyone sponsoring such a service in years. I suppose it’s our post-Christian culture and our fast-paced life that demands a shorter, less intensive service, if one is to be had at all. I’ve never understood how anyone could celebrate Easter properly without first going through a Good Friday service. How can there be a resurrection without there first being a death and burial? 

We will soon join our brothers and sisters in our congregation’s Good Friday service. I need the structure, the discipline of gathering together. The day so far has been busy, filled with work such that I feel cheated, even though the day’s activities have been of my own choosing. It’s as if Jesus is asking me the same question he asked his disciples as they snoozed in the garden while he battled in prayer: “Could you not watch with me for one hour?” For three hours he hung on that cross till the sun was blotted out and the ground rent by an earthquake; I went about my day’s work. His work was finished; they laid him in a tomb and waited, for there was no more to be done. Tonight I will sit and wait. I will pray and prepare for what I know is coming, but which was to the disciples the unspeakable and joyous surprise of Easter.

Pure

 April 1, 2021

Pure. Years ago, Ivory advertised its soap as being 99 & 44/100% pure. We didn’t necessarily know what that meant, but we did believe it was pretty well devoid of impurities. After all, that’s what pure means—unadulterated with stuff that shouldn’t be there. Pure gold is gold unmixed with other stuff. Pure water has no chemicals or sediments in it. but what about a pure heart? Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me,” while Proverbs 20:9 asks the necessary question, “Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”” Who can say they are 100% for God...all the time? 

And yet, purity is what we long for, what we need. Psalm 24:3-4 delineates the problem: “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” Apart from a pure heart, we cannot hope to stand before the Presence of a holy God, and no one can claim a pure heart. 

I’ve been rendering beeswax. In the course of working bees, when we extract honey, a certain amount of wax gets cut from the comb, and often old comb needs to be culled from the hive. There are always impurities; propolis—the glue bees make from tree resins, bits of dead bees, and other stuff that works its way into the hive in the course of a year. It looks pretty ugly—dark, lumpy, and not at all what you might envision in a taper or mixed with other components to make lip balm or furniture polish. Rendering requires melting the wax and impurities in water, straining the impurities, letting it cool, then repeat, often two or three times before we get the beautiful, pure light yellow we’re looking for.

God’s process of rendering a human heart to make it pure is not too dissimilar from what I am doing with the beeswax. He puts us into hot water, strains us through a medium that catches the impurities, lets us cool down for awhile, and repeats. All of this is done so the purity of Christ can shine in all its glory. I don’t like the heat, nor am I particularly enamored with the straining; I would like very much if God only had to put me through it once, but he isn’t satisfied with partially pure any more than I am satisfied with the dull dark yellow of a partially rendered cake of beeswax. God has in mind purposes for our lives far more glorious than we would imagine, and will not stop the purifying process till we meet his standards. 

I can easily see the difference between beeswax fully rendered and that which is only partially so. I don’t as easily see the difference between a heart fully purified and one partially so. But God does, for which I am grateful tonight. He sees. And he keeps the heat on till we pass his inspection and are ready for holy purposes of which we may know very little.

As He Said

 March 31, 2021

“Just as he said.” —Matthew 28:6

The disciples were perplexed. They were defeated. The Man they had followed for the past three years was dead, executed upon a Roman cross. They had seen it with their own eyes, perhaps even watching as Joseph of Arimathea laid the body in his tomb. When they went to pay their respects on the third day, the huge stone that had been rolled across the entrance to the tomb was laying on its side. The tomb was open...and empty. A fine kettle of fish this was!

The two men who greeted them gave explanation. “He is not here; he is risen, as he said.” “As he said:” If Jesus, rising from the dead, is able to accomplish that which is humanly impossible, “just as he said,” what about the more mundane promises, such as providing for our physical needs? Shouldn’t they be pretty easy by comparison? What about giving us the wisdom we need for life? And more importantly, what about forgiving our sins? 

So often, we measure the promises of God by our transitory emotions. We study the options, make calculated decisions, and then second guess our choices. We confess our sins, but continue to listen to the accusations of the father of lies who causes us to question the reality of that forgiveness when we don’t “feel” forgiven. 

“Just as he said” are important words. They direct us away from the constantly changing landscape of our emotions, from the empty promises of this world, toward the constant and unchanging promises of God. There, and there only will we find solid ground upon which to build our lives. 

Prayed for

 March 30, 2021

“And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”” —Luke 22:31-32 NKJV

O my soul, do you see the significance of these words? As the old gospel song says, “Jesus knows our every weakness.” The Scriptures here depart from the song, for it is not we who “take it to the Lord in prayer,” but Jesus who prays for us. Jesus is not unaware of the trials we face, nor of the power of the Enemy, but he has prayed for us. Like Peter, we may boast and brag, only to deny him, but Jesus has prayed for us. It may seem that our faith has failed; we have wept bitter tears of regret, but Jesus has prayed for us. We are being sifted, crushed to powder. Can it possibly be that the Father has not heard nor answered those prayers of his beloved Son? Unthinkable! Jesus has prayed for us. Satan has asked in vain. Jesus has prayed for us. 

Others are enduring similar trials. Jesus has prayed for them, too. His victory is sure, even when we fall away and imagine there is no hope for us. He doesn’t say to Peter, “IF you return to me,” but “WHEN you return to me.” And when we do, he doesn’t take us back reluctantly, testing us before trusting us. No, he gives us a job to do, taking our experience of failure and using it to encourage and strengthen our brothers and sisters.

Take heart, O my soul! Our Lord and Savior has prayed for you. The Father hears and heeds his Son. You have a home in the heart of Jesus, who prays for you.