Joy

There is an old rabbinic story of a farmer who had two sons. He taught them everything he knew. When the man died, the two heirs inherited the land and farmed it in equal partnership. The younger brother married and had a large family of eight wonderful children. The older brother remained single.

One year they had a bumper crop, so the bachelor brother thought to himself, "My brother has 10 mouths to feed, while I have only 1. I know he will be unwilling to renegotiate our equal partnership, so in the dark, while he is asleep, I will shift some of what I have put in my barn into his to help him feed his family."

At the same time, the younger brother was thinking, "God has given me a wife and these 8 precious children. My brother has not been so blessed and will need more in reserve for his old age. But he will never renegotiate our partnership, so in the dark, while he is sleeping, I will slip some of the harvest already stored in my barn into his."

So on a dark night, the two brothers came face to face – each of them on a mission of kindness to the other. According to the story, a gentle rain began to fall, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

It was God weeping for joy because two of his children had understood life’s meaning. To selflessly care about another is to exhibit the heart of God. It is the secret to our joy.

Monday Prayer

Here is a great start-to-the-week prayer from Paul for the Ephesians, for you, and for me.

Ephesians 3:14-21

. . . I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Read it again, and have a great week!

Mirror in casket

A new minister in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first services.

The following Sunday the church was nearly empty. The preacher decided to place a notice in the local newspaper, stating because the church was dead, it was everyone's duty to give it a decent Christian burial. The funeral would be held the following Sunday afternoon, the notice said.

Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered in flowers. After the preacher delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church.

Filled with curiosity regarding what would represent the corpse of a "dead church," all the people eagerly lined up to look in the coffin. Each "mourner" looked into the coffin and then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look.

What did they see?

In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror.

Words of Life

I really enjoy words. They are my life.

Toward the end of Deuteronomy (32:47), Moses, after preaching God’s word to the people, with all of its promises and warnings, says this about those words.

They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.
 
God has a thing about words. God, using words, created the world, and he speaks words to us, offering us eternal life, life beyond the grave.

It’s interesting John writes words explaining the Incarnation of Jesus as the Word of God becoming flesh (See John 1). Jesus embodies the words that give life, showing us what Scripture should look like when lived out. That’s worth trying to wrap your mind around.

How about another interesting, challenging thought? We are called, through faith, to a relationship with the Word Who Became Flesh, Jesus. We are called to embody the heart and will of God, found in Jesus, found in Scripture, bringing it to life for the sake of others.


They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.

Return to Sender

Think Along 226

Recently I was required to speak words in a context of profound grief. I wonder about words, even God’s words, spoken in that context. They are hard to come by and feel inadequate.

Yet we speak them, hoping they will be like tiny seeds planted in fields. We hope some of them will grow and provide a harvest of comfort.

The Lord tells Isaiah (chap. 55) this, about his word:

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.
All we can do is speak the words of loving truth, trusting that God will somehow, someway, someday accomplish something with them.

I believe that.

Today

Each day we receive is a gift from God. Every breath you draw and then exhale, around 15 times a minute, is from God. The breath of life, the gift of life – how should we respond?

And how do we manage a day of challenges that take away our thoughts of gratitude for life?

Here are some very good words from Philippians 4:4-8.


Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Self-Rejection

Be careful about rejecting what God has accepted. If you are in a relationship with Jesus, then I’m talking about you! You are a beloved daughter of God or a beloved son of God.

Too often we want to reject ourselves, run ourselves down. Maybe it’s because of a failure or the hurtful words of others. Maybe it’s because we play in our mind "video clips" of past sins, even sins forgiven. Whatever its source, self-rejection is unhealthy.

Henri Nouwen writes these helpful words:

One of the greatest dangers in the spiritual life is self-rejection. When we say, "If people really knew me, they wouldn't love me," we choose the road toward darkness. Often we are made to believe that self-deprecation is a virtue, called humility. But humility is in reality the opposite of self-deprecation. It is the grateful recognition that we are precious in God’s eyes and that all we are is pure gift. To grow beyond self-rejection we must have the courage to listen to the voice calling us God's beloved sons and daughters, and the determination always to live our lives according to this truth.

Now, that’s something to think about!

Failed Visit

Who could use a little laugh on a Friday? Me too.

Let’s try this one:

A preacher decided to visit some of his church members one Saturday. At one house it was clear to him that someone was home, but nobody came to the door. The persistent preacher knocked several times. After no response, he took out his card and wrote on the back:

Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me."

The next day the same card showed up in the collection plate. Below the preacher’s handwritten message was another scripture, written by one his members, responding to his visit and message.

Genesis 3:10 - "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself."

Have a great weekend!

Running to Help

My wife and I were watching some of the news coverage of the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Various videos of the explosions were being shown over and over. As we watched, she made a good observation.

She noted that as soon as the explosion happened, most people ran away from it, which is natural and probably the right thing to do. Then she added, while most were running away, firemen, policemen, and other officials ran to the explosion. Thinking of others above themselves, risking their lives, they ran to the problem.

"That’s what they are trained to do." Yes, but still. Courage. There are also heart-warming, tear-bringing stories of some runners, who work in the medical field or as firemen, policemen, or first responders of some sort, even in the exhaustion of their almost finished marathon experience, ran to help. Moving.

All this reminds me of God’s redemptive work. We make messes, destroy things, destroy each other, yet he chooses run TO and not AWAY from us. Nothing can or will separate us from his love, not even us.

Thank God!

Ready?

The terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon on Monday was so horrible in so many ways. For me, it feels more personal than the other terrorist acts suffered by our country.

I had the privilege of running Boston last year, along with many good friends. There are many people we all know who have run this historic race. Some of our friends were there this year, and thankfully they were spared.

This act of terror illustrates, yet again, that evil is ever present and there are no totally secure, safe places in this world. We can try, and should, but we will never stop this kind of thing from happening, whether it is at sporting event, in a school, or some other place.

As I was watching, in a public place, some of the coverage on Monday evening, a friend of mine looked at the TV for a while and then looked at me. He said this, with conviction:

"This kind of thing just shows you that you always need to be ready."

Want to get well?

Henry Ford said this:

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

These words are often attributed to Albert Einstein:

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

In John 5, there is an interesting story about a guy who had been disabled for 38 years. Jesus took interest in this guy and learned his story.

Then Jesus asked a simple but powerful question.

"Do you want to get well?"

The man answered with excuses, very good ones, I might add, but still he answered with excuses.

Every time I read it, the story and the question always like to hang around in my mind.

"Do you want to get well?"

Sometimes I wonder about that. Do I really want to make the changes to make things better and different? It’s much easier to offer excuses, and some of them are quite good.

The key to change? Hearing the next words of Jesus:

"Get up!"

I wonder if any of you, like me, have some things that you really need to change.

Get up. Let’s go!

Take Courage

Near the end of Deuteronomy, as Moses is about to pass the torch of leadership to Joshua, he speaks words of encouragement to the people. His words are good for us to hear as we begin the week.

I don’t know if you face an adversary this week? Maybe the job itself feels like an adversary? Or maybe it’s just your situation in life?

Regardless of what you are facing, here are some wonderful words to take into the week. If you are striving to please God, then:

"Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Church Gossip

Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose in the other members’ private lives. Church members were unappreciative of her activities but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic, after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the town’s only bar one afternoon.

She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.

Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house. . . and left it there all night.

Hang on

It’s a picture of the careful tenderness of God, embodied in Jesus.

Matthew, the gospel writer, in one of his descriptions of Jesus, reaches way back to the prophet Isaiah. There he finds words about his Lord.

They are words about making things right in this world. Justice. They are words for those whose faith is barely there. It’s almost gone but not quite.

Maybe it should be put out of its misery? No.

The words reveal that God is not mad at the struggler whose faith is almost gone. Quite the opposite!

Matthew 12:20 — A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

God understands the struggler, the one with weak faith, the one beaten down by people and problems. He offers a sweet invitation to them, to all of us.

Matthew 11:28,29 — "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Remember

I have lots of people say they pray for me. I believe them, because I feel peaceful most of the time. It can only come from God. I ask for his peace, but I know I need the prayerful help of others.

There are times, lots of times, when that peace is threatened and then forfeited by my choice to worry about things over which I have no control, which is nearly everything.

Yesterday one of my friends prayed with me and for me. In the prayer, he quoted a verse that I know and have preached. Somehow hearing him pray those precious words did something to me, deep down in my heart. It was a fleeting moment really, a quick prayer, mostly for food.

In that prayer, between the food and family requests, were the words of 1 Peter 5:7. My friend asked God to help me remember and practice Peter’s words to persecuted people of long ago. Those words are still powerful, pertinent, and are again present in my heart.

1 Peter 5:7 — Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Lord, help me to always remember.

Someone Else

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else.

Someone’s passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person's share of the work.

Whenever there was a job to do, one name was on everyone’s list. "Let Someone Else do it." Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. "Someone Else can work with that group."

It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the most liberal givers. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing superhuman. Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are going to do.

Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did?

Who did it?

Once upon a time there were four people.

Their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody, and Anybody.

Whenever there was an important job to do, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it.

So consequently Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.

Some Things Change

Isn’t it interesting how things change?

God’s goodness and love do not.

James 1:17 — Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

God's Permission

Talk about disturbing words!

Jesus, in the final hours before the cross, speaks to Simon Peter.

Luke 22:31 — "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

These words could keep us busy in conversation for a long time. They bring to mind the story of Job and Satan asking permission to test him. God says, "Yes."

I hear echoes of Job in the conversation between Jesus and Peter. Then I wonder if that’s going on with me. How does all that work? All those thoughts drive me quickly to the essence of faith - trusting God with all the unanswered questions.

I’m getting there. It’s not a bad place. It’s a place of humble liberation.

There are a couple of things to emphasize from the disturbing words of Jesus. Did you notice that Jesus prayed for Peter? Jesus has faith in Peter and prays that Peter’s faith will not, ultimately, fail.

Peter does fail terribly in his denial of Jesus, but his faith, deeply damaged by the death of Jesus, survives. Rumors of an empty tomb cause him to run there. His faith is resurrected, and he experiences the wonderful world of redemption – God making good out of bad!

It’s disturbing to think that God may give permission for Satan to test me, but it’s comforting to know that Jesus prays for me and, hopefully, believes that I will survive and become a better instrument in his hands to serve others.

Lots of questions. I am learning to trust God with it all. It’s a work in progress.

Punctuation

An English professor wrote these words on the board:

"Woman without her man is nothing"

She then asked her students to provide proper punctuation.

The males in the class wrote:

"Woman, without her man, is nothing."

The females in the class wrote:

"Woman! Without her, man is nothing."

Punctuation makes a difference.

Have you seen this statement regard divine punctuation?

"Never place a period where God has placed a comma."

Then there is the competing statement:

"Never place a comma where God has placed a period."

There are lots of issues regarding the proper reading and understanding of Scripture. Jesus took to task the religious leaders of his day for misreading Scripture.

I don’t think it was about proper punctuation.

The issue was their failure to see the heart of God, to see Jesus, in them. Do I have the same problem?

Seems to me the proper way to punctuate Scripture is with Jesus. When we lose his heart and his loving way, then we’ve lost the meaning of Scripture, no matter how true the words are.

What do you see?

Three people were visiting and viewing the Grand Canyon – an artist, a preacher, and a cowboy. As they stood on the edge of the canyon, each one responded with a cry of exclamation.

The artist said, "Ah, what a beautiful scene to paint!"

The minister cried, "What a wonderful example of the handiwork of God!"

The cowboy mused, "What a terrible place to lose a cow!"

So much of life is how we look at it, and so much of that is informed by what we do and what we experience.

One of the keys, it seems to me, to rising above constantly seeing problems is to have a heavenly perspective of life. Paul articulates it so well at the end of 2 Corinthians 4.


We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I’m trying to be better at looking through problems and experiences to see God’s activity and his promises, trying to better at walking by faith and not by sight. Lord, please help me!

It's Monday

"It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!"

I’ve preached it, as have many others over the years. It’s a great Easter sermon!

"It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!"

It’s about the death of Jesus on a Friday. Everything looked like it was over. The death of Jesus led to the death of all the disciples’ dreams. Friday was horrible any way you measured it.

The Sunday of Resurrection was coming, but the disciples didn’t know it. They went to the tomb to anoint the dead body of Jesus, but they were met angels who said, "He is risen! He’s not here!"

The horror of Friday was replaced with the joy of Sunday. Death was swallowed up by life! Still is in Jesus.

But now it’s Monday.

Yesterday we could have said, "It’s Sunday but Monday’s coming!"

The joy of Resurrection is met with the reality of still living in a messed up world as, at times, a messed up person.

Monday. Pain and problems persist.

Yet the joy of the resurrection and the promise of resurrection, deeply rooted in God’s love and forgiveness, allow us to face them with peace, joy, and confidence.

Because of Sunday and its ongoing promises, I can face Monday!