Friday, June 23, 2023

¹⁶ The people answered, “We’d never forsake God! Never! We’d never leave God to worship other gods. ^17-18 “God is our God! He brought up our ancestors from Egypt and from slave conditions. He did all those great signs while we watched. He has kept his eye on us all along the roads we’ve traveled and among the nations we’ve passed through. Just for us he drove out all the nations, Amorites and all, who lived in the land.  “Count us in: We too are going to worship God. He’s our God.” ^19-20 Then Joshua told the people: “You can’t do it; you’re not able to worship God. He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t put up with your fooling around and sinning. When you leave God and take up the worship of foreign gods, he’ll turn right around and come down on you hard. He’ll put an end to you – and after all the good he has done for you!” ²¹ But the people told Joshua: “No! No! We worship God!” ²² And so Joshua addressed the people: “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen God for yourselves – to worship him.”  And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ Joshua said, “Now get rid of all the foreign gods you have with you. Say an unqualified Yes to God, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ The people answered Joshua, “We will worship God. What he says, we’ll do.” ^25-26 Joshua completed a Covenant for the people that day there at Shechem. He made it official, spelling it out in detail. Joshua wrote out all the directions and regulations into the Book of The Revelation of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak that was in the holy place of God. ²⁷ Joshua spoke to all the people: “This stone is a witness against us. It has heard every word that God has said to us. It is a standing witness against you lest you cheat on your God.” ²⁸ Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his own place of inheritance.

       You will have no gods before Me.  Hoarding seems to be human nature, especially in the west.  We don’t like to throw things away; we prefer to add things to the things we already have.  We see the same in our commitment to God, our Creator and Deliverer. Many today seek to add God to their already packed lives.  They don’t turn from their other “gods” and serve God alone; they continue to serve their other “gods” and add a little God onto it.  Many of the “gods” we serve do not require exclusivity.  The world doesn’t care if Christians worship God in addition to their many “gods”.  That’s perfectly fine.  However, Christians cannot claim, “No!  We will serve the Lord, because He is our God.”

       If I had an altar in my home, before which I placed my “gods,” it would be easy for me to identify my idolatry.  However, I have no such altar.  Yet, in fact, I have many altars and many “gods”.  Sadly, there are many things and sometimes people before which I build my altar of worship.  These things, these people, claim my time, my talent, my treasure.  They have my attention and my energy.  Still, with nose in the air, I have proclaimed: “I will serve the Lord, because He is my God.”  How sad!  O God, deliver me once again from all things that are contrary to Your Lordship!  Let me see You, know You, experience You as You permeate every area of my life.  And let Your creation testify against me that I have made this commitment to You.  Amen!

Thursday, June 22, 2023

⁵⁷ As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”  The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead!  Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” ⁶² But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” LK 9:57-62                                             

       Following Jesus is difficult.  I don’t know why we try to make it seem easy.  It’s not.  In this passage alone, Jesus makes Discipleship a chore.  Following Jesus means not having a home.  Following Jesus means not having family.  Following Jesus means rearranging priorities.  You know, it’s common for us to pursue the path of least resistance, to find the easiest way possible.  So, we “sell” Christianity like a product on television.  We tell folks, “All you have to do is ____.”  But following Jesus – truly following Jesus – and living by His standards in this world, will cost you everything.  You will not leave this life with your possessions.  You won’t take your money with you.  Even your closest relationships will be altered by death.  But there is one thing that will never change, never go away, should we choose to nurture it.  That is relationship with God through Jesus, God’s Son, the Messiah.  Yes, following is costly, but following is also rewarding.  Thanks be to God.  Amen!

Saturday, June 17, 2023

     Acts 7:54 – 8:8

       Stephen and Saul.  Stephen saw the glory of God as he surrendered all he had in death.  Saul was there, seeking his own glory.  Though Saul didn’t start the persecution, he perfected it; he stepped in and took over as its leader to make a name for himself. Stephen served God.  He saw God’s glory; Saul couldn’t see the glory of God because Saul was in the way.

       How often am I “in the way”?  I say that I am striving to glorify God, to allow others to see God in me and through me.  However, isn’t the reality different?  Do I – most often – shield the glory of God by getting in the way?  What people see many times is my glory, not His.  O God, how will they see You when I’m in the way?  Move me aside!  Lift up Your countenance upon me so others can see You, Your glory and not me!  Amen!

Monday, July 10, 2023

       Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your earnings for that which does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. ³ Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.  I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. ⁴ See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. ⁵ Now you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. ⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; ⁷ let the wicked forsake their way and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. ⁸  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ¹²  For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle, and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.                    Isaiah 55:1-13

       So, shall My Word be!  God’s Word is powerful!  In the beginning, God spoke and creation came into existence.  From the top of Mt Sinai, God spoke and the people below trembled.  Upon the cross, God spoke and a dying thief was comforted.  At Antioch, God spoke and a mission movement that transformed an empire began.  

       God’s Word is powerful!  Why should is it surprising then that my words have power?  I use words in powerful ways … to harm, to wound, to condemn … to love, to heal, to care.  And when I am observant enough, I know when my words have hit the mark; I know when I have wounded someone; I know when I have caused emotional pain to others.  Yet, I keep opening my big mouth and putting my foot into it.  I keep speaking when I should shut up and listen.  I keep piling on words, thinking more is better when actually more is just more hurting, more painful, more ____.  Yes, God’s Word never returns to Him void; God’s Word accomplishes God’s desired effect.  And so do mine.  Perhaps this is why God’s verbal communication with humanity is so limited, why He chooses to speak to us through the inner promptings of the Spirit, through the situations of life and the people around us.  Perhaps, this is why God’s primary language is silence.  And silence too speaks volumes.  O God, teach me to use my words to heal and not hurt, to build up and not tear down, to enliven and not kill.  Amen!

Friday, June 16, 2023

    Luke 9:46-62

       They followed Jesus and didn’t grasp what it meant.  Me too!  What did they give up to follow?  Home?  Yes!  Family?  Yes!  Friends?  Yes!  They did all that and more, but some wouldn’t (57-62).

       On a lonely road between Newton and Notchaway Creek, I said yes!  And for years, it cost me.  I gave up career, family, home, and friends.  But in time, God gave it back to me and even more.  I didn’t know it at the time.  I could never have grasped it.  For years, the sight of mama crying as a I drove away to college, hurt me.  But God gave her back to me.  Perhaps God gave her back because I needed her.

       Following is an act of faith.  We follow expecting to lose it all.  We follow because He called.  We follow and God gives back as He wishes.  Loving God, all I am and all I have is You.  I leave it all to have You, to know You.  Amen!

Thursday, June 15, 2023

       And the other Disciples were angry with them.  James and John (& their mom) had guts.  They took it upon themselves to make a shocking request: “Give us positions of honor.”  I’ve often found it easy to criticize these brothers.  How dare they!  But that puts me in the company with the other Ten.  The others were angry, not that James and John made the request, but that the brothers might gain an advantage over them.

       For years, I watched other pastors do things and ask for things with a sense of horror.  I said: “I’d never do that” – not because I didn’t want “that”, but – because I didn’t want to be seen as wanting “that”.  And like the Ten, I was angry.  How sad to see that in myself, to see me in the Ten, to see me in God’s Word.  O God, forgive my lack of humility, for the pride with which I pretended humility.  Knock me down until all I see is You, all I seek is Your will, all I do is serve You and not myself.  Amen!

Monday, June 12, 2023

⁴⁶ As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.” ⁴⁸ Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. ⁵⁰ Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”      Matt 12:46 – 50

       You will make no graven images for yourselves.  You will not bow down and worship them.  We pride ourselves in being a civilized culture.  We have advanced beyond religion.  We have advanced beyond rituals.  We have no objects of worship, no idols.  Yet have we really moved beyond that or have we merely substituted one true God for many?

       For many, family has become a god, an idol, a false deity.  Modern parenting has placed such focus on the child – what the child wants, where the child wishes to go, what the child wishes to do, what will make the child happiest, most content.  Parents spend gobs of money to occupy their children today and to give them a future career, a future in the big leagues or under the Saturday evening lights.  We have dance lessons, music lessons, baseball and softball leagues, football camps.  We skip church on Wednesday because of Junior’s schedule.  We’re out of church on Sunday because of traveling league baseball.  We can’t serve in the service this weekend because of Little Sally’s dance competition.  These are the rituals that have replaced the church’s liturgy.  And Junior and Sally are our new idols.  And I’m complicit.  I did it too.  I made my family the idol; the perfect family was my goal.  O God how will I ever get clarity?  How will I ever repair the damage I’ve done and the poor witness I’ve been?  Help me, O God.  Amen!

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

 Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” ²² “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! ²³ “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. ²⁴ In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  ²⁵ He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold – along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned – to pay the debt. ²⁶ “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ ²⁷ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. ²⁸ “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. ³⁰ But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. ³¹ “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. ³² Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. ³⁵ “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

       That’s what My heavenly Father will do to you!  Why is it I who have been forgiven so much am often the slowest and most hesitant to forgive?  Oh sometimes, I do forgive … partially!  I say the words, “I forgive you” or “I’ve forgiven them.”  But my attitude has changed toward them.  I shy away; I move to create distance between us.  I become more protective, more hesitant to be identified with that person.  That’s not what God does for me!  When I fall before God and sincerely confess my wretchedness, God rushes toward me; God embraces me; God dis-members the wrong I have done from the person I am; God gives me a second chance (& and third and fourth, sometimes).  Why can’t I?  When will I truly “forgive those who sin against me” so that I can truly receive the Father’s forgiveness?

       Lord God, I can’t do that alone.  I’m 58 years old and for 58 years, it’s been the same routine.  So, Lord, today will you help me to see others – especially those who have wronged me – the way You see them?  Will you help me love them the way You love them (and me)?  Will you help me to see You in them, taking upon Yourself their sins and mine, and asking from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”?  Amen!

Monday, June 12, 2023

       ^1-2 In due course John the Baptist arrived, preaching in the Judean desert: “You must change your hearts—for the kingdom of Heaven has arrived!” ³ This was the man whom the prophet Isaiah spoke about in the words: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’.  ^4-6 John wore clothes of camel-hair with a leather belt round his waist, and lived on locusts and wild honey. The people of Jerusalem and of all Judea and the Jordan district flocked to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, publicly confessing their sins.

           ^7-9 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said: “Who warned you, you serpent’s brood, to escape from the wrath to come? Go and do something to show that your hearts are really changed. Don’t suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We are Abraham’s children’, for I tell you that God could produce children of Abraham out of these stones! ¹⁰ “The axe already lies at the root of the tree, and the tree that fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

       Motivation.  Heart.  From time to time, something new and exciting will pop up within a church.  People say: “God is really moving there.”  So, before long there will be a migration of good church-folks from their churches to see and experience what’s happening there.  It always amazes me that people will drive 25 minutes to see and experience the latest and greatest rather than spend 25 extra minutes in prayer and scripture.  It saddens me that people will spend 25 minutes driving but won’t spend 25 minutes serving to make the church they belong to better.

       Pharisees and Sadducees, good church-folks, heard about John and went to take the plunge.  Not because their hearts were touched and they felt a sincere need to repent (Change), but because John was the latest and greatest.  And John, to his credit, called them out.  You snakes in the grass, who told you about this.  You think it’s a freak show, but it’s God’s judgment and it’s already started (the axe is laid to the tree).  Wow!

       Today, I will determine to seek God through the spiritual life, not through the latest fad and craze.  Today, I will see God through repentance (change), not by following the latest superstar preacher or mega-church model.  O God, by Your grace and with Your strength, I will.  Amen!

One day, a friend stopped in to see the farmer.  He said: “Hey, how’s your wheat doing this year?”  The farmer said: “Ain’t got none; I’m afraid the weevil will get it; so, I played it safe.”  The man said: “Well, how’s your corn?”  The farmer said: “Didn’t plant any; I’m afraid the crows will get it; so, I played it safe.”  The man said: “What about your potatoes?”  The farmer said: “Ain’t got any; I’m afraid the tater bugs will get ‘em; so, I played it safe.”  His friend said: “Well, what did you plant this year?”  The farmer said: “Nuthin’, I’m just playing it safe.”

I’m just playing it safe.  That sounds like a lot of us, doesn’t it?  You and I have been called to the Kingdom for such a time as this.  Through the grace of God, we have been redeemed from slavery to sin and death, and given new life in the Spirit; yet, instead of living the great adventure God has planned for us, we just play it safe.  We play it safe by settling for surface level religion rather than diving deep with the Lord.  We play it safe by going through our religious rituals rather than seeking a true relationship with Christ.  We’ve been called to share our faith with others – across the room, across the street, and across town – but we play it safe because we don’t want people to think we’re religious fanatics.  We’ve been called to find a place of ministry and service in the church, but we play it safe because we don’t want to invest the time, energy, and commitment it takes.

In fact, playing it safe is a perfect description of the modern church.  We just play it safe, because we really don’t want to step out of our comfort zones and live the radical life God is calling us to live.  We don’t want to risk our reputation and our status; so, we play it safe.  But the Bible tells us about some who risked it all, who stepped out of the comfort zone, and had their lives changed forever.

One day, a Synagogue Leader came and fell at Jesus’ feet; he said: “My daughter has died, but if You will come and lay hands on her, I know she will live again.”  And as Jesus was following the man home, a crowd gathered around them; and in the crowd, there was a woman, a very sick woman, who said to herself: “If I can only touch the hem of His garment, I know I’ll be healed.”  And she made her way through the crowd and reached out and touched Him; and immediately, she was made whole.  Then, when Jesus felt someone touch Him, He turned and saw her and said to her: “Take heart, daughter!  Your faith has made you well.”  And when they arrived at the house, Jesus walked in, cleared everyone out, took the girl by the hand, and raised her to life.

Now, at its core, this is a story about two people – a grieving daddy and a sick woman – who overcame the risks and came to Jesus.  Two people with great faith!  And we’re left to consider whether we, as disciples of Jesus Christ, are taking the risk of faith!  Let’s think about that …

Maybe we need to start by defining faith!  Hebrews 11 says: “To have faith is to be sure of things we hope for, and to be certain of things we cannot see,” but what does that mean?  After all, some people believe faith is just a function of our minds, that when we’re going through tough and uncertain times, all we need to do is trust God, believe; then, sit back and let God take care of it for us.

But scripture tells us faith is more than that!  The Leader of the Synagogue’s faith led him to seek out Jesus to resurrect his dead daughter.  The woman’s faith led her to reach out and touch Him for her healing.  So, it seems to me that faith isn’t just believing; it’s acting on what you believe.

So, where does faith come from?  Faith comes from God!  Peter wrote to his churches: “From Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ.  To those who received a faith equal to ours through the justice of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” ^[i]  In First Corinthians, Paul talks about faith as a gift of the Holy Spirit.  So, one of the results of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that you and I are given faith – faith to respond to salvation, faith to grow in our relationship with Christ, and faith to trust god in difficult situations.

Faith also comes through the Word of God.  Paul writes: “Now, faith comes by hearing the Word of God.” ^[ii]  So, when we read, study, and mediate on God’s Word, our faith is deepened and strengthened.  We are opening ourselves to the possibility that the God who healed the sick and raised the dead, can still heal and resurrect today.  We are opening ourselves to the possibility that the same power that raised Christ from the dead and now dwells in us, can work in us and through us to bring life to our mortal bodies.

The Leader of the Synagogue had heard the stories; he heard Jesus was a miracle worker, that He touched the blind and made them see, that He touched the lepers and made them clean, that He touched the lame and made them walk.  And he began to consider the possibility that Jesus could do the same thing for him and his daughter.  The sick woman had heard the stories too.  She heard Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead, and she began to consider the possibility that He could do the same for her.  Faith comes from God as we listen to His Word.

Third, faith gets God’s attention!  Verse 22 says: “Jesus turned, and seeing her, He said: ‘Take heart, daughter!  Your faith has made you well.’”  Here is Jesus, surrounded by people, being pushed and pulled one way and the other.  He was on the way to the Synagogue Leader’s home; yet He noticed the faith of a sick woman.  No one else did!  She was just another face in the crowd to everyone else, but to Jesus, she became an example of great faith!

There are other examples in the gospels of Jesus responding to faith.  In Luke 5, we read about four friends who brought a paralyzed man to Jesus.  And when they couldn’t get into the house, they climbed to the roof, tore a hole in it, and lowered their friend into His presence.  And the Bible says: “When He saw their faith, He said to the man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’”  When He saw their faith!  Faith touches the heart of God.

Fourth, what are the results of faith?  Well, faith gives us a new identity!  Jesus turned to the woman and said: “Daughter, your faith has made you whole.”  Earlier that morning, she was just an outcast, alienated from her neighbors and alienated from God.  But by faith, she became a daughter of the living God.  She was adopted into the family of God.  John 1:12 says: “But to all who received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become children of God.”

Once we were not a people; we were alienated from God, without life and without hope, but now, through faith, we have become the people of God.  We have been adopted into God’s family.  Paul told the church at Rome: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption by which we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”  Faith gives us a new identity!

Faith also gives us new power!  When Mark told this story, he tells us that when the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, Jesus felt power leave His body.  Power left Jesus’ body and the woman, who had been weak and suffering, was given new power.  And that same power entered the body of a dead girl and raised her to life.

You see, when we live by faith, the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives within us.  By faith, we can go deeper in our relationship with God.  By faith, we serve in the church.  By faith, we can witness to our neighbors.  The Spirit of the Living God with working within us, through us, and among us.  Faith gives us new power.

You see, God has called us to be people of faith.  Romans 1:17 says: “The righteous will live by faith.”  Now, I know that’s difficult for us, because our human nature prefers to live by what we know, by what we can see, by what we’ve experienced.  But Paul told the church at Corinth: “We walk by faith, not by sight.”  This is the kind of life that pleases God.  Hebrews 11 says: “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”

So, when you think about your life – your every day, ordinary life in Christ – are you living by faith or are you just playing it safe?  When you think about our life together – our church life – where do you see faith-filled living?  What are we doing that it totally dependent upon the power of God – if God doesn’t show up, it’ll fall flat on its face?  Are we living on the edge, risking it all to touch the Lord?  Let’s think about that for a moment … and talk to Jesus about it …

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

^[i]           2 Peter 1:1 CEB

^[ii]           Romans 10:17