Monthly Archives: September 2012
Live Graciously, even in an Election Year!
Consider these passages – as you engage others, and post your positions on facebook…
5:43 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44 I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45 for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. 46 If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. 47 If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. 48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.
Matthew 5:43-48 (MSG)
4:19 Let us love, then, because he first loved us. 20 Anyone who says ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, is a liar, since whoever does not love the brother whom he can see cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 Indeed this is the commandment we have received from him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother.
1 John 4:19-21 (NJB)
May that which we say, and post, reflect God’s glory to a world that more than enough evil and darkness.
The Greatest Change…
A Radical Change…We Needed
Isaiah 35:4-7a
† In Jesus Name †
As God’s hand guides us through this valley of sin and death, may we so know His presence, may we so experience His love and mercy and peace, that we do not fear…but find ourselves alive in His strength
Change
It is a word that can cause great anxiety, even fear, or terror. We make jokes about our inability to change – for example, How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb? Change?
Perhaps for men it is because we associate change with a need to get dirty. I mean one of the ways the word is used – that will cause any man to cringe and hide in fear are the words, “Honey can you change the baby’s diaper!”
Politicians promise it – yet their changes are often something to fear, because of what is called the “law of unintended consequences.”
I mention that change can create anxiety, I should have said it does, as we try to find ways to cope with it. We can try to bargain, we can just simply deny it is happening, we can get angry about it, we can get depressed, we can accept it, but even then, is that acceptance done with a sense of defeat, or a sense of expectation, and are those expectations real?
To those experiencing such anxiety, the prophecy of Isaiah speaks to you, indeed it speaks to all of us who experience change:
35:4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!”
Isaiah was even to give them the reason for their strength, the reason they didn’t need to fear.“Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
Now that is a radical change, that is the most radical change we will face in our lives, and my friends it is a radical change we needed.
I will even make the promise that the coming of Christ into our lives is the most radical change our lives will ever endure. And most of us, whether we have realized it, have already seen that change made in our lives.
Isaiah’s then and now
In three verses today, Isaiah has a “top ten list” – ten ways he describes the change that comes, when God bursts on the scene, and brings salvation to His people. When He delivers them from the bondage of sin, from the oppression of satan and his demons, and when he frees us from anxiety about death.
So let’s look at this “top ten” list. Isaiah’s top 10 ways of describing the change that takes place in a life which encounters God.
Number 10, Our Anxious hearts find Strength in knowing God is here, saving us.
The word in Hebrew for anxious and anxiety is also the word for frantic. To use an old saying, being anxious looks like someone running around like chicken with its head cut off. Anxiety drives us to want to do something, anything, to find a way to cope, or to find a distraction from all that worries us.
Yet when God comes into our life, when we know we can have faith in Him, trust Him, we learn something amazing, we can be still, and know that He is God. He’s in charge and the promises that go with that are wondrous! What a change!
Number 9 We are changed from being blinded, to being able to see.
As God enters our lives, it is very much like having a cataract removed. That’s what the Hebrews pictures – something growing on our eye, that stops us from being able to see anything – it is removed – and we can see so clearly, that we can comprehend what is going on around us, what is truly important – our senses come alive! And we can being to perceive God’s plan in this world around us, and again, rest knowing His love!
The 8th way Isaiah’s prophecy describes the change of God coming into our lives! The deaf are able to hear!
Imagine never being able to hear, then the first words you can hear are, “I love you!”
To hear God’s word read and when He says, over and over, “You will be my people, and I will be your God, “ what sticks with us, is that He is talking to us, we are His people, He is our God! He will care and provide for us, comfort and protect us. What an incredible change!
Number 7 change that comes when we are transformed in Christ – the lame are able to leap like a deer! How tremendous is this change pictured, as everything which hobbles us, everything that binds and weakens us is removed! Sin cannot grasp us, shame and guilt cannot immobilize us, such an incredible picture this prophecy, this promise of Isaiah brings to our lives!
The sixth way in which in which we are changed brings to mind the move Braveheart –when Mel Gibson cries out– Freedom! For the sixth way this change that takes place in our lives is described is that the mute able to should cry! But the word for cry is a specific word, not just any cry, but the jubilation cry – the shout every 50 years when every debt is cancelled, everything is made right and restored. This shout accompanies the trumpet is sounded as the man of God cries out that we are– healed and FREE!
The fifth change pictures the change of flood waters breaking forth in the desert, as if some dam can no longer hold that which is keeps behind its wall – and the love of God, the mercy and grace pours out over us, overwhelming us as it transforms us into His image!
As it the fourth way in which we are changed – as streams appear on the Arabah – not just in valleys, but wadi’s, oasis appearing at the top of desert mountains. So incredible the change, so incredible the life of God that is manifest in our lives! This isn’t to say that we won’t need to rest, that there won’t be times were the world overwhelms us, but indeed God will give us the rest and provide that which we need!
Number Three also is a picture as hard cracked ground becomes pools, for the ground becomes so completely saturated, that the water above is still and deep. Ground that was formerly so dry, so lifeless that the sun could baked it to the point where it cracked is now so changed. Over and over these ways keep noting the change – more and more radical – but the difference only testifies to the need we had, when we were dominated and anxious because of the power that sin had over us! And we can never forget the change that many others still need!
The number 2 ways in which we are changed – this dry thirsty ground of our souls are so changed they become springs and fountains! Picture we become like Old Faithful! Lives that we sucked dry, that were in so much need of attention and care, become like lives that cannot stop pouring out the very thing that they have received – the water of life, the grace and mercy and peace of God
And the last way the transformation that happens when God comes to us, and rescues us sounds perhaps the oddest. The place where Jackals live, the dry dead ruins becoming like a wetlands. Life teams all over the place, and the area that once was so barren that rabid scavengers would fight to the death over the smallest tidbit – now is a place rich with food, rich with life. So to our lives change when we realize that God has it all under control – life becomes so different, we are no longer anxious over what there is for us, and we gladly begin to share of what we’ve been blessed with!
It is a greater change even than the one we fear the most…death
In three verses, Isaiah’s prophecy has described a dramatic change that will happen in the future for those who were his contemporaries. For those of us that get anxious about change – this most incredible change has already happened to you – the promise has occurred – when God came to you, and claimed you as His.
When you were brought to life in Christ.
No other change you will ever experience – even physical death, is as great as the one which has been made in your life. You have gone from spiritual death, and quickened into life by the very power of God!
you can see Him, so you can hear of His love, so you can leap and shout for joy, for He is with you. So a life that was dry and hard and sucked everything in, and was self-centered and focused on getting what you could, could become an incredible oasis of peace.
When we experience any change, there is a time where we have to get used to it. That’s is where we are at now – that is why this feast, and these times were we are gathered are so crucial, for they remind us, we are being changed, recreated, transformed, for God has come, and took vengeance on all sin when Jesus bore it all on the cross.
And we are saved..just as was prophesied, we just need to get used to it!
So rest, strong in Christ, and let the anxiety of life slip away. For the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guards your heart and minds in Christ Jesus. AMEN?
The End Game…Death? Not even…
Devotional thought of the day:
In a biography I am reading, there are a number of quotes of the man of God talking about what he believed was his imminent death. (By the dates of the events – he isn’t far off, but I haven’t gotten that far..yet.) This year, a number of close friends have died again, and even today I am missing one friend’s memorial service because I am officiating at a service of another sister in Christ.
Scripture tells us that because of the death and resurrection of Christ, death has lost its victory, it has lost its poisonous sting. While I believe that, while I know that, it is hard to look on faces that damp with flowing tears, with hearts that appeared crush. Too often, I struggle to see them because my eyes too are blocked by the same liquid. The pain is often unbearable, and some have asked what I know to say in those moments.
To be honest, there is only one thing to say…. to look at the person’s life, to see the connection that God made with them, to look at God’s faithfulness expressed in their life, and note the connection. Note the love of God seen in their life, love that is impossible to have at work, unless God is present. To then assure them of God’s care for their loved one, and His promise to bring us comfort, even as He has brought them into His joyous glory. To share with them one perfect promise:
2:9 but it is as scripture says: What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualise; all that God has prepared for those who love him;
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NJB)
all that.
All THAT..
Death will sting those who have yet to endure it – of that there is no doubt. But for Fr. Josemarie, for JoAnn and Chuck, for Rev. McLeod, and Warren and Shirley and… and.. and..there is not sting..there is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – fully revealed…
There is ALL THAT… there is dwelling in His glory, in His peace, seeing Him face to face…knowing as we are known,,, and far more than we can ever see, hear, or imagine in this life.
We say they “rest in peace” yet, as we look at God’s promise, we know that we dwell in that same peace…even if our hearts struggle to rest in it.
Godspeed to all those who “survive”, and may His peace so overwhelm our hearts and minds…AMEN
POSTSCRIPT:
After writing this blog, I had the honor of officiating at a memorial service. I wrote this on my FB post, which serves to make the point of this blog:
As I sit down to complete my sermon for tomorrow, I can’t help but think of the man who just celebrated God’s love for his wife. Though he anticipated less than 10 people a crowd showed up to comfort him and thank God for her life, and how it touched them,
During the lunch that followed, he never sat down – but constantly circulated, showing pictures of them together, talking to them about God’s love, hearing their stories.
It is to witness God’s handiwork in such lives, that has come to mean more to me as a pastor than anything else. To see the effect of God’s word, as it brings comfort and peace, and yes – even joy in the midst of trauma…. leaves on in awe in God’s presence.
—-
Truly, there is one blessing, said at every service, every Bible study of this church. It is this: “The Lord is with you!” – and I am blessed to see evidence of it, everyday.
The Paradox of Holiness.. and peace
Devotional thought of the day:
I have often heard that the Bible isn’t a reliable book, because it is not logical, because what it says isn’t rational, it doesn’t make sense, indeed it goes so against our grain, that it is easy to dismiss it.
Following Jesus is full of apparent contradictions, for as Paul says, the foolishness of God confounds the wisdom of the wise. The paradoxes are those that just are stunning, yet, as the Holy Spirit brings us to trust in God, what appears isn’t that they are less than logical, but that they transcend it. For example:
It is in dying with Christ, that we find life.
We find peace and hope, not in the absence of trauma and pain, but in the midst of it.
We find righteousness, not in our our works, but in confessing that we are not righteous.
Perhaps my favorite paradox is the road to holiness. For it lies not in seeking perfection, but in realizing our brokenness. To think we can attain holiness by work, by sweat, tears, discipline, that is the road of most religious systems, and every self-help system that I have ever encountered. But while I would encourage everyone to discipline themselves, the goal of that discipline is not holiness, but rather – to keep focused on the fact that we are, in Christ, Holy.
We become so, not by our effort, not by our sacrifice, but in our brokenness, in our realization that we cannot discipline ourselves enough, that we cannot sacrifice enough, that we cannot work hard enough. All of those efforts, on their own, simply persuade us to live a lie, to hide our brokenness, our shame, our…failure. And so, exhausted, empty, broken, we do not refuse the hands that pick us up, the hands that heal our wounds, though they bear nail scars, though the eyes that look on us with tender mercy and love are surrounded by a face disfigured and broken by thorns and beatings. Despire the disfigurement, the eyes look into us, and heal and make whole, and yes Holy.
From His brokenness, we find the healing for our own brokenness. For it is in His death, we find life, abundant, free, joyous, unburdened life….
We find something so mysterious, so incredible, so mind-blowing awesome. In Christ, the broken are made holy.
No more hiding needed, no more facades, no more games, just Jesus. Just His holiness and glory, transforming us into His image. (2 Cor 3:16ff)
That will never make sense to a world that tries to keep its eyes closed, its ears blocked to that which it cannot comprehend….unless they see it, in the brokenness of those Christ has healed… unless they hear the joy of those who found comfort in the midst of brokenness,
For those that found a peace beyond logic, comprehension, understanding, that Jesus brings to them… and keeps us in.
May we find joy in our brokenness, as we cling to the Hope given to us.. in the arms of the One broken, so that we are healed.
The Secret to Loving and Serving Others
Devotional thought for the day:
“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’, he said, ‘what I have done to you? 13 You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. 14 If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.” John 13:12-15 (NJB) (
Consider listening to this song –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I47c29GvFY while reading this blog
The church has been designed to be a community, a place where people have learned to lay aside their wants and desires, and serve others, to nurture others, to imitate Christ’s life, and the blunt clear lessons like the one in John 13 – where he washes the cracked, dry, smelling feet of men who hadn’t learned yet to love, to be in a relationship – not just with their Lord, but with each other. THe lesson is harsh, and convicting, how often are we willing to get down on our knees, and deal with the muck those we are called to love have walked through?
It cannot be done, not in our own strength at least. Their burdens are too heavy, their pains too deep, the crap in their lives can, indeed cause us to turn away, spiritually and physically nauseated, disgusted. Or we wonder why, as Michael Card sings, we have to do this day after day, after day…..
So where do we find the strength to obey? Where do we find the power to live lives in this holy manner?
A catholic priest once wrote:
“When you start out each day to work by Christ’s side and to look after all those souls who seek him, remember that there is only one way of doing it: we must turn to the Lord. Only in prayer, and through prayer, do we learn to serve others!” (1)
That’s the answer – through prayer – through intimate conversation, through communion/fellowship – through letting Christ wash our feet,through letting him, remove our burdens, through letting Him still – clean up those parts of our lives that have gotten dry, broken, blistered, smelly….. through letting Him be God. It is the only way, as St. Josemarie told us, to find the strength to serve, to be there for people, to bring healing and love to their lives. We don’t have the strength
We have to let Jesus do that to us….cleanse us, heal us…
and then, the Holy Spirit will work through us to do the same for others.
And oh the joy, oh the inexpressible joy that comes from seeing others cleansed, and counted holy and righteous.
It sends you right back in prayer, to the throne of God, to praise and glorify Him!
Lord, show us Your mercy… even as You work through us to bring that mercy to those we serve around us!
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 474-476). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Monday’s Devotion.. finally done! Compassion is not an option!
Devotional/Discussion Thought from Monday:
“If you love the Lord, you will necessarily feel the blessed burden of souls, and the need to bring them to God.” (1)
I started writing this blog on Monday, and erased it a number of times. The burden that St. Josemarie speaks of is one every pastor knows, and every pastor struggles with often. I dare say that elders, deacons, deaconesses and every person in the church should as well. If such a burden is foreign, and if you catch me at a just the right moment, you will hear me agree to the statement. Even as I do, the implications of that will crush me.
The challenge of course is we hear this as “law” – and it seems to condemn us. After all, we have been pretty well inoculated against compassion by the American Idol of “Individuality”, and it’s sub-deity “personal religion”. That is a whole different blog – but to make it simple – we don’t believe in the community of faith any longer, we give it lip service, but do we really get it? Being convicted by such a statement is a great tool – it is often used to raise money for overseas missions, or for poverty or natural disaster relief. “Don’t you care about the poor, starving, homeless…” and we grab our checkbook or ATM card and pay for indulgences, American Style!
But what if St. Josemarie’s comment is actually gospel? That is, what if the impact of knowing God’s love so radically changes us, that we are compelled to help – not just those in need in other places, but those across our fence, those down the block, those people who serve us in stores, or restaurants, or?? What if our eyes of faith saw the burdens people carry, burdens that they don’t have to bear, for Jesus already has born our burdens. What if he is describing the effct of the cross on us, that we cannot see others living without it?
I titled this, compassion is not an option – for the one Who is compassionate toward us, God, Father Son and Holy Spirit – so loves us, that He has put His Spirit with in us. So listen, and see, and know, the peace you have in Christ is meant for them as well.
Lord, as we cry “Lord have mercy!” help us to realize we cry for Your mercy to be shown through us to others as well!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 446-447). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Saved is more than making Par
Devotional thought of the Day:
He looked carefully at the situation, wondering how to get himself out of the rough.
Only 24 feet from the pin, but lying in the rough, just to the right of the sand trap, on this next to last hole. Four inch high grass almost hid the ball from sight, but to dig it out without hitting the ball to hard… a challenge indeed! The practice swing through the grass with the chipper only heightened the anxiety, as the grass slowed the club head down. The second practice swing – so hard the ball would go 30 yards at least. Tension settles in, as the golfer breathes out slowly, the club head comes down, and the ball comes out of the grass, lands on the green and is slowly rolling, its line looking to be about 6 inches off the hole.
Without warning the ball breaks sharply to the left and drops in the hole! The crowd goes wild, as the spectator reacts as if I just won the British Open. I “saved” bogey, and would set a new course record, breaking two over par (avg per hole!)
What a SAVE!
We often talk about saves, from the pitcher comes into in the ninth inning, bases loaded and strikes out the clean-up hitter, to the catch of the previous vase I just knocked over, to my son “saving” his artwork forever! Think as well about all the things cluttering our garages that we save because we might just need them, or the money we “save” for the rainy day.
With all these things we “save”, some of which we get incredibly excited about for the moment, (the bogey, the baseball game) and some that will never amount to anything – the word “saved” becomes weaker and weaker and when we talk about being “saved”, does it have the same impact?
Being “saved” by Jesus is a lot more than an instant “win”, and its far more permanent than even the stuff in our garage. I think most of us know this in our mind, when it is being thought about, but how much does it affect our lives. I love the words some translations use instead – “RESCUE” or “DELIVERANCE” – because they bring into it the change that occurs,
as we are transformed from being evil to being holy.
as we go from wicked to righteous,
as we go from being alone, to sharing in the glory of Gods’ presence, welcome there, our presence desired there, and brought there because of the love of Jesus!
from blind to seeing, from deaf to hearing, from death to life….we are delivered from and more importantly delivered to…
As God’s name is made holy among us, among us! The catechism describes it this way: ” When God’s Word is taught clearly and purely, and when we live holy lives as God’s children based upon it. Help us, Heavenly Father, to do this!
Think about it, rejoice in it, love in it, with His patient help, and care…
You are saved – and its more than saving bogey, or par, or even getting a hole in one…
It is life…
The Gates of Hell Cannot Withstand….those standing firm in Christ!
“The Gates of Hell Cannot Withstand Us”
Ephesians 6:10-20
† In Jesus Name †
As we are engaged in spiritual battle, may we find the strength, and His might, which enables us to focus, not on the Evil, but on His Love and Mercy! AMEN!
St. Peter’s Confession!
In one of his better moments, right after putting one foot in his mouth and perhaps seconds before placing the other one there, St Peter proclaims to Jesus (and to the others) “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16 (NLT)
Jesus response there in Matthew’s gospel affirms Peter’s words.
16:17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter which means ‘rock’, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not stand against it. Matthew 16:17-19 (adapted from NLT/ESV)
We shared this same hope we in the words of the Nicene Creed, They remind us that we are in a spiritual war, that we were once hostages that were rescued by Jesus, that there are still many that need to be rescued, and the gates of hell are powerless against the cry of faith in God.
It is a spiritual war, and spiritual warfare, though simple in words never seems to be so easy.
Most people, facing spiritual warfare and our epistle today take one of two actions. One they see themselves as a spiritual super-hero, Captain America or Superman – ready to take on the world if need be! Or having common sense, they run faster than the Enterprise going into warp
Often, we come often back from such spiritual warfare bruised and battered, as I have to admit, I did this week. The challenge is to realize that taking such a beating…isn’t always a bad thing. For it drives us to Jesus…
A Confession of Failure
As Vicar Mark and I went to St. Louis this week, we had some incredible moments. Some of the lessons were great, as we heard that the seminary process is as much about forming Mark as a pastor, not just a theologian. They left him a bit in awe, and somewhat in fear of the next four year’s work they demand. They did the same for us “mentors”. They told us of the burden we will bear – opening our lives us to share and model and help mold th making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
em as men of God, as leaders of their church.
I failed the very first test as Mark’s mentor, as we struggled through the week, and as frustration eventually got the best of me. I didn’t model very well being strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might, and in remembering that flesh and blood are not our enemies – but forces of much more conniving and forceful and yes diabolical nature.
It started with a rental car which our 5’7 inch 150 pound friend found quite snug with the seat all the way back! (So you can imagine Mark and I trying to wear it!) Then there was the perfect weather – well the numbers matched perfectly – 95 degrees and 95 percent humidity. Add in every class we moved from was on the 2nd or third floor with the stairwells without any airflow. Toss in a number of irritating moments, like losing paperwork and forms multiple times. And cap it off with a mind-number eleven hour journey home including a challenge with TSA, weather delays, missed connections, and airport staff who seemed to delight in causing us problems! One of us, on a conveyer belt bringing us from one terminal to another mentioned the passage in James… “count it all joy when you endure..” except we couldn’t even find that quote funny. We were done, we were beat, and we lost sight of God’s incredible blessings of the week, or the people He brought us into contact with…including the divorced doctor going to see his son, and the foreign student who Mark and I had the opportunity to share God’s love with, on the first leg of our journey.
I have to confess that I struggled not to see the ticket agent as my enemy. Knowing I was preaching on this very passage, I gave up the opportunity to be a blessing to her, and to be an example on dealing with frustrations for Mark.
I had lost the war… or so I believed, as I shared with Vicar Mark that we needed to remember the incredible blessings, even as Satan and His demons, NOT DELTA, was trying to distract us from the grace we know so well! The goal isn’t to beat us up, but to do whatever is necessary to pull us away from Jesus, and then into the bondage of sin!
So where is our armor?
I am convinced that a great deal of spiritual warfare begins and ends with simply distracting us from Jesus. Whether it is causing us frustration or anxiety, getting us to be burdened by guilt or shame, causing us to repress our feelings, or giving into sin, the goal is the same – the people of God will struggle if we are weakened by forgetting the presence of God in which we dwell! That’s why one of the first tactics is to indicate that we don’t need to be gathered together around God’s mercy and love, poured out on us through His word and Sacrament.
Look at the weapons we are to take up – they lead us – each and every one of the weapons, to Jesus – and His work in our lives.
We start the belt of Truth! Back then a belt girds and strengthens us for the run, think of the kind of belt a weight lifter or stockroom worker uses.. John 14:6 tells us Jesus is the Truth – and so our first weapon, strengthening our endurance is given to us, as we dwell in Christ!
The Breastplate of Righteousness – as we read Romans 3-5, and we find that which protects our heart is Jesus. The second tool of the battle is the righteousness, for in Him and through Him we are found righteous, and free from the sin which so easily subverts us!
The shoes, the incredible shoes that were put on, ready to go out and share the gospel of peace! Again, the focus is on being in Christ, for in Him, there is the peace that passes all understanding!
The helmet that keeps our mind safe and secure, just as the breastplate kept our heart safe- our salvation – which is found again, as we live in Jesus Christ, it is His work in our lives! Does it sound familiar that our heart is guarded and our head is guarded as we journey in peace? This is a common theme for Paul, the blessing of our being united in Christ Jesus!
Lastly the sword, the Word of God, the words which cut open our sin-plagued heart and exorcises the sin – not just a weapon to attack and stab with, but a tool to use for healing as well! What an incredible thing Jesus does in our lives!
Used in
Prayer –
It is amazing, that as Paul focuses us on these weapons, the tools of our faith, the emphasis isn’t really on the war, but on realizing that we dwell in Christ! That is why he naturally moves from realizing what God has done, to communicating with God in prayer and supplication!
You see, that’s where we find our strength – not in our own maturity, but rather in communion with the Creator of all! That means, trusting in Him, we do lay every burden down, we bring Him into every situation! We trust Him not only with our life, but with the people we pray for! We trust Him with the lives of those for whom we “intercede” as we bring before the God that loves us. We know that as He takes them from our hands into His heart, the care will be there… that all things will work for good for them, for those who are loved and called into the very relationship we have with God!
A war against principalities and the cosmic powers of the present darkness means we realize that so many are still held in bondage – bondage to that which causes fear and guilt and share and anxiety!
Our war isn’t with them, it is to free them, as it was Paul’s vocation and prayer as well.
Think about these last verses,
“making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel!
As we consider where we are in Christ, we realize they mystery is revealed completely! What we’ve been saved to, the peace, of heart and mind! The peace of knowing real truth that God has cleansed us and freed us of that which poisons our lives! We realize our battle is to free those who were bound as we have been, whose life is missing that peace.
The funny thing, I said above that I was shocked at what a poor example I was, but perhaps the example that was needed is not that I reacted badly to the stress of the day and the burdens of the week – but instead that having sinned, I found the strength that cleanses our sins, and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus….
For that is our combat lesson. AMEN?
The Struggle of Holiness
Devotional; Discussion thought for today.
” Sanctity does not consist in great concerns. It consists in struggling to ensure that the flame of your supernatural life is never allowed to go out; it consists in letting yourself be burned down to the last shred, serving God in the lowest place… or in the highest: wherever the Lord may call you. Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 441-444). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Tomorrow I preach on the topic of “Spiritual Warfare”, not a favorite topic at all, because I think I see so much misunderstanding of it.
The first reaction when it is mention is “gung ho!” Let’s go attack the hordes that would tear down and destroy the church! Let’s go to war with sin and sinners and if God is with us, we shall surely wipe them out! ( Depending on the time period, this is either burning them at the stake or forcing them to submit and tap out because of our superior logic and strength! )The church militant, misapplied! The other reaction is the one that heeds “discretion is the better part of valor” and high-tales at speeds reminiscent of of the USS Enterprise at the sight of Evil, or an encounter with the demonic. (btw – I highly recommend the latter if you resonate with the first – check out the sons of Sceva!)
But the answer, seriously is found in the quote above. Sanctity, Holiness, the struggle, the battle to cling to that which kindled our lives and set us ablaze. Ablaze to the point where our lives become living sacrifices, not on the battlefront, but in serving others. I love how Fr. Escriva talks of God burning us down to the last shred – and in places of great humility or honor – but to the last shred in either place. Being willing to follow God where ever He leads – no matter the personal cost. As I’ve mentioned before – holiness isn’t an attitude – it isn’t some smug feeling that I am purer than those others. It is gratitude that despite my impurities, God has called and cleansed me and given me a vocation – several vocations, where He has put me – not to glorify myself – but to reflect His love to a broken world. With that gratitude comes a sense of joy and fulfillment that only comes when we walk with Jesus throughout out lives. For it is God, the Holy Spirit – that continues to kindle and stoke our fires – that bring people before us, who need, desperately need to know the love and healing that comes from being in Christ.
The struggle of holiness of being sanctified isn’t about preservation, or about becoming pure and devout. It just isn’t. Those are side effects of being in the glory of God, sharing a life of ministry in vocations that God has called us to, and accompanies us on the journey, as we our hearts burn, as He reveals His love and mercy poured out on us.
So hear His voice, walk with Him in His glory, as He loves, guides, purifies you… His children!
AMEN
