Monthly Archives: April 2014
Matt Walsh, The Clearing of the Temple, and the Heart of God
Devotional Thought of the Day:
6 For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. 7 It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. 8 But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! 9 By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! 10 We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! Romans 5:6-10 (TEV)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies.’ 44 But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. Matthew 5:43-45 (TEV)
Yesterday a young blogger (pastor?) named Matt Walsh wrote a blog entitled “Jesus didn’t care about being nice or tolerant, and neither should you.” http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/04/07/jesus-didnt-care-about-being-nice-or-tolerant-and-neither-should-you/comment-page-2/#comment-160712) I responded at the request of a friend, but I thought I would address the basic concept here as well.
In the blog he wanted to spurn Christians on to regain their fighting spirit, To be aggressive about their faith, to challenge and do battle with those who would attack the church. To not tolerate sin or attacks on the church, to wipe the idea that Christians should be loving and therefore somehow tolerant. One of his points was that Jesus wasn’t tolerant, that He cleared the temple after all. Therefore righteous indignation has its place in those who follow Christ.
I have to admit – his passion is exemplary, and the reach of one blog post of his might be 100 times mine in a month.
But he’s wrong. Critically wrong.
God doesn’t want us to humble these people into submission with the truth. He wants us to reveal them the truth, He doesn’t need warriors to battle them, but people willing to die to themselves, who will do so to see these people freed to live in Christ. They aren’t the ones manning the gates of hell, but the ones Christ’s Church are there to rescue. We must understand this. We must hear His calling for us to love them, to pray for them. We have to realize that we were once in their shoes, broken, mad at God, fighting against Him, our of ignorance and blinded by sin.
The clearing of the temple wasn’t against those who attacked Christianity from the outside, but from those who stopped those on the outside from being able to know God, to find time to pray. The place where he cleared was the place for the Gentiles to pray, so that they would know God. ( see 1 Kings 8:41-43) The goal was to help these people, drowning in the darkness, in despair, these people that are broken, even as we are broken.
For God, over and over, has indicated that He is not willing that any perish in their sins, but that all are transformed in Christ.
That’s why Jesus died on the cross – even Caiaphas recognized this in John 11. That is why Paul would pour out his life, and call us to imitate him as he imitated Jesus. That every apostle didn’t combat their opposition, but prayerd and often died, tat they would know Christ.
Do we have to deal with ugly stuff, if we walk in Jesus footsteps? Yeah – we have to deal with those who don’t even know that sin is sin. (and instead of people getting in their way by selling things to sacrifice – we have to sometimes deal with those who – from inside the church, defend sin.) But we have to remember that their ignorance doesn’t make them our enemy – that our apostolate, our being sent as Jesus was sent ( see John 20:21) is to bring to them healing for the brokenness, sight to their blindness, to proaclim them free from the bondage of sin, and the fear of death.
By pointing them to the one who loved them enough to die for them. Which may mean we lose our life, our identity in this life.
That’s following Christ.
The Zeal for God’s house that sees as the light to those who don’t know God, and the glorious place for those of us to do.
Lord have mercy on us, and help us to love them, as you did.
Can I Really Be Holy on the “PERFECT” Monday?
Devotional Thought On ANOTHER MONDAY……
22 They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. “We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God,” they taught. Acts 14:22 (TEV)
77 Sometimes you feel that you are beginning to lose heart and that everything is getting on top of you. This kills your good desires, and you can hardly manage to overcome this feeling even by making acts of hope…Never mind: this is a good time to ask God for more grace. Then, go on! Renew your joy for the struggle, even though you might lose the odd skirmish. (2)
Have I mentioned before that I hate Mondays?
Probably, once or twice.
I get to my office, knowing that my office manager is out sick, A little frustration there, anxiety more ( I pray no little preschoolers get sick…) and I get to answer phones. Sigh
Go to turn on my computer – blue screens of death – call to help desk – their jammed – seems the new windows 8.1 update has some bugs? Sigh…
Finally get to my devotions… a time of peace, of calm.. (interruptions begin)
How the heck on a day like this, am I supposed to be holy, set apart to God, and example for those whom I pastor and shepherd towards His grace?
How can I trust that God’s will, will be accomplished, that He will be in charge, (that He will reign in MY life) Or will I be tempted to cuss and rant and basically act like I don’t believe He is here?
Grace – we have to keep remember the gifts, the promised and fulfilled gifts of God. We have to know He is here. That beyond our ability, beyond even our ability to conceptualize, He is working within us, through us. We don’t set ourselves apart to Him! He has already done this – in the very cross of Christ (read Rom 6:1-8) In His death, which is why we proclaim it as we commune with God.
That is how the Apostles strengthened the church, appointing pastors to care for them, encouraging them by pointing them to Jesus, helping them realize what happens in baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, What happens when we are assured that nothing separates us from God. For they taught we are His children, adopted, cleansed from the filth of the world, forgiven, loved.
We don’t have to do anything to earn this, but oh, how easily this knowledge can fade from our minds, can escape our lips, can be hidden in the depths our our heart… forgotten for the moment. We too easily let the comfort of knowing His presence fade as the challenges of the day overwhelm us…..seemingly crush us, distract and disillusion us.
Perhaps it would help if once an hour – I prayer the Lord’s prayer? Not that it is a holy act, but that I would remember that His kingdom has come, He is in charge here, that His will is being done here, among us, as Luther taught – among us. We need that. That God will provide, that He will show mercy and strengthen us against temptation and save us from evil. Again – this isn’t my act of piety, but my need to be reminded of the work God is doing here….the work we rejoiced in yesterday, as God makes a masterpiece, and reveals to us that we walk in Christ.
Prayer, especially this wonderful prayer that Christ taught us… the anti-dote for Mondays….
Lord, help us to realize you mercy… even…no, especially on Mondays!
(1) Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 543-546). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The One Who Would Die, that Others Will Live
What Child is this?
The One Who Would Die,
That Others Might Live…
John 11:17-27, 38-53
In Jesus Name
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be well known by you, bringing you great peace and joy as you know the depth of His love.
The Mission
There are Sundays were the sermon develops simply, where there is only one point to the reading, only one lesson to learn about the depth of God’s love. Here, in this reading, there are a number of sermons that could be given.
One about God’s love, as we see in revealed in Jesus’ interaction with Martha,
Or God’s love, that would weep over the depth of a friend, and then raise him back to life.
Or one of my favorites, as we look at Caiaphas, the high priest, who like a hostile witness in court, still proclaims the truth…about the depth of God’s love – and doesn’t even know it.
As I prepared for this day, with the children singing, the words at the end of the reading kept coming to the front of my mind,
“he did not say this on his own, as the high priest at that time, he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for that entire nation, Not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God, scattered around the world….”
We see God’s heart, at the depth of that plan, to bring together and unite al the children of God, scattered around the world.
One of the things we talk about here, is that church is often a foretaste of the glory of heaven. Not the building, but the people, the mercy, the love….as we sing together, as we heard God’s words, revealing His love, we place before God our burdens, as we share in the Lord’s Supper, this is all a little taste of heaven.
It just seems right then, that the voices of children we hear sing are from many cultures, from all over the world, the children whom Jesus came to make His own, just as He came to make us His own… people from all over this globe, just as heaven will be people from every nation, of every language, of every ethnicity. Today’s sermon is about how He planned and did this very thing!
The Method
These passages during this church season, what we call lent, help us get ready for Easter. They help us become more and more aware of God’s plan from the very beginning, was to be with us, to bring light and love into our world, which often lacks it.
Such as this prophesy of Caiaphas, which would point to the long awaited glory of Israel being revealed, and the hope of all peoples. The High-Priest, the head of all things religious, who studied the scriptures, said words that were so accurate, that He didn’t see it.
He said, “’You don’t know what you’re talking about! 50 You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.’” John 11:49-50 (NLT)
It was just to be just Caiaphas had prophesied. But he was by no means the first. Some 700 years before Caiaphas said those words, another prophet by the name of Isaiah put it together, a little more carefully:
10 But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands. 11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. Isaiah 53:10-11 (NLT)
It is the same thought – but where as Caiaphas thought the death of Jesus would save a problem with the Romans, it would do so much more, saving people from our rebellion against God, our sin.
When during our time of confession and absolution earlier, I mentioned that God daily and richly forgives our sins and grants us new life, those are not just mere words. They are what we believe, what we count upon each day.
But we realize as well, and take great joy in the knowledge that this has been God’s plan from the beginning, that Jesus, the one, would die that all the children of God would never fear the power of sin, that is, that death would somehow be the end.
Isaiah talks of this in words that are interesting – that because the righteous servant, by experiencing death, would make it possible for many to be counted right. Simply because Jesus bears our sin, the grief, the guilt, the pain, the shame, and yes, the penalty for what we’ve done wrong.
Because of that action, he does save us, God’s people, all who trust in Him, from every corner of this planet, from every people group, from Asia, from the Middle East, from South America, and Europe, and even LA and the OC.
That’s been His plan, from before the foundations of the world, a plan we see, even as we look at the children’s smiles, as we heard their voices praising God this morning
The Millieu
There is a last lesson here. That I need to make absolutely clear to each and everyone of us. Some because we think we’ve gone too far from God. That might be worried about someone they think is gone to far from God…or in either case, lost hope for God to be able to work in their lives.
Hear Jesus prayer, to the Father…
40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” John 11:40-42 (NLT)
That of course, is the challenge, this idea of trusting God. Martha couldn’t even begin to conceive of what Jesus was telling her, that in a mere moment, with a cry, her brother would be returned to her and Mary.
In the same way, when we talk about eternity, about the finality of death, it is hard to see beyond the tomb. Yet God is here, just as He was there. Martha trusted in Jesus for the harder miracle, the resurrection from the dead, for all eternity.
It is why Jesus came, why he was born of Mary, and laid in a manger.
So that people would hear God’s love..
The same Child, was the one who would be nailed to the cross….
And rise from the dead, and ascend to heaven…..
So that we would know the Father sent Jesus… and sent Him that we would know the incredible depth of God’s love…..
for us, for those we love…. For those still, no matter what language they speak, no matter where they were born, no matter their culture.
For in Christ’s death, we find ourselves alive, in a relationship with God… rejoicing in His mercy, and given His peace.
A peace that is beyond all understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
AMEN.
How life is Built, or How a Temple is… the oft overlooked secret
devotional thought of the day:
7 The stone blocks for the building of The Temple were all dressed at the quarry so that the building site itself was reverently quiet—no noise from hammers and chisels and other iron tools. 1
2 “About this Temple you are building—what’s important is that you live the way I’ve set out for you and do what I tell you, following my instructions carefully and obediently. Then I’ll complete in you the promise I made to David your father. 13 I’ll personally take up my residence among the Israelites —I won’t desert my people Israel.” 14 Solomon built and completed The Temple. 1 Kings 6:7, 12-14 (MSG)
74 You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the centre: you have a stomach-ache, or you are tired, or they have said this or that… Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others? (1)
It is ithe plan of the Masterbuilder that all of the business of making rough rock into perfectly fitting, polished stone be accomplished in the stone quarry. There, beyond this place, beyond that door, is only the assembling of what has been done here. (2)
I have read of Solomon’s building of the temple many times, the dedication of that temple is one of m favorite portions of all of scripture. The gathering of God results in God’s presence being so manifest, that smoke fills the temple, and no priest can offer any sacrifice. The people of God pray, and are forgiven. Others come and pray, and God makes Himself real to them. God and people.
Yet in the midst of the work, verse 7 gets overlooked, it gets lost in the details, in the glory, in the imagery. I never even bothered to ask why the work was done in the quarry before.
Thinking on it now, as the son of a man who build tons of stone walls (literally) it amazes me. To so carve the rock as to be sure of its fitting, to so care for the work as it is transported to the temple mount, to then be fitted into place, perfectly. It is mindblowing to think of this with lasers and high power saws and polishers, but this work was done with chisels, and hammers, carved lovingly by hand. And in the temple, even as it is being build, reverent silence…It is built in peace, the joining mortar laid, the stones carefully put in place. Peace, quiet, solemnity.
No wonder the building of the temple of God in its fullness happens outside the walls, outside even the city, the noise of the hammers pounding not heard within its walls. The only noise to be heard there, the tear of a thick curtain….as the Holy of Holies is revealed without its glory. Without the ark, for that which fulfils the covenant, that glory is hanging, nailed to a tree. The Body given, the Blood poured out, the sins forgiven, forever. And peace reigns as the shadows come, and darkness falls…….
To often we don’t wait to get to the silence, to see the glory of God – to know His peace. We are too busy with our issues, with our ailments, with that which pounds and shapes us, Fr. Josemaia is right, we focus on the now, and we don’t see the temple being build, we don’t see God put each one of us in place.
We don’t see the plan, the beauty, the glory coming together because we choose to live back in the quarry, rather than to see where God has put us in His living temple. To trust Him at His word, at His promise. To realize that we aren’t in the quarry, really, Hear how Paul says it…
1 Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 2 Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth, 3 because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. 4 But when Christ is revealed—and he is your life—you, too, will be revealed with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NJB)
Though we may think we are not finished yet, those who believe have in many ways left the quarry, and are sitting here, in the temple, just waiting for Christ to put us in place. That is where our life is, and we are encourage to see it that way. Our life, shaped and designed and lived out in Christ. We’ve taken some pounding – He has taken more for us. We are in His presence, in a place where the pounding has already been done. We have been delivered and saved… and my prayer for you, is that you realize this more and more, and live in the peace and serenity that is found in Christ. For be assured,
6 And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (TEV)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 531-534). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Northumbrian Community, Celtic Daily Prayer (devotions from Finian readings for April 5th
Can We Demand A Blessing from God?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
22 That same night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the Jabbok River. 23 After he had sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned, 24 but he stayed behind, alone. Then a man came and wrestled with him until just before daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. 26 The man said, “Let me go; daylight is coming.” “I won’t, unless you bless me,” Jacob answered. 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he answered. 28 The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel.” 29 Jacob said, “Now tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob. 30 Jacob said, “I have seen God face-to-face, and I am still alive”; so he named the place Peniel. Genesis 32:22-30 (TEV)
70 You asked me if I had a cross to bear. And I answered, “Yes, we always have to bear the Cross.” But it is a glorious Cross, a divine seal, the authentic guarantee of our being children of God. That is why we always walk along happily with the Cross. (1)
I don’t like to wrestle with God, yet I find myself doing it far too often.
Often the wrestling is because I am too much like Jacob, I want things the way I want them. Often times the way I want them seems quite logical, quite loving.
I want couples to grow together, not fight each other. I want my family and friends to be healthy, not dealing with heart issues, or cancer, or even the effects of aging and it slowing them down. I want my friends to be fellow disciples – studying and knowing God’s love, and desiring to spend time in worship and in service, and realizing that those two things, are really the same.
These things aren’t bad, are they? Why can’t they simply happen?
I am tired of wrestling with God over them, there are days, where I want to just walk away, to give up, to let people go there way, and find some nice “normal” life. Like Jeremiah, I have to rant and rave at times:
7 LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived. You are stronger than I am, and you have overpowered me. Everyone makes fun of me; they laugh at me all day long. Jeremiah 20:7 (TEV)
I can’t I have to wrestle with Him, I have to fight, I have to realize how He has blessed us. Until I do, like Jacob, I cannot give up. I have to find that blessing, I have to demand it,
I have to realize what it is….I have to realize the nature of the cross that He has chosen me to bear, even as you bear one as well.
The wrestling with God is all about the cross St Josemaria mentions; Jeremiah’s being deceived gives us the answer as well. Here is how Jeremiah sees the matter resolve…..
9 But when I say, “I will forget the LORD and no longer speak in his name,” then your message is like a fire burning deep within me. I try my best to hold it in, but can no longer keep it back. Jeremiah 20:9 (TEV)
It is seen in Jacob realizing the answer to the unanswered question, Who was this man? Jacob’s realization – it is God, I have seen His face. I even wrestled with Him, and He and I survived.
God came to me, He is here. He has come to you as well, and sometimes, the battle is on. We fight him, we try to forget Him, we do everything we can…. and He is still here. King David describes this as well in Psalm 139 – where he tries to flee God, and realizes His silliness.
The blessing? The reason we fight Him? It’s found in the very fight. He will wrestle with us, without destroying us. He comes to us, and engages with us, and cares enough to see the battle through. To let us rant and rave, and yeah – even sometimes cry, but in the end…. realizing His presence… we find peace.
That is the blessing..
A blessing that makes the cross glorious, that makes the struggle amazing, that makes God’s message, something we cannot dismiss or ignore… for it burns inside us.
To realize God has come to us, to you, to me. That He is here, with mercy and comfort, love… and a peace that we cannot explain. Even as we are exhausted from the fight, and weary from the burden of the cross… and though we still don’t get the entire story…. we know all that matters…..
He is here…and that is our blessing.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 514-517). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Thou Shalt Not Kill….what does this mean?
Treasuring God’s Gifts
Means We Value Deep Relationships,
Enough to Turn to Christ for Healing…
(rather than hurt others…or resent them )
Ex. 20:14, Eph 2:10, Luke 10:25-28, Mt, 5:21-24
In Jesus Name
May the Grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ bring you mercy, peace, and the healing that comes as sin is forgiven
If you desire bad for someone…gulp
Part of the gospel reading tonight seems a bit extreme.
Consider it again, just because you get angry at someone, you are to be judged by God?
If you call someone an idiot, or anything else negative, you are to be brought before God’s court to be found unrighteous?
Or if you wish or desire something bad to happen to someone, you find yourselves in danger of hell?
Wow……
Part of me wants to think that is a bit extreme, more than a bit challenging. Considering growing up near Boston, those things were how you treated your friends. (you don’t want to know how we treated our enemies)
Hearing this passage, where Jesus takes the 5th commandment and explains it, doesn’t sound like good news. He raises the bar higher it seems, He puts even more on the table than simply not murdering someone.
But it is the gospel, for as we begin to hear these words, not as a list of do’s and do not’s, but as how God’s work in our lives looks, we understand how this is gospel.
The secret to not hurting others, whether in body or soul, is about trusting in God and treasuring His work in our lives; so much so that we desire to turn over to God that which needs healing, that which is broken. Whether someone else broke it, or we did.
Killing off Life
When I hear this command, it’s often in a deep bass voice, like James Earl Jones, or Darth Vader,
THOU SHALL NOT MURDER!!!!!!
When I hear Jesus, as He is delivering the Sermon on the Mount, it is more of a pastor, a mentor type of voice. He’s explaining that the heart of the matter is not just shooting or plunging a sword into someone’s heart. It is thinking about, saying or doing anything which harms the neighbor/family member/co-worker that Jesus taught us to love, to treasure. The people that He died to save, to heal, to bring to the fullness of life.
It is that fullness of life, that masterpiece of God’s design, that He creates and perfects in us, that the “you must not murder”, is all about. For as we damage others, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually, we wreck our view of God’s design for us, and also the person we hurts view. We obscure the treasure, we stop it from being seen, and instead it is seen damaged, broken, less than God promises.
It is hard not to look at the damage, just like most of slow down when we see an accident on a freeway – we just have to know why the fire trucks and police cars are there. So when we our words do damage, when our anger divides us, it will attract our attention, our focus, just like the accident,
That distracts us from God’s love, from the peace He brings into our lives, as we are united with Christ’s death. It stops us from seeing the masterpiece, as our lives are consumed by damage…
They Are Dead to Me?
But it is not just because of our initial actions that hurt that we have to be aware of the blessing in this commandment.
It is the hurt we cause when we have been offended, when others have killed off part of us. Our desire for revenge or retribution, our inability to forgive is also a violation of this plan of God to make our lives a masterpiece.
For in striking back, in refusing to forgive, in wishing “they get what they deserve”, we are sinning as well, we are letting our anger get the best of us, we are saying unkind things toward them, and yes, we are cursing them. We let resentment wreck out lives, letting sins 3-5-20 years ago have power over us, shielding us from God’s love.
Ultimately, it boils down to faith, not in their ability to keep a promise to not hurt us again, nor in our promising not to hurt others, but trusting in the God who created us, who promises to take even what is evil, and use it for good, who promised that all things work out for good, for those who love Him, who are called into His life.
Time for Reconciliation & Healing
That is why Jesus sends people, coming to bless God with their offerings, who are struggling with others to drop their gifts, and go and seek reconciliation. To God, that is the kind of gift that He truly desires, to see people reconcile to Him, to see people reconcile to each other. TO see in those around us the value God has placed on their lives.
Which is where this becomes gospel.
For to find healing, either in the damage we have done to others, or in the damage others have done to us, we have to turn to Christ. We have to have confidence in His mercy, we have to trust in the promise of forgiveness, in His work bringing us to Himself in His death on the cross.
He’s here… ready to heal, ready to be the strength required to drop all the pain of broken relationships, to help us drop the pain caused by words, or by others cursing us.
We sang about this, just before I came up here….
Just as I am poor, wretched, blind
Sight, riches, healing of the mind
Yea, all I need, in Thee I’ll find
O Lamb of God I come I come
O I come to the Son who can heal with His wounds
O I come to the thief who has robbed ev’ry tomb
O I come to the Victor
my life and my love
O Lamb of God I come
And so, as we come to pray at this altar, it’s time to leave behind the brokenness that comes from our not treasuring our neighbor, from the pains we have caused, from the resentment we have held onto,
For Christ has promised to be our healer, our strength, our glory, and to make our lives a masterpiece… a place of peace… AMEN?
Ever Feel Like a Failure?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
28 We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. 29 Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers. 30 And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them. Romans 8:28-30 (TEV)
68 It is all too easy to say: “I’m useless; nothing turns out right for me—for us.” Apart from not being true, that pessimism masks a great deal of laziness. There are things you do well, and things you do badly. Fill yourself with joy and with hope on account of the former; and face up to the latter—without losing heart—to put things right; and they will work out.(1)
It creeps up on us slowly, like a tiger stalking its prey. We are doing okay, perhaps struggling a bit, and then, as things seem to fall apart, it strikes.
It’s our fault, the reason we aren’t successful, or happy, or even simply content. Sometimes even when we are achieving our goals, because we aren’t achieving them fast enough, or the results aren’t as awesome as the next guy.
We beat ourselves up, perhaps we listen to voices of our pas, the voices that were trying to spur us on, but tore us down.
We think we are failures, no good, useless, that nothing good will ever come from us. So we extend ourselves, we go after some other proof that we aren’t worthless. A better car, another degree, a nice house, We try to find success in our children, or perhaps in our ancestors. We find distractions, support groups, we listen to “positive thinking” speakers, and we surround ourselves with people who we think will lift us up…. and they don’t, for they are the same as us,
That is where faith, where confidence in God comes to play.
He’s promised all will work out for good – all things! All things! Even what we perceive to be our failures. Maybe especially in those times, as we get to our wits end, as we are bottoming out.
It is then that we have to remember He is with us, it is the only answer to the despair e feel. But as we find the joy that is found in knowing God, in understanding what His presence means, in realizing His promises are for us; we find the joy, the peace, the mercy to realize there is something more going on in life. That God is here, crafting everything into something that is a blessing beyond our wildest hope.
Filled with that joy, we leap into life, we take the opportunities that come, not to bring ourselves glory, but to see God glorified. To know that our lives are in His hands, and there is no better place to be.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 506-509). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Church, Discipleship, and “No pain, no gain”
Devotional Thought of the Day:
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:10-11 (NLT)
65 Once again you had gone back to your old follies!… And afterwards, when you returned, you didn’t feel very cheerful, because you lacked humility. It seems as if you obstinately refuse to learn from the second part of the parable of the prodigal son, and you still feel attached to the wretched happiness of the pig-swill. With your pride wounded by your weakness, you have not made up your mind to ask for pardon, and you have not realised that, if you humble yourself, the joyful welcome of your Father God awaits you, with a feast to mark your return and your new beginning. (1)
This morning I went to work out. I still am sore from my last work out, still moving slowly.
Instinctively, I wanted to skip this workout, to wait until I feel better, till the pain subsides, til I am no longer stiff, and can move freely. Which is, of course, exactly the wrong thing to do.
The pain is a sign of progress, the soreness is not a bad thing. That’s why coaches talk about “no pain, no gain.”
So why do we think our walk with God is any different?
A few days ago – a friend put a post up on FB talking about how one should never, ever use the Bible to cause pain. The picture was of three men bashing a fourth man nearly to death, with Bibles in their hands. What is interesting is that the meme and the words that accompanied it were as confrontational and divisive as what was being done. It sought to use the bible to bash those who would confront sin. Similarly, there has been of posts and emails about the recent World Vision decision, and counter decision. One of my favorite writers wrote saying it is not right to condemn the sins that we hyper-focus on, then he goes and condemns those who…. yeah…. are guilty (in his opinion) of the very sin he has spent most of his ministry confronting.
Which brings me to the question of this blog.
Does the church, and those who are its shepherds, have a duty to disciple people? What if that discipline will hurt? Do we have the responsibility to still bring the issues to the surface, to confront the sin, so that healing can take place? That the people can be free of its oppression? What if the sin is simply not forgiving the sins committed against them?
There is a need to do all things in love, but that love can require us to do things that can be painful, that can cause heartache, for such is often required, Even so, causing that pain is a daunting and scary proposition. No matter what the sin is, no matter who the person is, For it is not loving, to refuse to disciple someone, because it might hurt.
It is just like working out, where parts of our body need to be broken down, in order to create healthy muscle. That which separates us from God, has to have grace applied to it. The behaviors and thoughts that are not of Christ, have to be nailed to the cross with Christ. And those who love us, our family of God, have to know that we are willing to willing to be challenged, willing to hurt, to be sore. Willing to let God bring healing into our lives, and confront the darkness that clings to us, which we sometimes want to cling to as well.
Are you willing to suffer, that you may know God’s grace all the more clearly? Are you willing to suffer, that someone else will?
That’s not the question to ask..really, for it puts the emphasis on us, when the work of cleansing us from sin is already accomplished, in Christ.
The question is, do we desire the peace God has prepared for us to dwell in, as we dwell in Christ?
Lord – have mercy on us sinners…….
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 490-495). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
