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Faith is Nothing Less than Intimacy with God…
Thoughts which carry me to Jesus, and to His cross…
“For,’ I say, ‘just as shorts cling tightly to a person’s body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah tightly to me.’ I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. But they would not obey me.” (Jeremiah 13:11, NET)
I shall tell you a great secret, my friend. Do not wait for the last judgment. It takes place every day. ALBERT CAMUS
I think it might shock some of us profoundly if we were suddenly brought face to face with our beliefs and forced to test them in the forges of practical living. How many professing Christians boast in the Lord but watch carefully that they never get caught fully depending on Him? Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God “fails.”
What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians prepared to trust God as completely now as they must do at the last day! For each of us, the time is surely coming when we shall all have nothing but God! To the men of pseudo-faith, that is a terrifying thought!
For true faith, it is either God or total collapse, and not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed anyone who trusted Him! We can prove our faith by our committal to it—and in no other way!
It almost sounds silly to compare the intimacy God desires to a pair of tight-fitting underwear. Heck it almost seems blasphemous!
But that is how our Lord wants us to be, so…
The reason for it is seen in Tozer’s work, for his words about dependence on God parallel the experience of the people of Israel and Judah. We want a distant faith, with an escape clause for when our faith fails and we do not, perhaps even cannot, see God being faithful to His promises. Tozer and Camus both point to the day when there is nothing else left but Jesus! Camus goes farther… identifying that day as today.
We need to recognize the intimacy that God not only desires, that He offers at the Cross in baptism, and as He tenderly and with great precision cuts away all our sins as He washes us clean, and as He feeds us His Body and Blood at the altar. This is the God who gives us His word, His promises, and would have us cling to Him, and the hope He provides.
It is such a powerful concept, this intimate relationship that God desires, that the greatest example provides a bit of laughter, a lighthearted but deeply challenging thought.
You and God – as close and as intimate as your underwear!
And from that intimacy comes the faith and trust necessary to live, in this life, through the judgment, into eternity.
You and God, underwear and body – as inseparable as it gets!
AMEN!
Shelley, M. (1986). Helping those who don’t want help (Vol. 7, p. 13). Christianity Today, Inc.; Word Books.
Tozer, A. W., & Smith, G. B. (2008). Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings. Moody Publishers.
Life: God’s Version of ‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day: Week 3: The Family Business, a sermon on Hebrews 11:32-12:3
Life: God’s Version of
‘Take Your Child to Work’ Day
Week 3: The Family Business
Hebrews 11:32-12:3
† I.H.S. †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ strength your trust in them, as it did all of His family throughout history!
Dad, I Can’t…
As we continue our journey of life in Christ, as we conitnue to compare it to God taking us to work like dad’s took their kids to work we come to an interesting passage in Hebrews,
One that desribes those our Father in heaven worked with before, those He raised up before, those He gave His Spirit too, empowering them and guiding them in the work He was doing.
It doesn’t help us that some have named chapter 11 as the Hall of Faith, as if these older and brothers of ours were superheroes, and we were the little brothers and sisters who looked up to them, wanting to be like them, and thinking that would be miraculous.
I mean, look around, not many of us have the physique of Samson, or the holiness of Samuel or the myriad of abilities and talents of King David. Those guys are heroes, holy, talented, able to withstand the most challenging of times—I mean hear what they did..
33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword.
And how they could embrace suffering,
But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
I mean if we had to suffer like that, I would hope we would be like this..
But, too often I’II look at these hero’s and look at what God asks us.. and I tell him, “I can’t do that…” I feel the same way I did when my dad asked me to carry a couple of 12 foot long 2×4’s from the van to the house. I tried to pick up from one side. Not knowing how to pick them up in the middle and blance them om my shoulder.
We need to hear this line out of the middle of the passage, “Their weakness was turned to strength.”
Weights that impede us from running with endurance
If you try to carry a 2×4 or a board from one end, you will never be able to do it – the weight of the wood will bear to heavily on you. You won’t be able to carry/drag the weight very far. It will wipe you out.
The same thing goes for spiritual weights, they wreck our endurance…. Hear agin from Hebrews, “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Notice that sin isn’t the only weight, but it is “especially” important to toss away. Other you could ad our anxieties, fears, doubts, but really, all those go back to the idea of sin. It’s going to hurt to when I say this at first, but hear it out..
Most of our issues do get back to sin…even if it is simply the sin of not letting God be our God. That’s the one I am guilty of the most, as I try to play God, trying to lift the board by one end and wearying myself out too quickly, too completely.
Scripture is clear – strip off that weight!
Don’t let it trip you up!
Look to Jesus.
Here is the key to carrying our burdens,
“2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
Please hear that correct – he initiates and perfects our fatih.
Not our faithfulness – he initiates and perfects our faith, our trust in His – in the work He did at the Father’s command.
If we look at Jesus – we realize He picked up our burdens.
He carries them to the cross, they were dealt with there, and now, raised to life with Him, He carries us
If we are concentrating on what we can or cannot do, we lose sight of what Jesus has done. We are along for the journey, we travel by looking and trusting in what He did.
Again – Jesus initiates and completes our trust in Him, not our faithfulness.
It’s the entire reason He came, and here is what is amazing –
It was for joy set before him that He did it! For the joy of carrying us home, he carried our sin.
It was for the joy set before Him that endured the betrayals, from Adam and Eve, through Cain, and all those people mentioned in the chapter. They had faith in God, not in their faithfulness.
They found His strength in the midst of their own weakness, and learned to depend on God – who is their strength. Who is our strength, when we are at our weakest point.
And so we get to the bottom line,
“3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
there is a secret to living in Christ, to working alongside of the Father in seeing people made perfect and mature in Christ—it is found in thinking about what Jesus has done for us, does with us.
And as He is perfecting our faith, as He has for every member of our faith family. He will sustain us, and carry us, and those whom follow…
Amen!
The Plan: Revealed and Realized. Hold on to the Plan: the Promise and the Hope! A sermon on Hebrews 10
Hold On to the Plan: the Promise, the Hope
Hebrews 10:15-25
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
May the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be etched into your heart and soul-encouraging you to enter His presence!
Hold On!
I had dinner with a couple of high school friends on Thursday, but even as I was looing for to it, a memory of our infamous trips in Alain’s VW van to Magic Mountain. There were a lot of fun memories there, and one very painful one.
It happened on what was a brand new ride, I think it was the first week it was open. Very tame by today’s standards, 4 people sat next to each other, the car was hauled up the tower, it hung there for 5 seconds or so, and then dropped 131 feet- without notice. Back then, it was a lot, though today similar rides drop 300 plus feet.
The only problem was that it took until after sundown to convince Jeff’s date to join us on the ride! It was quite dark by the time we got on it, and as the roll bars dropped into place, she was terrified.
And instead of gripping the roll bars, she grabbed our arms. Not a problem for Jeff, who played football, but the skinny geek I once was… well she bruised the entire arm as she held on…tightly!
That is what the epistle of Hebrews tells us to do this morning, to hold tightly. Not to each other! It says,
“23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Heb. 10:23 NLT
Hold on to that hope, that promise, what we’ve been looking at for all of October and November – the plan God has for our future and our hope!
I Don’t see what to hold on to!
The problem Jeff’s lady friend had was she couldn’t see what was going on. She had no idea how things we going to happen, as the car when plummeting straight down into the darkness. There was absolutely no control, and so she held on to whatever she could find.
In the Old Testament, it was much the same – they knew God was doing something, but they had no idea of what, and they had no control, so they would do what was right in their own eyes.
That was why the reading starts out talking about the sacrifices outside the tabernacle and temple daily. And once a year, the high priest would enter the holy of holies with the blood of the sacrifice to anoint the mercy seat, securing the people from God’s wrath for another year.
Here is how the Tabernacle was laid out. Outside the tent, at a distance, the twelve tribes would camp. That would be for most people, all but the Levites and priests. They were allowed in closer to the tent, in the courtyard where washings and basic daily sacrifices would occur. That is why in many old designed churches, the baptismal font is out there in the entry way.
In the holy place – where you are all sitting – only priests could come to serve, to offer prayers and other ministries. But here – right here was a floor to ceiling curtain—so think you could not see anything through it…and behind it was the ark of the covenant, with two golden angels glowing over it and between them, what is called the mercy seat – where the blood would be poured out, the once a year offering for all the sins of God’s people—to put aside condemnation.
But the people never saw what went on – even all the other priests could not see in, they could only hear the bells tied to his robe as he moved, and though they knew what should happen, there was no way to know it was happening. The curtain clearly block the view into where God was at work…on His throne, accepting the offering for sin.
So, like us, they took matters into their own hands, releasing their hold on the hope, and the plan… the sacrifices meant nothing, because they didn’t trust in what was promised! They didn’t believe God and therefore they didn’t trust in the plan!
People do that today, if they don’t now God, how can they trust in Him? How can they understand this glorious plan?
So they do what they can—they trust in whatever they can make with their hands, and create in their mind. They try to find peace in the habits they acquire, or the relationships they have with their family, their work, or who they want in charge of their city, state, or country.
And they give up on the promise, “I will never again remember their sins or lawless deeds!”
Now you can see (the curtain is torn apart)
Continuing with the analogy, Jeff’s lady found the comfort and peace from knowing Jeff and I were there…
That is what the gospel does! It reminds us of what happened because of the cross, it shows us the blood that was spilled to cover out sins, spread out on the most Holy place.
Hebrews says it this way,
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
Now hear the account of Jesus’s death,
50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, 52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. Matthew 27:50-52 (NLT2)
Now, the blood that was not poured out in the Temple could be seen, on the mountain called Golgotha. The sacrifice of His blood covers all of our sin, cleansing us. That is why Hebrews goes on to say,
21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:21-22
Just as the High Priest has to be cleansed, so have we been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, This is the hope we cling to in the midst of this life, so often broken by sin…
This is the what we confess and affirm, this is the testimony of the Old and New Testament, now clearly seen, and celebrated!
One pastor put it this way, “The Christian faith has only one object, the mystery of Christ dead and risen. But this unique mystery subsists under different modes: it is prefigured in the Old Testament, it is accomplished historically in the earthly life of Christ, it is contained in mystery in the sacraments, it is lived mystically in souls, it is accomplished socially in the Church, it is consummated eschatologically in the heavenly kingdom.
This death and resurrection of Jesus—we were joined to it in our baptism according to Paul, gives us access, not just into the Holy Place, but past the curtain into the heavenly Holy of Holies, where we fellowship, where we commune with God.
Everything in scripture points to that death and resurrection. Our service, like that of the tabernacle, pointed to it. Why?
So we can grab on to the cross’s plan, the promise of our future and our hope. That is what matters in life, and gets us through death.
This is everything for us…
So hold tightly to it, this plan, this promise, this hope…
And help others do the same.
For the peace of God, which is beyond all understanding it yours, as He holds on to you! AMEN!
Prayer-the ultimate result of faith and where faith finds ability…. (so why don’t we…)
Photo by Wouter de Jong on Pexels.com
Thoughts which carry this broken man to Jesus, and to the cross:
“LORD, remember my suffering and my misery, my sorrow and trouble. Please remember me and think about me. But I have hope when I think of this: The LORD’s love never ends; his mercies never stop. They are new every morning; LORD, your loyalty is great. I say to myself, “The LORD is mine, so I hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:19–24, NCV)
“Now, since God has left us the promise that we may enter his rest, let us be very careful so none of you will fail to enter. The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them, because they heard it but did not accept it with faith. We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. (Hebrews 4:1–3, NCV)
When as bishop, or before that simply as a colleague, I tried to determine why a vocation that had begun with such fervor and such high hopes had gradually collapsed, the result was always the same: at some time, the individual in question had ceased to practice silent prayer—perhaps from sheer zeal to accomplish all that had to be done. But then the zeal had lost its inner dynamism and had become empty. At some time, personal confession had been abandoned and with it that contact with challenge and pardon, that renewal from within in the sight of the Lord, that is indispensable. “To be with him”—this “with him” is needed not just for a certain initial period so that it can be drawn upon later. It must always be at the heart of the priestly ministry.
It is characteristic of faith boldly to trust God’s grace, and to form a bright vision and refuge in God, doubting nothing. Where there is no true faith there is no true prayer, nor any seeking after God. But where it exists it makes man bold and anxious freely to bring his troubles unto God, and earnestly to pray for help.
As I read Lamentations this morning, I was again amazed by the brutal honesty of the Jeremiah.
He struggles to get past his situation, and the despair it causes. I’ve been there more times than I want to think about. Believing I was or am as Jeremiah thought he was seems to be a norm. It has also become the norm, and I am grateful for this, to come to the resolution Jeremiah has – that “The LORD is mine, so I hope in Him.” That is the only thing that gets me through the days that are too numerous to count…
That resolution is the point the author of Hebrews is getting to, when he talks of the promise of entering God’s rest–as we enter that rest only by faith–not by the doctrines of our faith, for faith is not a statement of the things we believe in, but it is the dependence on God, and knowing His faithfulness.
As this dependence (faith) leads us to pray, so too does the prayer strengthen that dependence. Pope Benedict is clear on the results of not praying, the reduction of the zeal and power that is characteristic of knowing we can boldly go into the presence of God, and find His love and mercy and peace in which we can rest! Luther sees this incredible connection as well, for where there is true faith, there is true prayer – a complete unburdening of the heart and soul of the believer–who struggles to find themself in Christ.
I need to make this clear – the posture and words of my prayers do not make me holy. My dedication has nothing to do with the dynamis, the power/ability that is revealed in prayer. It is not the pattern of the prayer, or even the contents that matter as much as the faith which finds hope in talking to the LORD. Sometimes we can’t find the words, we only find the tears, at other times, the words flow and flow, and as the Spirit leads, the grace of God is revealed. Prayer is real, the connection is real, the hope is real…
for the Love of God is real.
We, as a church, need to pray… as pastors/priests, as congregations gathered into His presence together to celebrate His love poured out in word and Sacrament. Poured out into broken vessels, that can empty themselves out in prayer.
This is who we are-this is our church, of which it was said “My house shall be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations” (Isaiah 56:7)
So pray my friends – the Lord who is with you, is the Lord who listens and knows!
——
Ratzinger, Joseph. 1992. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Edited by Irene Grassl. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Obedience: I Don’t Think This Word Means What You Think It Means!
Thoughts which carry this broken believer to Jesus, and to the cross:
“Then the LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah: “This is what the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Jeremiah, go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: ‘You should learn a lesson and obey my message,’ says the LORD. ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his descendants not to drink wine, and that command has been obeyed. Until today they have obeyed their ancestor’s command; they do not drink wine. But I, the LORD, have given you messages again and again, but you did not obey me. I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Each of you must stop doing evil. You must change and be good. Do not follow other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not listened to me or paid attention to my message. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab obeyed the commands their ancestor gave them, but the people of Judah have not obeyed me.’” (Jeremiah 35:12–16, NCV)
“LORD, your word is everlasting; it continues forever in heaven. Your loyalty will go on and on; you made the earth, and it still stands. All things continue to this day because of your laws, because all things serve you. If I had not loved your teachings, I would have died from my sufferings.” (Psalm 119:89–92, NCV)
It is of design that the apostle does not term the two dispensations “law” and “gospel,” but names them according to the respective effects produced. For it is impossible to keep the law without Christ, though man may, for the sake of honor or property, or from fear of punishment, feign outward holiness. The heart which does not discern God’s grace in Christ cannot turn to God, nor trust in him; it cannot love his commandments and delight in them, but rather resists them.
As I said before, we have merited nothing. Before God called us, there was nothing more than personal wretchedness. Let us realize that the lights shining in our soul (faith), the love wherewith we love (charity), and the desire sustaining us (hope) are all free gifts from God. Were we not to grow in humility, we would soon lose sight of the reason for our having been chosen by God: personal sanctity. If we are humble, we can understand all the marvel of our divine vocation. The hand of Christ has snatched us from a wheat field; the sower squeezes the handful of wheat in his wounded palm. The blood of Christ bathes the seed, soaking it. Then the Lord tosses the wheat to the winds, so that in dying it becomes life and in sinking into the ground it multiplies itself.
As I have meandered through the various parts of God’s church, I have often been encouraged to “obey” God.
Sometimes, I have wondered whether the goal was to live like Christ, or to live within the expectations of those who were encouraging/demanding submission and obedience. Let me be clear, I am not just talking about legalists on one side of the church. Those that want to control behavior exist on both sides. And many of them, are truly sincere, even as they lack the patience and grace that I need to develop the life they have desired.
But more than once, this demand for obedience left me shattered–absolutely convinced that I would never be holy enough to meet the standards they (and therefore?) and God set in my life. It made me wonder about even going to church, never mind being a shepherd of God’s people.
But Biblical obedience isn’t about trying to re-create myself into a clone of Jesus. The words for “obey” come from two words in both Hebrew and Greek. The first concept is to hear- to perceive a message in the sound made, and to give it attention, and the concept of letting those words mold one’s life is inherent in them. The second concept is to treasure something (for example – the Great commission includes the idea to “treasure what I have commissioned/established.)
You see this in Jeremiah’s prophetic message to Israel, as they refuse to hear and act within the guidelines of the relationship established. They won’t have it, they won’t listen! They will, as Luther points out, pretend they are holy, for a variety of reasons–and then take it s a step further–and make others “fake it til they make it.” This gets us nowhere, except for feeling like a failure, hating our failures, and knowing how empty our lives are…
The descendants had a different look to them. They treasured their ancestor’s words, they heard them, and they gave up having homes and pleasure, iin response to the wisdom and love they knew. This is what the Psalmist so clearly points out, over and over in Psalm 119. The very words, the teachings are loved, because they point the psalmist to what life is. (Remember why in John 6 Peter and the 12 don’t leave is because Jesus has the words of life?) All of this revealed about God, including His presence, becomes our priceless treasure. What we hear promises real life, promises real hope, comforts and lifts us up.
That is what St. Josemaria describes, as we are given a life we don’t merit, that we don’t deserve. God does all this work inside us, as He promised in His word, and the more we hear it, the more the blood of Christ forgives, reconciles us to the Father and restores us, the more we treasure it, the more we love Him, the more we realize His role in our lives is not something distant, but is concrete and real.
It is our reality now.
Treasuring it shapes us, as the potter shapes the clay, and obedience becomes natural, the default way of life. For we are able to love because we are loved, we can have faith in God, because He is revealed to be completely dependable.
This is true obedience, not some sacrifice given to placate God, or those who claim to represent Him. This is love…reflected back opn the One who loved us from the beginning.
Hear Him, treasure His words…
—–
Luther, Martin, and John Sander. 1915. Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year. Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern.
Escrivá, Josemaría. Christ is Passing By (p. 21). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Evaluating Life: Personal, Spiritual and that of Your Church
Thoughts which drive me to Jesus, and to the cross…
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. 2His disciples asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents’ sin?”
3 Jesus answered, “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins. He is blind so that God’s power might be seen at work in him.
They answered, “You were born and brought up in sin—and you are trying to teach us?” And they expelled him from the synagogue. John 9:1-3, 34 GNT
We begin to wonder whether we really have taken the words seriously, whether we are really sincere, or perhaps whether we really have accepted Jesus as our “personal Savior,” whatever that is supposed to mean. I may hear the words “Your sins are forgiven,” but then wonder whether it could be really me that is meant, or whether it is even relevant to my needs. We become a prey to adverbial theology. Do we really, sincerely, truly, personally, believe? Do we live abundantly, joyously, affirmatively? Do we think positively, praise gratefully, respond generously? What do I do if I just do not see all those marvelous things happening that the preacher is always on about?
While we walk in the faith of his righteousness, God has patience with the poor, frail righteousness of this earthly life. He honors our human holiness by supporting and protecting it during the time we live on earth; just as we honor our corrupt, filthy bodies, adorning them with beautiful, costly garments and golden ornaments.
The baptismal character conforms us to the priesthood of Christ by an indelible spiritual sign which makes us able to unite ourselves with the worship by which the Incarnate Word, as Mediator between God and man, drew a fallen creation back into union with His Father. The sacramental character is, therefore, an orientation of our souls towards our Source and our Last End, in worship.
The questions in blue above are not rare in my experience.
I’ve heard people ask them in jail, in hospital beds on hospice, in counseling appointments, and conversations over breakfast and lunch. People who know about Jesus and want to go to heaven, but somehow struggle with their role in it. People wonder if their own lack of faith is why their entire life feels like they’re caught in quicksand.
I’ve seen the same kind of evaluation occur as pastors meet with their elders or their board of directors. They look at attendance numbers; they look at finances, and they see the struggle that the future might bring.
If we slow down, if we take the time to see where we are at, we will have dark moments where we doubt–either personally or as part of the family of God. Which we need to do, we cannot continue to live in denial of dumpster fires in our lives and churches. We need to realize we are broken, and often, more broken that can be dealt with on our own.
That isn’t a bad thing.
You see, our brokenness, like the blind man’s, is not always our fault, or caused by the environment around us. Even if it were, it still has the same fix, the same hope of being restored, to the same end – that God is glorified.
So don’t listen to those who tell you that it’s all because you are a sinner, or you are too broken, or anything else.
God has patience with us when we are broken and weak–that is what Luther reminds us of from my devotions this morning. We are dressed with Christ’s life, His righteousness, just like I put on my compression socks to deal to make up for my varicose veins. He works wih our brokenness, our frailty, our weakness. David confesses that God treats him that way, as does Jeremiah and Paul. Many others in scripture show this rule to be in our lives.
That is why our hope filled reality doesn’t depend on whether someone says we aren’t good enough, or we are spiritually dead. God is carrying us, God is breathing life into our bodies, God is recreating us in our baptism, as He brings us into the resurrection of Christ Jesus.
It is His work, it is His love for us that guarantees it can be done… no matter how bleak the examination is. Examining our lives is to provide hope – to show us where God has taken us from… not to show the depth of our decline.
Look to Him – He started you on this journey, accompanies you on it, and guarantees it will end as you enter the Father’s rest.
Gerhard O. Forde, “Proclaiming,” in Theology Is for Proclamation (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990), 159.
Martin Luther and John Sander, Devotional Readings from Luther’s Works for Every Day of the Year (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Book Concern, 1915), 125.
Thomas Merton, The New Man (London; New York: Burns & Oates, 1976), 144.
Revival IS Coming… but what until then?
Thoughts which draw me closer to Jesus… and closer to the cross
“Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. 8 And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! 9 Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. 11 So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— 12 I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! 13 And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! 14 And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.” 1 Kings 3:7-14 (NLT2)
As I say, I have been sitting on these boards for many years, and there are always two kinds of board members: those who can see the miracle and those who can only see their calculators and their strings of calculations.…
The people with the calculators have seen the problem, but they have not seen God. They have figured things out, but they have not figured God in.
Then somebody said, “Yet Paul seems to distinguish, Doctor, when he declares, ‘Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved’ [Rom. 10:10].”
The doctor replied, “Here confession means perseverance, for St. Paul means to say, ‘Faith must express itself and be confessed, and one must abide in it, otherwise faith disappears again.
The eighth Fruit of the Spirit is Long-suffering (patience). Long-suffering is certitude in God’s unwavering fidelity to his promises. Our security is no longer based on anything we might possess or accomplish, but rather on our conviction of God’s unfailing protection and readiness to forgive.
As we wait for the coming revival, there are many things that challenge God’s people.
Enrollment at many seminaries is dwindling, Christian colleges and universities are struggling as well to recruit many more who they can HELP prepare for ministry.
Many mid size churches, in decline prior to COVD (and in denial about that) are not rebounding after COVID. Smaller churches are struggling, and are often told to give up. (It may be phrased in more noble words, but the message is still the same)
People are dealing with more trauma, more polarization, and being put under great pressure to compromise and approve of sin. This is not new, but where it was “Don’t ask, don’t tell” I have had people tell me it is no longer “right” to even think this way. Or if I do, I recognize the consequence, that my thoughts mean I cannot be their friend anymore.
Tozer’s accountants have taken over. The context is Phillip’s comments about the cost of feeing the crowds that had gathered to hear Jesus speak. He saw the problem; he saw the cost. He overlooked that God was there…with him. Feeding the 5000 wasn’t the primary mission of Christ, but it was part of the journey.
Dealing with our day to day needs must be done, and sometimes it seems about as hopeless as feeding 15000 people with a few hamburger buns and two filet of fish patties.
That brings me back to the dilemma. DO we live by the calculator, or do we persevere–depending on the providence of God. Do we confess with Luther that God redeems and restores, even that damaged by sin, or do we give up, and walk away? Do we walk with Keating as well, who also brings into play God’s redeeming action destroying sin.
We must continue to trust God, we must continue to treasure the gifts of love poured out through His words and sacraments. We have to pray for the simple wisdom of Solomon, rather than pray for the earthly victories we think we must have.
For God will take care of the lesser tings. Miracles will happen, people will see their lives transformed, ours will be transformed as we walk with Jesus, as we depend on Him. It is from that kind of faith. Solomon wanted something more, something that calculators couldn’t measure, but his people would be able to see affected them more than money. Revival doesn’t happen because planners and accountants see it is time. It happens because people depend on God and look for His appearing.
That is what we need now, a confidence in God that spawns wisdom, that tells us when to put the calculators away, that rejoices in the amazing things God is doing, for He loves us.
Lord Jesus, help us to be aware of Your presence and providence, and may that awareness cause our faith to deepen until we see revival break forth, and people return to you. AMEN!
A. W. Tozer, Tozer for the Christian Leader (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2015).
Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 54: Table Talk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 54 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 402.
Thomas Keating, The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O., Sacred Scripture, and Other Spiritual Writings, ed. S. Stephanie Iachetta (New York; London; New Delhi; Sydney: Bloomsbury, 2009), 194.
Why I MUST Stuggle with the Scripture and God
Thoughts I pray drive you to the cross…
When the LORD heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel, 22 for they did not believe God or trust him to care for them. 23 But he commanded the skies to open; he opened the doors of heaven. 24 He rained down manna for them to eat; he gave them bread from heaven. 25 They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold. Psalm 78:21-25 (NLT2)
“Consequently this is the best advice, that one should draw from the source and diligently read the Bible. For a man who knows the text is also an extraordinary theologian. One passage or one text from the Bible is worth more than the glosses of four writers who aren’t reliable and thorough.
Only one stipulation do I make: my teacher must know God, as Carlyle said, “otherwise than by hearsay,” and Christ must be all in all to him. If a man have only correct doctrine to offer me I am sure to slip out at the first intermission to seek the company of someone who has seen for himself how lovely is the face of Him who is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley. Such a man can help me, and no one else can.
In my libraries I have closed to 10,000 books, both printed in paper and digitally on 3 different software programs. S
Some are from favorite authors, like St. Josemaria, Michael Card, Martin Luther, Pope Benedict XVI, Peter Kreeft, Will Willimon, and Juan Carlos Ortiz. There are some newer writers that I am coming to appreciate more and more, like Tozer or Senkbeil. And there are other authors who are not as favored in my sight, yet all are men whose lives I thank God for, for they have affected me, or those whom I minister to at my church or in the community.
It would be really easy to just sit back in awe of their devotion, and spend time with their works.
After all, I’ve read the Bible through more than once, in multiple translations.
But it is there, in the pages of scripture, and in receiving and administering the sacraments, that I find God. It is where He hears me, and where I hear Him. There, on every page, there is Jesus. It is there where I find the words to think about, to ponder, even with which I question and argue. (It would be sad if I didn’t question and argue with them, for then I would be dishonest, or perhaps crazy… for God needs to transform me – which means I need to be honest where I am!)
I cannot simply accept what men, far more brilliant that I could ever be, claim about the Greek and the Hebrew. I cannot accept their systems of theology. Simply put, they are sinners as well. Luther and Tozer are right – find the people that know God and rejoice in the intimate relationship He is forging with them. Learn from them how they encounter and walk with God, let them disciple you as you walk with Him. But always let Jesus be your focus, let the scriptures be the resource you measure it all with…
Like the passage from the Psalms, get to know the God, who even when you are struggling with Him, opens the skies and provides for you the bread of heaven and more. For that is when faith is more than just a list of doctrines, it is a relationship where you can depend on God in whatever life throws at you. Get to know the God who didn’t give up on Israel – Issacs’ son, or Israel – the 12 tribes. Get to know Him… experience His love… and without thinking–rejoice!
God loves us.
Not from a distance, but right here and now.
Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 54: Table Talk, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 54 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 352–353.
A. W. Tozer, Tozer for the Christian Leader (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2015).
The Church Desperately Needs Fools and Madmen – if we are to survive.
Thoughts to help us run to Jesus…
Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time,* 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
They say, “God has abandoned him. Let’s go and get him, for no one will help him now.” 12 O God, don’t stay away. My God, please hurry to help me. Psalm 71:11-12 (NLT2)
Scripture’s commandment to turn the other cheek does not contain a primarily ethical meaning—to overcome oneself, or to give the other an example of one’s self-mastery or enlightenment—but the meaning of love, which “demands that one suffer humiliation with the humiliated Christ rather than receive honor, to be seen as a fool and madman for Christ’s sake, who himself was seen primarily as such, rather than to be esteemed as wise and clever in this world” (Ignatius of Loyola)
Now note that deliverance from evil is the very last thing that we do and ought to pray for. Under this heading we count strife, famine, war, pestilence, plagues, even hell and purgatory, in short, everything that is painful to body and soul. Though we ask for release from all of this, it should be done in a proper manner and at the very last.
Why? There are some, perhaps many, who honor and implore God and his saints solely for the sake of deliverance from evil. They have no other interest and do not ever think of the first petitions which stress God’s honor, his name, and his will. Instead, they seek their own will and completely reverse the order of this prayer. They begin at the end and never get to the first petitions. They are set on being rid of their evil, whether this redounds to God’s honor or not, whether it conforms to his will or not.
The Canaanite woman had the kind of faith which penetrates the clouds. She would not take any kind of refusal as a real refusal, as a real “no.” She kept on praying with faith. The more she was tried, the more she placed her trust in Jesus, until she finally achieved her goal and got all she wanted. This is the disposition God waits for in the crisis of faith: trust in his mercy no matter what kind of treatment he gives you. Only great faith can penetrate those apparent rebuffs, comprehend the love which inspires them, and totally surrender to it.
Barely a day goes by without ads or advice about how to save the church. Here is how to make your preaching more relevant, how to do outreach online, and how to grow this ministry, that ministry. If only you had a program like Alpha or Rooted or follow Purpose Driven Church theory or…
For someone who doesn’t even know what a box is, never mind think out of it, my answer for what the church needs to do is described well in the devotional readings I encountered this morning.
The answer to survival is that we again need the church to be considered fools and madmen/women.
The phrase comes from the reading of Balthasar – and refers to people who are willing to be humiliated for no other reason than we do so with Jesus. The world would say we are nuts; we are fools. We embrace the suffering we encounter, whatever God allows, to seek Him and find Him and be with Him.
That is what Luther was getting at as well, as he explored the phrase, “deliver us from evil.” It is not the first plea in the Lord’s prayer but the last. It is not the most important thing – in fact, the most important thing is that we use God’s name to address Him. We need to set it apart for those deeply intimate conversations. We ask to ask for a lot, but only last do we ask for delivery from evil. If we believe all else is answered and delivered, where is the power of evil? It has already been broken and shattered.
Take a moment and think about it – what has Satan left if we are sure God’s Kingdom has come, and God’s will has been done?
This is what servant-leadership truly is in the church, being willing to embrace the suffering and remind people of God’s presence in the most broken parts of their lives. It requires tenacity, not to endure, but to pursue God like the Samaritan woman Keating praises! Jesus praised her, for she trusted that Jesus loved her and her daughter. We need to seek that experience of His love and His mercy, counting on Him to reveal Himself there.
That is why we endure… to depend on Christ – to dwell in Him… and as we do, we serve amid brokenness. We embrace it, knowing that God rules, and therefore it works. and if the world things we are fools and madman… that’s okay.
Balthasar, Hans Urs von. 2004. Love Alone Is Credible. Translated by D. C. Schindler. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Luther, Martin. 1999. Luther’s Works, Vol. 42: Devotional Writings I. Edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann. Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Keating, Thomas. 2009. The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O., Sacred Scripture, and Other Spiritual Writings. Edited by S. Stephanie Iachetta. New York; London; New Delhi; Sydney: Bloomsbury.
How Do I get… like That? A sermon on Psalm 71:15-24
How do I Get Like That??
Psalm 71:15-24
† I.H.S. †
May the Grace of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ so transform us, that our lives are lived in praise of God!
- Intro – I so wanna be this excited about my faith!
When I read the Psalm preparing for this week, I immediately wished I could always be this excited about my relationship with God.
The second was to blast the translators for missing out on their punctuation. I mean, this is how they wrote it…. (read flatly)
“15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words.”
Compare that to this (pumped up!)
15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness! Though I am not skilled with words, all day long, I will proclaim your saving power!
How I wish I could, every waking moment of the day, find the energy to be like that. Even more, I want my sermons to reveal the amazing love that God has for you, that that was your attitude and behavior.
- Young and Old
One of the lines I really want to look at in this passage is verses 17-18. Hear those again,
17 O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. 18 Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.
Again, I love the energy of the Psalmist and the idea that God has been teaching us from our youngest moments. For it is often in our youth, or our earliest days walking with God, that telling others about the “wonderful things God is doing” occurs. That is an amazing time in our faith, as our dependence on God just soars.
- Present things – aren’t the future –
But there is the second half of it there – which is all too real. As we go through life, there are times when we might wonder if God has abandoned us. Times where our understanding of God wavers and where we don’t see His power and mighty miracles so easily.
Where did God go?
Why don’t we see Him at work in this?
And while we respond “and also with you,” we aren’t so sure He is with us. The Psalmist was there – and prayed accordingly.
That is why He could also rejoice – for he knew, “20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth!21 You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again!
That is the kind of trust, the kind of faith that we should have! Not the type that denies the downtimes exists but embraces them – knowing the promises of God for the future and for our eternity.
That is trusting God. That is finding joy knowing His promises overwhelm the present challenges that we face. God will restore us, even as He restored Job. And He will comfort us, His presence there, always.
That is what I desire each of you have, even more than I want it for myself. The confidence that allows you to look past these days of COVID, these days of uncertainty, knowing the love of God will sustain you.
- Look to His wonders – to His faithfulness – to His righteousness
For it is by knowing His promises that we can join in worship with the Psalmist,
22 Then I will praise you with music on the harp, because you are faithful to your promises! O my God. I will sing praises to you with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel! 23 I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me! 24 I will tell you about your righteous deeds all day long!
In the adult Bible Study, we will also talk about this as we end chapter 8. Promises that God will use everything to bless us, and nothing can separate us from God. But that is the same focus David has here…
That God will be dependable, that what He has promised – He will do!
And that realization should get us excited… We can sing and shout for God has made us His own!
He has done what is right, and He has made us His own children. As we are invited and drawn into His presence, we know that that is the purpose of this sermon, this service.
To help you know this. God loves you, has saved you, and you are welcome in His presence, both now and for eternity.
And knowing this, may you realize that you dwell in peace, even though you can’t explain how wonderful it is. And until we are before His throne, that peace of heart and mind is guaranteed to us in Jesus. Amen!
