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“My own faith?” … not so much!
Discussion thought of the Day..
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. 10 This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven. 11 Dear friends, if this is how God loved us, then we should love one another.1 John 4:7-11 (TEV)
“A disciple of Christ can never think as follows: “I try to be good; as for others, if that’s what they want… let them go to hell.” Such an attitude is not human. Nor is it in keeping with the love of God, or with the charity we owe our neighbour.” (1)
This Lent the theme of most of our readings continues to be reconciliation among the people God has created. We have seen God’s heart – that he will not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, that He only wants them to come home, as the prodigal did.
When will our heart break for those who walk without Christ? I am not talking about the kind of guilt caused by a spiritual version of those programs that show starving children, seeking to get us to send wads of money to appease our shame, to give us the feeling that we helped a little, therefore it is alright to go back to living life. I ask the question again, when will our hearts truly break for those that do not know the mercy of Christ, or the peace of God our Father.
When will we love them, as He loves them?
It has to come down to whether we see ourselves as His family, that our neighbor, even the one we struggle with, as someone as close to us as family. It is because… they are. Christ died not just for us – our faith is not an individual faith, Jesus is a personaly savior – He died to reconcile us all to Him, and therefore to each other. We aren’t really talking aboout ng strangers, but our own people, our own family. And that takes patience, and love… time.
So look on those who do not know the love of Christ, and love them and be patient with them, until their journey brings them home as well.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3358-3361). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Lord is With Us…removing our idols!
Realizing and Revealing…
The Lord is With Us
Removing our Idols
† IHS †
As you experience and know the grace, mercy and peace of living in God’s presence, may the idols you cling to, that weigh you down, simply fall aside..
Can you imagine the Sanctus, sang by people of every tribe, every language, every ethnicity, as they pour into the space around the throne of God? As we seem Him in all of His glory?
As we hear the people of God, all in awe of our Father’s appearance and of His glory. Can we our voices added to theirs as we all sing Holy! Holy! Holy! with such awe that almost sucks the breath out of us, combined with a joy that goes beyond anything that we could ever imagine?
Our attention will be so focused on the Lord God Almighty, that I doubt we will notice the other parts of the scene, the 4 seraphim, the 24 elders, and though we will move and sing as one being – I think all of our attention will focus on the love of our lives, our Father…. The Son, the Holy Spirit….
Everything else, all the things of the world… will have ceased to exist, they won’t matter.
Including our idols,
including our idolatry.
The Idols fall away…
That is the lesson tonight! As we look at Gideon’s walk with God, we consider this Lenten journey – what it means. We realize how it changes our lives to accompany Christ on His walk to His cross. As He bears the punishment we deserve, if only because of the number of times we have shattered the 1st “commandment”,
Because I am the Lord your God, who rescued you, you shall have no other gods… you will not make or worship idols.
Far too often, our lives resemble that of Israel. Imagine – as people walk up to the front door of your house, there is a monument to your favorite idol, to the thing that you most often put in God’s place, the things or people or achievements that we spend most of our time either working for, or enjoying, or chasing after.
Rarely are we as simplistic as Gideon’s dad was, just placing our idol, or an altar to that idol in our front yard. We may be more sophisticated in how we chase them, of how we pursue them, but they are idols none the less. We may even be as blunt and transparent in how we chase after these things – at least in the view of others, or if we look at how we spend our money, our time, our thoughts, and who or what we turn to, as we deal with a crisis.
What is it that binds us, that ties us up, that stops us from being with God?
The thing about idols that I don’t think we understand – is that if you have an idol, you don’t own it – it owns you. That’s the thing about gods, if they are a god, not only do we depend on them, we are entrusted to them – we become their property. We find ourselves to connected to them to break the connection, to dependent on them for our success, our ability to deal with, usually by ignoring it, the aspects of life that cause us anxiety. We become addicted to them, and knowing its wrong struggle to find a way to break free.
That is why we are like Gideon’s father, who finds himself, a child of God, one who could well remember God’s reign over Israel; the proud owner of a home with the community altar to Ba’al. An altar to worship the god of fertility. Are we, like Gideon’s father, willing to make a stand, only after they are removed?
How can we overcome our attraction – even our addiction to those idols we have? That is the part of our quest for lent, to rid ourselves of the things which stop us from realizing and revealing that the Lord is with us!
The Secret to Ridding ourselves of Idols.
I began this devotional message talking about our being in the presence of God, as we dwell in His presence before His throne, for a reason.
The only way to break the power of something over us, is to have something more powerful grab ahold of our attention, of our focus, of our very lives.
Remember – those idols wouldn’t stand a chance of attracting your attention, when you dwell in the presence of Almighty God, as are gathered in His presence around the throne of God. We joke about you can’t take it all with you, but the real truth is that you wouldn’t want to!
You would look pretty silly, in the presence of God, illuminated by and dwelling in his glory, to be lugging a bag full of false gods, or to be bowing before things you have made yourself, or that others made. It wouldn’t be just silly, it could be even considered pathetic, sad, something that would bring us to tears. Even as we talked about on Sunday, as Paul would cry and wail as he had to share that some people chose to be enemies of Christ, and the cross where our lives were linked with His.
The cure for idolatry is simple – it’s to realize we live, we dwell in the presence of God. TO remember that doesn’t just happen when we go home to be in the Father’s presence, but we now dwell, fully, in the presence of God – the Holy Spirit.
It is found as we gather together, in Christ’s presence, as we worship Him, as we hear that we are freed from our sins, and from all of the world’s unrighteousness and injustice. As we pray, as we spend time in scripture – both devotional reading and studying it together, as we come to the altar, and celebrate the foretaste of our homecoming feast – the feast of the lamb. It is found, as we realize and reveal to others, the Lord is With Us!
There is no idol that stands in the presence of God!
Gideon, dwelling in the presence of God, hearing God’s desire, did what we are called to do, and did away the idols that bound the people of Israel.….
Free not just of idolatry, but of every sin… for we dwell in the presence of God…
For we dwell in His peace. AMEN?
A Sacrifice greater than Chocolate, or Caffeine, or Alcohol or even Bacon
Lenten Devotional, Discussion thought:
Love for God invites us to shoulder the Cross squarely: to feel on our back the weight of the whole human race, and to fulfil, in the circumstances of our own situation in life and the job we have, the clear and at the same time loving designs of the Will of the Father.(1)
We are in Lent, a time where many people sacrifice something for a season, in order that they can focus more clearly on God. Sometimes these things are things we are mildly addicted to – (see the list above ) or aren’t the greatest things for us.
As I look at the quote of St Josemaria above, I find a sacrifice that is harder than the minor addictions. Like yesterday’s sermon, I wonder if we do see the weight of the world that Christ bore, that as we are in Him, as His will becomes our will? Do we weep, as Paul did, over the enemies of the cross of Christ, as we realize what they are missing? Or as Jesus did, as He expresses the desire that the people of God (i.e. Jerusalem) would respond to His offers of compassion and mercy?
Hear clearly, bearing the weight of Christ’s cross doesn’t mean we have to be crucified, but we are untied, we become one with His as He is. We understand why – the great love which would result in joy as people are freed from bondage to sin. We begin to see that our enemy isn’t the flesh and blood that irritate and antagonizes and pushes the buttons that set off our anger, our desire for vengeance, but Satan.
We realize that God’s desire, His will, is that those people come to know Him, that they hear His word, often because we are the ones who are sent, and make sacrifices, that they can.
There is a Lenten sacrifice that will bear much fruit…or…bacon.
Lord have mercy on us, that we might show Your mercy to this world!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2925-2927). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Where do we Abide?
Where do we Abide?
Philippians 3:17–4:1
† Jesus, Son and Savior †
May your life find its focus in the gifts of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, His mercy, His peace. His love, but mostly, in His presence!
The Tears of Paul, the Cry of Jesus
Knowing His past, the way in which he dealt with the enemies of what he perceived his faith to be, these words of Paul testify to His coversion, the transformation that had occurred in his life, as he came to know the love of God.
Hear them again,
18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
Hear His reaction – it is not one of anger, of lust for revenge, but one of great sorrow, of great sadness.
I say it again with tears in my eyes,
It is the reaction, not of a crusader, but of one who has been rescued from brokenness, whose heart has known the healing of being raised from worthlessness and given life and meaning, who has been called to be loved….
And grieves when he sees others who refuse such a call….to live in Christ
It is the attitude that Paul would encourage us all to imitate – the example he tried to set, even as Paul would imitate the Lord who came to him, and called him. We hear the same attitude in Jesus’ cry to the people of God in today’s gospel,
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.
Indeed, Paul had become much like his Lord Jesus… and now he calls to us, to become like him, to follow the path of Christ trod, finding our strength in the God’s presence, and looking forward with Joy, even as we dwell now as citizens of heaven, as the people of God, whom He protects and loves and heals…
Do We Know the Price of Condemnation?
Most of us would hesitate before condemning someone to hell, most of us wouldn’t say “Go to Hell” in anger, or “I hope they burn in Hell” even about the people whom we can only see as “evil”, as they practice which is evil. I have seen similar reactions recently, heard them or read them on internet, against the likes of Jerry Sandusky, or Chris Dorner.
Even while we may not actively hope that others would go to hell, do we passively let others continue on their merry way towards Hell? Does it bother us, as it did the apostle Paul to the point that we cry over such people? Even our enemies? Or maybe we don’t want them to suffer eternally, just a period of time we would consider fair and equitable.
Do we realize that those who oppose Christ, who disdain or passively dismiss the cross are headed for destruction? Or do we just go about our own lives, going by the old saying, “live and let live?” Do we realize that such a attitude is against what scripture teaches about loving your neighbor? Is it loving to allow anyone to head towards experiencing the wrath of God?
Paul says these people are heading to destruction. The word there isn’t destruction as they might lose their house or their job, or that their families and lives will fall apart in this life. It is talking about destruction as in eternal – as in their complete separation from love, and life, and goodness. Total and complete. Do we weep for them?
Do we weep for those who oppose the cross of Christ, who deny mercy, who contend with the gospel, who put stumbling blocks in the ways of those who God would have them call out to? (It is funny that in the context of this passage – Paul is talking about people in the church!)
How many people do we know who are described as Paul describes those he is dealing with?
Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
What a sad way to be described – to realize that our emotions, our “appetites” could have so much control over us. To realize that people can be co confused that they would choose that which is disgraceful over what is good and right and a benefit to themselves and to others, whose choices are selfish and narcissistic and hurt others..
Do we respond to such people in anger? Or is sorrow and tears, grieving how they have chosen to separate themselves from God’s love and mercy?
Do we fall into a reaction that nurtures our appetites, that speaks the truth without love, which becomes condescending and shameful, and is only about that which occurs here on earth?
How do we learn to react as Paul began to react? How do we follow his steps, even as Paul learned to walk as Christ had?
Knowing our End, our Destination,
Paul gives us what he found to be his answer, there in verse 20.
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
While the focus of those we are to weep for, pray for is on what makes their life here better or easier, our focus is based on whose we are, whose kingdom we are citizens of, to whom we owe our loyalty.
I think we misunderstand this – when we talk of being in the Kingdom of heaven, and for that reason, we’ll talk about it more in Bible Study. But for now, our answer to not being like those whose lives cause us anger – if we respond inappropriately, or sorrow, if we respond like Christ, is to remember where we live, to remember whose kingdom we belong to, to dwell in Christ, and under His rule.
It is here, in our experience at the altar, that we begin to see this. If we see this time and this place, not so much as a routine, or a duty, but a meal with our Father, a time where we remember where our homeland is, a time to look forward to our going home.
A number of people have asked me how I liked the food in China. It’s kind of funny, because the Cajun food was good, the American restaurants were fine, the Italian was as good as in Italy – maybe better! Even though I worked a with some Chinese nationals, a lot of time was spent ministering to our missionaries, folks who were there with a purpose, but who hearts and lives were lived in view of “home”. They needed a reminder of where they were from – even more spiritually than physically.
Likewise it is for us, we are here in Cerritos, as God’s ambassadors, as missionaries ourselves. A lot of our lives is lived in being “homesick” for heaven. That is why communion becomes so central, so necessary in our lives. Our communion feast is the “missionary team dinner” at Red Garlic, or up on the Peak at Bubba Gump – a time to look forward to our going home to be with our family, the angels and archangels and whole company of heaven.
Please understand, I am not saying Christ isn’t with us 24/7/365, but that this time is a special one, where we encourage each other, and are encouraged to dwell in God’s presence, where our hearts and minds are re-focused on God’s love, and the extent that His love is there for us, healing us, providing for us.
It is a moment in our week of being home…
Until the time our weak mortal humble bodies are found transformed into glorious bodies… for the same power that is at work then, has been at work, as all things have come into His kingdom, as He reigns and guides and protects, His people…
As we dwell in peace, and yes, weep over those who have yet to know that peace, or who confuse and bind others and prove themselves lacking in it..
This peace is yours, people of God, this peace of our Father, which passes all understanding and guards our hearts and minds as we dwell, citizens of where our Lord reigns… and cares for His people.
AMEN?
The Burden, which isn’t a burden
28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and over-burdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28 (Phillips NT)
764 Now, when the Cross has become a serious and weighty matter, Jesus will see to it that we are filled with peace. He will become our Simon of Cyrene, to lighten the load for us. Then say to him, trustingly: “Lord, what kind of a Cross is this? A Cross which is no cross. Now I know the trick. It is to abandon myself in you; and from now on, with your help, all my crosses will always be like this.” (1)
Think about this for a moment. Meditate on it and see what you come up with.
Why do we so easily claim that Jesus is God, that He is our Savior, delivering us from the bondage we are in to sin, and bringing us to the throne of God, while at the same time we struggle so much to let Him be the Master of our life, and letting Him turn our sorrows into joys, and the heavy burdens we carry in this life into something light?
Think about it..
No, I meant that.. think – take 180 seconds and just think through what I read above.
We all have to deal with burdens, they are there. The aches and pains of getting older, the worry and anxiety about our children and grandchildren. Financial struggles, Resentment and hurts, and though we know our sin is forgiven, guilt and shame from our past… or our present.
Do we realize that when we call Jesus, Lord, or Master, when we talk about living in the Kingdom of God, we are talking about His responsibility more than His authority? That the Old and New Covenant – binds Him, by His choice, to cause us to dwell in peace, to live in His presence, to know the power of His love? That if we are bound by the same covenant, our responsibility as loving subjects is to let Him be God, and let Him care for us?
Our actions, guided by Him, are but part of realizing that He is our Lord, our Savior, the Prince where peace reigns… in our lives?
That is why the greatest burdens don’t always seem like it. That is why those who struggle under those burdens of life, become our burdens – for we see their toil and vanity, and know how they can find relief, and rest.
I love how Fr.Josemaria phrases it – the secret is that the burden, this cross of ours, is not ours, for we have long since abandoned ourselves in Christ – ever since we were marked in His name, as the waters of baptism poured over us.
So go on, let Christ take on your day… as you walk with Him.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2751-2754). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Lord is with you, strengthening you…
Realizing and Revealing…
The Lord is With Us..Strengthening Us!
Judges 6:1-24
† HIS †
As you dwell in the grace and mercy of God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, may you realize how He strengthens you, just by being there…with you!
The Lenten/Gideon Journey
Am I in the winepress, or just in MIdian’s Hands
As I look at our world, and just Southern California over these weeks since I have returned from China, I think I understand more than ever, the attitude of Gideon, hiding in the winepress.
As the injustice, in and evil in the world floods our lives, I can be easily saddened as the people of God and their leaders are often looking more to other gods, or as St Paul talks about – we make idols of our appetites. Either we dismiss the impact of sin, or we go to the opposite extreme, demanding perfection and condemning where we see others failing to be perfect. We are more focused on how things “look” here, than on bringing people into the presence of God, to be cleansed by His flood of love.
My instinct, as I see this world, and consider my role in it, our role in being the ones reflecting this light in the darkness is so close to Gideon’s words, as he hides in the winepress and is greeted by the Lord.
“Lord, if you are with us, then why? Where are Your Miracles Lord? Why aren’t you rescuing this people from their sin and the oppression of evil and temptation?” Why Lord? What are You going to do about all this, Lord?”
The answer we hear, when we take the time to listen, is even more staggering…
“Why, I am sending you, of course!”
Uhm – Lord – have you looked at us recently? Don’t you know we are not one of the big mega churches; we don’t have hardly any young people, and we don’t have a lot of resources, how are we supposed to save the world….”
Call to remember the promise!
If you carefully at this passage, there is something odd to consider. Gideon recounts easily the miracles of the past, the times where God rescues His people. But what isn’t remembered are the promises, the contractual obligation that God enters into, to be with us, to be with His people, to protect them, to deliver them, and yes, even to chasten them.
As Gideon wavers at the command to go with the strength you have, as he questions the wisdom and knowledge of God, there is a reminder about that strength.
“I will be with you!”
That assurance, “I will be with you”, is the bottom line of every covenantal promise of God, of everything God does in our lives. It is what not only what those who walked with God before us realized; it is what the people of God whom Gideon mentioned realized. He is with us! He will save us.. He has come, to deliver and restore and heal us!
Still sometimes, we don’t get it… and he asks for a sign, even as he goes and gets an appropriate offering. He trusts enough for the offering, but not yet enough to take on the challenge of being the one who God will use to rescue His people. Sound familiar? Yes Lord, I trust you enough to go to church on Sunday, and even a few Wednesday nights a year, but show me a sign that you are going to send me to…that you want me to invite “them” to church, that you want me to reach out and show you love to..
I sometimes think we determine that it isn’t God we don’t trust in, but ourselves. Yet didn’t He choose us… to be His kingdom of priests?
I need something to overcome my fear, my anxiety, my doubts about, “why me”, or at least I think I do….
What I need to really here, what I really need to see revealed in my life… is the truth of “I will be with you!”
The Promise fulfilled
We aren’t doomed when we encounter Christ’s glory
Each week, along with Gideon, we get to hear John’s incredible first chapter and especially verse 14.
14 The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.
When we realize that Matthew tells us that Jesus, the Word Made Flesh and living with us” promised He would never leave us, even until the end of the age, this means that we to live with Him, and He is still full of grace and truth.
He is here, as we hear His word, as we feast on His body and blood. He is meeting our needs to know His presence, for that is our own strength. Even as Gideon strength, and Moses for that matter was found in their realization that it was God directing their steps, we need to realize that as well. We desperately need to realize that, for then, our strength is enough to do whatever it takes.
We aren’t alone, He is here!
That is where our hope lies, that is how life is different, that is what we need to realize, not just as we approach the altar, but the breakfast table, our workplace’s front door, the restaurant, or gas station, or when we turn on our computer to check email’s, or read or watch the news.
I will be with you! – and with us, He is our strength…..
As we take on the impossible, as we confront the evil that would oppress us, as we deal with our own sin, let us find our strength… in the One Who creates, redemption and sanctifies His people.
For His is with us!
An incredible Lenten Friday Sacrifice – the “safe” distance.
Devotional/Discussion thought of the day:
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you. 18 “When I go, you will not be left all alone; I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see me; and because I live, you also will live. 20 When that day comes, you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me, just as I am in you.” John 14:16-20 (TEV)
From there, where you are working, let your heart escape to the Lord, right close to the Tabernacle, to tell him, without doing anything odd, “My Jesus, I love You”. Don’t be afraid to call him so—my Jesus—and to say it to him often.(1)
Memories of Fridays growing up – fish sticks for lunch, Filet of Fishes for Dinner, Occasionally clam strips and sometimes, if things we going well – baked stuff shrimp. Move forward into my early twenties, and working as a manager at McDonald’s – and we have to covert to extra friers to handle the demand for fish, because our unit was in a heavily hispanic area.
No meat on friday – no burgers, or steaks, or bacon or pork. Not even spaghetti and meatballs! I wish I would have understood lent as a kid, even as a young man, and the sacrifices that we were strongly encouraged to make. (Try showing up at a Catholic Jr. High School with a baloney sandwich for lunch. Still remember that day…) Abstaining from things, and even fasting are not bad, but very solid practices, given the understanding that should accompany them. They are not to make us more attractive to God, but rather, to free us to focus on Him. (Something we should strive to do all the time btw – not just during Lent!)
A suggestion- spend little moments of time throughout the day thinking about the verse above. The words of Christ, as he prepares his followers for His cross, for His death, but also for His resurrection. A great passage to contemplate, over and over, during our Lenten journey.
We must realize that because He lives, because we are united to His death and Resurrection we live, in Him. We are with Him, we aren’t far off.
Most of us, seem to prefer to live a distance from God. We want His blessings, and church sometimes isn’t a bad thing – especially when others are stressing us. We won’t Him in the background, just at the edge of how far we think our voices will cry, when we need to be rescued. Perhaps we are worried that He won’t like us close up, or that He will ask us to do something, to make some sacrifice,, or perhaps, He might want us to give up something closer and more meaningful to us than steak or bacon….yeah – you know – that sin we don’t want everyone to know about, or that resentment we nourish, because of a pain caused years ago.
It is time to give that up, to sacrifice that distance, to come close to God, to let Him draw you near, to make you an integral part of His family. No more hiding, no more looking in from the edges… time to admit, to confess, to cry our in praise and adoration – My Jesus, i love you!
For such is the response of faith, or trusting in Him and His revelation, of knowing His presence. Of depending upon Him.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2697-2700). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
A Sacrifice for Lent…a broken heart?
Devotional THought of the Day:
Psalm 51:7-17 (NLT) 7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. 14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. 15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. 16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
In the midst of our BIble Study this morning, we went on a side tangent about Lent, and what people sacrifice for Lent. For a short period of time, we give up something – with the sincere intention to use the time, the money, whatever is gained in service to God. One of my ladies, aske a great question, “why do we give Him back what is already His?” and I mentioned the irony of immediately taking back whatever we gave up, the moment sunrise service ends.
If our “sacrifice” is in view of something more beneficial, then why no continue it after lent?
Why not take up something far more long reaching, something that will cause a change that lasts longer than 40 days?
Noting my odd nature, my mind went to the passage above – yeah on Valentines Day I am suggesting we give God… our broken hearts.
Our broken hearts?
Yeah, the brokenness that comes when we hear stories of 9 year old pregnant girls, or stories where perceived injustice results in more injustice…
The brokenness that is seen when we witness lives devastated death, or by illness, or by age.
The brokenness that comes, when finances grow tight, and desperation sets in, whether this it is corporate or individual.
The brokenness that comes when the churches work with the lost is interfered with by infighting, or hypocrisy..
The brokenness that comes, when our own sin is so clear, when its damage seems beyond healing, when we find ourselves “doing what is right in our own eyes”.
it seems odd – that the best gift we could give God, to demonstrate our love… is our brokenness… to lay it open before Him all of it.. to say, here, God, you want me – you have me – all of my brokenness, all of my hurts, all my resentment, all my pain and all my sin.
Yet it is…an incredible gift, one that brings the first commandment into play. For when we bring God our brokenness, when we let Him heal and restore, reconcile and rescue us… when we do these things, we are letting God be.. well God, our Father, our Lord and Master (which is as much/more about responsibility than it is authority)
When we let God be God, when we find contentment in being His people, the ones for whom He cares, when we let Him clean and bandage and heal our woulds… when we let Him love us….that is the best….”sacrifice” we can make….an offering which pleases Him….
So my friends who are in Christ, give Him, without restriction, your broken hearts, and all your brokenness… and see what He does.
Ash Wednesday
Realizing and Revealing that “The LORD is with You!”
Judges 2, John 1:1014
† In His Name †
As you realize that the Lord is with you, may you realize what that means, that you can trust His promises, that you have received His gift of mercy, that you dwell in His loving presence… and may you life reveal that to all you encounter!
As we enter lent, as we like Isaiah mourn that we are people of unclean lips and lives, living among a world that is equally marred by sin; it is not difficult to realize our times are not so different than those described in the book of judges.
The stories this week, from the 12 year old giving birth in Mexico, to the story of the war veteran/former police officer who snapped and turned on those he once protected. As we hear all the hatred that has been spewed out at the church as a whole, to broken families; there is a sense of despair building, not unlike the times where Israel would finally mourn and weep. It’s enough for a man of God to want to retire…and find some nice peaceful place to spend his days.
It is the reason why our foreheads and hands are marked with ashes this day, it causes us to face our sin, even as they did, and hopefully, like they did in the time of the judges, we will learn to cry out to God, finding our hope.
As we travel through Lent this year – our journey will be alongside Israel as they see over and over God’s faithfulness, even as God is not exactly happy with their sin. As we see Him leave them to the consequences for a time, but then the moment they remember His presence, the moment they call out for help – He raises up His judge, the one who leads and shepherds Israel, returning them to their place as the children of God.
It’s a journey that we have an advantage they didn’t have.
An incredible advantage.
A Complex Problem a Simple Solution
Hear again the description of the situation
18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the LORD took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to their corrupt ways, behaving worse than those who had lived before them. They went after other gods, serving and worshiping them. And they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Let’s think about this – Israel was slow, so unable to stop sinning on their own, that the only when they had a strong judge, someone who could lead them to God, would they live as God’s people would. They were so weak, that left on their own, they would simply revert to the sinful nature they had, before they knew of God’s love, of God’s desire to be present among them.
When the leader died, they fell apart.
I was once told that the larger and more complex the problem is, the simpler the solution would be.
It’s pretty simple this time – they need a judge who will not die. One who would live with them – reminding them of God’s glory, of realizing His love.
Pretty simply – get a judge who will not die – the people who aren’t strong enough – will still be led to God.
Pretty simple – find Someone who will live in the midst of the people of God… and be there for them….
And that is where we have an advantage – if we, only took the time to realize it.
That’s what this time is… the time to realize that the judge is with us… or as more commonly said around here.
“The LORD is with you!”
Our gospel said it this way:
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
Even as we struggle in this world, even as we spend these 40 days (except Sunday) looking at our need for Good Friday, our need for Easter, our need for Pentecost we know it is coming. Nothing can stop God’s work in rescuing His people, in delivering them from the dark times.
For He has raised up His judge, and nailed Him to the cross.
Because we needed it.
Because our world needs it. They need to know this very thing we realize, the thing that the judges knew – the thing that enabled them to minister to the people of God.
They need to have it revealed to them as well. This very special truth, that it is realized, when it is revealed, brings God’s mercy and peace and love to the forefront of our lives.
Hear it again….
The Lord is with you!
AMEN!
A Desired Lenten Sacrifice…
“12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13 (NLT)
This morning, I see a large number of people who are taking a pledge to give up Facebook and/or Twitter for Lent.
Some claim it is a vice, something that is addictive, something that is beyond our ability to have self control over our use of this social media. Similar to how we have little self control over other addicting things, like gossip, or caffeine, or our right to be “righteously indignant”.
Okay, so I am probably addicted to FB, but that is not something a forty day abstinence is going to fix. (I wonder if all those taking such a pledge know that Sundays are not part of lent.)
I have a possible second challenge/discipline for you, one based off of the above passage from St. Matthew’s gospel.
Each day of Lent, seek out someone who is spiritually ill or challenged. Someone who needs to know Jesus is present, that “the Lord is with you”. Each day try to minister to one person – even if it is just to invite them to a Lenten service and dinner. Sacrifice your time, your pride, your comfort levels, and minister to those who know they are sinners. First, this would totally be in line in with the above scripture. Second, it would make a change in people’s lives that doesn’t just revert to normal on Easter Monday.
40 days – 40 people….
and remember, the Lord who will be with those you minister too, that Lord is with you as well!
