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The Search for REALITY
Devotional Thought of the Day
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, 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. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
18 And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the working of the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NJB)
692 You suffer in this present life, which is only a dream, and a short one at that. Rejoice, because your Father God loves you so much, and if you put no obstacles in his way, after this bad dream he will give you a good awakening.
A friend tweeted that we should follow our passion when it comes to ministry.
I have o admit I struggle more than a little with that line of reasoning. Not because I think that following our passions is a way to justify doing what we want to do. Rather there are times where we have to embrace that which we aren’t passionate about, because we are following the call of God, and because we realize what He is passionate about. And our passions and His? Well, they don’t always line up as clearly as we would hope.
That’s okay, we aren’t expected to turn instantly into the Messiah, in fact, the transformation isn’t complete until Christ returns.
That means we can embrace what we are not passionate about, with the same dedication and drive. We can turn our back on what we desire, and embrace that which will incur suffering. Even if suffering is only giving up a dream.
But to embrace suffering takes something, something even more than character. It takes faith, it takes hope that isn’t based on a guess. It takes knowing God’s promise of eternity with Him, sharing in His glory, is our reality.
Some say that a person can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. If that statement is true, it is a different heaven than we are promised. It is not the reality of walking with God, of sharing in His glory. It is not the heaven that we have a foretaste of as we feast with Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is our guarantee, our down-payment on that place where we dwell. On the place where reality surrounds us, the reality of God’s peace, His provision, and His life. It is clinging to the hope, the expectation of God’s promise being fulfilled that enables us to keep going, and keep focused on Jesus. It enables us to go beyond, as we serve, as we live, as we share the love of Christ.
Keep your eyes on Him, be drawn to Him, revel and dance in HIs love. Remember, bring a few people with you!
Lord have mercy on us!
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 1613-1615). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Are We Afraid to Be Honest With God? How Honest?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
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)
It’s been one of those years when things that aren’t supposed to happen do happen. When I’ve had to help more people pick up the broken pieces of their life, and plead with God to put them back together.
When I’ve seen other friends, turn their back on God, and choose their way to go, encouraged by those around them. When those entrusted with responsibility become Machiavellian in the work, and then justify it. I am not just talking about the secular world, I see it in the church as well.
It is almost enough for me to change from being cynical to being a pessimist. It is enough for me to despair, and even go through something akin to depression.
But it is there, almost consumed by darkness, that I remember the brutal honesty of Jeremiah. His ability to speak honestly with God, even to admit he was ticked at God and felt betrayed by Him, even deceived by Him.
To many people I hear today, acting as if life is perfect as if there is no brokenness as if everyone can achieve everything they want to, simply by only speaking positively. If life was such, why would they need to be encouraged to adjust their attitude, to only speak positively as if the challenges of life were not there?
Jeremiah is speaking positively when he rails against God when the prophet admits he is tired when he admits that he doesn’t like the suffering, the pain, the life he has to live. He doesn’t hide this stuff, bury it deeply, ignore it and cover it with nice notes of encouragement.
He wrestles with God, like a true son of Jacob; the man renamed Israel
I was blessed to work with a pastor named Robert Schuller a few times. Let me rephrase, I didn’t work alongside him, but in a series of courses, he taught me a few things about preaching, along with his trusted associates. He’s known for a positive message, perhaps along with Norman Vincent Peale to be one of the father’s of positive thinking, at least in the Christian realm. One of the bits of confusion is the allegation that he was a name-it, claim-it type guy. Not so much. The stories he would tell of people’s encounters with God’s grace always included the challenge God would get them through, the scars that God would use to bless them and others, the pains that resulted in gains.
An attitude that didn’t dismiss the brokenness, but freely admitted it, but also entrusted one’s self to God. Something that can only be done when we are as honest as Jeremiah was, as we admit out frailty, our pain, our honest feelings, and let our Heavenly Father comfort us. It is when we are honest, we see how overwhelming His mercy is, how compassionate His love is, as it reaches out and begins to heal us.
I have to admit, I don’t like what God somehow allows. I tell Him that, sometimes as bluntly as Jeremiah.
but then, eventually, my tantrum subsiding, I realize what Jeremiah does, just a couple of verses later…
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)
His message of mercy, His message of love, is that deep.
I can’t shut it even… even when I feel bruised and broken, or when I am tired of trying to help those who are.
for I know His presence, I know His mercy, and I trust in the compassion of our Father, who sent Jesus to die, to make life just and right…. and a blessing.
Cry our, Lord, have mercy! You will see that He does… in more ways than we can count.
Godspeed!
The Benefit of Endurance: Part II
The Benefit of Endurance: Part II
Romans 5:1-11
† IHS †
As you endure the challenges of this life, may your realize the height, the depth, the width and the breadth of the Father’s love, revealed to you, as you dwell in Christ Jesus!
What’s the use?
There are days, I wonder if all of this is worth it.
The amount of work it takes to pastor a church, to train deacons, to mentor vicars, to work with our school. Why not just work a normal 40 or 50 hour a week job, and have a nice home Bible Study.
It is not that I dislike being a pastor, or that I can’t do anything else. There are days when this job is depressing, and then there are the bad days.
Days were I see the grip that sin has on people and have to wait and watch them struggle. Where I have to watch the effect of that sin on the families and friends who are torn apart by the impact of the sin.
Days where those in the church act less like Jesus than those who seem to be outside the family of God. When people try to run churches and ministries and Christian universities and seminaries as if the bottom line was what mattered.
Days where I see those in the church suffering and hear of those who are being persecuted.
Days where I sit alongside those who are battling life itself.
There is a temptation to ask, “what’s the use”?
That is when we need something because there are days when caffeine doesn’t work!
We need to endure and to do that; we need to see the benefit of enduring.
We Seem So Helpless!
In our reading from Romans, St. Paul notes the way we are before we know God’s love. He describes us this way,
“When we were utterly helpless,”
The context of this is in regards to sin, that point “while we were still sinners”.
The challenge is seeing this in view of sin, not as one part particular sin, but the bondage that sin has us under, apart from being in Christ.
The helplessness that being in bondage to sin causes is that it blinds us to God. It can cause us to chase our desires, rather than choose what is good and right in God’s sight. It causes us to doubt, it can blind us to the hope God has given us. Sin robs us of our strength of character. Sin robs us of our peace with God, the comfort that comes from knowing and trusting in Him.
As believers, we know the damage a sin can cause.
Even as we look at the sins, we commit in thought, word and deed, there is a sense of helplessness. As we look at the sinfulness, the injustice, the evil and brokenness of this world, that sense of helplessness could almost overwhelm us.
Occasionally, it still does.
We’ve lost sight of God, and for the moment, our faith waivers, and we fall.
It is then that we feel utterly helpless, and we ask, what’s the use? What difference will it make? Why do we have to endure?
The helplessness comes from missing the end result, the difference the cross makes.
Here is why: We Are Reconciled
Hear again the words of Paul,
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
We need to understand that, the reason Christ died for us, while we in bondage to sin, while we were dead in our sins and trespasses, is to restore us from enemies to being friends with God.
That is what reconciliation is, that is what this is all about, to help us understand God’s desire for His people. To help us hear the words found in John’s gospel,
“15 I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends because I have told you everything I heard from my Father. John 15:15 (TEV)
This is the reason we endure! To know God this well!
You look at all the ways God tells us that we are His; we are His family, the bride of Jesus Christ, the children of God. He calls us by His name, He cleanses us, adopts us, gives us life. He redeems us, paying for us to be freed from the slavery we were in to sin.
We have been made friends with God, as Paul puts it,
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
This is why we endure, not because of our strength, but the place God puts us, as we trust Him. He places us in life, and the Holy Spirit testifies to us, that we shall share in the glory of God. This is the very work of Holy Spirit, as the Spirit brings to mind the words of Christ, that we know His work, and we trust in His promises.
So Let’s Rejoice!
So how do we endure? How do we find ourselves strengthened, becoming more and more confident in our salvation? How do we do what Paul describes us doing in verse 11?
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us we do this for each other, coming alongside each other to remind each other of the love of God for us, His family. As I think of that, I can picture time after time that you’ve done this for me. From those who treasure their baptism, to the look in people’s eyes as they come to the feast and receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
I think of Mr. Anderson’s remembering his baptism as he walks by the font, and Chuck’s desire to be part of every baptism since Kay and Rachel were baptized. I think of Chris, and his meddling with his own faith, struggling to not only preach about what it means to pray that God’s name would be holy, but to let God make it happen in His life. I see people enduring things that stymie the imagination, occasionally struggling but looking to God and His people for relief. And I think of the next generation, of Isabelle and XXX, just young children, imitating their parents with great desire and joy at the altar a few weeks ago. Even little Violet, as she cried when mom wanted to take her away from the altar rail last Wednesday night. She was comfortable here, knowing God’s peace. So much so that leaving the communion rail was worth a few cries of objection.
Is it worth it? What is the use of all this?
I love Paul’s prayer for the church, the very thing that turns our struggles into endurance, our endurance based on confidence in God’s faithfulness His prayer which I pray for you as well.
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT)
That as Paul opened with, that we would endure knowing that,
“we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Amen!
a thought about truly suffering for God
Devotional thought of the day:
16 “And when you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. They neglect their appearance so that everyone will see that they are fasting. I assure you, they have already been paid in full. 17 When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, 18 so that others cannot know that you are fasting—only your Father, who is unseen, will know. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. Matthew 6:16-18 (TEV)
3 The people ask, “Why should we fast if the LORD never notices? Why should we go without food if he pays no attention?” The LORD says to them, “The truth is that at the same time you fast, you pursue your own interests and oppress your workers. 4 Your fasting makes you violent, and you quarrel and fight. Do you think this kind of fasting will make me listen to your prayers? 5 When you fast, you make yourselves suffer; you bow your heads low like a blade of grass and spread out sackcloth and ashes to lie on. Is that what you call fasting? Do you think I will be pleased with that? Isaiah 58:3-5 (TEV)
765 Renew in your own soul the resolution that friend of ours made long ago: “Lord, what I want is suffering, not exhibitionism.” (1)
There is a trend that is growing more and more. The idea that those who are “persecuted” should be publicly defended, Sometimes that call for action is taken by the very people under persecution. Other times people attach themselves to the cause, urging others to join them. It is almost like people want other Christians to suffer, a sort of Christian version of Munchausen by Proxy, or even a Svengali syndrome. And sometimes, we can even bring it on ourselves, a masochistic attempt to gain fame or at least attention.
An example, the person who gets fired for using their position of authority to “spread the gospel”. Or the Christian who boasts of losing family and friends because of the Biblical position against adultery, or abortion, or homosexulaity.
Even the temptation of pointing our how richer, how much fun, how much sex we could have, how much better life would be, if we didn’t sacrifice our desires out of obedience or submission to Christ.
Jesus addresses that pretty clear in the New Testament. If you are voluntarily suffering, and it is because of your faith, then don’t let it show. If you are embracing that pain (ar some annoying stuff) then don’t make a public spectacle of it. we could project that out to those who want to make a Christian cause out of everything, because then they can be the hero.
All of this public suffering borders on exhibitionism, We (or the person/cause) we’ve hooked up with gains us acclaim, or pity, it projects a value or praise onto our life. We pursue, as Isaiah writes, our own interests, our own satisfaction? Our own recognition by others who declare us, “holy”.
Yet what if we endured it, sought true martyrdom even death, without a sense of need of people even knowing? What if our cause that never appeared in daylight was sacrificing time and money to help others out of poverty. What if our desire was not to hear man’s applause, but to hear God welcome us home? Our suffering should be God pleasing, whether a real form of martyrdom, or the self-sacrificial acts we embrace, loving others?
Can we empty ourselves, in this way? Even as Christ did?
I think we can do better at it, simply by looking to Christ, adoring Him, cherishing His work. Let me rephrase that – as we do those things, we are being transformed by the Holy Spirit! Then those crosses and burdens we bear? They don’t seem worth complaining about, or receiving praise for, simply because knowing Christ in those moments far supersedes any praise or attention gained in other places.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2755-2756). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Why Christianity is More That Just Spiritual Anti-depressant
Devotional Thought of the Day….
27 God’s plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. Colossians 1:27-28 (TEV)
1 You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. 2 Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory! Colossians 3:1-4 (TEV)
573 When you are with someone, you have to see a soul: a soul who has to be helped, who has to be understood, with whom you have to live in harmony, and who has to be saved.
I’ve seen a number of blogs that would have you believe that a good Christian, is one who never feels depression or grief during Christmas season. Who because they know Christ, because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, there is no longer any darkness that attempts to consume them, no more doubts, no more pains…..no more tears. As if this world is utopia…
Just happiness, and smiles,
It is as if they believe that Christianity is some kind of spiritual anti-depressant, that allows us to balance out, and that the balance is somewhere on the upside of life. Please hear me – there is a great need for psychiatric medicine, and the balance it can provide to life, it is just that Christianity doesn’t work like that….
This week I am living proof of that.
Between planning 6 services this week, writing sermons that were… emotionally challenging, doing a memorial service, and then having two very good friends in the hospital with potentially life threatening issues (both are dong better now) I am emotionally a wreck. I am not “happy” but very challenged emotionally and spiritually. I am still grieving over some significant losses in my life, and the losses and struggles my friends are enduring. Let’s add into it some physical back pain.
There is a lot of grief, a lot of weariness, a lot of “why God?!!!? (matter of fact, one of my sermons had that name as well!)
Reading someone’s words that say that all good Christians are full of cheer and joy and don’t struggle? Part of me wants to laugh at the silliness/ignorance of such a statement, part of me wants to take the writer through a few hospital wards or skilled nursing facilities I know of, to a mortuary or two, or the homes of people whose family members are in harms way in the military. There are many people of great faith who are suffering, bravely suffering, but are wearing down.
So where does Christianity, where does being a Christian help in such times, if not to provide a lift of emotions, or at least the illusion of such a lift?
It is better than that…. it allows for honesty, and therefore allows for hope.
As you read through the scriptures, there are people with real problems, real trauma, real issues. Some things are external, some are internal like the ravage that sin can do to a soul.
God doesn’t cut them off… he doesn’t tell them to get their act straight. He doesn’t give them some placebo of hope.
He comes and makes His home among us. He dwells with us, in us. He helps us to embrace Him so that we can embrace the hard times with Him. No longer alone, those traumas are one’s we don’t have to hide. We know that we are with Him, and that there is a future.. because He dwells with us, we dwell with Him.
That doesn’t change the situation, but the scars… are that. They hurt badly, they sting, but even so… there is healing on the way….
He is with us,,,,
He is comforting us….
He is providing us peace… even in the midst of the depressing times, in the midst of grief and anxiety and pain….for we dwell in Him.
That is what
This is God, with us…
If you aren’t the one struggling, look around, there are people that are, souls weary and tired, laden with anxiety and fear, and grief….. you can’t change their situation, but you can be there with them… and remind them Christ is present with both of you. That is Christianity as Paul describes it:
12 Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. 13 Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. 14 Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. 16 Have the same concern for everyone. Romans 12:12-16a (TEV)
Know He walks with you… and therefore would meet all you encounter… and share His love with them as well.
Godspeed!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2134-2136). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
What we need to know… to survive the Monday’s of life….
Devotional Thought of the Day:
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you. 26 I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. 27 I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from everything that defiles you.. Ezekiel 36:25-29a (TEV)
12 My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you. 13 The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them. 14 And you are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name. 17 This, then, is what I command you: love one another. John 15:12-17 (TEV)
2 God is my Father! If you meditate on it, you will never let go of this consoling consideration. Jesus is my intimate Friend (another rediscovery) who loves me with all the divine madness of his Heart. The Holy Spirit is my Consoler, who guides my every step along the road. Consider this often: you are God’s… and God is yours.
This morning as I was working out, I hit a wall. I thought I was done, at 12 minutes into my final treadmill session i knew I couldn’t go on any longer. I looked for an excuse to quit. I looked for a reason to end my suffering. I didn’t want to endure. A little more than 20 seconds later, the wall was there imposing, I needed to quit.
I heard in the back of my head my high school P.E. teacher’s rasping voice crying out LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. Like back then, it made me want to quit even more.
Just like Mondays, and all the other days in life that seem like Mondays.
You know the feeling, like when you are in a meeting that is going on forever, as all the same issues keep frustrating things keep being rehashed. as you do your bills, and wonder about the day when there will be money left over. It’s when the long awaited rain shuts down roads you need to use to get to work. It’s when all that was good and precious that you experienced in worship yesterday become a faded memory, choked out by the world….
It’s monday.
Or it might as well be.
There is only one hope on Monday, there is only one thing that will kill off the drama, the anxiety, the lows that we face.
It’s to realize that we, you and I, are the people God loves. the people that He claimed. That the Trinity in all of Their glory has called you to live life in their glory. They didn’t insist that you come to Them, they’ve come to us!
Look at the promise in the reading from Ezekiel – the promise of Baptism! Look at how God takes care of us, from eliminating the sin in our lives, to setting up shop in our lives, creating something quite incredible!
Look at the words of Jesus. I know there is much criticism of those that treat Jesus as their brother, as if that meant all we did was “play” with Him. But there is something far different in knowing Christ is our brother than that (check out yesterday’s sermon for one)
Look at the words of Josemaria, these blessed words which encourage us to really think through what it means for God to be our Father, Jesus our brother/friend, and the Holy Spirit to be our very needed comforter!
This is what the Christian religion is about. It is how we get through life, even as we despise its shame, we look for the joy of walking with God, and one day, seeing Him face to face. it’s how we get passed minute 12 in our journey, how the wall that we hit, exhausted and weary, is destroyed. we find His strength, and He comes to us and helps us get to realize that though there are “Mondays” that even those Monday’s become our Sabbath, our day of rest.
For we are God’s people…..
and that trumps any Monday.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 237-242). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Healthy Do Not NEED to Pray, the Broken Do…..
Devotional Thought of the Day:
15 For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, “Father! my Father!” 16 God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children….. 26 In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. 27 And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will. Romans 8:15-16, 26 (TEV)
“The Cry to God as Father in the New Testament is not a calm acknowledgment of a universal truth about God’s abstract fatherhood. It is the child’s cry out of a nightmare. It is the cry of outrage, fear, the shrinking away when faced with the horror of the world. Yet not simply or exclusively protest, but trust as well.” ( From Celtic Daily Prayer, meditations Day 3)
He responded generously to Christ’s invitation to “take up his cross each day.” Escrivá’s aspiration, “In laetitia, nulla dies sine cruce” (In joy, no day without the cross) was a reality in his life.
In the last couple of days, i have had people marvel at the medical story of my life. For readers that don’t know, I grew up knowing I live with a genetic time bomb. Most died from it back then, without knowing they had it. Marphans turned you into a timebomb. All of a sudden one day, their aorta disconnects from their heart, ti either tears or blows off, and they are dead. Because they knew of it, and when the surgeries developed, I have had defibrillators put in , and replaced. I’ve had two artificial valves put in, and my aorta has a sheath around it.
So I tick. Which on Sunday led to people listening to the tick and saying “Crazy” (over and over – each one entering a room was made to listen to me – and that was each person’s response)
Last night, at a banquet for a crisis pregnancy center, several of the women wanted to touch my hand, because they considered me a walking miracle.
I’ve considered y situation over the years, more akin to a walking nightmare. I’ve had many a night where I couldn’t sleep, and others where I ranted at God like a wolf baying at the boon. I’ve dealt with every emotion common to man. There was a break for a few years, then my son was born, to whom I passed on this struggle. The pains and heart came back again, worse than ever, as I see my son examined every year.
If there is any depth to my prayer life, if there is any strength I have in facing these trials, it is because of the effect of prayer. Not the recitation of prayers that were written for sharing on Sunday morning together. Not the pious prayers of daily devotions. But the prayers that arise out of my brokenness, out of my despair, out of my frustration with God, and with the complications of life.
No, the depth of prayer comes from those cries, begging for God to help us in this life of nightmares. It may start like jeremiah, with a cry of anger, of protest, of WHY GOD!!! But that cry in all of its honesty, in all of its broken and barrenness is where we find the truth of Romans above. That God is at work, that the Holy SPirit is comforting us, and conforming or translating our prayers, even with groanings that go beyond our ability to bring to our mind, to release from our hearts.
It is in those times when peace goes beyond our expectation. When love fills our soul, when we know God is with us, caring for us.
I hate those dark days of the past, and I know some are coming in the future. My body is broken, patched together and bionic, my soul suffers with it at times. But I wouldn’t trade the one’s in the past for anything, for the result is, as described in the third quote – joy, and peace. I will try to embrace the one’s in the future – with that hope, with that expectation.
For we know the heart of God, and He will sustain us.
Lord, have mercy!
Coverdale, John F. (2014-07-09). Saxum: The Life of Alvaro del Portillo (Kindle Locations 2110-2112). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
How Tied Are We to this Life?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
21 For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more. 22 But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose. 23 I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing; 24 but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive. 25 I am sure of this, and so I know that I will stay. I will stay on with you all, to add to your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that when I am with you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of me in your life in union with Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:21-26 (TEV)
11 They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die. Revelation 12:11 (TEV)
881 Non habemus hic manentem civitatem—our definitive home is not to be found on this earth. And so that we don’t forget it, at the hour of death this truth appears crudely at times, in lack of understanding, say, or in persecution or in being despised. But there is always a sense of loneliness, for even though we may be surrounded by affection, every person dies alone. Now is the time to untie all the bonds that bind us! Let us prepare ourselves at all times for that step which will bring us into the eternal presence of the Most Holy Trinity. (1)
In two weeks, we start a new sermon series here at Concordia.
it’s about our journey to heaven, and the conversations we have, as we travel there, led by Christ, driven by the Holy Spirit.
Today’s readings in my devotional time made me think of the title. “Are we there yet??? And other backseat conversations on the way to Heaven”
Paul is impatient to get home, to be done with the journey. To find what the sabbath, what church, what the sacraments point to it being. To see clearly what we can only get passing glimpses of, but ohhhh.. are those glances incredible. Paul, who had given up so much, now seeks to give up all. As does Josemaria Escriva – reminding us that this isn’t our home, that this isn’t the place to which we are bound, to which we have unbreakable ties. As did the martyrs of Revelation, those who didn’t love life more than the One who they shared with each other.
On one hand, there is a longing to go home and rest in the glory of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. One another, we know the work we can do here, the real wor, makes a difference in the life (both eternal and temporal) of people here. We help them know the peace that comes from knowing where our desitination is in Christ.
And so we work, aware of our own weaknesses, aware of His presence, aware of His love.
Ready to share that with those around us, ready to explain why we have hope in this life and for the next. As we sing in our Memorial Acclimation:
“Christ has died, Christ is Risen! Christ will come again!
We were dead in our sins, now we’re buried with Him, We are Risen with Christ! We are Given new Life! Christ will bring us home, making us His own!
Christ has died, Christ is Risen! Christ will come again!” (2)
So remember as you struggle through this day… this is just the journey home. And keep your eyes our Christ, who began this journey, and will bring it to completion.
AMEN!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3602-3607). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) From the Memorial Acclimation (Chris Gillette Worship Band Liturgy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSOPkjcqfF4
Where’s the Rest of my Story? I Have to Know I Get the Miracle, Don’t I?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
8 It was then that some Babylonians took the opportunity to denounce the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May Your Majesty live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued an order that as soon as the music starts, everyone is to bow down and worship the gold statue, 11 and that anyone who does not bow down and worship it is to be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 There are some Jews whom you put in charge of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who are disobeying Your Majesty’s orders. They do not worship your god or bow down to the statue you set up.” 13 At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered the three men to be brought before him. 14 He said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you refuse to worship my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have set up? 15 Now then, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, oboes, lyres, zithers, harps, and all the other instruments, bow down and worship the statue. If you do not, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Do you think there is any god who can save you?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, “Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. 17 If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. 18 But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.” Daniel 3:8-18 (TEV)
872 To help you keep your peace during those times of hard and unjust contradictions I used to say to you: “If they break our skulls, we shall not take it too seriously. We shall just have to put up with having them broken.” (1)
In my devotional this morning, the Old Testament reading was exactly what you see above.
My first reaction was, why stop it here?
Why not give us the rest of the story. (spoiler alert?) Why not just let us read on, to the glory, to the miracle of the 4th man? To the repentance of the community in its sins, not just to God, but to me!
I want the rest of the story! And I want it….. now!
I looked ahead – I don’t get the rest of the story tomorrow! What is up with that?
What is up with that is the words of faith that the three men said. They were sure of their trust in God enough to embrace the fact that the story might not end with a miracle, and somehow, they are okay with that. Somehow, knowing that God is at work is enough, being sure He will keep His promises is enough.
Many martyrs die without receiving what we would want, their release back into the world. Their freedom from those who would oppress, torture, and eventually kill them.
And they were able to endure, knowing something that their captors did not.
That God, by his very cHesed nature,the depth and height, the breadth and width of His love, is worthy of the trust that the three men showed. Even if He didn’t rescue them, even if they didn’t get the miracle they expected. They knew His love.
May we, as we think through the work of God accomplished in our Baptism, as we meditate on the Body and Blood of Christ, as we hear with absolute delight that our sins are forgiven, that all is made right, know God enough to trust Him, even if we don’t get the miracle we want……
For we have the one we need. The Cross. (see Romans 6:3-8)
He is our God.
AMEN.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3565-3567). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
A Work of Love to Important to Leave to a Few…
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
1 Imitate me, then, just as I imitate Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (TEV)
27 God’s plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. 29 To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me. Colossians 1:27-29 (TEV)
Before Christ and my own conscience I assure you that I am speaking the plain truth when I say that there is something that makes me feel very depressed, like a pain that never leaves me. It is the condition of my brothers and fellow-Israelites, and I have actually reached the pitch of wishing myself cut off from Christ if it meant that they could be won for God. Romans 9:1 (Phillips NT)
622 Do you realise how much depends on whether you are soundly prepared or not? Many, many souls! And now will you cease to study or work with perfection? (1)
There is a attitude in the church today, that needs to be confronted, that needs to be corrected. It is the idea that our lives are our own, that we have no obligation to work in the Kingdom of God. We have no obligation to tell people about God’s love, to either them, or to God.
We’d love to leave that to pastors (and pastors leave it to missionaries!) or to the religious fanatics. We don’t want the obligation and the obligations that come when those people we share God’s love with need to be loved…. by us. Or the obligation to know God’s word beyond the basic “believe and your will be baptized” type promises, the ones assure us that we aren’t going to hell The obligation of even praying for people is more than most of us are willing to take seriously.
how do we feel when we read Paul’s despair over the people of Israel? Is such love a foreign thing to us?
His is not the only love like this – look at Moses making a similar offer to God. What about Abraham, so worried about Sodom and Gommorah that he would bargain with God, over and over. These weren’t the best people these men of God tried to save, it was rebellious sinful people. The same kind of people around us. Will we hear their cries? Will we know their pain?
The problem is this idea that satan convinced the church of, that sharing our faith is an obligation, that it is commanded and we must do it. We buy into that, because it gives us an out – if it is law – we assume our guilt, claim to repent, and go our merry way, assured we are forgiven.
But sharing our treasured hope is not a matter of law – it is a matter of love. To look at those who suffer under the burden of shame and guilt, who are enslaved to sin, who are broken because of it. Who try to find their peace in bottles or drugs or anything that will numb the pain, that will allow them to ignore it, or set it aside. To look on these people is to see the need they have, that we know can be met, that can bring about healing and holiness.
It is a matter of loving them, and remembering when we realized what forgiveness is, what the promises of our baptism brings, what it means to know that God looks at us as His children, whom He chose to adopt.
We look those who don’t know Him, whom Jesus endured the shame of the cross to save… and we know we are called ot love them…..to be the ones who point them to life, to rest, to walking with God. Can we picture them, as the burdens are lifted, as the sins are removed, as the joy fills their hearts?
Lord, you’ve made us your children, help us to be patient, and desire that non perish…..and help us to embrace any sacrifice that will help us lead others into Your family. AMEN!.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2629-2631). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
