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Encouragement for those who wonder “if it is worth it”
Devotional thought of the Day:
1 I urge you, Timothy, as we live in the sight of God and of Christ Jesus (whose coming in power will judge the living and the dead), to preach the Word of God. Never lose your sense of urgency, in season or out of season. Prove, correct, and encourage, using the utmost patience in your teaching. 2 Timothy 4:1 (Phillips NT)
110 Rest assured: when you work for God, there are no difficulties that cannot be overcome, nor discouragements that will make you abandon the task, nor failures worthy of the name, however unfruitful the results may seem. (1)
There are times life seems to difficult, the challenges to overwhelming, making progress seems impossible, and even maintaining where we are at, doubtful.
This is especially true for those who walk with God, who look at the world that Jesus sends us to bring the message of His love to, even as the Father sent Jesus.
We hear stories, like that of the lady in Britain who will have an abortion, so that she can appear on a reality television show. ( She’s publicized it, which will put the reality show in a tough spot – will they re-issue the invite? It will gain them publicity – but…)
But I don’t even have to go that far to see the challenges faced in this world. The couple that gets married, but brings too much baggage from prior relationships, the person who is dealing with so much resentment in one relationship that it poisons other relationships, the pastor who is challenged by not seeing any changes in his people., that they haven’t grow in the two, or ten, or twenty years, Is there a point where we should give up? Where we stop giving them the answers that point them to Jesus Christ? Is there a point where we come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worth the sacrifice anymore?
Or do we turn to “life coaches”, new programs, spend great deals of money trying to find a way to have measurable success? There are enough programs out there, enough guru’s and experts and consultants, to last a lifetime.
Or do we stick to our guns, keep things just the way they are, taking great pride in our stubbornness, even in the face of defeat. After all, one can serve faithfully even if it makes us miserable, the point is being faithful, right?
Faithfulness on our end is not about giving up, or finding the miracle program/person, or even sticking to our idea of being faithful. It is about having faith, trusting that God has told us to go, but that there will be seasons of life, and seasons of ministry that are barren like winter, some are like the rapid growth of spring, others like the dog days of summer, and others where the beauty of fall shows the glory of God, and the value of being patient. In each of those seasons, our work is to point to Jesus, to His love, to correct those that are veering away from it,
We should evaluate our messages, our work, how we prove and correct and encourage others to look to Jesus. To trust in Him, not in us or to a style of ministry or worship. But all that work has to be done with patience, knowing that in each of us, there is the struggle of sinners and saints. That is our key, patience that is born in our faith in God, in our confidence that He is reigning, that He is in charge.
It’s hard, very hard. We are like the rest of the world, we want to do what we want. But when we trust in God, when we know we can focus on Him, we begin to see those promises revealed in our midst. Luther, a man who struggled through many dry seasons, and many were life seemed forgotten said it well, as he wrote about the Lord’s prayer:
Truly, God’s good and gracious will is accomplished without our prayer. But we pray in this request that is be accomplished among us as well. (2)
His will, will be accomplished. It will, we have that promise. Yet we need to know it is being accomplished here, in our midst, in our presence. (and it helps a lot to see the role we play in this -even if minimal) We have to trust God – and keep focused on Him – even if that simply means praying the Kyrie.
Patience is the same kind of trust we have in the Lord, that He will deliver us, it is the faith that sees God revealing to us His love and mercy…
Struggling? Look to Him. things not working our – Look to Him…
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 661-662). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.
Treasuring God’s Gifts: Valuing our Parents
Treasuring God’s Gifts
Means We Value our Parents and all authorities
(rather than look down on them or provoke them)
Eph. 2:10, Exodus 20:12, Luke 10:25-38
† In Jesus Name †
May you be so overwhelmed by God’s grace and peace that your trust in Him overwhelms you anxieties and doubts, enabling you to know His work in your life.
As I look around the room, it would seem that it has been a while since most of us lived under out parent’s roof. Which is what comes to mind when we talk about the fourth commandment, the idea of honoring your father and mother.
We think that commandment that part of God’s plan is for children and young adults, those who still should be hearing their parent’s directions, and immediately going and obeying.
Take out the trash,
Clean your room!
Be home by 10.
Remember, the Bible says you have to honor your father and mother!
Of course, it is usually the parents reminding their children of this…
And the children always ask in confirmation – “what if they are wrong”, or “what if they want me to do something God knows is wrong….
As we have said throughout this series, this is not about being a robot and obeying the commandments of God. If we treat it that way, it is no wonder that scripture is used as a weapon, and that people react to it in “self-defense”, trying to prove they are not as bad as the next person is.
But when we see this “word” this part of the design that begins with God revealing Himself to be our creator, revealing Himself to be the Lord who delivers us from our slavery to sin and the devil, then it takes on a different understanding.
For we begin to value our parents and all authorities as gifts from God, we realize it is not about them or us, it is about God. Trusting Him at His word becomes more dominant in our life than our frustrations that come when we have to interact with fellow sinners, whose lives and decisions impact our life.
or at least sometimes we think they impact our life negatively.
What does it mean to Honor
Looking a little deeper into this, we need to define “honor”. It means to value, to treasure. That is very different from simply obeying people, or simply submitting to them.
Why would we treasure these people, why would we value them? I mean after all, aren’t they sinners just like us? We know they had bad days, challenges, maybe a temper or a rush to judgment. Maybe their faith seems week, or they didn’t believe at all.
How do we honor them, how can we value them then?
Again, valuing them is not based in their value as we perceive it, but in the value of God, and in trusting in His word, especially promises like Romans 8, that all things work out for good for those who love God. Or Jeremiah’s words about God having a plan for our lives, or of course our epistle for this season of lent….
That God is making our lives a masterpiece.
It’s a matter of trusting in Him. About knowing His love, about realizing the power of the gospel in your life,
The Extension
I mention before that from the responsibility of the parents, Luther extends out that responsibility to others. People who have callings like teachers, doctors, police officers, and even government. These people take a portion of the role of the parent, and we entrust people to their care.
This where faith is seems to be a challenge! How can we trust God in this! Their sins are usually much more public, and we have to wonder about their judgment, their care for our sake, their trustworthiness, how can we honor and value them?
We have to keep re-focusing, to know it is not about our trust in men, but our trust in God. Whether we are the three men thrown into the furnace, and were kept safe, or the one who uttered, 56 “Look!” he said. “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” Acts 7:56 (TEV)
Those words come a short time before the rocks were piled on him, as Stephen asked God to forgive those who were tossing them. That takes trusting in God, and knowing His promises.
But that is where is all keeps coming back to, this God who reveals Himself as our God, as our deliverer, as our provider, as our protector.
Who throughout scripture, is always faithful, who always hears His people call, A God who desires all to be saved. A God who delivers His people from oppression, who calls us His children, His people.
Who invites sinners to gather in His presence, that He can pronounce them clean, and welcome and give them faith and repentance, and transform them>>
As we trust in Him, as we realize the power of the death and resurrection of Christ, as we dwell in their presence… more and more… we know this…
The Lord is with you…
Therefore we dwell in His peace, in His glory, in something more incredible that we can conceive of, and know that we are guarded in this peace, our hearts and minds, by Jesus.
AMEN?
Faithfulness, Sex and our Relationship with God
Treasuring God’s Gifts
Means We Value Deep
Relationships, especially Marriage
Ex. 20:14, Eph 2:10. 5:27, Luke 10:25-28
In Jesus Name!
May you know well God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who brings mercy, love nad peace into your life!
Really – This Commandment is a Topic WE need to cover?
When I started to write out the topics of this series of sermons, when I came to the 6th commandment, my first reaction is that this would be a fine sermon to hear Chris preach on, or perhaps Vicar Mark, or Vicar Albert.
Simply because talking about Adultery means touching on the subject of the three letter word that begins with S and ends with X.
For me, it is one of those topics I would rather not talk about, it is too personal, too intimate, and like many guys, I’d rather talk about anything else, especially in a group with both men and women in it.
Heck, it is a topic I don’t want to talk about with a group of women or a group of men.
But I think my reticence about discussing the topic gives me a hint towards why this commandment, about reserving that level of intimacy, both physical and psychological/spiritual aspects of the relationship, is worth a commandment.
It is because it is so intimate to a relationship, that God treasures it.
And therefore to diminish it, diminishes something God gave us to treasure…..
Because it teaches something about our life, about our relationship with God…..
Let me explain that some..
Why is this so important to God?
While no one will doubt the physical aspects the relationship between a man and a woman, those acts are by no means just physical.
There is a spiritual/psychological aspect to them, something that uses that word that sends shivers down most men’s spines….there is something ….
“Intimate”
Something that takes all of our walls down, that leaves us and our spouse as one, relating to each other, caring for each other.
It is that level of emotional and spiritual intimacy that God desires us to have with Him. That’s why we heard Ephesians 5 tonight as well as chapter 2. That is why the Old Testament Books of Song of Solomon and Hosea talk of marital faithfulness and love as an example of God’s relationship with His people, and even the unfaithfulness of Hosea’s wife, as an example of Israel’s actions towards God.
A bitter betrayal, the deepest betrayal.
A depth of pain that goes beyond our ability to cope with…..
Yet a level of pain God has endured, as again and again He has picked Israel up from her wandering into idolatry…..
It’s hard to imagine God hurting as the couples I’ve had in my office have hurt. It’s hard to realize that you or I could hurt the Creator of the universe, that a congregation, that a people could so devastate God by betraying His love.
But we can… and we do…..
We fail to love Him with our entire heart, our soul, our mind, when we trust in our idols the way we are supposed to trust Him. Even when the idol we trust in is ourselves. When what we are proudest of, what we are in awe of, isn’t the God who created us, who created this planet.
If how we love our neighbor reveals how we love God, as the apostle John writes in 1 John, how much more does how we treasure our spouse, our faithfulness tell us about our relationship with God?
A Relationship to Cherish, to Guard, to Teach
Hear again Paul’s words from Ephesians 5…
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
If what we’ve been working through, that these 10 commandments actually are the Old Testament Beatitudes, the masterpiece of God that is how we, rescued from Satan are to live, then Jesus’s work to render us a “the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or blemish, makes incredible sense.
It is what Hosea did for his wife, the very model of it. Even though her sins, like ours, are scarlet red. It is the depth of Christ’s desire for a relationship with us, the emotional intimacy, the being unified as one. Not sexually, but in ways that are just as deep.
He is faithful, even when we struggle. Even when we take the great blessing He has given us, this great example of marriage, that God considers it the model of our special relationship with Him, and we see it trashed around us, and sometimes, in thought or word and deed, we trash it ourselves. Or don’t speak up when we see it cheapened, and mocked.
God’s faithfulness extends even then, calling us back to our relationship with Him, healing us, restoring us, and yes, He can and has even restored the relationships, He can recreate us, revealing His masterpiece that is creating by uniting us to Jesus.
But it is there, where healing happens, where God ministers to us, Father, Son and Spirit. It is there were marriages find their healing as well, and the example of faithfulness and yeah – intimacy. It is there, in that relationship, that all relationships can find the peace that passes all understanding, that peace in which we find ourselves guarded and treasured by Jesus.
AMEN?
Is There a Time to Be Numb?
The church seems to be always threatened and challenged by storms…yet… He is here.. and He is its Fortress and rest
Devotional Thought of the Day:
1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 (NLT)
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NLT)
829 The thought of what has happened to you burns within you. Christ came to you when you were only a miserable leper! Until then, you had developed only one good quality, a generous concern for others. After that encounter you were given the grace to see Jesus in them, you fell in love with him, and now you love him in them… (1)
I sit here in my office, wondering how I will finish my sermon tomorrow.
It doesn’t help that the above passage from Ecclesiastes ran through my heart over and over in the early hours of this day.
It doesn’t help that yesterday I ended up grieving three different times, as I interacted with two friends who are suffering, and then wasn’t really able to interact with another close friend, whose husband, a pastor who has sacrificed much, passed away suddenly.
There is time, a season for everything, and it seems I’ve been in the midst of a season of trauma since September.
It’s to the point where I wonder if there are any more tears, even as they flow. It’s where I hesitate with phone calls, relaxing when I see it’s my pharmacy that is telling me my refills are ready.
I wonder to myself, if there is a time to simply be numb……to be so drained that there is nothing left, just a soul that seems empty….
Then I look at the clock and realize, I’ve a sermon for which I have to compose the final manuscript, a congregational meeting to prepare for, a son who waits for me to take him to see Hobbit II in 3d in just 5 and a half hours…Time to kick into high gear…. even as the engine seems to cough and sputter.
Keith Green’s “my Eyes are Dry” comes on my rhapsody player… perfect song for a day like this….
What can be done for old heart like mine…. soften it up with oil and wine, the oil is You! Your Spirit of Love, please wash me anew, in the wine of your Blood.
It’s what I need to hear, this song will get a lot of play today. For there is nothing I can do, to find the strength I need today. It’s going to have to be Him, if it is to be anything at all, if there is to be letter on the screen, if there are going to be words to hear tomorrow… He will have to be the strength I don’t have, for the trauma isn’t being removed. The pain I’ve witnesses will be in places tomorrow, even distant places. How to speak to it? How to show them the journey of History, of Abraham, of Jesus, is about God being here, in these times of numbness, or trauma.
For if I am numb, then He can minister to me, a sort of enforced rest, a time to just let God be God. To slowly arise out of it in awe. To realize the depth of His love, His care for these friends of mine is far more than I can have – but He shall surely show it. And Jesus shall indeed comfort my friends, my dear friends. As He will me. Whether Keith realizes it or not, that last line, the wine of His Blood will have so much to do with it. As we receive His Body and Blood, as we realize once again that we are united with His death, and His resurrection, as we remember the height of His love, and its breadth and width, and that its depth can reach us.
And once again, I realize I don’t have to play God… that He dwells in these friends of mine, and that God will be there for them. Even as He ministers through all of us, in our weakness….
The odd thing is that as I realize this, the numbness begins to recede… it’s time to work….
But may I never forget He is God… and I am not…and that its His work…not mine.
(oh and here is Keith Green’s song – if you aren’t familiar with him, He passed away when I was in high school – but his music still nails me to the cross…. which is good!)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3408-3412). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Advent Devotion: Convenient, Comfortable Christianity? Hmmm…
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) – The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional Thought of the Day:
But when the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth? Luke 18:8b (NJB)
57 As they travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 58 Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’ 59 Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me,’ replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ 60 But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ 61 Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at home.’ 62 Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’Luke 9:57-62 (NJB)
650 When will you realise that your only possible way is to seek sanctity seriously. Make up your mind—don’t be offended—to take God seriously. That levity of yours, if you do not fight against it, could end up by becoming a sad and blasphemous mockery. (1)
Yesterday we began Advent, that time of year where we build expectation of Christ’s return, as we consider life prior to the Incarnation.
It is hard to look back, without considering the voices of the prophets, and their call on the people of God to take their relationship with God seriously. Their reminders that we have a relationship with God who has made it possible, and that we should neglect that relationship.
Yet too often we do.
Advent seeks to shake us from that – to prepare us for Christ’s coming – not just the 6 lbs 8 oz Baby Lord Jesus, lieing in a smelly feeding trough, but the returning Lord who gave it all, for us.
It’s a startling image in this day where peopel are put out if they are asked to pay more in taxes, or meet the expecations others place on their time and their lives. We want to be served instantly, we want it our way, we want things to be convenient, and comfortable, with no sacrifice and no cost.
We hear that salvation is free, that God paid all the cost for our sins, with Christ dieing on the cross, and we rejoice. We focus on that part of the message of God. We love it, rejoice in it, willing share that part with others.
But we don’t want the inconvenience of being in a relationship with God. It might be uncomfortable, He might ask us to sacrifice something, to downscale our lives in order to help others. He might ask us to spend time with Him, and with those people at church that aren’t like us. He may ask some of us even to suffer for the faith, and how many of us are really willing to do that?
SO the prophetic question is asked – do you trust God? Are you willing to trust Him, even if it seems to mean some personal cost? What if it means giving up a personal dream, or embracing discomfort? What if it means being alienated from family? What if it means our friends turn their back on us, because we won’t be there when they want us to be, because of our commitments to serve others, especially those others they might consider “less deserving”? Will you trust God, when it costs you a little of what it cost Jesus, the shame He embraced on the cross? Are you willing to trust Him enough that you would embrace suffering, if it meant one more person would know Christ?
Remember why – it was for the joy awaiting Him, the joy of sharing His glory with you! The joy of bringing you into the glory and love that is shared between this Triune God we worship.
Is your trust in Him, your love for Him enough to embrace a inconvenient, uncomfortable messy way of life?
Look beyond the manger, and the shining stars and “cute” depictions of the birth of Christ. Look at the rejections He endured, Look at the cross He bore, and the investment He’s made, promising you the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. KNow His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, His love and mercy….
and embrace a life of faith and trust…. knowing that no other life is worth living.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2728-2731). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- You Must Be Ready…but How? (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Sacraments and Sacramentals: Advent (simonebrosig.wordpress.com)
- How to Build the Church (justifiedandsinner.com)
- “We’ll get together then, God. You know we’ll have a good time then! (justifiedandsinner.com)
Augustine, St. Francis, Martin Luther, John Wesley walk into a bar…
English: OFM General Curia : Francis of Assisi and Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
DEvotional thought of the Day:
33 Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God’s saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.‘Matthew 6:33-34 (NJB)
537 You take everything so lightly that I am reminded of the old story. The cry went up: “There is a lion coming!” And the naturalist answered: “Why tell me? I catch butterflies.” (1)
A few days ago, I asked what the four shepherds of God I named above and the reader would talk about, were they found together.
An atheirst and pastors were the first to respond, A joke about them calling Francis A sissi, a quesiton about why two of them would be there, a couple other comments, no one taking the matter all that seriously. Until the final comment – that these incredible men would talk about God, and His gifts of mercy and love and peace.
I thought of it again, coming across the quote from St Josemaria this morning. We as people will think about everything but the Kingdom of God. We will be anxious over the state of our nation, ticked off at the government, worried about our health, we’ll struggle over finances, we will concern ourselves about the morality of others, but how often does our heart find itself in awe of God’s presence. How often do we contemplate the depth of His love? How often are we willing to place ourselves comepltely in His care, and then live a life that imitates those as they imitated Christ Jesus?
How often are we willing to see God at the center of our lives? Or are we unwilling to give up that throne?
As I tweeted this mornign, “We trust God with the infinite eternity, but will we trust Him with the finite now?”
Our Faith must not be confused with our faithfulness, for if we depend on our being faithful, we’ve made ourselves into idols. Faith is trusting in His faithfulness, to lean upon His goodness, to strive to find rest in Him, to prayt hat the Holy Spirit would help us to do so. For we don’t enter His presence by our faithfulness, He draws us there… and there we learn to trust Him. .. more and more. To be in awe that HE would love us, that He would be merciful.
So pray that I, and that you, would relaize where we dwell more often, that we would be open to God revealing to us His grace, That we would learn to be as excited as children on Christmas, as we contemplate His grace, both for what it means eternally, and what it means today.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2325-2326). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edi
Related articles
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- Will God hear even me today, in this mood I am in? (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Will you let them see you…. (justifiedandsinner.com)
Prayer – the act of deep trust…
English: Lords Prayer in Aramaic(Syriac) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional Thought of the Day:
16 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with! James 5:16 (MSG)
“In te, Domine, speravi—“In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped.” And together with human means I prayed and took my cross. And my hope was not in vain, nor will it ever be. Non confundar in aeternum—“Let me never be confounded.”
You don’t know what to say to our Lord in prayer. Nothing comes to you and yet you would like to ask his advice about many things. Look: take some notes during the day of the things you want to think about in the presence of God. And then go with those notes to pray.” (1)
In Bible Study this morning, we were looking at the 11th chapter of Hebrews, and the first fourteen verses. As we talked though Abel and Enoch, Noah and Abraham and Sarah, we saw something very inspiring.
We saw the trust they had, not in the promises, but in the God who they knew existed, and knew was with them, that they could seek Him out. More than that – since we know the stories, we had the assurance that sin didn’t separate them from God. They were given hope – not just for the moement, but the hope that comes from a life of walking with God, the hope that is assured by love, and is never in vain. The more we talked, the more the concept solidifed that though they couldn’t know all the details of what awaited them, the knew God clearly, trusted in Him, spent time with Him.
But what do we pray about? How do we have a conversation about life with the God who created the stars?
Well my first question is, “what do you need to trust God in/for/with?” Write them down as St. Josemaria suggests ( you could tweet them to Him?!) or text/fb message them to yourself for later review. Lots of technology things out there – but then, set the time apart for them. Think through them, ask God for guidance, to be the active partner that He has promised to be in your life. (Managing Partner actually) All through the day – keep reminders of what you need to discuss with God, sure the traumas and problems, but also the things you need to voice you admiration and adoration of His creativity, of His sense of beauty, of His ability to bring healing and peace.
And trust Him, deeply, even more deeply than you trust yourself.
Godspeed
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 377-383). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
I Have Decided, to Follow Jesus! (Controversy? Not so much…)
Follow Me (Photo credit: Fr. Stephen, MSC)
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day…
14 “So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:14-15 (NLT)
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. Revelation 3:15-21 (NLT)
I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own intellegence or power. But the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true faith. In this Church, He generously forgives each day every sin committed by me and by every believer. On the last day, He will raise me and all the dead from the grave. He will give eternal life to me and to all who believe in Christ. Yes, this is true! (1)
When God our Lord gives us his grace, when he calls us by a specific vocation, it is as if he were stretching out his hand to us, in a fatherly way. A strong hand, full of love, because he seeks us out individually, as his own sons and daughters, knowing our weakness. The Lord expects us to make the effort to take his hand, his helping hand. He asks us to make an effort and show we are free. To be able to do this, we must be humble and realize we are little children of God. We must love the blessed obedience with which we respond to God’s marvelous fatherhood. We should let our Lord get involved in our lives, admitting him confidently, removing from his way any obstacles or complications. We tend to be on the defensive, to be attached to our selfishness. We always want to be top dog, even if it’s only to be on top of our wretchedness. That is why we must go to Jesus, so that he will make us truly free. Only then will we be able to serve God and all men. This is the only way to realize the truth of Saint Paul’s words: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (2)
There are going to be some friends of mine who are going to strongly react to the title of this blog entry. They are going to wonder if I have returned to my days of teaching “decision theology”, or somehow have abandoned the Lutheran Confessions, or don’t believe they are an accurate explanation of scripture. (the third quote is from Luther’s small catechism and I agree with it without any reservation)
However, deciding to follow Jesus is different that deciding I want to be saved by Him. It is not the action of initial salvation, but a response to His invitation to take up our cross and follow Him, to interact with Him, to humbly partner with Him, as He leads us through life as a man leads his partner across the dance floor. It is what we are called to – as disciples, as friends, as working beside the greatest example of humility and servanthood.
But we rebel against this idea – much as St. Josemaria indicates, we are defensive – and we can even use our theology to “back” that selfishness, to defend our “precious” (see Tolkein’s Hobbit and LOTR charachter Gollum) Indeed, the only freedom from the idols we would partner with instead of God, is found when we let God strip them from us, as we instead are focused on Him, devoted to Him, (again – these things are His work – not ours) drawn to Him. That’s what following Jesus is about – letting Him lead in life, letting Him cleanse us and set us apart to walk with, to dance with, Him.
Joshua challenge us to this – if you aren’t going to interact, if you aren’t going to engage in the relationship, go follow other gods and see where they lead you. John is directed to write in Revelation – open the door – don’t be wishy-washy. Live life as one united to Christ in baptism. IOW – Let God direct your steps – and engaged in worship – you then will follow Him, even as the lady moves with her strong dance partner.
So decide today – my fellows Christians, those who claim to trust in Christ, to follow where He leads you…. even, especially when you can’t see where you are going – for then you are looking at the right place – at Him!
We cry out, “Lord, Have Mercy!” But will we see and hear…that He has?
(1) Luther’s Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.
(2) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). Christ is Passing By (Kindle Locations 745-756). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
It’s not “what” you are called to do…
Devotional/discussion thought of the day….
One of my favorite spiritual books – which we soon be re-opened – was written not by a famous pastor or priest – or by a saint, or by a powerful bishop or pope, but by a baker in a monastery. It tells of finding service to God in serving where one is put…. and that it is more important to serve well, than where one serves. (that is but one of the lessons) I know some people like that.
I know a lady who has volunteered at her church for 30 years – maybe 40. She is presently working in the sanctuary, filling the oil candles. Other times, she sits in the office, waiting for the phone to ring, or cutting out things for the pre-school teachers, or talking to those who drop by the office, lifting their spirits. She would turn bright red if she knew I was writing this blog about her and others. But if the church she serves runs smoothly – if we get things done – if things are in order… it is because of her service.
I know as well a number of teachers – but this morning I think of five – who are quite gifted – incredibly so. When their school closed, one stayed and has done a marvelous job with the preschool there, another went to another preschool and teaches the littlest – caring for them with incredible grace., two others are back teaching in elementary schools – teaching those who’ve others have given up on – the most challenging of kids to teach… and one serves the church as a office manager. What amazes me is that all of them are incredibly qualified and gifted – and yet they choose to serve where they do. All have chosen to serve those… who others would not, dare not. They do it – because God has placed them there – and though they may struggle with it – they serve those around them.
One of my favorite writes said this,
In God’s service there are no unimportant posts: all are of great importance. The importance of the post depends on the spiritual level reached by the person filling it. (1)
Luther – another of my favorite authors comments similarly
Now you tell me, when a father goes ahead and washes diapers or performs some other mean task for his child, and someone ridicules him as an effeminate fool—though that father is acting in the spirit just described and in Christian faith—my dear fellow you tell me, which of the two is most keenly ridiculing the other? God, with all his angels and creatures, is smiling—not because that father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith. Those who sneer at him and see only the task but not the faith are ridiculing God with all his creatures, as the biggest fool on earth. Indeed, they are only ridiculing themselves; with all their cleverness they are nothing but devil’s fools. (2)
It is not what we do – as the six ladies above demonstrate – it is that we do it in faith, trusting God to use what we do, trusting Him to turn our simple works into something which blesses those around us.
As I go to write my final manuscript this morning, as I find myself distracted by a number of things – this too comes out – I have to depend on the Lord who put me here – I have to go to Him first, I have to see His work, in those around me, and find the assurance that He will work through my hands, through my voice as well.
For that is what makes the difference. Many won’t recognize the work and devotion others have… yet without their work…without their example to me…without seeing what God does in their life…and with their selfless work… my serving would be weakened.
Thank God for those who serve around you – especially those whose work is not easily seen.
And as you consider the effect of their work, of God’s work through them, may you find yourself being used where you are at as well!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2285-2287). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Luther, M. (1999). Vol. 45: Luther’s works, vol. 45 : The Christian in Society II (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.) (40–41). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
Focus, and Completing the Task
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)
18 All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (TEV)
Nearly fifteen years ago, I lay on a table in a hospital, as an angiogram was being done by my cardiologist. Above the table were a number of television monitors, all black and white, and the showed the progress of the camera as it was inserted into my thigh, and was run my leg into my heart. A bit disconcerting — and yet fascinating.
What was even mroe fascinating was the focus of Dr. Silver. His focus as he guided the devise was not on me, but on the cameras, his attention completed devoted and dedicated to task at hand, but yet, not on the work of his hands. It was on the monitors- as they showed him where he was going – and what he needed to see. It was a bit disconcerting – there he was – moving his hands, working on me.., but almost unaware that I was there.
As I contemplate the end of a very difficult year of ministry, (difficult because of a high level of trauma for the people in my congregation and those around me) and as I am praying this morning, and coming across these verses, I think our “success” as a congregation, and our focus has been much like my cardiologist Stephen’s. For indeed, this small church has grown very strong in its faith.. and people have persevered through things.. that are beyond challenging. For while we are working on things below, while we are struggling with the situations down here, the work requires our focus somewhere else – our focus is to be on Jesus Christ, on the love of God the Father, listening as they reveal the height and width, the depth and breadth of their love for us shown through Christ.
As we interact, as we dance in that love, as God leads us through life, the essential work we do requires that focus, even though our… mind tells us to look at what we are doing, to look at where our hands are moving. There is our challenge, to be in communication with God – to have our focal point on Him.
It is like the words of a priest…written in a book called, “The Forge”
“To think of Christ’s Death means to be invited to face up to our everyday tasks with complete sincerity, and to take the faith that we profess seriously. It has to be an opportunity to go deeper into the depths of God’s Love, so as to be able to show that Love to men with our words and deeds.” (1)
So look deep – deeply focus on the love of God – revealed to you – for you in Christ Jesus. Keep your eyes on Him as you endure each day… for it is then, that you do you best work, even though it seems you are not…focused on what you are doing.
May your next year be filled with His love, His mercy and many blessings. AMEN †
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2141-2144). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
