Year: 2020

Poses No Threat?

This picture seemed immediately to me to be a commentary on the Coronavirus. There are plenty of people griping and complaining about the inconveniences. And plenty of people ignoring requests and recommendations by government officials. Plenty of people wearing thin foil hats and crying out “conspiracy” and doing everything they can to resist whatever is recommended as the safe and reasonable thing to do. I’ve even seen “church people” talking bad about “How some churches are closing their doors!” Or about “The government can’t close our churches, that’s unconstitutional!” And it’s always from the standpoint of “my rights” and “what I want”.

I can tell you that attitude isn’t fruit of the Holy Spirit:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NLT

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬7 NLT

Shouldn’t we ask ourselves before spewing out grumbling and complaining and bitterness where that is all coming from? Is it that our words are in agreement with the Word of God that I posted above that clearly define the spirit of God and the fruit that it produces? Or could it be that — instead of trusting God — we have come into agreement with the Accuser, that enemy of God, and that our grumbling and complaining against others is actually our complaining against God?

It’s a pretty important question — where your attitude, your mood, your perspective, your “spirit” is sourced from. And we should all take the time to ask whether the fountain welling up inside us is fresh, nourishing water that brings life to those around us — or whether it is bitter and poisonous and deadly.

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
James 5:7‭-‬11 NLT

See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:15‭-‬18 NLT

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord , my rock and my redeemer.
Psalms 19:14 NLT

Lord, help us to be mindful of what seed is being sown by our words and whether we are speaking life or speaking death. Help us to not only be willing to suffer for our own eventual gain, because even wicked and greedy investors know how to make a small sacrifice in the short term for a large personal gain later! But Lord, give us a heart that is willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of others. Give us a heart to avoid things and actions and words that might be a hindrance to others. Help us to avoid sinfulness and temptation, not because our own wickedness or righteousness in itself has any bearing on our own salvation/damnation or reward/punishment — but because our example might either lift up or tear down our brothers and sisters. You did not die on the cross for your own gain, because you are God and have need of nothing. You suffered and died for our benefit. Help us to follow in this way, Lord. Amen.

I Say This Because…

As you read the next verse,  expect it to provoke a reaction in your heart and mind:

I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:4 NLT

Did you:

A) Defiantly get offended that something written so long ago by self-righteous hypocrites has anything to say about what is moral or immoral today

B) Proudly think to yourself, “Yeah, THOSE PEOPLE….” and immediately build a list of people in your mind whose sins you know fit this verse

C) Fearfully consider your own sinfulness and imperfections and wonder if your own giving in to temptation is any reflection of your having either fully accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior truly in your heart — or if those things might be evidence that you have said “Christian things” with your mouth but denied Him in your heart and need to repent and turn back to Him

D) Humbly realize your own perfections and shortcomings that you deal with daily,  but confidently and boldly stand on the truth that we must be “Holy as He is holy” and trust God to make this true in every area of our lives by His power, not just by our own efforts

Or maybe you have a different reaction, or even a combination of the above. The first word in each of those choices tells you what perspective those are coming from. Our “perspective”, “mood”, “spirit”, or whatever you would like to call it for the sake of this discussion is going to greatly influence how you “receive” the communication of this verse. And knowing your own state of mind is valuable.

I’m asking you right now to essentially step outside of your privileged biases and circumstances and mood — and to consider what “flavored” your reading of the scripture. Consider how much defiance, or pride,  or fear,  or humility may have played into how you received the message. And if you understand what I’m saying about how that might influence your perspective — can you accept that there are many other perspectives, moods, biases,  or spirits “whispering in your ear” while you read or hear or see something that might influence how you “receive” things from the world around you?

Be honest with yourself.

Are you defiant and quick to be offended by things around you? Quick to either dismiss or attack or grumble about anything that doesn’t fit “your way”?

Do you have high expectations of what other people “should” be or do? Are you critical and judgemental of others?

Does fear have influence on your decisions? Do you face the unknown by making great preparations, stockpiling, and anxiously contemplating what “might” happen and “what dangers lie ahead”?

Do you have a right balance of humility about your own abilities, even while trusting fully ands boldly in God’s promises?

All of us at different times might be in these different places, so don’t consider this a time to retreat in shame because you aren’t where you think I’m telling you that you “should be”. We are where God has us right now for a reason. The question is, are you taking the time to look at yourself “spiritually” to know where you are? If you are in a defiant, proud, fearful, humble, or other place/mood/Spirit/perspective — do you know this and consider this when facing messages that are coming to you through TV, radio, Internet, friends, coworkers, etc.? Can you see how this might “flavor” and bias not only your receipt of the message, but your response/reaction?

So here is our opportunity. I used our reaction to the verse to show us something hopefully deep and introspective about the verse and how we received it. Which in turn showed us something that we might be mindful about in our day to day activities. This can be a helpful exercise to better receive, respond and react wisely. However, this verse is not primarily about YOU.

No, the wisdom and insight that we are touching upon from just a piece of this verse is chock full and overflowing in the Word of God, because it is all central to revealing God and His ways to us. This verse is not about you are me, but is about Him.

The verse is about “God’s marvelous grace”. This message of Jesus Christ has been sent to us all, clear and perfect and beautiful and wise and helpful and full of love. But perspective/mood/spirit can either serve as blinders, as a veil, as a twisted and warped glass through which to receive the message — or healthy eyes and ears and heart to see, hear, and understand. This verse is about His grace being the substantive Truth, the One Way, One Truth, One Life that IS, regardless of the opinions, perspectives, or biases of people.

That Truth of His grace is not malleable into whatever people want to twist it into. It is not a respecter of our personal perspective, mood, or bias. We cannot twist it around to fit us, we are either torn down and rebuilt to confirm to it by falling upon the rock in repentance, or one day that rock will eventually fall upon us. That may sound like a hard or harsh truth if you aren’t ready to hear that, but nonetheless, it is true.

If you consider yourself a Christian, it is important to consider reading the book of Jude, even the whole Bible and consider whether you will let it change you to be more conformed to the image of Christ — or whether you have chosen that this verse IS about you and isn’t about Christ. There are only two characters in this verse — hell bound sinners, and Christ Jesus. May we find Him and His grace while there is still time. Amen.

On Time? Or Too Late?

Two passages caught my eye tonight. One from the old testament and one from the new. And I have marked in bold the verse in each that I found critical to my contemplation tonight:

“Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord . We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country. Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. And you returned and wept before the Lord , but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you.
Deuteronomy 1:41‭-‬45 ESV

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
Mark 11:12‭-‬14 ESV

In the passage in Deuteronomy, we see that even though they “wept before the Lord” that the Lord didn’t listen. And we see that when the Lord found the fig tree with no figs that He cursed it.

These two passages immediately bring to mind the passage in Hebrews 12 about Esau:

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Hebrews 12:14‭-‬17 ESV

And this passage from Isaiah:

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6 NLT

What a fearful thought, to be “too late” — to not be prepared and ready when the time comes. Just consider the imagery in Matthew 25 on this topic:

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
Matthew 25:1‭-‬13 NLT

I have a large cross that I carried walking the roads on several Good Fridays years ago that simply reads in blood red letters “ARE U READY” on a black cross that I would strap to my back and carry across town. It sits at the end of my driveway so that passersby might see it and contemplate the importance of NOW of TODAY.

I wonder how many days I ignore that message on the cross as I pass by it because I have become familiar with it sitting at the end of my driveway?

I wonder how many of us Christians have become shamefully ignorant of the importance of today’s opportunities to live in fear and trembling and awe and wonder of our mighty God who saves?

“ARE U READY” I should ask myself!!!

We should each ask ourselves what have I done purposefully and intentionally and sacrificial and joyful today that glorified and lifted up the name of Jesus so that He might draw all to Himself?

The beauty is that we have the opportunity right now to confess our sins, to believe upon Jesus Christ who not only died on the cross, but rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God offering us mercy, forgiveness, and renewal to follow in The Way and to be conformed to the image and nature and character of God by ther power of the Holy Spirit!

Lord, light that fire in our hearts that you will never let go out. Overcome our shortcomings by the all sufficient power of the Blood of the Lamb. Finish this mighty work you have started in us, and prove yourself and the power of your name by leading us along the path that has our anointing oil overflowing and the fruit of your Holy Spirit rose ands abundant in the branches of our lives. Amen.

Share What You Have

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16 ESV

I want to look at the statement “Share What You Have” today. I try through my website, YouTube, and other channels to share what I have. At times, the enemy will try to discourage me from sharing by telling me it isn’t good enough, etc. Sometimes it comes through discouraging comments made by others about what I am doing, and sometimes it is just thoughts that come to mind.

But I’m learning to be content with “sharing what I have”. Whether it is the little bit of cash left in my wallet when a deaf man approaches me in a parking lot — or whether it is sharing what insight I can glean from the scriptures for application in my own life — or whether it is sharing heartfelt worship in song — I can only bring what I have to offer. And the truth is that the most spotless sacrifice I could ever try and lift up is never going to be as perfect as the Lamb of God, as Jesus Christ on the cross for you and me.

The point in all of this is that we shouldn’t be discouraged by our best not being as good or as polished as what someone else might lift up. We can’t let comparison hinder us from “sharing what we have”. Earlier this week, the neighbors were over and the kids were playing in the back yard while us parents chatted. And my grandmother who has Alzheimers and lives with us came outside to spend some time on the back porch with us. She gave each of the three children a quarter and a dime. And even though the children knew that it might not buy them much, that didn’t matter at all in that moment. This sweet gesture from a sweet woman that at times battles against the negative thoughts of dementia “shared what she had” and it was a beautiful moment.

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41‭-‬44 NLT

There are people in the world that need different things. Some need food. Some need shelter and clothing. Some need help through their grieving. Some need encouragement in the midst of their hopelessness. Some need an outpouring of undeserved love to rescue them from their bitterness and unforgiveness. There are all kinds of things people need. And our choices, what we will do and say today will influence their lives.

No, we don’t always get this right. And no, we don’t always realize the impact of our either “sharing what we have” or “withholding it” (for whatever reason our minds have justified to us) has on the environment around us. But our willingness or unwillingness doesn’t even just change or environment — but it either softens our hardens our own heart towards the spirit of God — towards love for our fellow man.

This week I have watched people reacting to the Coronavirus in very different ways. Some people have been hoarding for themselves, and grumbling and complaining about the inconvenience to themselves of precautions being taken to protect the weak. While some people have looked at the precautions from a perspective of willing and eager sacrifice on the chance that it might help the weak and the vulnerable. And I have faced the decisions myself — do I buy more toilet paper than we need or just buy the one pack we actually need. Can I offer help to families who might struggle tho make ends meet as businesses and schools close, etc. Will I see things as “us vs them” or as “we” and will I “share what I have” willingly and eagerly — and out of love not pity or “proud charity”.

Lord, help us all in these areas.