Worth Repeating - January 31, 2017

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Everything else is up for grabs.*

I graduated from high school more than 40 years ago, but even though I live far away from my hometown, I am still in touch with many of my classmates. Besides our big class reunion every five years, we have mini-reunions throughout every year. I attend as many of those as I can because it’s such fun to catch up with old friends.

You expect people to be different after that many years. We gain weight, we lose hair, we brag about our grandkids more than about our own accomplishments; but with some people, there are changes in their very essence that make them almost unrecognizable. It is disconcerting to talk to someone who is nothing like the person you remember. I wonder, Have I changed that much? Am I still recognizable to my old friends?

Whether Jesus is your old friend or a new acquaintance, you can count on him to remain the same. He will always be available; he will never reject you because you aren’t one of the cool kids; he is always willing to forgive you. He won’t remind you of the stupid things you have done and he will never look at you and say, “Well, you’ve put on a few pounds.” He looks at us through eyes of love so he sees our essence instead of our imperfections. In a world that changes too fast for us to keep up with, we are secure in his never-changing character.

Yesterday – he has cleaned the slate for us. Today – he walks beside us. He never changes but our relationship with him will change us forever.

What a glorious paradox that He who never changes is also the one who is ever new!*

Worth Repeating - January 30, 2017

Matthew 25.35-40  “‘I tell you . . . whatever you did for the . . . least of these . . . you did for me.’” (Read the entire passage in your Bible before proceeding.)

When no one is watching, live as if someone is.*

I read somewhere, in reference to these verses, that Jesus didn’t tell us to sit back and feel love. He meant for us to act; to meet needs. The tasks Jesus listed weren’t unheard-of activities for his listeners and they are not things that we are unable to do. As Chrysostom observed, Jesus didn’t say, “I was sick and you healed me” or “I was in prison and you set me free.” 

We may not always like all the people in our lives – or everything about the ones we do like – but we are commanded to love them and serve them. I used to feel that it was slightly dishonest to act in a way contrary to how I feel. But, “[h]ypocrisy isn’t acting contrary to the way you feel; it’s acting contrary to the way you believe.”* [Emphasis added.] 

Doing the right thing is still the right thing to do. Even if my feelings are not in it, my heart should be. We are Jesus to the least of these.

Rarely is faith in action convenient.*

Worth Repeating - January 29, 2017

John 21: 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

In an era when new religions were a dime a dozen, the Christian faith became a worldwide phenomenon.*

I got together recently with my college best friend and her husband, and of course we took that stroll down memory lane. I know we didn’t remember everything that we did back then but it was enough to make me ask, “When did we have time to go to class?”

Jesus’ “classmates” in his three-year ministry must have had a similar feeling when they looked back on the experience. “How did the 13 of us manage to accomplish so much back in Jerusalem?” they might have thought. Jesus changed the world with 12 seemingly-ordinary men in fewer years than it took me to get a college degree. Trying to capture and record all those memories would be daunting – and unnecessary. The inspired writers of the gospels told us everything we needed to know about their exploits. As someone has observed, “The Gospels get their facts straight, but they’re not written to say everything about Jesus and to say it in chronological order.”* We should also note that, since John begins his account of Jesus’ life by saying that all things were made by him, we would have to go all the way back to creation to begin filling in the missing details!* 

And Jesus isn’t finished with his activity in this world. John records Jesus’ promise to send his Spirit to be in us (John 14: 16-18) – and we still have work to do (Matthew 28: 19, 20).

Do you know how this world would be changed if we simply did what Jesus told us to do, simply because he said so?*

Worth Repeating - January 28, 2017

Ephesians 6: 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

When a man is through with praying, that man is through with any life that matters.*

Anyone who spent time with Jesus knew that he was a “pray-er.” He modeled a life of prayer and taught his disciples a model prayer. Paul’s letters are rich with references to prayer – whether mentioning others in his prayers, begging for prayers on his own behalf, or urging us to pray for each other and even for those in authority over us. This verse in Ephesians is all-encompassing: all occasions; all kinds of prayer requests.

Our Savior believed in the power (and necessity) of prayer, therefore so do I. I believe that the most important purpose of prayer is to get to know God, but scripture spells out some specific things we should pray for. And I wonder: what if I don’t pray for “all the saints”? What if there’s a missionary out there for whom no one has remembered to pray? What happens to him? Will God abandon him because we have? Why does God want us to pray for each other?

My husband and I were far from home (we were in South Dakota – we live in Florida), when we got word that the marriage of one of our sons was in trouble. He insisted that he didn’t need me to come home and I was managing to hold myself together until, after another offer to return home to be with him, he said that he was fine because his twin brother had made the eight-hour trip from Georgia to be with him. That was when I broke down and cried for my hurting child and that was when I knew what it must be like for God when his children care enough about each other to pray for one another and to help a hurting brother or sister. He wants us to pray for each other because he wants us to love each other.

Make the Father’s heart swell with emotion and make it your habit to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The prayers of one saint are to God melody, but the
intercessions of many are harmony.*

Worth Repeating - January 27, 2017

Job 7.17, 18 “What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?”

No struggle will come your way apart from God’s purpose,
presence and permission.*

I have never understood people who needed attention so badly that they would settle for negative attention. I have always liked receiving attention – but only the positive kind will do! Job seems to share my attitude. He wants to know why God has singled him out for so much unfriendly attention.*

Sometimes we feel like God is picking on us. Everything goes wrong at once. Life no longer lives up to our expectations. Truly, some good people seem to have more than they deserve to bear. At such times, we ought to ask ourselves if there is a “wise and loving purpose” in the trial.* Maybe God has turned Satan loose on us so that we can become instruments of Satan’s defeat. Spiritual warfare is being waged in the background of every moment of our lives. Suffering and trials might prove a little easier for me to endure if I knew that God and Satan had had a discussion in which God declared about me, “There is no one on earth like her. She is blameless and up-right; a woman who fears God and shuns evil. And she still maintains her integrity even though you have tried to conspire against her.” (Job 2.3, slight paraphrase.)

Do we lead such upright lives that we can face our trials with dignity and maybe some joy, knowing that Satan wouldn’t be messing with us if he didn’t fear us?

Evil is never out of control of an Absolutely Good God.*

Worth Repeating - January 26, 2017

Ezekiel 3: 15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days – overwhelmed.

You will never be able to do your best work, unless you can sit where the people sit.*

Ezekiel’s ministry was to the Jews in exile in Babylon. He was a priest called by God to deliver prophetic messages in often bizarre and dramatic fashion. In the instance described in this verse, Ezekiel seems to have randomly stumbled over a band of refugees who had established residence along the banks of a river. Because his presence there wasn’t as random as it seems, he waited among them for seven days until the Lord spoke to him about his mission. 

There is a great deal of speculation about why Ezekiel had to hang out there for a whole week before moving on to the next phase. It could have been due to the customs of that time and place. (Job’s friends sat with him for seven days before anyone spoke.) I believe Ezekiel just needed the time to absorb the conditions of his congregation. Whatever his emotional response to what he saw there, he waited for God to reveal what his next move should be. As Ezekiel’s story unfolds, we see that his message was not well-received. 

We must be careful not to read unintended meanings into a passage of scripture but I think we are safe in drawing some conclusions from this one: 

1. Sometimes we are called to a ministry of waiting. God’s timing is perfect but we are impatient. 

2. Sometimes we are called to a ministry of empathy. We can’t feel someone’s pain if we’ve never felt his pain! Jesus showed the way by “sitting among us” and “feeling our struggles in a fallen world.”* 

3. Sometimes, though commissioned by God, we are doomed to fail. Like Ezekiel, we may be called to deliver an unpopular message. 

Wait for God. Turn your struggles into an instrument of blessing for others. Perform your ministry regardless of its potential for success. God knows what he’s doing.

We must never put our dreams of success as God’s purpose for us . . . It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.*

Worth Repeating - January 25, 2017

Psalm 147: 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Our faith has its own unique past, where God personally intervened.*

I know that this verse is true. How do I know? 1) The Bible tells me so; and 2) my personal experience proves it. Which is the more convincing testimony? Is someone more likely to believe the Bible or me? Which evidence would carry more weight in court?

Who you believe depends on whom you trust. If you are a new Christian with little knowledge or experience with the Bible but you know me, then it is my job to be a reliable witness. If I can get you to believe me, I can lead you to trust what God’s Word says . . .  in theory. I may know that God heals the broken-hearted but really, how do I make someone else know it?

I am the person who likes (loves) step-by-step (written) procedures so I am uncomfortable with instructions that consist of a list of one, but when it comes to matters of faith, there is just one step: Do it. If you have never trusted God with your broken heart, I dare you to take that first step. You may not have much faith when you take the first step but you will when you take the second one. So help me God.

Faith that goes forth triumphs.*

Worth Repeating - January 24, 2017

Exodus 3: 1-6, 10 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law . . . and he led his flock to . . . Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. . . . God called to him from within the bush . . . Then he said, “I am the God of your father . . . So, now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people . . . out of Egypt.”

Even while we wait, God is preparing the next step in his plan for our lives.*

September 11, 2001, resonates with all Americans old enough to remember it. None of us will ever forget where we were when we got the news. And each of us responded emotionally, based on our life experiences and our natural inclinations. I learned about it while in a staff meeting and I was stirred by the thought of the many people who died as they were just going about the business of their day. They went to work, just like I did that day. They weren’t soldiers, law enforcement or firefighters who expect to put their lives at risk each day. They were just people like me, living their lives. 

As tragedy can come upon us as we go about our daily lives, so can God’s call. Moses was out in the desert tending sheep – not a glamorous job, and they weren’t even his sheep. He certainly didn’t expect to hear from God that day. I suspect that Moses wasn’t giving much thought to God’s plans for his future, but we often do. We want to know what God wants from us; where he wants us to serve. We’re willing and ready – we think.

The truth is, we’re not ready until God says we’re ready. In the meantime, we serve God where we are – tending sheep, pumping gas, waiting on customers, raising our kids, teaching Sunday School. As someone has expressed it, “He seeks a man traveling an ordinary road.”* Perhaps God wants to see how you handle the ordinary before he entrusts you with the extraordinary. Or perhaps at the end of life you will learn that your ordinary life had an extraordinary impact on other lives.

Jesus prepared 30 years for his three-year ministry.*

Worth Repeating - January 23, 2017

James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Wisdom is a gift of God, not a human achievement.*

Back in the Old Testament, God offered Solomon carte blanche and he chose wisdom. God was so pleased with Solomon that he gave him wealth and power as well. I have always thought that Solomon must have already had a healthy portion of wisdom because a fool would never have asked for wisdom! 

According to James in the New Testament, God presents us with the same offer. If we’re wise enough to know that we aren’t wise enough, all we have to do is ask for more. God will generously supply us with the wisdom we lack without making us feel stupid for – well, being stupid. 

When it comes to the Word of God, it is a short journey from initial exposure to a decision crossroads. A flow chart could clearly illustrate our progress as we learn more about God intellectually and he begins to open our eyes to our spiritual inadequacy. Knowing about God is no longer enough. We start to know God and to be led by his Spirit. Now we are at the point on the flow chart – another crossroads – where God reveals that we are not equipped for the spiritual tests we are about to face. “No thanks,” and the flow chart dead ends. “Grant me wisdom,” and we move on to the next bubble. 

If we lack wisdom, it is because we have rejected the offer.

The further advanced any one is in the knowledge of God, the less is he excused.*

Worth Repeating - January 22, 2017

Job 1: 21 “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Have we come to the place where God can withdraw His blessings and it does not affect our trust in Him?*

Job has just gotten word that everything he owned had been carried off by raiders and all of his children had died when a roof collapsed on them. Job’s actions dramatically portrayed his grief – he tore his robe, shaved his head and threw himself on the ground – but his words sound impassive and pragmatic. He has given Satan nothing to use against him. He showed Satan that his faithfulness to God was not contingent on his material blessings.

Each of us should acknowledge that all that we have is provided by God. I am thankful for the abundant, overflowing, undeserved blessings in my life. But, would my faith be just as strong if he took it all away? God is worthy of praise whether we have a little or a lot. Our earthly condition has nothing to do with whether or not God should receive our praise.

Maybe we could prepare ourselves in advance for the losses that probably lie ahead. I’m not talking about ruining today by worrying about tomorrow; I’m talking about surrender. Decide now to give up everything for Christ’s sake. If it is no longer yours, you won’t miss it when it’s gone. We, too, would crush Satan if we could shrug and say, “God gives and God takes away. Praise the Lord.” 

If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him.*