Worth Repeating - June 30, 2017

Psalm 10: 1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

God is everywhere all the time. It’s just that most of us are so busy with everything else that we don’t notice.*

We know this about David: he isn’t afraid to express his feelings to God. We know that God is never distant, that he never hides himself, and David knows it, too. We have a God who cares when we feel abandoned and listens when we complain about it. Unlike in other relationships, we can tell him what is on our hearts and be confident that it will strengthen our bond, not destroy it.

Do you ever feel as if God has abandoned you? Feelings change. Feelings are unreliable. When it feels like God is gone, have faith in his faithfulness. He is not off somewhere out of reach. He’s not busy. We have his attention beyond just the time we want it. He never stops watching us, hanging on our every word, sitting on the edge of his seat ready to catch us when we fall.

We stand afar off from God by our unbelief, and then we complain that God stands afar off from us.*

Worth Repeating - June 29, 2017

Galatians 1: 24 And they praised God because of me.

The truth of God must always usher in the praise of God.*

In this chapter, Paul presents his testimony and his credentials to the Galatian church. He is establishing his authority to confront them about things that were going on there (see verses 6 and 7). He refers to the churches in Judea who didn’t even know Paul but who, based on what they had heard, praised God because of what he had done through Paul. Paul is not bragging about himself but about how God had changed him from the man who had gone from persecuting Christians to the man who was preaching to them now.

The churches to which Paul referred glorified God but they didn’t “worship” Paul. It is hard for us to separate the message from the messenger, presenting a double opportunity for Satan. First, as receivers of the message, we like to put our preachers and leaders on a pedestal – which is the equivalent of idol worship. And second, as messengers (and humans in general), our hearts crave recognition that rightly belongs only to God.* Leaders struggle constantly with ego and humility.

People can change. Paul had been Public Enemy Number One but these churches did not hold his past against him. I don’t know how long it took Paul to earn their trust after his conversion but someone had to be willing to give him a chance to prove himself. We do not know the motivation or condition of another’s heart,* but in Christ we have to allow them room to grow and thrive in their faith. 

Whether we have a disreputable past to overcome or whether we start building trust from higher ground; whether we are messengers or recipients; can we bless others beyond the point of appreciating us to the point of praising God?

It should ever be the end of the Christian man, not only to promote the glory of God by his works, but to illustrate the glory of God in his character.*

Worth Repeating - June 28, 2017

Colossians 1: 17 In him all things hold together.

Every aspect of God’s being transcends our knowledge, our experience, and our comprehension.*

When my high-school chemistry teacher told us that everything was made up of molecules and atoms and that they were constantly bouncing around, I lost my ability to trust anything else he said. I remember sitting there staring at his desk, looking for any sign of movement. If he had explained that, although those tiny particles were bouncing about, God’s power kept them together, he could have earned some credibility. If he had gone on to say that if God removed his power, the universe would explode, I might have come out of his class with better than a D minus average!

That power that’s holding all of creation together, keeping the planets from crashing into each other, and maintaining gravity on earth – that is the power that keeps my life together. If God withheld his presence, my life would fall apart. Implode. Run amok. Jesus is that power – contained and controlled and at my disposal.  

This world doesn’t always make sense, especially if we believe God is in control. The good news is we don’t have to act like we have it all figured out.*

Worth Repeating - June 27, 2017

II Corinthians 9: 8 God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Few persons are ever reduced to poverty by liberality . . . But . . . there are multitudes who are made poor by the lack of liberality.*

In the earlier verses of this chapter, Paul bragged on the Corinthians for their eagerness to help and how their enthusiasm had stirred others to action. Being the cheerleader that he was, Paul hoped to urge the Corinthians to keep their momentum going. Keep up the good work, he might have said. Don’t be afraid that you will become impoverished because of your generosity to others. “Where the generous spirit is,” he might have maintained, “God will provide the means of expressing it.”* 

Is Paul promising that our generosity will make us wealthy? Doesn’t it sound like we should expect that the more we give, the more we get? Look again. He says that in all things, at all times, we will have all that we need. What you can expect for your benevolence is the means to continue being benevolent. For those who already know the blessedness of giving, that is very good news! 

Take the challenge. Give generously to someone in need. See if you miss what you gave away. See if you can out-give God.

We are not really poorer by what we give away.*

Worth Repeating - June 26, 2017

Acts 4: 13 . . . and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Biblical wisdom is not associated with great learning or with anything particularly intellectual or scholarly.*

In this story, the observers were impressed with Peter and John’s courage as they noted that they were Jesus’ followers. How did they know? Perhaps they had seen them with Jesus, or knew them by reputation, or maybe the evidence pointed to no other explanation. Peter and John were not educated men – you don’t need a college degree to be a fisherman. They weren’t rich or famous, so what did they have to be confident about? They weren’t soldiers so why were they so brave? 

Their actions were a positive reflection on the Lord. As someone has observed: “Of the proofs for the resurrection of Jesus, one of the most compelling is simply to compare [the] cowering disciples as portrayed [in the Gospels] . . . with the bold, confident figures in the book of Acts.”* If they hadn’t changed, would the book of Acts have been called, “The Disappearing Acts of the Apostles”? Or “The Sometimes Brave, Sometimes Foolish Acts of the Apostles”? 

What about us? Have we ever left a bad impression on someone who knew that we were Christians? Or do we leave others knowing that they have been in the presence of Jesus because they have been with us?

If our society is indifferent to us, could it be because we have become indistinguishable from the world?*

Worth Repeating - June 25, 2017

Matthew 7: 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs.”

He will give no guarantee that others will enjoy us and respond well.*

The scholars are divided on what specific sacred items Jesus is referring to in this verse, but I have to wonder: Does it matter? The message is clear: Pigs have their place in this world, but they have no use for jewelry. To a dog, a nice leather-bound Bible is a chew toy. As we shouldn’t offer valuable things to pigs and dogs - who are without discernment - Jesus says that we waste time offering holy things to people who refuse our best and most loving efforts to lead them to him. 

Although just prior to this statement, Jesus says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” (verse 1), we have to make some kind of judgment call before determining who might be categorized as “swine” or “dogs.”* And yet, we must be careful who we call a pig! Just because Jesus warns about tossing our pearls to the pigs, we are not relieved of our responsibility to “cast our pearls” period. Don’t be too quick to decide that your pearls are landing in the pig-pen. There are many souls who will tell you how glad they are that there was someone who never gave up on them.

Effective evangelism takes time. . . Harvests don’t come about overnight. It takes months of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and prayer for the crops to be ready.*

Worth Repeating - June 24, 2017

Psalm 7: 3-5 O Lord my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands - if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me or without cause have robbed my foe – then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust.

When we are . . . experiencing problems, the first thing we should do is examine our own hearts.*

In these verses, David asks to be punished if his enemies’ accusations against him are true. In his position as ruler of Israel, David had many occasions to offend others inadvertently, but there were times when he also deliberately sinned against his subjects. Perhaps David had worked all that out with God – he had confessed, repented, made restitution, asked for forgiveness, and moved on. But when you have sinned against someone without realizing it, you can’t make amends until you have been made aware of your crime.

So many times we get our feelings hurt or believe we have been mistreated by a brother or sister when the other person is unaware that he or she has committed any offense. How can we be reconciled to our brother if he never knows what he did to offend us? Confront him in love or get over it!

On the other hand, there is the person who committed such an offense and who, when it is brought to his attention, says, “Well, I didn’t mean anything by it so get over it.” David, a man after God’s own heart, was willing to apologize for his unwitting offenses. Why can’t we love others enough to be sorry for causing them pain?

Before I pigeonhole people as mean-spirited, negative, critical individuals, I need to first do a heart check on myself. Am I upset with someone because I think they are blocking what I think is best? Have I done anything to create a situation that has fostered a negative reaction? Am I part of the problem?*

Worth Repeating - June 23, 2017

Hebrews 12: 2  . . . who, for the joy set before him endured the cross.

We have a God who knows human suffering from the inside, just as we do. But suffering is not the final word.*

Do not ever think that Jesus didn’t suffer.  Not only did he suffer it as it was happening, he “looked forward to it” his whole life. Because he was God, Jesus knew that the suffering and the joy were not evenly matched.  Did that make his death any less painful? I can’t answer that. The closest I can come is to compare it to the pain of childbirth and how I’ve heard so many women declare, “It was worth it.” As a woman who has given birth to twins, I echo their sentiments. It was worth it - but I wouldn’t want to do it again. And I’m grateful I didn’t know what to expect when I went into it!

Notice that the writer of Hebrews refers to the joy ahead. He doesn’t say that Jesus found joy in his current situation. Jesus was looking forward to the joy before him. And what was the joy he was looking forward to? He already had the glory; he had experienced heaven. He knew what he was missing by being human. And he knew what he was going to endure. He had all the pieces he needed to make an informed decision. Was his joy for us, then; for what we would receive at his expense? Was he able to look at the cross, look at us, and say, “It’s worth it”?

In the midst of our suffering, we don’t find joy. But we can look forward to the joy that Jesus purchased for us by his suffering and death and resurrection.

Joy doesn’t come from the trial, but by focusing on God through the trial.*

Worth Repeating - June 22, 2017

Philippians 4: 8 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

We are responsible for our thoughts and can hold them to high and holy ideals.*

The mind is the “final frontier” for those of us who have been Christians a long time. You could follow me around most days and conclude that I am in compliance with nine out of the ten commandments. But obeying the “letter of the law” has never been enough. In the Old Testament and the New, we learn that God wants our hearts and our minds, not just outward obedience. 

When I read this verse, I find myself humming, “These are a few of my favorite things . . .” In that song, it says, “I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad.” Same concept. Paul is offering us the secret formula for mental health. The recipe for a pure thought-life. The how-to manual for a disciplined mind. The answer to the question, “I’m obeying, now what else do you want me to do?” 

As always, we are not told “what not to do” and then left with a void for Satan to fill. We are to think about what is true in place of what is dishonest and unreliable. Noble thoughts replace those that are undignified and unworthy of respect. Right, conforming to God’s standards, takes the place of wrong. Pure thoughts replace unwholesome ones. Thinking about what is lovely promotes peace rather than conflict. And admirable thoughts replace negative and destructive ones.* 

“Garbage in, garbage out” is as true of our minds as it is of our computers. 

Each of us has only so much mental space. What is filled with frivolity, foolishness, and filth cannot be filled with goodness and godliness.*

Worth Repeating - June 21, 2017

Psalm 19: 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Nature speaks of nature’s God.*

Other nations worshipped the sun, moon, and stars, but David exposes these objects as nothing but God’s handiwork, calling upon men to worship the creator rather than the created. Even if people refuse to praise God, the skies announce his praiseworthiness. All of creation shouts his glory. How can people be deaf to the sounds of nature giving glory to its Creator?

In Romans 1: 19 and 20, Paul writes, “What may be known about God is plain . . . because God has made it plain. . . . For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Nature’s message about God is “as a legible book,”* and ignorance is not an excuse because there is no such thing as ignorance when it comes to creation.

While God reveals himself in nature, it is not a complete manifestation of God. Only through his finest work, his Son, is God’s will disclosed and his salvation made available. Jesus is the only creation worthy of our worship.

From the excellency of the work we may easily infer the infinite perfection of its great author.*