Worth Repeating - July 7, 2017

I Thessalonians 5: 25 Brothers, pray for us. (NIV)

We can do a great deal for people after we pray for them but little of lasting value until we pray for them.*

I am guilty of thinking – and even saying – that prayer is the least I can do. Really? Is there something else I can do that is more powerful than praying? Paul doesn’t seem to think so – he ends his letter to the Thessalonians with this request for prayer and nothing more.

There are reasons why we get a little judgmental when someone says, “I’ll pray for you.” One reason is we don’t believe the person will actually do it. Sometimes it’s just something to say because we are socially awkward and don’t know what else to say. Often, offering to pray for someone is a way to avoid offering to do something for him.

When my dad was dying, I had many friends who were praying for me. There was nothing that they could do. I don’t know what their exact requests were. Perhaps some prayed for my dad to get well (he was 86 years old, had lived an exemplary life of faith and service, and only a miracle was going to make his body start working again); but most were praying for my comfort and strength. Their prayers were so effective that I knew that God’s power had been released on my behalf. I stress “knew” because it was not a feeling. I didn’t feel God’s presence – I knew God’s presence.

The next time someone offers to pray for you, don’t sneer at how little she is willing to do for you. Thank her and wait for the Holy Spirit to be set loose in your life. Everyone should know what that is like!

Prayer is our powerful first resort, not our last!*

Worth Repeating - July 6, 2017

I Thessalonians 5: 11, 13, 15 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up. . . . Live in peace with each other . . . always try to be kind to each other. (NIV)

We should seize every opportunity to give encouragement. It is oxygen to the soul.*

Movies are often based on actual events. Once that disclaimer is delivered, they are free to take liberties with history. So picture with me a scenario between Paul and the Thessalonian Christians – based very loosely on actual events – in which Paul informs them that Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. And they reply, “Really? How do we do that?” And Paul says, “Well, you could start by encouraging one another . . .”

Do you suppose Paul ever got frustrated with having to squander so much of his papyrus on telling Christians what loving each other looks like? Someone has said that the church is more than just a group of people who agree in their beliefs.* That’s for sure. We don’t always even agree on what we believe!

You can’t escape your biological family - your weird cousin is still your cousin even if you manage to avoid him. Our church family is not always made up of the easy-to-love, either. But if we follow Paul’s instructions to encourage, build up, live in peace and be kind, we might find that the family of God is a more inviting place for the lost.

Misfits have always been included in God’s family tree, and we are no exceptions.*

Worth Repeating - July 5, 2017

Amos 5.24 “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (NIV)

Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it.*

We know people who always do what they should. No more. No less. Maybe you are one of those people. Sometimes I’m that person. It can’t be said that we aren’t dutiful and responsible – but that’s not really enough, is it? So how should we define what is enough? 

God’s law isn’t just a list of “dos and don’ts.” It’s about the attitude of your heart. Jesus introduced the concept of “going the extra mile” in Matthew 5: 41. When we do what we have to do, we are certainly obeying the letter of the law. When we perform more than just the bare minimum requirement, we are demonstrating that we have made a better choice – and it is likely that our hearts are more deeply involved in the action.

This is the attitude that God wants us to have in our treatment of others. Treating people justly shows that we are obedient and faithful. But God wants our justice to be lavish – like his. “Justice cannot be a creek that goes dry part . . . of the year. It needs to be year-round, all encompassing.”*

Justice is not the same as mercy but God wants our justice to be merciful. “Let it be pure as running waters, not muddied with corruption or whatever may pervert justice.”*

When justice is missing, concern for others is missing.*

Worth Repeating - July 4, 2017

Genesis 18: 23 Then Abraham reproached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” (NIV)

God’s plans can be on a greater scale than our worthy, heartfelt prayers.*

When God came down to investigate the reported wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham assumed the role of mediator on their behalf. God offered to spare the city of Sodom if he found at least 50 righteous people there. Abraham negotiated for 45, then to 40 to 30 to 20 and finally, at ten, he gave up.

I don’t imagine that Sodom and Gomorrah were any more or less wicked than our world is today. Perhaps it seems worse today because we are exposed to it through our television, movie and computer screens and have become desensitized to man’s depravity. I confess that sometimes I wonder why I’m not more appalled at what I see and hear.

I have prayed that God would spare the United States for the sake of the righteous. I know that there are more than 50 good people in this country. My negotiating skills don’t seem to be any better than Abraham’s because it looks like my country is heading down the path of destruction.

Why was God willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah but, apparently, not America? Perhaps the lives of ten good people are more valuable than the political freedom of millions. We American Christians have the notion that we have replaced Israel as God’s chosen people. Why? Because he has blessed us? Because our country was founded on Christian principles? Because we are a beacon of hope to the oppressed and exploited nations of the world?

We have forgotten that the “Church did not need constitutional protection in order to take root in a hostile pagan culture two thousand years ago.”* The church flourished in the midst of persecution then and still does in other parts of the world today. What we need is not to “take America back” for Jesus, but to take his church back for him.*

Back to Abraham’s question regarding sweeping away the righteous along with the wicked: Yes, Abraham, if that’s what it takes.

The first century church didn’t pray for an easing of persecution; they prayed for courage to speak the truth regardless of the consequences.*

Worth Repeating - July 3, 2017

Colossians 4: 5 Make the most of every opportunity.

If. . . [God’s] hand is in it, an obstacle is only a door waiting to be opened.*

When my boys were small, one of them asked, “Why do you have to hug us every time you tell us good-bye?” I replied, “Because I never know if it’s going to be the last time I ever see you.” They never mentioned it again – and they don’t object to good-bye hugs to this day. Besides always saying good-bye with a hug, I also savor the moments; say “yes” whenever possible; and try to do the right thing for its own sake.  I like to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

This verse might be more accurately translated: “improve every opportunity.”* Other versions include, “redeem the time” or “buy up opportunities.” I think you get the picture: whether it’s making wise choices that lead to a more abundant life; or if it’s a chance to witness to the lost; we have to seize the moment. In order to seize the moment, we have to know that the moment has presented itself. I believe it would “improve every opportunity” if we asked God to help us to be more vigilant and aware of the opportunities when we meet them.

Prepare with urgency, wait with patience, watch with anticipation, and work with zeal.*

Worth Repeating - July 2, 2017

Proverbs 3.5, 6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Having forfeited our confidence in God, we believe that in order to have the life we want, we must take matters into our own hands.*

Trust in the Lord: Taking that first step of trust is hard. “Give me a reason to trust,” you might say. Once you have trusted and you see that your confidence was not in vain, you find it much easier to trust again. Keep trusting and you will be able to graduate from baby steps to leaps of faith!

Lean not on your own understanding: Solomon is not telling us that our own understanding is worthless; it’s just not 100% reliable. The literal translation of this phrase is “do not prop yourself up.” If I prop myself up against a rickety wall that is about to fall down, it might hold me up as long as the conditions are right – no wind, no one else comes along to lean beside me. But if I lean against the solid rock – Jesus – I won’t fall down.

In all your ways acknowledge him: Literally, “in all your ways know him.” We must actively seek a personal awareness of God in every move we make. We should be conscious of the fact that we take him with us everywhere we go. Our godliness is a full-time occupation, not just something we do when we’re in church or during a crisis.

He will make your paths straight: As a reward for our faithfulness, Solomon says that God will make our paths straight. Does this mean that God will remove obstacles, flatten the hills, and straighten out the curves? Whatever he meant, we can be confident that God will walk with us and help us to stay on the path that leads to righteousness.

You must know him by living closely with him, relating to him personally in every aspect of your life.*

Worth Repeating - July 1, 2017

Galatians 3: 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Should not people of hope, whose bodies are temples of God, look a bit different from children of despair?*

On the red carpet at the Academy Awards, celebrities are asked, “Who are you wearing?” Wearing a designer’s creation is an advertisement for him and if you don’t look good, he doesn’t look good! Paul says that when we are baptized into Christ, we begin to wear Christ; but if not accompanied by faith and repentance, baptism is just a bath and the “clothes” you wear around are cheap knock-offs, not designer originals.

Analogy may be useful for illustration purposes, but often it stops short of a perfect word picture. In John 14: 20, Jesus tells us that he is in the Father, we are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us. That sounds a little more complex than merely donning the appropriate attire. But the unity Christ describes between him and the father, and between him and us, is a result of the same baptism by which we are clothed with Christ. 

If you aren’t wearing him on the outside, you surely aren’t bearing him on the inside!

God approves righteousness when “inward”, but despises the mere outward show of it.*