Category Archives: Faith

A Missing Piece

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You may have noticed I left something out.  Paul said, “Rejoice always,” but that’s not all he said.  It’s risky to pick a couple of words out of the Bible without checking to see what they mean in context.  But, hey, you are busy; you don’t have time for long blog posts.  That’s my excuse – it’s your fault. 

But what else did he say?  Part of it is this next phrase:
“Pray continually…”  (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Continually?  Really?  It’s bad enough Paul wants me to be rejoicing all the time but now he wants me to go through life with my eyes closed and my hands folded?  Obviously, not. More like, “Keep the lines of communication with God open all the time.”  You are driving down the highway and see someone parked with his emergency blinkers going.  Should you stop?  Ask the One Who knows.  Like that.  He said He would take up residence with you (John 14:23), so don’t miss out.  Ask. 

As Jesus taught,  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  (Matthew 7:7-8)

Prayer doesn’t have to be formally announced (“Lettuce spray”).  You can simply check in with a quick question or request.  When you get in the habit, this kind of prayer is a real source of clarity and strength.  It’s part of how and why Paul said to “rejoice always.” 

But not all.  I left something out again.  Maybe next time…

Fattitude

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“We’re in a tight spot!”  The barn where they were hiding was on fire. Cops with machine guns were perforating the place and George Clooney, in his role in “O Brother Where Art Thou?”,  looked like he was having the time of his life, thrilled to be in a “tight spot.”   Appealing, that.  Like skiers who enjoy the black slopes, whooping with excitement, even when they wipe out.  They are doing better than those who agonize over every turn with grim anxiety.

I got thinking about the look in George Clooney’s eye when I read this simple verse from 1 Thessalonians:

Rejoice always…”  (1Thessalonians 5:16)

In our day, that reads like mental pablum, advice from a timid Sunday School teacher who can’t handle life.  But the guy that wrote that advice had been in more than a few tight spots.  He’d been beaten, starved, shipwrecked, imprisoned and pursued by mobs of vicious killers.  And, he was writing to people facing violent persecution.  Paul had a gleam in his eye on the black slopes.  He knew the power of enjoying the thrill of the hills and spills, no matter what.

But it’s not that he was a reckless adrenalin junkie.  Paul knew God had sent him into those tight spots because they were ripe with opportunity.  He knew God knew.  When tempted to complain and feel sorry for himself, he knew how much better it was to rejoice.

Next time you are in a tight spot, call to mind the look in George Clooney’s eye, and the powerful advice from Paul.  Rejoice.  Always.

Worthy

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Once you have been qualified and trained as a marine, you are considered to be a “leatherneck” forever.  Which means, you are expected to live out the values and attitudes of a marine. The Marine Corps Officer’s Guide,” 1964 edition, makes it clear: “Traditions are not preserved by books and museums, but by faithful adherence on the part of all hands—you especially.”  Translation?  Since you are a marine, live like one.

Paul wrote something similar to fellow Christians:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. –  (Philippians 1:27-28a)

What does it mean to live a life “worthy of the gospel of Christ?”  In this short quote, we see it means to confidently stand firm in what you believe without letting opposition sway you.  It also means to be joined with other believers by the Spirit of God, operating on the same page and working together to spread the good news.   With no fear.

In a team sports contest, you can generally pick the winner by observing which team plays with the most confidence and unity.  Confidence and unified hearts and minds are the essentials as well for a life “worthy of the gospel.”

For Sure

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Here’s the truth for Ann Maree, things she knows with certainty in Heaven:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

                                                           (Psalm 23)

Turned Heads and Hearts

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Come Sunday, it will have been a year, a tough year.  A year ago today, my wife, Ann Maree, was taken by ambulance to Hospice for her final struggle.  Understandably, I spend a lot of time thinking back.  Our 50 plus years of courtship and marriage were way too short.  We had some wonderful times.  We also went through some pretty big changes.

The best and most powerful change came as we individually discovered the truth about Jesus and welcomed His Spirit into our souls.  At first, the changes were fresh and exhilarating.  Gradually that excitement evened out into a satisfying and fulfilling joy.  Worry was exchanged for contentment.  There was a dramatic shift in how we saw life in this world.

As an example, Annie was good lookin’.  Yes indeed, she turned heads.  But strangely, that physical beauty was, for her, a source of insecurity.  Maybe you can relate.  But when Jesus showed her how much God loved her, that anxiety was gradually laid to rest.  It was transformed into a thorough sense of inner beauty and inner peace.  Heads still turned, but that wasn’t of as much importance.  Recently, I came across this, underlined in her Bible:

Your beauty … should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  (1 Peter 3:3a & 4b)

When folks remember Ann Maree, most of the time they talk about how she had “…the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit…”

Yes indeed.

Too Much, Part 2

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Cramming for a final is like trying to put packing peanuts back in the box.  Put one back and two or three pop out.  Our brains can only hold so much.  There are some things too vast to fit in such a limited space.

Jesus’ love is one of those.  (If you haven’t read the previous post, scroll down to read it first)  It’s too much to comprehend, without a supernatural power boost from the Spirit of God.  But God gives that boost, not so we will have more information.  It’s not so we will have the answers to pass a test.  It’s for something that surpasses the mere possession of more facts.  Paul prays for believers to be strengthened to more fully understand the enormity of Christ’s love, SO THAT THEY MIGHT…

…  know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  –   (Ephesians 3:19b)

Read that again.  Let it sink in.  The more we know the love of Jesus, the more we become filled with the essence of God!   The “fullness of God” is manifested in the astonishing love of Jesus.  And we are meant to be filled to the brim with His “fullness,” so our lives would demonstrate His love, His essence, too.

If you are thinking, “No way I could ever pull that off,” remember, this is a prayer for God to do it!   And Paul wraps up this prayer with this encouragement:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  –  (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Slaves and Sons

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How could God treat His people so differently in Old Testament times as compared to the New?  The Old Testament is full of long lists of rules and regs, along with severe penalties to be exacted upon those who break them.  The New Testament is all about grace and tells those in Christ they are free of the law.  What gives?

This is no big mystery.  The first part of the Old Testament was written for people who, for more than 10 generations, had lived as slaves.  After God sent Moses and arranged for their freedom, they obviously needed a bit of clearly defined structure.  The New Testament is about Jesus inviting us to become sons and daughters in God’s family.  For those who accept, He gives His Spirit as an internal guide, making rules irrelevant.

Ask yourself this question: Did you treat your two year old in the same way when he or she became 32?  I would imagine you began with rules, such as, “We never cross the street by ourselves.”  Later on, that rule changed to, “Always look both ways before you cross the street.”  And then, “‘Bye; Have a nice time!”

Here’s a great explanation of how God’s approach changed and why, taken from the New Testament:

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  (Galatians 4:1-7  NIV)

Swooping or Lurching?

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“I’m doing it! I’m doing it!”  The child sits atop his first bike, exploding with joy and excitement.  No more trike for this guy; he’s graduated into the “big kid,” two-wheeler world.  Except, he really hasn’t.  There’s training wheels back there, firmly holding him upright.  He may think he’s “doing it” but he really isn’t.  He’ll find that out when he tries to take a corner at speed and topples over.  Training wheels are poorly named.  They give a false sense of security and make learning to really ride impossible.  Really riding requires learning to develop and control a sense of balance.  Really riding means gracefully swooping through the curves, not lurching back and forth from one training wheel to the other.

Like the kid who thinks sitting on a bike with training wheels is riding, are those who think being a Christian means being held upright by a strict set of rules.  But that isn’t it at all.  Rules give a false sense of security that fails when you hit the tight curves at speed. Real “riding” with Christ is about gracefully swooping through the curves, leaning on faith, not lurching back and forth from one “thou shalt not” to another.  That common misperception causes some to reject Christianity as restrictive and boring. It causes others to think “I’m doing it” when in fact they are not. 

The analogy breaks down here because, when someone places their faith in Jesus, a mysterious and powerful change happens.   The Holy Spirit comes alive within their soul. A living Presence, He gives guidance and strength.  The initial act of faith in Jesus becomes a dynamic, continual process of trusting and following His Spirit.  It’s a learning process, one which may be a bit tentative and jerky at first.  Swooping comes with practice. But, just like learning to ride a bike, it does come.

That is, if you don’t put those training wheels back on. That’s why this reminder is given in the “handbook:”

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh [That is, by following the “training wheel” rules]? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? ( Galatians 3:3-5 – with my explanation in brackets)

The Scam and The Truth

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Someone says to send him 20 bucks and God will make you rich. Don’t believe him; he is a lying sack of garbage.  He’s taken a beautiful truth in the Bible and twisted it for his own evil, greedy purposes.

But what is the “beautiful truth” and can we trust it?  Pay attention to what this says and what it does not say:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

If you give generously, will God make you rich?  No, He will “bless you abundantly,” so you will be able to be more generous (“abound in every good work”).  That is, if your motive is to bless someone else, not to get anything back for yourself – a reward, public notoriety, brownie points with God, etc.   When we give with the right attitude, it really is true that God blesses us – abundantly!

Check it out for yourself.  Take that 20 bucks I just saved  you and ask God to show you how you might use it to truly bless someone, as an expression of His grace.  Maybe He will show you someone who needs the money.  Maybe, someone who is lonely and could use coffee and conversation.  The possibilities are unlimited.  It’s an exciting experiment, one which God encourages us to to try.  The more you see how it works, the more it does work.  You learn to trust it and enjoy it. 

When I want to water my lawn, I use the sprinkler that most efficiently passes the water along to the grass.  If one of the sprinklers blocks the flow, I throw it away.  God uses His people to pour out tangible grace to those in need.  Those who understand their role as conduits of His generosity, receive more from Him to pass along.  Those who hoard, receive less and miss out on what could have been an exhilarating dance with God. 

Have fun…

Humble Faith

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Molly was a faithful dog.  She stuck close, kept her eyes on me and responded eagerly when I gave her a command.  She trusted me.  There was a time when she suddenly took off after another dog, running as fast as she could.  I called out, “Molly, come!”  and she locked her legs in a slide, reversed direction and charged back.  Best dog I’ve ever known.

Molly’s faithfulness was also humility.  That’s a strange word to apply to a dog – that is, unless you have ever owned a terrier.  Terriers are not humble; they think their own ideas are better than yours,   But Molly was humble.  She trusted what I said was best.

Like David, who, despite his role as King of Israel, displayed the same dual attitude of faith and humility.  He wrote:

“For You [God] are my rock and my fortress [faith]; and for Your name’s sake You lead me and guide me [humility]…”  (Psalm 31:3 with my added notes in brackets)

In the ultimate statement of faith and humility, David bet his life on God:

“Into Your hand I commit my spirit…”  (Psalm 31:5 – quoted by Jesus on the cross)

Faith and humility are two sides of the same coin.  You obey God because you trust Him.