Those Who Have Gone Before

It sure is easy to think that nobody has ever lived through the trials and tribulations that we go through, and yet many have done so.  Some times we might think that our modern age is so vastly different that we are breaking new ground every minute… but we aren’t really.

The modern life that we lead in the early 21st century is different in some ways though…  Well, we are using computers aren’t we?

The challenges of every day aren’t really much different from what they were in the 19th century, except maybe for the speed of things.  We worry about our families, making ends meet, keeping our jobs, educating our kids and keeping them out of trouble…  so did they.

We deal with a culture that sometimes acts as if Christians came down from Mars… so did they.

We sometimes wonder about where our lives are headed… so did they.

That’s an important thing to bear in mind; we really aren’t that much different from people of the past.  People in earlier times faced the challenges of their lives and times and came through it all.  They succeeded in one great, awesome and magnificent accomplishment: They passed the Gospel of Jesus Christ on to the next generation so that you and I could have its blessings in our lives today, and in this we own those who have gone before us a great debt of gratitude.

In this light, we must always remember that it is up to us, the Body of Christ in the second decade of the 21st century to ensure that we hand down to the next generation the love and sustenance of our relationships with Jesus Christ.

May we honor those who have gone on before as we lift up the Name that is above all names!

A quiet moment

 

 

Life can be hectic and loud, but all of us need some peace and quiet some times.  It helps us to recharge, to relax and to calm our thoughts.  Yes, we all need a little peace and quiet, a little break you might say…

We need a little peace and quiet to talk things over with our Lord; to pray, to give thanks.

Today, if you hear his voice, 
  do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, 
   as you did that day at Massah  in the desert, 
 where your fathers tested and tried me, 
   though they had seen what I did. 

(Psalm 95: 7b-9)

We’ll never hear His voice in our hectic and loud world, we all need a little peace and quiet…

And so what do we see?

When we gaze up into the clear night sky, what do we see?  When we are far away from the city lights and we look upward, what can we learn?

Can we learn as much looking around the natural beauty of the earth? What about looking into a microscope and seeing the amazing complexity of a single living cell?

Yes, we can, for these all proclaim the glory of God!

We can hardly gaze upon Creation without coming to see the very handiwork of the Creator Himself… and yet millions see nothing. How very pathetic.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.

Psalm 19:1-4

How hard it must be to see the handiwork of God and still deny it; how miserable the life that seeks to be without purpose.  How great the burden must be to carry the obligation of denial.

 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 people are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

How can we take any pleasure in observing the folly of men who seek to deny the obvious?  How can we simply see such people as debating opponents?

The poor souls who would deny God’s glory need to hear the truth; and if we will not be inspired by God’s glory that is all around us to share His Truth… then who will be?

Stranger in a Strange Town

 

For the past few days I’ve been here in our Nation’s Capital, and what a different place it is!  This isn’t the slow-paced Midwest I’ve become used to, no, this place is big city.  The traffic is horrific, the streets are crowded and there are people everywhere who are in a big hurry to be somewhere else.  When you talk to them, they seem to have a whole different point of view on things.  Everywhere I’ve been has a long list of rules, people to enforce them and people following the rules without complaint; nothing like what I’m used to!

The weather is chilly, these good folks think it’s cold, the cherry blossoms are just starting to pop out, and the traffic, did I mention the traffic?

As different as things seem at first, there are some things that feel more like home.  For instance, there are many people in this area who are brothers or sisters in Christ.  It really doesn’t make any difference what the local culture is when you come across one of these, for they are like running into a family member you haven’t seen in a long time, and the funny thing is that you can tell who they are.  Maybe it’s something in their look or their walk, I’m not sure.  Even I who can’t really see very well can tell…

How good and pleasant it is
    when God’s people live together in unity!

Psalm 133:1

We may not always agree on what goes on in this place, but we are united in the things of God, and those are the things that count.

 

Just try to picture what it would have been like to witness Jesus entering Jerusalem in Triumph; can you?  Just picture it, the great King of Heaven riding into the city, people line His route and they shout:

Hosanna to the Son of David.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!

And there He is; riding a donkey!

That is hardly the way a “normal” king would ride into His new capital…

…but Jesus is no “normal” King!  His Kingdom is not of this world, He was entering the city not to conquer Rome but to conquer sin and death.  The people were excited, the city was alive with anticipation, and the enemies of Jesus were no doubt quaking in their boots.  Even though He was King of a heavenly kingdom, Jesus entered God’s city nevertheless, and the picture is even more important than it would have been if He rode a mighty steed with thousands of troops behind Him, for if that were His mission that day, it might well have been yet another great occasion that history has all but forgotten.

Truthfully, history has often tried to forget Jesus and His arrival in Jerusalem that day, but it just can’t, for the impact of what He would do there that week is with us still, two thousand years later.  Jesus, the Great King was victorious in Jerusalem, even though it looked like He wasn’t.  He was all-powerful, even though it didn’t look that way with Him riding a donkey.  He utterly destroyed His Enemy there, even though it looked at first like the Enemy carried the battle.

In all honesty, Jesus completely confounded His critics and foes, for He was meek and mild, so different from the world of men; He didn’t play their game. He had a different agenda, and by that agenda you and I have hope all of these centuries later.  My hope is that we all will take time this week to pause in awe of all that Jesus did for us in Jerusalem so long ago…

Pray with Boldness

How often do we pray with boldness?  No, I mean with real boldness…?

Do we ask God for big things, as opposed to routine things?  Do we ask God to take the battle right to the enemy, or to win great victories for His church?

Are our prayers full of the request that His will be done and are they self-less?

For most of us, when we pray our prayers tend to center on what we want and they often don’t really go all that far, but those aren’t really the kinds of prayers you see in the Bible, for there, prayers tend to be directed towards God’s purposes and they seek great deeds.

Save me, O God, by your name;
    vindicate me by your might.
 Hear my prayer, O God;
    listen to the words of my mouth.

Psalm 54:1-2

Here are words of boldness, of purpose and words asking for great victories.  If you go on to read the verses that follow, you might at first think that requests are being made for selfish reasons when the speaker is asking for his enemies to be taken care of, but when we remember that the speaker is David and that his enemies are also God’s enemies and that they are in opposition to God’s purpose, it becomes clear that he is asking God to sustain him while advancing God’s purpose; and he isn’t meek and mild about the request; he is confident in his position.

We, too as Christians should be confident in our position with God when we pray, always remembering that God’s purpose is the central force that is important.

There is nothing on this earth that concerns the devil more than a believer in prayer, for it is at that time that the power of God is made manifest.  A believer at prayer, praying bold prayers for God’s will and purpose is like a catalyst that sets free the power of Victory in battle!

God’s Shelter

 

Where do we find shelter?

In modern life, people seek shelter and refuge in many places, for instance many seek it in money and possessions.  Others might seek it in a relationship with a loved one, while others might seek it in their careers or professions… Some might even try to find refuge in drugs or drink.

None of these can really protect us from much, for the things of men will perish after a season.  In spite of this grim reality, shelter and refuge are available for anyone who seeks them; we need only to seek them in the right place.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

Do we seek the shelter of God?

Will we dwell in His ways, walk His path and do His will? I’d have to say this is an important question, for in our answer lies our destiny.  If we answer “no” there will be no place to take refuge, but if we answer “yes” our security is assured now and for ever.

Have a great weekend!

 

Very often a picture is better than text, so here’s a picture and no text… well almost no text.

Have a great weekend!

 

How Can We Respond?

As followers of Christ, we have received an amazing gift, or should I say amazing gifts!

We have been forgiven of our sins, we have received the gift of eternal life and we have received the gift of the Spirit, to name three; isn’t it fitting that we should respond?

I realize that Christians might answer this question in various ways depending upon their particular doctrinal backgrounds, so let’s acknowledge that right here and now.  I’m not going to get all upset if you might give an answer that varies somewhat from mine.  Here’s how I see it:

We have received these unspeakably awesome gifts when we entered into relationship with Jesus Christ by His work on the cross.  There, He shed His blood for forgiveness, establishing a new covenant between man and God in His blood.   I think we can all agree that Biblical covenants have three components: Parties, terms and promises, and that because of our entry into covenant with Him, we have become ‘parties.’  The promises are pretty clear, they are the gifts I mentioned at the top of the post.  We sometimes disagree about the terms, however.  Covenant terms or stipulations are the things that constitute our “response.”  To me, there is one statement that sums up the covenant terms of the New Covenant, that we should live as Christ would live (in our place).  It seems to me that if we adopt this notion, then there is no need to make a list of rules, for it is quite clear that Jesus wasn’t one who went around behaving badly.  What He did do was in all things to serve God by serving others in a way that advanced God’s purposes.

He was never selfish, never concerned about the accumulation of earthly goods, and always served the interests of others.  He didn’t do this in the earthly sense as a rule, for He took on God’s perspective and served people in a way that would advance their eternal interests; even to the point of giving Himself up to go to the cross.

Therefore, it seems to me that the appropriate response for each of us to the awesome gifts we have received is to serve God selflessly at all times and in all things.  It is to let go of the earthly perspective that dominates modern life and to serve God by serving others in a way that advances God’s purposes. I believe that this is what Jesus meant when He said: “Follow me!”

Do I Need to Say Anything?

 

I was wandering around the net looking for ideas, and I saw this picture; I just had to use it!  It occurred to me that I have posted so many times in the past about pathways, stairs up and stairs down, that my first thoughts would just be too redundant, so I hesitate now…

If you’ve got a sec, just look at this picture through the eyes of faith for a bit… What do you see?

I see hope, I see our journey through this life, I see the race, the “good fight” and I see the goal and the prize for which we struggle in Christ.

What do you see?

By the way, that question need not be a rhetorical one; feel free to use the “comment” feature!