Sermon Recap 2-28-10

Morning: The sermon, "Wise Living," looked at Ephesians 5:15-21.  In this passage, Paul call us to give careful though to how we live.  We are not to live as unwise, but wise.  Wisdom is living a life skilled a pleasing God.  We are not to foolish, but discerning God's will.  We are to become the kind of people who know how to please God because we continually practice the things that please God.  We look to the Word to guide us, and continually put into practice what it says.  We are not to be given over to addiction, but filled with the Spirit.  The Spirit-filled life is marked by fellowship, worship, gratitude, and service.

Evening: We saw the movie Fireproof tonight.

More Thoughts on the Adopting for Life Conference

Delia and I were blessed to get to attend the Adopting for Life conference at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  The speakers were awesome, and the music was phenomenal.  The songs, the sermons, the talks, and the testimonies were so Christ-focused and gospel centered that it left a profound mark on my mind.  I am struggling to put it into words, I feel so emotionally drained (in a good way).

The conference centered around the issue of adoption and its connection to the gospel.  As we care for orphans, we are fulfilling the Great Commission.  More than that, we are imitating the gospel.  When a family adopts it takes someone who was a foreigner biologically and makes them family.  In the same way, through adoption, God brings those who were foreigners to the promises, and makes them his children.

Adoption is a part of God's plan for making families, and we get to take part in that.  We are walking in our Father's footsteps when we care for orphans.  Delia and I have been considering another adoption in the near future, and have been working toward that.  What I heard during this conference confirmed these desires.  We are all called to care for the orphan, if we are really of the faith, although not every one is called to adopt.

I feel tremendously blessed to have been used of the Lord to adopt.  Both of my girls, (Ellie, who has gone on to be with the Lord, and Sophia), were brought into my life through the gift of adoption.  In eternity, before I was formed and brought forth into this world, God had set me apart for this entrance into fatherhood.  The very thought of this makes my mind want to explode.  My heart is bursting with joy and gratitude and fear.  And to think that somewhere out there, around the corner of providence, God may have more children waiting to call me daddy.  It's too much to comprehend. 

If they post the audio from the conference, I'll post a link.  The messages are worth listening to.  Let me close by encouraging you to consider your role in ministry of orphan care.  Are you being called to adopt a child?  Are you being called to assist someone who is adopting?  Seize the opportunity, and respond in heartfelt obedience.  You'll be changing someone's life (or many lives) forever.

The Least of These

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me'" (Matt. 25:40, ESV).

I'm still ruminating on the the message, "Crucified Orphan Care," by Dr. Russell Moore.  His repeated reference to the "least of these" won't let me go.  Human beings, even in their fallen state, bear the image of God.  If we combine this truth with the fact that Jesus died to redeem them, then it is easy to see that human life is worthy of dignity and honor.

But are we quick to see that image in others? Do we serve others out of desire to serve the Lord?  Do we understand that each individual is "the least of these?"  As I listened to Dr. Moore this evening I had to acknowledge that I wasn't always quick to see the image of God in others.  Somehow I forgot that Jesus views the least of these as his brothers.

When we receive someone in the name of Christ, we receive Christ.  When we receive Christ, we receive the one who sent him.  Thus, the time we spend with the least of these, whether children or others, is time spent with Christ.  As we minister to their needs we minister to Christ.  If we are to do this in the manner in which he desires, then we need his strength to flow through us.

For His Name's Sake

"He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Ps. 23:3, ESV).

Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, restores our soul.  When we enter into his  fold, he provides us with what we need, makes us lie down in green pastures, and leads us beside still waters.  He is a fierce protector of his sheep.  He will strike his enemies with crushing force.  Not one of his sheep will be snatched away by the wolves.  He restores our soul, in part, through his atoning sacrifice.  His grace is the entry point of our salvation. We are saved by grace, through faith.  Jesus continues the process of restoring our soul through the ongoing work of sanctification wrought by the Spirit in our lives.

The reason he restores our souls, the reason he leads us in paths of righteousness, should grasp our attention.  He does this for "his name's sake."  That is, the Lord leads us in paths of righteousness, so that his name will not be defamed.  Through the glorious work of grace in our lives, the Lord's name is magnified.  He is the gracious Redeemer, the Just and the Justifier, the Holy One, and the list goes on.  His strength can not only make a people for himself, but also rescue them from the penalty of their sin.

As he brings us to righteousness, through the application of the gospel to our hearts by the enabling work of the Holy Spirit, God demonstrates that his holiness is unquestionable.  His eyes are to holy to look on sin, so sin must be punished.  God, in his grace, allows the guilt to be paid by substitution, but that substitute must meet his holy standards.  So in Christ, we find our holy substitute.  His life was given as a ransom for our sins.

As he works holiness in our lives, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, God demonstrates his strength cannot fail.  The people that he chose as his own, cannot be snatched from his hands.  He will not, nor could he be compelled to, let them go.  If God were to let them fall away, it would appear that he was unable to keep them.  This he will not do.

The Lord is serious about his glory, and rightly so.  We tend to hear the echoes of egomania when hear that the Lord is jealous for his glory, but this is nonsense.  God is not a man, full of imperfections and weakness.  His is God-perfect, holy, just, righteous, gracious, merciful, and kind.  Were he to allow something to become greater than his own glory, he would be sanctioning idolatry, the very thing he loathes.  There is nothing greater than God, and thus there is nothing greater than his glory.

He restores our soul.  He brings it back from its wanderings.  He cleanses it of its disease.  He purges it of its disloyalties.  He brings it back to life.  He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  He wants to make his name known throughout the world through us.  He wants the nations to revere his name.  He wants drawn them, through his glory, to himself.  He redeems us for his purposes, so that we can make him known in the world.

Finding the Blessed Life

"Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!" (Ps. 119:1-3).

I think we all want a "blessed" life.  However, I am not certain we would define "blessed" in quite the same terms that we see in Scriptures.  Nor do I believe we understand how one enters into the blessed life in quite the same way the Bible explains it.  We think of the blessed life in terms of health, wealth, success, and fame.  The Bible presents the blessed life as a life that receives God's approval.  We think people enter a blessed life by chance (luck), or by birth (inheritance), or by good works.

Psalm 119:1-3 could be taken in such a way that it would appear that blessing comes by hard work, but that would be a misunderstanding.  The Psalmist isn't encouraging us to pull ourselves up by our spiritual bootstraps in order that we may be blessed by God.  He is demonstrating the kind of people God's blessing rests upon.  Those who "walk in the law of the LORD" are blessed.  Those "who keep his testimonies" experience blessing because they trust him.

It is impossible to walk in the law or to keep the LORD's testimonies without trusting in the Lord.  If we do not have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, it is humanly impossible to do God's will.  However, when we trust in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us.  The Spirit's presence enables us to do what the Lord requires.  He creates in us a desire for and a delight in the Word of God.  As we respond to the Spirit's leading, we find ourselves walking the ways of the Lord.  As we walk in the ways of the Lord, his good pleasure shines upon us and we are happy in him.  To be happy in the Lord and to be in his good pleasure is to be blessed.

Therefore, if we are to enjoy God's blessing, then we must walk according to his word.  More than this, we must pursue the ways of the Lord with wholehearted devotion.  If we will do this, the Lord promises that we will be blessed.  Are you pursuing the Lord with wholehearted devotion?  Are you walking in accordance with his Word? If you are not, then you will not experience the blessing of the Lord.

Is Your Heart Pure?

"Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin?'" (Prov. 20:9, ESV).

The common sense answer to this question is no one can say they have made their heart pure.  We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (see Rom. 3:23).  When we check the shape of our heart against the law of the Lord, we see how far we fall short.  If we deny the sin in our lives, we live in the greatest kind of delusion (see 1 John 1:8).

We need someone to make our hearts pure.  We need someone to cleanse us from our sins.  That someone is Jesus Christ our Lord.  When we come to faith in Christ we find cleansing and forgiveness.  Romans 8:1 states, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  First John 1:9 states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

How do we respond to the question?  Is your heart pure? Are you clean from sin?  If not, put your faith in Jesus Christ and he will cleanse you from your sin.  He will also give you a heart to follow him.

Sermon Recap 2-21-10

Morning: This morning we looked at living as "Children of Light."  In Ephesians 5:8-14, the apostle Paul sets forth three images of comparison between God's children and sons of disobedience.  The first image contrasts darkness and light.  The readers were once darkness, that is part of the rebellious world system the serves Satan's purposes and rejects God's purposes, but now they were light.  As children of the light they were to find God's will and do it.  The second image was a contrast between fruit and fruitlessness.  They were to produce the fruit of light (which is goodness, righteousness, and truth) in their lives, and they were to avoid the "fruitless" deeds of darkness (which is sin).  The second image was a contrast between hidden and revealed.  The deeds of darkness are shameful to discuss, but we are to expose them for what they are, so that they will no longer be hidden, and those who practice them might find forgiveness.

Evening:  We looked at the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article IV. Salvation.

Filling the Empty Cup

Sometimes I feel like a empty cup, yearning to be filled.  I realize that this a symptom of my shallowness, and not a sign of unfathomable depths.  David's cup ran over, and he was a man who lived deep and wide.  He knew that the inexhaustible riches of God's grace could never dry up.  There is no moment in David's life where he truly lacked confidence in God's provision.  Even in the moments where David appears to express doubt his immediate response is to call himself to renewed trust.

I can think of a few reasons we might feel "empty."  The first reason that springs to mind is grief.  It is natural to the human condition to feel a sense of emptiness in the face of a loss.  This feeling of emptiness is not sinful in and of itself.  If permitted to turn into despair of bitterness, it can become sin.  The second reason we might feel empty is that we have labored long and hard with very time for rest.  In these moments, feelings of emptiness are mostly likely symptoms of exhaustion.  The last reason for feeling empty is a failure to commune with God through prayer and Bible study.  The less time we spend with God, the emptier we feel.  Other reasons for feeling empty may exist, but I would like to look at the third reason a little farther.

There is a temptation to live in the shallow end of faith.  Because we lack self-discipline, we find Bible study to be dull and boring.  Often, Bible reading can take tremendous amounts of intellectual energy and yield meager results.  This experience generates frustration which in turn creates a pattern of neglect.  However, reading is a skill that diminishes with neglect.  The old expression, "If you don't use it, you lose it," applies to the skill of reading and its sister discipline, thinking. We read through passages without any sense of their historical setting, their relation to other Scripture, or how we should respond to these timeless truths.

Prayer is little different.  Most of our praying barely moves beyond the rote prayers of childhood.  We have lost the sense of majesty that prayer should instill in our hearts.  He have the privilege of speaking to the Creator of the Universe, our gracious heavenly Father, and yet we treat it like is inconsequential.  We reason that we don't really need to pray, because God knows what we are thinking anyway.  Although he does know our every thought, he still commands us to pray.

I think most people want to only want to wade into the mercy of God, because they are afraid that if they jump into the deep end of faith they'll lose themselves.  To a point, they are right.  However, it is only in losing their lives that they will find them.  The solution to this feeling of emptiness is to fill ourselves up with God.  Or rather, to allow God to fill us up with himself.  We do this by staying in the Word, not to learn about God, but know him.  Along with the diligent labor of studying God's Word, we must also make much work of prayer.  We must become the kind of people who move past simplistic praying, and who are instead transformed through prayer.

What about you?  Do you feel empty?  Are you spending time each day with God in his Word and in prayer?  If your cup is empty, pray: "Lord, here is my cup. Please fill it up."

He Will Uphold His People

"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand" (Ps. 37:23-24, ESV).

I have known many who have felt uncomfortable with the thought that God directs our lives.  It strikes at the very heart of human autonomy.  We want absolute freedom to think and do as we please, but such freedom doesn't exist in the human experience.  No one picks their parents, the day of their birth, the color of their eyes or hair.  None of us picked where we would be born, where we would attend school, or the opportunities that we would have.

We didn't have absolute freedom in our past, we don't have it in our present, and we will never have it in our future.  There are so many forces outside of our control in life that we often have to change our minds.  But God isn't driven along by outside forces.  He never has to change his mind.  As David reminds, he has established our steps.

When we can have confidence in the reality that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, the Lord will keep us from falling to our destruction.  He will uphold us in his grace and mercy.  The knowledge that God has ordered our steps, that he has actively decreed certain events to transpire in our lives, as well as allowed other events to occur, should be an encouragement to us.  If God, in love, set our feet on the path of finding him, then it is certain that he will not allow our feet to wander too far off of that path.  He welcomes us to delight in him as he delights in us.

Thus, what we poses in the Lord is the freedom to love him, because he first loved us.  His love is unchanging, unflinching, never-fading, always-enduring, whole-hearted, unconditional love.  Even if we fall--like David did into grievous sin--the Lord will not let us be destroyed.  He may chasten us (and he will), but he will not let us be swept away.  His hand, his strong and mighty hand, will hold us up, and not let the flood waters of judgment sweep us away.

An Intelligent Heart

"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge" (Prov. 18:15, ESV).

Throughout the book of Proverbs, the pursuit of knowledge is not mere academics.  It isn't the pursuit of mere knowledge, but the pursuit of the knowledge of God.  As we pursue the knowledge of God, to learn of him and from him, we gain wisdom.  Wisdom is the skill of living in a way that please the Lord.

An intelligent heart is one that pursues the things of God.  It pursue his grace and his glory, because it knows that life is only found through these.  Over and over again, we are called to pursue the knowledge of the Lord.  Each time we are promised many precious promises.  Turning to the Lord not only saves us, it promises us a greater future.  We'd be foolish not to heed the call.

Okay, I'll Say It, "I Told You So!"

"Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, 'Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this loss.  Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship'" (Acts 27:21-22, ESV).

Have you ever battled the temptation to tell someone, "I told you so!"?  I know I have.  For one reason or another people who seek advise rarely ever take it.  It seems to me that they are compelled to know the right course of action, so they can definitely not take it.  Your gracious words fall on their ears like a hammer on an anvil--they don't leave an impression.

Often times, we have to watch helplessly as their lives spiral out of control.  We warn and rebuke, gently and patiently, calling them to return to their senses.  Too often, these calls to repentance are also unheeded. Down and down they fall approaching terminal velocity as they near rock bottom.

The worry wears on you, and it feel like you have compassion fatigue.  You want to care for them, but you can't hardly get yourself to believe they'll change.  And somehow they survive hitting rock bottom, and ask you to help them put the pieces together.  In your frustration, you want to tell them, "I told you this would happen."  But you can't.  If you tell them, "I told you so," out of frustration, they won't hear you.  They'll only here your anger and seek help elsewhere.

But there is a place for graciously reminding your listeners of your previous wisdom and insight.  Just as Paul, gentle chides the boat's crew hear in Acts 27:21-22.  In essence, Paul tells them that if they had listen to him they would have experienced this loss.  He doesn't tell them this to strike back at them for their foolish rejection of his sage advise.  No, he does these to remind them of his wisdom.  What he said would happen did happen.  He knew what he was talking about, and they need to know that he knew.  Why?  Because Paul had another warning for them, one that would cost many lives if it wasn't heeded.

When you are tempted to stomp on some foolish person, who has failed to listen to your advice, with a great big "I told you so," think twice.  Are you doing it because you want them to acknowledge that they were wrong and you were right? Or are you doing it because you know they need to listen to what you are saying?  If you are trying to win the title of the world's "rightest" person, save your "I told you so."  If you are trying to spare them another fall and more devastating consequences, remind them gently, "Remember, when I tried to get you to listen before.  Friend, hear me now."

Finding Heart

The love we hold back is the love we lose.  I was painfully shy when I was a child.  I found it very difficult to allow myself to trust people.  I found it easier to keep people at arms length.  I always held part of myself back.  However, I have learned that in holding back, I was the one who lost.

When we live our lives as slaves to fear, we miss out on many opportunities to mature as a person.  Measures  taken to avoid the pain of rejection and heartache, often prevent us from becoming fully functional mature adults. We go through life like wounded children, never quite certain of ourselves or our circumstances.

This insecurity heightens our fears, and we build up a persona to mask our terror.  All the while, we anxiously await the moment when the veil drops, and we are exposed for who we are.  If you have ever experienced these feelings, you understand how this vicious cycle spirals down deeper and deeper.  It feels as if there is never a moment when you can just relax and be yourself.

The time comes (repeatedly) when you have to decide whether or not you will stand or run.  If you decide to stand, then you have to risk trusting someone who may stab you in the back, or who may rip your heart right out of your chest, or who may love you unconditionally just the way you are.  They may see your neurosis for what it is: fear, and they may decide to love you through it.  If you decide to stand, then you might have to risk losing the very object of your love.

How can you mature without the risk?  If you play it safe, who wins.  Do you win, even though you're emotionally immature, insecure, and riddled with anxiety? Is that winning?  Does the person who needed your love win, even though you never gave it?  No, the love you keep is the love you lose.

God has blessed me with many wonderful people who have loved me just as I am.  He has also allowed me to be in situations where I had to learn a deeper love through the experience of loss or betrayal.  Before Ellie was born, I could not imagine how parents could endure prolonged illness in their child or how they would survive their child's death.  I didn't know how unimportant I could become (to myself), or that I could totally re-prioritize my life around the needs of another.  Yet, God, in his grace, enabled me to do these things.  

Ellie's premature birth, physical complications, and her subsequent death were so bitterly painful.  Looking back on the situation, I see how God was stretching and growing me each day we had with her.  In a lot of ways, I think my encounter with Ellie brought me into manhood.  Her complications forced me to take on a level of responsibility that I had never faced.  I was responsible for her life, and in that moment I decided I would do whatever it took.  It is a decision I will never regret, even though things didn't turn out as planned.

I could have protected myself.  I could have said no to the idea of adoption.  I could have abandoned Ellie, and left the decisions up to her birth mother, a frightened teenage girl alone in the world.  In God's providence, I took the risk.  I stepped out in faith, and opened my heart to love.  But instead of losing everything, I found a heart.  It was a heart that was deeper and wider, a heart that understood the cost of tough choices and was ready to make them, a heart that rested in knowing God's heart.  I also found a man, who was unwilling to live in fear any longer, a man willing to love no matter what the risk, because he now knows: the love we keep is the love we lose.

Some Thoughts on Procrastination

I hate being a procrastinator.  There is too much to accomplish within the limited amount of time we are given on earth to keep putting things off.  I am looking at an ever-growing stack of "to read" books, there are blog posts to write, sermons and lessons to prepare, classes to plan, a family that needs attention, and on and on the list goes.  Yet, in the midst of all this activity I find myself resistant to careful planning and execution.

I just keep putting stuff off.  I'll read that book next week.  I'll return that call tomorrow.  I'll check on them in the morning.  Not right now dear, Daddy's busy.  There always seems to be something more urgent, something undone, or something that I would rather not do.  I guess my procrastination is rooted in laziness, immaturity, irresponsibility, self-indulgence, and a lack of skill in time management.

Laziness, or sloth, is a spiritual condition with physical symptoms.  Mankind was created to work, to be creative, and to be productive.  When we fail to acknowledge the goodness of work and its necessity, we are prone to avoid toiling away with all our might.  We need to recognize laziness as sin, confess and turn away from it, and seek to become diligent.

Irresponsibility is often connected with laziness.  Sometimes, we excuse our laziness with the expression, "that's not my job," or "that isn't in my job description."  Responsible people take initiative.  They don't wait see how others will respond, they do what has to be done.  At some point, we have to learn to stand on our own two feet and meet our obligations.  I'm not suggesting that we never seek help, but we should live off of others like parasites.  We have to learn what our responsibilities are, and with the Lord's help, meet them head on.

Immaturity is often at the root of both irresponsibility and laziness.  We should all be seeking to grow in maturity.  Part of that growth is to understand our place in this world and to take the appropriate action based on that knowledge.  Ultimately, we have to grow up.

Procrastination is often also accompanied by self-indulgence.  We tend to put off the things that we find unpleasant.  For this reason, many people with a toothache put off going to the dentist.  Others put off going the gym, because they find exercise to be unpleasant. We have to stop making provision for our flesh-it's weak, and doesn't want the things of God.

Finally, one tends to gain skill with time management as they mature, take responsibility, become diligent, and stop giving into every desire.  Sure, we can learn something from those who are task oriented, and who have dedicated their lives to getting things done.  But apart from growing up and getting to it, there is very little they can do to motivate us.

Pray for me that I will overcome procrastination.  I'll pray that you, if you are a procrastinator, will overcome it as well.  I hope you don't put it off too long.  You never know what you might accomplish.

Sermon Recap 2-14-10

Morning: The sermon, "The Right Kind of Life," looked at Paul's admonitions from Ephesians 5:3-7.  In this passage, Paul reminds his readers than sexual immorality, impurity, and greed are not fitting among God's holy people.  He farther reminds them that obscenity, foolish talking, and course joking are not fitting uses of their holy mouths.  Rather they should live as children of obedience that speak words of gratitude.  Paul warns that those who live as immoral, impure, and greedy will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God, and that God's wrath abides on them.  The aim of the warning is to keep God's holy people from participating with those who are disobedient.

Evening: We looked at the doctrine of man from the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.  We looked at the fact that man is special creation of God, the gift of gender, the age of accountability, man's fallen nature, and man's need for grace.

Revere the Word

"Whoever despises the the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded" (Prov. 13:13, ESV).

This proverb is about one's attitude toward the revealed word of God. Solomon offers a warning through this proverb, one that is often ignored because of a misconception on our parts.  We often use the images we associate with such terms to help us interpret them when we read them in the Scripture.  These images can help us to understand what it means to despise something, but they may mislead us also.

When I think of someone despising something, I imagine them seeking to destroy it.  Sometimes I envision the person publicly protesting the thing (or person) they despise.  Images from news casts, commercials, television shows, movies, and books flood my mind.  Most of these images have violent content or passionate emotional responses attached to them.  They lead us to assume that every mention of the word, despise (or hate), carries with it strong emotions that lead to public outcry or militant resistance, but that is not always the case.

When Solomon says, "Whoever despises the word," he is not only talking those who seek its destruction, or publicly protest it.  Many people who despise the Word do so without every trying to destroy it, and never utter a complaint against it.  Many of them poses a copy of the Bible and display it with great pride.  They may even speak highly of its contents, characters, and themes.  They may study it, memorize it, and quote it with ease.

Yet, in all of their affirmation one thing is missing: obedience. Even in the absence of negative emotions, one can despise something.  Let's say I am driving down a road and encounter a sign warning me of a collapsed bridge ahead.  Let's say I shrug it off, and drive off a cliff.  It can still be said that I despised the sign.  Failure to heed the warning is the same as defying the warning.  Failure to respond in obedient faith to the Word is the same as despising the Word.

Conversely, revering the commandment means obeying it.  Where there is no obedience, there is no reverence.  We can't really say we understand the Word, if we are not doing what it says.  Obedience brings reward; disobedience brings destruction.  Therefore, we must choose the course we will follow: reverent obedience to the Word or rebellious disobedience to it.  It doesn't matter if rebellion is red hot defiance or cool apathy.  God still views it as despising his Word, and it leads to destruction.  Revering the word leads to reward.

Listen to Advise

"The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advise" (Prov. 12:15, ESV).

Sometimes we make our lives more difficult because we fail to listen.  There are probably times where we all think we know the best course of action, but we have not really considered everything carefully.  Sometimes it's pure stubbornness on our part.

Solomon warns us, "the way of a fool is right in his own eyes."  When we begin to think that we can do no wrong, it tends to stop up our ears. When we stop hearing advise, we become fools.

The wise man, "listens to advise."  We need to be those who listen to advise.  The key to wisdom is humility.  Humility paves the way to seeking advise and listening to it.

Learning to Love

How do you love some one who doesn't love his/her self?  What is the proper Christian response to self-destructive behavior?  What if rebuke and correction are not taking root?  What if you have tried kindness and patience, but you feel you are about out of both?

Some situations in life are so complicated and frustrating.  There are no easy answers, at least none that satisfy the heart bent on honoring God.  The Lord would not be pleased if we went around conking heads together.

Instead, we must turn to the Lord in a spirit of prayer.  We must pray as if lives were at stake, because they are. We must exercise patience while we pray for the strength to endure.  We must trust the Lord to help us bear up under the load of our circumstance.

Another thing we must do is to stay the course.  We keep caring.  We keep speaking the truth in love.  We keep hoping for the sun to rise on another day for those wayward sheep.  We cry out to the holy God, who rescued us from our sin, that he would deliver them from theirs.

Love can't "throw in the towel."  Love never says die.  Love must continue to plod along, steady and straight. We must try to see ourselves in their shoes, and love them like we would want to be loved.  All the while, we should be asking God to love them through us, and to teach us to love them like he does.

Speaking a Blessing

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Num. 6:24-27, ESV).

This was the blessing Aaron and the high priests that followed him were to speak over the people.  By praying this blessing over the people they were putting the name of the Lord upon the people.  They were marking out this people as those blessed by God.

Throughout the Scripture we see the people of God blessing and being blessed.  When was the last time you blessed someone?  I'm not asking when was the last time you did something nice for someone else, but when was the last time you prayed this kind of prayer?

Blessings are usually uttered without the presumption of response.  Those who pray a blessing over another person realize that God is fully capable of blessing that person, if he so chooses, but they also know that he is not obligated to do so.

Asking the Lord to bless another is a natural response the the blessings he has bestowed upon us.  We have been blessed, so we seek to bless others.  Much like Aaron we are to seek the Lord's blessing upon his people.  We intercede on their behalves for God's gracious provision for their lives.  Consider praying this blessing for your family and friends.  Pray it for your enemies.  We who are blessed, must bless in return.  Why not use an example from Scripture to inform our actions?

Some Thoughts on Snow

I love the snow.  I have since I was a child.  Every winter when I was growing up I would pray for tons of snow.   Unfortunately for me, I live in Kentucky and we don't get it by the ton.  We generally only get snow a few inches at a time.  I know there have been times where greater amounts of snow have fallen, but I don't remember any really great (more than 8 inches) snow falls.  I always wanted the kind of snow fall that would allow for tunneling.  My aunt got me a sled for Christmas around the time I turned ten.  The first chance I got I took it for a test run.  The snow was so shallow that sled exposed the mud under the snow its first trip down the hill.  I never really got to enjoy that sled.

Sophia seems to love the snow.  She would stay out in it for hours if we would let her.  She giggles will excitement when she sees snow falling.  Last night we were out in the snow and she said, "It 'nowing. I want to play in the 'now."  She stood there looking up into the night sky, starring at snow falling through lights above, frantically waving her hands about trying to capture a flake or two.  Her wonder was infectious.  Her laughter was heartwarming.  The moment was magical, and in that moment I remembered the awe and wonder that snow can cause.

I can't think of snow without thinking about the Maker of the snow.  It amazes me to think that God created water in just such a way, that under the right circumstances, it can freeze in the form of snow and float softly down to earth.  In spite of the impurities that are contained in the water drop and surrounding air, snow appears white instead of gray, black, or beige.  Snow, when undisturbed, appears clean, shimmery, and brilliant.  The world under the cover of snow looks like a slate that has been wiped clean, or a canvas ready for paint.

My mind also turns to the biblical metaphor :"'Come now, let us reason together', "says the Lord",'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are crimson, they shall become like wool'"(Isa. 1:18, ESV).  Thus, snow here is a metaphor for purity or cleanliness.  Their hands are stained with blood (sin) and are therefore scarlet or crimson.  God is promising to take away their sin so that they appear as white (innocent) as the snow and bleached wool.  The pristine beauty of a snow covered environment can then serve as a reminder of cleansing cover believers receive in Christ.

Let me add just one more thought: the danger with over-analyzing snow is that we fail to enjoy it.  Sometimes, we need to stop thinking about the snow and go out and play in it.  It is part of God's good creation which we are encouraged to enjoy.  So put some warm clothes and a pair of gloves, and let your inner child go out and play.  And while your at it, thank God for the beauty and wonder of it all.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

It's good to know that when you are in a ditch you have friends that will come pull you out.  I happened to slide off the road this evening, and had to call on one of my neighbors to get me out of the ditch.  It's a good feeling to know you have people who care about you.  I'm blessed to serve in a church full of people who care about each other.

I am also grateful that I count on so many people to pull me out of other tough spots in life.  God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family and wonderful friends.  It is good to remind ourselves of all the great things in our lives.  God blesses us continually, but we need to develop the eyes to see it.  I hope you have family and friends you can count on to get you out of tough spots.  It makes it so much easier to get by.

Sermon Recap 2-7-10

Morning: The sermon, "Imitate God," came from Ephesians 5:1-2.  In this passage, Paul encourages his readers to imitate God and Christ by living a life of love.  They are to imitate God as little children imitate their parents.  We are to imitate Christ, in that we love by laying down our lives for others.  We are to imitate God in righteousness, holiness, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness.  Like God, we must initiate reconciliation, we must pave the way for forgiveness, and seek the good of others.  As we imitate Christ, through sacrificial love, it is a pleasing aroma to God.  After we come to Christ, we follow the pattern he has set out before us.

Evening: Business meeting.

A Grieving Heart

I can't seem to shake this sadness.  It feels as if there is a tornado raging in the space between my heart and my gut, ripping my soul to shreds.  But the pain is not mine.  I keep thinking of the heartache now endured by people close to me.  Loss. Broken dreams. Tears.  In reality, it would be unnatural, unholy not to feel this sorrow.  It is impossible to watch one we love being wounded so deeply, and not be affected.

I yearn for their comfort.  I desperately want some insight into the reasons behind these events, but I am certain that I will probably never really get those answers.  This time of darkness will most certainly serve a more noble end, although we cannot see that end just yet.  To paraphrase Joseph's statement to his brothers, "Satan meant this for evil, but God meant it for good."  Death is not a good thing.  It is not what was intended in the original design of humanity.  Death enter the world through Adam's rebellion.  But just as Adam's sin brought death, so Jesus' death brings life.

In seeking to comfort some grieving souls today, I reminded them of what the psalmist said in Psalm 46:1, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."  They were, and are, also a balm to my own heart.  As our refuge, the Lord is a place in which we hide and find protection.  He shields us from the effects of Adam's sin, and from the effects of our sins as well.  As our strength, he enables us to endure under the burden's of life, because he has promised us many great and precious promises.  He cannot break his promises.  As our very present help, he walks with us, dwells in us, and works through us to bring about his glory.

My heart is heavy for the hurt my friends are enduring, but hope resides there as well.  I know his love for them is unquestionable.  He demonstrated his love for us through Christ's death on the cross.  My faith is not shaken, but my heart is stirred.  I have found myself more prayerful, more reflective.  I keep praising the Lord for the grace he has so clearly shown us, and I keep asking him to give me the wisdom to trust his grace even when I can't see it as clearly.  I also keep praying for those who are hurting, knowing that God is with them and loves them with a love greater than mine.

The Thing About Words

Words are very powerful things.  With our words we can build up others, or we can tear them down.  In a moment of anger, we can loose our words like of volley of arrows piercing everyone in our sights.  In a moment of passion, we can speak tender words that radiate with such intense heat that hearts are set ablaze.  In a moment of joy, we can set forth words in a river of praise and adoration.

Yet in other moments, words fail.  At a moment of deep loss, words often rest limp on the tongue. They may lodge in the throat with such violent opposition to being spoken that it feels as if we are being choked.  They may rest heavily at the bottom of our hearts threatening to drive it deep down within us.

In moments like these, words fail to convey the anguish we feel in a way that seems adequate.  When grief is at its heaviest, there really are no words to describe it.  Words also fail to comfort at moments like this. Well aimed words, well honed by frequent use, fall short of the mark.  A grieving heart doesn't want words, it wants relief.

So in times of grief, pack up your cliches, put away your fortune cookie proverbs, and stop shooting from the hip.  Only God's Word, applied by his Spirit, has the power to heal.  If we forget that, we're little more than clanging cymbals in ears of the grieving.

In the times where our words fail, it is time to weep with those who weep.  It is time to gather around them and minister to their need.  As we minister to them, we will speak to them God's Word.  We will remind them what God has said through the Scripture.  We will urge them to endure to the end.  We will mourn this evil world with them, even as we long for the new world that is coming.  For a day is coming, when our King will wipe the tears from our eyes.  We know this because his Word never fails.

The Lord Our Rock

"To you, O Lord, I call: my rock, be not deaf to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.  Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary" (Ps. 28:1-2, ESV).

The Lord is our only source of hope. It is helpful to remember that he is not deaf, even though sometimes it feels as if our prayers aren't heard.  The process of waiting on the Lord, especially through difficult circumstances, can cause feelings of desperation.  It can feel that we are about to be consumed by the events surrounding us, and that no one cares what happens to us, but these feelings are far from the truth.

The Lord invites us to call on him, he delights in hearing and answering the prayers of his people.  He is our rock, unchanging, unbreakable, and solid.  In him we take refuge.  David reminds us that the Lord is the only one who can help.  If we cry to him in desperation, he hears.  If he hears, he brings about his glory and our good through our situation.  He the Rock upon which we should build our lives.

Happy Birthday, Delia!

"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all" (Prov. 31:29, ESV).

I want to honor Delia today since it is her birthday, but I am finding it difficult to put my feelings into words. The words are there, but they feel too personal, too private.  So I'll share a few of her excellent qualities.

Delia is my best friend, and I love her very much.  I am grateful to God that he brought her into my life. When I see her, it makes me smile deep down inside.  She is truly beautiful, both on the inside and the outside. She makes me want to be a better man.

Although it may sound kind of corny, I'll share a thought that occurred to me while watching Delia blow out the candles on her cake.  I kept thinking, she's the one that blew out the candles, but I'm the one whose wish came true.

Why Should I Fear?

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 27:1, ESV).

This Scripture is worthy of meditation (of course, all Scripture is worthy of meditation).  This verse reminds us of the source of our courage.  We are not to find solace in our own strength, because our strength is insufficient for the calling to which God has called us in Christ Jesus.  We need a greater strength than what we possess.

David reminds us that the Lord is our light.  He is the ray of hope that pierces the darkness of our night and drives the shadows of doubt away.  The Lord illuminates our mind through the Spirit applying God's Word to our life.  As he enlightens us, we see the dangers of sin so that we can turn away from them.  The Lord shows us the path that leads to life.

The Lord is our salvation.  He has delivered us from sin and death.  He has rescued us from ourselves.  He has paid the penalty of our sin on the cross, and bore our shame.  The Lord saves us to the uttermost.  By his grace, through faith in Christ, we are no longer objects of wrath, but the objects of his love and compassion.

The Lord is our stronghold.  He is the fortress into which we run when the minions of Satan lay siege to our life.  He is the shelter in which we rest as the storms of life rage overhead.  He is our stronghold.  The Lord is fortress that cannot be broken into.

As David allows these images to swirl in his mind he comes to one ultimate conclusion: I have no reason to fear anyone.  Why should we fear when the Lord is for us.  If Christ is for us, who can be against us.  The reality is that all the world may be against us, but as long as Christ is for us the world will not overcome us in any ultimate or final sense.

Your righteousness doesn't depend on you.  It depends on the righteous payment of Jesus, who died in your place.  Your success doesn't depend on you.  It depends on the God who works mightily through you by his Spirit. As you seek to obey him, remember that man can do nothing to you that God does not allow.  He will uphold you and preserve you.  Don't be afraid, only obey him.

Seeking Forgiveness

"Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.  Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from old.  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord" (Ps. 25:4-7, ESV).

Sometimes the simplest expressions make the most profound impact.  Here David is expressing his longing for the mercy of God.  If the Lord remembered (in order to punish) the sins of his people, they would be consumed by his rage.  However, in his steadfast love he prepared a way for their forgiveness through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus the Christ.

David expresses a universal reality that we are all in need of instruction from God.  If we are to find God, he must reveal himself to us.  If we are to live a way that pleases him, it is his power that must manifest itself in us.  David's terms are very personal, "Make me to know your ways," and "Teach me your paths."  David's heart is fearing the sin within it.

This psalm is filled with confession.  It expresses guilt and anxiety over sin.  It drips with faith--ripe, full, and wounded.  It is a faith wounded by its own stumbling.  I do not know what David had been through prior to writing this psalm, but he obviously wanted forgiveness.  And David knew exactly where to find it.  He ran to the Lord.

David does not lay out a list of righteous acts which has a performed and ask God to remember them.  He does not lay charges against his enemies, he merely acknowledges that they are many and fierce. What he asks is for instruction, mercy, and forgiveness.

This can be a reminder for us.  In our sin, we need to turn to the Lord and seek forgiveness.  We need to confess our sins to him, and seek cleansing.  He is faith and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness (see 1 Jn. 1:9).  If we trust him to forgive us, through Jesus Christ the Son, then we will be cleansed by his grace and for his glory.