Into the Cold

"And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold." --Matthew 24:12
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I hate winter! I know when I was a child it was a different story. I could play for hours in the freezing cold, not caring at all where my mittens were or if my hat was on. I just knew that when it was cold, there was snow; that meant snow people to build, snow wars to fight, and snow angels to make. That was fine. In my youthful ignorance, I never thought a bit about frostbite, cold hands, or even freezing to death.
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Biologists tell us that the cold is a subtle thing. One story that was making its way around the web had to do with a park ranger in the Yosemite Mountains who was gone all day; at night he went into his cabin and was so tired he never lighted a fire. A rescue dog happened by the cabin and discovered the man, nearly froze to death. The dog licked the man and snuggled up next to him to warm the cold body. Later, the man commented the dog saved his life. He concluded the story by saying that the cold was so subtle. He did not realize it but in starting to freeze, the cold washed over him creating a warmth the man could not imagine. He never would have known he was freezing to death because it hit him slowly.
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I guess you could say that because of the iniquity (wicked lifestyles) that is going on around us, it is easy to get sucked into its lifestyle without a thought. A small thought originally passed off, develops into full-blown sin and one sin after another, without a moment of discernment, drops off into the pit of iniquity and we are lost in it.
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M*A*S*H was one of my favorite TV shows. Simply put, it lulled me into its hedonistic message--booze, cheap sex, and popularity are what you need in the world and you don't need much else. It later became small mini-dramas about values, but even then those values were much more worldly than the normal Christian can handle. The popularity of "Sex and the City" and the premium TV channels brought more iniquity into our homes; the lack of our Bible reading and prayer lives didn't help. And Satan began the barn dance that two-steps into the pits of hell for eternity.
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It's not a popular message. But it is one we must carefully evaluate and measure every day as we walk the Christian life. Eyes are watching us, even when we don't think about it, measuring our integrity against our words. May they find us faithful and not sinking slowly into the cold.
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Father God, thank you for the warning signs you put out before us. Help us to see the danger of slipping into the crevass that Satan has put before us, baited with things beautiful to the eye. Help us to keep walking in the steps of Jesus. In His name, Amen.

Ready to Harvest Fields?

Mat 9:37-38--Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
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Our church just finished up its Vacation Bible School for 2008, the first school we have had in several years. We had a lot of new workers along with those who have done VBS many times before. The one thing that seemed to be on their hearts was, "How can we touch kids?" I saw one lady who was hardly able get up as she moved around to the songs and encouraged the kids and the adults. It was a treat. I saw a man pick up a child in a laundry basket and run that child to the finish line. I saw children learn lessons about service and then set out to serve their family and their friends and their community and most of all Jesus.
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The key ingredient in our VBS was service, and not just service to be busy, but service with a purpose. My friends, if you are taking time to read this, I hope you'll add a couple of seconds to your time to pray for the community of Mulberry Grove which needs served in Jesus' name so that people can find Jesus. It was really no surprise that 1/3 of the kids who came to our VBS don't have a church home; they come for special programs but they get no guidance from their parents in terms of spiritual things. That doesn't surprise me either after I met the father in town who said he didn't want to influence his child's view on religion; he wanted the child to make up his own mind; the child was 5. I have a feeling the child would have picked Jesus anyway!
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It is now time to make a difference, whether it is the church I preach to or any other church in town or anywhere around us. I should think watching the dismal failure of our economy, the politcal confusion and unrest, the meltdown of world leadership, and the more than adequate reminders of God's power acting on the weather and tectonic plates of our world, should point us back to Christ.
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Can we learn a lesson from the 16,500 native missionaries serving Asia under the Gospel for Asia banner? Catastrophies have hit their world like megaton bombs -- but yet they still go after the harvest! It's hard work; but they press on. Thank you, native missionaries, for helping us see what we need to be reminded of--get the folks at home!

Father, at times we forget because of the world around us; help us to remember to take the world for Jesus. And be with the folks in our community that their hearts will be open and that we will be ready to take them the message. In Jesus' name, Amen!

To Look But Not to Touch!

Deu 32:48-52 On that same day the LORD spoke to Moses, (49) "Go up Mount Nebo in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession. (50) Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. (51) For both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence. (52) Although you will view the land from a distance, which I am giving the Israelites, you will not go there."
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Maybe you remember as I do walking into the house right after mom had finished baking the world's most beautiful chocolate chip cookies, or maybe oatmeal and raisin, or quite possibly her world famous snickerdoodles (or at least I thought so). You know what I mean, the smell of the brown sugar and butter simply filled the house. And just as you were ready to try to sneak one off the plate, mom said that you were not able to have one. They were for some special event a little bit later.
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Can you imagine what it would have been like for Moses? For all those years he had put up with those people. And now, there was to be no reward for him because he had forgotten to keep God holy in front of the children of Israel. Can you imagine how heavy his steps must have been up the mountain? Can you imagine the bittersweet joy tears and sorrow tears he shed because he realized the error he had made, perhaps and probably thoughtlessly and carelessly in the moment and passion of anger? And even then, God buried him. Imagine going to your grave knowing that no man would ever pass by where you were, knowingly at least, when you should have been a national hero enshrined in front of the world for all of known time. Or at least many of us would think that way!
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My mind runs in a hundred different ways as I consider the lesson of the moment. But if I had to choose one, it would be this one. Ignorant and passionate mistakes still have consequences. Just because our heart is right does not allow open rebellion against God to be passed off as just a moment of humaness and we need to understand that right now. We must press on toward the mark of the high calling of God and our personal moments of weakness may be forgiven but never accepted. Every moment of weakness we find ourselves in, every time we are forced to take a heavy step in sorry, every incident we find ourselves lacking in needs the forgiveness of Christ and strength of the Holy Spirit. May we never be satisfied with our human frailties but may we always look like Christ or at least strive our best to that end.
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Father God, thank you for your grace and love. Though we know we will falter in our steps, and though you know we will falter in our steps, forgive us, please. And never let us be happy about our ways until they reflect the steps of Jesus. In His name, Amen.

Spread the Word

Matthew 28:16-20 - 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

There are some late first century or early second century Christian relics that were recently discovered in archaeological digs in Northern Europe. I wondered how Christian relics got to Northern Europe around the same time that Christianity spread to Turkey. There is no record of any of the Apostles going that far North and there was not much trade from the Mediterranean area. I doubt that there is proof yet, but I wonder if it was from Roman soldiers.

Maybe one Centurion finished his tour in Jerusalem and was transferred to Germany. Maybe another was transferred to England. What if the first told his men: "I was guarding the governor while he interrogated a Jewish rebel and I was amazed. The rebel refused to answer a single question! He never insisted on his innocence or plead for mercy. Nothing! My men whipped him and turned him over to others to carry out his sentence. Three days later I heard that his followers said he was alive and was the Son of God and I believe them.

Maybe the other told his men: "My men and I were watching a Jewish rebel dying on the cross and he said "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." The sky turned black as night and the big curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom like someone getting out. When the rebel died I said "Surely this man is the Son of God."

What if the men responsible for whipping and crucifying Jesus were the same ones who spread the good news to Northern Europe? If they did they certainly did not know the full story of what Jesus did in Galilee or what he said when teaching in the temple. But they told the story they knew.

Disciples are made by people like you and me who take time to tell someone the story they know. Don't wait until you understand all scripture. Don't wait until you have a great message memorized. Be ready to tell someone the story you know of why you go to church and what God has done in your life.

Lord God I thank you that we only have to tell the story we know and let you take it from there. Help us find people who need to hear the story. Amen.

Pray!

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, ESV)

Thursday, May 1, 2008, has been designated as the National Day of Prayer. It is an opportunity for all Americans of faith to join together in approaching the throne of Glory in petition for our country, its leaders, and for our world and its existence. Here is a prayer for this week that we can apply to ourselves, our churches, our country:

Lord, make our hearts turn toward you

Without malice for our fellowman

Without haughtiness within

Cleanse us from our selfish approach to your work

With understanding and compassion

With love and grace

Send us forward for kingdom strengthening

With understanding and compassion

With grace and love.

May it be so on our lips, in our minds and from our hearts. Amen.

How Long is God's Arm?

The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you." -- Numbers 11:23
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It was just a normal day for Moses! Fire had consumed the outskirts of the camp. He had two million people to take care of for which he truly needed help. And now the rabble, the non-Israelites who had come out of Egypt with the Israelites, had taken up the "O Unhappy Day Chorus" because of the rations that had been set before them. Their complaint was a simple one: they needed some variety in their diet.
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And, true to form, they swayed the crowd to begin to complain about the food. Numbers 11 records in verse 4-6, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost (emphasis mine) --also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!" They forgot how hard the food was to come by and how depressing their work was!
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And now Moses has another problem. God isn't happy with these people. And when God ain't happy, nobody's happy. Moses is disturbed as well by the attitude of these people. And in all the chaos of the day, God, though not really thrilled about the rebellion of His people against His provision, promises to provide meat for His people, enough meat that they will be up to their ears in what will soon become foul fowl!
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Moses then asks, I think out of both curiosity and disbelief, a long question that essentially boils down to, "How are you going to do that?" And God's answer is a simple one that challenges both Moses' inquisitiveness and his doubting, "Is the Lord's arm too short?"

Bingo! There it is! Moses had seen everything that had happened, from the plagues to the Passover, from the burning bush to the burning sky, from no people to tons of people, and he still asks God if he can do it!
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Moral to the story for you and me: If God says He will do it, He will do it and He has more than enough power to do what He says. I sometimes wonder how God can help little churches keep afloat and how He can take care of thousands of missionaries in hostile lands. I wonder how He can heal the sick, while some we pray for so diligently pass away from this life. I wonder how I will survive from day to day. But I often miss the fact that all of this, every little iota of it all, is God's planning and work. So, next time we don't see how something is going to happen we need to remember this lesson from the life of Moses. Love the Lord and have a normal day -- God will still be in it.

Father, I confess my ignorance to the might and majesty of your ways. Forgive me when I doubt you and help me to accept your blessings, even if they aren't what I think I need. I know you know all about me. And thank you, for Jesus, the greatest blessing of all. He really is what I need. When I act ignorantly, please forgive me, put my feet on the right path, and help me press on. In Jesus name, Amen!

Foolishness for April Fools’ Day

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, ESV)

Today of all days we ought to charge the world with the message that is to them foolishness. Instead of attacking others with pranks and backhanded compliments, we ought to approach the world outside the church with the wisdom of the gospel. How often we try to impress the world with our intelligence. I recall the time a young man commenting on a movie that a group was watching together. “This is set in Seattle,” he announced. “You can go anywhere by bus in Seattle.” Most of us were from a more southerly environment and had no knowledge of the great coffee city of the northwest. In fact we were in awe of the metropolitan knowledge of the young man.

And then another of the group intoned, “No, you can’t.” and a minor argument followed.

“Yes, you can,” the first speaker insisted. “In Seattle, you can go anywhere by bus.”

“No,” his opponent countered, “you can’t go to Sidney.”

Suddenly the intelligence of the first young man was deflated. His wisdom turned into foolishness right in front of him. Of course, everyone understood (as you do) that the well-traveled young man was speaking about traveling within the city of Seattle. And quite possibly they have such a spectacular mass transit system that no part of the city is unreached by the web of bus routes. Sadly, whenever both young men were at a gathering after that the first young man was afraid to speak because he would be made to look foolish by the second.

Too often this is our own approach to sharing Christ with the world around us. We are afraid of appearing foolish. Think of the message—the sinless one would leave all the comforts of heaven (not just a comfy position, but heaven), become a man with limits heretofore unknown to Him, die to pay for the sins that others committed, and offer the payment so that the actual sinners might avoid death. It bears a strong resemblance to the three-dollar bill. But this foolishness is just what we are called to spread.

How about it? Have you been foolish today? Will you?

Father, strengthen our resolve to be willing to look foolish for your wisdom that others might know you. Amen.