Blessing

“When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me – me too, my father!”                                        Gen. 27:34

Every time I read this story, it grips my heart.  Here is a grown man crying out bitterly to his dad for a blessing.  You know the story; Jacob deceives his father Isaac and steals the birthright that is rightfully intended for his brother Esau.  When Esau enters into the chambers of his dying father, he cries out for a blessing; something… anything that will affirm him from his father and will stay with him for the rest of his life.  This story ends with Esau weeping from a broken heart and stewing over a bitter grudge against his brother. (Gen. 27:30-41)

We don’t talk much about blessings these days and seldom are they offered with the same structure and ceremony as in Old Testament times.  However, blessing is still a much needed part of every healthy heart.  Think of it this way; blessings are words or actions that express fondness for, confidence in or recognition of a specific person.  We all need a certain amount of loving support and affirmation from those around us.  I agree that we should depend upon our Heavenly Father for all of our self-worth and emotional support.  However, it has become clear to me that God uses real live people in our lives to convey his blessings in words and actions that we can receive and clearly understand.  In doing so, He is able to bless both the giver and the receiver of His divine blessings.

When the blessings of affirmation and support are held back, there are many ways in which a hungry heart will compensate for this emptiness.  For example, some will become perfectionists or over-achievers in an attempt to “earn” the blessing.  Some will pursue a variety of relationships seeking to “find’ the blessing elsewhere.  Others will withdraw and become isolated, stubbornly attempting to prove they can live without the blessing and support of others.  Some, like Esau, will become angry and bitter in an attempt to camouflage the hurt that is eating at them from within.  Clearly, a heart void of blessing can lead to many life-altering characteristics and struggles. 

If you identify with the previous paragraph, let me remind you that our God is, in fact, a God of blessing.  He can heal your heart from the pain and bitterness of the past and can affirm you as His special child.  Keep in mind that Jesus died for YOU, yes you.  God’s word is full of affirmation and support for his children.  While you may never receive that desired blessing from your earthly father, your spouse, or your boss; you can know without a doubt that you are loved by the God of this universe.  He is waiting for you to cry out for the blessing reserved for only you. 

Finally, I challenge all of you to look around and try to identify those who are hungry for a blessing from you.   I am quite sure that there is someone in your life who needs to be encouraged, affirmed and supported.  For some reason, (I know the reason but we won’t talk about it now.) we are much more familiar with criticism than with blessing.  It is much easier for us to tear down than to build up.  Yet, as Christians we are called to be “ambassadors for Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:20) Through you, God intends to bless your children, your spouse, your co-workers, your extended family, your neighbors, and even your enemies.  Something as simple as a word of encouragement, a prayer, a listening ear, or a hug, can send a power message of affirmation and support. Opportunities for giving away blessings are all around us and we are all called to be good stewards of these divine appointments.  So get busy!  Blessings are yours to give away and you’ll never run out.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”  

Prov. 3:27

Silence is......Excruciating!

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”     Zephaniah 3:17

I have completely lost my voice today.  Imagine that.  I can’t utter a sound above a whisper.  All day I have tried my very best to remain quiet as to let my vocal chords heal.  Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a preacher to keep quiet?  It’s excruciating! 

However, earlier today while sitting silently on the back porch, God reminded me that my words, my best efforts, my own agendas, are just that; mine. As the wind blew through the trees in my yard, I was reminded of God’s great power that is never, ever silenced by sickness or injury.  God never sleeps or slumbers and His word will not return unto Him void but will accomplish what it sets out to do.  (Isa. 55:11)  While it is a privilege to be used of God in many ways, he does not need me to get his point across to this world.  As a matter of fact, he loves me whether or not I am able to speak for him. 

I have also been reminded today that I am a much better listener when my mouth is not moving.  Maybe that is why God commands us to “be still and know that I am God.”  (Psalm 46:10)  Therefore I am going to try spending more time on the porch just quietly listening to God speak to me through the gentle breeze. I challenge you to do likewise.  Thanks for reading.

Why?

Several years ago Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family Ministries wrote a book entitled When God Doesn’t Make Sense.  In his book, Dobson shared many questions from good, God-fearing people concerning difficulties and tragedies in their lives and their struggle to make sense out of their dilemmas.  This book is just one of thousands before it trying to provide an answer (or at least a satisfactory explanation) to the age old question of “why”.  The theological term for this question is Theodicy.  Theodicy usually follows this simple line of reasoning.   If God is good and loving; and if God is all powerful and can do all things; then why do bad things happen, especially to good people?   All of us have had those times when we have prayed earnestly with all the faith and hope and belief we can muster, only to see our crisis continue.  Often when we fail to see the divine intervention we seek, our humanity screams out with indignation “why God, why?”  Because we believe so strongly in God’s goodness and power, we can easily interpret our struggle as either negligence or even distain on the part of God Almighty.  And like Dobson suggests, no matter how hard we try to figure it out, sometimes God just doesn’t make sense.

So let’s review a few pertinent facts.  First of all, above all else, God is always right.  This means that He never makes a mistake.  God is never confused, or uninformed about what is going on.  He never misses or messes up.  As much as we may like to joke about it, “oops” is not in God’s vocabulary.  Secondly, God’s love is perfect and He is constantly pursuing a loving relationship with His people.  God never, ever, forgets, forsakes, neglects, misappropriates, misunderstands, fumbles, ignores, disregards, quits, abandons or misleads His people.  Finally, God’s plan is to lead His people to a place characterized as “good”  (Romans 8:28), whether or not we can actually see and understand that “good”  result.

On the other hand, we are extremely finite and limited in everything we do.  The Apostle Paul wrote that we can only see a “poor reflection” of God’s reality.  (1 Cor. 13:12)  From our tiny little human perch, we can only see those things that are directly related to us; and that only through selfishly biased lenses. Because of our gross limitation in seeing the whole picture, we tend to completely miss anything that remotely resembles “good’ when we are going through circumstances that inflict pain and suffering on us or those we love.  When we cannot see the good, we cry out all the more loudly for a specifically desired result and when it does not come (if it does not come) we are left with the age-old question; why?

I hope you haven’t been reading ahead in anticipation of an answer to that question which will finally give you a response you can turn to in those times when God doesn’t make sense.  Sorry, no can do.  I would, however, like to offer a helpful suggestion I have often turned to when my questions are not being answered. It is in times like these when we are to insert a wonderful gift, given to us by God himself, called FAITH.  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1  Faith allows us to trust in God, even though we cannot see the good in our circumstances.  Faith reminds us that God’s heart is always good and right even though we cannot understand what His hands are doing.  Faith allows us to stand upon our tiny little human perches, looking out over the darkness of uncertainly and loudly proclaim with Job, “even though He slay me, yet will I hope in him.”  Job 13:15 

The truth is, God always makes sense.  It’s just that I do not always see it.  I have read and truly appreciate Dr. Dobson’s book.  However, I might be so bold as to suggest a different title; When God Doesn’t Make Sense To Me.   Think about it.  And thanks for reading.

Priorities

“The lasting characteristic of a spiritual man is the ability to understand correctly the meaning of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life, and the ability to explain the purposes of God to others.  The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ.  Whenever you see this quality in a person, you get the feeling that he is truly a man after God’s own heart.”          Oswald Chambers

 “The overruling passion of his life is Jesus Christ.”  I ran across this quote from Oswald Chambers the other day and was taken aback by the profound simplicity at which he had provided some clarity into a struggle that I have carried for most of my adult life:  namely, how to prioritize my passions.  It probably does not come as a surprise to any of you who know me well, but I am a very passionate person.  I have yet to discover a way of doing things a little bit.  Usually, when I am in, I am all in.  I have no desire to be a casual Christian, a passive husband, an unattached father, a distant grandfather, a visionless leader, or a fake friend.  Whether I am working on a sermon, a relationship, or a friend’s old car, my heart is in it completely and herein lays my struggle; focus.

There are so many things in this world that are important to me.  Wonderful things.  People. Blessings.  Challenges.  Opportunities.  Clearly, God has placed many good gifts in my life and I have a longing to pour all of myself into everything that He has provided.  Yet, with all of the good around me, it is often hard to remain focused on the best thing.  I find myself growing weary when I do not keep a clear focus on the greatest priority of my life, Jesus Christ, and allow my attention to be exploited by all the other good things that He has provided.  It’s when my focus remains more steadily on the gift than the giver, that I begin to walk on the slippery path of idolatry.  The third commandment reminds us that we are not to make anything into an idol; not even the good blessings of God.  (Ex. 20:4-6)

So, how does a passionate person like me juggle all the many good things of life without any of them becoming idolatrous and therefore sinful?  Look again at the profound simplicity of Oswald Chambers.  “The overruling passion…is Jesus Christ.”  God never insists on being the only passion of our lives.  He is the giver of every good and perfect gift and we are to be good stewards of all His blessings.  However, if we are to follow hard after Jesus Christ, we must make Him the “overruling passion” that puts all the others in perspective.  My priority must be Jesus Christ. 

And Jesus never asked to be our only passion, only our first and foremost.  He said it this way; “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”   Matt. 6:33  Putting Jesus first will never take away from the good things He has given us, but will only enhance our ability to enjoy them all the more because they will remain in the place he intended; under His providential care.  Pretty sweet, huh?

Thanks for reading.

Sunday Is Coming!

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays because nothing speaks more clearly about the hope we have in Jesus Christ than His own death, burial and resurrection. So much has been said about the cross of Christ and rightfully so.  It was at the cross our lost souls were atoned for by his substitutionary death.  It was at the cross where the blood that flowed from His veins provided forgiveness and cleansing from our sins.  It is only by His death on the cross that we are able to enjoy life that is everlasting and abundant.  Clearly, more was being accomplished at the cross than we could ever fully comprehend or explain.  But the cross did not end the Christ event.  The resurrection has its own reasons to rejoice.  Namely, it serves as the single most vivid reminder that no matter how dark or difficult life may become, God is in control and there is always reason to hope.  Sunday is coming!

Friday was a dark day filled with physical, emotional and spiritual agony.  As Jesus hanged there on that cross the suffering was so severe that he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”  We have all experienced similar days as that dark Friday.  We have all walked through seasons of Fridays wondering whether or not we could make it through.  We have all cried out those same words asking whether or not our Heavenly Father had turned His back on us.  Pain and suffering is a common denominator of all people on earth.  Eventually, we will all experience a Friday.  But Sunday is coming!

Saturday was a day of silence.  Did you realize that none of the four Gospels record a single word from anyone spoken on that particular Saturday?  Not a word from the disciples.  Not a word from the religious leaders.  Not a word from God.  No angels.,.. nothing.  Just silence.  Now it was the Sabbath so people would have been going about their religious ceremony; but not a word that was significant to the Christ event was uttered or recorded.  Strange?  The single most significant event in all of history was underway and for an entire day, all the people could do was wait.  The women were waiting to provide a proper burial.  The disciples were waiting for further instructions or some new revelation.  The whole world was waiting to see what was to follow but all they received from heaven was silence.  Not a single word.  That was Saturday but Sunday is coming!

Then came Sunday!  The suffering and the silence ended forever when God spoke, Jesus arose, the heavens rejoiced and the whole world was offered what it had been longing for since Adam and Eve broke fellowship with God in the garden; hope.  Hope for new life.  Hope for a resolution to our suffering and a new song to break the silence.  Hope for eternal and abundant life through the one who led the way through the doorway of death and into a victorious new life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands as a constant testimony to the fact that we can always put our hope and trust in God because Sunday is coming.

So, to those of you who are going through a particularly difficult Friday of suffering and pain or for those who are in the middle of a long Saturday of silence, not hearing a word from God in quite some time; I have a great word of hope for you.  Sunday is coming!  Halleluiah!

Thanks for reading.

Good Question

I don’t usually take requests but this one was a little difficult to pass up.  It came from a troubled father who was obviously struggling with the direction in which our culture has been moving and how this directional shift in morality has impacted his family.  He asked, “Pastor, will you please write a blog post on what the Bible has to say about these couples who want to live together outside of the bond of marriage?”  Immediately, I felt his pain.  As a dad and a granddad myself, I have often lamented over the fast pace at which our society seems to be falling away from the Biblical truths that govern the decency and security of God’s world.  I have often stated that when a culture loses ground ethically or morally, that ground is never recovered and new morals immerge.  I have noticed throughout my lifetime that the great moral dilemmas of one generation are consumed by the dilemmas of the next generation and ultimately accepted as normative behavior.  I realized that at the heart of his question was a greater concern; the difference between right and wrong. I accepted his request.

My first thought is to point out the clear and concise difference between what the culture calls morality and what the Bible calls righteousness.  According to the Oxford Dictionary, morality is “A particular system of values and principles of conduct, especially one held by a specified person or society.”   On the other hand, according to the Bible, righteousness is believing in and adhering to the Word and ways of God.  “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  James2:23  The distinction is clear.  Morality is a set of values and conducts deemed right by the larger culture and are subject to change as the culture changes.  Righteousness is based on the unchanging Word of God.  Righteousness represents a standard set by a holy God intended to assist His people in finding peace with Him and with one another.  This righteousness cannot be accomplished without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ who gives us his own righteousness then calls us to utilize it as we live within the society.   With that distinction being made, the rest of this post is directed to those who profess the Lordship of Jesus Christ and seek to adhere to the truth as revealed in his word.   For the rest of you, I would simply give a word of caution.  Someone is going to decide the difference between right and wrong for your children and grandchildren.  If I were you, I would be concerned about that.

Now back to the original question.  It is painfully obvious that neither the marriage vows nor the marriage bed are any longer considered sacred in this culture.  As a matter of fact, quite the opposite seems to be true.  Sexual promiscuity and prowess are highly valued and praised as a virtue in our music, movies, advertisements and just about everywhere else you look in our society today.  Marriage itself is no longer being valued as a bedrock of society.  The non-Christian community barely even notices now when sex outside of marriage is presented as morally accepted and socially normative. This ground has been lost.  There is no going back.

But what about Christian couples?  Are we as Christians taught to live a different standard than that of the larger community?  In a word, yes.  Jesus said that while we live in this world, we are not to be of this world. (John 17:14-15)  Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”  (Romans 12:2)  Clearly the Bible teaches that we are not simply to conform to the patterns of morality modeled by our lost world.  But rather, we are to seek to honor God in our lives and in our relationships by remaining true to his teaching.  And just what is that teaching?

The Bible has much to say about the marriage relationship and teaches that any and all sexual conduct outside of the marriage bond is an act of defiance and therefore a sin.  These variations of God’s plan include homosexuality (Rom. 1:26-27); incest (1 Cor. 5); rape (Ex. 22:16-17); adultery (Ex. 20:14); and fornication (1 Cor. 6:9-10)  The Biblical teaching on this topic is very broad and comprehensive but might best be summed up by the words of Jesus himself.  Look closely.  “A man shall leave his father and mother, and be united with his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”  (Matt. 19:5)  Pretty much sums it up wouldn’t you say?  One man, one woman, married, then united.

Thanks for asking dad.  And thank you for reading.

 

Strength

Don’t you just love that verse in the Bible that says “God will never put more on you than you can bear?”  In all my years as a pastor, that verse has been one of the most often quoted verses when I talk with people.  Many times when a child of God is going through a difficult, personal struggle they are reassured by these well intended words of support.  We all love the belief that even though we are going through some perilous times, our God is watching and waiting and at just the right moment He will reach down and deliver us before it becomes “more than we can bear.” The problem is that this verse is NOT in the Bible.  However, we love the concept so much, we have actually made up a verse that says so, embedded it into our Holy Scripture, memorized it and quoted it so many times it has become canonized and inerrant just like the rest of God’s word.  Careful now.  God has warned us about adding words (or verses) to His Bible (Rev. 22:18)   So before you grab your concordance, determined to find the verse and prove me wrong, let me try to explain.

The closest verse I could find to this idea is 1 Cor. 10:13 which states; “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”  Sound familiar?  Notice though that this verse is speaking directly and specifically about temptation; teaching us that no temptation will come upon us that is too much for us to bear.  It is not referring here to other types of struggles like tribulations or trials or hardships or even persecutions.  As a matter of fact, this verse teaches that God will empower us to overcome any and all temptation as long as we lean on Him and follow His commands.  But what about personal struggle?

The fact is, the Bible teaches that we are permitted to face things throughout our lives that are, in fact, more than we can bear; at least more than we can bear alone.  God calls us to be in relationship with Him and to learn to lean on him and trust in His abiding presence and power.  God is always drawing us to Himself where His love and mercy will sustain us no matter what trials we may be experiencing at the time.

I am reminded of the Apostles Paul’s testimony concerning his own personal struggle.  He wrote that no less than three times he cried out to God for deliverance from a “thorn in his flesh” that tormented him.  Instead of delivering him, God assured him with these words; “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Cor. 12:9)  Paul then went on to say, “I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Cor. 12:10)  The truth is clear.  There are many things that happen in our lives that would be more than we can bear.  However, nothing will ever happen to the child of God that is more than He can bear.  So, if we are going to make up a Bible verse, at least let it be one that completely represents the truth.  Try this one “God will never put more on you than He can bear.”  Now that is the truth.

Thanks for reading.

PS.  “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”  Not in the Bible.