Having No Favorites
Having No Favorites — June 2022
“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17).
When Lady Justice is portrayed she strikes an intimidating pose. Robe brilliant white as an angel’s wing. Blindfolded with a pair of scales in one hand and a drawn sword in the other, she stands tall. The symbolism is clear. Justice is pure, straight, and impartial. She only punishes those whom the weight of evidence condemns. Favorites won’t be played. Truth is all she traffics in. Her fairness is impeccable. And so Lady Justice is revered.
When we look at the kind of justice meted out today, however, we often see a different picture. Justice, at times, seems to peer over her blindfold and recognize ethnicity. There can be no doubt that an excessively high number of minorities feel justice’s sword. Her scales do at times seem weighed in favor of the wealthy. After all, the best lawyer money can buy is supposed to be more able to persuade Lady Justice than a provided for public defender. The result? Justice often is distorted, not truly pursued, and certainly not revered. Like the billboard ad for the law office of Larry L. Archie that states: “Just because you did it doesn’t mean you’re guilty.”
My friend, there is good news about God’s justice though: “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially,” penned Peter, “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:21). In context, Peter is not talking about doing good to earn God’s love on the final day. No. In 1 Peter 1:13 he says, “Live hope fully in the Lord.” In 1 Peter 1:16 he punches his second imperative: “Live a holy life like the Lord.” Why?
Well, listen to the Apostle in 1 Peter 1:18, 19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 - but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” You see, saving grace engenders fearful living for the Lord. A child of God knows holiness shows the family likeness. They revere the Father’s justice. One honestly fears treating God, the one who cleansed us at great cost, as trash. Costly love inspires a godly life.
Need further motivation? Lady Justice is at her best in the heavenly Father’s judgement. Not different rules for different people. “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially …” God in heaven judges everybody on the same kind of evidence - namely, what do our lives (our deeds) say about our heart? There is one thing that saves: faith. And there is one standard of judgment: life (deeds). So live a heartfelt obedience to God now from a holy love for Jesus as your Savior knowing on the final day, finally, justice will be served!
Striving with you to live a godly life in light of his costly love.
Reflecting His Radiance
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame” (Psalm 34:5).
“Guy goes into a bar with a duck under his arm. Bartender says, “Where’d you get the pig?” Guy says, “This is a duck.” Bartender says, “I was talking to the duck.” So goes Rodney Dangerfield’s impression of faces at a bar.
British born poet W. H. Auden’s was grimmer. In his poem “September 1, 1939” (the day Nazi Germany invaded Poland) Auden wrote about “faces along the bar” and how they reflect the lives of their owners, “who have never been happy or good.” Auden’s insights were accurate.
While some eyes dance with wisdom more seem weary looking for answers. Smiles lurk on the lips of many but far more carry snarls. And who would deny these days that creased furrows of worry are found on more foreheads than smooth muscled contentment.
David recognized that faces, even his own, do tell a story. “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame” (Psalm 34:5). David had just feigned insanity before King Achish of Gath so this jealous and hostile king would not harm him. As a result, the giant slayer is released but he no doubt feels anything but giant before God. Fear trumped faith. Guilt grease globs the axle of his heart. His face has fallen in shame like a bad soufflé. What in your life, still to this day, causes your face to be crestfallen in shame when you call it to mind?
David’s Spirit-given solution is simple but powerful. “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). David believed looking to the LORD changes the way you look. In the past fear had contorted David’s features and shame darkened his face. The burden of unforgiven sin had shown the heaviness of unrelieved remorse.
But when one looks into the face of Christ one sees the glory of his free forgiveness. “‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool’” (Isaiah 1:18). Nothing makes a worried frown that dreads discovery disappear faster than Jesus saying to you, “I forgive you!” David’s description of such a face is “radiant.”
Think wedding. In 38 years of ministry, I have seen my share of brides. Honestly, I can say I have never seen an ugly bride. Grooms - that’s a different story!! We all acknowledge that brides are beautiful on their wedding day because how do we finish this sentence? “The bride looked ______________!” But when was she most radiant? Answer: When she looked right in the face of her groom. You are his bride. Jesus is your groom. Look in his face often and glow.
Revived by the Fires of Meditation
“One evening … Isaac was taking a walk out in the fields, meditating” (Genesis 24:63).
When life’s break neck pace slows my wife and I at times binge watch episodes of some series on Netflix. The mindlessness is nice. Enjoying each other’s company the best. But I cannot say I actually feel refreshed after binge watching 4 episodes of Bridgerton.
Entertained? Definitely. Teased to watch another episode? Okay. But invigorated and made new to face life again? Ah, no. Adding another 20 minutes sitting in silence scrolling on i-phones seated next to each other before going to bed isn’t the undiscovered elixir of life either.
Yet, we Americans are becoming increasingly addicted to these two activities - watching TV and or scrolling on our i-phones - not just when life slows for some fun but almost around the clock. One has to wonder, what in the world did we do after dark on lonely nights before we had pixelated devices? And is there a better past time for actually enhancing your life?
Well, to go way, way back look at what Abraham’s promised son did, however often, after dinner, “Isaac went to meditate in the field toward evening” (Genesis 24:64). Can you see Isaac? Pacing in a field with empty hands. His eyes are wide open to the LORD’s three-dimensional world - with a screen far more amazing and enriching than our modern pixels: his imagination alive on God.
Meditation on God is a lost art today and I challenge you to take it up. When is the last time you took a single Bible passage and mulled it over all day long? Beyond a Paul Tripp devotional or Time of Grace video learn to “revive yourself by the fires of meditation” as Thomas Watson liked to say. But Pastor Tim, I am not a meditative type of person. You don’t have to be.
A. CHRISTIAN MEDITATION IS SUSTAINED THINKING ON GOD: My mind is like - to use a wonderful image from Henri Nouwen – “a banana tree filled with monkeys constantly jumping up and down.” Have you been there thought like that? Move beyond it by taking a single Bible passage or two to think on in your relation to God all day off and on. Select them before you go to bed. Pray over them and wake up saying and applying to your life all day.
You see, in Scripture meditation is likened to a young lion growling over its prey or a cow chewing its cud. Meditation is not meant to be esoteric or spooky. It merely implies sustained attention. Godly meditation is built on this simple principle: What the mind repeats it retains.
So for example take Psalm 1:1 for your meditative verse of the day: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” LORD you promised I will be happy many times over if I don’t compromise my convictions. Today I will stand up for what is right. Today I will not join in the gossip or project myself esteem off others. Today I find value in Jesus - his forgiveness, grace, and promised blessing. In fact, look at Psalm 1:3. “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers.” Planted. Fruitful. Unwithered. Prosperous. All these and more will be mine. To mentally binge on these in the LORD all day in and out - now we are talking about renewal.
B. CHRISTIAN MEDITATION HAS AS ITS PURPOSE TO CONNECT YOU RIGHTLY TO GOD. One year at Mt. Olive Lutheran grade school we had a Bible passage memorization contest involving some tickets for the Kansas City Royals. The tickets went to the student who could accurately memorize the most Bible verses in the month of May. Miss Hyne indicated behind each student’s name on the chalk board how many Bible passages each of us had recited to her with crosses. No one wanted those tickets more than I did. I needed those tickets.
Eventually it came down to a very smart girl and myself. By sheer determination I kept it close on the chalk board but in the end it became obvious to all in plain white chalk crosses she would win. I found myself meditating on this thought: What could I do about Carolyn Heitsch? So I killed her.
At least in my mind I did, over and over. She was taking from me what I desperately wanted and embarrassing me in the process. Never mind all those amazing Bible passages meant to teach me how to draw nearer to God, to love others more deeply. You see, to meditate on God’s Word, “to hide it in our hearts” is incredibly life giving but only if it serves the divine purposes of “that I might not sin against you” and “growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ.”
C. CHRISTIAN MEDITATION WON’T HAPPEN WITHOUT INTENTION. Larry McMurtry, known for his book Lonesome Dove, wrote another book about roads - the many roads he had driven on and the hundreds of miles he had explored across America. At last, returning in memory to the place where he grew up in east Texas, he recalls that his father had seldom gone much farther than the dusty roads near his dirt farm. Comparing his own travels to his father’s localized life, McMurtry admits, “I have looked at many places quickly. My father looked at one place deeply.”
This can be you - “a one place deeply” person in the LORD. But like Isaac you have to factor time into your life for thoughtfulness on God. Isaac had many things competing for his attention like you. In the context he was about to marry a woman he had never met! Think that might occupy one’s mind (Genesis 24:63)? Always there will be the immediate and in our age the social media vying for our attention. But in the fields and fires of meditation on the LORD through the Word of God alone will be found revival. Take up the challenge, my friend - meditate on the LORD.
Our Grieving God
“In all their suffering, the LORD also suffered … (Isaiah 63:9a).
“This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” You may have heard that phrase growing up in a day when more parents spanked without fear of being charged with child abuse. Having heard it myself growing up, I can tell you, no child ever believes that line. With my dad, I didn’t believe this one either, “We’re not lost. It’s just over the next hill.” But years later many children became parents. They then began to understand the pain a father feels in disciplining his children in fitting and effective ways.
Throughout her troubled history Israel had frequently felt the LORD’s discipline. It was entirely her fault. His great goodness, extravagant compassion, love lavished were abundantly evident. “I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us - yes, the many good things he has done for Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses” (Isaiah 63:7). Yet, the LORD brought chastisement.
In their great distress, God’s people complained. They questioned him, wanting to know where he was in their affliction (Isaiah 63:11-13). Calling to mind the good ole’ days when he saved and led, provided and blessed, they wondered where their great Savior had gone (Isaiah 63:18, 19). Apparently, it never occurred to them to ask, “Have we done anything to bring this upon ourselves?” Rather, like we so easily can do they asked, “Where is God? What is he doing?”
The answer was not that he was distant, though he had withdrawn. Nor had he written them off. Listen to this, “In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years” (Isaiah 63:9). Amazing. The LORD was a faithful father who disciplined those he loved, though it hurt him more than it hurt them! Not that his children believed this, but it was true.
Discipline is not designed for the benefit of the one handing it out. It is not a God given means of venting frustration. When properly administered discipline brings about the disciplined person’s reformation. A father’s love requires that they be reproved. But a father’s loving heart cannot help but feel the anguish of their suffering. We may not believe this with earthly fathers, but it is true of our heavenly Father. Every departure from the right, every failure of humanity to meet his ideal grieves him. Yet, he lovingly disciplines and has even saved us from our sin.
Five-year-old Charlie wrote a letter to God. It read: “Dear God, I do not think anyone could be a better God. You don’t let us get away with anything, but you really care. PS: I am not just saying this because you are God.” When discipline comes and it will - choose Charlie’s perspective.
Our Encircling LORD
“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore” (Psalm 125:2).
Any soldier that has endured a route march knows that it helps to sing as you go. Heads are called upward. Deeper breathes force vitality to the lungs. The pace stays brisk. And though silly, soldiers sing the words as one: “Jesse James said before he died. There’s five things that he wanted to ride. Bicycle, tricycle, automobile. An M-1 tank and a Ferris wheel!”
Jewish pilgrims making their way up rugged Judean hills to Jerusalem also knew singing helped them. But the songs God gave them to sing were of nobler vein. They focused his people on the purpose of the march - to worship the LORD in his house. The songs sung were called “songs of ascent” as they were written to be sung on the way up to the Holy City. Psalm 125 was one of those songs. As worshipers went toward Jerusalem, they would see that the city was ringed by mountains. From a military point of view, Jerusalem was strategically placed in a position that was readily defensible. So, God had pilgrim worshipers sing: “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever” (Psalm 125:1).
Living in days when they were never far from invading armies or marauding robbers, the pilgrims were extremely conscious of their security while traveling. Mount Zion was as secure as you could get in those days but living in the LORD was far more secure. So God added this verse to be sung: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore” (Psalm 125:2).
Be sure you get the picture. Sometimes you need to change your altitude. Ever stand on a summit where all you see is majestic peaks? You too can sing this song. This is your life in Christ! You are encircled by the peace, providence, and protection of God. No, this does not mean you’re immune to trouble. Far from it, especially when you reject the LORD. Just read the rest of Psalm 125. But it does mean God will preside over you in your trials and not leave you defenseless. You do live every moment in the warm arms of a fully present always loving God who now inspires you to leave fear and live with faith-based optimism.
Kind of a silly story. Sam and Jed, hearing that a $5000 reward had been offered for the killing of wolves, promptly became bounty hunters. Waking up one night, Sam saw they were surrounded by 50 pairs of gleaming eyes - ravenous wolves, moving in for the kill. “Jed, wake up,” he whispered to his sleeping friend. “We’re rich!” Foolish or confident? Jesus, grant you grace to weigh your opportunities to live for him with wisdom. And when you must go uphill - try singing as you go. After all, your God is an encircling LORD.
But I’ve Changed
Best Santa story of 2022. Ole’ Saint Nick made a stop at a private preschool Christmas party. Children lined up to tell Kris Kringle their Christmas wishes. As one little 4-year-old hopped into Santa’s lap, Santa looked at him, called his name, and said, “Oh, I k-n-o-w about you.” Fright lit the boy’s eyes but then calm as a river he replied, “But I’ve changed.”
Quick witted comeback or an attempt to manipulate the man in the red suit? We won’t know but isn’t it exactly what we all want to be able to say when confronted with the reality of who we are in many areas of life? “I know I’ve used people, but I’ve changed.” “I know I’ve made poor choices, but I’ve changed.” “I know I have self-destructive habits, but I’ve changed.”
Some of us can say those for real. If you are like me in some areas, you wish you could say it for real. The truth of the matter is that we are all broken people in need of God’s love. Try as we might, real change happens by a miracle of God’s regenerating grace within us. “I’m gonna change on my own even if it kills me.” Guess what? Human effort alone might actually get you there! Without Spirit-given assistance, we are simply arranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Paul puts us in the lifeboat of God’s grace. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Transformative change often begins with a daily focus on God’s work in us that births our work in him. Notice his work is a done deal. “… if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come…” No process here. Your identity as a child of God is sure. “In Christ” is a stupendous reality to daily live in the good of.
You are not the sum of your past failures. The new you in Christ is forgiven. It’s no longer “It’s just like me to …” You’re a new creation in Christ. “The old has gone…” You are not putty in the hands of sinful flesh. Paul’s “Therefore” reminds us that your sinful nature was nailed to the cross with Christ so you will say “no” to sin and “yes” to God’s will. Christ’s love compels you. And yes, when we fail, we find again forgiveness in Christ and forge forward more determined than ever as a “new creation!” Friend, real change begins in his grace lifeboat.
But then, for heaven’s sake, row! ROW YOUR BOAT. No one paddles for deep change. Set your new mind to do what needs to get done for change and do it. Paul himself, fully aware of grace said, “No, I worked harder than all of them…” (1 Cor 15:10). Choose to take your oars and put your back into change every day. Stem to stern. After all, you’re a new sculler in the real love boat. So, row.
Rowing with you for Christ-like change in the New Year!
Sit and Think
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19).
A farmer’s wife, concerned about Big John who always worked the fields nearby, asked him, “What do you do in your spare time?” He put his honey tanned hand on his chin in thought and replied, “Sometimes I sits and thinks and other times - I just sits.”
Obviously, this incident occurred before the advent of the internet. Had Big John been around today he might be an accomplished “couch potato.” Few things are more effectively designed to pass time without accomplishing anything while cramming the mind with emptiness than surfing the net. Shane Hipps in Flickering Pixels laments: “The internet creates a permanent puberty of the mind. We get locked in so much information, and the inability to sort that information limits our capacity to understand. The internet encourages the opposite of what creates wisdom - stillness, time, and inefficient things like suffering. On the internet, there is no such thing as waiting; there is no such thing as stillness. There is a constant churning.”
But there is great value in being still. Silence and solitude before God are great blessings to the stressed-out human soul. What extremely rare commodities they are today. Blaise Pascal, the brilliant French philosopher, observed, “I have discovered that much of the unhappiness of mankind arises from one single fact, they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.”
Mary, however, knew how to stay quiet in her own heart with God things. She and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for a census. There was no room in the inn, so Mary and Joseph camped out in a stable. Redneck shepherds visited and brought stories of vast angelic choirs singing, “Glory to God in the highest and peace to all on earth who please him. A Savior has been born in David’s town, who is Messiah and Master.” All who heard the shepherds were impressed. The whole town was churning in excitement. Yet Mary found silence and solitude in her heart. She quietly “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
And what momentous truths filled her heart! My child is not a mere Gerber baby but the all of God baby. Infant yet infinite - given to save us from our sin (John 3:16). This one is Wonderful Counselor for all who mourn or have lost their way. His mercy extends to me and my soul magnifies the LORD. On and on she went, locking up each thought in the treasure chest of her heart. She didn’t just sit - she sat and thought in Christ, mulled over his mercy and majesty.
My friend, this Christmas, master Mary’s secret. Sit still at times and think of treasures in Christ!
Your Serve
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19).
James Hewett tells of a neighbor trying to put up a T.V. antenna on his roof. It was apparent this neighbor was to mount an antenna what Pavarotti was to pole vaulting. If left to himself it wasn’t going to happen. Hewett fetched his fancy bucket of tools. Ten minutes later he basically installed the antenna for his neighbor while giving him the satisfaction of feeling mutually responsible for the accomplishment. “So, what do you usually make with such fancy tools?” his neighbor asked him. Hewett’s smiling reply was, “Friends mostly!”
Do you leverage friendships in a similar way with the gifts God has given you? Are you on the lookout for a way you might help others or allow them to help you to engender friendship? It’s easy, so easy, to be so busy in life with family and responsibility that we lose this perspective. After all, do you really have time for friendship anyway? Or is it even safe, right!?
Fight this perspective, my friend. No, not everyone has to be your best friend. However, our culture is increasingly becoming one of isolation, anonymity, and a sinking feeling of being unloved. People are God’s true treasure. Men and women matter most to God, and many need friendship. So, learn to see others and think, “My serve!” There must be a way I might serve that person with my gifts to love them with the love of Christ. And not just for friendship!
Five times in I Corinthians 9:19-22 Paul says his aim is to win people. Verse 19: “that I might win the more.” Verse 20: “that I might win the Jews . . . that I might win those under the law." Verse 21: “That I might win those who are without law.” Verse 22: “That I might win the weak.” At the end of verse 22 in his summary statement Paul says, “I have become all things to all men that I may by all means save some.” The gospel is the good news that in Christ we are saved from the wrath of God and heaven bound. Our aim, like Paul’s is to save people from the wrath of God and to win them for eternal life through the gospel. Yes, it’s your serve!
Byron Kennedy was enjoying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' blowout win over the Chicago Bears when history became his. The Buccaneers fan was recording Tom Brady’s historic 600th touchdown pass when Mike Evans surprised Kennedy by giving him the ball. That football is worth $500, 000. Tom Brady wanted it back. Would you give away a half million-dollar football? Kennedy did. When asked why, in part, he said, “I knew how much it meant to him. Don’t people give away what is priceless to others freely anymore?” Yes! They do, don’t they?
Songs of Loudest Praise
“Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” (Psalm 98:1).
A cool tradition has taken fans captive at Dell Diamond where the Texas Ranger’s Triple-A affiliate baseball team, the Round Rock Express, plays their games. No, they don’t have a moment of silence for Will Ferrell’s baseball alter ego Rojo Johnson, though they named the concession stand after him. And no, owner Nolan Ryan, ‘The Ryan Express,” doesn’t always throw out the first pitch, though he often does.
The cheery ritual I’m talking about happens when a Round Rock player jacks a home run. As he circles the bases fans will begin waving dollar bills in the air. “Team moms” or ballpark officials circulate caps throughout the stands to collect the money, then it’s given to the player after the game. It’s a fun and tangible way of honoring a player for his exceptional performance.
Stop reading and watch this video. Then come back to reading this. I promise you, if you give it your full attention, you will enjoy adoring Jesus with Sarah!
Here are the opening lines of what you just heard, right?!!
Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ending
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Read the last two lines again. Isn’t it true that God’s mercies to us are unending? In Jesus every day is a genesis day of new mercy. The sainted Prof. Deuschlander loved to say, “Mercy is the only kind of love we can cause in the heart of God. It’s the love of pity.” It is not by our virtue that God puts brand new mercies into our daily lives but by our wretchedness.
Jesus saw our sin and paid for it. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us …” (Galatians 3:13a). Now he does not give us what we do deserve - mercy. Amazingly, he does give us what we don’t deserve - grace. Forgiveness, salvation, a spiritual family, a heavenly home, friends, grandkids, a free country, your morning coffee, that hug you got from your little one, … God really is the “fount of every blessing.” All by mercy and grace.
My friend, there must be many fun and tangible ways for you to honor him for his exceptional performance. After all, Jesus deserves our praise and affection. Give a gift. Share the gospel. Forgive. Show mercy. And for heaven’s sake, sing your “songs of loudest praise” today.
Together is Better
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).
Molly Seidel won a bronze medal in her third ever marathon in the Tokyo Olympics. Did you see her legendary win? So incredible!! She overcame OCD and an eating disorder to even get to Tokyo. A swampy 78 degrees when the race began with 82 percent humidity 21 of the 88 world class entrants dropped out. But not Molly Seidel. Kinesiology tape on her left knee still holding, lungs screaming, and ZZ Top shades still gleaming, she double fisted across the finish line for the third-place race of her life.
In the interview process after the race NBC arranged for Molly to see the crowd back home gathered at her mom’s house to cheer her on. Breathless, Molly could see and talk to her mom and all her loved ones. At first Molly cried, hand over mouth, in seeing her loved ones witness her triumph. But then she said the best line we’ve heard a winner say in public for some time.
Gaining her composure Molly glared at her mom and loved ones shouting, “WE DID IT!” Joy erupted on the other end. Of course, in true Wisconsin fashion right after that Seidel added, “Drink a beer for me mom.” But first Molly acknowledged what we all so often forget. Great victory often comes from more we and less me. “WE DID IT!” she said. Isn’t that great?
Jesus didn’t die for us and make us his own with forgiveness and life in him to just go it alone. No, he wants us each to be a vital part of his church, his body. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 - For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body - whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 - Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). Jesus wants less me and more we in the Church.
Are you playing a serving role in a church body? Have you linked up in Christian friendship with others? What excuses for not connecting are hindering you from partnership? Friend, think of the thrill of being able to say with others and Jesus when someone comes to see Christ through a gospel partnership - “WE DID IT!” Shared joy is a double joy. Often together is better.
A bush missionary had a blind man, Khufu, and a woman born with no arms, Dzuwa, insist on helping build a new church. You know what that bush missionary did? Gave the blind man a bucket and told him to go to the river with the armless woman and bring water for the bricks.
Khufu had strong arms. Dzuwa had good eyes. Together no one found greater joy in serving Jesus. When they church was finished guess what they stepped back and shouted together?
The Sound Of Silence
“Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13).
Listening works wonders! Loving silence has no sound but speaks volumes to the one sitting next to you. It says to the hurting heart, “Because I treasure you I am willing to be here and sit in silence with you.”
Job was made a pathetic tragedy . . . a hapless victim of unfair treatment. In one day’s time, Job lost 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys, 3,000 camels in a raid by enemies, and 7,000 sheep were lost to lightning. His boil-covered body tormented him as he sat next to ten fresh graves, seven sons and two daughters. Can you even imagine? His distraught wife dared him to cruse the LORD. Why, even God seemed to desert him, letting Satan have his devilish way.
Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar come to comfort him. When they arrive they can’t believe what they see. Job is marred beyond recognition. They cry out in lament and dump dirt on their heads as a sign for grief. They then do something stunning. Ready for this? They simply sit not saying a word - seven days and nights no less. They had the ministry of presence and they showed that they cared enough to be there. If only they had remained quiet!! They open their pie-holes and with their accusations become the Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe of friends.
There is such a thing as a ministry of presence and there is also such a thing as a ministry of silence. Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us there is “a time to be quiet and a time to speak up.” Sometimes quiet compassion is enough. There are times when the sound of silence is love. Jesus not only lived a perfect life for you and raised himself up to celebrate your justification but he always listens when you talk to him. The Psalmist says he bends his ear to you in silence. “Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:2).
Can you just sit with a friend in silence? When a person is going through a difficult time, can you let that one vent and spill and cry while you simply listen? Perhaps you feel the necessity to say something but the better part of wisdom would stay silent and perhaps even pray.
Author Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.” My friend, learn to love with the sound of silence.
Of Life and Lighthouses
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8).
There’s a “Far Side" cartoon by Gary Larson drawn from the perspective of being on land and looking out to sea. A blackened lighthouse is in the foreground. In the background, headed full steam ahead for the lighthouse, is a large ship. Running frantically - with a box of light bulbs under his arm - is the panicking keeper of the lighthouse.
Who’s to say which we identify with more…? The Ship? Cruising along, yet to realize the inadequacies of its reference point. Or the lighthouse keeper? Desperately trying to avoid the impending disaster created by his own failure to take care of business.
If we’re honest, we can probably relate to both. We have often chosen less-than-reliable means for defining our course in life. Pleasure, self, retirement, family, all these and so many more have at times defined our cruise documents in life. And we have known the fear of hoping that our mistakes, even sins, don’t cost us and those we care about everything. With David in Adullam we all have pleaded: “I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy (Psalm 142:1).
But God’s got your back like a chair! Whether you’re feeling like the ship or the keeper today, the good news of the gospel is that Jesus has forgiven you. Your past is past. Jesus won’t give up on you and his promise to work all things for your good is still yours.
And the blessing on top of all that? The light in God’s light house never goes out. The LORD is always guiding us, giving us his Word as a reference point for kingdom reality, his grace through his sacraments, and showing us the way home through his promises.
Remember the college chef at Bishop High School who was sick and tired of students grabbing handfuls of chocolate chip cookies on the way out the cafeteria? These were, after all, Christian students. In frustration, the chef put a big sign next to the cookies that proclaimed in bold blue: “Take only one! God is watching!” Well, you know high schoolers. One kid put an almost identical sign over the apples at the end of the buffet line that proclaimed: “Take as many as you want. Gods got his eye on the cookies.”
The truth is Jesus has his eye on everything and on you. In fact, you are the apple of his eye. So, whether you feel like the ship or keeper today live loved by him and boldly for him.
When the Joy Dries Up
“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine’” (John 2:2).
Let’s go to a wedding! The first one? A luxury marriage in Denver for an only daughter. This celebration cost dad $430, 000. “Joy will be ours on our daughter’s day no matter the cost.” Dad backed that boast with a sit-down dinner, full orchestra, 500 guests, 15, 000 long stem roses, and four open bars. An unexpected power outage crippled the orchestra. An uncle and aunt got punch drunk, literally. Finally, a revealed tryst by the groom shortly before the ceremony and what remained of happiness evaporated. When the joy runs dry to whom do you turn?
The second wedding? A luxury miracle in the rural community of Cana for a peasant couple. Wine would be provided. Some of his disciples, Mary, his mother, and Jesus himself are there by invitation. Your Savior is not a killjoy. “Joy is the serious business of heaven,” said C.S. Lewis. Jesus intends to seriously share it as an all providing Bridegroom in all of life.
Tragedy strikes. They run out of wine. Since eastern hospitality was a sacred honor, “shame on you” host and hostess. It’s an insult to those present and possible social isolation for the bridal party. In extreme cases, a lawsuit for a breach of treasured charity to the guests would be filed. Do you know what the last recorded words of Mary the mother of Jesus are in Scripture? The words she spoke to the servants at this peasant couple’s wedding. “Just do whatever he tells you!” Do you bring the same daily perspective to Christ’s words today?
For centuries God made water, soil, vines, and sun into grapes which wine dressers pressed into juice so that, in the words of one commercial, “We serve no wine before it’s time.” What took months, even years, now in Cana took seconds. What usually took labor, holding vats and tools, now took only a look and this word of command: “Fill those six stone water pots to the brim with water.” The water looked at Jesus and blushed. Roughly 12 and 1/2 cases of 750ml bottles of the best Boudreaux mankind has ever tasted came from each of the six clay pots. “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11). Water to wine for our view of the divine. Grace for believing more firmly in Jesus was received. Majesty unveiled was seen.
My friend when the wine “runs out” in your life are you turning to Jesus? When you fail in wisdom, resources, or to meet the righteous requirements of the law, Jesus your Groom has infinite love and power to restore your joy. Trust him. Jesus will provide the wine you need.
Let God Read Your Letters
“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD” (2 Kings 19:14).
Jennifer Aniston is an aviophobe. Fear is like a constant hammer on the head when she flies. Barbra Streisand is xenophobic. She dreads strangers. Aaron Rodgers suffers from angora phobia. The Packer quarterback is afraid of angora sweaters. Yes, I made that one up!! But Janet Endriss of Chicago actually suffers from papyrophobia- the fear of paper. “It isn’t so much the paper,” she says, “it’s the threat that might be printed on the paper.”
Ever felt that fear? A threatening letter, court summons, or toxic e-mail can scare us out of our gospel senses. King Hezekiah took a frightening letter to the highest authority - the King of Kings. He took his fear to the LORD. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had arrived at the gates of Jerusalem. He threatened siege and the starvation of all God’s people. In a letter to Hezekiah, Sennacherib tried to scare all the people of the city into rebelling against Hezekiah and the LORD (2 Kings 18:27-30).
Hezekiah took the frightening letter to the temple. In quiet before the LORD, Hezekiah prayed - oh, how he prayed! He stated God’s majesty seated on cherubim-throne. He asked God to look at the letter - a brazen insult to him the living LORD. He voiced fact. The Assyrians had made huge bonfires with the gods of all other nations. Then Hezekiah petitioned God: “Save us from raw Assyrian power by causing all the earth to know that you are God, the one and only God.” Did the LORD answer? One angel slew 185, 000 Assyrians in one night.
When you are afraid your quiet time is an excellent place to deal with what is troubling you. Lay your letter of fright before the LORD. Start by reminding yourself that God rules supremely over all nations. The God of the angel armies has the power to help you. Face the facts with him and then call on God to defend his name. Our Father in heaven loves it when we do this. After all, we have been made his children by his grace. What Father doesn’t love to defend his children? Give your fears to him and ask him to show you what action to take according to his will, even if the action is waiting. In the right way, at the right time, God will help you.
“No one can believe how powerful prayer is and what it can effect, except those who have learned it by experience. Whenever I have prayed earnestly, I have been heard and have obtained more than I prayed for. God sometimes delays, but he always comes” (Martin Luther).
Dead On Time
“A time to be born, and a time to die...” (Ecclesiastes 3:2a).
As we grow older, we occasionally struggle with accepting wrinkles, aching joints, a failing memory, and glasses. When a Pastor got his first pair of readers a friend (or so he thought) left him a little poem.
“My glasses come in handy,
My hearing aid is fine,
My false teeth are just dandy,
But I sure do miss my mind.”
How are you handling the aging process? Do you have a faith-based optimism about wearing out or are you frequently jaded or even sad? Jeanne Calment was the oldest living human whose age could be verified. On her 120th birthday, she was asked to describe her vision for the future. “Very brief,” she said. Having never married, Jeanne requested no male pallbearers. In her memorial service she left these instructions. “They wouldn’t take me out while I was alive;
I don’t want them to take me out when I’m dead.” Have to love the humor at 120 years of age.
However, Solomon has deeper insight for aging God’s way than “age is a state of mind, learn to laugh it off.” He wants us to get our theology right. You were born at the right moment and will be “dead on time.” Therefore, I must not find my esteem in somehow reversing the trend. Life has been so good to me by God’s great grace. How about you? No one has been blessed more than me with grace in Jesus and grace upon grace in so many ways. So I or we want to cling to life here and rightly so. But we have a poor view of heaven if we want to stay on earth forever.
A friend of mine, my age and dying of cancer, has people frequently ask her if she is angry.
“Why should I be angry?” she asks. “God has been so good to me. Heaven will be even better. I will miss everyone so much but it appears to be my time. Soon we will meet again forever.”
What a contrast to the statement of a girl recently interviewed on You Tube about her reaction to being diagnosed with cancer. “I hit out at everyone in sight! I hadn’t had time to do all I wanted. Mostly I was mad at God.” This young lady seems more settled in her faith now. Please, pray for her with me. Ask Christ to grant her/us this perspective: When you believe in Jesus, you let him wind your watch living time fully for him. When it stops, he gives you a new one with everlasting springs. After all, he has risen! He has risen, indeed!
Lime Green Hatchbacks
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
“Honey, who is going to want to buy your lime green hatchback?” says the wet blanket in the linen closet of life wife, as she walks across the room. Oblivious to the pessimism, the focused husband takes a sip of coffee to steel his nerves and calmly posts his car for sale on cars.com.
Lime green is everywhere in the next scene. Lime walls. Lime lantern. Lime laptop. Even a lime bobble head puppy on the desk. Seahawks’ fans sigh, “It is sublime!” Yes, even the man sitting at his computer is sipping coffee in a warm lime mug, lime stripped shirt, lime watch, and lime Andy Capp hat. He sees the posting for the hatchback and forgets to breathe. Remember what he gasps next, lowering his coffee? “Oh sweet mercy! A lime green hatchback. It’s a thing of beauty.” He calls to see if it is still available for purchase as his enthusiasm glows.
You’ve heard the expression “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” What one might consider worthless or expendable, another might consider valuable. The lime green hatchback is exactly such an example. By his great grace, isn’t the same true in our lives? That very thing we might see as junk, the very thing no one could ever want, God may actually redeem as something of value for us. It may be a “treasure” to him as he teaches us to treasure him.
Trials in our lives we can’t figure out the purpose for
Events we write off as insignificant
Traits or characteristics that we wish belonged to someone else
Failures long forgiven in Christ we are still embarrassed about
Accomplishments we hesitate to celebrate
All these things and more. God may be waiting for us to post them, to make them available for him to redeem and use for the advancement of his kingdom and the glory of his name. May we have the courage to give the lime green hatch backs of our lives to God today. After all, Jesus gives sovereign grace in suffering lives. Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness. And his great promise is “…all things for good of those who love him…” (Romans 8:28). “Everything is necessary that he sends. Nothing can be necessary that he withholds” (John Newton).
Staying in Touch
Staying in Touch January, 2021
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 - Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 - If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9-11)!
Remember this oldie but goodie? A twenty-something woman is painting the interior of what appears to be her “first place.” A knock at her apartment door is lost in the music from the stereo. Seamlessly the scene changes and outside we see a man slip something under her door. Back inside, the young woman notices the object. She walks over and picks it up. It’s a cell-phone - preprogrammed. Upon being opened the display reads:
Dad - Home Dad - Office Dad - Cell
Now she is smiling a little, a smile with a twist to it, like the smile of a child determined not to weep. The commercial closes with the dad answering his ringing cell as he walks down the sidewalk. “Helping you stay in touch,” the commercial beams. And we watched and thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be sweet for someone to do that for us? An anytime connection with love.
Well…God has done this and better for you my friend, yes, for you! “That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Reconciliation restitches the unraveled and erases the rebellion. Thanks to Christ’s redemptive work “forgiven” is our watch word and harmony with our heavenly Father is our gift. Through Christ you can now stay in touch with a perfect loving Father at any time and for anything in prayer. What is more he always answers with what is best for you.
After all, bad dads give good gifts to their kids, right? They don’t trick a boy who wants bread with rubble? Or what dad dupes a child longing for a fish with a viper on his plate? As bad as we are, we are at least decent to our own children. So, don’t you think the God who conceived and saved you will do even better, far better?
I love that argument. Jesus really did want us to feel hopeful when we pray. He is trying to overcome our skepticism about prayer. So, are you staying in touch? Do you give God the Father your waking requests? Your waiting requests? Your waning requests? The point is this: God ignores no prayers from his children. And he gives us what we ask for, or something better (not necessarily easier), if we trust him. “Thou art coming to a King. Large petitions with thee bring. For his grace and mercy are such. None can ever ask too much.”
Perpetual Christmas Peace
Perpetual Christmas Peace December, 2020
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Today it’s easy to find points of disagreement. I hope you agree! Seems almost from the moment we are born the conflict begins. We fight with parents, siblings, friends, co-workers, and even our church family. And who would say 2020 has brought us an abundance of peace on any level?
The latest meme encouraging families quarantining has a picture of the Torrance family from the movie The Shining - Jack, Wendy, and Danny. Mr. Torrance played by Jack Nicholson has that murderous, “Honey, I’m home grin” on his face. The meme reads: “This is the last family that had to be isolated alone for several months. But they will be just fine.” In our homes, actually, in so many aspects of society in 2020 it’s been more about “peacelessness” than peace.
What a wonderful reminder then from Isaiah of the gift you got on that first Christmas. The Mighty Seer of old proclaims over all the drama of life that the Christ of Christmas is “Prince of Peace.” Perhaps it’s better translated “Prince’s peace.” Only in Jesus, my friend, is there an exclusivity of peace found from God. You can’t order it off Amazon. No one can put it in your stocking. Jesus alone is God’s shalom to you and to me. How so? Here’s one of many ways.
The Christ-child removed the enmity between God and man! When Henry David Thoreau lay on his deathbed, his pious Aunt Louisa demanded to know if he had made peace with God. Thoreau replied, “To make peace with God is not necessary, I don’t believe we’ve ever quarreled.” Oh, we’ve quarreled with God, friends. We’ve scorned and betrayed him more than we even know. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God,” (Romans 8:6).
So for Jesus to be the Prince of Peace he had to be the Suffering Servant. God put an end to the hostility between himself and sinful humanity at the cross when a sinless Christ became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. He thus made peace through the blood of his cross, peace between God and man, by dealing with our sin. Now by faith in Jesus as your Savior you are forgiven, cleansed, and saved. Merry Christmas!
How does it feel to know that your LORD and lover of your soul smiles on you? Here’s the word for this: PEACE. You have it in Christ and can always say, “It is well with my soul!” Finally, a focus of consensus we can all agree on.
Wanting What You Have
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Deuteronomy 5:21).
A spiritual seeker interrupted a busy life to spend a few days in a monastery. “I hope your stay is a blessed one,” said the monk who showed the guest to his cell. “If you need anything, let us know, and we’ll teach you how to live without it.” Easier said than done, right?!
The world in which we live finds us in constant warfare between contentment and covetousness. Happy or hungry? God-satisfied or gold seeking? Relaxed with what you have … or restless for more and more and more? Achan, the actor, is a good example.
Jericho had fallen to Israel. The loot of battle was to be the LORD’s. But with bulging eyeballs Achan took garments along with the gold. Why? When caught Achan gave the answer, “I coveted them and took them” (Joshua 7:21). Achan desired his stash more than fellowship with God. There is no difference between the Hebrew word for desire and the Hebrew word for covet. Coveting means you desire something too much. You measure that too much by how that desiring compares to desiring God. If your want for the new Cadillac, country home, or train set, leads you away from God rather than closer to God - you have an Achan heart!
How might one truly, in Christ, be satisfied with what she or he has both in him and in this world? Well, begin where Joshua begged Achan to start when he was found out, “My son, give glory to the LORD God” (Joshua 7:19). Review the great wealth that is already yours by faith in Christ. Eternally loved, dwelling place in heaven, forever friend, promised presence, fully forgiven … all these and more actually help you with Paul “…count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). When one truly adores Jesus for his grace one tends to want what they have, even if one gains nothing more.
In a popular MASH episode, a grinning Hawkeye reminds Radar, “It isn’t necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It’s only necessary to be rich.” If you let it, the sarcasm makes you smile, but the irony is in Christ it is true. Topple your idols. Clear out the covetousness. Refresh your heart by assessing the incredible wealth you already have in Jesus. What joy will be yours then when you look at all your blessings and can honestly conclude, “You know what? If I got nothing more I can honestly say, ‘It’s enough. I want what I have.’”
Desiring contentment in Christ with you by his grace,
Pastor Tim (1-210-837-3934)
Think Big…Think God
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. (Deuteronomy10:17).
At the Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse they place a thin card on your napkin. One side is green with a Cowboy riding flames on a stallion. It says, “Sim, por favor” (YES, PLEASE). “Nao, obrigado” (NO, THANK YOU) is on the opposite orange side with another Cowboy riding flames on a stallion. By keeping the green side up saying, “Sim por favor” they just keep bringing you one succulent strip of meat after another. It is the most meat loving lavish, decadent, enjoyable thing you will do for some time. If every American ate at Chama Gaucha just once a week North America would be underwater as far inland as Denver. Well, in terms of giving grace by a Chama Guacha card guess which side God allows you to always have up!? That’s right - “Sim por favor.”
God is not cheap! When Jesus feeds 5, 000 there are 12 baskets left over. When he receives the prodigal son there is a fatted calf and the best robe. The rainbow for Noah… the tabernacle of Sinai…the manna in the wilderness…all show his sumptuous care and concern. Most of all there is this! “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?
God is not partial! Justice is not a greased pig to Jesus. Sin is evil. God is holy. A soul that sins must die. The sin of all people had to be paid for. In love Jesus assumed our sin and became it. By faith in him sin is forgiven. God’s justice is satisfied. Heaven is free for all. When God on high says all lives matter it is not a mere rebuke that means black lives somehow don’t. His death and resurrection prove all lives matter. Jesus cares for the outcast…the untouchable…the self-righteous… the red and yellow black and white; all are precious in his sight.
God is not small! A little boy got on an elevator with his dad to go up the 102 story Empire State building. Doors closed, the floor whooshed up beneath them. 10-20-30-40…up they went. A little hand gripped his dad’s hand and weakly asked, “Does God know we’re coming?” You bet he does. “For the Lord your God is the god of gods and the Lord of lords…” He is unsurpassed. When he makes an ocean no man can fathom it. When he makes a starry sky no one can measure it. When he makes snowflakes fall there are no duplicates anywhere. Are you living the formula for faith based optimism? Think big…think God. And, for heaven’s sake, get your green side grace Chama Gaucha card up…“Sim por favor!”