When Wax and Wick Meet Fire

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Wednesday, September 26, 2018

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.  You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!  Psalm 139:1-6(NLT)

So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.  For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.  1 Corinthians 11:27-29(NLT)

Sometimes my worship gets lost in the details.  Usually when I receive the Lord’s Supper I am also serving it.  Personal reflection gets lost in a flurry of details about the next step in the liturgy.  When attempting to provide a meaningful offering of the table for others, those who serve must come to that table having already self-examined, or they run the risk of coming away from the table empty.

A group of preachers, all of whom I call friend, meets every month for the strength one derives from accountability, fellowship, devotion, and worship.  We share the Lord’s Table together.  The times I do not serve are particularly meaningful, and this month was no exception.  During the liturgy I focus my attention on the elements of the table.  They are simple; one loaf, representing one Lord, and one cup, representing the blood shed for all.  There is a single candle, the wick and wax meeting the flame, reminders of God’s Spirit, present and alive in this sacrament. 

As the liturgy progresses in Great Thanksgiving there are remembered parts to speak, and those flow from my lips with little loss of focus on the table and the cost of that blessed meal to our Lord. 

This time my eyes could not leave the wick and flame; I was captured by the aura of light and the wax of the candle, once hard and cold, now warm and flowing, melting away, constantly changing to a new form.

Pictures captivate me, and this meeting of wax and wick with flame took on metaphorical significance for my life with Christ.  As I watched the wick yield itself to the flame, I reflected on how the heat causes the waxen host to also yield, and this allows the flame to continue, offering heat and light to everything around it.  But in the process, there is a change.  The flame does flicker, but remains; the wax and wick, however become less, and changed.

The metaphor is, of course, our bodies.  The apostle Paul told the Roman church to present their bodies as living sacrifices ^{(Romans 12:1-2)}.  Jesus said becoming His disciples would be nothing less than denying ourselves and following Him[2] (much like the wax and wick submit themselves to the flame).

Ultimately the meaning of this can be taken to extremes, and I’m not suggesting that.  However, it is a good reminder that, just like the candles get used up, these mortal bodies of ours will not last long.  What remains is the light and heat we share in relationship with others while we are here. 

A candle (wax and wick) is hard and cold by itself.  We also will not bring light or warmth to anyone if we remain an unlit candle without the flame of God’s Spirit.  But, my what a difference when we submit to the flame!  He will shine through us, warm others around us, and we will be changed in the process.

For You Today

It’s important to remember that living the surrendered life of a disciple means being on the lookout for the Adversary; like any enemy, this fireman from Hell is just waiting to turn a hose on your fire…so keep surrendering the wax and wick of your life to the Spirit; let Him keep the candle burning!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Mark 8:34

Three Strands are Better

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Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.  Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.  It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice.  Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed.  He might even become king, though he has been in prison.  But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him.  Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too.  So it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-16(NLT)

If you’re prone to looking at the glass half-empty, perhaps reading Ecclesiastes will push you farther down the dark, spiraling staircase!  The wisest man alive said all of life is meaningless and empty, like chasing the wind; you’ll never catch it, so why try?  That’s hardly a Ted Talk, full of inspiration and eager optimism!

But it is full of the reality of life, and a mature look at the uselessness of endless grasping at material things, or experiences that top one another, yet add nothing to the real meaning of your existence. 

Sandwiched in-between all this vapid emptiness of being alone and self-reliant is a one-liner that unhinges Solomon’s meaninglessness and blows it away in that uncatchable wind.  Solomon says a 3-stranded braid is better.  Anyone who knows about braiding understands that if you attempt to braid two strands of hair it will just unravel, and the result will be frustration; a successful braid requires weaving together at least three strands.  This gem is shared with many brides and grooms standing before the preacher.  And the point is subtle but vital:  husbands and wives whose lives are tied together, without a third strand to give pattern and strength to the bond, are bound to come unglued!  That third strand is a home built with God at the center.

Whenever I do have the privilege of leading a wedding service I take my cue from Solomon at this point.  Solomon said a lot of chapters of vanity or emptiness before he got to the real point.  I imagine he believed you weren’t ready to hear the good news until you had really (painfully) understood the bad. 

So, my version of three strands being better starts with an image I learned from Al Williams.  Al was a part-time preacher I met many years ago, and he was assigned the task of praying the invocation at a business dinner we were attending.  The business was run by a rather divisive man who pitted the sales people against each other to spark competition, and drive sales up, no matter who got clobbered.  The place was a minefield of awaiting explosions in the relationship department. 

Al’s invocation went something like this:  O, dear Lord, You are so good to us, even when we act like two cats with their tails tied together…  

It’s an amazing thing what God can do if we let Him be that third strand that braids our lives together in a pattern that is lovely and strong.  It’s better than just being tied together like a two-stranded braid just waiting to unravel!

For You Today

What is it about your life that needs a third strand to make it better?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Measuring Strength

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Monday, September 24, 2018

Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.  Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.  You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.  Proverbs 27:20-22(NLT)

When it comes to what humans want, nothing is ever enough!  If a child has a handful of M&M’s they want a truckload.  If they had access to a truckload, they’d wonder how they could get their hands on a fleet of trucks.  And so, it goes…

As adults the equation doesn’t change.  What does change is the size, complexity, and cost of the M&M pile.  It’s like the old rhyme:  There is no difference between men and boys…only in the size and cost of their toys.

Our proverb writer takes a step farther into this deep truth – a fool will remain a fool.  The question becomes:  How can you measure foolishness?  One test for measuring the strength of human integrity (which is the opposite of foolishness) is praise from other humans.  The proverb master suggests that if you want to know if you’re dealing with a fool, praise him.  A fool will respond to any kind of praise and crave more; those with integrity of character may accept a compliment, but it will not change them. 

And a measure of strong character is always why we do what we do.  I am a preacher, called into the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is not MY ministry, it is a gift with which Christ has blessed my life.  The call compels me to use my time, spiritual gifts, and whatever strength I have, to bring praise to the name of Jesus.  If I am to carry-out this calling with integrity it will NOT be by fishing for compliments on how well I do it; that’s not fulfilling my call – it is pandering my call to satisfy my foolish pride.

That sometimes gets dicey.  In social situations we remember mother’s advice to keep quiet if we don’t have something nice to say.  But some of us, particularly people pleasers, go beyond silence and praise others just to pump them up.  It’s a nice lie.

But what does that say about our moral center?  Should we offer (untrue) praise, just because it makes fools happy?

Well, this whole discussion can lead to a downward corkscrew of what constitutes flattery, and what is appropriate praise.  And the whole thing becomes a semantic morass of acceptable vs. unacceptable words.

Rather, applying the principle that foolishness is empty, and integrity with humility is everything, we should aspire to put praise – words from another flawed human – in its’ proper place and appreciate the thought, but never place enough weight on praise to make it our end goal.  The real goal of a human life is to please God, and fools cannot do that. 

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  Proverbs 1:7(NLT)

For You Today

To walk through this life as a wise person, and not a fool, is simply a matter of surrendering your life to pleasing God.  All else is foolishness, and it fails the test of measuring true strength!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Unusually Wise

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Friday, September 21, 2018

There are four things on earth that are small but unusually wise:  Ants—they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.  Hyraxes—they aren’t powerful, but they make their homes among the rocks.  Locusts—they have no king, but they march in formation.  Lizards—they are easy to catch, but they are found even in kings’ palaces.  Proverbs 30:24-28(NLT)

Sometimes it’s easy to miss the small things – ants, lizards, locusts (well, it’s hard to miss a swarm of locusts), and hyraxes.  Hyraxes?  I had to look that one up.  It seems the little critter that resembles your average rodent is more related to an elephant or manatee than Mickey Mouse[2].  They have multichambered stomachs like cows, for digesting even the toughest plant materials, and their incisor teeth grow throughout the lifetime like tusks.  They live in the Middle East and Africa in the dry, rocky regions, subsisting in barren places.  You must be unusually wise to survive in places like that!

The four creatures have wisdom in common, but what makes them such worthy examples that we should learn from them?  Perhaps it’s community cooperation.

Ants

The power of the anthill is legendary.  One ant might be a nuisance, but his family can end a picnic.  I have seen anthills in Zimbabwe that are more like ant mountains, 10 feet high!  One ant might take a lifetime to build a condominium like that; the cooperating colony can build it faster than Donald Trump can put up another tower.

Locusts

Well, who hasn’t seen a Nat Geo special that includes a swarm of locusts denuding the landscape of vegetation.  They march (fly) in formation according to the proverb.  They have no king or ruler, but the community moves together, turns together, and has the same purpose together…eat!  (Methodists have that last part down to a science!)

Hyraxes

The rock mouse lives in community and fiercely defends its’ tribe!  This kind of cooperation is called loyalty. 

Lizards

The prehistoric lizard finds a place to survive…desert, mountain, king’s palace or garbage dump; they go about the business of life.  What makes them unusually wise in this respect is their adaptability to conditions.  Lizards, like most species, do not generally thrive in captivity, but faced with the live or die of harsh challenges in the wild, they exist everywhere, proliferating, and serving God’s purposes.

Building like ants, moving like locusts, loyal like hyraxes and unafraid like the lizards – this is the formula of four kinds of small, but unusually wise groups of creatures.

I would say that formula also works for churches and families!

For You Today

Build…don’t tear down.

Move…don’t couch potato.

Be loyal…don’t be a fair-weather sort.

Adapt…there’s more than one way to serve God and each other.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Wikipedia

Figuring Out What's Important

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Thursday, September 20, 2018

O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.  First, help me never to tell a lie.  Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!  Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.  For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”  And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.  Proverbs 30:7-9(NLT)

Proverbs is my go-back-to-place when it comes to measuring my life’s progress and resetting the compass.  In the process of setting (or re-setting) the moral compass these three verses are huge. 

The writer begins with a prayer for God’s help.  When you need to press the re-set button, it pays to do it right.  Enlisting God as your accountability partner means going right to the best source – the one Who can be trusted, and who won’t miss anything when it comes to helping you do right.  God also won’t gossip about what He’s heard!

The two requests this proverb-writer begs of God are truth and restraint.  Above all this writer understands the value of telling the truth in all things.  Solomon may have been the writer, or simply the publisher of Proverbs 30, but he would recognize the value of truth.  His father, David, set in motion a world of problems for the whole tribe that followed him with his lack of integrity sinning with Bathsheba, and the coverup that followed.  A lack of truth brings much pain.

In this prayer Solomon asks for the blessing of a life filled with neither too much, nor too little.  Too much leads to arrogance, while too little brings coveting into play; both are painfully tied to greed or necessity and rob the soul of genuine peace. 

This part of the prayer is much like the Lord taught his disciples to pray:

… And don’t let us yield to temptation.  Luke 11:4b(NLT)

Resetting the compass means figuring out what’s important and setting our sights on that as true North.

Don’t lie, and don’t steal are two very prominent commandments of God’s original ten.  They ought to figure prominently in resetting the compass for each of us. 

There have been times in my life when, in deep, soul-searching prayer, I have discovered areas of untruth and lack of integrity.  I have had to do some apologizing to people, and some begging, just like this Proverb-writer, for God to come with me to the altar, and to re-set my moral compass to His north.  In times like that I have found what Isaiah found:

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10(NLT)

For You Today

Genuine integrity brings much joy, when there is nothing held back in your relationship with either God or your fellow humans. 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

Bonhoeffer and the Peacock

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Wednesday, September 19, 2018

After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him—for he is proud and arrogant.  He boasts, “By my own powerful arm I have done this.  With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it.  I have broken down the defenses of nations and carried off their treasures.  I have knocked down their kings like a bull.  I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs.  No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.”  But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it?  Is the saw greater than the person who saws?  Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it?  Can a wooden cane walk by itself?  Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory.  Isaiah 10:12-16(NLT)

Assyria’s world domination was a blip on history’s radar; the king just a footnote.  Sennacherib, king of Assyria had been like a peacock, strutting his accomplishments around like an arrogant gasbag!  That didn’t last long; God brought Sennacherib’s so-called power to nothing; actually, less-than-nothing, as God showed him what real power looked like.

In the mid-20^th century Adolph Hitler tried using Sennacherib’s playbook, but he fared no better than the Assyrian terrorist.  Germany’s self-aggrandizing dictator bragged that his leadership was going to bring Germany to power over the entire universe.  When all was said and done, the would-be ruler of the world committed suicide rather than being captured to face the trials (and probably execution) that were sure to come.  One thing he did NOT escape was standing before God with the blood of millions on his hands.

In the end it was the humility of a preacher named Bonhoeffer that played a pivotal role in bringing down the despot. 

Notwithstanding the tendency of some preachers to abuse or use politics in the pulpit, a preacher’s call from God includes looking-after the people over which politics rule.  When the politics are coming crossways against the Scripture, and leading the people astray, preachers are supposed to speak up.  In the late 1930’s some German pastors were speaking out, congratulating Germany on having Hitler as their Messiah:

"The time is fulfilled for the German people of Hitler. It is because of Hitler that Christ, God the helper and redeemer, has become effective among us. … Hitler is the way of the Spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the Church of Christ." So spoke German pastor Hermann Gruner. Another pastor put it more succinctly: "Christ has come to us through Adolph Hitler."[2]

History told the story that a madman of no conscience, a sociopath at best, and a schizophrenic psychopath, or perhaps demon-possessed tool of Satan at worst, was not the Messiah.  Neither was Sennacherib.  Nor is any American president who acts with the same absence of moral compass.

Now, please save the cards, letters, emails, tweets and the like; I make no judgment on the policies of the current administration other than my own personal observation and opinion. 

But what I have tried to say is in direct response to those who have said explicitly, or implicitly that we don’t elect a pastor to the White House; we elect a President.  My response is that you cannot separate morality, conscience and ethical behavior from what a leader must be who leads a nation committed to ethical and moral behavior with good conscience.  To do so makes it permissible for the fox to rule the hen house.

I can say emphatically that this preacher is not without sin; I have apologized to God and my fellow humans more times than I care to remember for my trespasses.  We currently have a leader who has stated publicly he feels no such need to apologize…ever. 

Knowing a little about human nature, that makes me tremble.  And here’s why:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6(NLT)

If the leader of this nation will never humble himself before human beings, much less God, how can we expect a different result from that of Sennacherib or Hitler?

For You Today

Join me in praying for our leaders; they can use it, whether they know it or not.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Christian History, Issue 32, 1991, Christianity Today

Elevate Your Game

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Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.  So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.  Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.  Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.  You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.  But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.  Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.  Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.  In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free.  Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.  Colossians 3:1-11(NLT)

Paul used athletic illustrations to talk to the early church about how to live the Christ-life.  He called it a race, chasing the prize of crowns (as in the Olympic games), and doing training like a prize fighter.  But here, to the Colossian crowd, Paul points to the seminal, most basic disciplines for elevating our game – getting rid of the kind of raw crudeness that so permeates our culture today.

Anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language; my, oh, my, one would think Paul is talking about political campaigns in recent memory…or Hollywood movies!  And, I think, one would be correct.  But don’t be too quick to jump to the conclusion that Paul is missing the mark on every-day, normal, not-so-famous people like us. 

It is said that culture reflects art, and vice-versa.  It’s true; both the behavior of people and the art produced out of that culture inform and influence each other.  Seeing an image of a shooting plants an indelible image on a person’s brain.  Producing “art” that reflects a violent act increases the influence of that image to others.

If “pure” art (painting, video, photo) has power to influence people who view the art, imagine how much influence our actions, which are also an art form, possess to influence people.  It’s like a tornado’s cone – the more the wind and pressure build, the bigger it gets.  The more seedy our behavior, the worse the total effect on those around us. 

This is why Paul encourages us to strip off all the crude, rude, harmful behavior.  We may feel independent and perfectly justified to act, talk, think like we want, but a Christian is never free to exert any influence except Christlikeness, the agape’-love of God.  Elevating our game means passing over the base nature and setting our sights on higher things.  We are to aspire to the honor of Heaven in the way we treat people, talk to people, and lead people with our influence (our actions). 

Granted, this is a lot harder than just acting the way that pleases you most; a whole LOT harder!  But, this is the kind of living which pleases Christ, and builds others up.  The only other choice is to tear down and destroy.

For You Today

That new nature you were given when you gave your heart to Jesus means you’ve said goodbye to the old nature.  But don’t forget this:  that old rude, crude, and destructive nature will still try to come back home and have its influence over you.  So, just like you get ready to meet each day by dressing with physical clothes, elevate your game; keep stripping-off that old nature garment, and putting-on Christ as your new nature garment.

You’ll be best-dressed wherever you go!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Pixabay.com