Perfect

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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies!  Pray for those who persecute you!  In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.  For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.  If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?  Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.  If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?  Even pagans do that.  But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:43-48

We are called to be different.  It is certainly different to act in a loving way to those that hate you and describe themselves as your enemies!  But that is the kind of love we see on the cross, where Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them.

C.S. Lewis wrote:  There is no safe investment.  To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.  The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation.  The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.[2]

There are plenty of people we have all met that we would rather leave off the guestlist; but that isn't the way it works.  When we find ourselves in that condition we must work at finding ways to love, and even as far as liking!

Chuck Swindoll tells a great story of the man who fell in love with an opera star:

He hardly knew her, since his only view of her was from the third-floor balcony.  But he was convinced he could live happily ever after married to anyone who sang like she did.  He scarcely noticed that she was much older than he.  Nor did he note the limp.  Her mezzo-soprano voice would carry them through anything!  After a whirlwind romance and a hurry-up ceremony they were off for the honeymoon. As she began to prepare for their first night together, his chin dropped to the floor when she plucked-out her glass eye and plopped it into a container on the nightstand.  She pulled off her wig, ripped off her false eyelashes, yanked out her dentures, unstrapped her artificial leg, and smiled at him as she slipped off the glasses that hid her two hearing aids.  He was stunned and horrified.  But he managed to blurt out, Sing, woman; for goodness sake, SING!"[3]

For You Today

We are called to perfection in love.  But we are far from perfect people.  This is not a perfect world, you don’t belong to a perfect church family, we will never see it so until Jesus comes back to clean up the mess.

But, for now....When it comes to the brother or sister in your church that you have a hard time with, sing, Christian, sing! 

When your unbelieving neighbor upsets you, sing, Christian, sing! 

And when the last thing on your mind is reconciling, or denying self, or keeping your vows sacred, or forbearing...sing, Christian, sing!

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

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com        Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©

[2] C.S. Lewis in The Four Loves  Image, Ibid.

[3] Image:  By Srđan Doroški - Serbian National Theatre, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Faithful Warriors! #7. Prayer in the Spirit

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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

VIDEO here

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  And pray for me, too.  Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.  I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador.  So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.   Ephesians 6:18-20 ^(NLT)

Over the past week we have been looking at what it means to get dressed for warfare – spiritual warfare – that which every Christian faces every day.  So far we have sized up the enemy, and begun to dress for the battle.  We have put on the:

       ·       Belt of truth

       ·       Body armor of God’s righteousness

       ·       Sandals of the Gospel preparation of peace

       ·       Shield of faith

       ·       Helmet of salvation

We will finish this series tomorrow, but today we add one more vital tool for the soldier, and that is communication with the Supreme Commander:

Prayer in the Spirit

Prayer is a matter of unending communion with our Lord.  In his book, Purpose in Prayer, E. M. Bounds quotes these words from former college professor and Confederate soldier, General Thomas Stonewall Jackson: 

I have so fixed the habit of prayer in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God's blessing, never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer under the seal, never take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward, never change my classes in the lecture-room without a minute's petition for the cadets who go out and for those who come in.

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions.  Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God.  Over time the paths to these places became well worn.  As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others.  They would kindly remind the negligent one, Brother, the grass grows on your path.[2]

If you are like me, that which troubles you every time the subject of prayer arises is: 

How in the world can I develop a prayer-life?

I’ve got a zillion things to do – The kids won’t be quiet

The dog barks, the pot boils over, my boss hates me

My business and finances are in shambles

And April 15th is almost here!

Preacher – it’s not that the wolf is at the door…

that wolf has moved in and had pups under my kitchen table.

And YOU want me to pray?

My experience has been that we do not pray because we have not grasped the importance of prayer. 

Chuck Swindoll tells in one of his books about a group of amateur climbers scaling part of the Matterhorn near Zermatt, Switzerland.  As they came to a narrow, hazardous passage, about to make a turn, a gust of wind swept down on them.  The experienced guide, knowing the danger this posed for the group, quickly shouted, Get down on your knees! You are safe only on your knees![3]

For You Today

My dear Christian friend – time never surrenders itself on a platter; you will never have enough time to do all you have to do, until you take the time with Jesus in prayer.

You chew on that out on that Rocky Road today…and have a joy-filled and blessed day!

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[1] Title image:  © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar, via Wikimedia Commons

[2]Today in the Word, Moody Bible Institute, 6-29-92

[3]Charles R. Swindoll, The Christian Life, (Vision House, 1994), p. 223. 

American Dream

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning?  They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.   James 4:5 (NLT)

I was reminded the other night that American Idol is about to return to TV.

Hmmmmm.

Chuck Swindoll, president at Dallas Theological Seminary has a wonderful little story in one of his books, which speaks volumes more than I could ever say about the mentality of such shows:

Maybe you heard about the guy who fell in love with an opera singer.  He hardly knew her, since his only view of the singer was through binoculars – from the third balcony.  But he was convinced he could live “happily ever after” married to a voice like that.  He scarcely noticed she was considerably older than he.  Nor did he care that she walked with a limp.  Her mezzo-soprano voice would take them through whatever might come. 

After a whirlwind romance and a hurry-up ceremony, they were off for their honeymoon together.

She began to prepare for their first night together.  As he watched, his chin dropped to his chest. 

She plucked out her glass eye and plopped it into a container on the nightstand.  She pulled off her wig, ripped off her false eyelashes, yanked out her dentures, unstrapped her artificial leg, and smiled at him as she slipped off her glasses that hid her hearing aid. 

Stunned and horrified, he gasped, For goodness sake, woman, sing, sing, SING! [1]

As the ancient saying goes, love is blind, which is obviously a warning that it pays to “look below the surface”.  It is a smart thing to understand what you’re doing before you do what you’re about to do; look before you leap!  In the case of the star-struck young man “in love” with his opera star, the American Dream became more of his personal nightmare.

We Americans have a love affair with fame and glitz.  We love to have our romantic ideals placed upon the stages of our otherwise boring lives.  Somehow, 60 minutes of tension, filled with “will she win; can he do it” is what does it for us.  We need all those videos, dramatic vocal and instrumental crashes, with sound bites and audience whoops to make our lives meaningful.  (All that AND a new “live or die” tattoo down at Jimmy’s Body Art and Bait Shoppe).

Now, don’t get me wrong altogether – I’m not against entertainment, music or someone who can really perform (I’m actually rather jealous of anyone who can carry a tune!).  It’s really just the lack of proportionality of it all.  There’s just something odd about placing second on American Idol, and, five minutes later you’re qualified to run for Congress.  (That’s strange even in North Carolina!)

I guess when it comes to hero-worship, my bar has been set pretty high.  You can find exactly what will impress me if you travel down the Via Dolorosa, away from Jerusalem, all the way to the hill that looks like a skull.

That’s my stage; and it’s more than an American Dream – that’s where my life begins.

For You Today:

Remember, I didn’t say you’re evil if you watch American Idol; I just said you’re settling for way less than is out there!

Go for the Jerusalem idol; you won’t be disappointed in Him!

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[1] Strike the Original Match Zondervan, 1993