Wise Choices

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Monday, September 2, 2019

The end of the world is coming soon.  Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.  Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.  Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.  God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.  All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.  1 Peter 4:7-11[2]

Grandchildren are an incredible joy in many ways…sometimes you get surprised!  Here’s an example from my daughter’s Face Book page; she wrote:

With the boys starting at new schools this year we’ve been anxiously asking how their days have gone.  If you know Jonah (age 11), you know he has never ventured from bringing his lunch to school so when he offered to try school lunch this year I was ecstatic.  Thoughts for today, from him...

J:  “Lunch was good today.” 

Me:  “awesome!  What’d you have?”

J:  “the outside of a corn dog.”[3]

Sometimes it’s fear that makes us cautious; sometimes it’s wise prudence.  All of us choose very carefully how deeply we’ll venture into change.  Sometimes the outside of a corn dog will do for now. 

That old question about what three things you’d take with you if you’re going to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island is something the apostle Peter must’ve thought about deeply before he wrote this epistle.  His three choices, and what he wanted his flock to excel in, were prayer for others, loving deeply, and offering hospitality.  Did you notice none of those can be bought on Amazon.com? 

For Peter, end-of-the-world priorities have little to do with the balance sheet of stuff.  When all is said and done nobody is going to care what you’ve managed to accumulate, money, lands, or a warehouse full of antiques and toys.  He cautions his readers to use everything God has placed in their hands to serve one another.  That’s a whole universe opposite of gaining stuff for yourself.  It took Peter awhile to learn this, but he reminds us that, in the end, the only standard by which we will be judged is how well we did with Jesus’ command:

“A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35

For You Today

Like Jonah’s corn dogs or Forest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never really know what life will bring when you bite down, but the wise choice is to be ready to serve one another; on God’s island that’s what matters!

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

Go to VIDEO

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

[2]For another post on this text:  Glory by Russell Brownworth

[3] Carrie Brownworth Wynne (used with permission)

Glory

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Thursday, June 7, 2018

The end of the world is coming soon.  Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.  Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.  Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.  God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.  All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.  1 Peter 4:7-11^(NLT)

Did Peter miss it?  He wrote that the end of the world was coming soon; did he misspeak himself?  Was he wrong?  Is Scripture somehow untrustworthy because the head of the Apostle’s group failed to prophesy accurately?  After all, in the days of ancient Israel the penalty for a prophet, one who spoke the Word of God, but didn’t have a 100% accuracy record…was stoning to death.  So, do we pick up a stone and bring Peter to the edge of town? 

Or is there an explanation we haven’t considered?

Well, for one thing, literally every person that was alive when Peter wrote those words is dead now – that happens in the course of 2,000 years.  For each of them, their world didn’t last more than several decades past the ink drying on Peter’s letter.  So, for each of the believers to whom Peter wrote, the world did end rather quickly; quickly in the sense that when they breathed their last (for some, perhaps that same day…others within a normal lifespan), it was over too quickly.  And it’s always too quickly, isn’t it?  Just ask anyone over 60 how quickly life seems to have slipped away.

But for all those to whom Peter wrote in the first century, the difference between the last breath, and the next moment is an instant, quickly, the twinkling of an eye.  One moment the body is alive, pulsating, experiencing – the next moment the spirit is gone!

The whole point with Peter’s prophecy about the world coming to an end IS a reality for every human being; we will all die someday.  But, lest I evade the point altogether, someday the world’s end will be a cataclysmic reality for everyone.  At some point of God’s choosing this world will pass away, and there will be, according to Revelation ^(21:1) a new heaven and a new earth.  And, for those who trust in Christ, there will also be new bodies, and an indescribable new life with God forever.

While this is the fondest, grandest theme of our Christian hope, there is also that part of our Christian experience that must be lived-out in the here and now.  Peter does not ignore that.  He reminds us to pray and love deeply, and to be hospitable, using our gifts to serve each other.  And to do all of it with every bit of strength we possess.  In the doing, our lives bring glory to the One we love and serve.

In sum, the Apostle is bidding all believers to leave behind a ho-hum, lackadaisical approach to our Christian faith, in favor of a vibrant, energetic, all-in embrace of the Spirit of Christ.  He is calling for our heart and soul, not just a body occupying a pew.

For You Today

With the dawning of each new day there is an opportunity to bring glory to God or contribute to the stagnant pool of unbelief; your choice…always.

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

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com

No Need to Knock - part 1

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Thursday, January 5, 2017

 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”  Galatians 4:6^(NLT)

In the wee hours of a summer morning in 1986, our family was sleeping soundly.  That blissful peace was interrupted by a scream, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy..."  A man (whom the police later called the "I-75 Cat Burglar") had come in my daughters' bedroom window.  He brazenly checked the contents of the house while we all slept.  He even perused our medicine cabinet and refrigerator. 

Jennifer was only 15 at the time.  She was a light sleeper, and awoke to the man's movement near her bed.  She was paralyzed with fear, and could not get the words out until after the man noticed her, and fled the house.  Then her screams woke the household (and the neighborhood dead)!  My search for the old .22 rifle was too late.  (I'd probably have shot myself in the leg anyway.) 

It seems unnecessary to add that the man was not welcome, an intruder.

Our household is an empty nest now; our children are all grown now with families of their own.  When they can they visit, and when they do, they don't need to knock before coming in.  They are not strangers, they're welcome.  They're not intruders, they're loved family.  They don't sneak in the bedroom windows in the darkness, they walk right in the front or back door in the daylight.  And they don't need to knock!

God's children don't need to knock either!  In the family of God there is constant access to the Father. 

We used to have an Alaskan Malamute dog named Saami – 100 lbs of Salesman Smart-Missile.  She had a particular distaste for anyone trying to sell you something at the front door.  For these strangers there was no constant access (or any access)!  Saami would protect the family!

God's children also understand the family ways and the inside jokes of the family.  Human families have their inside stories. 

If you had ever had the opportunity to sit down to dinner with my Mom and Dad, and part of the meal is pickled red cabbage, you’d have thought my mother lost her mind.  The reason is an inside family joke.  Years ago someone mispronounced it while setting it out on the table.  Since that moment Mom has not been able to look at "Red Garbage" without breaking up. 

Inside jokes are what make family reunions great.  You tell the same story for the 1,800th time, and it is enjoyed better every year.

There is much laughter in the family of God.  And God approves!  In fact, He created us with a built-in capacity and need for joy!

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.  Proverbs 17:22^(NLT)

Theologian Helmut Thielicke put it in perspective,

Should we not see that lines of laughter about the eyes are just as much marks of faith as are the lines of care and seriousness?  Is it only earnestness that is baptized?  Is laughter pagan?  We have already allowed too much that is good to be lost to the church and cast many pearls before swine.  A church is in a bad way when it banishes laughter from the sanctuary and leaves it to the cabaret, the nightclubj and the toastmasters.[ii]

For You Today

Inside jokes, plenty of laughter and no need to knock – sounds like family to me.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i] Title image: By Scrypted (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

[ii] Helmut Thielicke, quoted by THE BIBLE ILLUSTRATOR, (Hiawatha, Ia, Parsons                     Technology, 1990), Idx 1926-1943

An Irresistible Gospel

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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Devotion VIDEO here

For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense.  He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.  And no one tried to stop him.  Acts 28:30-31 ^(NLT)

The last three sentences of the book of Acts are so full of hope and instruction it virtually leaps off the page with God’s “game plan” for evangelizing the world.  There are at least five words that can help point us in the right pathway for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ:

Struggle

Paul’s life following Christ was a battle.  At first the early church wanted nothing to do with Gentiles.  Paul was convinced that God was opening the doors to the entire world, not just the Jews.  Success of the Gospel always means there will be a battle for truth to triumph over wrong ideas born of selfishness and stubbornness.

Independence

Paul lived at this stage with no financial support from others.  It is axiomatic that worldly success depends on fundraising, networking and power-brokering.  The Gospel must be independent of personal agenda and indenture to “fund” outreach and evangelization.

Hospitality

Paul welcomed everyone; now that is a loaded phrase in our age of dividing the camps.  The apostle probably did not have anything more than a desire to proclaim Christ without pedigree consideration.  His open acceptance and defense of the Gentiles witnesses to Paul’s stand on offering Christ to all people. 

At Rome, the ancient capitol of the empire’s influence, He probably encountered many people who were pariahs, those who would be unwelcome in a lot of churches today.

Proclamation

Paul didn’t waste his breath arguing about small things like we do today in the church.  His concern was spreading the Good News that Advent had indeed come, and God was willing for all to come into his presence through Jesus.

And he did this proclaiming of the Gospel boldly!  There was little political correctness about Paul; neither was there room for a watered-down, hat-in-hand, timid, Mary Poppins’ spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.  Paul didn’t pull punches; he preached the truth.

Doctrine

Whenever someone showed interest in the Gospel, Paul’s life immediately became invested in helping the seeker understand God’s ways. 

Doctrine is part and parcel of Proclamation!  Without doctrine, you can energetically declare something in which you believe, but it may be flawed and dangerous.  In the same way, in every doctrinal presentation there must be the “preaching” that appeals to more than the mind; Christ’s message is for the heart too!

For You Today

Out of struggle and an independent hospitality the church proclaimed a truth (doctrine) of Jesus Christ – and it is irresistibly true.

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

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[1] Title image:  By Linschoten pinx, via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome

 ^[1]   

Monday, May 18, 2015

For a VIDEO of this devotion go HERE

Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.  Galatians 6:10 (NLT)

As Paul finishes his pastoral letter to the church at Galatia he carefully lays out some pretty important guidelines for the young believers in their work of being God’s people.

In the first 9 verses we find:

         ·        How to restore sinful or fallen believers to fellowship

         ·        The importance of sharing one another’s burdens

         ·        The case for Biblical humility

         ·        How (and why) we ought to mind our own business

         ·        Living responsibly as Christ lived

         ·        Care and feeding by the church for its ministers

         ·        The principles of sowing and reaping

         ·        An encouragement to persevere in all Christian living

In our verse this morning Paul puts a ribbon bow on these and sums it up with an underlined reminder to be gracious to all, but particularly other believers.

Elizabeth and I experienced that yesterday.

We went to worship with our Daughter and Son-in-law at a local Presbyterian church.  As we walked in the foyer of the building we were greeted to a noisy group of believers who really seemed to enjoy each other’s company. 

Now, that isn’t a new concept for a lot of churches; what warmed this preacher’s heart was the fact that more than a few of the several hundred people there stopped what they were doing when they realized we were new; they welcomed us.

One lady in particular was so welcoming she wanted to know all about us.  I smiled and leaned in and whispered, we’re Methodists; we’re playing hooky today.  She looked so seriously at me, slowly shaking her head and said, ooohhhh, Methodists…..GOOD – we’ll roll out the red carpet!

I truly had a Laugh-Out-Loud moment.

Then we walked inside and I read the mission statement of the church sprawled all across the front walls; it said:

The Mission of Our Church is to savor the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and to be servants of that grace locally and globally.[2]

The greeting in the hallway was simply a manifestation of a church truly living –out that mission in simple relational ways to a local  stranger they’d never met before.

And with all the other welcoming and kind greetings we were able to enjoy a most memorable worship experience.  I felt like I landed in the middle of family.

And that’s the way it is so often. 

Wherever I go, whether I know nobody or everybody in the building, the Spirit of God is there, inhabiting people we meet, and it’s like we’ve known each other all our lives.

It’s called the Spirit bearing witness.

For You Today

So…do you sit with the same people every week?

How about sitting next to someone else this weekend at church?

Roll out the red carpet – you might make a new Presbyterian friend.

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[1] Title image:  By Themanfrom4g at en.wikipedia, from Wikimedia Commons

[2] Mission Statement of The Meadowview Reformed Presbyterian Church, Lexington, NC