Getting the Good News

 

Thursday, January 20, 2022

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.  He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.  To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.  In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago.  They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.  Foreigners will be your servants.  They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards.  You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God.  You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.  Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor.  You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.                     Isaiah 61:1-7

It’s safe to say everyone on planet earth is waiting for a bit of good news these days.  With pandemic the last couple of years, economic struggles, international tensions, isolation woes, restrictions-by-the-truckload, and a million other reasons, it’s like the good news train has been derailed in the night by a tsunami of whatever-can-go-wrong.  For a change, we want to hear a little good news!

The story of Israel in the millennial time before Jesus’ birth is the backdrop.  From the time God’s special people escaped captivity in Egypt and entered the land flowing with milk and honey ^{(Exodus 3:8)} they were the human poster child of what part of good news didn’t we understand!  God’s blessings were always forgotten within a few years, or a few generations.  They forgot their vows of allegiance to Jehovah and began chasing the rainbows of success and power.  Like the church today, hopping on political bandwagons of conservatism or progressiveness, they forgot who they were.  God would take them to the woodshed for discipline; they’d repent and cry-out for another Exodus kind of deliverance; God would hear and answer, and they’d do it all over again!

Then came Jesus with the final solution – good news that won’t ever be forgotten by posterity’s laziness, and won’t be forsaken by a righteous God who refuses to be forgotten.  The good news is that this kingdom, promised by Jesus’ word, and secured by Jesus’ death and resurrection, is now written on hearts. 

For You Today

No matter what social scientists, pandemiologists, and politicians may say about the present woes, or predictions about future disaster, the redeeming work of Christ is set in better than stone – it’s written on streets of gold in a temple built without hands.  It’s time the people of God get back to “getting” that Good News, and living by it every day.

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

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

The Taste of Change

 

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees.  Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”  Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom?  Of course not.  But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”  Then Jesus gave them this illustration:  “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment.  For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.  “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins.  For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins.  New wine must be stored in new wineskins.  But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine.  ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”  Luke 5:33-39

Jesus brought plenty of change to contemplate, and sometimes confuse.  That can be good or bad, depending upon which side you settle.  If you’re confused, it’s ok; not everything Jesus said is for immediate understanding and implementation.  However, if you’re just going to contemplate (with little intention of diving-in and doing), you’re always going to be a little empty...that is, until you finally get it, that the interruption of life you’re feeling, over what Jesus is bringing to your table, is exactly what Jesus came to bring.  In short, He came to change everything.  He came to turn everything that needs turning on its ear.

In the case of new wine vs. old wine, there is problem with neither.  The problem exists in how you treat it.  New wine is going to expand.  The older the wineskin, the more possibility it won’t hold…the container will go bust!  Old wine has done its expanding, but still needs attention…a cool, protected place where disturbances are minimal.  In that scenario old wineskins will do.

The mistake Jesus was pointing-out in this conversation with disciples, was the focus too many of us have on the wineskins.  We become attached to that which we’ve come to hold dear.  That’s seen in everyday life, from cradle to senior living homes.  A child loves his favorite toy or “blankey” which give security and comfort.  An elder wants quiet and predictability – also the hallmarks of safety.  A twenty-something wants none of the above, only that everything should change.    

Giving up a comfort zone is something that rarely happens when you’re talking about church.  Hymns, choruses, loud-clanging cymbals, and guitars will be at war in the rehearsal rooms.  Praise teams will push choir-seekers to the side, and the quiet of yesterday’s prelude will be replaced (changed) into whatever new thing hasn’t yet been done.  And the old (I can use that because I am that) will lament about the discarding of old skins, while the young push back with get a life…we’re here to show you the NEW you’ve been missing. 

The saddest thing (to me) about all the pushing and shoving is that, at times, both sides are right.  There is a time for the new to be held in expandable minds, and a time for young minds to venerate what stands forever.  The target, lest we forget, is the wine…not the skin in which it is held.

For You Today

Got a little judgmental in you about new or old wineskins?  Better check out the wine before you berate the Wine Master.

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

[1] Title and Other Images:  Fresco Tours via Wikimedia Commons   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©    

Prepared - Part 7

 

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

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

Today we finish our little excursion into the preparedness of a soldier of the cross. 

If you are like me, the one thing that 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 were scaling part of the Matterhorn mountain 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!^[1]  My dear Christian brother, or sister, you will never have enough time to do all you have to do, until you take the time with Jesus in prayer.

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.

For You Today

When a soldier has been properly outfitted, trained, and pointed in the right direction, there is only one sensible thing left to do, Join the fight.  I don’t know what that means for you tomorrow, or even this afternoon; God is the one who defines and directs the strategy. 

I suggest you keep an attitude of prayer, and an open heart.  He will bring you into the battle at the right time, right where you’re needed. 

Someday the battle will be in front of you.   The question to settle right now, right here, so that you will be ready on that day, is that your life belongs to the Lord who gave His life for you.  That is the decision Christ invites you to make for Him.  Come and die, Christian, die to self, and find life in Him!

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

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

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

Prepared - Part 6

 

Monday, January 17, 2022

Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:17

In his book, A Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football, Paul Zimmerman quotes a physicist who did some startling math.  When a 240- pound football lineman (capable of running 100 yards in 11 seconds) collides with a 240-pound running back (capable of covering the same distance in 10 seconds), the resultant kinetic energy is enough to move 66,000 pounds (33 tons) one inch.  The scientist says further that the collision would likely deliver to the player's helmet a blow nearly 1,000 times the force of gravity.  

Obviously, modern football helmets must withstand tremendous blows, or no player would survive long.

The same is true for those of us engaged in spiritual warfare.  Paul knew what he was doing when he commanded us to take the helmet of salvation.  The word take means to accept, and speaks of receiving from God's hand something which He has prepared for us.  This is a great picture of salvation’s helmet, for all we can do in salvation is accept what God has given us.

The “Sword of the Spirit” is also taken in the sense that it is prepared for us, and we are to receive it with intent to use it.  In December 1986, three masked burglars broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris and stole the (then) 152-year-old diamond-encrusted dress sword of French king, Charles X.  A museum spokesperson said that the sword, made in 1824 by French artist Frederic Bapst for Charles' coronation, has such historical value that one cannot set any value on it.   

If ever there was a truly priceless Sword, it is the Word of God.  There are two verses of this Word, treasured in my heart, as particularly vital for ministry and survival in a world gone mad with materialism and mayhem:   

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Hebrews 4:12

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15

As a Pastor, I rely on the Word of God more than anything else I’ve learned.  That is especially true in counseling.  When rightly-handled, the Word will reveal things to people about themselves and their problems, about which I could only wonder.  There are some counseling techniques that seem to work very well, but upon closer inspection you will find these “techniques” are Biblical principles. 

For You Today

How vital is God’s Word?  It is the only offensive part of the soldier’s equipment.  In Christian living, it is vital for conducting spiritual warfare.  So, pick-up your sword every day.  Remember, a soldier outfitted in every perfect way, but without his sword, is only prepared to stand there and take a beating!

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

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©