Builder of Everything

Hebrews 3:4     For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

 

In the heart of Maybole, Scotland, there is an old collegiate church, where the ancient kings of Carrick were buried. It’s over 800 years old, is in ruins, and is also surrounded by an old cemetery, which is still looked after by the town council. To the north of the church, there is a high hill and, at the top of it, there is an old building where the Reformer John Knox once had an argument with the local bishop about Communion. The argument lasted three days and so many people came to hear it, that Maybole ran out of bread.

 

Both these buildings are quiet places and hardly anyone visits them. They just blend in with the surrounding town houses that passers by don’t give them a second glance. It’s sad because both places are rich with history and they both played important parts in developing the Christian culture of the Scottish people. In their heyday, they were buildings of worthiness and importance; nowadays they are just part of the quaint rural scenery.

 

I guess that’s what the writer of Hebrews is trying to convey in this passage. We’re forever building houses, churches, and edifices that seem important to a particular people, for a particular amount time. But eventually, the centuries wear down the buildings; their importance is diminished, and they pass into the halls of history.

 

But not so with God. He is the builder of everything, and for eons, His works have declared God’s power and prestige, His strength and sovereignty. He is the Creator of the Cosmos and the Sustainer of the Universe. His mightiness is seen across billions of light years and will continue to be experienced forever.

 

Prayer:             Lord God Almighty, when we compare our grandest buildings and oldest constructions, they are nothing compared to Your mighty works. We think that three thousand year old pyramids are magnificent wonders, yet even they pale into insignificance beside the tiniest of planets or the smallest of your galaxies. Keep us in awe of Your greatness and help us to revere You as the Almighty Builder of the Universe. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Near and Far

Jeremiah 23:23          "Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?

 

Sometimes we can get too pally with God and treat Him with unintended disrespect. I can remember hearing a pastor at a summer camp starting his prayer with the words, “Hey God,” as if he were addressing a mule or a lapdog. I guess he thought that he was being hip and cool with the young people at camp, but what he was really doing was diminishing the sovereignty of God and casting aside His majesty.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not for keeping God so distant that we cannot reach Him. I love the incarnational event which brought Christ down among us, but that was God’s choice, not ours. What I hate is seeing God being yanked on a spiritual chain, as if He needs to be paying attention to us and listening to what we have to say, instead of the other way around. If that’s the way things were meant to be, we could carry God around in a bottle, which we could uncork whenever we needed His help.

 

In Jeremiah’s time, the people were guilty of keeping God in a box and trying to localize, personalize, and minimize Him. They wanted God to be bound by their words, rituals and incantations. They wanted Him to be territorialized, just like the pagan deities around them. If God could be controlled, then the people could do what they liked. If God could be diminished, they could do their own thing.

 

But God wouldn't be boxed in or bought out. God wouldn't be contained or controlled. As Jeremiah prophesied, He was the God of the local community, the entire world, and the complete universe. No one had control over Him. No one could thwart His will or change His ways.

 

We are all guilty of being over-familiar with God, sometimes to such an extent that we misinterpret familiarity for intimacy. God isn't here to fulfill our purposes, plans, and personal desires. We are here to please and worship Him. Perhaps instead of saying, “Hey God,” in our prayers, we really need to be saying “Hail, God!” in our hearts.

 

Prayer:                        Almighty God, You want us to get closer to You, so that our lives can be strongly influenced by Your sacred power and greatly enhanced by Your divine love. Keep us from treating You disrespectfully and help us to understand that You are our Creator and we are simply creatures, whose purpose is to worship and glorify You forever. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

Verdict

2 Chronicles 19:6 He told them, "Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the LORD, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.

 

Yesterday, I watched our General Assembly discuss and debate the most important issue to come before our denomination in twenty-five years. The participants and commissioners were dealing with a slate of recommendations from a Task Force called the “Peace, Unity, and Purity Report.”

 

During the debate, I was frequently praying to God for the guidance and presence of the Holy Spirit to be bestowed upon the Assembly. The atmosphere, even across the cyberspace streaming, was electrified, and everyone wanted to make the right decision. Our church has been hemorrhaging for decades over the issue of who is or isn't fit for ordination. Eventually, after hours of passionate debating, the commissioners decided to accept the Report, with 57% for, and 43% against.

 

I know that some people were deeply disappointed with the decision, and it will be interesting to see how it will all pan out in practice. However, I feel as though the denomination has given a verdict after carefully, and prayerfully, considering what needed to be done. Marj Carpenter, one of the most respected mission leaders and past moderators of our denomination made a pivotal point when she said, "I'm against the ordination of homosexuals, though I love ‘em. But we've been fighting in this ditch for 28 years and ditch is getting deeper. It's starting to affect our mission work, our youth ministry and our evangelism and I'm ready to try something else. Please, let's get on with being the church, taking the gospel into the world and offering them something else other than arguments."

 

Most of the commissioners echoed her feelings and I also agree. We've let this issue take over who we are and what we do. It’s time to consolidate our energy and resources, our time and focus on those things that are important to God. There’s a broken world outside the church that needs help, and we're supposed to be the servants and vessels of Christ’s healing ministry.

 

Prayer:             Lord Jesus, we pray Your blessing upon our church. We need to be helped and healed, strengthen and supported by Your Sacred Spirit, so that we can go out into the world to express the good news of salvation through our loving acts, transforming faith, and solid faith. Enable and empower to be all that You want us to be. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Getting It

Mark 12: 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

 

I remember the first time I ever rode a bike without using the stabilizers, which we called “training wheels” in Scotland. It didn't go very well.  The bike shoogled and vibrated, making me so anxious and fearful that I kept my head down and concentrated on watching the front wheel. This was a big mistake because the more that I watched the wheel, the crazier, bumpier and unsteadier the bike became. Eventually I fell over, scraped my knees, and didn't want to get back on the saddle again.

 

Then my Dad told me that the secret to riding a bike was to look up and look ahead. He promised that if I did that, then it would be a lot easier. So, instead of concentrating on the bike, I focused on the road ahead, and, as I watched the street, the steadier my bike became. By changing my perspective, I suddenly discovered that I could freely ride the bike. I was no longer shackled to my fears of falling and failing. Instead, my confidence grew as I understood what was truly required to ride my bike.

 

A similar revelation occurred with the teacher of the law who was listening to Jesus talk about loving God and our neighbors. The lawyer ‘got it’ immediately because he understood how to apply it in his religious life. If people truly loved God and their neighbors, then there would be no need for sacrifices and burnt offerings, because true love would keep God’s people free from hurting, disappointing, and wounding others. They would also be free from the fear of falling and failing, of angering and offending God.

 

Christ’s sacrifice was more than sufficient to restore us to God, and it has given more reason for us to love Him now than ever before. We don't need to make sacrifices or burnt offerings when we make mistakes. So long as we are willing to be contrite, to show repentance and seek God’s forgiveness, we can look up and look ahead to a brighter and better future, to an everlasting and immortal life.

 

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, help us to love God with all of our strength, heart, mind and soul. Enable us to love our neighbors, to help them in times of trouble and to seek their goodwill. Grant us the courage and confidence to live our lives faithfully, without the fear of failing, without the dread of falling. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Pandering to Perfection

Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

 

Our society is obsessed with trying to be perfect. People look for the perfect career, perfect partner and perfect house. We struggle, strive, and get stressed out trying to reach that perfection. We purchase the latest gadgets to keep ahead of everyone else. We buy designer clothing and decadent cars to enhance our esteem. We look for new ways to look great, keep fit, and stay young. We get obsessed with trendy diets, the newest supplements, and the hottest exercise machines. As the Hindus say, we Westerners get swamped in a frenzy of activity and greed, that we have never have time to enjoy the here and now. In our effort to out-live and out-pace the rest of humanity, we end up ‘out-there’ in a wacky, weary world of our own making.

 

Take me, for instance. Last night, I went fishing for the first time in ages. At the supermarket I bought some shiny new lures, the latest models of artificial minnows, and some really cool-looking floats. I was decked out with my Argyle & Sutherlanders green T-shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and a trendy straw hat. I looked good and was all set to take the fishing world by storm. I caught several fish, so I not only looked the part, I was also impressing some bystanders with my catching ability.

 

And then it happened, the moment that burst my perfection balloon. A group of models came to the lakeside to shoot some pictures in the twilight. They were posing and pouting on the grass beside me, as their photographers clicked away. Then one of the photographers shouted, “What a great backdrop. I love the sunlight on the water, the trees and landscape. And that old man fishing behind you, just makes the picture perfect!”

 

It’s pride that makes us think we are perfect. When Jesus talked to the rich young man, He tried to get him to let go of his desire to be perfect. Christ asked him to do the very thing that he couldn't. He couldn't let go of his money, his esteem, or his pride. But instead of saying to Jesus, “I can't do this, Lord. Help me,” he just slinks away to nurse his wounded pride.

 

None of us are totally perfect and none of us are completely good. That’s why we need a perfect Savior, that’s why we need a godly Redeemer. Only Christ’s perfection and true goodness can restore us to God.

 

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, forgive our foolish pride and help us to stop trying to be perfect. Keep us from becoming obsessed with selfish desires, and the wanting of the latest things. Enable and empower us to become more aware of what You desire of each day in our lives. In Your Holy name, we pray. Amen.

Locusts

Joel 2:25 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm- my great army that I sent among you.

Some churches are plagued by spiritual locusts, who are people that devour the resources of the congregation, always looking for something to better their circumstances, but never making themselves available to give of their own time, talents and treasures to other people with similar needs. They look to the church to supply their every wants, so that they can live happier, healthier, and more fruitful lives. Sometimes they even expect the church to support their bad habits, obsessions and addictions, by offering them unlimited forgiveness and grace, without requiring them to repent, change or alter their life-styles.

Locusts are a menace to many communities around the world because they cause famine, ruin the soil, and blight the land. Church locusts do the same. They devour all of the goodness that’s in a congregation and leave people empty in spirit. They want to ensure that their own requirements are met first and foremost, without ever asking what the bigger picture is, or what’s best for the whole community. Instead of adding to the joy and growth of the church, they cause it to be a parched, barren place, bereft of benevolence, and empty of love. And once they get what they want and have devoured all that’s available, they move on to some other place, seeking to do the same.

Combating locusts usually involves chemical pesticides, but scientists are now looking into interrupting their life cycle changes. If the researchers can find a way to alter the locusts’ behavior patterns, then they may be able to stop the potential for damage. Scientists around the world are working together on this problem, and eventually they hope to find the right solution to this devastating dilemma.

Congregations need to do the same. They need to unite and defend themselves against locusts, ensuring that destructive behavior does not blight the spiritual well-being of the church. If a way can be found to break selfish habits and damaging patterns, then all may be well with the church. But if not, then spiritual pesticides may have to be employed which, according to Paul and Christ, may involve rebuke and redirection, exclusion and excommunication.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes our churches’ sense of fair-play and notion of grace unfortunately leads to excuse and abuse, dysfunctioning and enabling. In those weak moments, locusts can descend among us and devour all the spiritual goodness in our lives. Deliver us from such evil, and lead us towards a better path and brighter hope. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Marilyn

1 Thessalonians 1:3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Marilyn Cline was a wonderful woman and an exceptional Christian. Both she and her husband suffered from MS and despite years of discomfort, pain and physical torment they managed to raise a family, work at university, and support the church for many years. When Marilyn was widowed, she didn't go into reclusion, instead she continued to do the work at church, which she and her husband has been doing together.

 

I remember one year, when we found it difficult to get senior people volunteer to be elders at Erin. We needed their wisdom and experience, but because our elders play a large profile in the leadership of the church, some seniors were reticent about answering “yes” to being an elder for three years. As we came down to the wire, Marilyn got to hear about the fix we were in. Physically, she was a bit weaker than usual, but she got around with her walker. She volunteered to be an elder, even although she knew that coming to two evening meetings per month and leading committees would physically be grueling. She became an elder in order to show some of her peers that disability was no excuse from taking on the reins of leadership. In her own way, she was also showing them that age or retirement needn't be barriers either.

 

As only Marilyn could, she excelled as an elder, becoming a great example to the congregation and, funnily enough, to the young adults in our congregation. Many of them became elders over the next couple of years because they had seen what Marilyn could achieve. We were very blessed to have her amongst us and when she died, many people, old and young, came to the funeral to pay their respects.

 

Perhaps you are wondering what You could be doing for the Lord in your church; perhaps someone has asked you to take a leadership role and you have your doubts. Pray about the invitation and ask yourself this question: am I being asked to do this for the church, or is God calling me to do something beautiful for Him?

 

Prayer: Lord, You are the source of all our faith, hope and love. You have led us from the fields of sin into Your church on earth. Empower us to do Your will and enable us to respond positively to the requests that are made upon to help, lead and give to the life, work and ministry of our congregation. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen

Essert

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

 

You would think that a professional footballer would know better, but today’s news story of the Steelers’ quarterback being involved in a motor bike crash, and receiving serious facial injuries because he wasn’t wearing a helmet, just proves how ‘essert’ human beings can be. (Essert is an old Scottish word which means stubborn and ornery rolled into one). In this case, the footballer, who wears helmet protection on the sports field, opted to express his freedom by not wearing a safety helmet whilst riding his super-charged motor bike. Evidently, he felt that his independent thinking was more important to him than the head which carries all of those precious free will thoughts. I would hope that after this experience, he’ll be wearing a helmet both on and off the field of play.

 

Anyway, all of this kind of reminded me about our own essert ways. We all like to be fiercely independent and we all like to maintain our free will, but sometimes our stubborn and mule-headed ways cause us more pain, trouble and grief than we ever bargained for. During my worst moments of alcohol addiction, I wouldn’t listen to those around me that I was heading into the gutter. I thought that I could handle my liquor and cared little for what other people were saying. Then one night in the pub, as I was merrily drinking myself into an alcoholic stupor, all of my friends got up from the table and left me.

 

To this day, I don’t know what I did to offend or disappoint them. All that I know is I was left on my own because I had said or done something which affronted them.

 

Sometimes we burden ourselves with troubles of our own making. Sometimes we get into situations that become crises because of our own daft notions and reckless choices.  Eventually these troubles will wear us out and tear us down. I know, because I’ve been there, and it’s not a healthy place. In my case, when I recognized my problem and took it sincerely to God, He lifted me, corrected me, directed me, and accepted me. Ever since then, I praise Him, for I truly know that He is my daily burden-bearer. He is the One who saved me from my essert-driven self.

 

Prayer:             Lord God, what is it about us that we become our own worst enemies? Why do we have to put ourselves through so much trouble and grief? Help us to seek the right remedies for our remedial ways; give us guidance to set our lives back on godly paths. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

General Decisions

John 20: 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

 

All week long, the PCUSA will be concentrating on the events at the General Assembly, in Birmingham, Alabama, where the main issue is about keeping the peace, maintaining the purity, and sustaining the unity of the denomination. It will not be an easy task because 650 different people, with 650 different backgrounds and opinions, will be asked to make binding decisions for 2.5 million Presbyterians across the United States.

 

Whatever the outcome, the most important thing to be kept will be the peace of the whole church. If we begin to fragment and divide, then our witness in the community will be diminished. It’s hard enough being a mainline Protestant these days, but if we shoot ourselves in the foot, we will be limping into oblivion.

It kind of reminds of the speech that Abraham Lincoln once made before the secession of the Southern States. It took place in 1858, three years before the War began. He said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

He was paraphrasing scripture and using Christ’s idea that a house divided against itself will fall (Luke 11v17). And this is precisely what the Devil wants to happen to our denomination. He wants us to be divided against ourselves. He wants us to take sides. He wants us to call each other “foe”, so that he can continue to cause havoc and create evil in our communities.

So, please take time in the midst of your busy schedules to pray for the church, our denomination each day this week, because if we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need Him now.

 

Prayer:                        Holy Spirit, allow Your presence to be showered upon the General Assembly commissioners who meet this week in Birmingham, Alabama, carrying the weight of the world upon their shoulders. Let Your guidance and bidding, Your counsel and wisdom be evident in all that they undertake to do. Grant them discernment to do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right way. In Christ’s Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Gospel Beliefs

1 Corinthians 15:2     By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

 

I was reading a blog yesterday written by a seminary student, who has been assigned to a hospital for six months as part of his practical training. He writes about his experiences, and also of the restrictions that have imposed upon him for the chapel services. He has been officially told that he cannot use any New Testament scriptures in the services, or refer to Jesus in any of his prayers. If he insists on using Bible readings, then they must come from the book of Psalms, Proverbs or Ecclesiastes.

 

I wrote back to him and told him that I had served as a part-time hospital chaplain for ten years in Scotland and no one placed any of those restrictions upon me. I dealt with people from all walks of life, and a multitude of faiths, or even no faith at all. During my tenure at the hospital, I never once saw a person die from being exposed to the New Testament, nor get any sicker from hearing Christ’s Name in my prayers. In fact, the reverse was often the case. Most people appreciated what Jesus had to say, and most of them were truly thankful for being prayed over in His Name.

 

In our current climate of trying to not offend anyone, we've neutralized our faith and diminished Christ. Instead of being confident about being Christians, we're in danger of becoming religious freaks, who pray to Christ in private, but God forbid that we should do so in public!

 

We forget our heritage and sell our Christian birthright too easily. If the followers of Christ in Paul’s time had accepted the religious restrictions imposed upon them by the Roman Empire, we would never have heard about Jesus at all. We do well to remember that we are saved by the gospel, when we hold firmly to what the New Testament teaches us. Otherwise, as Paul clearly says, we will have believed in vain.

 

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, keep us from surrendering our salvation and belittling our beliefs when we remain quiet about Who You are to us in our daily lives. Help us to be compassionate and caring, loving and forgiving, all in, with, and by the power of Your Sacred Name. Amen.

The God Who gave us Life also gave us Liberty

Real Faith

1 Thessalonians 1: 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

 

One of the most remarkable things that I have seen over the years is the amount of faith people possess, even in the most tragic and trying of circumstances. I can remember one old lady who didn't have a lot of resources and whose life had been full of tragedy and misery. She had suffered a great deal of physical and emotional pain throughout her life, yet she wrote some of the most spiritual poems I have ever seen or heard.

 

Those poems became her greatest treasure in old age and whenever I stopped by for a house call, she would read to me her latest works. Most of them sounded like the psalms and she wrote them in King James English. Time after time, I marveled at how she could write such beautiful poems, especially in the light of her painful past. In spite of her severe suffering, she expressed Christ’s message with a joy that could only have been given to her by the Holy Spirit.

 

When she died, her family kept her books of poems and today they still share them with other people. The old lady’s words continue to inspire others to hold on to their faith, and to look to God for help in the midst of all of their troubles.

 

Perhaps life is presently hard for some us and we are experiencing emotional and physical pain. Those are not easy burdens to bear and sometimes we feel destitute of hope or abandoned by God. But what Paul and other people reveal to us is that faith can help us through the worst of experiences and the worst of times, leading us on to something better and brighter.

 

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, when it came to suffering, Your experience was terrifying and tragic. You underwent a grueling time of shame and pain, isolation and vulnerability, torture and torment. But by the grace of God and through Your faith in His love, You rose above that painful death into a newer, stronger and eternal life. Help us in the midst of all our troubles, to look for that hope which faith brings, and to find joy once more in the Holy Spirit. In Your Sacred Name, we pray. Amen.

Truth Bearers

Galatians 4:16           Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

 

The truth hurts, especially when it comes from a true friend. I can remember when I was addicted to alcohol one of my co-workers coming up to me and saying, “John, you drink too much, and it’s affecting what people around here think of you.” I was angry at her and sought to avoid working with her. I withdrew within myself and cast aside any criticism about my drinking habits. I could handle the situation better on my own anyway.

 

Months later, I was leaving the firm. Usually the office workers put on a going-away party at the local pub. Some people came to say “goodbye” to me, whilst others wanted to say, “Good riddance!” The co-worker who had confronted me earlier simply told me, “John, don't get drunk. You do stupid things when you are drinking.”

 

Instead of being offended or defensive this time, I looked into her eyes. I could see that she cared for me, and this was why she didn't want me to get absolutely plastered and make a fool of myself. This time I followed her advice. I had a couple of drinks, but not in excess of what I could hold. It was the first time in my life that I realized I had a problem. My co-worker had planted a seed of doubt in my mind about my alcoholism. She was not my enemy. Instead, she was a true friend.

 

The truth hurts. Sometimes we go into denial about who we are and what we do. We don't like to ‘fess up’ to our mistakes, bad habits, or obsessions. We hate it when those around us – family, friends, and even co-workers – point out what we've done and how badly it’s affecting our lives. But the only chance of recovery and redemption, renewal and restoration comes when the truth is told and the truth-bearer is accepted and not rejected.

 

If you've got a problem in your life right now, and other people around you whom trust and love are telling you about it, then you need help and you need to face the truth. And as Jesus said a long time ago, only “the truth can set us free.”

 

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, when other people point out our mistakes, we get defensive and seek to diminish their version of the truth. Instead of facing up to what’s wrong in our lives, we want to point out what’s wrong with other people. You know us completely, Lord, so when we are afraid of challenges that will cause changes, help us to rely upon You to have the strength, resolution and focus to handle and embrace the truth. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Rejecting God's Help

Psalm 103:3 …who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases

 

One of the saddest things that I have seen in more than twenty years of ministry is when a person refuses God’s help and rejects His healing. I can remember being called to help one young lad decades ago, who was addicted to booze and drugs. He had a supportive, loving wife and a wonderful wee two year old son.

 

I had worked with him for a couple of years and he seemed to be steering his life back in the right direction. Whenever the manse needed painted or a room decorated, Evelyn and I would ask him to do it. He needed the money, and because the minister was willing to let him decorate his home, other people in the church gave this young decorator opportunities to do the same. He started to make a business for himself and things were looking up.

 

But then, in the midst of all of this joy and restoration, the specter of addiction eased its way back into his life. He tried to control it, and was successful at first. Because I had been an addict too, I gave him a lot of support. The sadness is that his addiction proved stronger than his friendship and faith, his family and his work. I pleaded with him, along with his wife, to get into a recovery program, but he wouldn't do it. He enjoyed the booze and the drugs too much. Eventually, he lost everything – his wife and son, his business and customers, his church and faith.

 

Benjamin Franklin once said, “God helps those who help themselves.” You won't find that in the Bible because God often helps those who can't help themselves. But when people make bad choices and choose drugs and alcohol over friends and family, it’s very difficult for God to enable that person to recover. The young lad denied he had a problem and ended up deceiving himself, dividing his family and diminishing his faith. It was one of the saddest things that I have ever seen. And it still grieves my heart, when I see those same kinds of things happening in other young lives today.

 

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we all know someone who is addicted to drugs and alcohol, to self-deception and self-destruction. We pray that You will protect them and enable them to see the error of their ways. When the bottle is empty and the ‘fix’ is over, enter into their hearts and minds, and make them see what they are doing to themselves, their families and their friends. Guide them to Your goodness and restore them to Your love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

 

 

The God Who gave us Life also gave us Liberty

Who Do We Think We Are?

1 Timothy 3: 15 ...if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. (NIV)

 

A school coach in our town is being vilified because he told one of his students to “just read your Bible.” Church people are up in arms, claiming ‘religious discrimination.’ Infuriated pastors are ready to march on the school.

 

A pastor and other church members in the Mid-West go to a homosexual’s funeral with placards, condemning the deceased to Hell and make loud protests during the graveside service.

 

Ministers preach from their pulpits about the sinfulness of our public education system and demonize the teachers, appealing to their members to send their kids to church schools.

 

Meanwhile thousands of people are killed in Darfur, Sudan for their faith.

 

Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of kids in the United States go to bed hungry each night.

 

Meanwhile millions of people around the globe die of curable diseases.

 

In other words, the Church is becoming isolated and alienated from the real world due to arrogance, elitism, and pettiness. The world is on fire, folks, and we are peeing in the roses.

 

I just wonder what Paul would think about all of this? When he wrote to Timothy about people knowing how to conduct themselves in God’s household, did he really mean us? When he called us the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth, was he really referring to us hyper-sensitive Christians who are ready to cry “Discrimination!” when things don’t go our way?

 

It’s about time we grew up spiritually, and started to take our mission in the world seriously. Instead of being whining Christians, we should be winning souls. Instead of moaning about our rights, we should bring meaning into the world. Instead of compacting conspiracies about being mistreated, we should be conveying compassion to the maltreated.

 

We have a great message, a great hope, and a great mission, which have the potential to reform, transform and enhance the world. So, let’s not focus on our petty grievances, folks. Both Christ and the world deserve far more than that. Let’s turn the other cheek, instead of trying to stick the boot in. Let’s win our enemies, instead of whining at them.

 

Prayer:             Lord Jesus, shake us out of our slumber and remove the planks from our eyes. Help us to become a real household of faith, instead of a self-righteous, hostile family. Change our selfish ways, so that we can begin again to change the world. In Your Holy name, we fervently pray. Amen.

Life and Liberty

Philippians 3:9          ‘and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.’

 

Over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of talk about things like the placing of the Ten Commandments in public spaces, the saying of ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance, and the use of prayer in schools. It’s a debate that never seems to end and, on both sides of the dispute, people are looking to our courts to make all the decisions on whether or not these things are legal and constitutional. It’s almost as if we are all waiting for the Supreme Court to make a Supreme decision on whether or not a Supreme Being exists.

 

Paul reminds us that, as Christians, our righteousness does not come from the law, but through our faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t have to wait for the courts to tell us how to practice our faith. We can freely put signs up about the Ten Commandments in our yards and churches; we can continue to say “under God” if we choose to, and we can certainly pray in schools (most of us do that anyway, especially during final exams).

 

The point is this: if we let our faith be shaped and molded by what’s constitutional, we no longer have freedom of religion. What we are left with is a government sponsored faith, which certainly is unconstitutional and is more like the arrangement that Communist China has with various religious groups in that nation.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating religious anarchy or another Presbyterian rebellion, I’m just saying that to be Christians we don’t depend upon the government to tell us what we can or cannot believe. Our faith was shaped by our Savior and it’s through Him that we are Christians.

 

Perhaps we should all remember something that one of our Founding Fathers wrote in 1774, “The God Who gave us Life, also gave us Liberty.” It was written by Thomas Jefferson and I have a T-shirt that I designed with those words, along with an American flag. I am going to proudly wear it this coming 4^th of July, as an expression of both my faith in God and my ardent love for this nation.*

 

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, our rights to have faith and to practice our religion do not come from our government or our courts. You are the One who gave us that freedom. You are the One who grants us liberty from fear, sin, and death, by providing us with faith, hope and love. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully and freely pray. Amen.

 

• If you want to look at this T-shirt and a few other similar items, visit the following website: http://www.cafepress.com/stushie