28 February 2010

Open the Door!

This morning in church the words of Jesus Christ in Revelation 3:20 was read:  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  The immediate context is Jesus addressing the church in Laodicea concerning their lukewarm condition.  When this passage was read, a picture popped into my mind:  Jesus, standing at the door of a church building knocking while everyone inside ignored the sound of His voice caught up in their own plans.

The Laodicean church thought they were on fire, but they were of the kind Paul wrote about in 2 Cor. 10:12:  "For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."  Yet it would be wisdom to consider and judge ourselves according to God's standards.  Physical life is evidenced first by inner activity:  heart pumping blood, lungs inhaling and exhaling, thoughts filling the mind.  A life well-lived makes good use of inner activity through outer actions which bring glory to God.  While we tend to focus on external activities and actions to commend ourselves before God, He looks upon the heart.  A heart regenerated by the Holy Spirit will be filled with life.  Spiritual life will be evidenced with constant physical response for God's glory.

Church fellowships today have no shortage of activity.  Evenings are packed with meetings, committees, and gatherings of every conceivable kind.  Guys come for steak and a movie, while another group shares a game of bingo.  The board meets to talk over budget issues, while a planning committee talks about the schedule for the upcoming musical program.  A group meets on the weekends to handle landscaping and building maintenance, and weary youth head home from a overnight lock-in.  There's no shortage of people who gather to pray, plan for missions, to receive an addendum concerning ushers and deacons, to sew baby blankets, put together shoeboxes for Samaritan's purse, build skateboard ramps, set up or stack chairs and tables, share a potluck, or even play a game of basketball.  But during all these events, Jesus can be left outside the door.  He stands at the door knocking and calling out in a loud voice great and precious promises to any who will respond with the opening of the door.  "If you will open the door, I'll come in!  We can commune together over a meal, and I'll provide the food.  Just open the door!"

See, it's Jesus who is on the menu.  He is the Bread of Life.  He is the Passover Lamb slain for the sins of the world.  The lamb at the Jewish Passover feast was to be eaten entirely, a picture of us becoming one with Jesus Christ through faith.  John 6:53-58 says, "Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. [54] Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. [55] For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. [56] He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. [58] This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."   This is not an urge toward cannibalism, but an exhortation for Jesus to be our spiritual food and drink.  He must become the sole substance that not only defines us but empowers and guides all we do.  Jesus is more than calories or fuel:  He is our Life.

Revelation 3:20 is not only to be interpreted in light of a corporate church fellowship but to be applied on a personal level as well.  Do we spend most of our lives with Jesus outside knocking and calling?  Or is His presence dictating all we do as we share sweet fellowship with Him?  There is a great story when Peter was freed from prison and he went to the home of fellow believers in Christ, the home of John Mark.  Acts 12:13-14 tells us, "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. [14] When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate."  So often our lives resemble the lives of Rhoda.  We're excited that Jesus stands outside the door and knocks calling out, but we neglect to open the door!  Every church I've visited sets aside time for announcements, but how many churches make opening the door for Jesus the only priority?  Let's make a decision to open the door of our hearts and lives to Jesus.  This must happen before our churches will. 

26 February 2010

What have you given?

In his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy said, "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."  How the climate of America has changed!  Modern culture is saturated with seeking the most benefits with the least cost.  Between social programs, government grants, welfare, and medical insurance, there are many potential benefits of living in America.  But when is the last time I asked, "What can I do for my country?"  Unfortunately if I even tried to ask I would likely be directed to an 800 number with an automated voice response.  Since the days of President Kennedy, the implications of "country" in America has become synonymous with "government."  Country is more than government, just like church is more than a building.

After dinner, our family typically reads a chapter from the Bible.  Tonight we read this in 1 Chron. 16:28-29:  "Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. [29] Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him.  Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!"  The repetition of the word "give" stood out to me.  It could also be inferred that bringing an offering is a gift, as well as the gift of worship.  It is fitting we should give unto God, for He has freely given unto us all things.  In light of Kennedy's quote, it could be rephrased:  "Ask not what God can give to you - ask what you can give unto God."

If we are willing to ask this question, God is ready to answer.  Instead of an automated response, we will receive a personal answer that will be challenging, personal, or even painful.  Few are as honorable as King David, who refused to offer to God what cost him nothing.  I think it wise to ask ourselves if there is anything we will not give to God.  If we are called to give all to God it is what we refuse to give which must be dealt with.  God is a giving, generous God.  Our prayers can mimic the two daughters of the leech mentioned in Proverbs 30:15:  Give and Give!  Instead of our lives being marked by greed, God can empower us to be gracious givers.  Let us give Him our all.

23 February 2010

Glorious, Awesome God

This morning I had "Awesome God" stuck in my head.  "Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love:  our God is an awesome God."  I could hear an orchestra playing along, a symphony of praise raising up to God in heaven.  Like cannons were used in the recording of the 1812 Overture, I imagined howitzers firing off at the crescendo.  I wonder:  do the angels sing songs written by men?  If I could imitate the songs of angels I certainly would!  A song should never fire us up more than our excitement concerning the God of whom we sing.

How awesome is our God!  He has created the universe with a word, at whose face the world will flee.  In Rev. 20:11 we read, "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them."  Earth and heaven cannot hide from God, and neither can those who inhabitant them.  The power of earthly elements are nothing compared to the power and might of the God followers of Jesus Christ serve.  He is God, and there is no other.  Even the wind and waves obey Him.  This is a God worthy not only of songs but of fear and much trembling from His subjects.  If you shudder at the thought of being cornered by a thug in an alley or a fearsome beast in the woods, tremble before God!

Few things make us tremble these days.  We are happy and content with a far-off god, a god who involves himself in our lives at our convenience according to our plan, a god we can manipulate and control.  But the Creator and Ruler of all that is made is no such god:  He is an awesome God!  He is the over and above all One.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. [9] "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."  If we think highly of ourselves, we will have a low view of God.

1 Chron. 16:28-35 reads, "Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. [29] Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! [30] Tremble before Him, all the earth.  The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved. [31] Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, "The Lord reigns." [32] Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. [33] Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. [34] Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever."  May we be moved to praise such a glorious God, whose reign is from everlasting to everlasting.  Such praise is due Him by us.

20 February 2010

God's Love

"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [36] As it is written:  "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."  [37] Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. [38] For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, [39] nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:33-39

How easy it is to pass quickly over well-known passages of scripture!  We are always the loser when we fall into this snare, and no one is exempt.  Sometimes we are so sure of the meaning of a scripture that our mind returns to old programming and reads our assumptions into the scripture.  May God cure us of this malady!

As I read this verse during my devotions a couple days ago, something stood out which never had before.  Look carefully at verse 38.  Paul was persuaded nothing could possibly separate us from the love of God.  Nothing has the ability to overcome the power of God's love and alienate us from it.  Because he says "...neither death nor life" I always focused on the fact a Christian's physical death cannot separate him from God's love.  But what about life?  Can life separate us from God?  If I were to count the ways, this post would never be finished!  His love is never abated towards us, but our love toward Him can be diluted by desire for earthly things.

God has given us opportunities for fun, relaxation, entertainment, hobbies, work, and all manner of things on earth for us to enjoy.  But we can easily be tweaked out of balance by the abundance of ways we can spend our time and neglect looking to God who has made all things possible.  Your schedule reflects your priorities.  Your priorities are not what you say they are, but what your decisions and lifestyle reveal.  It is ironic that the very life God has given us can make us so busy that we take for granted the love God has freely given.  Death cannot separate us from God's love, and neither can life.  Let us be sober and vigilant to not allow God's great gifts to avert our focus from the Source and Creator of All.  He has made all things for His glory and good pleasure.  Praise Him for your life, and may our lives be an outpouring of thanks unto Him! 

19 February 2010

An Expected End

As I was working on the twelfth floor of the new dorm on UCSD, I had an inclination to look toward the north.  Because of where I was in the building, I could see south easily but the north only had a small window.  "What's the point of looking north," I asked the LORD, "when I can hardly see anything?"  It struck me that looking towards the north is like trying to see my future.  Looking south is like looking at my past, a panoramic view of the ocean and La Jolla spread from a high vantage point.  Yet looking north all I could see was a big concrete wall with a small square window.  A wide, wild future lays in front of me but I only have a tiny window through which to see.  My future is there sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, but it will always be elusive.  It will always be ahead of the present.

Needless to say, the way we see and the way God sees are very different from each other!  I am reminded of God's words in Jeremiah 29:11:  "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."  God sees our complete lives stretched out before Him.  As Corrie ten Boom was fond of saying during her time on earth, "God sees the front side of the embroidery."  We see the back of the embroidery.  From our vantage point there is no picture to speak of, just random colors stitched across each other with tons of strings hanging down.  This verse in the KJV reads, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."  Our future is uncertain and unclear to us, but to God it will be as He expects.  He is not caught off guard, confused, or surprised.

At this point last year, I would not have thought my family would be living in my parent's home, our house for sale, and I would be working in construction to save towards an international move to Australia.  Right now the actual move to Australia seems far off in the distance, obscured by walls to thick to break through and too tall to climb.  Yet I find myself looking through that little window, excited about the prospects of a future ordained by God.  Isn't it wonderful to know God has good thoughts toward us?  As a Christian I have a future worth hoping for!  For us who are born again, the end of our lives on earth is not the end of life:  it is the beginning of eternal life!  What a future awaits us on earth and in heaven thanks to our Father!  May I do my part to embrace that future God has in store!

18 February 2010

"Dear God: Are you angry with me today?"

This question greeted me in bold permanent ink as I closed the outhouse door on the jobsite.  As a rule, I never respond to questions written on bathroom walls - especially when God is involved!  It is a bad witness to damage property in God's name, and more horrible still to degrade His holy name with the depictions of racism, hatred, and sexual perversion found inside some construction site outhouses.  "Jesus loves you" written among that filth is a fitting example of the bright light Jesus brought to this earth.  But the grandeur and glory is lost when His name becomes graffiti.  He deserves people who live out that truth rather than writing it in hiding.

The temptation to respond on the bathroom door with pen and ink was over before it began, yet the question begs to be answered just the same.  Is God an angry God?  How can I know what angers Him?  Psalm 7:11 says, "God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day."  The word in the Hebrew translated "angry" means "to foam at the mouth, to be enraged."  Sin is rebellion against God and His perfect statutes, and He detests sin passionately.  It is a perversion of righteousness.  It corrupts, destroys, and brings death.  As much as God hates sin, He hates how it destroys men.  Sin is a cruel dictator that enslaves men and ushers them into hell.  God is righteous, and it is right for Him to be angry.  The psalmist writes in Psalm 76:7, "You, Yourself, are to be feared; and who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?"   

We have been told that God is a loving God, and this is true.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  But love and anger are not opposed to one another.  You can love your husband, wife, or children dearly, but they can still make you angry!  When you read of children being kidnapped and prostituted, or a father shooting his kids one by one and piling their bodies in a heap, or the elderly being swindled by crooks, what kind of person has no response?  A person who does not care.  God cares.  He cares more about you and me than we care about ourselves, and that is saying a lot!

God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and instructed him to return to Egypt.  God heard the cries of His people and sought to deliver them from the oppression of the Egyptians.  Moses began to make excuses:  what if they don't believe me, what if they refuse to listen,  I'm not good at public speaking.  Exodus 4:14 says the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.  Did God's love for Moses or His people evaporate?  No.  But the unbelief of Moses and his reluctance to obey angered God.  How about King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived?  1 Kings 11:9-10 reads, "So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, [10] and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded."  Man's anger is often mood related, but God is not moody.  It is sin that infuriates Him.  Man is often angry without just cause, but God is just.

I will answer the question on the bathroom door with a question:  my friend, have you stirred up the anger of God today?  Have you chosen a path of disobedience?  After God revealed Himself to you have you walked in opposition to Him?  There are two ways to abate the anger of God:  repentance or judgment.  If we will repent and humble ourselves before God, His anger towards our sin is satisfied.  He will abundantly pardon and hold no grudge.  Or we can be as Achan who disobeyed God and stole plunder from Jericho.  God's anger will burn until justice is satisfied and it was only after the execution and burial of Achan that God's wrath subsided (Joshua 7:26).  Your life will decide if God is angry with you or not.  God is angry with the wicked every day, but He has provided the way of righteousness through the sacrifice of His precious only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Psalm 2:12 affirms, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.  Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."

17 February 2010

Wounded?

"Time heals all wounds," the cliche goes, and I couldn't disagree more.  This assumes all wounds can be healed.  In fact, time has no ability to heal in itself.  Our bodies have been designed to repair themselves over time, but time has no magical qualities in itself to heal.  It amazes me how often cliches and proverbs are casually said without thought of their veracity.  Take the slogan, "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas."  It is ironic Las Vegas is called "Sin City" and the last part of Numbers 32:23 says, "...be sure your sin will find you out."  I'll save this for another time!  Back to wounds, it is not only the elderly that struggle with unhealing wounds:  children, singles, parents, and grandparents have the potential to carry not only physical wounds, but emotional wounds that no amount of time could possibly heal.

Wounds are more than baggage.  No medicinal treatment, herbal remedy, or surgeon's scalpel has the power to remove the rot from a wounded soul.  I've been watching a documentary recently about WWII and a medic shared a difficult fact.  He spoke about having to make tough decisions on the field of battle involving life and death.  If a medic came upon a group of men during a battle who were seriously wounded, he would intentionally not treat soldiers who had likely suffered a mortal wound.  Morphine and supplies were too valuable to use on a man who would die following treatment.  A medic would need to survey the extent of the injury quickly, then decide who he would treat.  The treatment of minor injuries would be delayed for the serious ones, and the most serious would be avoided.  Thinking back over the interview, the medic never once claimed to have healed anyone.  He supplied treatment so the God-designed natural healing process could begin.

If we'd be honest, we tend to treat our physical wounds more thoroughly than our emotional or spiritual wounds.  We employ what I like to call John Wayne tactics.  When actor John Wayne is shot through an arm or leg, he ties a kerchief over the wound and keeps on fighting.  He might pour some whiskey over the spot and take a tug off the bottle.  But if someone asks about the injury, ol' John Wayne gruffly brushes it off as "nothing."  When it comes to inner hurt, we tend to try to ignore the pain rather seeking treatment.  Another extreme is to be so preoccupied with our wounds that we withdraw from those who could help.  We are convinced that no one has ever hurt this bad, no one could possibly understand, and we are far beyond healing.  Our wounds become our closest companions and the pain overwhelms us.  As Job said to his "friends," what miserable companions our wounds are!

It's true no one in the world has lived your life, and no one walking the earth today knows exactly the pain you've experienced.  Sometimes we disqualify others from speaking to us on the matter because they have not shared our exact history.  But let's say someone has suffered exactly like you.  Are they capable of healing you?  NO!  But there is someone who has suffered more than we could ever imagine, and nothing is too hard for Him.  His name is Jesus Christ, the Healer.  He does not offer treatment.  He supplies the cure.  He has the power to heal physically, and is willing and able to heal your soul!  Jesus healed lepers, cast out demons, made the paralyzed to walk, the blind to see, and raised the dead to life.  Your wounds are severe, and you must willingly expose them for Christ to heal.  Just like a doctor cannot examine an unwilling person who refuses to be a patient, Jesus will not force you to cry out to Him for healing.  But He is patient, longsuffering, merciful, gentle, loving, and kind.  He will not minimize your suffering.  He won't say, "That's nothing."  He knows too well the pain of rejection, harsh words, physical abuse, torture, and being utterly forsaken.

Which is more painful?  To have a bullet pass through the gut or to watch helplessly as the medic passes you by because your wound is too severe?  No wound is beyond the loving care provided by Jesus Christ to all who trust in Him.  Like the Good Samaritan stopped and helped the wounded traveler, Jesus Christ will never pass you by.  He will leave the 99 sheep to find the one who is lost.  The words of Isaiah 53:5 are for us today:  "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."  God is eternal, operating outside of time.  Time doesn't heal:  God does.

10 February 2010

A prayer for today and always...

Make Me Thy Fuel

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified,
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire,
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

- Amy Carmichael
(quoted from Start Where You Are, Swindoll, pg. 187)

07 February 2010

Hope for the Hopeless

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed hopeless?  Bad situations often become worse.  It is easy to be burdened under stress and trials which churn out turmoil without end.  Perhaps you have been in an abusive relationship, as a child or an adult.  Maybe a loved one is dying with a terminal illness or you have been diagnosed with one yourself.  Your expectations have been crushed, your hopes shrouded in frustration and disappointment.  Hopelessness occurs when we measure our abilities against a scenario and find them wanting.  We are faced with the reality that we do not possess the power to create change in another person or situation.  How can we live in the face of our frailty and failures?

In the Bible the Answer to this question is given.  To this day, leprosy remains incurable yet treatable.  In the days of Christ, it included grotesque disfigurement of the body, living in isolation with others who were suffering like affliction, and certain death.  When one contracted leprosy there was no hope for restoration.  Luke 17:12-14 tells us an occasion in the life of Jesus Christ:  "Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. [13] And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" [14] So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed."  Jesus enters the village of these hopeless men, stricken with leprosy.  They stood afar off, but Jesus went to them.  This reminds me of Ephes. 2:13, though I'm a little ahead of myself:  "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."  From the depths of their hopeless situation they called out to Christ who was able and willing to bring healing to them as they obeyed.  Obedience to God does not mean we will be free from disease, but God is free to accomplish His will in our lives.  In this case, Jesus healed these men and changed their lives miraculously, dramatically, and completely.

Paul and Silas provide another example of a hopeless situation changed by the grace of God.  There was a fortune-telling slave girl who had a demon which Paul cast out of her in the name of Jesus Christ.  When her masters saw their hope of making money through her was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and the whole city was in an uproar.  They had delivered a girl from the enslavement of the demon but were incarcerated themselves.  Acts 16:22-23 says, "Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. [23] And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely."  They were stripped, beaten severely, and thrown into prison.  This was a seemingly hopeless situation.  Paul and Silas were traveling through Macedonia and found themselves bleeding in a dungeon, chained in stocks, with their clothes ripped to shreds.

Instead of Paul and Silas bemoaning their situation or focusing on themselves, they praised God.  Acts 16:25 tells us, "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them."  There was a great earthquake, the doors flew open, and all the chains were loosed.   Acts 16:27-34 says, "And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. [28] But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." [29] Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. [30] And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" [31] So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." [32] Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. [33] And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. [34] Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."

The prison guard prepared to fall upon his own sword, his life being forfeit if a prisoner had escaped.  To die by his own sword would be better than enduring the torture performed on those who failed in their duties as a Roman guard.  Paul called out, preventing the man's death.  The guard called for a light and said, "What must I do to be saved?"  At midnight in a Roman dungeon, he had seen the Light of Salvation shining brightly in these two bloodied prisoners who sang and prayed with all their might out of the darkness.  Paul explained that trust in Jesus Christ as LORD is the path of salvation.  Though Paul and Silas could have drowned in hopelessness and self-pity, they rejoiced and praised God who had given them life which they could share with others.  Notice that the passage ends with the guard rejoicing, "having believed in God with all his household."  The Bible is clear in teaching that Jesus Christ is God.  This passage provides ample irrefutable proof of that!  As Jesus says in John 14:6, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Him.

As Christians, we live in a dark world that we are powerless in ourselves to change.  We see people everywhere sick in sin and without hope.  They numb themselves with alcohol, mask their depression with pills, cut themselves, binge, purge, hate, lie, and bounce from one abusive relationship to another.  These people go to church every Sunday morning.  There is hopelessness that creeps into our hearts when we think about the people we are forced to deal with, situations at work that will not change, sickness in a loved one, and broken relationships having split in divorce.  Tack on the earthquake in Haiti, starvation, exploitation of children and adults in the sex trade, addictions, racism, violence, abortion, and the downward spiral of morality in the world, and we can be overwhelmed!

The answer to hopelessness is Jesus Christ.  If we focus on the problems, we will never find the solution.  If we try to find the answer within, we find we are bankrupt.  Even if we had all the money in the world, we could not ensure children would not be beaten or molested, or that food would be provided for everyone.  Money does not buy happiness, nor can it buy hope.  But if Jesus could bring hope and healing to those lepers suffering from an incurable disease, He can bring hope and healing to you today.  Christ provides not only the answer but power for living through the Holy Spirit.  If God is able to bring hope and deliverance to men who were beaten and locked in a Roman dungeon, He can bring hope and deliverance to you right now.  If Jesus Christ could bring salvation and rejoicing to a Roman guard, He can bring salvation and rejoicing to you today.  He is not dead, for He is risen!  Jesus is not the God of the dead, but of the living.  He brings life and hope to all who trust in Him.

Praise Jesus Christ!  Pray with thanksgiving, for in Him we have the unfading hope of eternal life!  Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with God.  Hopelessness comes from a perspective not focused solely upon Christ.  This is hope we can share with all who hunger and thirst for it!  May the words from the famous hymn ring true:  "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."

05 February 2010

Remember Peleliu

I've been watching "The War," a WWII documentary that aired on PBS some time ago.  I recognize the names of many of the places battles were fought from the ships I worked on in the shipyard like the Belleau Wood (WWI) Tarawa, and Peleliu.  The focus of a good part of the fourth DVD was concerning the battle of Peleliu.  An airstrip on Peleliu was heavily defended by the Japanese and the Major General of the 1st Marine Division believed the battle would be over in four days.  Though there was an intense offshore bombardment from battleships, cruisers, and carriers for days before landing on the beach, the Japanese positions remained virtually unharmed.  Of all the battles in the Pacific, it had the highest casualty rate for the U.S. armed forces.  What some thought would be quick and easy took over two months and with 1,794 Americans killed and 8,010 wounded.

As I watched the tragic history of the battle unfold, I thought of the spiritual warfare involved in foreign missions.  The Japanese were heavily armed, well-fortified and supplied, knew the topography of the island and the placement of traps, and were ready for any attack.  When a missionary goes into an area where God's Word has little or no foothold, one can be certain Satan will have many strongholds in that nation.  Some run with the "if God is for us who can be against us" cavalier mentality, and believe we can rush into battle, repeat some phrases or consult a book to obtain instant victory.  I mean, we've gone through Bible school and training!  This is God's will, that all would come to the knowledge of the truth, some flippantly say.  Why take this spiritual thing so seriously?  This expectation of easy victory has been the cause of neglect of prayer, disillusionment, the retreat, and even casualties.  Those who think they stand should take heed lest they fall.

Many of the Marines who landed on Peleliu were battle-seasoned, trial-tested men.  Yet Peleliu was a meat grinder for both sides.  Every American was at war, yet it was the men in the field that had a firsthand view of the horror of war.  It is the one in the field who will be on the front lines, and the one in the prayer closet that faces strongest attacks.  Satan will never relinquish his strongholds without a fight.  When I think of Australia and the pervasive spiritual climate of darkness, there is part of me that shudders because I know what lies ahead.  I don't know exactly, but I know it will be brutally tough.  It will be an absolute dogfight.  There is no romantic hue I can attach to physical or spiritual battle.  I know the battle is beyond me, but I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ.

If a man can give all and sacrifice his comfort for country, a Christian must be willing to give all for His LORD and Savior.  Jesus Christ provides not only comfort through the Holy Spirit, but the ultimate victory over sin and death.  It does us well to remember how our servicemen and women gave and give for the sake of country, and let us never forget the price Jesus paid with His own blood.  In light of what Jesus has given, could I ever give too much to Him?

01 February 2010

Fullness of Joy

Today as I was insulating pipes at the UCSD northern housing development, a smile spread across my face.  When we work as unto the LORD, there is no drudgery in it.  I realized working in the trade for me is a labor of love.  It is not that I love fiberglass clogging my pores, hitting my hardhat on pipes, or cutting the dickens out of my knuckle with a sharp hanger strap:  I love the job my God has given me to perform.  I want to please Him and be about the business He has granted to me as steward.

I thought to myself, I don't have to do this.  There's a lot of easier things I could be doing, things that are more comfortable and less strenuous.  Have you ever had to wear a hardhat, a respirator (dust mask), and safety glasses at the same time, climbing up and down a ten foot ladder hundreds of times a day carrying knives and cutting fiberglass?  It's a strange life, but one I wouldn't change because it's what God has given me to do.  It feels good to work hard, and serving God is hard work.  Paul made tents not as a hobby, but to support his ministry towards the Gentiles.

Jesus did not have to do the good things He did.  He did not have to heal people, perform miracles, teach the multitudes, hold little children, or go where the diseased and lepers were.  He was never forced to do anything.  But He lived to please His Father in heaven, and His Father was well-pleased with Him!  Jesus told His disciples, "These things I say to you that your joy may be full."  Jesus had this fullness of joy and was therefore able to give it to others.  Our joy is full when we walk in obedience to the Father, fully pleasing Him.  Paul wrote in Colossians 1:9-12:  "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; [10] that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; [11] strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; [12] giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."

The joy Jesus brings does not depend on circumstances.  Joy is not obtained through a girlfriend, a new car, a dream job, or your team winning the Super Bowl.  Jesus is the source of true joy, and it is received when we walk in the Spirit and abide in Him.  Like Paul, we can be in prison and sing heartfelt songs of praise.  We can be thankful and filled with joy when we are coated with a thick layer of itchy fiberglass.  We can rejoice without knowing all the answers, resting in the fact God is our Father and we are His precious children.  He gives us eternal life, and no one can snatch us from His hand.  Praise Him!