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February 27, 2017 The Favorable Time Read: 2 Corinthians 5:20 6:10 There are many for whom embracing the faith is something they might do later. The drive to live as the flesh desires is so very attractive. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die becomes permission to do whatever you want. (The actual verse says, I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. Ecclesiastes 8:15 It does not refer to hedonism but rather contentment with what God has given you.) But in these verses from 2 Corinthians, Paul has a different outlook. Instead, he encourages us to embrace the ways of God today right now. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We certainly have a propensity within this culture to want instant gratification. Waiting for something is simply no fun. But when it comes to the faith well, maybe tomorrow. And as you know, tomorrow never comes. Waiting seems like a viable option because the ways of God might get in the way of what I want to do. I have a dear friend who was reticent to become a Christian because he was afraid God wouldn t be happy with the way he spent his time or the activities in which he was involved. He believed he need to clean up his act before coming to God. Fortunately, he got over that fear and loves Jesus with his life today. But at the time, it was an obstacle for him. In these verses to the Corinthians, Paul sets up a dichotomy of circumstances (and this is only half of them): The Negative Afflictions Hardships Calamities Beatings Imprisonments Riots Labors Sleepless nights Hunger The Positive Purity Knowledge Patience Kindness Holy Spirit Genuine Love Truthful Speech Power of God Weapons of Righteousness But through every circumstance, the favorable time is now. Salvation is upon us in the loving arms of Jesus Christ. There is no time like the present!
February 28, 2017 Repentance: Real or Imaginary Read: Joel 2:12 19 My mother grew up in a Christian tradition that demanded that women s heads be covered in church at all times. Often, she would forget to grab her hat or whatever she was supposed to wear and would be forced by my grandmother to wear a Kleenex on her head. She would grab one out of the box on her way into the sanctuary. It seemed like a terrible way to worship; sitting through church with a tissue on your head. While that may have indeed been within keeping the letter of the law, it seems outside of the spirit of the law. But it was the acceptable practice in their tradition. The prophet Joel is dealing with something similar as he admonishes the people to examine the gifts for God they are bringing into worship. They had fallen into a strict adherence to the law without ever taking a moment to examine what was happening inside their hearts. Had they done so, they would have found that there was nothing repentant in their hearts at all. They had fallen into the habit of penitential practices without ever actually asking God to forgive their sins. It was outward behavior without inward repentance. God s response to this lip service was severe. He turned them over to their enemies in order to get their attention. He wanted to see them rend their hearts, not their clothing. Lip service doesn t carry much weight with God. Romans 12:1 2 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. The Apostle Paul addresses this same issue with the New Testament Church. Now, a goat or a few turtledoves brought for sacrifice no longer made the grade. Paul insists that believers present your bodies as a living sacrifice. That means you can t leave your offering on the altar and walk away. You are in 100%. Your entire life is given over to the Lord. This is what is means to rend your heart and not your garments. Repentance is an act of the heart, not the hands. Repentance means that I know I am a sinner and in desperate need of a Savior. That is what makes the sacrifice of Jesus all the sweeter. He meets me at my deepest need. Even the Old Testament prophet does not leave us without hope, though. The mercy of God moves through His heart and He rescues His people, granting them new wine, grain, and oil. He saves them, just as He has saved us. If you are a student of the Old Testament you know that this cycle of human hard-heartedness and God s mercy is repeated time and again over the centuries and we are not immune. Upon review of the past any of us might find that we too fall into the pattern of wandering away from God only to be chased by His divine love for us. At the time, His rebuke may not feel like love, but a Father always disciplines the one He loves. So instead of wearing a tissue on our head to church, maybe we spend a few moments in honest reflection and bring before the Lord our whole lives. Instead of trying to leave our offering at the altar and walk back into lives devoid of His presence, we offer up ourselves instead and let His love flow through us so that others might see His love as well.
March 1, 2017 Ash Wednesday Read: Psalm 51:1 19 It s Lent. The bead necklaces have been tossed out at the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans and the Paczki have been consumed in Michigan (and perhaps elsewhere). Ash Wednesday is upon us and a season of repentance and meditation settles over the church for the next 40 days. At the end of this reflective time, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave but I get ahead of myself. Beginning this season with Psalm 51 seems fitting. Those who recognize and participate in a Lenten experience will not be able to get through the season without reading Psalm 51 at least once. So perhaps it is where we need to begin. These words were penned by King David after the lowest point in his spiritual life. He had spent the year before writing this prayer participating in covetousness, adultery, deceit, and murder. When he is finally called out on his sin by the prophet Nathan, he immediately falls before the Lord in repentance. His words to Nathan say it all. 2 Samuel 12:1 13 1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. 5 Then David s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 Nathan said to David, You are the man! 13 David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. After David s confession to his priest / prophet, he writes this psalm. Knowing that story helps us understand the ח נ ן depth to which David had fallen and how keenly he felt the power of his sin. His first word in the psalm is chanan (chanan) Mercy. And really it goes beyond simple mercy for also involved here is a sense of begging for mercy. Suddenly David is desperate for forgiveness. Suddenly the enormity of a yearlong sin-bender is upon him and he falls before God, begging for mercy. He is right to fall before God, for God alone has the power to extend that grace and forgiveness. The rest of this psalm carries just as much impact as the first word. In a blatantly penitential prayer we find reference to our need for a Savior mentioned repeatedly. Words like wash, cleanse, blot out, and purge, smack us right in the heart with our own guilt and sin. But David doesn t leave us there. Those words are followed by create, renew, restore, uphold, and deliver! Yes, the Lord God hates sin. But He does not hate sinners. He always holds out hope to the repentant heart. May the Lord Jesus walk with you through each moment of the next 40 days as together we prepare to walk with Him through the Passion of His suffering, death, crucifixion, and triumphant resurrection. Mindful participation in this process will bring the victory of Jesus work for us to an even sweeter celebration on Easter morning. May the presence and power of the Holy Spirit speak into Your hearts and minds throughout these 40 days.
March 2, 2017 Sin Doesn t Make You Bad... Read: Ephesians 2:1-5 Sin doesn t make you bad sin makes you dead! (C.S. Lewis) This is a startling concept. We are raised to think of sin in terms of being naughty. We ve done something wrong; something bad for which we need to be punished. Once that punishment has been paid, we re good until we sin again and the cycle repeats itself. Here in Ephesians 2, Paul reshapes our thinking about that concept. Our sin takes us way beyond bad. Our sin takes us right into death. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins... [In the midst of this conversation, please do not confuse physically dead people with what is being discussed here. This passage is about spiritually dead people.] There are millions of people walking around who have no idea that, in reality, they are spiritually dead. They are missing the abundant life that God has planned for every person who believes in Him and is governed by the Holy Spirit. Their future holds permanent separation from God and complete destruction. But our God had a plan to bring us back from that death and give us new life through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Because of His work we are not now good, we are now alive. Because Jesus did pay the price that our sin demanded through His death, we are now free from the bondage of the grave and life is ours forever. The next time you focus on confession of your sins, remember these words and celebrate the tremendous gift you have been given, for it is truly amazing. Jesus didn t come to make bad people good. He came to made dead people alive! It s probably been over 25 years ago that I heard a sermon (preached by my husband no less) that bore the catch phrase already but not yet. Those of you who know me well will realize that the fact that I remember a sermon from 25 years ago is completely remarkable, for that isn t my strong suit. But I still remember grappling with the concept that we already have the Kingdom of God in our hands, but not quite yet. It s another one of those dichotomies that we Christians live with daily. That sermon was about Joseph from the book of Genesis, as he waited for God s deliverance for himself and his family. Paul discusses that same idea again for us in Ephesians 2. As we walk through our regular daily lives it is so easy to forget that we have already been raised up as members of God s Kingdom. It is already something that we hold in our hands. And yet we are plagued by the troubles of this world. Just last week we were horrified by the events that unfolded in Boston and in Texas. How do we recognize that God s Kingdom lives among us already when we can witness those kinds of terrible events? In those moments, God s love feels far away. But in Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we have already been raised up by the resurrection of Jesus Christ; we are already members of that Kingdom. Nestled into this passage lies one of the most profound verses in all of Scripture (and that is saying a great deal, for all of Scripture is profound!) For by grace you have been saved through faith. Here lies the crux of all of our hope. We are saved by GRACE. We didn t earn it and we can do nothing to affect that salvation ourselves. This is 100% the work of God. No amount of good works or self-promotion is going to make any difference before God s throne in terms of our entrance into God s Kingdom. This happens only because He loves us and moves us to believe in His Son through the power of the Holy Spirit. The good works we perform, (which HE planned in advance for us to do) are merely an expression of that faith and of our love for Him. They earn us no special
favors or entrance into His Kingdom. So the Kingdom already lies in our hands and yet we still struggle on this side of death. But the joy, the peace, the love, and the hope are already ours to enjoy and share. It is ours already but not yet.
March 3, 2017 Born from Above Read: John 3:1-21 I was incredibly blessed (and I didn t know the extent of that blessing until much later in life) to have a church and parents who together made sure I learned the stories in the Bible starting at a very young age. As a result, I m a big believer in teaching children the stories and letting God s Word work in their hearts. But I confess that there were a few of those stories that were confusing for a kid, one of them being the story of the snakes biting the Children of Israel and the bronze snake on the stake. That was one of those moments when God didn t make much sense to me at all. Now, a few decades later, I get it. Let s review the story from Numbers. The Children of Israel were not treating God like He is God. They were grousing about the manna that God provided for them daily, saying, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food! (Numbers 21:5) So, God sent snakes to bite them. The poison from these snakes brought death. Disobedience has a consequence. Suddenly, they are repentant. They ask Moses to pray for them. God commands Moses to craft a bronze snake and hang it from a pole. Numbers 21:8-9 8 And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. The people had to look up to that bronze snake to be saved. What I didn t understand as a kid was that the bronze snake was a type of Christ. Now, we look up to the cross to see the Savior who has died for our sins. It isn t because we looked up but because He died that we are saved. The bite of sin has been taken care of by His blood. Nicodemus would have known this story (and quite probably have been able to quote the passage) well and been able to make an instant connection. This Jesus also, of whom he spoke, would become as the bronze snake, with the power to save. Jesus confirms his (and I m speculating here) new understanding by speaking the words the one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture, John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Nicodemus does indeed become a believer in Jesus as the Messiah and helps Joseph of Arimathea (another believing Pharisee) remove Jesus' body from the cross and bury Him after His death. He brings a substantial amount of myrrh and aloe to the experience of caring for Jesus body. His late-night visit to the Lord and subsequent conversation proved to be the turning point in his spiritual life that saved his eternal soul.