Presumption

For I am waiting for you, O lord . You must answer for me, O Lord my God. I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.  Psalm 38:15-16

OK, so apparently I have never read Psalm 38. Even though I have. The verses above are the high point. The composer has done something truly horrible and the truth has come to light. He is a public figure who is publicly exposed,  frightfully vulnerable, isolated.

And he isn't defending himself.

He knows he's guilty; brought this all on himself; is his own worst enemy.

And he still fully expects Divine intervention--for God to speak for him. 

You must answer for me, O Lord my God.

Even when everybody would agree you haven't got a prayer,  take heart. Apparently, that's the one thing you do have. Apparently, it's all you need.

Our One Hope

Psalms 33:18-22 NLT

But the lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the lord . He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, lord , for our hope is in you alone.

Do you know people who make a habit, or even a hobby,  of being ready for anything?   You don't have to be a survivalist to once in a while fret just a little that you don't have much stashed away--a few weeks' worth of canned goods; a flat of bottled water at bare minimum. And don't forget those MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) in each of your vehicles...a blanket...a few flares....

Preparation makes sense. As long as we don't forget that no amount of preparation can prepare us for what may come;  and come what may,  the Lord alone is our hope.

You, oh Lord, who is capable of feeding in times of famine those who put their trust in you. May we be at peace in you alone. In Jesus. Amen.

Wondering What Happened

Kristen is beside me prepping to teaching tomorrow; Adele on the floor studying; Bradley in the rocking chair playing chess on his ipod.  While I am just trying to get my head around this day. 

It’s been a doozy. 

Not the part that is peculiar to most people—the part where the graveyard sergeant put a screeching halt to my REM cycle at 3:45 AM and I was out the door ten minutes later to be the softer side of law enforcement in the midst of tragic loss or traumatic stress. 

The part, rather, before I left, when the coffee machine—-equipped the night before with water and fresh-ground bean—-lit up, but didn’t heat up when I hit the button and hoped for a quick brew to drink en route.  Had I seen this as an omen, I would have been less surprised hours later, when the old ’99 Lumina was lighting up and heating up as I was pulling in to the station to write the follow up report. 

The doctor’s appointment went well later in the morning, and at my lunch appointment I took the first two pills from the Z-Pack prescribed to put this left-over wheezing and rattling in my chest out of my misery.  After which I replaced the split hose under the Lumina’s hood and headed home at the early end of a nine-hour day.  But…that didn’t fix the car.  It’s still overheating.  And…the rest of the Z-Pack is nowhere to be found.  I’ve looked everywhere, inquired at every business served by every parking lot I pulled into all day.  I’ve checked every pocket of every piece of clothing, returned to the office—twice.  Twice, because I inadvertently took some keys home the first time (that are not meant to leave the office) and had to return them.  Oh.  And I broke a plate my wife bought in Holland.  And the pharmacy gave me the wrong asthma prescription and I had to drive back there.    

If you’re expecting anything profound or insightful, I’ve got nothing.  My one remaining hope is to make it to bed without breaking, losing, or having to return anything.  

One Good Way To Memorize Scripture

This Video illustrates one very effective way of committing Scripture to memory.  As you watch it, recite the verse out loud, over and over again, as the words disappear one by one.  

Why Your Pastor Wants You To Memorize Scripture

I hope if you have been around me for any length of time you know a few things about me:  I am not perfect.  I don’t claim to be perfect.  I am, however, closer to the Image of Christ than I used to be--growing (by fits and starts) more like Him all the time. 

One of the key factors in my growth in Christ over the past 34 years (yes, since I was 17!) is the discipline of memorizing Scripture.  Loving you as I do, I want you to have this discipline as a “growth factor” in your life as well.  Having God’s Word “in there” has made a profound difference in my life.  Because knowing God’s Word by memory has the potential to…

1. Strengthen your Relationship with God.   2 Timothy 3:16-17 says,

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.  (NLT)

2. Make You More Effective in Sharing Your Faith.

¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…. 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

If God’s Word is in your heart (because you’ve taken time to memorize it) it will be more readily available to you when someone wants to know why you believe what you believe. 

3. Help You Make It Through Tough Times. Jeremiah the Prophet had it rough.  It is as if his entire existence was one continual challenging circumstance.  This is what He had to say about God’s Word in Jeremiah 15:16 (NLT): 

When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
    They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
    O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

Please do not literally eat your Bible.  I am reasonably sure this is not what Jeremiah is saying.  The lesson here is that Scripture “injested” in our memory has the power to lighten our heavy load, calm us down, even make us joyful in the midst of life’s storms. 

4. Put You More In Tune with God’s Will.

It often surprises me to hear people ask “What is God’s Will for my life?” when they are not obeying the simplest Biblical instruction.  So here’s a rule to live by:  

Knowing and obeying the observable Will of God

offered in the Bible for everyone

is a crucial first step

to discerning the obscure Call of God

for your personal life.

And knowing His “observable will” by heart is a useful step in that direction! 

Psalm 119:105 says,

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
    and a light for my path.

5. Help you overcome temptation.  Psalm 119 is helpful here also, this time, verse 11: 

I have hidden your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.

So there you go.  Incredibly helpful and foundationally shaping for me, I offer it to you in your walk with Christ.  

The Original Dr. Phil

Romans 6:20-23 HCSB

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness.    So what fruit was produced  then from the things you are now ashamed of?  For the end of those things is death.   But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God,  you have your fruit, which results in sanctification   — and the end is eternal life!   For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have, quite literally, never watched Dr. Phil.  The closest I've come is pausing on a rapid channel surf. I hear, however, that he is known for responding to his guests' revelations of their particular brand of crazy by asking, "how's that workin' out for you?"

Which is an excellent question. It is essentially what Paul is up to here.  Just when we catch him admitting that the Christian life is tantamount to slavery, he comes back at us with, "you've lived a life 'liberated' from God's goodness and what do you have to show for it-other than stuff you're too embarrassed to talk about?"

Ouch.

Reality check:  a life free of any allegiance is an allegiance in itself. To a life that ends in an unproductive, lonely embarrassing mess. But at least it's your mess, right? As my son would say, "Keep tellin' yourself that."

I gladly surrender myself, God of Holiness. I would rather be a slave to your Goodness than free to make a mess of my life. In Jesus. Amen.

Yer Not The Boss Of Me!

"Yer not the boss of me!"

Ever hear one child say that to another; or to a babysitter?  If there's one thing we hate more than being bossed around it's being bossed around by someone who has no authority to boss us around!

Romans 6:12-13 NLT

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

In case you haven't heard, the Bible and Christian faith just want to boss you around. They are nothing but a restrictive system of "dos and don'ts." That's why I feel so hand-slapped and bossed-around by these verses! Or not....

These encouragements fairly represent what God desires for you. His invitation is not "don't do that!" and "do this!" as much as it is "be set free from that which controls you" and "give yourself to my freeing, life-giving love."

Thank you, Father, for setting us free in Christ. Amen.

Wilson

Save By Works, Alright! (Just Not Mine)

Every time I read Romans 6 I am captivated by the power of baptism; how God is so very diligently at work in baptism! 

So as you read this I ask you to remember two things:

    1.     The Gospel—the Good News Message of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection—is the story that the Letter to the Romans is telling. 

    2.     Romans is about The Righteousness of God.

If you aren’t careful, you may discover that in such a simple act of allowing someone else to immerse me in water (in the name of Jesus Christ), the Gospel is experienced, grace is received, and God’s righteousness is on full display! 

Romans 6:3-14 (NLT)

Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Oh, Father!  Thank you for the freedom of your grace in Christ!  Amen.