PATIENCE AND THE END OF THE WORLD

May 31st could have been “it.”  I remember going to the gym midday, which is a favorite activity on the Fridays I don’t spend in the office.  I was doing cardio, so I plugged in my earbuds and tuned to the news.  I heard the newscaster say that there was a huge asteroid in the vicinity of earth.  There was a slim chance it would enter earth’s atmosphere, and an even smaller chance it would land on earth. If it did it would destroy everything within 200 miles, severely damage everything within 1000 miles, and the dust cloud emanating from such a collision would block the sun from the earth for a time sufficient enough for everything and everyone else to die. And, have a great day!

Several things came to mind as I was listening to this.  First of all, to actually hear news people saying this, and not some kooks on a late night radio show, was surreal.  Then I wondered about how real the threat could be if the powers that be allowed this to be on national news.  Would there be widespread panic if the public knew how close we are to the end of the world, really? And I thought of my Dad.  Dad believed in the biblical teaching of Christ’s return: that He could come back at any moment, and that when He returned, He would gather all true believers to Himself and judge the world in a period of time often referred to as “the Tribulation.”  Following this time of judgment and cleansing, Christ would set up His thousand year reign on the earth, which will be a prelude to the new heaven and earth spoken of in Revelation. My Dad and many Christians in his generation lived in expectation that the day of Christ’s return would be any day. I hated that kind of talk.

I didn’t want Jesus to come back! I wanted to go to high school, then I wanted to go to college, then get married, then have children.  Funny, now that I have children I’d be happy for Jesus to return any day... today would be the best day!

Here’s the tragedy... I wanted all these experiences before Jesus returned... Wouldn’t it have been better for me to have said something like...

I didn’t want Jesus to come back! I was praying for some family members to come back to Him before His return.  I was sharing my faith with a few friends that never knew the Lord.  I was looking for ways to serve Him overseas.  Yes, that would be better - if it were true.

So, here I was on the treadmill realizing that there was enough probability that the world could end in a few hours that it was legitimate national news.  I began thinking of this Scripture:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

There is one explanation for the end of the world not happening on May 31 or any other day it does not happen: the patience of God.  His purpose is to bring us and anyone else who will call on Him into His kingdom.  His plan is to use anything He can to wake us up and realize that we need Him.

And why does He put up with a humanity that constantly shakes its fist at Him, scorns His grace and rejects His Son?  He is patient, that’s why - He is fixed on His purpose and plan which is ruled by His love... for...you.

I don’t often think of patience in this way.  I think of patience as something I have to conjure up while I’m waiting for that last bit of makeup to be applied before leaving for that commitment for which we are already late.  I feel the need to be patient when I’m waiting for a task to be done after asking five times - in plain English - that it be done.  I feel gratitude when others are patient with me when I don’t understand things the first time I hear them. But I don’t often consider that patience is a character trait of God Himself... as such, as I grow in Him, I can rest assured that patience will grow in me.

Even though I know that patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit, I often joke that I don’t believe in praying for patience because I have always disliked the means by which that prayer has been answered in my life.  God doesn’t have to develop patience like I do - His is perfect - but as I consider what makes me impatient compared to the exponentially more egregious things that might test His patience (if His patience can be tested), it makes me stand in awe of Him.

And, even though I’m not praying for patience, perhaps I should begin to pray that my reasons for gratitude for His patience line up with His purposes and plans, and not my own.  May I get off the treadmill and onto the trail that is leading me and all of us toward wholeness in Him.  Praise God for patience!

Joy, Anyone?

April often brings welcome springtime rain here in the central valley of California. Nearly every time I hear rain fall, I think of a song from a record (a vinyl record!) that my parents played for me when I was little.  It was an album recorded by the “Medical Mission Sisters” – I think that music from nuns was welcomed in our very Protestant home due to the popularity of The Sound of Music, but I digress.  The song is called “Joy Is Like The Rain.” 

Joy for Christians, like rain in the central valley, can be elusive. Joy is often confused with happiness, and yet in drawing the distinction between happiness, which is emotional, and joy, which is a gift from God, we tend to make a false promise that we will always have joy.  This presents a problem when, for instance, we sense the deep sorrow of grief in which there is no joy.  Joy is independent of our feelings, yet we feel it:  deeply satisfying, full of praise and energy, even euphoric. How can we experience more joy in our lives? 

Joy is linked closely to worship.  In Psalm 33:3 we read, “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.” (NASB)  In Colossians 3:16 we read that we should sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts.  Gratitude cultivates joy in the heart; so worship, when focused on God and His desires can bring joy to our spirits.

Joy comes after adversity.  One of the lines in the Sisters’ song is “joy is tried by storm.”  In Psalm 30:5 we read, “Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning.” (NLT)  The psalmist expressed joy after victory was won (Psalm 27:6), and all through the Scriptures we see joy expressed in the midst of trials.  In 2 Corinthians 7:4 Paul says, “I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction”, and James invites us to consider our trials as pure joy.  Joy is a choice that we must make, even though we might not experience it at the time.

 And here’s a tough one! Jesus told us to be joyful if people mock, deride, criticize, and even act violently against us for His sake:  “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.” (Luke 6:22-23, NIV)

Joy comes from the Holy Spirit.  It’s listed as the second “fruit” of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22.  So, if we’re rooted in the Spirit through the Word and prayer, we can expect that joy will be borne in our lives. Joy can be triggered by praise and dampened by self-absorption, pursuit of creature comforts, and traditionalism, among other things.

But joy – pure joy – is known in its fullness in God’s presence.  In Psalm 16:11 the psalmist writes, “You will make known to me the path of life ; In Your presence is fullness of joy ; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (NASB)  I hope that as you come before the Lord in worship, and as you worship through your daily life, you will pursue His presence, for that is the surest way I know to experience joy.  May He fill you with joy as you earnestly seek Him.

PUTTING HIS NAME ON IT

Today I read and listened once again to the blessing God told Aaron and his sons to give to His people.  Any time I give a Benediction for a gathering of God's people I am drawn first to this passage, because it is the first of its kind, and a direct quote from the Lord.  If I were to put it in my own words it would be something like this...

May God give you everything good, and cause you to live securely and confidently in Him.  May He shine down His radiance upon you and may you bask in His good favor.  May He turn His face toward you - near you, as a dad to his daughter or as a friend to a friend - and may His near presence in your life bring you peace.

God's "original lyrics" are recorded in Numbers 6:23-26 (NIV)

But I nver noticed what came after that...

"So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
Numbers 6:27 (NIV)

We Christians regard every believer as a priest.  We represent Christ to one another, to our family members, and to the world around us.  We can put God's name on people!

How can I put God's name on people? By blessing them and by being a blessing! Do I have to say this blessing in order to put God's name on people? Well, no, I don't have to.  Although, to my friends who would argue that words aren't necessary, I offer this caution:  we are in a changing society that doesn't always remember that God is the supreme motivator of goodness.  Sometimes, and more and more in our culture, you need to give credit to Whom credit is due.

There is a dark side to this - religion can put its name on people, and we can put our name on people.  This can be for good or ill, intentionally or unintentionally.  But often people confuse religion's name or our name with God's Name. If a person suffered a negative experience, it's hard to not associate that with God.  If someone experienced something positive but one of our personalities got in the way and then we let them down later, that causes frustration and disenchantment. But I don't want to be about the dark side - I want to focus on the light today!

Doing good to others in Jesus' Name, saying to people, "I am praying for you," and actually praying for them, expressing generosity, and in a genuine way saying, "May the Lord bless you today," these are all ways to put God's name on people.

As I look for ways to bless others and be a blessing to them, and as I do what I find to do, I am putting God's name on them.  What a privilege and what an opportunity!

Lord, help me to grow in my understanding of what it means to put Your name on people.  Help me to be a blessing and to bless others with my words and my actions.  Let me follow more closely the pattern of Jesus Christ, Your greatest blessing to me.  In His Name I pray.  Amen.

YEAR OF DELIVERANCE: soften my heart

I don't know about anybody else, but I feel like the last few years have been years of limited growth and honestly, a bit of struggle.  Looking to the Spirit of God, I'm ready to grow, take back some lost territory, and gain new ground for the glory of God.  I'm ready for some deliverance!  What will it take for 2012 to be a year of deliverance?

Earlier today I was reading the story of Moses and Aaron going before Pharaoh and telling him to let God's people go.  There are many take-aways from this story and I could go on and lose you here, so I've listed my top three picks below.

But here's Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ruling over peace, plenty, and prosperity, and along comes Moses and Aaron saying, "Thus saith the Lord."  The Who?

"You don't get it, do you?" Pharaoh thought - and in so many words said, "I'm god here -- and you think you can tell me what to do?"

Pharaoh's stubbornness cost his people dearly.  It cost them lives that must have been lost when the Nile River turned to blood, and the disease carried by frogs, flies, and gnats.  It cost them misery in all the plagues, loss of possessions as animals died, pain through the plague of boils, and terror in the plague of darkness.  Economically, Egypt was in ruins.  Just before the locusts landed, Pharaoh's own cabinet nearly revolted saying, "Don't you realize Egypt is already in shambles?"  Their frustration level was so high they were willing to say that to the absolute ruler of the land - their own version of the Exalted, Beloved Leader.

But Pharaoh would not be moved.

The children of Israel doubted at first, blamed Moses and Aaron and nearly threw them out. 

Pharaoh wanted to throw them out, and it was probably a source of great frustration to him that he couldn't.  Just before God's final plague he told them that the next time Moses forced an audience with him, it would be his last.


Pharaoh cost himself dearly - He lost a lot politically among his inner circle, and it seems that he lost the natural admiration and respect of his people.  The people of Egypt began to side with the slaves of Israel which had long since become a major engine in their nation's economy.  They respected Moses and many of them may have desired a coup, but they didn't dare say so.

They still obeyed Pharaoh, but I imagine they did so out of fear and duty only, with no love and pride intermingled as they probably had done for Pharaoh's father and grandfather.  We know from Scripture that his hardness of heart cost him his firstborn son, whom he cherished above anything or anyone else.

A number of years ago I was walking through a very dark time in my life, and I was trying to discern what the Lord was trying to teach me.  Finally, a good friend whom I regarded as a spiritual leader in my church said to me, "You know, Andrew, sometimes God brings us through hard times to teach us things, and sometimes hard times come upon us because of the hard hearts and bad choices of people around us." 

We - I'm at the top of the "we list" - do well to consider the effects of our heart condition and the choices we make as a result of where our hearts and heads are at (sorry, Miss Bell for ending a sentence in a preposition - it's not the first nor will it be the last time!).  It can have great effect on all around us - whether they're close to us or not - whether we're aware of them or not. 

Lord, work in my heart.  Help me to be open to You - and if I hear Your voice thundered through a prophet or spoken in stillness in my heart - give me grace to recognize, listen, and immediately obey.  May my heart be softened to You and to those around me, and may my heart condition be a source of nurture, not destruction or even neutrality.  May I be a source of blessing to those closest to me all the way to those furthest away.  In the Name of Jesus I ask that by your grace this year be a year of deliverance!  Amen. 


TOP THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM EXODUS 4-11

1. How God must feel about slavery in general and government-sanctioned oppression in particluar
2. God's faithfulness in keeping His promises even though it seems like He's forgotten over hundreds of years
3. God's purposes being fulfilled even under adverse circumstances.
• I have often wondered about God's reasoning for moving Isaac and his boys to Egypt only to end in slavery three hundred year later (my chronology may be off a little...). Yet, they didn't have the resources to grow in the wilderness, and here, with the vast riches of Egypt at their disposal, the children of Israel could begin to become the nation of Israel, even in bondage. Obviously that didn't excuse Egypt and specifically Pharaoh for enslaving Israel, and that doesn't mean that slavery and oppression should be sanctioned anywhere by God's people. But, as Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."

 

 

CARELESS VESPERS

One of the great truths of Scripture that I have a hard time grasping is God’s jealousy for His people. I have to admit, the concept has become somewhat easier to grasp, though, as my daughters have gone into their teen years and become interested in boys. I remember when I was the one they were most concerned with pleasing. They laughed at my jokes. They noticed when I did special things for them. They thought about telling me first when something good or funny happened to them. I mattered.



Now old Dad has been relegated to the back seat, if he’s even allowed in the car at all. OK, so I’m overstating the “Woe is me,” stuff – but don’t tell the girls that, please! They don’t feel bad enough about this yet – nor will they, actually, until they have kids of their own (and in their case, they won’t feel it as acutely unless they have sons, right?).


I have other friends who have had similar experiences, but sadly, it’s been with their spouses, not their children… so the changes in relationship are not part of a natural progression into maturity, but they are actually betrayals as the spouse finds love in the arms of someone else. I have shared in the tears of some of these friends, have heard them express deep feelings of helplessness as they watch the affections of their spouse turn to another and have also heard them express their heartache, anger, and even jealousy.


I find myself being uncomfortable with the thought of jealousy. And jealousy can be wrong. Sometimes I struggle with jealousy… I would like to have so-and-so’s voice; he sings effortlessly and doesn’t have a big vibrato – everybody loves hearing him sing, and he can play by ear, too! Or, I wish I had so-and-so’s money! I should be as well of as he! Or, if only I had his ability to please people. Look how they fawn over him – and I do twice as much as he does; it’s not fair! Those feelings of jealousy lead to coveting and animosity – those feelings are wrong.


Yet as I reflect I realize that there is a righteous form of jealousy. I see it reflected, albeit imperfectly, in the friends that I have described above. If a relationship is rightly yours, either through blood or covenant, and you are losing that relationship to another, then jealousy can be a righteous response.


And this is the kind of jealousy God expresses for His people here in Jeremiah. It is the kind of jealousy alluded to by the writer of Hebrews. God won a relationship with the children of Israel by covenant with their father Abraham, and again by covenant made with Moses and through Moses in the giving of the Law to all the people of Israel.


In the opening lines of the ten commandments God Himself admits to this jealousy. And He instructs that there be no other gods in the picture. God is to be God alone – loved and worshiped not just as the supreme God, but as the only God. For truly, you can’t serve two gods.


So, here are God’s people – with whom He has made a lasting covenant, and whom He loves deeply – standing in His house plotting against Him. Oh, sure, they brought what they were supposed to bring – meat. But they didn’t bring the other things they were supposed to bring – the love of Him with all their heart, mind, and strength. Instead, their hearts were elsewhere, and their minds were devising ways to use their strength in the worship of another god. They had no more joy in the worship of God – the One who brought them up out of Egypt, the One who sustained their great-grandparents in the wilderness by giving them manna to eat – the One who went before them into the Promised Land and allowed them to settle there as a victorious, prosperous people.


Worshiping Him was old hat! I wonder if the priests Levites explored innovations in worship style and technology in an effort to keep the next generation engaged. Or were they becoming so enamored with false gods that they didn’t care anymore, either? I wonder if they issued surveys to make sure that everyone felt like their needs were being met in every worship service. Were the traditional worship people happy? Were the young families happy? Were the perpetually grumpy happy?


Who cares if they were happy – they were allowing their affections to drift! They were allowing themselves to find joy in wickedness; in the very thing that was most important to God. They were allowing their hearts to worship another god. They were carelessly whispering of their love for another in the house of the One for whom they should have had a fervent love. And when they left the Lord’s house, they found their trysting place at vespers in Baal’s temple and burned incense in worship to an idol.


So, God, the One who planted His people, the One who caused them to be fruitful – the One who said they were beautiful – must now uproot and reshape.


That is the depth of God’s love, that it is expressed with such holy jealousy. And, how much more right does God have to be jealous of His people of the New Covenant? He has not only made a covenant with generations past, but He draws each of His children personally into their own individual relationship with Him through the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Because of His lavish grace, those of us who have trusted Christ for our salvation are now “His workmanship.” How much more a right does He have to be jealous for us?


How much more of a right does God have to be jealous for those who claim to be part of “the Church” – whether they have actually come to Him on the merits of His blood and righteousness or not? Would He not want a pure Bride for His Son, a Bride with complete, single-hearted love for Him?


Don’t let His jealousy for you cause you to recoil, but instead, understand that He loves you! He earnestly and perfectly desires that love be given in return, even as we imperfectly desire a return on the love investment we place in others.  Let us love Him supremely, obey Him completely and worship Him solely (give Him "sole worship").

15 "What is My beloved doing in My temple as she works out her evil schemes with many? Can consecrated meat avert [your punishment]? When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice." 16 The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm He will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken. 17 The LORD Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.

- Jeremiah 12:15-17

“He is jealous for me… loves like a hurricane, I am a tree…”

- “How He Loves”; John Mark McMillan

“…Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably in reverence and awe, for ‘Our God is a consuming fire.’”

- Hebrews 11:28b & 29

“Cast every idol from its throne, for Christ is God, and Christ alone: To God all praise and glory.”

 - “Sing Praise To God Who Reigns Above”; Johann J. Schutz

Post-Father's Day thoughts

I am thankful that we made it through yesterday’s worship service with no loss of life or limb! It was VBS Sunday. We had 30+ kids on the platform singing VBS songs and reading a little script summarizing the week – and we showed some slides about VBS. Student Praise Team led worship (they’re getting good!), Doxa youth choir sang for the last time before summer break. We updated people on the organ fund being at 75% and announced this summer’s Wesleyan Roundup which will be in August this year – August 13th – and will feature a Western-themed variety showing starring our own folks. And… it was Father’s Day. We had a good time with that – showed “The Dad’s Life” video from church on the move – everyone laughed; we sang the wonderful hymn “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father…” and Pastor Richard preached a good message for father’s day. Miraculously, our combined service which started at 10 was over by 11:20! (Just as I laid it out, thank you very much…)

Every Father’s Day – every June, really – I think of my Dad. I was almost thirteen in June, 1980 when he died in a swimming accident. We were on vacation in Nags Head/ Cape Hatteras, NC. There was a riptide which locals say will eventually wash you back to shore if you don’t panic and fight against it. The problem is, as you’re being swept out to sea, you panic. Dad was a good swimmer, but he panicked and he drowned. His cries for help will haunt me for the rest of my life. We were all in the water except for my little sister. By the time some men with life-rafts could get him on the beach, Dad was certainly gone.

I’m sure my dad had his flaws. I remember that, as a boy on the cusp of his teenage years, I was beginning to see the cracks in Dad’s armor and was starting to take issue with some of his ways and ideas. As I recall, my last conversation with him was an argument; nothing real serious, but an argument nonetheless. But time has a way of washing away common faults and creating an ideal heroic, and that is how I remember Dad.

He was a thoughtful man who unquestionably loved his wife. He used to call Mom many cute names, but the one I remember particularly was “Dolly.” And my sister was “Miss Muffett” (or some variation of that – “Muffy”, etc.) or his own term “Tiny Treasure”. I don’t remember my nicknames, but that’s OK. I do remember wrestling with him on the floor, going to church with him (every time the doors were open), sitting with him during “adult conversations”, and of course, working with him on the farm. Any good work ethic I have can be credited to my Dad.
On occasions when I’m exhausted from work, especially from physical exertion, I recognize it as a “good tired” because of him. He milked 80 cows a day and had a great mind for anything, including farming. It irritates me to hear city people talk of farming as if it is unskilled labor. My Dad had two degrees from the Ohio State University – both in agriculture and animal husbandry. He knew how to take care of his livestock and he did so with great care.

If you have 80 milking cows, you have many more on the farm – usually 40 or so “dry” cows, at least that many heifers, and a bull or two in a pen – and maybe 20 or so in a freezer so you can breed your high producers with other high producers. Yep, Dad knew all about that and took great care to breed his animals well so he had a herd of high-yielding Holsteins. And he knew every cow by their face and their udder (the cows stood on raised platforms on either side of the milking parlor, so that their udders were at eye level).

One of Mom’s favorite stories of Dad as it relates to his care for cows was when he returned after an absence. He went on a mission trip to Guatemala. During that trip an uncle who was running the farm in dad’s absence had been injured in a silo auger (the first of many miraculous survivals for Uncle Les) and, in the aftermath of his injury, in my Dad’s absence, all the famers from church gathered ‘round and took shifts doing chores and taking care of the cows. When Dad returned, the cows greeted him like a hero, following him around the barn, mooing, even licking him with their rough sand-paper tongues. It was quite a ticker-tape parade, to hear my Mom talk about it. I guess I was at school, ‘cause I don’t remember it as vividly as the way Mom tells it!

Dad was not just a good farmer, but he was a faithful Christian. He was always trying to learn more of the Word and grow in his relationship with Jesus. The milkhouse radio was tuned, permanently, to the Moody Radio station from Cleveland, OH. Well – there was a brief hiatus to a new all-music formatted Christian radio station, but that hiatus lasted maybe two days. In addition to music, Moody radio featured all the great Bible teachers – we rode the Bible bus with Dr. Jay Vernon McGee, gained insights for living with Chuck Swindoll, laughed with Dr. Howard Hendricks, and got inspired with preachers like Dr. EV Hill.

Dad took Mom up to Moody Evening School, an extension program in Cleveland, and they went at least once a week. One semester they made a family project out of a report for Proverbs. We had cartoon characters like a hobo named Pa Verty.

Dad loved the Lord and was zealous for good teaching of the Word of God. We left our family church because the preaching was not very strong and the denomination’s hierarchy began making pronouncements with which he disagreed. He wasn’t content to be a spectator in a church. He had a great voice, so it was natural for him to use his talent in the church choir, but he also sought ways to serve the church through his spiritual gifts as well.

He was a great community man as well, serving on the local board of education. As vice president, it was one of his duties to open the public school board meeting with Bible reading and prayer. Those were the days! He also sang in the community, in a barbershop quartet for a while, and then in a mixed gospel quartet which sang in various churches.

So as I think about my own family I give thanks for the example my Dad was to me. I know he would LOVE his granddaughters and be enraptured with his grandson. He would probably dote on all three quite a bit on the one hand, while trying to help them see the value of working on the other… we’re still working on chores in our house. Sometimes I wish we were on a farm, but not enough to actually go buy a cow. I just "have" them every now and then.

I wonder what Dad would say to them as they enter different phases of their lives. What, for instance, would he have said when Bu was cast in Roll Bounce? What would he think of Sizakele’s first boyfriend? How would he encourage them to do well in school? What would he say to Dumisani? What would he do to help nurture their spiritual lives? As I reflect on these things, I realize in a fresh way the incredible privileges I have of being a Dad… God, give me strength, humility, and faithfulness to mirror not just my earthly Dad, but my heavenly Father, in the lives of my kids and my wife. Amen.