Fear Not - Listen Much

Jesus spoke to Peter as Peter's fear caused him to sink into the water. Seeing Jesus walking on the water Peter asked to come with Him. Jesus commanded him to come but the strong wind frightened Peter and he began to sink. Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:22-33 NRSV). How often do we cry out to come to Jesus and get faint hearted and distracted before we get there?

A reading from scripture or a meditation might inspire us. The Sunday morning sermon may cause us to say, "What a coincidence, the preacher is talking about the very thing that I need to do in my life to resolve my situation." The unfortunate thing is that many times we falter as we try to respond to the inspiration. Like the strong wind that distracted Peter, things can distract us and keep us from fulfilling the message that God sends to us through a life event.

In matters of Faith there is no such thing as being "in over your head". In the natural life there are times when we're put down or rejected because we've tried to move beyond our skills and talents. God's only requirement is that we turn to him and have faith in him. Smart or dumb, rich or poor, the fare is faith.

I often tell a childhood story about my inability to catch a baseball that was hit high in the air. I would become unfocused and nervous as I waited for the ball to come down. I just couldn't keep my eyes on the ball. By the time the ball was near to the ground my quandary was that either I would miss catching the ball altogether or it would hit me in the head. Instead of being a part of the game I was reduced to being a target.

It's so easy to take our eyes off of Jesus. During a spiritual mission in my home church community a number of years ago, Canon Bryan Greene of England told a group of us, "Don't think that salvation is in doing the busy work around the church. That will get you nowhere." He told us that there is only one thing that we should do. He said to us, "Keep your eyes on Christ!"

Many would like to blame their times of struggle on someone else. Our parents seem to be easiest to blame for our problems, however; in Ezekiel 18:1-4 we are told: "...The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge...this proverb shall no more be used by you... "

The Lord goes on to say, "Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine; it is only the person who sins that shall die". It is comforting to know that God does not hold us responsible for another's sin. Our children are not accountable for our sins and we are not accountable for their sins. This the Lord revealed to Ezekiel.

On another level, however, we must be responsible for what we are teaching and modeling for our own and future generations. We are called to share the Lord with our children and all those that we contact. We are called to live and share the life of Christ. Many times and in unique ways a child can teach the parent something about the Godly life. It is ultimately, however, the individual's responsibility to keep God's law.

Living and sharing the Gospel is what is important in life. It is what God is calling us to do. What does our lifestyle communicate to our children, to our friends and neighbors? This is where the work is. Our own personal discipline to keep our eyes on Christ is the key. It's no coincidence that disciple and discipline share the same first seven letters.

And the Good News is that through Christ's crucifixion and atonement for our sin, we can start anew. When we turn to the Lord and dedicate our lives to Him, our loving and guiding creator, Ezekiel reminds us that God does not remember our sins. Let us never turn back to our old and sinful ways.

And I pray: ‘Heavenly Father, help me to live and reflect Your essence. Give me the strength to discipline my life in You. Prepare me to be Your influence in the lives of all those I touch. Give me the courage to take a stand for You and make it my own. Give me the courage to be bold in the world for You. In the name of Your Son our Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I pray. AMEN’

Doubting God

A lifelong friend recently asked me, “What did Jesus mean when he said ‘Father, Why have you forsaken me.’ If Jesus could doubt God, surely sometimes we can too and still love him. I tell my wife of 45 years sometimes I have doubts about her. She doesn’t like it and says after 45 years of marriage and 5 years of dating you sometimes have doubts about me? I say yes I do.”

The following is my answer to his question: In order for God to communicate more directly with his people, He sent Jesus in human form. Jesus was the Son of God & the Son of Man. He had to live His life as both, which was tough for him. Many of his words on the Cross reflect and connect back to Psalm 22, including "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me."

Jesus was sent by God to take on the sins of the whole world. At that moment on the cross in taking on our sin, it was such a load that for one moment He was separated from God with that load of sin upon Him. Jesus had to doubt God a bit so we could understand the magnitude of God's Sacrifice for us.

It is through the suffering of Jesus that we are made whole in knowing what God was willing to put Himself through in the suffering of Jesus. Our Father died for us through Christ, which is the largest sacrifice a Father could make for His children. All of Jesus’ suffering and even His questioning of His Father only make clear what God was willing to do for us.

Having said that, we must realize that we children of God do have times when we doubt God. Jesus doubted God for a few seconds in His burden that we will never see the likes of in our lives. Because of our human nature, we like to be in control and many times wonder why God is leading us or not leading us in the direction we think He should lead us. It always gets back to the question as to how attentive we are in listening to God and how much our desires cloud God’s wishes for us.

In Jeremiah 29:11-13 we are reminded of God’s intentions: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’” And then in Proverbs 3:5-7 we hear: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.”

God does not have an on and off switch that we can use at our discretion. It’s our own personal switch we use to turn Him on and off. God’s switch is always on. Therefore, it’s up to us to keep our internal switch for Him in the “on” position as much as possible. When we do that, we minimize the doubt that sometimes comes upon us.

The classic doubting story in the Bible concerns the doubting of 100 year old Abraham and 90 year old Sarah. In their doubting that God could bring forth a child in Sarah’s womb, whose name would be Isaac, son of Abraham, God said to them in Genesis 18:14: “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

While we may not have the kind of close conversations with the Lord that Abraham and Sarah had, we need to seek Him as much as possible in every aspect of our lives. Sarah even laughed to herself as she overheard God in His conversation with Abraham in telling him that Sarah would have a child at the age of 90. Her doubt is like our doubt in that we don’t trust God and His leadership in our lives. What seems like reality to use is far from that which God is able to do in our lives.

God has lifted our burden with His sacrifice for us. Jesus took on our burden of sin and should convince us that any doubting of God is useless.

God's Free Ammo!

Some of us older folks remember a song inspired by the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. involvement in World War II. This patriotic song written by Frank Loesser has been mistakenly attributed to others as it became a battle cry of many soldiers. This song entitled "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is about a chaplain that is with some sailors under air attack.

When he is asked to say a prayer for those sailors engaged in battle, he laid down his Bible and took charge of one of the ship’s guns. As he started firing the gun at the attacking planes, he starts singing, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition and we’ll all stay free.”

God’s plan for His children was certainly not for us to go to battle with each other and kill each other in our inability to get along in this world. God speaks to us through the Words of Jesus in the Gospel of John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This spiritual battle for the Lord is not one that requires us to lie down and let the evil of the world tramp on us. Yes, Jesus tells us to turn the other check and be slapped yet again and to forgive our enemies. Due to the complicated nature of knowing when and if to defend ourselves, we will not discuss it here, but recommend you do your own research for clarification. Isaiah 14:5-7 certainly describes God’s own battle against the evil of the world.

God’s idea of spiritual battle is that we should be soldiers of the cross, accepting and spreading Christ’s Kingdom around the world. This is a battle where the ammunition is the Word of God and the love that He wants His children to have for each other. If you don’t think this is a battle, just look around the world and view the never ending hatred some have for others. Hatred that turns to taking the lives of others for ungodly purposes. As we see in our world, there are bad against good and bad against bad in this refusal to love one another.

Psalm 150:1-6 teaches all of us in saying: “Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!”

How could we possibly praise God in the way spoken in Psalm 150, yet turn against His Word and hate others. There are too many citizens and leaders in this world that don’t connect with God in a way that calls them to love others. If they claim a God that allows hatred and murder, he is a false god. As Christians, we believe in one Creator God and we must discount any claims of another. We must forgive others, but not join them in their ungodly or false godly hatred and killing. We must praise God and pass the spiritual ammunition.”  

In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Paul talks about the Godly battle in his life in saying: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

So we get medals, even a crown, in seeking God in our lives, not waging a worldly battle, but a Godly fighting of the good fight in Him. Paul informs us further in Galatians 4:8, ^“But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. And continues in Romans 8:31b ^“If God is for us, who can be against us? So the question for us becomes: How is our ammo supply for praising the Lord and passing it on to others?

St. Paul, Our Instructor

I have a friend that thinks the New Testament of the Bible should be called the gospel of Paul. My friend is critical of that Testament because he thinks St. Paul overpowers the Word of God in the Gospel of Jesus. He thinks Paul dominates the New Testament too much.
                                               

I disagree with my friend. The Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus is quite sufficient to inform us about that which God expects of us in our lives. St. Paul serves as the guide as to how we understand and integrate the Gospel of Jesus into our lives. If other folks are like me, I always try to assemble a product before I’ve read the instructions. I think that the list of parts, and what they do, is enough for me to know as I start assembling the product I will depend on.

If our New Testament was without the letters of St. Paul, we would know the main parts of the Gospel and what they’re supposed to do in our lives, but we’d be blind on how to make the Gospel work for us. St. Paul helps us understand just how we can use and benefit from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.    

Let’s take a look at a portion of Paul’s guidance for us in Philippians 4:1-9: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

My goal is to be able to live Paul's exhortation as given here to the Philippians. I want to get up every morning shouting it. I want to have it on my lips at midday. I want to sing myself to sleep with it at night. Rejoice in the Lord! Make me gentle! I know that You are near, Lord! I shall not worry! I humbly make my requests to You in prayer with thanksgiving! Your peace will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus!

My life is a song to the Lord. And like Him it has no beginning and no end. It is the first thing on my lips and the last each day. I have been touched deeply by His Spirit and I cannot forget what He has shown me. In my time of trial he held me up. He carried me through my chaotic journey. He restored me inside and out. He was there when nothing else would do. He protected me before I knew I was threatened. I praise Him in all things, for only He can solve the puzzle and see the answers.

He disciplines me behind His woodshed regularly. I am better when I return. Knowing Him makes my life more difficult, for now I have a way to measure how I'm doing in His name. His gentleness teaches me the way to treat my brothers and sisters. His peace does surpass all understanding. He makes me want to go with Him, but he has work right here for me to do. I mustn't think of any job as too large or too small that He desires to have me take ownership in.

St. Paul told Titus in his letter to him (2:1-15): "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

The Twenty-third Psalm reveals the Shepherd nature of our Lord and gives us, His Sheep, the confidence that He is always with us. When we live life with this blessing, keeping Him foremost in our thoughts and prayers, we can be His disciples in this world.

Anger is as Anger does!

We’ve been taught that anger is not a good thing. However; it’s hard for us to go immediately to forgiveness when someone has made us very angry. Anger is not a good state for us to be in, but it’s hard for us to control it when we’ve been wronged by someone. After all, even Jesus had times of anger with people.

In John 2:13-22 we are reminded of a very angry Jesus: “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”  Ok, I guess it’s alright for us to be angry about things and people. Well, maybe not. Jesus’ anger was because of a disregard for God’s house. Most times, our anger is not based on something that is directly connected to God.

We must forgive others as soon as possible after our anger has reached its peak. Our anger actually turns inward upon us and causes us to be ashamed of ourselves and to realize that our anger has actually cut us off from God’s love. The longer we stay angry, the deeper we become separated from God. It turns a situation of feeling justified in our anger to one of self punishment. It makes us incapable of love and acceptance of love, only making a bad situation worse.

It is unlikely that in this natural world we might never experience anger. It’s going to come, so we’d better be prepared for it. The more we love and enjoy another person, the greater the impact it has on our relationship with them. It’s a bit easier to be angry at someone we don’t know well. The consequences escalate, the deeper our relationship.  How then do we resolve a situation of anger toward another?

You’ve heard people say, “I can forgive them, but I can’t forget what they did.” That sounds reasonable, but God wants more from us. When possible, God wants us not only to forgive, but to be reconciled with the person and be in God’s community as partners again. When we are angry at someone, we tend to focus totally on what they did and not who they really are. This narrow focus makes it harder to forgive and reconcile with that person.

One of the mistakes we make when another has angered us is to try to recruit others to our side of the situation, which only causes more problems in our community.  An attempt to circle the community against the other person only complicates things and serves no one any benefit. Of course, if others hear of the discord on their own and form their own opinion, our forgiveness and reconciliation of the person becomes an even greater need for the community.

In Scripture, Luke 15: 11-32, a good example of forgiveness is the parable of the Prodigal Son, which we are all familiar with. The father ordered the fatted calf killed to be eaten in celebration for the return of his wayward son to the disgruntlement of the son that kept serving his father in the fields while his brother wasted his inheritance. Now that’s forgiveness and reconciliation. The father did not focus on the sons misdeeds, but instead celebrated the son’s life and his return.

 In the event that we have been so severely hurt by someone’s actions that reconciliation is difficult, we should wait and pray for a time when it makes sense to rejoin our brother or sister. If we are seeking God in our lives, He will lead us in a direction that will be most beneficial under the circumstances.

Forgiving others is difficult sometimes, but forgiving ourselves usually proves to be the most difficult. Not forgiving another or our self provides Satan with a great opportunity. We play right into his hands every time we are so convinced by principle that our un-forgiveness is justified. Are we to, "be outwitted by Satan"?