DON’T FALL BACK

There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.  Luke 21:25

 

 

Really, I’m not a sensationalist, but when one of our staff directors walked into my office to share Luke 21:25 with me, I was amazed.  Not only at what the verse said but at the numbers of the verses themselves.  August 21 was the total solar eclipse of the sun, and Hurricane Harvey made landfall between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor, Texas, on August 25.  Coincidence?  Thought provoking?  “…signs in the sun, moon and starts…anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.”

But what else have we seen?  We’ve watched as strangers launched their private boats, as neighbors went from door to door, as vehicles loaded with food and water and supplies all converged to touch those affected by Harvey.  Did you see the caravan of university eighteen-wheelers headed to the coast filled with goods for evacuees?  Did you see the line of buses that our schools sent to help relocate people?  Our churches sent numbers of supplies and volunteers to help.  In fact, there have been so many material donations that we’ve had to ask people to stop for the time being.  We’ve run out of room to store all the gifts that have sent.

Crisis can sometimes be a wonderful thing when it brings out the good in us.  And it should always bring out good in us if we’ve been practicing loving our neighbors long before the crisis occurred.  Now we have Irma battering Florida and possibly the east coast.  And there’s talk of Jose and others…  There will be many opportunities for all of us to reach out—to go and help, to write a check, to pray.  We’re hearing that it won’t be a sprint; we’re dealing with a marathon.

Will our citizens stick around for the long haul?  More importantly, will we as Christians be around to help our neighbors until the healing is done?  It’s easy to respond when the hype confronts us in every news broadcast and Tweet.  But the long run will distinguish us in our commitment to loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.

So far, we’ve all been proud of the way Texans have responded to the crisis on the coast.  How long will it last?  How long will we pray and give and volunteer?  We’ve started out well.  My mom had a hand-penned notice on her kitchen bulletin board that was a constant reminder from Watchman Nee, that wonderful Chinese saint, preacher, and Bible teacher:  “Don’t fall to a lower level.”  God has begun to stir our hearts to get out of ourselves.  Let’s not get tired but keep at it and not fall back.

 

 

Father, we pray for all those affected at home and abroad by natural disasters.  Help us  to use the resources you’ve given us to minister to the healing of those who have lost so much.  Thank you for this opportunity to bless the hurting.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

DO GOODERS

 

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  Acts 10:38  (TNLB)

 

 

You probably remember the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, for their sermons and songs.  John is credited for averting in England the kind of bloody civil war that occurred in France.  Although they were both known for preaching salvation by faith in Christ rather than works, John famously said,

Do all the good you can

In all the ways you can

In all the places you can

At all the times you can

By all the means you can

To all the people you can

As long as ever you can.

We don’t reach out in love to others in order to win favor with God, and we don’t do our good deeds in order to earn our salvation.  However, when we love him, we just can’t help ourselves from wanting to please him.  Any good that comes from us is an expression of our love for God and an evidence of his presence in us.  Jesus told Peter that if Peter loved him, he would show it by doing what Jesus told him to do (John 14:15 Message).

It’s already late in the afternoon, but I’m thinking of ways to do all the good I can, however, and wherever I can.  Not only will it bring joy to the people I touch, but it brings pleasure to my Father and great joy to me.

 

Heavenly Father, remove from me every obstacle that blocks me from doing good.  Remove the self-orientation, and use me to bless your world—as long as ever I can.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

REMINDERS EVERYWHERE

…I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.  II Peter 1:12

 

Our family has a fun tradition that was begun in 1977 with the release of the first Star Wars movie.  My parents and our young family sat in a little line in the theater to watch the parade of fantastic characters march across the screen depicting their amazing struggle to defeat the evil empire.  And as the epic continued, the children got older, married, had children, and we still went together to sit in our extended line for the anticipated entertainment.  But now my parents are no longer with us.

With the newest release this year, I’ve had to review some old DVD’s to remind myself of what occurred in previous episodes.  In doing so, I’ve picked up a few kernels of wisdom.  One of the characters tells a youngster, “When you give in to fear or hatred or anger, you go to the Dark Side.”   And then there is always the admonition to “Use the Force.”  As the trainee learns to listen and use the Force, he becomes more powerful and does astonishing things.

I imagine John of the Revelation would readily understand the images and messages from Star Wars.  After all, he used images and symbols to portray important truths and warnings for the Church of his day (and the future) including the cosmic battle between good and evil.  And John also warns against being fearful (Rev. 21:8), something we tend to dismiss as a little thing.  In actuality, when fear isn’t a natural response to danger, it’s a state of distrusting God.  Then John tells us in I John 2:9 that if we hate a brother or sister, we walk in darkness.  And Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:22) that those who are angry with a brother or sister will be in danger of judgment.  I expect we can all agree that fear, hatred, and anger does pull a person to the dark side.

But the reminder I especially like are the words that were repeated over and over by the Jedi warrior, “Use the Force.” In our constant battle against our eternal enemy, how often do we rely on ourselves rather than remembering that greater is he that is within us than he that is in the world (I John 4:4)?  As we decrease, the Spirit of God grows stronger and more powerful in us and can do more than we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20).  We really are more than conquerors through him who loved us as we rely on the power of God within us.

Lest you scoff that my little jaunt into the Star Wars world is a bit trite, I recall that on a visit (the 4^th day of May) to one of our esteemed seminaries, which shall remain nameless, I entered the chapel only to see a white Storm Trooper helmet on the head of one of the carved saints in a niche high above the chancel with the notation, “May the Fourth be with you.”  I love seeing God’s reminders everywhere.

 

Father, thank you for the gift of humor and for your principles that are all around us.  Give us eyes to see, hearts to obey… In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

POLLYANNA, THE GLAD GIRL

 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28  (KJV)

 

I know someone who is jokingly referred to as “Pollyanna, the Glad Girl,” a reference to the children’s books about the ever-optimistic Pollyanna.  However, I’m afraid that the Pollyanna of whom I speak sometimes rubs people the wrong way because of her persistent belief that everything really will be good in the end.

When her email was recently hacked, her friends were commiserating about all the problems with repopulating her contacts, changing her password, and explaining to all the callers that yes, she knew she had been hacked, thank you very much.  But after two days of responding to all those concerned, she had talked with friends she not heard from in a while and had even been reconciled in instances of a few cooled relationships.

As she thought about her dubious nickname, Pollyanna strolled down Memory Lane and recalled how she’d longed to return to school but couldn’t after stopping out to parent two children.  Sadly, an unpleasant situation arose that required her to ask a counselor to step in.  At the end of the sessions, the counselor suggested she return to school (as she had been hoping), and Pollyanna wound up being scholarshipped all the way through a master’s degree.

Some time later Pollyanna found herself in hot water again but persisted in believing that “all things work together for good.”  This time she was defendant in a civil suit not of her choosing.  After days in court, reams of paper, and hundreds of questions, Pollyanna walked out vindicated of any wrongdoing.  Not only did the jury wish her well, but the judge came off the bench to introduce himself and shake her hand.  Six years later, she married the judge.

There are so many instances in the Bible where God actually does work all things, even bad ones, for good:  Joseph, David, Job, Paul, Jesus, and others.  In every instance, the focus remains on God, not the circumstance and not the players.  God is the one who is able through his creative power to transform the very thing that might harm us into a vehicle for his blessing.  It’s just a matter of trusting that God means what he says—and not worrying about being called Pollyanna.

 

Father, if we were to honestly reflect on our past, we would see the many times when you were faithful to yourself and brought good from evil.  That’s just your nature.  Thank you.  AMEN.