Is Worry in the Way?
(Road Repair continued)
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
As we continue to look for ways to clear debris out of the road between us and God, today we will look at this command from Jesus:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matt.6:25-27)
Jesus commands us here; “do not worry”. He does not say ‘try not to worry’. He does not say ‘only worry when things are really bad’. He says, plainly, “do not worry”. And I can say it too; to you and to myself. So can you. It’s easy; “Do not worry”. Well, it is easy to say. But most of us find it difficult to accomplish. And yet, we do want to be obedient to Jesus, and we do realize that what He calls us to do is better for us, right? Thankfully, God’s Word does not leave it there:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4: 1-7)
We hear that God has peace that transcends our understanding, but what are we to do with that? You may well have heard me say this before; this, this passage, is God’s recipe for peace:
Rejoice in the Lord…
Do not be anxious about anything…
But in everything… present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
First, we must rejoice. Regardless of our circumstance, we must rejoice.
We must be willing to be obedient, to continue the steps to not be anxious.
I think this next step is key; we must present “everything” to God. We are prone to asking for help with a particular issue, while we run everything else. But God is neither our co-pilot nor our assistant. If we want to take control of part of our circumstances we must be prepared to take them all. If we want God’s help, we must be willing to turn everything over to Him. Everything. If we do, then we can receive the promise of peace, peace greater than we can understand. And that peace, which will come to us, is peace that dwells in the heart of Christ, will guard our hearts and minds, guard what we think and guard what we love. And then…peace.
Until tomorrow…peace. Pastor Jim
P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Anorexia
Anorexia
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
If you are just joining this study, this portion is called “Road Repair”, and is inspired by John the Baptist’s call to clear the road and make way for the King. And so, we are looking at things in the “road” between God and us.
I heard a story once about a pastor of a big church somewhere. Every morning, he spent the first hour of his time at the church office in prayer.
Drove his secretary crazy.
There were papers to sign, calls to respond to, meetings, people wanting appointments, and so on. Regardless, the first hour was blocked out of his schedule for prayer. One day, in an effort to get him to realize the importance of his ‘priorities’, she caught him coming in the door with a list, twice as long as usual, of all he needed to do that day, hoping he would skip, or at least shorten his prayer time. His response was priceless.
“Goodness,” he said, looking over the list, “I’ll need two hours to pray today!”
We can giggle at this, but there is a reality of need in his response. Skipping prayer is like going without food. Imagine a runner, preparing to run a marathon, saying, “It will take me a long time to run this, I don’t have time to eat.” Or, imagine you are riding shotgun with a friend, on a three-day drive across the country, brought about by some family emergency that required you to be there as soon as possible. What would you think if your friend said, “We’re in a real hurry here, I’m not stopping for gas”?
Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength… (Isaiah 40:31)
Jesus (as related in Mark 8) spent the night in prayer the day prior to contesting with the Pharisees for the life of an adulterous woman. Jesus! If Jesus spent the night in prayer prior to a trial, how can we hope to get by? When God said, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps.46:10) he was not playing some kind of game with us, or testing us. Like a car needs fuel, like our bodies need food, our souls must have prayer.
If we choose to hurry to work, school, church or anywhere else without time in prayer, we are going underfed and undernourished and we will fall.
I guess the issue for many of us is to truly believe that our need is that real. We know what will happen if we run out of gas. And we know what will happen if we do not eat for a long period of time. But most of us have been starving ourselves from prayer for so long that we have developed a sort of spiritual anorexia; our perspective is so skewed that we think we’re ok.
Lent. Reflect. Reach out and clear some space between you and God. Be still. Know God. Be renewed.
That’s what I’m going to go do. Until tomorrow, Pastor Jim
P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
If you are just joining this study, this portion is called “Road Repair”, and is inspired by John the Baptist’s call to clear the road and make way for the King. And so, we are looking at things in the “road” between God and us.
I heard a story once about a pastor of a big church somewhere. Every morning, he spent the first hour of his time at the church office in prayer.
Drove his secretary crazy.
There were papers to sign, calls to respond to, meetings, people wanting appointments, and so on. Regardless, the first hour was blocked out of his schedule for prayer. One day, in an effort to get him to realize the importance of his ‘priorities’, she caught him coming in the door with a list, twice as long as usual, of all he needed to do that day, hoping he would skip, or at least shorten his prayer time. His response was priceless.
“Goodness,” he said, looking over the list, “I’ll need two hours to pray today!”
We can giggle at this, but there is a reality of need in his response. Skipping prayer is like going without food. Imagine a runner, preparing to run a marathon, saying, “It will take me a long time to run this, I don’t have time to eat.” Or, imagine you are riding shotgun with a friend, on a three-day drive across the country, brought about by some family emergency that required you to be there as soon as possible. What would you think if your friend said, “We’re in a real hurry here, I’m not stopping for gas”?
Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength… (Isaiah 40:31)
Jesus (as related in Mark 8) spent the night in prayer the day prior to contesting with the Pharisees for the life of an adulterous woman. Jesus! If Jesus spent the night in prayer prior to a trial, how can we hope to get by? When God said, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps.46:10) he was not playing some kind of game with us, or testing us. Like a car needs fuel, like our bodies need food, our souls must have prayer.
If we choose to hurry to work, school, church or anywhere else without time in prayer, we are going underfed and undernourished and we will fall.
I guess the issue for many of us is to truly believe that our need is that real. We know what will happen if we run out of gas. And we know what will happen if we do not eat for a long period of time. But most of us have been starving ourselves from prayer for so long that we have developed a sort of spiritual anorexia; our perspective is so skewed that we think we’re ok.
Lent. Reflect. Reach out and clear some space between you and God. Be still. Know God. Be renewed.
That’s what I’m going to go do. Until tomorrow, Pastor Jim
P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Road Repair Revisited
Road Repair
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
We have established these topics: Road Repair, Vision Correction, Surgical Repair, and Rehab and Therapy. By no means are these the only ways, or is this the only perspective, to look at Lent. However, as we now spend a few days in each one, what we look at will be based on Scripture.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
God said it first, as a matter of fact; He made it the first Law of Laws. Centuries later there seems to have been some confusion as a Pharisee asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.’” (Matthew 22:37-37)
Jesus was quoting the words we find given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6, and in the fifth chapter of that book we find the Ten Commandments, which God began with “Have no other gods before me.” The Old Testament lists several other gods that people made up and convinced others to pursue, from Ashtaroth and Baal to Kiyyun and Bel. Today, this conversation could go in the direction of non-Christian religions; however there is another problem we need to address.
When the Old Testament peoples ran after other gods, they were looking for connection, security, power, and protection in some form or another. Likewise, modern day people have created a whole slew of gods: careers, money, activities, etc. They may not worship them in a church/temple setting; but do they not make sacrifices for them?
God detested the Baals and other false Gods, but it seemed no surprise that heathens sought them. He seemed to suffer particular pain, however, when His chosen people ran after the other gods. And so it is today. It is no surprise that those outside the faith seek fulfillment in something other than God. But it causes Him particular pain when we, Christian believers, allow anything to come between Him and us. But we do.
Wealth. Poverty. Stuff. Activities. Sports. Schedules. TV. Church. Anything that gets between Him and us.
What is more important to us than God? We want to say “nothing” but can we? Does anything distract us from worship or must we get to some other event? Do we spend time worshiping Him other than Sunday morning or is ‘my show’ on? Do we “pray without ceasing”? Have we prayed today? Did we spend time listening in prayer? Do we know much more of His Word than we did a year ago?
What is more important to us than God? Anything that causes us to answer those questions in a way other than the way we should.
What is more important to us than God? Let’s make a list. Let’s start getting that stuff, that debris, out of the road. Let us prepare the way, clear the way, between us and God.
Lord willing, see you tomorrow. Pastor Jim,
P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.
(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
We have established these topics: Road Repair, Vision Correction, Surgical Repair, and Rehab and Therapy. By no means are these the only ways, or is this the only perspective, to look at Lent. However, as we now spend a few days in each one, what we look at will be based on Scripture.
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
God said it first, as a matter of fact; He made it the first Law of Laws. Centuries later there seems to have been some confusion as a Pharisee asked Jesus: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.’” (Matthew 22:37-37)
Jesus was quoting the words we find given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6, and in the fifth chapter of that book we find the Ten Commandments, which God began with “Have no other gods before me.” The Old Testament lists several other gods that people made up and convinced others to pursue, from Ashtaroth and Baal to Kiyyun and Bel. Today, this conversation could go in the direction of non-Christian religions; however there is another problem we need to address.
When the Old Testament peoples ran after other gods, they were looking for connection, security, power, and protection in some form or another. Likewise, modern day people have created a whole slew of gods: careers, money, activities, etc. They may not worship them in a church/temple setting; but do they not make sacrifices for them?
God detested the Baals and other false Gods, but it seemed no surprise that heathens sought them. He seemed to suffer particular pain, however, when His chosen people ran after the other gods. And so it is today. It is no surprise that those outside the faith seek fulfillment in something other than God. But it causes Him particular pain when we, Christian believers, allow anything to come between Him and us. But we do.
Wealth. Poverty. Stuff. Activities. Sports. Schedules. TV. Church. Anything that gets between Him and us.
What is more important to us than God? We want to say “nothing” but can we? Does anything distract us from worship or must we get to some other event? Do we spend time worshiping Him other than Sunday morning or is ‘my show’ on? Do we “pray without ceasing”? Have we prayed today? Did we spend time listening in prayer? Do we know much more of His Word than we did a year ago?
What is more important to us than God? Anything that causes us to answer those questions in a way other than the way we should.
What is more important to us than God? Let’s make a list. Let’s start getting that stuff, that debris, out of the road. Let us prepare the way, clear the way, between us and God.
Lord willing, see you tomorrow. Pastor Jim,
P.S. If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following: Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five-minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder. 2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever. 3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things). 4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him. 5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Rehab and Therapy
Rehab and Therapy
First I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and checking in on me. My surgery went as expected, and I am, as my doctor ordered, staying in my recliner, with an ice pack, and lifting nothing heavier than the remote!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lent as rehab and therapy.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)
OK, I am just sitting around for a few days, but after that I will need to begin a regimen of some sort to strengthen that which Dr. Domenick repaired, muscles would begin to atrophy. With some surgical repairs, the lack of follow up therapy can actually cause the situation to be worse than before; at a minimum, it would prevent one from receiving the maximum benefit of the repair.
And so it is spiritually: “… this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13: 20-22
We can receive from God, but we can also atrophy spiritually if we do not develop roots. Simply stated: prayer, reading, and study*, with other actions added as faith takes root and grows. So, as we clear things out of the road between us and God, reflect on our lives using His Word for perspective, allow Him to do the repairs inside us, let us also commit to getting ourselves into, or back into, the kind of shape for which we were made.
Sabbath rest tomorrow, see you Monday, Lord willing, Pastor Jim
*If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following 5 minute exercise:
Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder.
2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever.
3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things).
4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him.
5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper
First I’d like to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and checking in on me. My surgery went as expected, and I am, as my doctor ordered, staying in my recliner, with an ice pack, and lifting nothing heavier than the remote!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lent as rehab and therapy.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14 (ESV)
OK, I am just sitting around for a few days, but after that I will need to begin a regimen of some sort to strengthen that which Dr. Domenick repaired, muscles would begin to atrophy. With some surgical repairs, the lack of follow up therapy can actually cause the situation to be worse than before; at a minimum, it would prevent one from receiving the maximum benefit of the repair.
And so it is spiritually: “… this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” Matthew 13: 20-22
We can receive from God, but we can also atrophy spiritually if we do not develop roots. Simply stated: prayer, reading, and study*, with other actions added as faith takes root and grows. So, as we clear things out of the road between us and God, reflect on our lives using His Word for perspective, allow Him to do the repairs inside us, let us also commit to getting ourselves into, or back into, the kind of shape for which we were made.
Sabbath rest tomorrow, see you Monday, Lord willing, Pastor Jim
*If you need a starting place for spiritual discipline, consider the following 5 minute exercise:
Starting today, and then first thing tomorrow morning, I challenge you to listen to God, with this five minute exercise:
1) Do this as soon as you wake up. Set your clock a few minutes early if that is what you need to get up ahead of the household noise. Lay your Bible by your bed as a reminder.
2) Go to the quietest place in your house, outside, your kitchen, your bathroom...wherever.
3) Pray for 1 minute that God would speak to you. Audibly, out loud, ask Him to remove Satan from your presence for this time. Ask Him to remove distractions and mental clutter. During this time, do not ask Him for anything else, do not thank Him for anything else, do not pray for anyone else (but please find another prayer time for all these things).
4) Open your Bible and read for 2 minutes. This is God talking to you through His Word. Listen to Him.
5) Close your Bible and be silent for 3 minutes. Listen for Him. He may come as a thought, a nudge, an idea. For a while, He may seem hard to hear. There is so much clutter in our minds! Keep listening.
This may seem difficult. You will hear every creaking tree branch. You will hear every barking dog. But like Elijah's time in the cave, God is not in the tree branch, God is not in the dog. Persevere. Listen for the gentle whisper
Friday, March 11, 2011
Surgical Repair
Surgical Repair
So far we have looked at Lent as “road repair” and as “corrected vision”. I have a couple more comparisons, and then we’ll use those as sort of sub-topics for the rest of Lent.
As soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to the hospital for surgery. Nothing life threatening; I have a tear in a muscle that the surgeon is going to, Lord willing, repair. Left unattended, this tear would get worse, longer, wider, and making the surrounding tissue, and me as a whole, weaker.
That is what sin has done to the human race and that’s what it does to us as individuals. Sin tears away at who we are, and it is, indeed, life threatening. Left unattended, this it gets worse, it gets longer, wider, and makes us weaker, and eventually kills us; “…sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15)
But Jesus is not called the Great Physician simply as some sort of metaphor. Nor is that term restricted to physical healing that He absolutely supplies. It also applies, even more importantly, to the healing from sin, that only He can provide.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19
Sin = damage.
Righteousness = repair.
How has sin hurt you? This season of Lent let us each look for that damage, and look to God for repair.
Until tomorrow, Pastor Jim
So far we have looked at Lent as “road repair” and as “corrected vision”. I have a couple more comparisons, and then we’ll use those as sort of sub-topics for the rest of Lent.
As soon as I finish writing this, I’m off to the hospital for surgery. Nothing life threatening; I have a tear in a muscle that the surgeon is going to, Lord willing, repair. Left unattended, this tear would get worse, longer, wider, and making the surrounding tissue, and me as a whole, weaker.
That is what sin has done to the human race and that’s what it does to us as individuals. Sin tears away at who we are, and it is, indeed, life threatening. Left unattended, this it gets worse, it gets longer, wider, and makes us weaker, and eventually kills us; “…sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15)
But Jesus is not called the Great Physician simply as some sort of metaphor. Nor is that term restricted to physical healing that He absolutely supplies. It also applies, even more importantly, to the healing from sin, that only He can provide.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19
Sin = damage.
Righteousness = repair.
How has sin hurt you? This season of Lent let us each look for that damage, and look to God for repair.
Until tomorrow, Pastor Jim
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Corrected Vision
Greetings!
So, here we are in Lent, a season, it is often said, of ‘self-reflection’. I think that is a good thing, we should always be doing that somewhat, but it is good to take a season and really focus on it. But we need to be careful when looking at ourselves; our eyesight just isn’t all that good. That’s why "we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7) What we see is a misrepresentation of reality. Oh sure, we talk about “20 20 vision”, “seeing is believing” and the like. But what else have we learned?
We can only see so far, unaided. But a telescope shows us things about the moon and stars invisible to the naked eye.
And there’s stuff on our skin and in our water that we are blissfully ignorant about until we look into a microscope.
Hold a prism to the sunlight and see bands of light, always present, but otherwise unseen.
Our very lives depend upon the oxygen we breathe but never see.
They say dogs are colorblind, how different their vision is from ours, right in the same world.
Likewise is our vision; far short of what God sees.
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. “ 1 Cor. 13:12 (Remembering that first century mirrors were little more than polished metal.)
So certainly, please, spend some time reflecting this season. But do not rely on your own perception of righteousness – and for God’s sake, do not use the world’s standards.
Instead, use His Word as a sort of spiritual lens. If you need a place to start, read the book of James.
And pray. Pray by speaking, and pray, pray, pray by listening.
Sure, you’ll see a few more of the warts, the mistakes, the sin. But you know what? You will also see that when God looks at you He loves you more than you love yourself. Sure, your sins will beexposed but so will a greater measure of His love.
God’s vision is not impaired; He sees the you that you can be. “Man looks at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
See you tomorrow, Pastor Jim
So, here we are in Lent, a season, it is often said, of ‘self-reflection’. I think that is a good thing, we should always be doing that somewhat, but it is good to take a season and really focus on it. But we need to be careful when looking at ourselves; our eyesight just isn’t all that good. That’s why "we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7) What we see is a misrepresentation of reality. Oh sure, we talk about “20 20 vision”, “seeing is believing” and the like. But what else have we learned?
We can only see so far, unaided. But a telescope shows us things about the moon and stars invisible to the naked eye.
And there’s stuff on our skin and in our water that we are blissfully ignorant about until we look into a microscope.
Hold a prism to the sunlight and see bands of light, always present, but otherwise unseen.
Our very lives depend upon the oxygen we breathe but never see.
They say dogs are colorblind, how different their vision is from ours, right in the same world.
Likewise is our vision; far short of what God sees.
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. “ 1 Cor. 13:12 (Remembering that first century mirrors were little more than polished metal.)
So certainly, please, spend some time reflecting this season. But do not rely on your own perception of righteousness – and for God’s sake, do not use the world’s standards.
Instead, use His Word as a sort of spiritual lens. If you need a place to start, read the book of James.
And pray. Pray by speaking, and pray, pray, pray by listening.
Sure, you’ll see a few more of the warts, the mistakes, the sin. But you know what? You will also see that when God looks at you He loves you more than you love yourself. Sure, your sins will beexposed but so will a greater measure of His love.
God’s vision is not impaired; He sees the you that you can be. “Man looks at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
See you tomorrow, Pastor Jim
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Road repair
Greetings!
Shrove Tuesday.
Ash Wednesday.
Lent.
Easter.
What is this stuff all about? It’s interesting – if you do a little research there is a lot about traditions and how different denominations practice these things differently, if at all. So, it’s not like there are any hard and fast rules – good.
“Shrovetide” used to be the three days when Christians would confess their sins and seek absolution before “Ash Wednesday” when they would go to church and receive ashes on their foreheads recalling the Biblical references to ashes as a sign of repentance. Thus began Lent a time of self reflection, especially concerning one’s relationship to God.
OK? Sounds OK to me. Last night I was privileged to speak at Wyoming Church’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner (OK, the pancakes are another whole discussion!). In preparation, the Holy Spirit led me to the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
So John came, the people confessed, got baptized, the process of ‘making the paths straight’ was begun. (In ancient times, people would go out ahead of a king and clear brush, rocks, etc. from the roadways, cleaning the path – making it straight – for the king.)
So, I’m going to say that ‘shroving’ is like coming to John, confessing our sins and our ashes are our repentance. (This can be true whether you ate pancakes and got ashes or not.) But John was not the goal! Jesus was the goal. John was a signpost to Him; John was clearing the way for Him.
So, join me if you will, in confession, repentance, and jumping into Lent; where we will do a little path straightening. Let us spend some time clearing out the debris – the junk that has fallen and grown into the road between us and Jesus.
Lent – like John – is not the goal. Easter - the resurrected, living, saving Jesus Christ is the goal!
Let’s spend a little time making the path straight for Him.
Shrove Tuesday.
Ash Wednesday.
Lent.
Easter.
What is this stuff all about? It’s interesting – if you do a little research there is a lot about traditions and how different denominations practice these things differently, if at all. So, it’s not like there are any hard and fast rules – good.
“Shrovetide” used to be the three days when Christians would confess their sins and seek absolution before “Ash Wednesday” when they would go to church and receive ashes on their foreheads recalling the Biblical references to ashes as a sign of repentance. Thus began Lent a time of self reflection, especially concerning one’s relationship to God.
OK? Sounds OK to me. Last night I was privileged to speak at Wyoming Church’s Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner (OK, the pancakes are another whole discussion!). In preparation, the Holy Spirit led me to the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
"Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
So John came, the people confessed, got baptized, the process of ‘making the paths straight’ was begun. (In ancient times, people would go out ahead of a king and clear brush, rocks, etc. from the roadways, cleaning the path – making it straight – for the king.)
So, I’m going to say that ‘shroving’ is like coming to John, confessing our sins and our ashes are our repentance. (This can be true whether you ate pancakes and got ashes or not.) But John was not the goal! Jesus was the goal. John was a signpost to Him; John was clearing the way for Him.
So, join me if you will, in confession, repentance, and jumping into Lent; where we will do a little path straightening. Let us spend some time clearing out the debris – the junk that has fallen and grown into the road between us and Jesus.
Lent – like John – is not the goal. Easter - the resurrected, living, saving Jesus Christ is the goal!
Let’s spend a little time making the path straight for Him.
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