Encouragement

Lording it Over your Circumstances

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I have one possible, but powerful cure for what ails you today. What most troubles you? Well, you do! We fear our fears. We worry about our worries. We are anxious about our anxieties.  And so, the monster feeds itself. We limp through our days wounded and walking in egg shells often of our own design. When we rest our minds on our fears and worries we give them life and strength and power. Yet, Paul exhorts us “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything.” Phil 4:5-6

It can’t be that easy, can it?  My worries and fears are great, towering clouds that block out any light!  I cannot see beyond my fear. When worry triumphs and terrorizes, what does it matter the the Lord is near? 

Well, I think that I know what the deeper problem is. Your fears are too great and your Lord is too small. A big worry makes a small Lord. But, a big Lord makes your fear shrivel.  Now, do not misunderstand. I am not belittling your anxieties. No. Wait. Yes I am – I am belittling them – in comparison with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord is near. Where is the comfort in that you ask? The one who has conquered sin and death has also given the antidote to fear and worry. The one who has all power in heaven and earth is your elder brother and friend. Omnipotence is in his hands. Jesus, who has loved you from before the foundation of the world, will hold your hand into eternity future where you will see him face to face; this is the Lord that is near. This is our worry-crushing Lord. He has your troubles and your tomorrows in his gracious hands. All will be well.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7). Rest your mind on the living, triumphant, reigning Lord of Glory and your anxieties may dissolve like mist. You are not enslaved in circumstance’s capricious hands, but set free by the nail scared hands of your savior.  Fear not, for the Lord is at hand.

Remember Who You Are!!

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Have you heard of those who suffer from temporary amnesia? Due to some trauma they have forgotten who they are. They have lost their identity. They also do not know where they fit, nor what to do. They have forgotten their family, their job, their joys – everything. They wander around aimless, asking who they are? 

This is in essence the modern dilemma. We do not know who were are, why we are here, where we fit. So, we grasp for some comforting identity, some meaningful purpose. 

What is mankind? What is our true identity? What were we created for? What is our purpose?  We are made in the image and likeness of God. To know him, reflect and enjoy his greatness and glory – we are made to like Him, and to be like him. 

Yet, instead of imaging him, we, in our amnesia, are trying to make God in our own image. We call the shots and make the rules. God must answer to us and submit to our sense of right and wrong, to our definition of meaning and identity. We end up attacking the image of God that is in us. We are fighting against ourselves, and our created purpose. 

We are fighting against our own biology, the way we are fashioned. God has already set the rules, the purpose and direction of life.  We can fight against it, but we can never win.

There is great rest and peace in knowing who we are created to be. Sin has given us delusions of grandeur. But God has created us in real grandeur.  

Psalm 8 proclaims, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet … O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Do you know who you are? God does. He created you, in his own image, to know and delight in him and his creation. Wake up to your created glory! Remember who you are; and known true rest and peace.

God’s Benediction: Grace to You

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What is the benediction? Why does the pastor raise his hands? How should I receive the benediction?

A benediction is a blessing from God. Benediction comes from two words bene, which means ‘good,’ and dicere, which means ‘to speak.’ It is the good speech, or the blessing. 

The benediction is not a prayer. A prayer is our speaking to God and asking for a blessing. A benediction is the actual pronouncement of blessing in God’s name.

A benediction is not an ascription of praise to God or Christ. Many, wrongly, praise God thinking it is a benediction. They are aiming in the wrong direction. A benediction conveys the blessing of God, from God. What is the blessing of God? It is the grace of God – not promised, not merely prayed for, but actually conveyed to us.

Since the blessing comes from God it is conveyed by one who has been set apart to speak for God. It is a function of ordination.

Why does the pastor raise his hands for the benediction?  The OT priests did, Leviticus 9:22, “Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.” Jesus raised his hand in the Ascension, Luke 24:50, “And (Jesus) led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.”  So the minister lifts his hands to pronounce and convey the blessing in the name of Jesus.

How should we receive the benediction? The blessing is given regardless of your physical posture. But, many fix their eyes on the hands that convey the blessing and lift their hands to receive grace acknowledging their dependence on God.

“This is God’s final word to us in the covenant assembly of worship: those who belong to him are not under his judgment, but under his grace. They are not objects of his wrath, but the objects of his love. The benediction is his holy announcement that we are sealed with his name and our whole life is covered by his grace.”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit. Amen.

A Relationship With God?

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You can know God! You can have a real, vital, living relationship with the eternal God, the creator and Lord the universe.  You can talk to him. You can relate to him as father! Now that is an enticing proposition. We are all eager to have a relationship with God.

But, we too often think that we need to establish and maintain this communion with God just as we do other relationships.  We need to start the relationship. “Clean up my life and give my heart to Jesus.” I need an introduction somehow. I must prove that I am useful to God. I need to offer him something. “I will scratch your back, if you will scratch mine.” Most relationships are a means to another end. Friends are our ticket into the right crowd, or they will open doors for my career.

We think of relating to God in utilitarian terms. If I know God I will receive forgiveness and go to heaven when I die.  So, knowing God is useful, beneficial.  He gives gifts to me – blessings. He is a means to another end.

We think that we maintain our relationship with God with submission and obedience.  If I am good, God will bless me.  If I serve Him, he will have my back. If I make sacrifices for God, he will owe me one.  Too many have a cause and effect agreement with God. Or, so they think.

But truly knowing God turns this all around. It is God that initiates the relationship.  We are not ‘useful’ to God.  That is not why he befriends us. Early in Genesis when all men had descended deeply into sin and “the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5, 8).  And, “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” That word ‘favor’ means grace. God was not responding to Noah’s good works, faith, or sacrifice – he simply showed him grace.  That was the foundation of their relationship.

God asked Noah to respond to his grace, not earn it. The unmerited grace and one-sided favor of God transforms us.  Knowing God in this way we respond with joy and gratitude to his love and kindness but we do not merit it.  And therefore, we cannot lose it.  When God claims you as his friend, no one can take you out of his hand. Grace is forever. That forever commitment from God releases, calms, encourages, stabilizes, and empowers us to live a life of gratitude. It is God who begins and maintains his friendship with us – that is life in God’s Covenant – so that we respond in love, kindness, thanksgiving and praise to God for what He has done for us. 

Do you want to know God? He invites you to respond to his mighty grace.  You have found favor with God.

Work, Rest, and Retirement

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We are made to work, to accomplish, to rule over God’s creation, to exercise dominion.  But, we cannot work forever, unceasingly. God commanded us to rest one day in seven.  God gives his beloved sleep, rest, every night. We are made to work 8 hours a day; 20 if you are a farmer or a mother. But we all need rest. ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ We should not work ourselves to death, but to work ourselves to life!

The purpose of life is not to go on vacation. Retirement does not equal 52 weeks of vacation. The purpose of vacation is to get back to work.  The purpose of retirement is re-tread-ment – you can retool for a different kind of work. Many are terrified of retirement – but what will I do? How will I invest my time? What will be my purpose? We are made to work, to accomplish, to build, to create. We rest, so that we can work without reaching the point of exhaustion.

Even Jesus told his disciples to take a break. In Mark 6:30-32, after he had sent out the 12 apostles and they had just returned,  “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

They were returning from work, from a missions trip and they needed rest and refreshment. Go to a desolate place beyond the reach of the busy, hectic chaos, and the many demands on your time. Don’t take your cell phone or your computer. Bring a book that you don’t have to read, and enjoy. “For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”  Go to a restaurant, leave a big tip, enjoy.  Rest. Be refreshed. 

So, get away from it all. Find a boat and go to a desolate place, alone. You will find God, rest, and refreshment there. And then, back to work!

One Path out of the Darkness of Depression

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Because our depression is a deeply personal experience it is better described than defined.“I have felt my mangled heart periodically strangled by the silent thief lurking in the melancholy shadows.” Or, “It is a thickly clouded midnight sky that chokes out distant starlight.”

There are many potential cures for depression but let me give you one. 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

‘Humble yourself,’ really great advice for one who is already depressed! Aren’t they crushed enough already? Hear me out. One cause of depression is a faulty view of ourselves. We can either love ourselves too much, or hate ourselves too much. And one common factor in both tendencies is thinking about ourselves too much.  Our self loathing or self love becomes our all consuming obsession and it produces a deepening darkness. And therefore we need to humble ourselves. We need to shift our focus from self, and our slights, wounds, worries, and distasteful circumstances to God our creator and how he sees us. And the first thing this altered vision produces is humility. 

What do we really deserve anyway?  I remember moving from a 2 bedroom 6-Plex with bad neighbors to a 3 bedroom home in the woods with a finished basement and great neighbors for only $25 more a month.  My wife said, as a good Calvinist, “We don’t deserve this.” I retorted, as a better Calvinist, “We don’t deserve anything.” From that place of humility almost everything can seem a blessing.  The mind shifts from what we deserve, to how ridiculously we are blessed. And that is healthier air to breath. Remember, God is mighty, mightier than our depression, and looking to him will bring exaltation, in His time – eventually but also certainly. So humble yourselves in the presence of God.

Second, cast your cares upon Him. But, we like our cares, concerns, conundrums, and corruptions. Better the devil you know applies to depression. “I would rather live with this misery than risk it growing worse.” We tend to cling to our wounds and worries instead of casting them unto the stronger shoulders of our compassionate Savior.  Transfer the weight of your depression to the other side of the yoke, the side that Jesus bears.  He care for you. That is at times difficult to believe, but it is necessary to stare down the beast of depression. Jesus sees you was the object of his love, the reward of his labors, the apple of his eye, and a friend in need. His opinion of you must take precedence over your own.  That is one method of starring depression down by looking to Jesus.

What is the Purpose of Life?

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What is the purpose of life? “To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” Presbyterians have that drilled into their heads often, and at an early age. We all know that it is true, but what does it mean? 

How do we glorify God? We think, by obeying him. That is partially true. Go to church, say your prayers, don’t do anything really bad – keep your sins small, hidden, and manageable, all good things.  Go along to get along. We think that glorifying God is a difficult duty, an unpleasant chore, and truly an agonizing bore.  But, we have to do it, so we try to toe the line, stifle our real desires, and do what God says.

Wrong. So painfully wrong.  It make me weep that so many think of the Christian life in this way. What if, what if, we could glorify God by enjoying him?  What if our greatest delight was to know God, adore him, walk with him?  The Christian life should feel like a Saturday at the beach with friends and family celebrating!  Not like Wednesday afternoon at a boring job that we despise. In your walk with God are you punching a clock, or raising your glass for a toast?

Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” If we find God a delight, he will give us the desires of our heart. If we hunger for God, He will satisfy us – satisfy us with more of Himself! As Christians we are pursuing God, the greatest, most interesting personality in the universe, the deepest most satisfying love that can be known. When God calls us to delight in him he is calling us to something higher and better than our current delights. He is calling us to the only thing that will satisfy our heart’s desire.

God is not the cosmic kill-joy that many suppose he is. He is the all satisfying joy of his children. The source of true delight. So, delight yourself in the Lord, glorify him by enjoying him. That is grace and fulfillment – He will satisfy your deepest longings.

Resurrection Power

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Paul speaks with longing desire of knowing the power of the resurrection.  In Philippians 3:8-10 he writes, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection,”

What is this power of the resurrection? 

It is many things, but at least it is the power to change. It is the power to heal. It is the power to love. It is the power to become; to become what we were created to be.  Since we have trusted in our risen savior, this power is present with us through the Holy Spirit. We have entered into the glorious liberty of the children of God. We can change, improve, heal.  We can please God, and bear his image well.

I wanted to share a poem by Hollie Holden to encourage you to use resurrection power.

What Wants to be Born In You Beloved

I have become grateful for the moments
When I remember to stop
In order to listen
To what the earth has to tell me.

This morning it was a flower
Who took me by surprise
And shared her secrets with me.

She told me of her journey.

How it began in darkness,
In the quiet, cool embrace
Of the quiet, generous earth

She told me how the light called to her,
And how, slowly but solidly,
She began to unfold towards
The simple inevitability of her calling.

She told me of the exquisite cracking-open
Of all she knew herself to be;
The opening that felt like death
Until she realised it was her birth.

And then, with her open petals,
She asked me in the way
Only a full-bloomed flower can ask,
‘What wants to be born in you, beloved?

What does the light want to call into being
From the quiet, generous earth
That waits patiently
In the cave of your heart?

Hollie Holden

So, What wants to be born in you?

Have you Learned the Secret?

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It is said of the Lord’s Servant, meaning, Jesus “a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. (Isaiah 42:3).

He will bring forth justice, not by breaking or quenching the weak, wounded and overborne; he will nurture them faithfully in truth and justice.

This remarkable power Jesus shares with his followers. “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.” (Isaiah 50:4).

We can speak peace to our brothers and sisters in Christ.  How can we do that? With a kind word. A knowing glance. A timely card. A sincere hug. A lunch date.

Your pastor is on the front lines of spiritual warfare and I do not always win.  I fall prey to discouragement, thoughts of worthlessness, ineffectiveness.  I allow Satan to plant disturbing questions in my mind. How can someone like me serve a holy God?  How can a pastor have so many weaknesses and wrestle with so many sins”  Depression haunts me at times and a downcast soul is my all too frequent companion.

But then it comes. A kind word from a brother. An encouraging thought from a sister.  A card in the mail.  The warm smile of Christian fellowship.  The prayer offered in all sincerity.  It is then that the clouds thin and the sun begins to shine on my weary soul.

We need each other.  The race marked out for us is long and fraught with anxiety. Satan can often hinder our progress.  We need each other.  We need to spend time with those who are taught to “sustain with a word him who is weary.”  

So, learn this secret. And, having learned, speak.  Strengthen your brothers and sisters on their journey.  “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).

And, on the flip side, allow your brothers and sisters into your cold, dark weariness.  May they be a light to you when all other lights go out.