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For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16 NIV
When Moses came down from the mountain after meeting with God his face shone with such brilliance that the people asked him to cover his face in their presence.
When Isaiah entered thetempleofGodand saw him for who he really was he fell to his knees and cried ‘Woe is me!”
When ‘Doubting Thomases saw Jesus he exclaimed “My Lord and my God!” and fell to his knees.
When Mary saw Jesus in the garden she rushed excitedly to the others and exclaimed “I have seen the Lord!”
When the two on the road to Emmaus finally recognized their dinner guest they exclaimed to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us?”
When Peter, the denier, recognized the solitary figure on the beach he jumped into the water shouting “It is the Lord!”
The point is, when you truly meet with God a change occurs within you. A change that is evident to those around you because you are different in appearance, actions and words. When you see Jesus for who he truly is, you can’t help but proclaim to others that you are one with him, you are his.
The point is, too often we go through the activities of religion without any noticeable change. Going to church is good. It can be reviving. It can show you the way to life. But does it change you? Going to three Bible studies a week and religiously reading your Bible and praying can do wonders for your soul, but when you walk away do others say “He’s been with God today. He’s seen Jesus.”
When your kids are out of control, do they see Jesus in you? When your spouse is unresponsive doe he/she Jesus in you? When you are driving on the interstate can others see by your actions that you have been with God or do they think you are trying to send them to God?
It’s not enough to SAY you’ve been with Jesus. Spirituality isn’t measured by activity it’s measured by the spiritual fruit you exhibit to others on a daily basis. Spirituality is shown best when life is at its worst.
If Jesus has forgiven your sin, show others forgiveness. If Jesus has shown you patience in your weakness, show others patience. If Jesus has remained a faithful friend when you have rebelled and ignored him, show faithfulness to those who are untrustworthy. If Jesus makes you smile, show others the joy within you.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus I thank you for all you have done for me. I praise you for your forgiveness, your grace your mercy and all spiritual blessings you’ve bestowed on me. I’m so unworthy. May others know, by looking at me, that I’ve been with you today. Amen.
But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21(CEV)
The last time I saw Gus (not his real name) he was 104 years old. An old Norwegian Presbyterian he grew up farming in the fertile fields of Northern Iowa. He’d done well for himself and his sons had built on his legacy with sound farming and reliance on their faith. Gus was as generous with the money the ‘Good Lord’ had given him as he was his big smile and firm handshake.
I visited Gus that last time since I was back in town for the funeral of a mutual friend. She’d spent her last years in a room just down the hall from Gus and his wife in the local rest home. Gus shared his room with his wife of 75 years who, due to Alzheimer’s disease, rarely acknowledged his existence.
I unknowingly arrived just in time for the afternoon hymn sing and sat in the back of the room to listen. Midway through the singing the leader turned to Gus and said “Gus, would you sing your favorite song for us?” He smiled and nodded. She began to play “He the Pearly Gates will Open.” 104 years hadn’t weakened the beautiful Norwegian brogue as he sang all four verses from memory and didn’t miss a word (I don’t think).
Afterwards, I went up to greet Gus. His smile told me he recognized me long before I got to his wheelchair. We sat together and shared a cup of strong coffee. We talked of old times. Gus always talked about old times, the time on the farm, the way life had changed. How some of his most lucrative deals had been done with nothing more than a handshake. That’s all that was needed in those days.
Then Gus began to weep as we talked of the passing of our friend. I asked if he was okay and after he gained his composure he said, “All my friends are gone. I just want to go home.” I knew right away that home wasn’t the few blocks to the comfortable bungalow he and his bride had retired to. Home was to see his Jesus. It was at that point that I realized that home is where your family is, home is where your loved ones are and you feel completely accepted. Home is where Jesus is.
Three years later I heard that the Pearly Gates had swung wide open for Gus. He was home at last. Each of us long to live to be old, but as we grow older our bodies fail, our mind doesn’t work the way we’d like, those we love go on before us. But on the other side, when we go through those gates to see Jesus we’ll be transformed, made new. The physical and emotional pain we are going through now is nothing compared to the glory we’ll share when we enter “The Pearly Gates.”
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. We continue to struggle with life on this side. Thank you for the hope we have of a better life after this. Empower me to live fully for you here in anxious anticipation for lies ahead. Amen.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (NASB)
What does it take to be really great? How can we do our best work in building theKingdomofGodon earth? Is it having big churches with lots of programs? Is it going on mission’s trips to far-off lands or working in soup kitchens? Will ministries through fancy multi-media presentations or books or music bring the good news to the masses that need Jesus?
The answer is yes, maybe. These are all noble and effective kingdom builders. But the most effective way to build theKingdomofGodin our world, our circle of influence, is still the same way that Jesus did it when he was here on earth: being a servant.
Read through the gospels, especially from Mark’s view, and notice the number of times the phrase “And he went on from there” or “and immediately” or “Don’t tell anyone what I’ve done” is used.
Jesus wasn’t about building ministries. He wasn’t about making a name for himself. He wasn’t concerned about leaving a legacy. He came to serve people. He came to live among those who didn’t know what it was like to live in lavish palaces or enjoy the status of political, economic, religious or social status.
If Jesus were to make a quick visit to planet earth this weekend, what church do you think he’d go to? Would he visit a Baptist church perhaps? Would he go the more charismatic/Pentecostal route? Does he like the more traditional approach to worship or would he go for a completely non-denominational and contemporary venue?
At the risk of offending some of my brothers and sisters who minister in churches, I doubt Jesus would go to church if he came back for a weekend. You’d find him at the local coffee shop maybe, or in a park, or maybe even in a bar.
Jesus came to serve people. Jesus came to reach out to those who needed to hear about him. There were so many times in his ministry when it would have been completely understandable (from a human perspective) to set up shop in one town and have people come to him, but he went to them to serve them, to meet their needs, to live where they lived.
We live in a consumer-motivated society. If we don’t like this store, or that shop we go where our needs are met better. But that mentality shouldn’t be a part of the mindset of the Christ-follower. We aren’t here to have our needs met or our egos stroked. We are here to serve people.
How can you serve the person who gets your latte’ at the local coffee shop today? How can you serve the waitperson at the café you stop at for lunch? You know the one that brought your food late…and cold. How can you serve the many others God brings your way?
The church is at its best when it moves outside the walls to serve its neighbors.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, keep me from being the type of person who seeks my needs before the needs of others. Empower me with your Spirit to see how I can best meet the needs of those around me who need to hear your word. In your name, Amen.
The poor and the homeless won’t always be forgotten and without hope. Psalm 9:18 (CEV)
Looking back, I’m amazed at how my mother got five boys ready every Sunday morning for Sunday School. Those were the days of white shirts, black pants and clip-on ties. Somehow she made breakfast, had dinner in the oven and all five us in the car and on the way to church almost on time every week. Having dad as the pastor helped a little, he HAD to be there. He would often go ahead with anyone that might be ready. The rest would usually follow in a second car…just in case.
It may not come as any surprise that on occasion we’d all be called to dinner table after arriving home and notice that one chair was empty.
“Where’s Mike?”
“He told me he was riding home with you, that he’d asked you and you said it would be okay.”
“Never saw him. I bet we forgot him at church. I’ll be back.” And with that, off dad would go to drive to church and pick up the solitary figure waiting patiently on the church steps.
It didn’t happen often, but occasionally that scene was played out for each of us kids. We’d get busy playing with a friend or exploring the back rooms of the church and find ourselves alone…forgotten. Fortunately the church was only a couple miles from home and no permanent damage occurred.
No one likes to feel like their forgotten. My story was a humorous on, but there are those who feel forgotten by God, by family or by friends on a daily basis. Their lives are filled with hopelessness, loneliness and despair. The reasons for their plight are numerous. Some have run away from abusive relationships or been sent away and feel as though God himself has forgotten them. For some their entire lives have been a battle of survival. Health issues, financial struggles, poverty all work together to bring people to their knees in despair.
The forgotten may seek comfort from the enemy of despair in many ways. Some sink into depression, some strike out in anger to take what isn’t theirs to comfort them. Others use drugs, people, or even religion to mask the pain of being ‘forgotten’.
The inevitable question in the midst of our feelings of hopelessness and being forgotten is, ‘Where is God in all this? Why hasn’t he come to my rescue?”
When you feel like God has forgotten you, remember that you are never gone from his sight. He knows your every step, your every thought, your every feeling of despair. Peter writes (2 Peter 3:9) that God isn’t slow concerning his promise. He’s patient and whatever you are going through isn’t a sign that he can’t deliver you. He can. But for reasons we may never know he’s allowing this for your strengthening.
Remember the words of Jesus (Luke 12:6) when he says that even sparrows, insignificant as they are, will never be forgotten by God.
Don’t allow the wilderness of your soul to let you think you are forgotten by your Heavenly Father. Your Father loves you. Your hope isn’t grounded in the things of this world (health, financial stability, strong relationships), your hope is grounded in eternity and the love your father has for you.
PRAYER: Father, in my despair I feel forgotten by others and even by you at times. Thank you for loving me. Help me to feel your hand upon me through this current struggle. Empower me to trust you when the future seems so bleak. I put my trust in you. Amen.
For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. Psalm 9:4
When you think about it, how much of our time is spend fighting for our rights? It could be something as small as the race for a parking spot or refusing to let the person trying to merge into traffic get the spot in front of you. Then of course there’s ‘shopping cart aisle rage’ resulting from the mad dash to the checkout counter
The fight for rights also had a larger, more dangerous tone as is evident whenever you turn on the news. Special interest groups demand their right ‘to choose’. Political groups demand the right to provide programs or funding for their own special projects. Children negotiate in order to get the toys they feel they have a ‘right to have’.
Not all ‘fights for rights’ are wrong of course. Many a war has been fought to protect the rights of those who are being victimized and brutalized. The question one must ask in the fight for rights, especially our personal rights, is who am I ultimately fighting for?
Society in general would never admit it perhaps, but ultimately their battle for rights revolves around their own personal, humanistic world view. For the believer in Christ, the battle for ‘rights’ must always look back to the cross. We don’t fight for ourselves, if we must fight, we fight for others protection for the glory of God.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m far from a political activist trying to start a new version of the crusades. When his disciples were ready to protect Jesus in the garden (a noble gesture I think) he told them to put the swords away and let God handle it.
Maybe that’s the key to effective warfare for our rights. We need to find the balance between standing for God’s standards as stated in his word, and yet be willing to let him fight his own battles in the street. After all, I don’t know about you, but God is considerably stronger, more experiences and better equipped to defend me and himself than I am!
Letting God fight my battles is full of risk though. First we need the wisdom to know when and how to fight. Secondly we need to patience to let the Lord handle what we can’t in his way and his power. That may mean pain on our part. We may experience times of loneliness, rejection or misunderstanding. The battle may take much longer than we were hoping. But true faith in a sovereign God means we trust him to win the ultimate battle. In spite of the fact that it may not go as we’d like, trusting God WILL bring ultimate victory over our physical and emotional enemies.
PRAYER: Father there are times when I get angry and I want to fight. The tools may be words or judgmental thoughts or even manipulation or force. Give me wisdom to know when and how I should fight, and patience during those times I need to hand it all over to you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 