Lent 2020 Day 24 “Peer Pressure”

Daily Scriptures: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023;%201%20Samuel%2015:22-31;%20Ephesians%205:1-9

1 Samuel 15:22-31

²² But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” ²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. ²⁵ Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” ²⁶ But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!” ²⁷ As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.  ²⁸ Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you. ²⁹ He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” ³⁰ Saul replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” ³¹ So Samuel went back with Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.

Peer Pressure

Nobody wants to stick out like a sore thumb. If I were to ask 1000 people if they enjoyed walking the road less traveled, most of them would say “Naa, let me just get in where I fit in. In some cases fitting in doesn’t pose a problem, but when fitting in is in opposition to what YHWH has instructed us to do it becomes a major problem. We often associate peer pressure with being a young person or teenager. I suggest today we do not age out of the pressure of fitting in. This pressure causes us to remain silent when co-workers are saying inappropriate things. Peer Pressure will lead us to turn the other way when injustice is occurring. Peer pressure can cause us to work overtime and chase someone elses dream of success. Peer pressure will make us say yes when we know we should say no. At one time or another, we have all felt the pressure to conform to the norm or be left out.

In our text, Saul has succumbed to the pressure. Chosen by YHWH to be the first King of Israel there was great promise in Saul. Saul was equipped by YHWH to lead the people who wanted so badly to have a King. Unfortunately, Samuel is now confronting Saul on his disobedience to YHWH. The first attention grabber for me in the text is, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Its so easy to try to make ourselves feel better by sacrificing or making amends but the best pathway would be to not mess up in the first place. No matter how many sacrifices we make we can not unlive the past. We can learn from it but we cannot erase it.

Secondly, Saul confesses and his confession speaks to the pressure we can allow others to place on us. Saul says, “I have sinned… I was afraid of men so I gave in to them. Saul has placed more power into the hands of the created than the CREATOR. Saul has yielded power and gone along to get along. Heavy is the head that wears the crown and Saul caves to the pressure. Many of us do the same thing. We get scared. We may know better but we do not always do better. Thanks be to GOD it’s not all over. Our text concludes with Saul, though stripped of his kingdom desiring to worship GOD.

As we continue on in Lent 2020, our consecration time may reveal aspects of our lives where we have missed the mark. We may identify transgressions or just spiritual oversights due to inattentiveness to details. We may feel bad and despondent but I encourage YOU to worship in spirit and in truth. The truth is we mess up and the truth I YHWH will never stop loving us. We may not reclaim our status but we can reclaim the joy of our salvation. When we surrender we can truly stand.

Points to Ponder: How have YOU felt the pressure to fit in? What have YOU gained? What have YOU lost? How committed are YOU to YOUR spiritual identity?

Palm Sunday 2019 “Needed By Jesus”

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29        John 12:12-16      Luke 19:28-40          Matthew 21:1-17
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+21%3A1-17&version=NIV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+118%3A1-2%2C+19-29%2C+John+12%3A12-16%2C+Luke+19%3A28-40&version=NIV

Its Palm Sunday. We have arrived at the end of our 40 Days of Lenten Devotions. I am grateful for all who have followed or read these devotions over the last 40 days. I will continue to post up to Resurrection Sunday and then as the spirit leads.

Have you ever recognized the gap between where you are and where you want to be? Have you examined yourself honestly and recognized your blemishes and flaws. IN short have you ever in the presence of GOD felt, awkward, unworthy, even ugly? After forty days of reflecting and drawing closer to GOD, repenting of my past wrongs, I now see how much further I have to go. Whenever we draw closer to the light, we are able to see more details. We have a tendency to only see the gaps but miss the glimpses of grace and glory. What I am driving at is even though we may not yet be all we can be, after forty days of discipline we are better than we would have been. The triumphal entry of Jesus on a donkey is an example of how GOD can use the ordinary to fulfill an extraordinary purpose.

In our text we have the Master preparing to enter Jerusalem for what would be the last time. He prepares by asking two disciples to run ahead and get a donkey and a colt to ride on. There is no indication that Jesus was anticipating the crowds gathering yet they did. As Jesus rides in on the donkey, a beast of burden, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan in THE LAST WEEK, indicate there was another procession on the other side of town. The sense is Pilate was also arriving around the same time. The contrast between these two arrivals is stark. Pilate would have arrived with military guards on Stallions with pomp and circumstance and the show of power and authority was intentional, for all to see. On the other side of town, arriving through an olive grove on what would have been a side street, Jesus arrives, with a crowd that seems to gather and they start a commotion, shouting Hosanna. Now Hosanna literally means save us. As we say Hosanna today we will be saying save us. The question is, save us from what? From the oppression of external pressures? From sexism, racism, ageism, or any other ism? Or save us from what we have learned about ourselves over the last 40 days. How we can be cranky or prone to acting out on our worst desires? What are we asking to be saved from and saved to?

As Jesus arrives a few things come to my mind. First he chooses a donkey. Donkeys are low to the ground, they are generally, beasts of burden, and rarely have you ever heard that’s a fine looking donkey you have there. They may resemble horses but they aren’t admired of adored like horses. I believe Jesus chooses to enter like this and even say the LORD has need of the donkey to remind us, no matter how scarred we may be, no matter how ignored we may be, no matter what our past may be, The LORD still has need of us. GOD can use us no matter what we look like. GOD can use us despite the gaps in our life or the gaps in our teeth. The LORD has need of you.

Today and as we continue into this Holy Week, be encouraged. GOD can use you to do a mighty work for the kingdom. The challenge is for us not to simply get caught up in crowd celebrations because as we follow the story throughout the week, crowds can be fickle. One moment they cheer and the next they jeer. One moment they can say Hosanna and the next they say hang him up and kill him. Beyond the crowd check the core of your heart. Save us from us and from others. Live In Victory Everyday, Believing In GOD. LIVEBIG.

PRAYER: LORD you have revealed yourself in so many ways. Unfortunately our vision has been obscured and we have not noticed you. Open our eyes that we may see your royalty on a donkey. Guide our footsteps on the pathways that our praises are sincere and we resist the pull of the crowd.  Grant us courage and compassion. AMEN

Point To Ponder: How many times have we missed the presence of GOD in our midst because he didn’t meet our expectations? How will you look in the unfamiliar places for the faces of Yeshua in our midst?

Lent 2019 Day 38 “Hold Fast To Dreams”

Friday Apr 12

Psalm 22, 141, 143

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-13

Romans 11:13-24

John 11:1-27

^{Psalm 143:3} The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead.
⁴ So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
⁵ I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works
    and consider what your hands have done.
⁶ I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.

^{Jeremiah 29:4} This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸ Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. ⁹ They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ 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.¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Life has a way of knocking you off your feet. One moment things can be going well and the next thing you know, BOOM, you are knocked off your feet. The unexpected happens and now you feel like a motherless child a long way from home. Many people as time and technology progress feel less and less connected to the world in which they live. All the bells and beeps that surround us can become disconcerting. As we get older things that once happened through us begin to happen to us. We lose our sense of belonging. When this occurs we begin to long for the good old days. This mindset only exacerbates the disconnect. Langston Hughes writes, hold fast to dreams for when dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. It is to this life experience this text is directed.

In this text GOD inspires Jeremiah to prepare the people for being in exile. The Israelite community is exiled and being frustrated by living in a foreign land away from familiar surroundings, basically trying to figure out what to do. How can we find a home away from home. GOD instructs the Israelite community to settle down. Don’t spend all their energy trying to be where they are not. There is a tragedy and not being present. GOD is an ever present help in time of trouble. Knowing this we can know that GOD cannot be confined to any space or place. We know that the earth is the LORDS and all that dwell in it. So whether they are in Jerusalem or Babylon the Israelites can still be at home. And this is the message for us today.

Our situation may take a while to change in our favor. GOD doesn’t want us to be skittish even though we are scattered. It is the plan of GOD to prosper us, not just in the not yet, but right now. Knowing that GOD has a future for us adds meaning in the present moment. The plan of GOD to prosper us allows there to be a purpose in the midst of our pain. Hope has as much power in our present as it has for our future. Just think about what happens when a person is hopeless. When we give up hope it has implications right now. Hopeless people become dead people walking. No joy, no peace, no laughter, just a gnawing experience that steals all vitality. On the other hand people with hope can go through hell because they live in heaven. They know the kingdom of heaven is within and thus they learn to bloom where they are planted. Working for the best even in this foreign place means everybody can prosper.

As we near the end of this Lenten season, we may notice a desire to want to hang on to the sense of home we feel doing our devotions. I challenge us by saying it doesn’t have to end. Just because we change liturgical season doesn’t mean we have to change spiritual disciplines. And even if they have to change some, we must hold on to the hope that we can call on the LORD and be heard, when we call with our whole heart.

PRAYER: LORD help us to bloom where we are planted. As we experience exile let us also experience your presence and blessed assurance that we are not alone. Lead us Guide us, Direct us to export inner peace amid external chaos. Awaken the dead areas of our lives killed by despair. AMEN

Point to Ponder: In what ways have you experienced exile? How are you blooming where you are planted? Share what it means for you to prosper.

Lent 2019 Day 32 “New Day, New Music”

Sat Apr 6

Psalm 33, 102, 108

Jeremiah 23:9-15

Romans 9:1-18

John 6:60-71

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+33%2C+Psalm+102%2C+Psalm+108%2C+Jeremiah+23%3A9-15%2C+Romans+9%3A1-18%2C+John+6%3A60-71&version=NIV

^{Psalm 33:1} Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
² Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
³ Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
⁵ The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

New Day, New Music

Music is a fundamental part of many peoples lives. Think about the role music has played in your life. You started by learning your alphabet by a song. You went on to Mary and her little lamb and the bridges of London falling down. Then you may have followed many different paths to your musical taste of today. Some Gospel, rock, country, soul, etc… At some point as we aged our musical tastes do not also age. We reach a point in which we want the familiar. We start hearing things like, “These young folk don’t know nothing about real music,” and “Why do we need drums and sound boards and all that stuff. What happened to the organ?” People have joined and left churches based on the music styles they preferred. Yes GOD has been good to us and we ought to praise GOD from our comfort zone, or so many people would like to believe.

The Psalmist presents another point of view. The Psalmist says, ³ Sing to GOD a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. If asked to testify on  behalf of the goodness of GOD, most would agree that it is right to praise GOD. We would also agree that GOD is the object of our praise. Now if GOD is blessing us over and continously, and we are evolving day after day, shouldnt what we say about GOD be authentic to who we are and not just who we have been? Why do we get stuck on form and style over source and substance? I believe we sing a new song when we take GOD out of the box of our past. Why must GOD conform to our old hymnal? Don’t get me wrong, I like every one else enjoy Blessed Assurance and other hymns but I also don’t have a problem with changing tempos, beats, and instrumentation. GOD loves us unfailingly and our music should reflect a constant walk with GOD in the present.

Point to Ponder: When you think of church, do you think of it as it has been or as it can be? What type of music does GOD enjoy? Is there a song recently written that touches you as deeply as some of the songs you grew up with? Ask a young person to play their favorite song for you. Listen with an open mind.

 

Palm Sunday 2018 “You Are Needed”

 

Matthew 21:1-17 (NIV)

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a] ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c] “Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” ¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”  ¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]” ¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of  David,” they were indignant. ¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?” ¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Its Palm Sunday. Have you ever recognized the gap between where you are and where you want to be? Have you examined yourself honestly and recognized your blemishes and flaws. In short have you ever in the presence of GOD felt, awkward, unworthy, even ugly? After forty days of reflecting and drawing closer to GOD, repenting of my past wrongs, I now see how much further I have to go. Whenever we draw closer to the light, we are able to see more details. We have a tendency to only see the gaps but miss the glimpses of grace and glory. What I am driving at is even though we may not yet be all we can be, after forty days of discipline we are better than we would have been. The triumphal entry of Jesus on a donkey is an example of how GOD can use the ordinary to fulfill an extraordinary purpose.

In our text we have the Master preparing to enter Jerusalem for what would be the last time. He prepares by asking two disciples to run ahead and get a donkey and a colt to ride on. There is no indication that Jesus was anticipating the crowds gathering yet they did. As Jesus rides in on the donkey, a beast of burden, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan in THE LAST WEEK, indicate there was another procession on the other side of town. The sense is Pilate was also arriving around the same time. The contrast between these two arrivals is stark. Pilate would have arrived with military guards on Stallions with pomp and circumstance and the show of power and authority was intentional, for all to see. On the other side of town, arriving through an olive grove on what would have been a side street, Jesus arrives, with a crowd that seems to gather and they start a commotion, shouting Hosanna. Now Hosanna literally means save us. As we say Hosanna today we will be saying save us. The question is, save us from what? From the oppression of external pressures? From sexism, racism, ageism, or any other ism? Or save us from what we have learned about ourselves over the last 40 days. How we can be cranky or prone to acting out on our worst desires? What are we asking to be saved from and saved to?

As Jesus arrives a few things come to my mind. First, he chooses a donkey. Donkeys are low to the ground, they are generally, beasts of burden, and rarely have you ever heard that’s a fine looking donkey you have there. They may resemble horses but they aren’t admired of adored like horses. I believe Jesus chooses to enter like this and even say the LORD has need of the donkey to remind us, no matter how scared we may be, no matter how ignored we may be, no matter what our past may be, The LORD still has need of us. GOD can use us no matter what we look like. GOD can use us despite the gaps in our life or the gaps in our teeth. The LORD has need of you.

Today and as we continue into this Holy Week, be encouraged. GOD can use you to do a mighty work for the kingdom. The challenge is for us not to simply get caught up in crowd celebrations because as we follow the story throughout the week, crowds can be fickle. One moment they cheer and the next they jeer. One moment they can say Hosanna and the next they say hang him up and kill him. Beyond the crowd check the core of your heart. Save us from us and from others. Live In Victory Everyday, Believing In GOD. LIVEBIG.

PRAYER: LORD you have revealed yourself in so many ways. Unfortunately, our vision has been obscured and we have not noticed you. Open our eyes that we may see your royalty on a donkey. Guide our footsteps on the pathways that our praises are sincere and we resist the pull of the crowd.  Grant us courage and compassion. AMEN

Point To Ponder: How many times have we missed the presence of GOD in our midst because he didn’t meet our expectations? How will you look in the unfamiliar places for the faces of Yeshua in our midst?

Lent 2018 Day 23 “Tell Your Story”

Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, ³ those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.^[a]  Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. ¹⁸ They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. ¹⁹ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. ²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. ²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. ²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Genesis 9:8-17 (NIV)

⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV)

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he^[a] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Tell Your Story

Everybody loves to marvel at the excellence of others. When we think of Michael Jordan hitting a game-winning shot we celebrate him as the greatest. We celebrate the accomplishment. The same is true of music and most people we consider successful. We see the product without the perspiration it took to get there. We see the shot, we hear the symphony, we take in the art, buy the Apple products and Microsoft products. We enjoy the end story, but behind the glory, in the story, there may be something gory. Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes about 10,000 hours to reach mastery of most things in life. 10,000 hours when no one is watching. Hours of blood sweat and tears. Hours of playing for the audience of one. Hours of not making the team and not quitting but working harder. And so it is with each of us. Whoever we are, whatever station in life we find ourselves, We have a story to tell.

The writer of the Psalms says, “ Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story”. The story was a critical part of communicating in a semi-literate society. The Bible as we have it was first communicated through stories. When we reference certain scriptures we say the Creation story, the story of the flood, David and Goliath, the good Samaritan, the feeding of the five thousand, all were first shared through stories. Communicated from one generation to another by word of mouth. When we tell our stories we are able to share not just what we heard but also what we have experienced. The Psalmist does not encourage glossing over the rough stuff. It is easy to skip the pain and just focus on the prize. The Psalmist says share the times when your money was funny and you did some things you are not proud of today. Share the story of your abuser that caused years of depression. Share your story of fear and failure. Share your story of shame. Share these stories, but don’t stay there. Share not just where you have been but also where you are. People need to know that the past is not the present. You cannot change what happened so sharing our struggles also shares the faithfulness of GOD.

Our story lets others know there is hope. Our story lets others know that in our weakness GOD has been strong. Our stories let others know weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. YOUR story YOUR testimony is powerful and can change someone’s life. This Lenten season as you build more spiritual resolve be yourself. Let your light shine by telling your story. You may not be all you can be but you are not what you used to be. To GOD be the glory. And remember There would be no glorious Resurrection had there been no gruesome cross.

Points to Ponder: Reflect on your journey. Think of the good and the bad. How has GOD brought you to this point in your life? In what ways have the stories of others made a difference in your life? Commit to sharing your story with three people in the next month.

 

Lent 2018 Day Fourteen Seeing, Being, Doing

Psalm 105:37-45 New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered.
³⁸ Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

³⁹ He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.
⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought them quail; he fed them well with the bread of heaven.
⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.

⁴² For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.
⁴³ He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
⁴⁴ he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
⁴⁵ that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws.  Praise the Lord.[a]

Genesis 22:1-19  (NIV)

Abraham Tested

22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” ³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” ¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram^[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” ¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring^[b]all nations on earth will be blessed,^[c] because you have obeyed me.” ¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

Hebrews 11:1-3, 13-19 (NIV)

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had an opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^[a] 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

Seeing, Being, and Doing

Looks can be deceiving. There are times when the things our eyes see are appealing from a distance but up close and personal can be a different story. Many people have found this out in the dating process. From a distance or in an online profile a person can look like a star. We can get our hopes and expectations up, but the reality may be a whole lot different. Eyesight can only identify things on a base level. Eyesight is not all-encompassing. With eyesight, fear can overtake faith. WIth eyesight hopes can be dashed and dreams can be destroyed. For this reason, multiple times in scripture we are taught we walk by faith and not by sight.

The walk of faith is a walk and life based on insight more than eyesight. Insight is the ability to close your eyes and see beyond sight. The examples in our text today like the last few days is focused on Abraham and the deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. If you have ever been surrounded by enemies and opposition you know how easy it is to doubt you will ever see or be anywhere else. If you have ever bumped your head against the glass ceiling you know how challenging it is to hold on to your dreams. If you have ever had to train the person who became your superior with less skills than you, you know your eyesight says quit. In a world that seems topsy turvy we may need to close our eyes so we can truly see.

Lent provides us this opportunity to slow things down and remember the promises of GOD. Promises like I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)  Or “do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) or even, “7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:7-8a). In each of these passages the theme is a promise of GOD to be with us, to take care of us, to strengthen us). Anything that steals our hopes or destroys our dreams is an enemy. Today we must stand up against our doubts and fears. Faith is substance. A substance is tangible. Faith produces something and when it doesn’t it is simply an idea or thought without action.

As we go into the rest of this day let us commit to closing our eyes and seeing beyond sight. Let us trust GOD like Abraham. We may not see the ram and we may have to be willing to sacrifice something near and dear to us, but GOD provides. We may not even see the provision in this realm, but that doesn’t mean it will not happen. Our faithfulness will be a blessing to generations to come because GOD is faithful and remembers promises for a thousand generations. Our text in Hebrews says, “¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” No matter what, no matter how, keep the faith. Our Seeing, directs our being, and our being fuels our achieving.

Points to Ponder: What does it mean to you to close your eyes so you can see? What dreams have you given up on? As a result of your faith, who will be blessed?

 

 

 

Lent 2018 Day Thirteen Standing on the Promises of GOD

Psalm 105

¹ Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. ² Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. ³ Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. ⁴ Look to the Lord and his strength;  seek his face always.  Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, ⁶ you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. ⁷ He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. ⁸ He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, ⁹ the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.

¹⁰ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: ¹¹ “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”

Psalm 105:37-45 (NIV)

³⁷ He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. ³⁸ Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

³⁹ He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. ⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought them quail; he fed them well with the bread of heaven. ⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert. ⁴² For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. ⁴³ He brought out his people with rejoicing,

    his chosen ones with shouts of joy; ⁴⁴ he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—  45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord.

Genesis 21:1-7  (NIV)

The Birth of Isaac

21 Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. ² Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. ³ Abraham gave the name Isaac^[a] to the son Sarah bore him.⁴ When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. ⁵ Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶ Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” ⁷ And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Hebrews 1:8-12  (NIV)

⁸ But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.⁹  You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”[a] ¹⁰ He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. ¹² You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

Standing on the Promises of GOD

When I was a child playing little league baseball my dad left me at the field and said, I will be back to get you. As fate would have it, a heavy rain started to fall. All the players took cover and the coaches offered rides to all the kids. As tempting as it was to get out of the rain, I knew my instructions were to wait. The coaches shook their heads and went on. After a while, dad did come. The question all the coaches asked was why didn’t you leave? Were you worried? My answer was no because my dad had never let me down and I trusted in him.

Psalm 105 highlights the faithfulness of GOD in keeping promises. This in fact is the theme for all the scriptures today. How GOD keeps promises no matter how impossible the odds look. Verses 2-5 contain these words, ” let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. ⁴ Look to the Lord and his strength;  seek his face always.  Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,”. I know as we live this life, there are sometimes when the things we see around us defy the things we believe about GOD. There are a myriad of life situations that look out of control. How does a loving GOD allow such vile and disgusting human behavior? How can there be those who squander and those who don’t have enough? How do we deal with mass shootings, poverty, elderly abuse and child abuse? There are no easy answers.

Today as we meditate on our Lent devotion, I write to say, GOD is Still in control. When I say GOD is still I mean still in both connotations. GOD exists even though there is chaos and disarray AND in this chaos, GOD can be still. We may not always see GOD, but I assure you the stillness of GOD is not inaction, but an active stance of steadiness. GOD is not swayed by circumstances that appear out of control. The stillness of GOD is to be celebrated. For this reason, we can be still in the storm. The hurricane as violent as it is has a calmness in its center. Though the winds blow and the odds are stacked against you, remember GOD is still. The storms may be a test and in order to observe our growth the teacher may have to be still. GOD is. When dad says it will happen, rejoice even though the rains may fall. Our Daddy is coming back to get us.

Points to Ponder: In what ways has your patience been tested waiting on GOD? How long is too long to hold on to a dream? How will you share the ways GOD has come through for you with others?

Lent Day 8 Remaining Faithful

Wed Mar 8

am: 119:49-72 pm: 49, 53

Deut 9:13-21

Heb 3:12-19

John 2:23-3:15

Deuteronomy 9:13-21

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! ¹⁴ Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.” ¹⁵ So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. ¹⁶ When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. ¹⁷ So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes. ¹⁸ Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. ¹⁹ I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.²⁰ And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. ²¹ Also, I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.

Hebrews 3:12-19

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. ¹⁵ As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”^[c]

¹⁶ Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷ And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?¹⁸ And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Have you ever wondered how the Israelites turned aside so quickly from the way the LORD had commanded them? If you are anything like me you probably would like to think had it been you, you would have remained faithful. I caution you, however,  to remember that which we dislike in others is often just beneath the surface in ourselves. We have multiple challenges and opportunities to reflect the presence and power of GOD yet we often miss the clues. When we are challenged with difficult days and people we tend to revert to some habits that bring comfort. These habits are what we begin to address and change during Lent. We acknowledge that we are vulnerable and need spiritual connectivity to overcome the temptation to make a GOD out of our comfort. It may well be that the clarity of the essence of GOD can only be experienced when we live in and appreciate the moment we are in.

As we pray through the season of Lent let us refocus our prayers from asking for something to thanking GOD for everything. Even the storms can be used to clear away the old and refresh ur environment. Think about it. Often after the heaviest rains, we can hear the song of the birds. It is as if they are saying, Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow, we are still here. Encourage someone today.

Written by Pastor Harry Cooper March 2017

 

Lent Day 4 Dancing Again

Sat Mar 4

Psalm 30, 32, 42, 43

Deut 7:17-26

Titus 3:1-15

John 1:43-51

I will exalt you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² Lord my God, I called to you for help,
    and you healed me.
³ You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
    you spared me from going down to the pit.

⁴ Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
    praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
    but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
    but rejoicing comes in the morning.

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
    “I will never be shaken.”
⁷ Lord, when you favored me,
    you made my royal mountain^[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
    I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, Lord, I called;
    to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
    if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
    Lord, be my help.”

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

It’s day four of Lent and for some, it may be a very difficult day. If you chose to give up sugar or carbs then your body may be craving it all the more. Sometimes when we don’t have what we like we want it all the more. In the wanting, we may begin to think we will never enjoy it again. Our bodies are so attuned to what it has always had that when it isn’t getting it, it craves it. The mind then starts believing it is in starvation mode. If you are feeling this way right now, Psalm 30 is for you.  In this Psalm, we are reminded of a couple very positive themes. One of them found in vs. 5 says weeping may stay for the night but rejoicing comes in the morning. Sisters and brothers no matter how dark the night, or tough the fight, there is a morning. Knowing that there is a morning can serve as a motivational factor. Your fasting may be challenging, your struggle may be overwhelming, your energy may be low,  but I encourage you to keep pressing toward your blessing. In the midst of the struggle, there we may find our salvation. we learning resiliency and develop strength not through ease but through struggle.

The second verse that encourages me is vs.11. Here the Psalmist reflects on the day after the dilemma. The light after the night reveals tears transformed into thanks. If you are struggling on day four of Lent, or if you are seeking GOD for anything, remember GOD is faithful. you don’t have to wait until the battle or night is over, you can SHOUT Sing Hallelujah Over Utter Turmoil now.