Remembering - Pt 5

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:1-3 ESV).

Where God resides is where we should live our lives out. That is our shelter from every storm of life. No circumstance can separate us from Him. It is one of the most amazing and wonderful things in the Bible to realize that just hours before Jesus was crucified he was concerned for the peace and the joy of his followers. Think of it. He is about to be tortured to death with one of the most horrific means of torture ever devised, and his burden was to solidify in the souls of his followers peace, joy, and faith. So, his simple message is found in our reading today. For us this message is past tense. He has already gone before us, forging the path to an eternal future free from every bad thing. It is not difficult to doubt the truth of this promise. We can easily be drawn to the thought that this is mere subjective, emotional, individualistic, socially and culturally and politically correct speech in the face of the moment. It certainly can seem disconnected from the great public, systemic, global crises and injustices and calamities of our time. Many come to this conclusion when they hear the Lord doing this. After all, how can he be concerned enough at this time about the building peace and joy and faith into the hearts of his followers? For me it is simple. Pick your crisis, your injustice. Choose poverty with all its internal and external causes; or, pick the devastation of drug addictions, white collar corruption like Ponzi schemes or nepotism or money laundering or planned obsolescence or redlining or embezzling or insider stock movements or bribery. Or pick ethnic and religious hostilities like the Burmese against the Christian Kachin, or the Nigerian Muslims against the Nigerian Christians, or the butchery in Syria. All of these things come from hearts devoid of the peace of Jesus Christ, and the joy of Jesus Christ, and the faith of Jesus Christ. But where that peace and that joy and that faith hold sway, those behaviors are overcome. My encouragement to you, regardless of your experience of the moment, is to remember that He is already preparing you place in heaven. When it is ready, you will be ready. Then He will come and get you to escort you safely home. Then we need not concern ourselves with the “what” of this life; we only focus on the “when” it shall be finished! There is our joy, peace, and faith for this awful day!

Remembering - Pt 4

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV).

We return to Isaiah for our reading today as we look at the second truth from our study in Deuteronomy: God is faithful and loving to His own. He cannot, He will not forget us even for a moment. There are so many examples of the impact of this assuring promise of God. When Isaiah declares that God has “engraved” us on His hands he is declaring that He will never forget Zion, the city (people) of God. They are inscribed (engraved) upon the palms of His hands so that they will always be in His sight and kept as an everlasting remembrance. This expression is referring to an actual custom among the Jews who actually tattooed their hands or arms with paintings of Jerusalem or the Temple, thus they would always have a remembrance ever before them. They would have an impression on a block of wood of something relating to the city such as the Temple and print it onto the palm or arm with powder or charcoal. Then they would take two needles tied close together and dipping many times in certain inks they would make small punctures quickly and accurately all along the lines of the figure they had printed. This verse teaches us that God constantly cares for and remembers His people, using an imagery that was familiar to the ancient custom of the day. Even in the midst of the most terrible trials, as in the background of this verse, He will always remember His beloved. Just as their city walls were built for safety, so our safety and protection depends upon His continual care. The wounds in Christ's hands when he was crucified are a clear message calling us to remember this verse. He will always protect those for whom he suffered and died, and His remembrance of us is as close to God as He is to Himself. When Jesus wanted to prove himself and assure the disciples that he was indeed the Messiah, he said: And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. (Luke 24:38-39 ESV). His message is no different to us. Whatever you may be experiencing he has not forgotten. How could he? He has written your name on his hands in the most personal way possible. He did it on the cross for your eternal life. And that is the life he is developing in you!

Remembering - Pt 3

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. (Isaiah 46:3-4 ESV).

We are continuing the study of “Remembering” through the inspiration of the Book of Deuteronomy. Today’s reading is from the prophet Isaiah as he proclaims the words of the Lord to the nation of Israel at a particularly difficult time in the nation of Israel. You may recall my brief experience from yesterday’s devotional as I recounted receiving a telegram just before entering the sanctuary to preach my first sermon. It was from Deuteronomy 31:6. It has continued to shape and direct me throughout the years of ministry since. You may also recall that the first suggestion I called you attention to was: “God is our help. He can do to and for us the impossible to accomplish His will.” Not long ago I had a client who came in for their session and said, “Some days I wake up crying. When I do, I often don’t even know why. Perhaps it is the weight of unspoken problems that I’m too afraid to articulate, coupled with a vague dread of what might come next. Or perhaps it’s the growing realization that the pain I’m feeling will only intensify throughout the day.” That began one of the most difficult sessions I have had in recent memory. I knew their circumstance very well. In the midst of their deteriorating health there was also the complete abandonment from their family and friends. Divorce and separation from fiends who could no longer bear the weight of their depression and grief had led them to question whether God had forgotten them or not. “Your life is miserable. You’re a burden. You can’t do anything for yourself,” were the ugly voices they kept hearing from the moment they awoke each day. This is the point of remembering. God is for us. Even when life looks like it’s splintering, God is for us. He has unmistakably shown us that in Jesus. And, if God is for us, he is orchestrating everything in our lives for our good. We can trust him even when everything looks dark. The psalmist tells us this truth: For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life (Psalm 56:13 ESV). He indeed has delivered our soul from death. He has kept our feet from stumbling. He has empowered us to walk before him in his light, even though our legs and feet may have become increasingly frail, and walking is getting harder. He who created us knows every detail of our life, and he will keep us from falling. There is the answer. God IS our help. He has proven it and will continue to do so. Plant that thought in your mind as you take another step.

Remembering - Pt 2

So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ The Lord your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. And the Lord will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:1-6 ESV).

Perhaps a little background is important as we continue our study today. The picture you see is a scanned image of the actual telegram I was handed just moments before I walked into the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Bryan, Texas, to preach my first sermon. I know, many of you have never seen or received one of these in our electronic, instant messaging culture. That was forty-seven years ago. I have not kept up with the number of sermons I have preached and the places I have preached them in since then. It has been too many years and too little memory. I do know that the Lord has always been with me every time. There was never anything to fear or dread! However, I can vividly remember that evening. The pastor, Bailey Stone, was away and had asked me to preach for him. To say I was terrified is an understatement. I had prepared diligently. I had practiced and rehearsed to the point that it was both measured and perfect in delivery, if not content. Bob Butler, a wonderful servant of God and friend was my aide that evening. Just before I walked in to the sanctuary he said, “Here’s a little something from Bailey.” And, he handed me the telegram. “Read Deuteronomy 31:6” has stuck with me through every experience since then. I was called to remember. It worked. My confidence was bolstered and I was able to let go of the fear and embrace the next step in my journey. As we began yesterday focusing on “remembering” let me outline just a few things from the Scripture that we’ll explore more deeply in the coming days: God is our help. He can do to and for us the impossible to accomplish His will. God is faithful and loving to His own. He cannot, He will not forget us even for a moment. Where God resides is where we should live our lives out. That is our shelter from every storm of life. No circumstance can separate us from Him. The safety that we so desperately seek is in Jesus. He is the One who holds and sustains us through life. God covers us on all sides. We have not been forgotten, though there are times when it feels that way. He walks with us, sometimes carrying us through every experience. Trust Him!

Remembering - Pt 1

Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. (Deuteronomy 8:11-16 ESV).

The Bible has a great deal to say about forgetting and remembering things. It’s not difficult to recall some of the verses about forgiving and forgetting. They are throughout the Scripture. Some of the great examples are sprinkled through the stories of some of the great men and women of the Bible. I think of Joseph and how he forgave and forgot the transgressions of his brothers literally saving the nation of Israel from extinction. I think of David who was hated and pursued by Saul and yet forgave and forgot those offenses when it came time to rule so that Mephibosheth could enjoy the royal status and protection of his home. Jesus prayed for those who were cruelly torturing him asking for their forgiveness at his death. Today, as we continue to ease into the early days of this New Year, I want to explore the “Book of Remembering.” Deuteronomy is such a book in the Bible. Today’s reading comes from Moses’ last address to the people. He has been instructed to turn leadership of the nation over to Joshua and retreat into the mountains. His statement Take care lest you forget the Lord your God (v. 11) is an essential principle of the Christian life. Memory is a wonderful gift that I am realizing is more difficult to count on as I get older. There might have been a day when I didn’t need a calendar to keep track of my schedule. However, that day is not today. Even in “semi-retirement” I have found that my days are as busy as ever with ministry related activities. I’m a paper and pen kind of guy, so my Day Timer is my memory. I started using a scheduler after graduation from seminary and beginning my vocational ministry. It was essential then and remains so today. However, as important as deadlines and appointments are, they pale in comparison to remembering the goodness of God. So, as we begin to remember that goodness in the coming days, start with your commitment to reflect and remember his goodness and grace toward you. List those specific gifts today. Then thank Him!

God's Grace

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:6-11 ESV).

I can flip a switch, but I don’t provide the electricity. I can turn on a faucet, but I can’t make the water flow. There will be no light and no liquid refreshment without someone else providing it. And so it is, in a limited sense, for the Christian with the ongoing grace of God. His grace is essential for our spiritual lives, but we don’t control the supply. We can’t make the grace flow, but God has given us circuits to connect and pipes to open in case it’s there. Our God is lavish in his grace, often liberally dispensing his favor without even the least bit of cooperation and preparation on our part. But he also has his regular channels. And we can routinely avail ourselves of these revealed paths of blessing, or neglect them to our detriment. The essence of the Christian life is learning to fight for joy in a way that does not replace grace. We cannot earn God’s grace or make it flow apart from his free gift. But we can position ourselves to go on getting should he keep giving. We can fight to walk in the paths where he has promised his blessings. We can ready ourselves for receiving along his regular route sometimes called “the spiritual disciplines.” Such practices are not fancy or highfalutin. They are the stuff of everyday, basic Christianity, unimpressively mundane, but spectacularly potent by the Spirit. While there’s no final and complete list of such spiritual disciplines, the long tally of helpful habits can be clustered into three big groups: hearing God’s voice, having God’s ear, and being with God’s people. Or simply: word, prayer, and fellowship. These were called “the means of grace” by previous generations. “The doctrine of the disciplines,” says J.I. Packer, “is really a restatement and extension of classical Protestant teaching on the means of grace”. Whatever the term, the key is that God has revealed certain channels through which he regularly pours out his favor. And we’re foolish not to take his word on it. Being the beginning of a new year, place yourself in the path of his grace.

Good Intentions - Pt 4

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:1-5 ESV).

Happy New Year! I hope you have been following the suggestions for developing some good intentions in this next part of your journey. Today we come to the fourth suggestion: recapture the art of gratitude. I am convinced that People have lost the first, and arguably one of the most important, skill-sets they learn as human beings. Many have simply lost the truth concerning the undeniable power and politeness of "please and thank you." It goes beyond politeness, really. I find that the most powerful and effective leaders are those not only cognizant of their support systems, but self-aware enough to give the people who helped them succeed a meaningful thank you. There is no such thing as a "self-made man." Every success story started in someone's garage, under the influence of someone's leadership, propelled by a supportive community, or inspired by a passionate teacher or parent. This is not terribly difficult if we will simply be intentional. Let me remind you that recognition is not the same thing as gratitude. Gratitude is both an experience and an attitude. It is a way of looking at the world around you to see the parts greater than yourself that have helped make your dreams of success a reality. Learn the truth behind your own success. Map out several of your accomplishments and make a list of every person and circumstance that contributed to them. It not only reminds you of the great things that can come from less than desirable circumstances, but also brings back the people that, for better or worse, impacted your life to get you where you are today. Embed gratitude into your culture. Celebrate the present AND the past. Nostalgia is a way to be grateful for your past. Gratitude can have some surprising side effects too. Gratitude can help block toxic emotions that get in the way of our long-term happiness. It also helps magnify the goodness in your life and decrease envy and depression by widening our scope of reality to interpret life events differently. Be the leader that inspires the next generation of success stories. Take the time to ingrain gratitude into your home, your workplace, and the organizations you are a part of in the community. I guarantee that someone will be grateful that you did.