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November 28

Tuesday, November 28th, 2023

I found myself saying quite a few times this past month during my sermons that “we have been blessed to bless others.” (Sure is different than that clap-trap of the health/wealth people who bless themselves with planes, mansions, cars, etc). What has been given to us in the way of material blessings was never intended on being kept to ourselves or to enrich our lives. Being selfish is never a fun thing to see or to experience.

The same can also be said about something else: being hurt. When we are hurt-either by God (so we think) or by someone else-one of several reactions takes place: 1) we scream and shout in anger; 2) we “hole up” or withdraw within ourselves. We become almost numb to the world; or 3) we use that pain to help others. The first two are often out go-to reactions. “This pain is so deep the only person to blame is God. If not, then you, the one who caused it.” Or as I’ve mentioned, to withdraw in numbness, wondering if this pain will ever go away.

The third option is the best and preferred reaction. Instead of wallowing in anger and self-pity or misery, use this experience to help someone else. There is a saying” “Hurting people hurt people” and sadly, that is true. Childhood trauma acted out later is a perfect example of that. But let’s flip flop that:

Hurting people help people

Hurting people can turn their hurt and agony and pain and distress into empathy for others. Instead of turning inward and focusing inwardly, turn that pain outward and let your hurt minister/help someone else. Allow your life lessons-and if you are a follower of Jesus the lessons the Holy Spirit is teaching you through the Word and others-to make your heart sensitive to other hurting people.

I’ve noticed one HUGE gain from that: focusing on others-helping others-helps ease your own pain and aids in healing. If nothing else, the joy you feel from helping someone else is worth the effort. Don’t waste pain. Use pain to see another through different eyes.

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On Sunday morning, Jo’s sister went to be with Jesus. She has been in a nursing facility with diabetes, kidney dialysis, and dementia which went into full bore Alzheimer’s. It was a blessing in more ways than one. We leave this morning for Sandusky, OH to meet tomorrow with the nursing home and the funeral home (all arrangements were made a couple of years ago) and the graveside committal is Thursday morning. Following the service we plan to head to Columbus, OH to see our daughter and grandson. We will be back home Friday. You can pray for safe travels and you can pray for a smooth transition for all Jo needs to take care of.  I am not sure about posting any devotion over the next few days. It will depend on my availability. Thanks.

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November 27

Monday, November 27th, 2023

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get lost? I’m not talking about those who are what we affectionately call “directionally-challenged.”  🙂 They are those who couldn’t read a map or follow directions to save themselves.

I’m talking about those who are “small.”  Not height-wise. They feel small. Unsure of themselves. Insecure to a point. They are those who feel that what they do doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. What they do often seems insignificant to the “bigger” people or things.

Years ago the late Francis Schaeffer wrote a book entitled No Little People, No Little Places. Not only is that a great book title, it is a great thought. The world is filled with people who feel “little.” Tragically, we have often been the ones who have made them feel that way.

Allow me two examples-one social and one Biblical.

* I recently read that when the funeral procession for the late Queen Elizabeth took place, thousands of soldiers were deployed to escort the casket. Insignificant? To the outsider. But not according to one soldier who said, “It was an opportunity to do our last duty for Her Majesty.”  One of thousands but what an outlook!

* In the Old Testament, the Levites were commissioned by God to set up and tear down the Tabernacle. Along with that to carry the furniture. What a seeming meaningless job. Set up. Tear down. Carry. Set up. Tear down. Carry. You get the point. Sounds like boredom to me. Sounds insignificant. We know the names of Moses, Joshua, Aaron, and others. Can you name one of the Levites?

Nothing we do-in service to God-is small. Nothing is insignificant. I may be the pastor of the church but in the eyes of God it is no more important than the teacher of children; the nursery worker who takes wonderful care of a child so the parents can worship; the one who does the Power Point; the one who runs the live stream; the one who controls the sound; the one who cleans up after the worship gathering is done; the janitor who cleans for Sunday; or myriads of others.

Why? Because there are no little people. In church. In life. That is one of the reasons I tell our waitress “Thanks for waiting on us today” (and leave a generous tip if they have done a good job). That is why I try to thank the hotel clean up crew, or the one who works in a gas station, or makes sure things are clean in a bathroom. Why? I repeat: because there are no little people.

Do you take the time to recognize and thank those who have seemingly insignificant jobs?

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November 21

Tuesday, November 21st, 2023

I’d like to follow up on my devotion from yesterday.

There is another rule of interpretation/Bible study besides the one from yesterday (“Let Scripture explain Scripture”). The one for today is “A text without a context is only a pretext.”  Interpreted: the failure to see surrounding verses, historical narrative and setting can lead to a whole lot of problems.

Yesterday’s passage was from Matthew 7:1-5. With that I presented the very common comment, “You have no right to judge me, to tell me that I’m wrong, or that my behavior is unacceptable in God’s eyes.” That is used in defense of sin: adultery, homosexual activity, “white” lies, and just about any other sin we want to justify doing.

But remember the context quote? Check out Matthew 7:15-16- “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.”  (NLT) That section ends with verse 20 saying, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

Question: how can we identify a wolf in sheep’s clothing if we don’t (ahem) judge them? It is called discernment. But here’s the thing: it is not discernment based on our bias or personal opinion. It is based on…wait for it…what the Bible says. Every thought, every opinion, every decision, every judgment we form or express MUST BE and MUST FIND its source in the Word of God! If what we say or do does not find its root in God’s Word; if it does not find its anchor in God’s Word, then its a pretty fair assessment that it is false.

We need to be “fruit inspectors.” (Matt. 7:16-20). Last I looked a fruit inspector has to form a judgment and decide whether the fruit is good or not. The Apostle Paul wrote, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” (ESV)

So, judging/discerning is an absolute must. Always compare what you are being told and taught to the Word of God.

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November 20

Monday, November 20th, 2023

There is a basic rule of interpretation for Bible Study that is important: let Scripture explain Scripture. A favorite method of some people when reading the Bible is the pick-and-choose method. Some may call it the-hunt-and-point method.  Here is how it works: a person cherry-picks a verse here, another one there, and maybe another one there to form a thought or belief.

There are, of course, multiple dangers in that method.  Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who used that method to decide what to do. One day he opened his Bible and pointed and it said, “Judas went out and hung himself.”  Wow! That didn’t say much. So he closed his Bible, opened it again and pointed. This time it said, “Go and do likewise.”  Yikes! He hurriedly closed his Bible, reopened it and pointed. This time it said, “Whatever you hand finds to do, do quickly.”  🙂  I know it is a fanciful story but it does show how some read the Bible and how dangerous it can be to take that approach.

In my reading this morning, I was in Matthew 7 (I’m starting over in the NT reading from the New Living Translation. Since I had finished reading through twice last year in the ESV, I decided to just start again in Matthew 1 and use the NLT). Anyway, in Matthew 7 there are  two passages which cause a lot of angst and consternation and even vehement speech, with one of them especially being a “clobber verse” in reverse. A “clobber verse” is one of those verses that Biblically conservative people are accused of using to clobber those who refuse to follow the teachings of the Bible. This is one in reverse in that it is a favorite of those who don’t like being told they are morally wrong. They like to throw this one in the face of the one who has shared biblical truth with them.

Those verses are Matthew 7:1-5. It says, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

You know how that is used. “How dare you judge me! How dare you tell me that what I am doing, the lifestyle I’ve chosen, the choices I’m making are wrong! Who died and left you boss?” This person wants to live by his/her own standards and the devil be hanged if anyone tells him differently.  Take a risk and say something and you are judging. Guaranteed these verses will be thrown into your face.

But we can’t lose sight of the other passage in Matthew 7 that throws some light on understanding that passage as one Scripture helps explain another. Read Matthew 7 on your own and let me know what Scripture you think will be referenced…TOMORROW.

Due to the length of this devotion today, tune in tomorrow for the rest of my thoughts on these two passages.

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November 16

Thursday, November 16th, 2023

I began reading an old book yesterday. It was first published in 1983; the second edition in 2009; and a third edition-a commemorative one-in 2019. The book is entitled Run With the Horses by the late Eugene Peterson. He found his title from Jeremiah 12:5. Peterson’s own Message Paraphrase puts it this way: “So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with me, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm, what’s going to happen when trouble break loose like the Jordan in flood?” The NLT translates it: “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?

The subtitle for the book is “The Quest for Life at Its Best.” Trust me when I say it is not another Joel Osteen knock-off. You won’t read more “your-best-life-now” drivel.  On the contrary. Here is what you will get a sample of:

Vitezlav Gardovsky, the Czech philosopher and martyr who died in 1978, took Jeremiah as his “image of man” in his campaign against a secret society that carefully planned every detail of material existence but eliminated mystery and miracle, and squeezed all freedom from life.  The terrible threat against life is ‘that we might die earlier than we really do die, before death has become a natural necessity. The real horror lies in such a premature death, a death after which we go on living for many years.’ (pp.18-19)

Sort of like living with a dementia or Alzheimer’s patient. They may go on living for many years after their diagnosis, and yet not really living.

Jeremiah was ready to abandon his unique calling because of opposition and self-pity, but that moment God nailed him with the words of Jeremiah 12:5. It is like he is saying, “Life is difficult, Jeremiah. Are you going to quit already? Are you going to quit at the first opposition?” We would say, “Are you going to run home to mommy, Jeremiah, are you going to run with the horses?”

I know what I want to do. I want to “run with the horses.” Wild. Free. With purpose. Engaging and enjoying life. What about you? Are you going to quit, give up, throw in the towel, be put out to pasture (ahem), or…run with with horses?

I seldom do this but a song from years ago came to mind. If you have a chance check out Dark Horse by John Fischer. Sorry I can’t find any lyric video but the lyrics are plain. Hint: its from the 1970s. And yes, I was listening to CCM way back in those dark ages. 🙂

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November 15

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

Some people today like to complain about the church: “It’s made up of a bunch of hypocrites.” (Most definitely true). “All the church does is tell you a list of what is right and what is wrong and the wrong is always longer than the right.” (There is some truth to that). “They are insufferable and no better than me.”  (Given that we are all sinners that is a true statement).

So my answer to those statements? Yep. Yep. And Yep. And I’ll also say, “Welcome to my world.”

I don’t say that because I’m a pastor; I say that because they describe me. I am a hypocrite at times because I don’t always practice what I preach.  (Shocker!!) I don’t always live up to the standard God has set. I am sometimes judgmental (although I try really hard not to be). And sometimes I am no better than anyone else, in that sin gets its grip on me.

All this hit me last night as I sat and read. I’m rereading a novel called Dancing Priest (DP) by Glynn Young, a fellow blogger. It is one of 5 in a series about a young man named Michael Kent. I’ve read DP several times before, but it has been a few years since I last read it. I look for books to read at home which are different from my normal fare, so I have decided to read the entire series again. In DP Michael is assigned a parish (church) in San Francisco…much to his surprise. He applied for Malawi in Africa. In the ensuing conversation with his sponsor, he found out why.

Michael, the future of our church is in grave doubt. If there is a future, then you and others like you are that future. It will be better for you to be on the periphery than at the center because the center is rotting and collapsing. The future of the church is at the edges, and there you’ll find a willingness to abandon what’s dead, to meet the spiritual need, to fearlessly preach the Gospel-that is our way to survival. (p.163). A few paragraphs later he tells Michael, “You are a remarkable young man. You will do great things, Michael, not as the world defines them, but great in the way God defines them.” (p.164)

Honestly? That’s what I want. At my age (71) I know I have less years to live than I have lived. But nothing says that with the remaining years I have to sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by. I want to abandon what’s dead and to fearlessly preach the Gospel.

To my way of thinking, nothing else will do.

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Note: Check out Dancing Priest and the whole series by Glynn Young on Amazon. Start with DP and I guarantee you will decide to get and read the rest.  And no, Glynn did not pay me to say that! 🙂 🙂 🙂

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November 16

Monday, November 13th, 2023

We all have a story. We all have a past. We all have a present. We all will have a future (although as Doc Brown says in Back to the Future: “Our future hasn’t been written yet.” Doc Brown is right, and he is also wrong.  We don’t know what the future holds. God does. He has written our future. What that all means is a discussion for another day).

I repeat: we all have a story. I’ve been reading each morning from a book entitled Limping with God by Chad Bird. It is a book solely committed to tell the life of Jacob. Jacob’s name means “supplanter, deceiver” and it seems his whole life was one big story on that idea. Many incidences in his life stand out, which would require far more space than I am able to give right now, but two stand out head and shoulders above the others. One was in Genesis 28 where Jacob dreamed of a stairway to heaven (yeah…don’t go there.  🙂 ). The other is in Genesis 32 as he goes to meet Esau and wrestles with God and comes away with a limp.

There is much to learn from diving into that story, but one I read this morning stuck. Mr. Bird writes, “Jacob limped into the future bearing the burdens of his past-burdens that were lightened by the memory of the God who christened him with a new name.” (p. 174).  BTW: that new name was Jacob to Israel.

We all carry scars of our past. Jacob’s (Israel’s) was a limp where his fellow wrestler (God) touched him on his hip because Jacob said he would not let him go unless he blessed him. Thus, the limp.

I have discussed this before: anyone who think becoming a follower of Jesus releases us from a tough time in life is whacked. No where, NO WHERE, does God promise us an easy road. Quite the contrary, what He does promise is that our present and future might be a life of pain from our skirmishes and scars, but one in which we are never left alone.

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#Let’sCompare!

Friday, November 10th, 2023

Victory

The story is told that Oliver Cromwell, an English statesman and widely considered one of the most important figures in the history of the British Isles, coined the phrase “warts and all.” Pictures show him with a very prominent wart between his lower lip and chin. When he was given the title of Lord Protector, it required a portrait be painted of him.  He refused to sit for the portrait unless the painter, Peter Lely, painted him “wart and all.”

The truth is that many of us don’t want to be seen as we are. We want the warts to be hidden.  For us to know what a thankful heart should look like, we have to be open and honest and openly picture it, even it makes us feel uncomfortable. 

Sunday morning, after finding out what a thankful heart should look like, I plan to run a comparison of a thankful heart vs. an ungrateful one. This time, for this purpose, it will be good to compare. Sunday morning I am continuing my series More Than a Holiday as I look at Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, with that theme in mind. So…what does a grateful heart look like? And are some of the negative results of an ungrateful heart?

Please join me Sunday at 9:00 & 10:45 either in person or via live stream.  I would love to see you and meet you in person if possible. If not, let me know you are watching and I will try to contact you. Have a great and grateful weekend.

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November 8

Wednesday, November 8th, 2023

I was reminded again today of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Tell-Tale Heart. I can remember being in Homeville Jr. High (PA) and hearing it for the very first time. “Creepy” was my first reaction.  But as I got older and (supposedly) more mature, and now that I am in my 70s, I saw and still see the truth of the story and the result of the tell-tale heart.

I’ll encourage you to find the story online and read it. Short synopsis: one man kills an old man, hacks him to pieces and then buries him beneath the floorboards. The police come to investigate and the man is so cocksure of himself that sits with them in the room where he is buried and then sits in a chair above the spot. As the interview progresses, the man begins to hear what is a beating heart. It gets louder and he can’t understand why the police cannot hear it. He finally breaks and confesses.

Guilt does that. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I read David’s words in Psalm 32:3-5 to myself and to others: “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (NLT)

David lays out what we should know and have probably experienced: Guilt is a killer. It kills our heart. It kills our happiness. It kills our joy. It kill our peace. It’s like this scepter sitting on our shoulder (only it’s in the heart) whispering in our ear, “You’re done. It’s all over.  You’ll never survive. You’ll never recover. You’ll never get better. You’ve ruined everything.”

L.I.E.S.   ALL   L.I.E.S.

Guilt finds its release at the foot of the cross. Jesus took care of that guilt and shame and offers His forgiveness. Take it. Stop carrying around the extra baggage.

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November 7

Tuesday, November 7th, 2023

I am not a multi-tasker. Unlike some people, my brain is wired to be “one-task-focused.” For example, if I am reading something and Jo comes in to say something, I know I have to put down what I’m reading and give her my undivided attention. Not because she demands it (she doesn’t) but because I know I will not hear a word she says if I don’t. Besides, it’s rude. 🙂

Same goes for the TV. She knows she has to mute it if she wants to converse with me. If I’m visiting someone, I have to ask them to either mute the TV or shut it off so I am not distracted.  Fun fact: I used to tell my parents that I could listen to the radio or the record player while studying. Not true and my grades prove it! 🙂

Martha and Mary found themselves as competing sisters in Luke 10. Not overtly, like in feuding. Let’s be kind and say Martha made it that way. While Mary calmly sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him teach, Martha hustled around the house trying to get a meal together. She complained to Jesus about Mary’s lack of help and Jesus said, “Martha, Martha (I’ll refrain from using it a third time), you are worried about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken from her.” (verses 41-42). I like the way the NLT translates those verses: “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I once heard it put this way: We fail to miss what Paul said in Phil. 3:13-“this one thing I do.” He didn’t say, ‘These 12 things I dabble in.”  Pursue Jesus. Prioritize Him and your time with Him. May knowing Him be your ultimate pursuit, your first desire. You won’t be sorry.

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