Miracle

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Ephesians 1:3,4

Like, apparently, many millions of Americans Sunday evening, I watched in fascination/horror as Nick Wallenda walked along a two-inch thick cable across the Grand Canyon. Only, just to be clear, it wasn’t the Grand Canyon at all, but the Little Colorado River Gorge on the western edge of the Navajo Nation; it is an area of the world that I know well.  Picky, aren’t I?

Anyway it was fascinating to see the man step and do what generations of his family (The Flying Wallendas) have been doing for over a century now.  I mentioned in a post about six months ago that I am convinced there is a genetic defect in that family.  If you watched, this particular flying Wallenda continually praised Jesus and prayed/begged for safety as he made his way from one side of the gorge to the other.  And if you are like me, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when he danced his way the last few feet and jumped down to the terra firma a few feet below at the end.  It had to have been a terrifying walk; the wind at times was howling and the cable at times started a rhythmic pulsing that could have thrown Mr. Wallenda to his certain death deep down in the gorge.

It was quite the feat; one commentator in fact called it a miracle.  Not to spoil the party, but I don’t feel there was anything miraculous about it, as a matter of fact, I feel it could have just have easily been a case of putting the Lord to the test –something we are cautioned about in Deuteronomy 6:16; a caution revisited by Jesus in passages like Matthew 4:7.

If Wallenda’s contagious faith that was displayed causes some people to consider Christ and his ultimate benefits, then that may lie closer to the real miracle of the event than did the actual stroll across the wire.

This Saturday evening, there is going to be a celebration in a neighboring community because a granite Ten Commandments monument is going to be placed and dedicated in front of a fraternal organization’s building.  This was spawned as push-back by an effort (unsuccessful, so far, thankfully) by the Freedom from Religion Foundation to remove a similar long-standing monument at a local school in the same community. 

I have been told that this placement of the new monument is a miracle in and of itself. Again, not to spoil the party, but I don’t feel there is anything especially miraculous about this event, as good as I may think it is.  However, if this effort causes some people to consider Christ and his ultimate benefits, then that may lie closer to a real miracle than the creation and setting of a stone monument itself.

I have other miracles to consider though.  I have been praying for a miracle or two within my family, as some of you know.  And these would be far greater miracles than a tight-rope walk or a monument setting.  But I will accept whatever God’s will is in these situations.

The Scripture I shared with you above is about a true miracle.  That somehow Christ chose me or you to be in him before the foundation of the world is that actual miracle.  Because I know myself; I do not deserve such choosing, I have done nothing to earn such a choosing, and I struggle to live worthily of such a choosing.

With a great gratitude I live into his choosing; having Jesus as my Savior is a miracle above all miracles.

Are you looking for a miracle in your life?  Maybe, if you stop and think about it, you already have it. Because if you are in Christ, he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

That is the real miracle….

Strength

“…But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”- Isaiah 40:31

We Americans pride ourselves on our independence and strength.  I’m no different. I like to think that I’m a self-made man, having been blessed to have had a good career and then even more blessed to move over to a second career that I chose and studied for.  We like to believe that we are the masters of our own universe, the ruler of our house, the ________ (you fill in the blank with the proper cliché.)

Yet as I enjoy a few moments of silence on a scorching summer afternoon, I remember yet again that my second career was not of my choosing; it was chosen for me.  Any pride I get from this career is short lived and foolish.  I was blessed, almost luckily so, to have a first career that afforded me the ability to move over to my second career as a pastor, but I am reminded that much of the benefits that I have enjoyed from my first career were fought for by people that long preceded me.

I sit here again concerned that my sister is desperately ill, that I in my strength can’t do a stupid thing about it.  Especially from 2500 miles away. 

Suddenly, I don’t feel so strong.

And…that is a good thing.

Leaning on our own strength is folly.  I know that.  There is one who is open, able and willing to carry us through the weak times.  We are told “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

But nowhere does it say that the strength, wings, and ability to run is something we do on our own power, our own strength.  Frankly, when I look deep inside, I am amazingly weak.  That is OK.  I am reminded on a daily basis that it is as the apostle Paul was told, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (visit 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Yep.  My strength shall be renewed.  I shall mount up with the power of eagle’s wings. I shall run (ahem, maybe walk quickly) and not be weary.  No fainting is in sight.  But not because of me.  Maybe in spite of me.  For now, I wait upon the Lord.

And…that is a good thing

World

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:17

Most of us, unbelievers included, know John 3:16. Where Jesus says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life….”

Famous passage; a passage of truth, but the beginning of a longer perhaps grander thought.  Jesus follows up immediately with what we call verse 17: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  What we need to realize, in spite of the arbitrary numbering systems that we have applied to the Scriptures, is that this passage is an intrinsic part of what Jesus has said in verse 16. 

Summarized, these verses teach that God sent Jesus to save the world and not condemn it.  And here we get an intimate look into the heart of our God, and what he wants.  Sometimes we believers and trusters in Christ spend a lot of time worrying about what it is that we are doing, whether as individuals, or churches, or even as a society, will cause God to condemn the world.  Sometime, if we are honest, we want it to happen, because through our eyes we easily see the venality all around us, and sometimes if we are really honest about ourselves, we see it resting in our hearts, and all of it hurts.

But we need to be reminded of Jesus’ purpose here on the earth.  It wasn’t condemnation (even if it is deserved).  It was salvation.  Which intrinsically is unearned.  This doesn’t mean that God won’t someday condemn the world, or that somehow this passage makes such a condemnation impossible.  This does not mean that God will not “bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked.” (visit Ecclesiastes 3:17)  God will do what he want and wills to do.  But this passage should give to us some peace since we are given a furtive glimpse into the very heart of what the Father was wanting to do through his Son.  Salvation, then, is nearer to us now than when we probably imagine. (visit Romans 13:11)

God loves the world so much…  Rest assured, trusting in that truth.

Starry Night

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”  Psalm 19:1-2

Last Saturday, we had the fun opportunity to see Don McLean in concert.  I feel blessed that many of my formulative years musical artists are, not just alive and kicking, but still performing at better than perfunctory levels.  McLean was no exception.

While he will always be known for his anthem “American Pie,” my favorite song by him is his beautiful ballad about Vincent van Gogh. Lyrics go something like this:

Starry starry night, paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills, sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills, in colors on the snowy linen land

Referencing one of Van Gogh’s most popular paintings, the McLean song laments the struggles that the artist had with mental illness; eventually McLean sings,

“Now I understand

What you tried to say to me.

How you suffered for your sanity.

How you tried to set them free….”

Psalm 19 also refers to a starry night where “heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork…”  It is hard for me to read this sentence without thinking of Van Gogh’s celebrated beautiful painting.  As much as he struggled, his painting reveals that God’s handiwork is there to see no matter where we are in life, and whatever we may be suffering through.

No one has said life is easy.  If we’ve lived at all, then we’re all damaged goods in some way. Truth is, as a long dead rock singer once sang, “No one here gets out alive.”  But even as we struggle, we do so not as people without hope.  We have a grand hope, found in the one who “day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.”

Do you know who that is?  Here are some clues.  It’s not Vincent van Gogh, nor Don McLean.

He is the author of the ultimate Starry Night.

And he is yours for the asking….

(Here is a link to the Don McLean song)

Debt

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  Romans 13:8

Back 30 years ago, I took a couple of accounting classes.  Didn’t like them.  It was part of the business degree I was working on at the time.  I can remember the teacher I had, who himself was a C.F.O of a major cooperation, spending time, perhaps too much time, on a simple math formula called the “Debt Ratio.”  Now it took a long while to gather the information, but as far as he was concerned, any company’s potential for growth was tied up in this rather simple ratio.

Once you had all the correct figures, the formula was simple. The Debt ratio equals the total liabilities over (or divided by) the total assets.  Or like this D=L/A.  If I remember correctly if the resulting number came out to .5 or larger, there was trouble brewing.  If a creditor called in any loans…the ability to pay back through the assets was in question if the ration was too high.  I’m guessing the same sort of thinking and perhaps ratio applies to households also, although I am no economist and always have had difficulty with accounting.

In the reading above, the apostle Paul calls on believers and trusters to have a rather high debt ratio.  It is one that my old accounting teacher would have had a lot of trouble with.

Paul says, “Owe no one anything”…but then he clarifies that there is a debt that we are to build up.   “…Love each other,”  he says, because “for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

As Christians we have a lot of assets, because of what Christ has done for us.  As Christians, our debt of love, because of what Christ has done for us, is going to equal our assets.  The ratio, I’m guessing, is going to be close to 1.

I can see my old professor’s eyes opening wide and the word ‘No’ being formed in his mouth.  Because to him, the math would be scary.

But in Jesus, the math is perfect.  Be in debt.  For him and because of him.  Love.

Saints

“…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

When I read this passage in my email yesterday morning, one word jumped right off the page and stuck in my cognizance for a few moments.  It is the word, “saints.” 

We Presbyterians (like most Protestants) don’t have saints.  No offense to my Roman Catholic friends, but we don’t do that.

Or…do we?

I’m rather new to the English Standard Version of the Bible, so I went back to the Bible Gateway website and looked the passage up in the New International Version.  The word that is ‘saints’ in the ESV gets translated as “the Lord’s holy people” in the NIV.  That in itself is interesting.  The ESV settles for an economy of words compared to the NIV.

I then went to my Bible software to look and dissect the Greek word that is translated here as “saints.” It is ἅγιος (hagios), which means “holy one,’ “dedicated,” or even “God’s person.”   This seems to be a case where the NIV’s translation is a bit more literal than the ESV (it itself a good literal translation), when it reads, “the Lord’s holy people.”  Which, if you ponder what the word ‘saint’ means, sounds like a good beginning definition.

What is a saint then?   You get glimpses of what a saint is in the passage above from the apostle Paul.  A saint is someone whom Christ dwells in their hearts through faith; someone who is rooted and grounded in love; someone who has the strength to comprehend the breadth, length, height, depth of the love of Christ; someone who yearns to be filled with all the fullness of God. 

Hmmm.  I know some Presbyterians that actually fit that description.  And some Baptists.  And some Methodists, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Wesleyans, Lutheran and Roman Catholics.

Uh, turns out that we do do saints.  And as Christ trusters and followers, we are all called to be a saint, that is, to be one of the Lord’s holy people.

What are you going to be today?

Soft

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  -  Proverbs 15:1

I’m guessing that most of us don’t need to know that this verse is from the Bible to know it is true.  But what most of might need to know is that we do need to place this nugget of wisdom into practice. 

Uh, that includes me.

Unfortunately.

But there is more to it than just putting a philosophy into practice.  It is about where your heart is; no, honestly, it’s more about who is in your heart.  It’s not about giving up on truth, it’s about speaking truth in love (visit Ephesians 4:15).  In fact – looking at Paul’s words from Ephesians, he strongly suggests that speaking the truth in love (which I am equating with a “soft answer”) will cause us to “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

I like that.  Because I do need to grow into being more Christ-like.  Still.  After 33 years of being a Christ believer and follower, there is so much more room to grow.  As a matter of fact, if I am to “become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ,” the Lord best allow me to live another 100 years. 

But I’m better than I was, but not as good as I’ll be.  I’ve had to learn sometimes the hard way that, “a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger….”  But it also means that my heart, while not perfect, has definitely moved to a better place through the years.  Jesus has been more and more able to take up residency there.

Where is your heart this morning?  What is in it that wants to stir up anger; who is in it that will supply the soft answer?

I pray it is Christ….