Vote

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” -  Lamentations 3:22,23

So.  Today we vote.  Actually, by the time you read this, I will have already voted.  It is my habit to visit the polling booth on Election Day first thing in the morning.

As I mentioned before, unlike four years ago, when it comes to the Presidential Election, I am voting for one of the two major candidates.  Four years ago, I wrote in a name.  Some have said I squandered my vote.  Maybe.  I do always vote; it is a joy to do as a citizen of this great country. What a privilege. And when I wake up tomorrow morning, I will be either happy because the candidate I support won, or disappointed because the candidate I supported lost. Sounds like I have a 50/50 chance at either.

But.  This I know.

When I wake up tomorrow morning, I still will wake up in the greatest country in the world. We have freedoms and blessings that no other land can really fathom.  We can choose to change leadership or not change leadership and so without weapons being used.  So much of the world cannot say that.

Tomorrow morning, the sun will still rise, and the day will bring new possibilities.  In the morning, God will still be in control, Jesus will still be Lord of all and he will still be compassionate; as the hymn says, “morning by morning new mercies I see.”  And friends, the mercies will be plentiful.

And in the morning, I will pray for and support when I can whomever is elected President.  I am ever mindful that Romans 13:1 highly suggests that whoever is in power has been so appointed by God himself. Which means I will be respectful and helpful; even when disagreeing. Also, I will note yet again, I will not get my hopes up too high about whoever wins the election; he will be the President, I intend to follow the King.  (Thought borrowed from Mark Driscoll)

And no matter who wins the election, I will not forget that great is God’s faithfulness.

Vote.  Have a great day.  And rejoice tomorrow morning. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” Even on Election Day…..

Enlightened

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints….” Ephesians 1:18

I chewed on and prayed about this verse for a while yesterday.  I chewed on the phrase, “may the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that….”  What I’m also considering is this: isn’t knowing “the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” just something we do? Hear  a great sermon…read a great Bible verse…study and figure it out? And  presto!

Maybe. But.

All the listening, reading, and studying will mean little if we are not enlightened by God. 

Every Sunday in worship, I pray a ‘prayer of illumination” just before reading the Scripture.  That God’s spirit would illumine the reading of and understanding of the Word.  I also pray for the Holy Spirit to “enlighten” me any time before I read God’s Word.  That does not lessen the need for hearing and studying; God's light is what makes even that effort worthwhile.  Because you can listen, read and study all you want, but unless you are open to God’s movement, God’s light, you won’t get it.  The riches will not find you. I had a few seminary professors that knew the Scriptures inside and out, but did not know “the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”  At times this was both breathtaking and heartbreaking.  

Here is a challenge.  For the next few days, pray a quick prayer before you read anything from the Bible.  And see what happens. And maybe you’ll gain a deeper appreciation of “the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”  It’s a God given gift that you can have….

Have a great weekend friends!

Devil

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”  - 1 Peter 5:8-9

I’m not one who finds the devil lurking around every corner.  I’m also not one to think that every bad thing that has happened to me has been the work of the devil.  Frankly, most of my lifetime wounds have been rather spectacularly self-inflicted.

Unlike some of my friends, I’m not seeing the upcoming presidential election as some sort of ultimate battle between evil and good.  As a Christian, if you just want to look at the candidates’ apparent theology, then frankly you can vote for neither. (Although, unlike four years ago when I wrote in a candidate’s name, this time around I am voting for one of the major candidates, to be certain).

Yet, Scripture is clear, that the devil is real and looks for opportunities. Peter describes this opportunistic outlook as “a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  That is a vivid visual. Yet even a lion is an opportunistic animal.  They look for the weak links and take advantage.  I’ve long heard it said that the devil is in the details.  The small things.  The things we might overlook or brush by.  Or ignore.

The devil is real.  He is more than a piece of cute artwork. He is not the kid in the red outfit that might visit your front door this evening. He is more than the name of a professional sports team. And he can really influence us.

Peter says, “resist him.”  How?  By “standing firm in the faith.” Which means a Scripturally well-grounded prayerful faith can surely resist the greatest of evil.  And it can discern the “devil in the details’ also.  Faith is not founded in the wild emotional highs, nor should it be devastated by the deep emotional lows; although we experience both, sometimes frequently.

Our faith is grounded in a Savior that we love because he first loved us. (visit 1 John 4:19).  Our faith is based not on our ups or downs or external influences but on the knowledge that God so loves us that He gave his Son for us.  And deeply entwined in that fact is that the same God that so loved us will not let us go (visit John 10:28) if we are his. No matter what the devil is doing.

Be alert, for the devil is at work, make no mistake.  But don’t give the devil more credit than he deserves.  And trust in the One who loves you so much….

Politics

For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. - 1 Peter 1:24-25

Are you sick of the commercials yet?  Especially here in Western Pennsylvania, it has seemed like a particularly nasty political season. One candidate tearing down another, ad nauseam.  The term is ad nauseam is fitting, since it means “something unpleasurable which has continued to the point of nausea.”

Dear political candidates.  Please read 1 Peter 24-25.  There, got that off my chest.

In the passage Peter is quoting Isaiah 40:6-8.  For those of us that like to have our egos inflated once in a while – sorry.  This passage places humanity where it should be.  Our own glory will wither and fall.  It will blow away in the winds of the “frankenstorm” that is about to hit our area.  Basing our self-worth on what we do or by tearing down others is pure folly.

But even though God’s word puts humanity in its proper place, our inherent self-worth is also derived from the word of the Lord which endures forever. In spite of what we really are in overall scheme of things, we remain apex of God’s creation, the part of his creation that he has gone after, loved, and wants to redeem.  Our, your, my, self-worth comes from the fact that God so loves us that he sent his one and only Son after us for our redemption. (visit John 3:16,17; Romans 5:8-10; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 4:10) 

Don’t think we need redemption? Really? Just watch all the political advertisements on TV this evening.  The great news is that redemption is available.  Don’t know if you’ll see that on TV this evening, but it is the truth nonetheless.

Dear political candidates.  Jesus loves you too.

Intolerance

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me….” - John 14:6

There has been much said in the blogosphere about a recent post by Marilyn Sewell in the Huffington Post.  The author is a Unitarian Universalist, and the article is titled “Saying Goodbye to Tolerance.” In it, she rails rather intolerantly about Evangelical Christians. She admits that this is what she is doing.  And.... she is speaking about me.

Among the things she complains about is those who warn of “eternal punishment for those who don't believe in the one true path to salvation….” She means those who believe Jesus as the only source of Salvation.  Through my time as a Christian, eventually as a student at a liberal seminary, and now through 12 years of vocational ministry, I have had that complaint brought up against me more than a few times.  You know, me being one of those evangelicals. It’s OK, I really don’t take it personally.  I don’t.  Most of those who have brought that accusation against me are really fine people that I like.

Their argument is not with me.  It’s not.  It is with Jesus.

John 14:6 is the verse that woke me up out of my universalistic leanings back in 1990.  I was challenged to make a decision.  Is Jesus telling the truth or is he a liar?

Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me….”  I have studied the phrase in English and with my limited Greek knowledge.  As far as I can tell, there is no way to dance around the sentence.  Then there are those other inconvenient verses.  Such as, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” –Jesus again. (visit Matthew 7:13). Or “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." – Peter (visit Acts 4:12).

Here is the challenge for you this morning: Do you believe what Jesus says? This I can tell you, I do.  And yes I know what that makes me.  Intolerant.  I can live with that.  Will you?

Rain

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!”  - 1 Corinthians 10:12

Last Thursday evening, a group of us heading down to Grafton, WV, stopped for a bite to eat at a rather infamous mom and pop café not far inside West Virginia.  When we arrived, it was raining, not just cats and dogs, but fat cats and fat dogs.  The 25 foot walk from the vehicle to the café door was enough to thoroughly soak you.  And I – we - got drenched.

We sat down at our customary table, hoping that the wait for the food and the subsequent meal would afford some time to dry out; indeed for the most part that was the case.  But….

About halfway through the meal a leak sprung in the roof, water made its way down through the ceiling, and low and behold a small waterfall developed directly onto our table.   Suffice to say we were a bit surprised, and we looked around to find the waitress and considered what table we should move to.  When the server saw what had developed, she reached under a counter, and pulled out a large plastic container and placed it on the table to catch the falling liquid.  Then she shrugged and said something to effect of, “That’s just the way things are here.”

Indeed our waterfall was but one of several in the café; although I would argue ours was more picturesque. And so we continued with our meals….  

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians cautions us about sin and pride.  Some sin is obvious – it drenches us like getting caught in a rainstorm and we hurry to flee from the results.  That is good.  But sometimes sin just moseys its way into our lives like a frequent dripping pattern.  We can all too easily get used to and even comfortable with it.  All we need is the large plastic container to contain the sin.  And shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh that’s just the way things are here.”

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!”  Sometimes the rain is hard to judge….

P.S.  We will be back at that same café tomorrow night.  I’m praying it doesn’t rain….

Beat

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” -  Psalm 51:12

How was the weekend?

If you are like me, sometimes by Sunday afternoon I’m beat.  After all, I’m a pastor, and I do work my one hour a week on Sunday mornings.

I think it can be safely said that much of what goes on in most of our lives has a tendency to beat us down.  Work pressures alone in a sluggish economy weigh heavily on many people.  People unemployed, underemployed, employed but worried about the future of their employment.  I know so many people who are living on financial edges.  I ache for them.  It probably has the long term effect of breaking their hearts. The net effect of such living (like many do these days) is that many decent hardworking people are beat. Simply beat.

The verse above from one of my favorite Psalms is about being refreshed.  But seriously note who it is that does the refreshing.  It is God.  David (the author) writes “Restore to me….grant me….”  He is asking (praying) God to do it.

If you are trying to restore joy and your spirit through your own efforts…it won’t work.  What it takes is to slow down enough, to quiet yourself enough that you can hear God’s “still small voice.” (visit 1 Kings 19:12)  Pray.

You can’t do it yourself; but you can prepare yourself for God’s blessings.  Allow him to restore the joy of your salvation; allow him to grant you a willing spirit….”

The only work you need to do is to be open for God to do his work.

And he wants to.

Have a blessed week!