Bible

The things of God

/ The Pastor

The “assigned” Gospel text for Sunday is from Mark 8 where Jesus foretells his death; Peter rebukes Jesus; and then Jesus in turn rebukes Peter: “Get behind me Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God but on the things of man.”

This “things of God” verses the “things of man” has got me thinking this week.

I started the week reflecting on Psalm 119:1-16 where it says:

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.
3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me. 

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

I have been soaking these verses in every chance I get this week.  When some down time presents itself to me I open my Bible to read and reflect.  I listen and then read again.  I ponder and wonder if I am indeed setting my mind on the “things of God” rather than on the “things of man”.  Do I mediate on God’s precepts? Do I take joy in learning God’s righteousness decrees?

You see ~ The “things of man” doesn’t encourage you to open your Bible during some down time.  The “things of man” doesn’t encourage you to just sit and listen, as a friend of mine so aptly wrote on his blog recently.  The “things of man” doesn’t tell you that God’s way is best.  And so I am encouraged:

I feel good about myself.
I feel justified that I am doing what I should be doing.
I feel like I am on the right path.

But then I also realize that I have my moments (actually…many moments) when I am setting my mind on the “things of man”.  In a lot of ways Peter and I are kindred spirits.

I want what I think is best without consulting God.
I want to find peace and contentment in the things of this world.
I want to rush in with MY agenda.

So then I feel discouraged that maybe I truly don’t have in mind the “things of God” 😦

But then in Romans Paul reminds us that this battle is never ending.  We are always going to be frustrated by the battle between the desire to set our mind on the “things of God” verses the “things of man”.  We are always go to be tempted to take the easy/pleasurable way over the productive/God-honoring way.  The battle is going to rage on and never calm down until that day when Jesus returns to take us home and redeem the pitiful state we find ourselves in.

So in the mean time, take every moment you can to immerse yourself in the Word.  Find quiet moments to listen to God. Remember to shut up and listen once in a while.  And don’t lose hope.  When you falter; when you revert to your “default” setting of the “things of man” remember the Good News ~ forgiveness through faith in Christ ~ and then update your settings to the “things of God”.

Praise be to you, O Lord; 
teach me your decrees. 
13 With my lips I recount 
all the laws that come from your mouth. 
14 I rejoice in following your statutes 
as one rejoices in great riches. 
15 I meditate on your precepts 
and consider your ways. 
16 I delight in your decrees; 
I will not neglect your word.

“Things of God”…CHECK 🙂
[At least for now]

Praise be to you O God!  Even though I falter and take you for granted, you don’t leave me orphaned.  Even though I often revert to the “things on man” you don’t cast me aside to fend for myself.  O God – I want to strive after your righteousness decrees.  Help me to keep my internal settings on the “things of God” that I may grow closer and closer to you.  Through Jesus Christ I pray…Amen.

edh -|—

Guard your way

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

If you haven’t spent time with Psalm 119 let me urge you to do so.  I know it is a long one (176 verses).  I know there is much to take in, but it is well worth the time.  Take it in sections (there are 22 stanzas of 8 verses each).  Meditate on a stanza at a time and then move on as the Spirit leads you.

I never cease to be amazed at how the Holy Spirit leads me to various places in Scripture.  I know it is not a random thing; that God has a plan.  All I can say is: Wow!
and
Praise be to God!

Verse 1 sets the tone:
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!”

Now — before anyone thinks I am saying MY way is blameless, let me say this:
I AM FAR FROM BLAMELESS…
…but I am trying to walk in the law of the Lord.  I am trying to seek the Lord with all my heart.  I am trying to learn His precepts.  I am trying to store up His Word in my heart.

MY way is not blameless, but GOD’S way is blameless.  And that is the way I am seeking.

But I also know that in all my efforts to walk in the way of the Lord I will fall down.  I will fail.  I will let God down.  I don’t want to, but I know it will happen.  After all I am sinful (but that’s still no excuse).

What a wretched person I am…

…but through Jesus Christ, God is merciful.  Praise be to God!

So I continue my journey.  I continue my walk with God.  I continue my exploration of God’s Word. I continue to seek GOD’S way and ask God to keep me from the temptation of following MY way.

Why?

Verse 9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your (God’s) word.”

YOUR way will never be pure through your efforts.  Your way is only pure by guarding it through God’s Word.  So…

Seek the Lord.
Mediate on his precepts.
Guard your way that you may be pure and that God may be glorified in your life.

With your whole heart seek God; wander not from his commandments. [paraphrase of verse 10]

May God bless your day as you walk with Him 🙂

edh -|—

Destruction and rewards

/ The Pastor

I came across this verse in my morning Bible reading today and it caught my attention:

“Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.“
(Proverbs 13:13, ESV)

One can never go wrong by maintaining a discipline of daily Bible reading and prayer.  I have been thoroughly blessed by God through reading God’s Word each and every day.  But don’t get me wrong:
–It doesn’t keep me from pain and suffering.
–It hasn’t shown me the secret location of a pot of gold.
–It hasn’t increased my territory.
–It doesn’t give me special protection.
–It hasn’t straightened out my checkbook.
–It hasn’t done the things that the world wants to happen.

But rather…what does God’s Word do (at least for me):
–Gives me a peace like the world can not give.
–Reminds me of what God continues to do for me.
–Show me stories of God’s amazing faithfulness despite our sin.
–I feel a joy that goes beyond happiness.
–I have felt more bold in my witness.
–I have hope within this messed up world.
–It gives me guidance in my roles as pastor, husband, friend, leader, etc.

I have indeed felt rewarded…not because of MY effort in maintaining this discipline but because GOD is faithful.  This is God’s doing, not mine.  I don’t celebrate my effort.

The temptation is to think that if you are more faithful in your spiritual disciplines that God will bless you because you’re being more faithful, but it just doesn’t work that way.  We are “rewarded” because it is the nature of God’s Word.  You aren’t rewarded because of YOUR strict discipline of eating fruits and vegetables but because that is just what they do…it’s their nature to be good for you despite the kind of person you are.

The “reward” of God’s Word is there, you just need to open your eyes to what God has done FOR YOU through Jesus Christ.

The “destruction” that comes into play when we stray from God’s Word is:
–Focus on our strength ~ which is never strong enough.
–Looking to the world for happiness ~ which is always fleeting.
–Our outlook on life extends only as far as THIS life will bring you ~ death.
–Hopelessness when times get tough.

So go to God’s Word for GOD is faithful!  Seek God and He WILL be found.  Dwell in God’s presence for that is pure joy.

Hallelujah and Amen!

edh -|—

Morning routine – Morning fuel

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

It’s amazing what happens when you shut off the TV in the morning.  It is amazing what you hear, notice and feel.  It’s amazing how peaceful it is.  It’s amazing how different your outlook can be.  And…it’s amazing how much I don’t miss my old, usual routine…which was (after I showered and got dressed in the morning):
–Make coffee and breakfast
–Turn on ESPN
–Boot up the computer and log into Facebook
–Multitask

That was the routine ~ each and every morning ~ but not anymore 🙂

Everything has changed…

I’m on the computer now and I have been on Facebook this morning, but I didn’t start my day that way.  And…the TV is still off, except for a 5 minute blurb earlier to watch a news story with my wife.

Lately I have found a new morning routine.  And it might surprise you that this is “new” for me considering I am a pastor for crying out loud.  Now, the routine is this (after I shower and get dressed of course):
–Make coffee and breakfast
–Boot up my Kindle Fire
–Read my Bible and other devotional readings
–Post scripture and devotional highlights straight to Facebook and Twitter
–Pray
And I do this while multitasking (eating and drinking coffee).

I like this routine.
I like starting my day like this.
I like filling my head and heart with God in the morning instead of sports.
I like sharing my God insights with people in the morning.

You see…how you start your day will go a long way in dictating how you approach each and everyday.  Do you start and approach your day from a worldly point of view?

OR…

Do you start and approach your day filled with God?

Trust me…it makes a huge difference.  But don’t get me wrong here.  I am not trying to give you some steps in having your best life now,  but rather how to have a better relationship with God NOW for that is what is important.  I still have bad days from time to time but the difference is that I am more aware of God’s presence and promises.  How the Timberwolves did last night is not going to help me during the day.

BUT…

Hearing stories of God’s faithfulness…well…that is just AWESOME.

What’s your morning routine?  Is God involved? Let’s fuel up correctly in the morning and praise God along the way 🙂

edh -|—

Time with God

/ The Pastor

This morning I started something new here at Salem:
Men’s Morning Prayer
Tuesday mornings from 7 to 8am 

This past Friday God placed it on my heart to do this so I set it up.  I sent an email to my Salem and Belmont list; set up a Facebook group; put information on the Salem web page and made announcements during worship and at the annual meeting on Sunday.  I didn’t know what to expect.  After all this was pretty sudden, but I still felt it was important.

So I showed up at 6:30am this morning, made some coffee, got the juice out and began reading…and waiting.

No one showed up.

Correction…

…God showed up.

So I sat there in the church library and read the Bible, prayed, read some more, prayed some more – and stayed there until 8am.

There was a time when I would have been very frustrated.
There was a time when I would have left after maybe 30 minutes or so.
There was a time when I would have considered dropping this plan.

But this morning I had a great time with God.  I found myself dwelling in 1 John.  I read a section; stopped; meditated; prayed; re-read it and moved on.  It was great.

Do I wish some men had showed up?  Sure.
Did I waste my time this morning?  Absolutely not!

So next Tuesday I will show up again at 6:30am; make some coffee; get out the juice and wait.  And I will continue this each and every week.  If no other men show up then so be it.  At the very least I will have an hour of quiet time with God.  And one just can’t go wrong with that 🙂

edh -|—

Let’s go to Nineveh

/ The Pastor

Jonah 1:1-3
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”  But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

Almighty God ~ You are a loving and compassionate God; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Jonah knew this but didn’t really KNOW this.
We know this but in the same way we really don’t KNOW this.

or

Maybe it is that we really don’t want to believe this.  We want you to be compassionate and loving toward us but let’s not get too wild here.  Let’s not get too crazy or go overboard.  After all…there are people out there we would rather not see in community with us.

But your ways are not our ways.
Your plans are not our plans.
Your vision is not our vision.

Grant us faith to go where you call us to go; even if that means going to Nineveh (to those we would rather not see saved).
Grant us faith to trust your will.
Grant us faith to TRULY see your love and compassion for people.

Because if we truly think about it, we are Ninevites.  We incurred your wrath but you sent Jesus (whom we crucified).  But through faith in Jesus ~ responding to his message ~ receiving your forgiveness, you relented from the punishment due to us.  May we serve and praise you for that amazing love and compassion.

We don’t deserve it ~ no one does. But according to your will, lead us as we follow you to Nineveh.

Praising you always and forever!  Amen!

edh -|—

Community

/ The Pastor

Matthew 18:15-20
15 “If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Loving God…you created us to be in community ~ not just with you but with each other here on this earth.  You have created us to be an expression of the community you created between you and creation.  You created us to maintain and pursue community.  You created us to give you glory through community.

But we messed up community.

We sinned ~ and continue to sin.
We hurt our neighbors.
We create and maintain division between people.
We seek to win rather than to heal.
We take the “easy” way out rather than dealing with problems.
We REALLY treat people as “pagans and tax collectors“.

Oh how we have messed up community.

Oh gracious God; loving creator ~ we have acted contrary to your design.
Grant us your vision and heart for one another.
Grant us compassion and love for our neighbors.
Grant us patience and passion.
Grant us desire for what is better ~ community as you design.

Oh gracious and loving God…even though we messed up your creation; your community, you pursued healing and reconciliation through the cross; through Jesus Christ.  Thank you for your compassion.  May we pursue that same reconciliation in all our relationships ~ giving you all the praise and glory.  Through Jesus Christ I pray…AMEN!

edh -|—

Not that bad…really?

/ The Pastor

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
(1 John 1:8-10)

Maybe you have never said that you are without sin.
Maybe you have never claimed to be perfect.

But…

Have you ever said or thought:
“At least I am not as bad as that person sitting over there”
“At least I am not living in sin like that couple.”
“At least I attend worship more than that person.”
“At least I don’t________” (Fill in the blank).

Sin can be a tough thing to talk about or listen to because many people don’t want to hear that they are sinful, they want to hear how to make their lives better.  Our society today has been so inundated with the prosperity gospel that any talk of personal sinfulness has become very offensive to people.

“Don’t tell me I am sinful, tell me how to be successful.”
“Tell me how to have a better marriage.”
“Tell me how to be blessed by God.”
“Tell me how to be happy in this life.”
“Tell me that, deep down inside, I am a good person.”

Go to the self-help section of any bookstore and you will see book after book after book that uses scripture to “teach” you how to be successful, to be happy, to get ahead in this world.  These authors claim that God wants to bless you and this is how you can make that happen.

Really?

The Good News is not that God wants to bless you, but the Good News is that because we are SINFUL God has blessed us with his Son, Jesus Christ.  There are no steps or actions we must take, but…

Jesus has already died on the cross for you.
Jesus has already risen from the grave for you.
Jesus has already made the offer for forgiveness.
Jesus has already gone ahead to prepare a place for you (John 14:1-7)

And Jesus has done all of this because we really are that bad.  We are sinful, evil people.

[Sorry if I just burst your bubble.  Well…actually…I am not sorry.]

Being happy and successful in this life is something Jesus never promised.  But what Jesus has promised is that we can have a PEACE that surpasses all understanding and HOPE in this life of eternal life.  And it is this PEACE and HOPE that sustains me in this life…even when things are not going my way because I know that there is more than just THIS life.

Admit your sinfulness and know that God is faithful and just and will forgive your sins through Jesus Christ.  For in the end, that is all we truly need.

Dear sinner…have a great day basking in the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord 🙂

-edh-

Firm footing

/ The Pastor

Psalm 62:1
Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

I have never experienced an earthquake before but from what I have heard from others it is an unsettling experience.  Something that is supposed to be firm, stable and safe is all of a sudden shaky, unstable and dangerous.  The ground is supposed to be a safe haven.

This same mentality is true in other areas of our lives where we put our ultimate trust in people or things.
–Financial markets
–Relationships
–Career
–Talents
–Family
–Intelligence

…and the list could go on.

I am reminded of the verses from 1 Corinthians 10:12 that reads, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall!”  Paul goes on to talk about temptation and how God won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle; always providing a way out for us.  But the problem comes when we become over-confident in our so-called firm standing.  A firm standing that is outside any relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

There are many well meaning people who think they are standing firm based on their worldly success and material possessions.  But as we have seen in this fragile economy, worldly success can come crashing down very quickly.
–People of high social standing can succumb to temptation and fall.
–The strongest of relationships can be torn apart.
–Careers can come to an end in a blink of an eye.
–A pop of the knee can end a promising athletic future.

Earthquakes of all kinds happen…and they happen everyday.  People we never thought would fall have fallen.

Maybe even you.

But…

When we find refuge in God.
When we place our future in God.
When we stand on God’s promises.
When we trust in God’s faithfulness.
When we find our treasure in God’s love.
When God is our fortress…

…then we will not be shaken.  As Psalm 46 says, “…though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…” we will stand firm.

In the midst of a shaky world, find your rest in God through Jesus Christ.  Find stable footing on the promises of our faithful God; for the foundation of God is the only thing that will ultimately stand.

-edh-

What we need to hear

/ The Pastor

2 Timothy 4:2-5
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

There are many reasons to stay in the word; to study it and meditate on it but the one that concerns me today is the very thing that Paul warns young Timothy about.  There are so many “gospels” floating around out there.  There are so many “preachers” out there leading people astray; saying things to people that “their itching ears want to hear.”

The problem is that what people WANT to hear and what they NEED to hear are two completely different things.

What we hear so much about today are what prosperity gospel preachers are trying to tell people:  If you live right you can be successful and happy in this life.  They hold up the Bible, quote scripture and give you 7 ways to have your best life now.  People may WANT to hear that message but it is not what they NEED to hear.  Happiness now is fine but there are two keys problems:  (1) Jesus never, ever promised that things would be great in this life (he actually told his disciples that they would experience hardship and persecution) and (2) When this life is over then what?

What we NEED to hear is that God, through Jesus, has over come this world.
What we NEED to hear is that Jesus has reconciled us to God through the cross.
What we NEED to hear is that there is hope beyond this life.
What we NEED to hear is that we have nothing to fear in this world with God.
What we NEED to hear is that God is madly in love with you and with me.

Prosperity gospel preachers do not preach this message but rather disguise the Good News with something that people can use now to be happy and successful.  As Paul warned, the time has come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.

So we need to be even more diligent.

Let’s take Paul’s charge to Timothy and make it our own.  Stay in the Word; meditate on it; study it and remain faithful to the Word.  “…keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. “  Tell people what they NEED to hear, not what they WANT to hear.

May God be praised in all we say and do.

Preach it brothers and sisters!  Amen!

-edh-