Happy Memorial Day

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Those who have given their lives for our country have experienced the tragic bloodshed that conflict brings. Our world is rocked by strife and division, but one day there will be peace and the author of that peace is Jesus himself.  Jesus is described in Scripture as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).  On Memorial Day we recognize the valor of those in military combat, but a day is coming when we will live in a time of unparalleled peace, brought about by Jesus Himself.

We hold the deepest gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have given their lives over the ages, defending our freedoms and families.  As we remember them, let us also remain aware that Jesus, too, gave the ultimate sacrifice.  He laid down His life to secure a freedom which transcends any earthly freedom. Jesus gave His life to gain spiritual victory over sin, death, and hell.  Memorial Day gives us a chance to praise our Lord for the price He paid, and the triumph He secured.

George Washington once said, “It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.”  Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”  We need for God to bless America once again and bring us back to “One Nation Under God.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Today and every day let us humble ourselves and pray for our nation and leadership.

Dear Lord, we lift up our nation to You.  If ever it needed your guidance, it is now.  We ask You to guide those in leadership that they would follow You in the way You would have us to go.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Thankful for hospitals

Mark 2:17 (ESV)

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Maybe you’ve heard the saying “The church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners.” Whoever said that might well have based it on Jesus’ words in this passage.

Levi was a tax collector, and when Jesus had dinner at Levi’s house, they were joined by other tax collectors and sinners.

Tax collectors helped the Roman Empire by collecting money from the local people, so they were not very popular in the community. To help pay themselves, they were also known for collecting extra money for their own pockets, which made them even more disliked. In Mark 2, we hear that the religious leaders criticized Jesus for spending time with tax collectors and sinners.

But Jesus reminded the religious leaders that sinners were ­exactly the kind of people he had come to save. Jesus offered his love to everyone, even sinners. In fact, since every person sins, it may be easier for those who know they are sinners to admit that they need Jesus. They do not have so much of their own pride getting in the way.

It is wonderfully honest to admit that we are sinners in need of God’s grace. We can have the courage to make that confession because Jesus is ready to receive us. If sin is the sickness, Jesus is the cure.

Dear Lord, we confess that we are a sinner in need of Your grace. Thank You for sending Jesus; he forgives our sins, heals us, and makes us whole. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Love

Matthew 5:45 (ESV)

So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God’s love falls like rain on all people, even evil ones. “God so loved the world,” says Jesus in John 3:16. God loves wayward children. He loves wounded and despised people. And if God loves in that way, Christians must love in that way too.

We can churn up a lot of unhappiness for ourselves and for others by trying to control, manipulate, or condemn other people. We can burn a lot of energy getting angry with secular people and shouting at them. But God’s love rains down on all people—good and evil alike.

Jesus does not give me permission to hate and despise any other human being. If you’re a human being, I am supposed to love you in word and deed, whether you are a Christian or not.

A soup kitchen in an inner city is a great place to practice this, because you don’t have to ask anyone any complicated questions like “How did you get this way?” or “Are you ever going to change?” You just have to scoop some chili into a bowl and smile at another human being and say, “God bless you.”

That’s a good way to start. But somehow I think Jesus would do more than that.

Love. This is so difficult for us. But it is a happier way to live.

Dear Lord, we know we need to be an agent of Your love, but we have so many barriers and attitudes that hem us in. Lord, show us how to love. Help us to love as You have loved. In the Name of  Jesus, Amen.

Thoughts about the eye

Psalm 139:16 (ESV)

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

    the days that were formed for me,

    when as yet there was none of them.

I had a cataract removed from my right eye this week and it made me think about the eye.  Have you ever had the wonderful experience of being present when a baby was born? Maybe you were there for the birth of your child, a grandchild, or another family member. You watched those little eyes light up or, more likely, struggle to stay open as they adjusted to bright lights. The baby saw the real world for the first time, a dramatic change from the view inside the womb.

Researchers say that a baby’s eye sockets begin to form in the fifth week of pregnancy, but the eyelids will not open until the seventh month. Even after birth, the eyes and their relationship to the brain continue to develop. Our Creator God definitely knows us as individuals before we are born. Life is a continuous process of growth and development in God’s care, even in the womb. He knows us and loves us even before our parents realize we’re there. That’s how much God pays attention, even to you and me. As God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5).

As our eyes continue to open up to the world around us, we will not only gain knowledge of the created world but also of its Creator. We will then be able to live our days according to the way ordained for us, written in God’s book.

Dear Lord, thank You that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Open our eyes to see You and know You as our Lord and Savior. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Reaching out to our community

Genesis 18:3 (ESV)

And said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.

I read a story about a woodworker. Caleb wasn’t looking for a mentor or a friend when he went to work for Joe. He simply wanted to learn about woodworking. But the relationship became much more than that. Instead of assigning tasks, Joe asked Caleb what he wanted to learn through this experience. That set off a years-long friendship that went much farther than simply working together. Joe and Caleb shared meals and books together. Joe introduced Caleb to the details of selling his house so that Caleb could learn. Joe also introduced Caleb to his friends. Joe invited Caleb into his life and included him in all kinds of ways.

Community is about more than just a surface relationship. It calls for hospitality, and that often means putting oneself in a place of risk and vulnerability to include others. It means inviting others into your space to include them in what is going on.

Abraham and Sarah invited three strangers to rest, wash up, and eat. It might not seem like much, but this is an example of inviting strangers into our space so that they are not strangers anymore. Abraham and Sarah gave of themselves in order to make the strangers feel welcome, and they were blessed in amazing ways.

The ways we make room for others in our community is important.

Dear Lord, help us to invite others into our community as we invest in each other. Help us to see and serve you in the strangers and in our community. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Doubt

John 20:29 (ESV)

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

As he prepared his followers to live faithfully after his return to heaven, Jesus addressed the challenge of doubt and unbelief. Thomas was a realist. He knew that resurrections were not everyday events, and he feared that his fellow followers of Christ might have gotten it wrong. He wanted evidence. He demanded proof.

It’s easy to criticize Thomas for his doubts, but the truth is that many of us live with similar hesitations. After all, Jesus is no longer on earth for us to see and touch. We cannot have the same experience as the first disciples who walked with him after his resurrection. So we need Jesus to prepare us for the challenges of skepticism and doubt in our own lives.

What does Jesus say to struggling followers? “Stop doubting and believe.” We may not have the opportunity to feel the wounds of the cross with our own hands. But we have the testimony of lives changed by the Lord’s power. We can seek out the fellowship of other believers in the church and be encouraged by their words. And we can watch for the glory of Christ to appear around us, joining in with Thomas’s beautiful confession: “My Lord and my God!”

May the ascended Christ prepare you today to meet the challenge of doubt with the blessing of faith.

Dear Lord, it is sometimes hard to believe. We live in an age of doubts and lies, and our human minds constantly demand proof. But we believe; save us from unbelief! Fill us with faith. In the Name of Jesus,  Amen.

patient as we wait

James 5:7 (ESV)

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

Farmers understand the need for patience. “See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains,” says James. Arnold Glasgow must have been thinking similarly when he wrote about the importance of patience: “You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open.” In other words, as a familiar proverb puts it, “Good things come to those who wait”!

James was writing to believers who were being mistreated by people who were rich. By urging his readers to be patient, James wasn’t simply instructing them to be resigned to their difficult situation. Instead, he was reminding them that “the Lord’s coming is near,” and that when Christ returns, he will serve as the just Judge.

When Christ comes back from heaven, “with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God”,  he will set all wrongs right. Jesus is coming to give strength to the weak and to judge those whom the world considers strong.

Be patient then, James is saying, until the Lord’s coming, when the heavens and the earth will be made new and the Lord himself comes to live with us. It’s because we view life through the lens of eternity that we can be “thankful when things go well” and “patient when things go against us”.

Dear Lord, thank You that You are establishing a kingdom where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain; Help us to persevere patiently in that hope. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Why worry?

Luke 12:22 (ESV)

And he said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.

Jesus tells a parable to show that it’s foolish to think our security is in our wealth—or in anything besides God. The story is often called the parable of the rich fool.

Jesus called the man in this parable a fool because he was not thankful for the harvest he received. Instead the man was more concerned about his lack of storage space. He thought that as long as he had possessions, he had it made.

But do riches guarantee security and a happy life? By not being rich toward God, the rich man was in the worst kind of poverty. He was a fool.

Jesus then encourages us not to worry. He says, “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” We are children of God. Does it make any sense for God’s children to worry about what they will eat or drink? “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”

Here’s the bottom line. Jesus tells us to invest wisely. Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We must live for God first, trusting in him absolutely. We must throw away our worries and seek God first, rather than ourselves.

Dear Lord, forgive us for not putting your kingdom before our own wants. Please guide us to do Your will, as You provide us with all that we could ever need. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The rainbow

Genesis 9:12 (ESV)

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:

The rainbow is one of the most beautiful meteorological phenomena we can enjoy. Reflected in airborne water droplets, the sun’s rays create an optical miracle.

Growing up I remember seeing a rainbow after a rain shower made me feel happy. I was mostly excited about the fact that the weather was finally getting better and I could do outdoor activities. I still remember after reading the Bible I discovered that the arc of the rainbow signifies much more than simply the end of a spell of bad weather.

The rainbow has to do with the everlasting covenant, or agreement, that God made with all of Noah’s descendants and every living creature on earth after the flood. “Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood.” That was God’s unconditional promise, and the rainbow is God’s beautiful and powerful sign of that promise.

In the Bible we find descriptions of various covenants. All of them foreshadow the ultimate and most important one called the new covenant. Just like the covenant with Noah, the new covenant is an unconditional divine promise. Our Lord Jesus instituted this covenant by his death on the cross. It is a saving covenant of God’s grace, sealing the forgiveness of our sins and God’s special relationship with us.

Dear Lord, thank You for Your new covenant! We trust in Jesus Christ alone for righteousness and the forgiveness of sins. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

How much is enough?

1 Timothy 6:6 (ESV)

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

In Jesus’ parable, a man receives far more than he needs for his health and well-being. But instead of sharing his abundance with people who don’t have enough, he hoards the surplus and plans to take life easy for himself. He thinks only of himself and his own desires.

Greed always wants to gather more than is needed—and it refuses to share.

The greedy one’s eyes are bigger than its stomach. Greed, says a Chinese proverb, is like a snake that wants to swallow an elephant. Greed’s motto is concise: “Never enough!” Bigger barns and garages and walk-in closets are just the beginning.

Death will stop greed in its path and expose its folly: more is not better. After all, you can’t take it with you. Everything we have acquired on earth is useless to us after we’re gone. It is better, says Jesus, to store up treasures that last, that death cannot swallow, that show wisdom toward God.

Greed is a problem of the “self,” of what “I” need for the good life. Dying to our “selves” through Jesus is the beginning of wisdom that knows the meaning of “enough.” Self-denial in Christ’s name leads to the truly good life. Daily surrender to the Lord and his Spirit builds up riches that last. These are riches that lead us to love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves.

Dear Lord, give us neither poverty nor riches. Help us not to be greedy but to rely on You for what we need, and to share willingly. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

His love

John 13:1 (ESV)

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Everybody needs to be loved. It’s one of the deepest truths of our shared human condition. More specifically, we all need to be shown love.

When children are small, they sometimes engaged in trying to express how much they loved with arms and hands outstretched as far as their toddler-sized bodies would allow, or they strain to show the extent of their love with words: “This is how much I love you!” Of course, the parents are delighted!

As Jesus spent precious final hours with his disciples, his primary project was to make clear why he had come to earth. While the shadow of the cross crept steadily toward him, Jesus showed his disciples the central meaning of his mission: God’s love (see John 3:16).

How did Jesus communicate that message of love? He knelt down in front of his disciples and washed their feet. The One who had come from heaven humbly washed away the earth’s dirt from between his followers’ toes. What an unusual expression of love!

Jesus’ message of love is surprising. It’s countercultural. Its claim is that through the cross-shaped giving of himself, Jesus showed us the full extent of his love—he loved his followers “to the end.”

Jesus’ love bends low. His love washes us clean. Jesus’ love searches and reaches out for us. Have you opened your heart fully to his love?

Dear Lord, thank You for loving us. Help us to grasp how high and wide and deep and long Your love is for all people. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.