Monthly Archives: May 2016

A GOOD FRIEND?…Job 42

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Job had those three friends.  They proved to be less than helpful.  I think they wanted to be his friend, but their good intentions quickly deteriorated into a big argument where they’re right and he’s wrong.

I’ve been there.  Thought I was right, but then again…  You guessed it–wrong!  I’ve let friends and family down.  I’ve been let down by those close to me.  To be honest, I can barely think of anyone who ever apologized or asked to be forgiven.   I can ‘smell the wood burning’ as my brain is trying to think of who or when.  They weren’t sorry.  Most never looked my way again.

But Job’s three friends humble themselves, obeying the Lord, doing what He told them to do, admitting they were wrong, asking Job to pray for them.  Instead of accepting their direct prayer, God tells them to go back to the one they hurt, and have him offer prayers on their behalf.  There’s no guarantee that Job will have anything more to do with them.  None whatsoever.

But Job is a good friend.  He welcomes these three into his forgiving heart, and asks the same of the Lord.  Job takes the ‘high road’.  He could have rubbed their faces in the sand and dust.  Not Job.  Chapter 42: 10 says this–‘After Job prayed for his friends…’  They were still his friends.  In spite of all they had said, he forgave them.  That is exactly how the Lord deals with us, His humbled people.  With grace, kindness …and forgiveness.

You know anyone who could use a word of forgiveness?   Maybe a friend?  Or to whom we need to say– ‘I’m sorry.  I was wrong.  Please forgive me.’  These are tough words to speak.  We don’t like to say them.  I don’t.  But they’ll make us stronger in the Lord.  No guaranteed outcome, but we’ll be who we were meant to be– good friends like Job!

Prayer:  Lord, help us to forgive and be forgiven.  May we be good friends to those we love as you are to us.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

EVERYTHING BELONGS TO HIM!…Job 41:1-11

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I feel sorry for Job.  He’s called ‘blameless and upright’ and ‘the greatest man among all the peoples of the East'(Job 1: 1,3).  Yet God allows him to endure the most horrendous losses imaginable.  Job has had to ‘verbally fence’ with his wife, those three ‘friends’, that young know-it-all Eliphaz.  Finally, the Lord speaks.  God has the last word, as it should be.

God speaks ‘out of the storm'(Job 38:1).  Maybe you’re in a storm of sorts right now.  Life is turbulent.  Even sunny days feel cloudy and dark.  Reading Job 41 we hear the Lord comparing His strength with Job’s weakness.  God’s the Master, Job the servant.  Like you and me, under His lordship.  Job 41: 11–‘Everything under heaven belongs to me.’

He owns it all.  Nothing that exists anywhere, at any time, is other than God’s own possession.  Especially when times get tough, when questions override answers, we need to be reminded of who God is.  He’s without limits.  Lord of all.  Everything is His.  Genesis chapter 1 tells us that all creation has come from His hands.  All of it.  Start there, believe that first chapter of the Bible, and we’ll know who God is.  Lord of All.

When I accepted Jesus into my heart, I became a child of God as He promised(John 1: 12).  That relationship will last for all eternity.  The Bible is crystal clear that God truly loves us with a love known only to Him.  His love forgives freely and willingly.  Gives and gives, and then He gives some more.  He gave His only Son for us.  I wouldn’t do that.  Jesus died for us.  You couldn’t do that.  He rose in victory over the ultimate enemies of Satan and death.  We can’t do that.

All…for His own!  Which is so hard to grasp with the feeble fingers of our minds and hearts.  If we are His, and everything belongs to Him, can we not sense what comes next?  We can trust Jesus.  With every aspect of our lives.  With every prayer that seems to go unanswered.  With every uncertainty of health and wealth.  We can cast all at His feet, relaxing in His arms, with confidence and peace.  ‘Everything…belongs to me'(Job 41:11).

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for being the God who you are.  We love you and trust you no matter what.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

THERE’S GOT TO BE MORE!…Judges 10: 1-5

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I’m reading the book of Judges in the Old Testament.  One of your favorites?!  ‘Judges’ were leaders chosen to help Israel follow the Lord.  After Joshua’s death, the nation faces a power vacuum.  Quickly the people turn away from God, reject Him and worship idols.  Things go terribly wrong for God’s people.  I wonder why?!  Israel cries out for help.  God provides leaders, the judges.  A few have familiar names–Gideon, Deborah, Samson and Samuel.  But many do not.

Like the two from today’s reading.  Tola and Jair.  Who?  What did they do to help Israel?  We know little about them, though they ruled collectively for 45 years!  Of Tola, we only know the names of his father and grandfather(imagine a name like Dodo!), and that he was of the family of Issachar but lived in the hill country of another family, Ephraim.  That’s it.  After leading Israel for 23 years, he died and was buried in Shamir of Ephraim.

Then comes Jair of Gilead, east of the Jordan River, between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee.  Judge for 22 years.  Has 30 sons, rides 30 donkeys, controlling 30 towns.  Died and buried in the town of Kamon.  That’s it… again!

Don’t we want our lives to count for more than that?  There’s got to be more.  Looking in the mirror of life, I’d like mine to count for more than stale, bare-bones facts.  Remembered… for living for the Lord?  No reference to God is mentioned with the names of Tola and Jair.  How sad.  I hope that’s not said of me.  You too?  Of course.  Remembered… for loving the Lord.  For sharing Jesus with others.  For giving to missions where I couldn’t or wouldn’t go.  Far from perfect, but knew the Perfect One to go to for forgiveness and renewal.  Had a few tough breaks, some of his own making, but who ended better than he began.  Ended well for the Lord.  That’s how I’d like to be remembered.

With those godly goals in mind, I know how to live.  What decisions help or break them.  How about you?  Looking to the end will help you focus on how you live your life now.  How would you like to be remembered?

Prayer:  Lord, we genuinely want to live for you.  That our lives matter, not only for the here-and-now, but for eternity.  For you!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

 

TIED UP IN KNOTS!…Acts 18: 18-22

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As a new believer, I struggled with knowing God’s will for my life.  Wrestling with the tiniest, itsy-bitsy decision.  Do I tie this shoe lace first or the other?  Tied up in knots!  I was miserable!  What does God want me to do?  How can I possibly know what He wants?

You know what has helped?  God’s Word… listening to what’s going on inside its pages.  Hearing the dialogues of the Bible.  How God’s people interact with Him and He with them.  Here’s a hint:  stop worrying… start enjoying the Lord.  Stop being so picky and perfectionist as if God is ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness.

Acts 18 is a helpful passage.  The Apostle Paul  is in the city of Ephesus, teaching about Jesus the Messiah.  The Ephesians can’t get enough.  They beg him to stay longer.  ‘Don’t rush off.  We have so many questions for you.  Show us more of the Bible.  Please!’

You know what Paul says?  ‘No!  Got to keep moving on for the Lord’.  I would find that hard to say.  Is this not God’s will?  Stay longer and do more for Him?  Paul says ‘no’, but does make a promise that IF it is the Lord’s will he shall return to them.  ‘…I will come back if it is God’s will'(Acts 18:21).

The word ‘if’ is most significant.  A little word with a large impact.  ‘If’ shows our confidence in God, that He always knows what’s best.  We pray for His will to be done… and then move forward.  Not looking back(hard to do!).  Not second guessing(sometimes harder!).  Going with what’s inside us as put there by the Lord.  Confident, unfettered and flexible.  Doing this-and-that ‘if’ God so wills it.

Navel-gazing Christian life is no fun.  Tied up in knots!  Not sure what to do.  Conflicted and confused.  Know what I mean?  God’s will for each of us is to ‘glorify Him and enjoy Him forever’.  That wisdom, found in the ‘Westminster Shorter Catechism'(1647), remains profoundly true today.  Simply enjoy Him.  Listen for His voice in the Bible.  Live freely.  Love Him.  Again… ENJOY Him!

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for your guidance.  The freedom we receive from following you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE…1Corinthians 9:6, Galatians 2:1, 9,13 and Colossians 4:10

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The Bible passages for today round out the picture of Barnabas, the ‘Son of Encouragement’.  A role model, yet with flaws like the rest of us.  One of the many things I love about the Bible is its honesty.  No candy-coating or ‘spin’.  Truthful from cover to cover.

Take Barnabas, for example.  He’s hardworking.  In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul mentions that he and Barnabas work for a living.  Paul was a tentmaker.  Barnabas too?  We don’t know.  They didn’t live by handouts.  Were hardworking men.  The same for us– men and women, doing what the Lord has gifted us to do.  With discerning generosity for those who need our help.

In Galatians,  we see Paul and Barnabas as a team–‘…this time with Barnabas'(2:1) and ‘…gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship'(2:9).  Barnabas is a team player, an encouragement to the Apostle Paul.  Someone he could count on when the chips were down.  Paul and Barnabas–like one name!

Unfortunately, neither was perfect.  Unlike me and thee, and I’m not sure about thee!  Remember they had a huge argument, splitting their team in two.  I’m sure both felt they were right, with the other being wrong.  Paul was not afraid to air his opinions even with the chief apostle, Peter.  Galatians 2:11–‘…Peter…I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.’  Not only Peter, but Barnabas is due criticism.

What’s happened?  Peter would fellowship with the new Gentile believers until the old guard ‘Board of Elders’ shows up, and then he snubs the ‘newbies’ treating them like second-class Christians.  Paul shakes his head in disappointment when he sees Barnabas also backing away from his Gentile brothers and sisters.  Paul lets those hypocrites(v.13) have it with both barrels!  What about us?  Avoiding someone?  Looking down on those who make us look bad?  Like I’m something special and they’re not much at all?

One final reference to Barnabas in the Bible.  Colossians 4:10.  The Apostle Paul mentions that Mark is with him.  And that he is Barnabas’ cousin.  Mark, the same one that Paul wanted no part of.  Now, he’s matured, committed, solid for the Lord.  The investment by Barnabas has paid hefty dividends in Mark’s life.

Someone you can think of who needs a second chance?  A helping hand?   An encouraging word?  Be a Barnabas to them.  Be a ‘Son or Daughter of Encouragement’!

Prayer:  Lord, help me to be an encouragement to someone today.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

COULD BOTH BE RIGHT?…Acts 15: 36-41

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Could both be right?  Paul and Barnabas have had a huge blowup over taking John Mark on their second missionary journey.  Mark had deserted them on the first one.  Left them high and dry, sailing back home.  Take him with us again?  ‘No way’, says the Apostle Paul.  ‘Let him grow up first’.  But Barnabas, the ‘Son of Encouragement’, wants to give him a second chance.  Who’s right?  Could both?  Does one necessarily cross out the other?

Let me apply this to my own life.  I’m thinking of when proverbial doors were slammed right in my face.  My job as pastor came crashing down all around me.  Devastating, and not only for me.  I imagine the Apostle Paul would have advised me to take time off.  Find a new career.  Cool your heels.  Check the pulse of what you really want to do.  Find out what the Lord wants for you.  Grow… before you go.  Get closer to Him after the doors have closed.

Paul would have been absolutely right.  After this happened, outside the four walls of a church, I began to grow somewhat by fits-and-starts.  Not an even path.  Never for the likes of me!  Slowly but surely(and don’t call me Shirley!), I was drawing near to Jesus.   Need time off and away?  To sit at His feet?  To hear Him… and to talk with the Lord?  Pray…read your Bible…heal?  Do it.  Take the time.

But Barnabas was right, also.  I thank God for those who gave me second chances…to serve the Lord Jesus.  Like a Roman Catholic priest, a local hospital chaplain and dear friend, who took some criticism for having this Protestant– me!– preach at the Catholic hospital service two weeks after exiting through the back door of my old church.  He told me to ‘get right back on that horse’!  He was Barnabas to me.  Gave me that second chance, when I never even asked for it.  I’m so grateful.

And the local Christian television station that hosted my weekly program of testimony and evangelism for over five years.  No longer bound behind four walls of a church, my ministry reached into two counties in our state.  And then, those fourteen years, I loved pastoring a church in that same town.  Now… a different person.  Now… preaching, teaching, encouraging missions and evangelism, Bible studies, prayer groups.  Now… sitting at the Lord’s feet.  All in that same town!

Grow in Him.  Give and receive second chances.  Do you wonder what the Lord can make of your life?  Wonder no more!  Grow in Him.  Get close to Jesus.  Watch the Lord open windows and doors for you…for others…for Him!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for second chances in life, and time to get close to you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.