Author Archives: revjaf

NO U-HAULS ON THE WAY TO THE CEMETERY!…Psalm 49

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Guess you haven’t seen one either.  What is it?  A U-Haul trailer hooked up to the back of a hearse on the way to the cemetery!  Can’t take it with you, as we all know.  But do we? Seems to me that we all hold onto things with a tight grip.  My money…my house…my car…!  You name it,  it’s mine!

I remember hearing the story of a Texan with gobs of money, who died, and left instructions that he was to be buried lashed to the steering wheel of his old 1957 Cadillac. This old car even had bull horns soldered to the front as hood ornaments.  And there he was, the old guy,  wearing a 10-gallon hat, a string cowboy tie, and alligator boots strapped to the peddles.  As this ridiculous rig was being lowered into the ground, someone was heard to say, ‘Man, that’s living!’   Really?  Supposedly the senior John D. Rockefeller’s accountant was asked how much the multi-millionaire left when he died.  He was the richest man in the world in the 1930’s.  How much did he leave?  The accountant said that Rockefeller left it all,  every last dime!  Took nothing with him.  So will we.

Psalm 49:16- 17–‘Be not afraid when a man becomes rich…For when he dies he will carry nothing away;  his glory will not go down after him.’  In verse 20–‘Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.’   Not only do they leave all behind, but if ‘without understanding’, without a relationship with the Lord, it gets even worse.

For believers, the worst day we’ll ever have in this world, is the worst day we’ll ever have.  Verse 15–‘But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.’  Ransomed by the blood of Jesus, you are received safe and sound into God’s family.   To be ransomed is to be bought out of slavery.  In this case, as slaves to sin.  Sinful people cannot redeem themselves from their own sin.  Only the Son of God can,  who gave Himself as a ransom for our sins(see Mark 10:45).

I love that word ‘receive’–‘for He will receive me'(verse 15).  Not only do I receive the Lord Jesus into my heart,  but God Himself receives me into His presence.  What an honor!   No more sorrows, no more parting.  No more pain or suffering.   None of that… ever again.  His promises and His presence–those you will take to the grave and beyond…

Prayer:  Thank you, Jesus, for coming to this earth.  We honor you and love you, now and forever.  Amen.

PUTTING THE GEAR IN DRIVE…Psalm 45

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Driving in England,  we rented a Vauxhall Astra that had a left-hand gear shift with six forward gears. Six?  I couldn’t believe it.  And I had to master it the moment we got into the car!  One gear for reverse with six forward.  Take the hint!   Rarely in reverse, keep going and getting ahead.

Like the large windshield in front, seeing what’s ahead.  Small side and rearview mirrors to briefly check what’s beside and behind us.  A sudden glance with most of the time looking forward.

Psalm 45: 16–looking ahead.  Generations pointing forward and not in reverse.  ‘In place of your fathers shall be your sons.’  I am very aware that my sons need to put all their energy forward to their children.  Love goes forward in six gears with just a smidgen in reverse.  What makes me happy is when I see our children caring for theirs.  Love moves forward and needs to.

Respect and honor for parents.  That would be nice.  Sometimes we’ll need their extra helping hand.  As the psalmist says:  ‘your sons will take the place of your fathers;  you will make them princes throughout the land.  I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever’ (Psalm 45: 16-17).  The psalmist is referring to Israel’s king and successors.

I couldn’t help but sense the Lord’s gentle nudge.  Encourage your sons and daughters. Love them.  Love their spouses and their children.  Pray for them often.  Be there for them, but don’t smother them or weigh them down.  Use the forward gears.  As the Apostle Paul said, ‘…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus'(Philippians 3: 13-14).

Maybe this has sparked a thought in your mind.  You need to shift into the gears of love, encouragement, concern, forgiveness, patience along with lots of prayer.  No children?  Pour out your love to any and all you really care about.

Think about it.  If you’ve been taking too much, demanding too much, unforgiving and bitter, ask the Lord to show you how to let go, getting out of reverse, shifting into those  forward gears!

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, for all your love and care.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

SHARING THE FAITH…. Judges 2: 1-10

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How quickly the next generation turned their backs on the Lord.   Judges 2: 10–‘And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel’.  One generation away and God was pushed out of their lives. Believing parents?  I suppose.   For some reason, they didn’t share their faith.  How could that be?

In my own life, complacency has robbed me of the urgency to share the Lord.  I came to know Jesus listening to Billy Graham on the radio.  I was turning the dial and something caught my ear. Heard the Gospel for the very first time.  I responded by asking Jesus into my life.

I had been a church-goer, sort of.  Once in a blue moon.  Not really a high priority for my family except for some distant cousins.  Were good people…just not interested in the things of the Lord!  The morning after accepting the Lord, I started reading a ‘mint condition’ Bible I was given in 3rd grade.  Getting into the things of God and they into me.

Wait a minute.  The Bible I had was mailed to me from the church where I had been baptized as an infant.  Someone, I forget the name now, had given money for a perpetual fund that would give every baby baptized in that church their own Bible when they reached the age of eight.  Whoever that was wanted the next generation to know the Lord and His Word.

Give you an idea about passing on the faith?  Not exactly in that way?   Find another.  Do something to make sure that your family knows about how you came to find Jesus and all that He’s done in  your life.  I love to give money for evangelism with children…’pass it on’!  Monies for Christian radio.  That’s how Jesus found me.  What ideas do you have?  Think about it.  Keep doing what you’re doing…but more so.

That’s right–do more.  Don’t talk about doing it… do it!  Share your story.  We know the Lord wants us to ‘pass it on’.  Not me alone.  ‘…that you may tell the next generation that this is God,  our God forever and ever.  He will guide us forever’ (Psalm 48: 13-14).  ‘Pass It On’!

Prayer:  Lord, we ask, on bended knee, for the salvation of each one in our families, neighborhoods and country.  In His name.  Amen.

HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE?… Judges 2: 1-10

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This is a most discouraging chapter in the Bible.  Doesn’t seem possible.  Joshua,  Moses’ successor, has led God’s people into the promised land.  God reminds them that, in spite of all His love and faithfulness, they have chosen to turn their backs on Him.  Trouble lies ahead, consequences of their rebellion.  The people cry out to the Lord.  Help!   Naming the place ‘Bochim’, which means ‘weepers’.  ‘Finders,  keepers/  losers,  weepers’.  They find themselves not keeping their part of the covenant.  Therefore,  losing is coming their way, causing weeping with deep regrets.

Joshua 2:6-7 tell of a repentant people serving the Lord, seeing the miraculous hand of God– ‘…the great work that the Lord had done for Israel’.  A miracle of submission.  But, can this last?

Joshua has died at a ripe old age.  Judges 2:10 is hard to comprehend.  Seems  impossible. How in the world could this be,  seeing all that He has done for them?  ‘…And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done for Israel.’ Why was it so hard for them to remember the Lord?  Too busy raking in the blessings, forgetting to tell their own children their Source?   What’s wrong with these hard-headed people?  You know what?–something weird has happened to me.  I don’t know who, but someone has just put up a big, old, dirty mirror on the wall in my study where I am now writing.  A mirror?  I never wanted one.  Who did this to me?  ‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall,  whose the disobedient and forgetful one of all’?!  ‘It’s me, it’s me, O Lord…’

Must admit to my own failure to trust the Lord for more than a few  minutes at a time. Forgetful.  Negligent about sharing Him with the ones I love the most.

How can I do better?  Here’s a few ideas that come to mind– focus on God’s character.  Zero in on His promises.  Concentrate on the life and teachings of Jesus.  Learn to lean on those everlasting arms.  On the darkest nights, exercise faith in the Lord like wearing night vision goggles, seeing God through eyes of faith. Decide right now to be serious in your commitment to the Lord.  No more games.  No more wishy-washiness.  All in.  For Him.   Are you with  me?

Prayer:  Lord, deepen our faith so that we forget you less and less… and learn to trust you more and more.  In Jesus’ name, the faithful One.  Amen.

AFTER THE UPROAR…Acts 20:1-2

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Reading these two verses, I think of ‘uproars’ in my own life.  I still suffer anxiety related to contracting polio as a two year old.  Ridiculous–that was many moons ago.  For my mother I had been a ‘surprise’,  and not a pleasant one as she would often remind me.  She would say this in a sort-of kidding way,  but I was never sure.   A pregnancy in her mid-30’s.  My father’s house-painting business was beginning and probably their income was tenuous.  Lots of worries for my mother.  She grew up during the Depression,  and her family was no ‘great shakes’..  And then I catch the polio virus.

My memories,  none pleasant,  are few but vivid all these decades later.  Now?  I know myself well enough that whenever I’m in a new place,  that the first night or two will be  scary for me.  Feels like I’m abandoned all over again.  ‘After the uproar ceases, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell…'(Acts 20: 1).  Uproars that cease…encouragement that spreads.

I’m thinking of a pastor friend of mine who came back from a well-deserved vacation only to be greeted by an angry board and others who had turned on him, turned a growing church into one seething with anger and recrimination.  When I heard about this’ uproar’,  I immediately called him to offer my help, my shoulder, my prayers.  When I had been through something similar, my phone went strangely silent.  No calls, no encouragement, no one to listen and cry with.  I promised the Lord that I would be different for others from the ‘uproar’ that I went through… alone.

Another pastor friend has endured terrible pain recovering from back surgery.  I called him the other night to encourage him, and he winds up giving me the encouragement that I didn’t even know I needed.  He’s that kind of friend.

‘Uproars’ come to all of us… and then they cease.  What Paul did with his ‘uproar’ was to use it to encourage others in their time of need.  Not easy to do.  Must overcome our own reticence and self-centeredness…to reach out to someone else in their need.  If you do, though,  you’ll feel so much better about yourself and life in general.

Don’t tell your story…hear theirs.  Encouraging someone else has never led to more loneliness and anxiety in my life.  Quite the contrary.  Take your wounds,  lick them for a brief time,  place them at the feet of Jesus, and then pray that the Lord will use you to help someone else.  That will certainly help the ‘uproar’ to cease even sooner.

Prayer:  Lord, direct me to someone in need that I can encourage today.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

DIRECTIONS FROM ABOVE… Matthew 2

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When it comes to a sense-of-direction, I’m lost!  My boys always laughed when I was driving and said, ‘this doesn’t look right’.  They knew we were terribly lost!  When God gave out a sense of direction,  I was missing!

My wife and I love to use road maps.  Remember them?!  Helps to see where we might want to go on a trip.  In Matthew chapter 2 you notice the variety of means that God uses to direct His people.  When Jesus is born in Bethlehem, Magi arrive on the scene.  God provided a star, shining over this royal baby and His parents.  Like the star predicted in Numbers 24:17.   A prophetic vision of a heavenly light.   A dream is given the Wise Men, one which warns them to escape back home.  Joseph receives his own warning through a dream.   Escape and flee to Egypt,  until the political threat from Herod has passed.  Then they can return home to Nazareth fulfilling what had been said by the prophets years before.

Many means of revelation in this one chapter of the Bible.  Angels…a star…strange visitors from the East…dreams…warnings…prophets.  God spoke in many ways.

How about today?  Here we must be very careful.  I’ve seen much abuse over the years, even by well-meaning Christians hungry for direction, insecure and afraid to make one itsy-bitsy mistake.  Been there myself.  Can try to manipulate God by stacking the ‘signs’ in our favor.  A friend was always looking for ‘signs’ about everywhere you could imagine.   Sad really.

Be very careful about getting ‘directions from God’.  Two Scriptures we should consider.  Hebrews 1:  1-2  and Deuteronomy 29:29.  Hebrews says that all these means of revelation used by the Lord have now been summed up completely in His Son Jesus Christ.  Look to Him.  Look at Him in the pages of your Bible.  Don’t let your eyes dart all around.   The gaze at Jesus alone will light your path and make your choices that much less burdensome.  We’ll be free…in Him.  Free to cease navel-gazing, looking upward instead.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says that the Lord has revealed all He wants for us in the Bible. Revelation complete… but not comprehensive.  Much He never reveals to us–‘the secret things belong to the Lord our God…’    ‘Secret things’ that will not be uncovered through some maze of hidden clues, fleeces or signs.  Things God keeps to Himself.    ‘Secret things’–belong to God.  ‘Things… revealed belong to us and to our children forever…the words of this law'(Deut. 29:29).

Prayer:  Dear God, for showing all that you have for us in the Bible, we are in awe.  Thank you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

RUN TO JESUS!… Psalm 32

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When it comes to sin, we can either run away from  or run to Jesus… and have it covered by forgiveness.  I’ve tried both.   I prefer having them covered by the blood of Jesus Christ!   A cover-up apart from the Lord does not work.  He can’t be fooled. There is no running away from God.  Period.  Why try?  Futility is such a colossal waste of time and energy.

Why not come to the One, the only One,  who can take care of our sins.  Cover them. Covered,  never to be heard of again.  At least not in His eyes, being the only ones that count in the end.  Psalm 32–‘Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered'(verse 1).   The psalmist goes on to describe how when he kept silent about his many sins, when he ran away from ‘facing the music’ with his Lord,  that his ‘bones wasted away…all day long'(verse 3).

Treating our own sins through a variety of means–excessive alcohol, drugs, money-grubbing, sexual adventures, whatever it may be–leads down a dead-end path.  Run for cover to the Son of God.  Not away from our responsibility but to the One with the ability to wash away our sins.  When my wife and I go to an Oregon Christian Conference Center in the summer, one of the events scheduled is the sandcastle competition.  Many families come up with creative sand designs based on a theme from the Bible teaching of the week.  Some are small and simple designs, others large and elaborate.  What’s true for all the dozens of sandcastles, big or small, is that when the tide comes in all of them are completely covered by the salt water and washed away by the movement of the tide and waves.

All our sins when covered by the blood of Jesus,  from  ‘little white lies’ to heinous, unthinkable shameful evil,  all of them,  placed sincerely and sorrowfully at the feet of Jesus, are washed away once and for all.  Can you imagine?  Can any of us do that on our own?

Run to Jesus.  Run for your life.  Run for eternal life.  Then you can say:  ‘Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart'(Psalm 32: 11).  Me?  You?  Upright…righteous?  Yes, by the blood of Jesus, who covers us completely, fully and forever.  Wow!

Prayer:  Lord, how can we ever thank you for all the love you’ve shown to us.  All the forgiveness, all the kindness.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

COLLABORATION!… Acts 17: 10-12

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There’s a new ‘buzz’ word.   We’ve heard it used recently by our four year old granddaughter.   Collaboration!   Not a new word as it’s derived from the Latin for ‘working together’.  The Berean Jews receive Paul and Silas with a genuine desire to give them a fair hearing.  Reports have been circulating, conflicting and confusing.  These noble Bereans receive Paul’s message with great eagerness.  But they also take everything Paul says with a ‘grain of salt’, checking it out, examining the Scriptures to ‘see if what Paul said was true’ (Acts 17: 11).  These people are not going to fall for any line that some new-guy coming to town would spin.  No,  they discuss, dispute and debate among themselves.    Kick around the ideas presented to them.  All the while turning to the Bible, the Old Testament,  for confirmation of what is true and what isn’t.

Where do we turn to for the truth?  On our own, we’re helpless.  Aimless and never quite sure.  We need the collaboration of the Lord,  with what He has given us in the Word of God.  I remember an old professor at the Moody Bible Institute, who taught in the pastoral studies department.  He was a part-time instructor and a retired pastor. Couldn’t be all bad if he was a retired pastor!!   He recommended to us what I never did in my ministry or life.   Nevertheless,  his idea was a good one!  Read your morning newspaper standing up.  What?  Yes, while standing on your two feet.   Who wants to do that?  Not me.  His thought was that we needed to spend less time in this world’s news so we that we had more time to spend in God’s Good News– like the Bereans did.

He was so right.  How can we collaborate with God?  Co-labor with Him?  Spend as much time as you can looking into the Bible so we can interact with all the messages, good and bad, that the world floods us with.  That’s collaboration.  Not an empty buzz word.    Checking out everything.  Check it out!

 

Prayer:  Lord, for your Word, which we trust and stand upon as on solid ground, we thank you.  It’s your gift to us….a rudder in stormy seas.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

HOW DO WE HONOR THEM? … Proverbs 23: 22-26

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Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are fast approaching the horizon of our calendars.  The only one of the Ten Commandments that contains a promise is the one about honoring father and mother.  But how do we honor them?  How we would like our children to honor us?

I’ve never been one for ‘blind obedience’ from our children.  Of course, rebellion is not what I have in mind, either!  But not the finger-pointing,  power-hungry,  ‘do what I say or else’ kind of parent or grandparent.  To cower in fear in my presence never is my idea of being honored.

Honor should be earned as well as given.  There are parents who have forfeited their right to be honored because they have violated their godly parental roles.  Overstepped bounds that should never have been crossed.  Respect and honor–given and earned.   You know what I mean.

Here’s a question?  How do we honor our parents that are long gone?  Like mine.  I think of them often.  How to honor them?  Or would the commandment only apply to living parents?  Holidays raise lots of questions.   In the church I last served, I was always conscious that these parenting holidays are fraught with emotional pitfalls.   Some of our members never had children.  Others had children they were alienated from with all the hurt you could imagine.  Others faced the terrible burden of outliving their children.  A few, too many really, had parents that were in name only. What I would do in worship on Mother’s and Father’s Day was ask for those who wanted to share uplifting blessings about their children, or tell about other’s children that they felt close to like they were their own, or about their parents who were so good to them.  I also wanted to leave silent space for those too pained to speak.  I wanted to honor them as well.

As these holidays come,  be sensitive to fellow believers who have much hurt in their hearts.   Maybe a hug, without a spoken word, would be the best gift.  As far as honoring our parents, the best honor my children could ever give me would be for them to know, love and serve the Lord.  That’s how I feel.  Can you think of a better way to honor your parents, alive or not, than to live for Him?

So, my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren, live for Jesus!  Know Him.  Accept Him into your life.  Study Him from the only source of truth, the Bible.  From that, and from Him, you’ll know all about respect, love and honor.  That’s it.  That’s all.  Enough said from Dad, Father-in-Law, Step-Dad and Silly Papa!

Prayer:  God our Father, thank you for sending your only Son Jesus to die for us who believe in You.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

CLOUDY DAYS…Exodus 13: 17-22

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We had an amazing winter and spring in the Pacific Northwest.  Warmer than usual with a lot less rain.  Now that we have moved 50 miles away from a marine climate, we notice more dryness in the air as well.  Not much fog either.

It was in the spring when we started to get real serious about the move we’ve talked about for years.  We thought we’d want to be somewhere in-between where all our family lived.  Twenty one years in one house.  It’s time to move on!  But what a job.  Deciding what to take.  Packing up what we want,  disposing of what we don’t.

Do we want a townhouse or a condo?  How about a retirement community?  Nothing seemed to fit us.  This was wrong.  That was not right.  We knew that we both had to agree–husband and wife, each with veto power.  But, now was the right time.  We both had retired from our full-time jobs way back in 2002,  and then retired from the part-time church position in our home town.  Better get ‘off the dime’.   We both knew what a big task this would be.  All the work before the move.

Let’s get to the Scripture for today.  Why would I choose verses about God’s leading the Israelites out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the outskirts of the promised land under Moses’ leadership?  Why?  Well, it has to do with clouds by day and fire by night.  Throughout the process of moving, we asked for the Lord’s guidance.  To close doors that needed closing, and open ones that we could go through.  We depended upon Him.  Without a faltering step in our faith?  Yeah, right!  Maybe in my dreams!  Kept coming back to Jesus for His help.  HELP!

He always welcomes us with open arms, even with our puny mustard seed faith.  For us, we experienced the cloud of the Lord moving before us, shading us, directing us, giving us the moisture we needed in the deserts we were travelling through.  The cloud covered God’s people from the scorching heat of the sun.  The fire at night gave light and warmth in that rapidly-cooling desert.  Never seeing His face, always clouded over, but when looking up,  sensing His presence throughout.

Cloudy days and fiery nights!  You too may be in a bit of a desert.  Look up.  The clouds are there to remind you of the One who is always above.  Even when we don’t see Him.  Especially on cloudy days.  Ask for His help.  As He promised…’behold, I am with you always,  to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20 ESV).  When Jesus makes a promise,  He keeps it.  I’m so glad!

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for being there with us even when we can’t see you except through eyes of faith.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.