Change Please?

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) ¹  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. ²  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

            Change is happening all around, and change is happening in me. Change is inevitable and change is constant. We resist it, fear it, try to ignore it, and let it annoy us, but it does not go away. In many ways change is very good. I like using a flush toilet and a hot shower as much as the next person. But change is not necessarily always good. We fear it will ruin things in our lives… our happiness, and sometimes it does. Not all change is welcome. The pace of change can be hard on us. The explosion of knowledge and technology in the last 100 years has brought many exciting things into everyday life, but they often come with a cost (impacting the environment, relationships, lifestyles, culture, etc. in negative ways). The upcoming graduating high school class of 2017 will, for the most part, have been born just before the new millennium began (around 1999). They do not have personal knowledge of a pre-smartphone, pre-bluetooth, pre-iPad, pre-YouTube, pre-Facebook, pre-Wi-Fi, pre-thumb drive, pre-Amazon.com, pre-flat screen HDMI TV, pre-Google, pre-911, pre-success-of-the-Boston-Red-Sox, pre-texting, pre-reality TV, pre-Starbucks, pre-Twitter, pre-Netflix, pre-Taylor Swift/Kardashian/The Avengers, pre-easy-access-to-pornography, pre-same-sex-marriage, pre-selfie, pre-_____ world. I’m sure you can fill in the blank with many other trends and changes. Some of these may have affected you little, while others have deeply impacted how you live and think.

            That’s what change does: It impacts how you live and think. It moves you either to come out of your pre-conceptions and “change with the times” or to reaffirm your convictions while other consider you outdated or a relic from days gone by. One thing is sure: when it comes to change you cannot remain neutral. This is also true spiritually. God has given us His Word, among other reasons, to change us… in the deepest places of our lives. The Holy Spirit is at work in us when we come to the Scriptures to convict and convince us into thinking and action that is continually being shaped into the ways of God and the mind of Christ. While this often brings us through hard change, God’s work in us – including in the realm of change – is always good.

            Having become 60 years old in 2016, I find myself wanting and needing to sort through the unchanging purposes, plans, precepts, and principles that come from God and the cultural and societal changes that confront (and sometimes assault) me daily. How can I be relevant without compromise? How do I communicate the absolute, unchanging truth of the things of God to younger generations (in my family, church, and community) without losing sight of love and grace or without alienating my audience? It’s a good thing that the Spirit of God has great power to do in people’s hearts and minds what I cannot do. Now, I am not naïve, nor do I want to be self-centered. The position I am in, and the questions I am asking, and the changes I am facing are not unique in any way. Every generation of the followers of Christ has had to live and minister through times of change. Perhaps we could say that that is one thing that hasn’t changed. And the Word of God still stands. The Gospel of Jesus Christ still saves. The Church still has the Holy Spirit to fill her and help her. People still want (and need) to know God. God’s ways still work. And the future – tomorrow or ten-thousand years from now – is still secure in the hands of our Lord. What an exciting time it is to be a Christian and to be a part of God’s kingdom work!

At our recent sunrise service I encouraged people to add up their lives by the number of days they have lived. If God’s mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3), then every day of my life has brought a change – for the good – in God’s hands-on loving care of me. Every reason for a new mercy has a changing dimension to it. So, in my case, I have had (as of this writing) 22,132 days of new mercies in my life. And tomorrow will add more. God is so amazingly good.

Whatever the change is… however it impacts our lives… let’s give it to God and watch what He is doing with praise and even thanksgiving. When we know He is in charge, we can boldly say, “Bring it on!” Amen!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)  See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 46:9-10 (NIV) ⁹  Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. ¹⁰  I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) ²²  Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)  "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

PRAYER:  Father, with you there is no change. There is nothing new in all your creation. Jesus, you are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I place my experience of change in this world into your strong hand and I make it subject to your will and purpose for me. May I always trust you. Then I will know that no change can bring me harm. I walk confidently with you. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

Making Plans

James 4:13-16 (NIV)   ¹³  Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." ¹⁴  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵  Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." ¹⁶  As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

            One of the things we will be doing at our upcoming Leader Retreat is looking forward at the future. We will do this in the short term (the 2016-17 school year) and the long term (next 2-5 years). We will be fairly detailed in the short term plan and a bit broader in the long term as we think and pray about the direction(s) the Lord wants our church to go. Organizationally, we will be doing things that many organizations do as they evaluate their health and future. Spiritually we will be placing it all in the hands of the Lord.

            As individuals we often set goals for life. We have dreams. We have hopes. We make plans. The further we are from the future we are considering, the “looser” grip we can have on plans. So many things can change in life, and the plans we do make need continual adjustment. Making plans for a nearer future (usually measured in weeks and months) helps to sharpen goals for any number of things we would like to accomplish. And then there are day-to-day plans that guide our lives. Although I have lots of technology in my life, a simple, small yellow pad works best for me. On this pad I make lists, especially related to work matters that need my attention. These lists are quite helpful in reminding me of what I need to remember. I know this method isn’t for everyone, but it works well for me.

            All of these things – the stuff and the methods we use to organize our lives and (in the case of our church) our common ministry and life together – are all well and good. They help us get things done, hopefully efficiently and effectively. Yet I always try to keep in mind that all of my plans, from the smallest to the greatest, are always 100% in the Lord’s hands. Throughout history men and women have had many great intentions and grand plans for their lives, families, and even nations… only to see them go completely awry… or, sadly, never to see them at all due to arrival of the end of their lives. The proud man believes his future is in his own hands. The humble man rests in the Lord and places his future in His hands. The Scriptures are full of occasions when man’s way and the Lord’s way were very different. Unregenerate man is oblivious to the Lord. His great failure is to not recognize even the existence of God, let alone submit his future to the will of a personal God who is Lord of all. But God’s people must also use care… that we do not presume upon the will of our Lord. I believe it is wise to make plans, but unwise to not take the Lord into consideration when making them. Do our plans in life take us out of God’s will (not allowing for time with the Lord, study of the Word, or gathering with our fellow believers, for example)? Should we not question such plans and be careful to be discerning about leaving the Lord out of our plans? Do we make plans without prayer or an attitude of submitting ourselves and our plans to God’s gracious will? Should we not give more care to avoid presumption? James reminds us that we don’t actually know what tomorrow will bring. All the plans in the world won’t change God’s will for tomorrow. He graciously gives wisdom to help us prepare for the future, but His wisdom reminds us that that future is not in our control. It is in His.

            May God be gracious to us, and teach and lead us to always make our plans with hearts that are fully surrendered to Him. Amen!

Luke 12:16-21 (NIV) ¹⁶  And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷  He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' ¹⁸  "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹  And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' ²⁰  "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' ²¹  "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)  Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)  Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) ⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

PRAYER:  Father, tomorrow belongs to you alone. Everything I plan, I make subject to your will, your wisdom, and your glory. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

Built by the Master

John 14:1-3 (NIV) ¹  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

            It would be an understatement to say that Rio de Janeiro was unprepared for the Summer Olympics to begin. Consider this July 28^th report in the Washington Post…

      “The Summer Olympics are just days from opening, and organizers have been forced to mount a ‘massive operation’ to fix a deluge of plumbing and electricity problems at the Athletes' Village in Rio.

It was the latest upset for an Olympics taking place amid a severe economic recession, a Zika epidemic, the impeachment process of suspended president Dilma Rousseff and a spike in crime in Rio state — which is so broke it needed a government bailout to pay police salaries in arrears.

      The latest crisis began on Sunday, when the Australian team said its building in the Athletes' Village was uninhabitable because of problems with plumbing and electricity… Ilha Pura supplied technical teams to help finish the work, the spokeswoman said, and its priority was to offer athletes ‘the best hospitality infrastructure.’ That was not what the Australian team found when it conducted a “stress test” of the apartments on Saturday — turning on toilets and taps on several floors at the same time. ‘The system failed. Water came down walls, there was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was 'shorting' in the electrical wiring,’ delegation chief Kitty Chiller said in a statement. ‘In our mind, our building is not habitable,’ she later told reporters.

      Now, with those issues resolved, the Australians have moved in. But other teams have complained about conditions in many of their apartments. The Argentine committee said that two of the five floors of its building were uninhabitable, and it had to rent apartments nearby for some of its technical staff. The Belarus Olympic committee published photos of dirty windows and blocked drains on its official page. Egyptian athletes had no hot water and their toilets did not flush, while a Kenyan wrote "Please fix my toilet" on a notice board in the Olympic Village.

      A squad of 600 plumbers and electricians has been scrambling to repair everything.”

            What do you suppose “conditions” will be like in the place that Jesus is preparing for those who love Him? Paul, when writing about Gospel hope, tells us (1 Corinthians 2:9 - KJV)  “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

            Though what the Scriptures tell us of heaven is somewhat limited, there is enough to encourage us of its beauty, glory, and perfection. It will be greater than the greatest of human imaginings. But even so, heaven is not – in itself – the object of our desires and the hope of our hearts. In all of its resplendence and magnificence, it will be as nothing in comparison to the presence of Jesus Himself. Whatever Jesus is making our eternal abode to be, we do not have to worry or be troubled about it. As Fanny Crosby’s All the Way My Savior Leads Me says, “Jesus doeth all things well.” I always found it interesting that Jesus, who grew up the son of a carpenter, is the one preparing a place for us in heaven. I think no matter what “materials” will be in use in heaven, I will trust in the skills and wisdom of my Lord to prepare something truly wonderful. And when I think, “Why should He do so for me?”… I rejoice in the glorious Gospel of grace and say, “Thank You, Lord!”

2 Corinthians 5:1 (NIV)  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV) ⁸  By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

1 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV) ³  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,

Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV) ¹  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

PRAYER:  Father, thank you that Jesus does all things well, including preparing eternity for me. In His mighty name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott

The Right Directions

John 14:6 (NIV)  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

            I went for a walk yesterday: a walk that took me on Clefstone Road. This road crosses West Street Extension, and it was there that I saw a couple out for a bike ride. After they passed by the woman swung back around and said, “Excuse me…”  She then proceeded to ask for my help. She asked me if this was Bloomfield Road. At that point I actually couldn’t remember for sure, but when I asked where they wanted to go she said Paradise Hill. Well, I did know how to get there.

            So I said, “Just take this road (and I pointed to West Street Extension) a little ways up the hill and take your first right. It will take you to Duck Brook Bridge and from there you can take the carriage path to Paradise Hill.”

            “No, no!” she said. “We want to go the way through the woods, not on the main road.” She was quite insistent that I was not giving her the right directions - to the point of becoming argumentative with me. Well I certainly didn’t want to argue with her so I just said, “Well, I’ve lived here for 25 years and can tell you that the way I’m telling you is the most direct way to Paradise Hill (through “the woods” anyway). I guess I can’t help you otherwise.” Reluctantly, she and her husband/riding companion followed my directions. I hope they got to where they wanted to go, because I’m not sure if they ultimately followed my directions or not.

            As I continued my walk I began to reflect on how similar this exchange was (or could be) with conversations about Christ. People may want directions to get to heaven, but when you tell them Christ is the way sometimes they balk at what you say. It’s as if they are saying, “That can’t be right. There must be another way, or other ways. I don’t want to go that way (through Christ).” Jesus’ words in John 14:6 are clearly exclusive. When He uses the word “the”, He eliminates all other possibilities. This “only way-ness” is a troubling stumbling block to many. Instead of thinking like God, they expect God to think like them and not be so “unreasonable” or so limited. And people often like to argue this point. Rather than arguing, I simply say, “This is what Jesus said, and these are the implications.”

            Like these bikers, people are left with the opportunity and responsibility to respond. They can put their trust in my witness to Christ and go the way of the Word of God and obtain life eternal, or they can pursue some other way – not indicated in God’s Word – leading them to eternal destruction. Whatever happens to them is not in my hands. I could not make this couple go a certain way on their bicycles, and I cannot make people take the way to heaven the Jesus proclaims. But what is in my hands is being prepared to give directions that come straight from the mouth of Christ Himself. And no more reliable word than that has ever been uttered. We who know Christ have confidence – not in our ability to deliver the message, but in the truth and power of the message already delivered by Christ. He is the way to the Father.

Acts 4:12 (NIV)  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Romans 10:8-15 (NIV) ⁸  But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹  That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹  As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." ¹²  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ¹⁴  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵  And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NIV) ⁵  For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶  who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.

1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV) ¹⁵  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶  keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

PRAYER:  Father, your Word is clear about the way to you being through your Son alone. Give me grace and wisdom and power to share this with others, especially with those who are asking. In His mighty name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!    

Scott