The Good Work of the Holy Spirit

           Earlier this Spring I finally got around to gathering up all the sticks on our lawn. Our yard is surrounded by maple trees. Though I like the trees, sometimes they feel like overgrown weeds that just make a mess. The “sticks” were a winter’s worth of branches (and a couple of limbs) that had broken and fallen to the ground. I filled the wheelbarrow three times and have a good-sized pile out by the driveway. The lawn is easier to mow and it looks better without all the twigs. This is not one of my favorite things to do because it’s not all that easy on the back. But it’s a good feeling to have the yard clean, so it’s worth it.

            The recent rainy period was accompanied by a few windy days, so guess what I had to do? Get the wheelbarrow out again… circle the house… fill it up with more sticks… take it to the pile… and check my attitude. While there were not as many sticks as before, I still felt a little annoyed at having to do this again. “How many times this summer is this going to happen?!” I thought. “Stupid wind!”

            The next day I was thinking about this little episode as a spiritual illustration. The Scriptures speak of the Holy Spirit often in terms of wind. The Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” speak of “breath” and “wind”. One of the works of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is conviction of sin. He reminds us of the areas and occasions where we have fallen short of God’s glory. This is a good thing, because we can then confess those sins and receive forgiveness and be restored in our relationship with the Lord. The Spirit does spiritually what the wind does to my maple trees. The wind knocks off the deadwood. It makes the brokenness obvious, and I have to pick it up. I have to clean it up. While I don’t always like having my sins exposed and my brokenness made obvious, I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit’s work because I like being “cleaned up”. It’s a good feeling to have my heart clean and forgiven. So may He “blow over me” daily. May He bring to light the stuff that isn’t healthy and that offends the Lord. And just like I burn up all the twigs in my yard, may He burn away the guilt and shame of my sins so that nothing remains of them, and I may walk with Christ in righteousness.

Psalm 51:1 (NIV) - ¹  Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

John 16:8-11 (NIV) - ⁸  When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹  in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰  in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹  and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

PRAYER: “Father, thank You for the convicting and consecrating work of the Holy Spirit. As He “blows” through my life, please reveal to me those things that need to be “cleaned up”. Lead me to confess my sin and find forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ Your Son, who has saved me by His grace. Thank You for Your forgiveness and Your power to cleanse.  In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott

Keep Pedaling

       Yesterday morning at 8:00 eight college-aged young people hopped on their bikes at the pier in Bar Harbor for the beginning of a one-month (plus) bike tour to Key West, Florida. They arrived from their home base in the York, Pennsylvania area at our church building on Saturday – a nice, but cool day. It was cooler than they had expected. And, indeed, we have been about 10 degrees lower in our daily temperatures than usual. They were cold. When they left yesterday (Monday) it was not only chilly, it was raining quite steadily. It was one of those situations where you might be tempted to say, “It could be worse.”… but don’t because some other difficulty could arise. Did I mention it was a little windy as well? Not exactly an auspicious beginning. They were expecting to ride about 85 miles down Route 1 to Rockport on Monday. It was a tough day to start their journey and just before they left the church building to go to the pier we prayed together. I prayed for God’s protection from injury and from discouragement. On such a journey there are likely to be many times of discouragement, frustration, and the temptation to give up. It will take a high level of determination for them to persevere. We all understand this from the times of discouragement we have faced.

       How would you pray for discouraged people? What would you say in your prayer? In order to persevere through adversity and discouragement, a person needs a vision - a goal – that keeps them “pedaling”… that keeps them moving forward. If the goal is worthy enough… if it is compelling enough… discouragement can be overcome. Without that goal, however, discouragement will most always lead to despair and to giving up in one form or another.

       Jesus is our great example in persevering. Hebrews 12:2 speaks of Christ enduring the cross “for the joy set before Him”. The joy He was looking to was returning to the right hand of the Father’s throne in heaven. Hebrews 12 begins with a reference to the great cloud of witnesses (from chapter 11) who were people of great faith. They are an encouragement to the believer in Jesus Christ at all times, but especially in times when we might be tempted to give up, because by faith they persevered. Yet, it is not by looking to them that we will persevere. Our “goal” – more worthy than anything – is Jesus Himself. We are called to “fix our eyes on Him” – the One who is at the “finish line” if you will. Without that vision of Him… that desire to know Him, be with Him, to see Him meet all of our needs… discouragement and despair will attack us and will lead us to give up. Jesus will not let that happen to the one who trusts in Him. The power that raised Him from the dead is the power that He also gives to those who love Him – those to whom He has given life.

       While we may live through many “it could be worse” situations we can take heart because there is nothing that we face that Christ has not already defeated. He will see us through. Our main need is to see Him… to be undeterred in keeping our eyes on Him. May God’s grace be given to us in abundance so that our faith may be strong as He sees us through to victory over every adversity. And may He receive much glory through us.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) ¹  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Romans 8:35-39 (NIV) ³⁵  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶  As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." ³⁷  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER: “Father, thank You that Jesus is at the “end” of our earthly journey. Guide us to always keep Him in our focus as the hardships of life seek to blur our vision and tempt us to despair and to give up. Thank You not only for the example of Christ, but for the gift of faith and the presence and power of Christ Himself through the Holy Spirit to give us victory. May His power be at work in us, and may all discouragement be defeated. Be glorified in all these things in my life.  In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott

Facebook vs. Face to Face with Jesus

            If you could have a photograph of one moment in history, what would it be? Would you pick an event in the Bible… like the parting of the Red Sea or the birth of Christ or the crucifixion of Jesus or even the resurrection? Or maybe you would choose a post-biblical moment, such as Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses on the door of All Saints Church at Wittenberg or the Pilgrims setting foot on new world soil or the signing of the Declaration of Independence. There are so many possibilities.

            More than ever, we are filling our lives up with photos. We are making up for centuries when there were none taken because the technology did not exist. Today our photos are mostly digital, and millions of them exist on computers, databases, and phones all over the world. We flood Facebook with them, documenting our lives and sharing images on a daily basis. We send them through emails and text messages. Apple advertises the iPhone as the device with which more photos are taken than any other. We surround ourselves with them in our homes and workplaces. My office is full of pictures of my kids when they were younger.

            Now and then when I look at my photo files on my computer, I wonder what will happen to them. Perhaps the files will somehow get to my kids. Maybe I’ll get around to storing them on some external database in the online digital world. But even if my kids use them, their kids will use them less, and their kids even less. Sooner or later all the photos of what was important to me will get “lost” in the uncounted trillions of bits and bytes that make up the digital universe. Many of these photos capture special moments and I like being able to view them at a click of a mouse. They capture memories. I like it when friends and family share their photos.

            But if I had to trade them all in for a face-to-face moment with Jesus, it would be no contest. And some day I actually will. The One whom I have never seen will one day return… or I will go to be with Him. And it will be glorious beyond description. And I look forward to not needing or wanting a camera in heaven to “capture” moments, because the moments will only be getting better. Why try to save a picture of something to look fondly back at… when what is ahead just keeps getting better, fuller, richer, and more wonderful? Each future moment will “top” the last. And I won’t have time to look back. It will be too glorious ahead. So, we enjoy our photos for the time being, but we don’t let them keep us from looking ahead to what will be so much greater. To belong to Jesus here is to be one who is ever looking forward joyfully to being with Him. Maranatha!

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) ⁹  However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--

Philippians 3:20 (NIV) ²⁰  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

1 John 3:2 (NIV) ²  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

PRAYER: “Father, there are so many blessings from You in this life. Thank You for each and every one of them. But compared to the thought of being with You for eternity, they pale in consideration. What a day that will be when we see Jesus. Give me a hungry desire for being with You that starts now, when I can’t see You. , so that my joy will be made complete when I do see You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott

Idols in the Church

      Recently I was at a retreat for pastors. It was an informal event, but a pastor from a distant part of the state shared quite seriously about a long (3-year) process his church went through to make a decision to grow their vision and expand their mission by becoming a church that met and worshipped in two locations. He described some of the resistance that arose on the part of people at both locations – one of which was a church about to die and the other in reasonable health. He told of people expressing a lot of fear and of some people becoming very angry and resistant at the changes that were taking place and being proposed. That sounded very sad to me and I asked him what was at the root of the resistance. Primarily, the problems were an over-attachment to the building (where each church met) and a concern about (the loss of) power and control.

       His question through many days of uncertainty was, “What is God’s will?” He asked it over and over again. His major concern was the opportunity to bring the Gospel to a neighborhood in town where the lack of a church presence would leave a great hole in the ministry of the Gospel. The long process resulted in some people leaving the church and many obstacles to be overcome. The financial challenges are ongoing. However, I was inspired this pastor’s perseverance and by the faithfulness of those who could/would see God’s vision. I commented to him that what he shared was a blessing to me because it reminded me that God’s Spirit still tears down strongholds and “high places”.

       The high places of Israel were where the people of God acted unfaithfully toward God by erecting and worshipping idols and calling others to worship them as their gods – in some cases even giving them credit for delivering them from Egypt many years before. The high places became strongholds of evil and idolatry and they were very difficult to eliminate. Most of Israel’s and Judah’s kings didn’t care enough to do anything about them. A few tried, but failed to eradicate them, because they became so entrenched in the spiritual life of Israel. One king – Josiah of Judah – however, was faithful and succeeded. Then there was revival and renewal in Israel. The Word of God was found and read. True worship in Israel was restored – for a time.

       Idols of many kinds can keep us from God, and will always impact us by distracting us from the true worship of God. We worship and focus on them instead. This is one of the goals of our enemy, the devil. If we will just worship created things – any created thing (including ourselves), he will have succeeded in turning us into idolaters – one of the very things God hates most. An idol is anything we care about, love, serve, or give ourselves to more than we do God. And idols (people, activities, goals, even certain good things…) become strongholds – hard to “tear down”. Tearing them down can hurt. But tearing them down is the only solution. And we cannot do it ourselves. Through prayer and reliance upon God, we can see Him do amazing things to the strongholds of sin and idolatry in our lives. But He wants to… and He will, when we repent and turn to Him and leave our “idols” behind. May the Lord help us to identify these strongholds in our lives! May He lead us to reject them utterly and run to Him in brokenness and contrition! And may He raise up in us a new vision for Him and lives of holiness and passion for Him and for His will. AMEN!

Numbers 33:52 (NIV) ⁵²  … When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

2 Kings 17:9-11 (NIV) ⁹ The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord, their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. ¹⁰ They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. ¹¹ At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked the Lord to anger.

2 Kings 23:8 (NIV) ⁸ Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the shrines…”

PRAYER: “Lord, show me where the strongholds are in my life… my relationships. Pierce my heart with conviction over them and lead to repentance: a repentance of rejecting the idols there so completely that I can embrace You fully and worship You in truth and in holiness. Take away my love for things… for people… for anything that I love more than You. Let me love You wholly.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott

Let Everything Praise the Lord

             Have you heard the “pinkletinks”? That’s what they call them on Martha’s Vineyard. Don’t ask me why. Maybe you’ve heard the name “tinkletoes” – sometimes used in New Brunswick? Probably not. The small chorus frog found throughout the northeastern U.S. is also called a “spring peeper”, or just “peeper”. Oh… those! Have you heard them? Just about any place you find even a small body of water you will find peepers this time of year. Actually, you will more likely hear them. They are very difficult to find. Just like crickets, you hear them at a distance, but if you come too close, they stop “peeping”. And since they are typically in dense brush/growth, and since it usually is dark, there’s almost no chance that you will see one. They are especially easy to hear due to their extremely loud mating call which gives them the name "peeper", but it is often hard to pinpoint the source of the sound, especially when many are peeping at once. Here’s a link if you want to hear one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBsNqF7Hkk&noredirect=1.

            If you could see one, you would find that spring peepers are tan or brown with a dark cross that roughly forms an X on their dorsa (backside), thus the Latin name Pseudacris crucifer, meaning cross-bearer. This frog has a vocal sac located by its throat, which expands and deflates like a balloon to create a short and distinct peeping sound. Only the males have the ability to make this loud high-pitched noise, and they use it to attract mates. These one-inch frogs seem to only want to be seen/found by a female of the species. Yet we all get to enjoy the chorus every spring when the sun goes down each day.

            God’s creation is certainly amazing. Every species resounds in appearance and in sound to the glory of God. When I hear the peepers I think of them simply doing what they were created to do. But as they do so, they glorify their Maker. They aren’t conscious of being cross-bearers, but they are. They were designed by God in a unique way. In a different way, of course, we who follow Christ (the new creation) have been designed to be cross-bearers as well. We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works. What we do for the Lord and for others… and what we say that represents the Lord faithfully… all of that is a chorus of praise as well. People both hear and see us. When they do, do they see and hear the worship of our lives unto Christ? May the Lord give us “large voices”… may we together in Christ be a “large chorus” of praise to His glory, doing what we were made to do. The next time you hear the peepers, remember that you were designed by the Lord to join in the praise – in a way that is unique to you. No one else can do it for you.

Psalm 96:11-13 (NIV) ¹¹  Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; ¹²  let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; ¹³  they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) ¹⁰  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

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.

PRAYER: “Lord, thank You for the song of the peepers. As a springtime sound, it lifts us with joy about warmer and longer days ahead. Thank You that all of Your creatures so naturally glorify You. May I glorify You as well.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

 Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott

Bless and Do Not Curse

          On our way home Sunday afternoon from a week’s vacation, we were just beyond Portland on I-295. I set my cruise control on about 67-68. After a little while I came up behind a vehicle and moved out to pass. Because I was going only a few miles per hour faster than this vehicle I was not passing him very quickly. In the meantime, as is wont to happen, a vehicle came up behind me traveling faster than I was. He had to wait a short while for me to pass the vehicle on my right. I did not increase my speed in order to pass.

            I found out after I passed and signaled, and returned to the right lane that the driver behind me was not very happy with me. As he “roared” past me he beeped his horn. Now, we all know that the beeping of a car horn means different things. There is the quick “Hi, how are you doing!” double beep. Then there is the “I didn’t mean to beep!” beep, which is followed by gestures indicating “I’m sorry!” along with physical expressions of contrition. There is also a “Watch out!” beep, which we appreciate when we don’t see someone and are about to move into them. None of these were what I heard in those moments. Instead, I heard the “Hold your hand on it… sustained for at least a few seconds… get out of my way you jerk!” beep. This is the beep that communicates, “You are an idiot and I am angry at you. You have gotten in my way and slowed me down. How dare you!” This is the beep that sometimes begins an escalation of road rage.

            My new “friend” decided that the blowing of his horn was insufficient to convey his feelings. So, as he passed he also held out his right hand to me with the universal one-finger signal of contempt. And, for good measure, after he had gotten all the way past, he repeated this with his left hand out his driver’s window. I said to Joanne, “There goes a very angry man.” It was probably good (for me) that I was out of audio range. He probably had a few choice words that I was glad not to have to hear. For my part, I felt sorry for him. I had done nothing wrong except to slow him down briefly. His response was way out of bounds.

            Have you ever had this happen to you? It gives you a terrible feeling inside. Instantly I felt sorry for anyone I had ever acted angrily toward. And my heart ached for spouses and children who are the victims of verbal abuse. There is something disorienting and disturbing about unchecked anger directed at others. A recent World magazine article I read was about the increase of cussing (profanity) on the part of people who profess Christ. In the article, Carolyn Arends describes contempt as “a mixture of anger and disgust, expressed from a position of superiority. It denigrates, devalues, and dismisses.” Contempt – from mere eye-rolling to profane and abusive language to all manner of aggressive gestures – is a true relationship destroyer. Such words, gestures, and actions – in one form or another – are all a means of cursing and not blessing. Showing and speaking contempt is a way of cursing another person.

            How much more desirable is blessing. How often have I seen “hurry” leading to bad things happening! Our impatience with people can very easily lead us into sin. Cursing someone is, indeed, a serious… and a bad… thing. The transforming power of Jesus Christ, however, leads us to be peacemakers. It leads us to bless and not curse. It leads us to defer to others. It leads us to keep “hurry” from becoming our spiritual enemy.

            I encourage you to monitor your body – from your eyes to your face to your hands to your lips and what comes from them. Monitor your tone of voice. Look for signs of contempt trying to get control of you and get out of you. When you become aware of these things, then work at training yourself in the godly response of blessing… especially if it involves returning good for evil. The Holy Spirit helps those who seek to be faithful to Christ. Let’s live surrendered lives – placed at His disposal and filled with His power and grace.

Romans 12:14-21 (NIV) ¹⁴  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. ¹⁷  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. ²⁰  On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 PRAYER: “Lord, may I not only experience Your peace within, but may I be a peacemaker who honors you in my everyday interactions with my spouse, children, siblings, parents, schoolmates, teammates, co-workers, and neighbors. Train me in the use of my face, my gestures, and my words to be like Jesus. Forgive my failures in this area and teach me to bless and not curse.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott

Making God Famous

            The author of the book (Unexplainable, by Don Cousins) my CARE Group is reading and discussing our way through wrote something that caught my attention. He writes that the bottom line of success in life is “making God famous”. He describes four ways we do this. One of them stood out to me. He writes, “We make God famous when we give Him the credit He deserves.” Since reading that statement I have been thinking about this question: “What can you give God the credit for right now?”

            I think this is such a great question for disciples of Jesus, because our joy rises the more He receives glory. Our sense of success grows deeper the more God is exalted in our words, attitudes, and deeds. How would/could you answer that question? You could answer it by giving Him credit for the things you have. For most of us, that’s a lot of credit to give to Him. If doing this isn’t easy for you, I recommend reading Deuteronomy 8 (especially verses 17-18). You could also answer this question by giving God the credit for your job, your intelligence, your good ideas, your creativity, your wisdom, your athletic skills, your musical ability, your computer/technology skills: your ability - in fact - to do anything in your life that you are capable of doing. This includes even all the small things you and I take for granted every day – reading, speaking, thinking, communicating, caring, sharing, listening, breathing… and the list goes on and on.

            I think I can safely say that we all would be disappointed with someone (at the least), or even hate someone (perhaps at the worst) who took the credit for something inappropriately. Taking the credit for inventing the internet in a slip of words certainly did not help Al Gore in his presidential bid a few years ago. I remember how much it bothered my daughter in high school when she was given “group assignments” with several other students. Invariably what would happen is that she would do all the work and the whole group would end up getting credit (the same grade) for it. Don’t you hate that… when you have a great idea, or do something nice for another person, or do some hard work… and someone else “steals” the credit? It’s a powerful feeling of injustice that sweeps over us. Sometimes it includes a feeling of indignation. We want to set things straight, “put them in their place”, and make sure people really know who deserves the attention or acclaim. We feel it’s not right for someone to do such a thing.

            Does God do that with us? Yet how often do our actions, attitudes, and words communicate the idea that we are seeking or taking the credit for something in our lives – credit that really belongs to Him? The truth is that often we are “glory hogs”. We do not give credit to Him whom credit is due. And we fail to make Him famous. But the joy… the success… and the satisfaction comes deepest when we sincerely, humbly, and appropriately give the glory (credit) to God. One way of thinking about this is that it is our full time job. My full-time occupation in life is to find ways in my speech, attitudes, and behaviors that show God’s worthiness. Today is a good day to start.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (NIV)  ¹⁷ You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Isaiah 42:8 (NIV)  ⁸ “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

Psalm 83:18 (NIV)  ¹⁸  Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord  that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

PRAYER: “Father, may I be a vessel through which You glory shines through. May my life, my words, my attitudes – may all that I am – make You famous, as far and wide as Your will may allow it in me. Forgive me for the times I have not given You the credit… when I have remained silent when I could have spoken, and when I have let people praise me beyond that which displays Your glory. You deserve it all, and I thank You for Your amazing grace to me.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

 Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott