Believing Is NOT Seeing

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls ----- 1 Peter 1:8 - 9

Justification: that pivotal moment when we either accept Jesus or walk away. It is faith that allows us to love Him and say "yes, I believe" even though we cannot see Him before us. We cannot touch Jesus or hear Him speak in our ears. And still we put our trust in Him. Only faith could produce such results.

Thomas had the advantage of seeing the risen Christ standing before him. He was able to touch the holes in Jesus' hands--holes made by the nails which fixed Him to the cross. Thomas placed his own hand into the gash in Jesus' side--the gash that verified His death. After seeing and touching, Thomas proclaimed his faith. And Jesus said to him:

Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29).

You've heard that old adage: a picture is worth a thousand words. And we believe another adage: a picture never lies. We've heard (and spoken) these sayings so often that we actually believe them. We accept the "proof" of a photograph because we believe that it has literally captured a moment in time.

Yet from photography's earliest stages, pictures have been manipulated to show the meaning the photographer wants to portray. The ghost pictures of William H. Mumler (c. 1860s and 70s) show portraits of grieving widows and mothers and fathers with "ectoplasmic" images of their loved ones standing behind or next to them. The subjects believed that grainy, cloudy image appearing with them was truly the spirit form of their dearly departed. After all, a picture wouldn't lie! How ironic that Mumler was exposed as a fraud when it was discovered some of those images were revealed to be actual living residents of Boston. The doctored negatives spoke a thousand words.

Jesus stressed the importance of believing without needing physical proof. Tangible evidence does not build faith. God does. Knowing God, trusting Him and His promises, praising Him though the evils of the world surround us...these are the fundamentals that nurture and sustain our faith. Practicing them keep us grounded though the world seems to be falling apart.

We are people of faith. We do trust in the promises of God: there is salvation from sin, there is new life in Christ, there is judgment when God will make right all the evils we've suffered, there is a reward for faithful living. Keeping the focus on Jesus despite what we see all around us takes faith. In the midst of misery and hopelessness, in times of despair, when people around us ask, "Where is God?," we people of faith can tell them with confidence, "He is here." Though we cannot see Him with the eyes of this earthly body, we can tell people that we know Jesus is present.

Oh, God, what a gift you've given us, this gift of faith. Some speak of it as a "blind faith. That's not necessarily a negative. Perhaps we should affirm that more often. We are blind. We do not see. And yet we believe. And we love. And we rejoice with words and emotion that comes from places within us that are a mystery. This is faith. And it comes from you.

God, I accept this gift. Help me to use it lavishly and wisely. I know you will grow it. I know you will reveal yourself through it. I pray for my work that comes from it, Father. I pray for work that builds others...not me. I leave that work to you, Father God Almighty.

 

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Hitting System Restore

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.----- Romans 8:29 - 30

Microsoft introduced an innovative feature when it launched the operating system Windows ME: "system restore." Suppose you suffered a system crash on your computer on Thursday. Then suppose you hadn't backed up the last two weeks of financial information you entered Wednesday, or the history report your child started writing Monday. What would you do? Try to recreate your hours of work? Or just give up? No need for either option. Windows ME allowed the operator to "system restore." The option would turn back the clock to a specified reset date. Voila! Problem solved. All the things that had once seemed lost would be found. The system would return to its original configuration.
I accepted Christ's forgiveness for my sins about 13 years ago. I trust that all I had done to that point was forgiven and forgotten. I thought I was done with sin. How frustrating to realize that it remains in my life even today. Why can't I have a "system restore" so that my tendency toward sin could just be erased? How wonderful it would be to never again have a self-centered desire, to experience petty glee over someone else's failure, or to delight to hear gossip. Why is it that I can write about the powerful work of the cross one minute...and belittle my husband the next? I know I've been forgiven. I know the price Christ paid for that forgiveness. So why then do I still sin? It can be the most discouraging, the most defeating fact of this new life. Despite all the progress I've made, I can still revert to old hurts and habits. Why is that?
I guess because this transformation into the image of God's Son is a process. It doesn't occur with a wave of a magic wand. It materializes in subtle, unseen ways. It comes about through failure. It becomes apparent with confession, repentance, and forgiveness.
I know transformation is happening in me because I've experienced compassion, grace, forgiveness coming from me. Reactions I am incapable of exhibiting on my own, in my natural self, I now express. I'd like a little more compassion and forgiveness in my life, but again this is a process. God is growing that in me (1 Cor 3:6). I can trust that God is at work, that He's not done with me yet, because of what I know has already occurred. And the signs are not just the fruits of the Spirit. I know God is at work because I have been justified. I've been made right because of my faith in Christ Jesus and the power of the Cross. I know I've been justified because I believe that for much of my adult life, Jesus was calling me to come to Him. He was inviting me into the peace and safety of His forgiveness. I trust that transformation began the instant I obeyed His call and fell into His embrace. I trust that what God began in me will be completed because the Lord God is faithful to all His promises.
Oh, Father God, I do long for perfection...me, remade into the perfect, enduring image of Christ. I long for the end of frustration with people, anger over the things they say and do, disappointment in their lukewarm faith or lack of compassion for the poor. I long for the end of my human failings. I have a long way to go, and as much as I say I ready to go home, Father I know I am not ready to give an account for how I lived with what you've given me.
Thank you, Father, for those who planted and those who watered to bring me to knowledge of you. Thank you, gracious Father for the growth I've experienced. I ask for greater patience, compassion, greater love to be poured out from me. I ask that those wonderful characteristics of yours shine from me, so that I am useful as a planter and waterer for whatever time remains. Thank you, loving Father. Amen

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Who Is My Teacher?

So the Jews grumbled about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is this not Jesus,the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down from heaven?'" 43 Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father

comes to me..."

-----John 6:41 - 45 (ESV)

Timing is everything.  Over the past few days, I've been thinking about Biblical criticism--the treatment of Scripture by scholars who view the texts as historical accounts, or by those who look to sources of the writings (trying to establish who exactly wrote--or more precisely, who did not write--them), or the scholars who examine the texts for errors made by scribes. There are many categories of Biblical criticism. And each seem to reflect the scholar's point of view, their agenda for presenting their conclusions. Most aim to tell us that Scripture is not inspired by God. And so, we have scholars telling us that Scripture is not saying what we read it saying. Scholars tell us that we are not capable of reading Scripture.

Didn't we have a Reformation to set that one straight?

When we become "incapable" of reading Scripture on our own, we allow the scholars--well-educated, yet ordinary men and women--to teach us. In this passage from John, Jesus referred back to the teaching of the prophet Isaiah (54:13). God teaches, the prophet declared. We learn from God through the Scriptures. He speaks directly to us through His word. He never lies, distorts, or deceives us. God never leads us astray. In fact, Jesus affirms here in John 6:44 that God is always drawing us to Jesus. God of grace is always
opening ways for us to know Jesus, to come to Him, to trust in Him.

It is God who does the teaching. Not the intellectuals. Not the highly-educated, multi-degreed. Not even me. Once in a while I might have a good sermon. If someone connects, it's not me, but rather God who has done the teaching. And all with the goal of drawing another one to Christ Jesus.

Oh, Great Teacher, Father God. Thank you for all you have taught me. Thank you for truth that helps me see my need for you. I also thank you for the smart ones around us. Even those who put their faith in what (and how much) they know. I know that even these--even the Jews who scoffed at Jesus--even these, YOU are teaching. I pray that all our eyes are opened to see that our leaning comes from you, O God. Keep me humble in this, Father. It is an area where I can become so arrogant.

Choosing the Right Accessories

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator...Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each

other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.

-----Colossians 3:9 - 10, 12 - 13

The word from this passage that stuck out was "chosen." A friend used it recently when she spoke of a woman who didn't believe she was one of the chosen. I bristled. This is predestination theology, a teaching that Wesley countered, a belief that the God of immense and limitless grace would hand-pick only a few to be saved was offensive to the sinner who knew the grace of God. For John Wesley, the word "chosen" was a club used by those who saw themselves as better than others, those who might say, "Who needs grace when God has chosen?"

The word offends me as well. Yet it is an appropriate word for this morning--if I keep in mind that God has already done the greatest choosing. He chose to save this broken world, a world He first chose to create. The word has meaning only in light of those basics. We are His chosen ones in that He chose to enter this world and befriend us. God made that choice.

And so, as one of the chosen, I am a new creation. The old self has been taken off like raggedy, stained and stinking garments. I now wear a fresh, clean, and newly whole garment--a garment that can be accessorized with trinkets of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness. All desirable accessories...that can all be worn at the same time. They won't clash. The completed outfit won't be garish or flashy.

The amazing thing is that I can choose my accessories. I get to decide which to add to my new self-outfit. Having been chosen, I now choose what I will put onto this new garment. My choices are often they either/or: I can choose ridicule or compassion. I can choose spite or kindness. I can boast or be humble. I can be quiet or I can make sure my presence is known. I can demand action or I can choose patience. I can reject or I can show tolerance. I can hold a grudge or I can forgive. All are choices to complete my garment.  Choices I am allowed to make...as my Lord chose to forgive me. As I am being renewed in knowledge after the image of the creator, I choose the pieces that will best reflect my Lord.

Holy and awesome God, it is amazing that you chose to take on this world for salvation. In my humanness, I am dumbfounded. You don't walk away from us...you don't let us suffer in the mess we've made. You save us. You chose to save us. Help me with my choices, Lord. It is amazing that in Christ, I can choose to love those who have hated me. I can choose to forgive those who have hurt me. I can choose to show them kindness and compassion for the wounds they have suffered. Lord, I know I cannot do these things on my own. It is only through you. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit in me can I choose to put on the
things that never adorned my old self-garment. Thank you, Father.

Handling the Fearful Times

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:

 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  ----- Isaiah 43:1 - 3a

When my father was dying, my mother received this passage in a card from a friend. It was familiar to her, but at the same time it was like she was hearing it for the first time.

That's kind if how it is when we're in the middle of frightening circumstances we've never faced before. If the situation is something we've been through before, we can draw on memories of how we handled it, how we got through. Even if we didn't do well with the situation, we can draw on the memories and determine that this time will be different.

When we have no previous experience with a situation, however, heading into it can be like falling into deep waters or walking into a burning forest. Dangerous...and we fear for our very lives. How will we make it out, we wonder. How will we survive? How will we go on after the flood? after the fire?

And even though the circumstance is new, even though we don't have memory of a previous experience, this is the time to remember who we are: children of God. We belong to God. We are His. He is our Lord and Savior. In the frightening new experiences of life we find the exact right time to remember His words: He is with us. We will not be overwhelmed.

So my question this morning is, what will help me remember that He is my God, my Lord and Savior?

Only my ongoing, active search for Him will keep God in my thoughts at all times. Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). When I am looking for Him in my surroundings, acknowledging him, when I am purposeful in prayer and study, when I commit to fellowship...these are the times when I actively seek God and His kingdom. And I will more easily remember that He is with me, that he has called me by name, that it belong to Him. I will remember that he saved me not to lose me in fire or flood. He saved me for a purpose that He will accomplish in His time.

The Angry God

I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.  O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.  Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.  For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

----- Psalm 30:1 - 5

I like that this psalm is honest in saying that God becomes angry. It clearly states a measure of the duration of His anger: it is but for a moment. We need to recognize that our great God will become angry...even angry with us. But God's anger is directed at sin. When God is angry with us, it is because we have chosen to live with sin...and not with Him

In our "God is love" culture, there may be a confusion between the anger of our earthly fathers and the righteous, saving anger of our Heavenly Father. Unlike the fathers who gave us birth, God the Father is not easily frustrated when His children disobey. Unlike our earthly fathers, He is incapable of feeling like a failure when His children do not do as their told. The fathers of our birth are subject to this kind of anger.  God the Father has more patience, more endurance, more willingness to give the wayward children another chance. We must accept that though He loves His children, there are times when God will become angry with them (us).

This psalm, however, was sung to celebrate God's faithful saving work. It reminds us that it is not God's anger, but His work to save us that is eternal. His anger does not last forever, but His saving work does.  He is the God of second and third and fourth and perhaps infinite chances. What we must realize is that even in the darkest times, in the pit and the all-night wrestling sessions...God is working to save us.

O Father, I know there have been times when I have caused you to be angry.  I know you have been angry with the sinful choices I have made.  Yet I am confounded that in those times, you did not abandon me.  Though I may have been as far from you as I could possibly be, you did not give up on me.  You still strived to save me.  Father, help me to see that your saving work is greater than your anger.  May I praise you always for that.

Loved Beings Being Selfless Beings

But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 

----- Ephesians 4:20 - 24

In order put on a new self that is made after the image of God, a new self that responds to situations in righteousness and holiness, I first have to know, to understand, what righteousness and holiness are.  I cannot decide what is right and holy on my own. I must know them as defined by the One who IS right and holy. I must know what Christ Jesus taught.

Jesus said the greatest command is to love God. That means that in all I do, I seek to obey Him. My love for God is expressed in my words, in song, in my witness...but God understands my love best when I trust His guidance in obedience. When God asks me to do something--especially something outside my comfort zone or something in opposition to my own wants and desires--when I follow though on what He asks of me, I demonstrate my love for God.

Jesus said the second greatest command is like the first: to love my neighbor as myself. I am to love those around me. Today, with communication technology and transportation opening the world, that means "those around me" is an ever-widening circle to be loved. 

And how do I love my neighbor? Well, the culture says if I give them everything they want, then I love them. But that's not love. That's indulgence. Though God lavishes His love upon us, He does not give us everything we want. In love, God asks us to give up what we want, what we desire--sometimes because what we want is not right for us, sometimes because our desires are deceitful and lead us into pain and misery.  Sometimes God, who loves us so much, does not give us what we want because there is something better ahead that we cannot see. 

So I go back to the question: how do I love my neighbor? I love him/her by putting his/her needs above my own. I guess that means first understanding my own needs. I have a need for "honor" and recognition. I put that down to recognize the efforts of someone else. I see that they receive honor for what they do. 

I have a need for comfort, to be warm and safe and well-fed. These are important needs  that when met enable me to help others.  But do I love myself so much that my personal needs come first before meeting the needs of others?  Maybe in order to love my neighbor, I need to lower the thermostat so that money is saved to help another person pay their heating bill. Maybe it means the groceries I add to my cart should be filling someone else's cupboard. 

The thing is, called to relationship with Christ is called to a relationship beyond self. The world is seeking after self...and teaching that that's what a person has to do. But Christ came to set the world on its ear. As His followers, we are to set self aside and put on a new image--an image that seeks after the things that God has determined are right and holy: loving Him in obedience and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Oh, God, it is all about self...about me putting myself aside...about putting others in that place formerly occupied by self.  That is the "put[ting] on of the new self"--a self created after the One who put my needs above His own.  Lord, help me see this new self that seeks after the needs of others as a fresh, well-fitting and flattering garment...as a garment I was meant to wear everyday.

Loved Beings Being Loving Beings

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

----- 1 John 4:19 - 21

We are such feeble creatures. We cannot see God; therefore we don't believe.  Jesus came to reveal God to us. He put on the garments of flesh and walked about in a human body. We could see Him, hear Him, touch Him, smell Him. He therefore existed...and then He was gone.  But after leaving, He gifted those who believe with His Spirit.  The Spirit of God lives within each one of us to guide us and teach us and keep us in relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is with us so that Jesus shines from us, so that those who don't believe can see Jesus...and believe.  We can reveal God to non-believers by loving them, because God IS love. When someone is shown love, they are shown God.

But this passage takes it a bit further and reminds me that it's all or nothing when we love God. It's impossible to love God and hate a brother...or a neighbor...or our president...or the dissenting pastor...or even a bitter enemy. If we say we love God, we are the vehicles He will use to love others. We cannot love God if we put up a block to the love that He is desperate to extend to those who cannot see Him.

Love for God is proven in our obedience. And the single command that demands obedience is loving one another. And so my question this morning is, against whom do I harbor hateful feelings that keep me from loving God? Ouch!

There are so many people with whom I disagree...do I hate them? I sense very negative feelings when I think of them...do those feelings come close to hate? If I'm honest with myself I have to admit that yes, they do. So when I say I love God, but negativity raises so easily...I need help to love those with whom I disagree despite their opinions.

There are people who criticize me, who come against me or are uncommitted to my leadership. This brings on the negative feelings. I want to fight back with criticism and disagreement of my own. So when I say I love God, but strive to be contentious just to spite, to get back...I need help to love despite my annoyances.

There are people who have hurt me, who have never apologized, who blame me for the pain. Again negative feelings arise when I think of them. Do these negative feelings lead to hate? In some cases the people are family...I cannot say I hate them. But I do dislike them.  So when I say I love God and even dislike people, am I a liar? The Spirit is nudging me to say, yes I am. I need help to love despite the pain of the past and present.

I do love you, God. Yet I see how I contradict myself when I say I love, and harbor bitterness and anger against others. I am so weak in this area, Father, but my love for you is strong. I believe then that you will help me love others. I believe you have given me your Spirit so that I can overcome these feelings and be your representative in this world. I can be one who reveals you because I love. Help me, Father, to love despite disagreement, despite contrariness, despite wounds and pain.