The River Is Here

Control

2011-04-15T08:52:00.005-04:00

"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God." Romans 8: 5-8

A young girl and a young boy were each given an expensive remote control car to play with - one of those beautiful large ones that hummed and whirred with incredible speed and precision turning. The young girl excitedly took the remote control and then tentatively eased the car into motion, testing the feel of her control. Once comfortable with the feel, she proceeded to take the care carefully around the room, driving it in much the same manner as her Mom or Dad would their "real" car. She has a lot of fun taking the toy through its paces all the while taking very good care of it.

Can you imagine what the little boy did?

The little boy lustily grabbed the remote control and immediately accelerated the toy, as fast as it would go, right into the wall - where it flipped into the air two times and landed on its side. He erupted with a delighted belly laugh of satisfaction upon seeing this collision. He then flipped the car back onto its wheels and ran it into the wall again with similar results. For the next little while he created new and varied ways to crash, demolish, and destroy the car. As you might imagine, it wasn't long before he ran crying into his Mom's arms complaining that his toy was broken.

Now, this is not meant to be a judgment statement on gender differences while driving - though I will point out that teen boys may much more for car insurance that teen girls ;)

This little example is a story of control...

Both the boy and the girl were given complete control of the toy. One used their control to destroy it, the other used her control to use it for what it was intended for.

Who's in control of your life? The Spirit or the flesh?

If your flesh (or your natural sinful instincts) are in control of your life - the Scriptures say that you are running yourself headlong into destruction, and you will never be able to please God. The flesh selfishly wants sensory pleasure. It wants to quench our sinful desires to please ourselves first and foremost. Much like the young boy with the car we end up pleasing ourselves to death.

But, if the Spirit of God dwells within you - Jesus takes remote control. You will want what God wants, go where God wants you to go, do what God wants you to do. As the Scripture says, you will live a life of peace. God himself at the controls will direct you in the wonderful ways of righteousness with care, precision, and joy.

So, who controls your direction (your mind and the choices you make)? Is it the Spirit or the flesh? Perhaps it is a little of both, with us fighting tooth and nail, not wanting to relinquish the controls over to God.

May each one of us be brave and humble enough to hand the remote over to God, and simply sit back and enjoy the ride.

Be God's, Scott

Santa

2011-04-12T09:40:00.000-04:00

"If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared." Psalm 130: 3-4

I wonder how many of us have had our concept or understanding of God influenced by the Jolly old fat man in the red suit - Santa Claus. For many, God is merely a benevolent old white man who generously gives gifts to people - unless of course, you are on the naughty list. Santa, you see, has a list that keeps a tab on all of the bad things you've done over the past year. His omniscient gaze records all of our mistakes, and if we accrue too many of them...we find ourselves on the naughty list - and that means that you will not be on the receiving end of any generous gifts.

Is this anything like your view of God?

With regards to our sins - do we have this picture of God keeping track, like a careful accountant in a ledger, of every sin we commit? And does He do this so that someday He might be able to justly hold them against us? Does the thought of being on God's naughty list send sickly shivers of guilt up your spine?

If you're anything like me, you have done your fair share of sinning and disobedience over the past week (let alone the past year). If God were truly keeping such a list as this (a record of our sins) - as the Psalmist rightly wonders, "who could stand?" We would all be brought to our knees in guilt before our holy God. And even going further, who would ever want to seek the presence of God in worship or prayer or fellowship? No one in their right mind would want to spend time with One holding a complete record of your mistakes in front of you.

God is not like Santa Claus. He is so far beyond our imagination in His greatness and eternal glory, and the good news is...that in Christ we have the complete forgiveness of our sins.

In other words there is no list, or record of our sins. Once we have been forgiven by Christ, His blood makes us white as snow, and through the work of the Spirit, Jesus imputes His righteousness to us. This means that when holy God looks upon us, He does not see sinfulness - He only sees the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

So do not fear the judging gaze of holy God anymore when you do sin - In the Name of Jesus, ask for forgiveness and enjoy the freedom that comes with having no record of sins with God.

Be God's, Scott

God In Us

2011-04-11T13:27:00.004-04:00

"I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD." Ezekiel 37: 14

Eternal life - life to the fullest and brightest that can begin right now and last forever - this eternal life that we all seek whether we realize it or not, will only truly come about when Almighty God puts His Spirit in you. When God Himself takes up residence in your heart.

To live without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is really not to live at all. It's to hear only the bass drum of the symphony without the accompaniment of the strings and horns and woodwinds and the rest of the percussion. It's to watch a black and white TV with rabbit ears rather than a 3-D color TV with a high definition satelite signal. It's to order a dish of vanilla ice cream every time you go to the scoop shop, continually overlooking and ignoring such delights with candy bars, chocolates, fruit and nuts and other lush flavors.

To live ones life filled with the Spirit of God, is life as God always intended us to live it.

Yet, many of us have chosen to settle for less than the fullness that God freely offers, in our lives. We plod through our black and white existence often as people without hope.

I am often discouraged by folks who have contented themselves to settle for less than God offers. Despite pleas to embrace the offer of eternal life that Jesus gives - many turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to this reality of life. What is truly needed, are believers who wear the life giving hope of the Spirit on their sleeves.

There are many times in our lives as Christians, that despite the filling of the Spirit within us, one would never know the difference from our outsides. We have the joy of the Lord, yet our outward appearance displays nothing more than anyone else in our world: Worry, fear, despair, anger, anxiety...

Those of us who are believers need to model and loudly live out the joy of the Spirit filled life - to such an extent that those who have settled for so much less will be jarred out of their slumber. We have been given the gift and privlege of God Himself taking up residence in our hearts - may our lives shine brightly for all to see the glory of His way. And may God explode Himself into the ordinariness of our life and the lives of those around us.

Be God's, Scott

Stumbling In The Dark

2011-04-08T09:06:00.005-04:00

"While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” - Jesus (John 9:5)

There was this exercise that I did with Youth Groups once upon a day, that was designed to teach them empathy and understanding to those in our society who must live with physical disabilities. Each young person would receive some type of device that would impede either one of their senses, or their ability to walk/ use their arms and hands (you get the idea). They would then have to try to live their life, either for the duration of the meeting, or for the duration of the day (during a weekend retreat). While they were temporarily "disabled" some of the other young people (who were not disabled) were tasked to help them get by.

I can vividly remember one instance when I took part and was given the "disability" of blindness. I was fitted with a very snug blindfold that did not let in even one hint of light. I can't tell you how difficult it was to get around and even accomplish simple tasks, let alone find my way. Even with my "guide," who I think secretly enjoyed watching me walk into things, I left that experience frustrated with none too many bruises and bumps.

For a leader it was very difficult to have to be led. For one used to seeing and moving freely it was very frustrating to stumble around in the dark.

The Bible describes our life on earth so entrenched in sin as people stumbling around in the darkness. We may not realize it, because for many it is the only life we know. Yet, that is what we do, we grope and feel our way through life, desperately seeking direction and the way to salvation, joy and peace. Our blind search always ends in futile frustration, complete with assorted bumps and bruises. The cold hard fact is that on our own, stumbling in the dark, we can never find our way.

Thanks be to God - Jesus is the way. He is the light of the world. When one puts their faith in Him to guide their life, He miraculously removes our spiritual blindness and deftly guides us towards salvation, joy and peace.

No one needs to experience the hurtful life of stumbling through life blindly. The light of the world is still in the world, through the power of His Spirit, promising to never leave nor forsake us. Anyone can have their blindfold removed, and no one can do it themselves. A courageous step of faith into the light of Jesus is all one needs.

I was so thankful when I was able to take off that blindfold and see again...I am so thankful that Jesus removed my spiritual blindfold and blessedly enabled me to see His paths of righteousness.

Be God's, Scott

Living In The Light

2011-04-07T10:10:00.005-04:00

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." Ephesians 5: 8-10

Our world is filled with amazing creations of the Lord. His creative brilliance is especially seen in the animal kingdom. I find the diversity and uniqueness pretty awesome. In fact, we stand amazed at all of the splendid species that we have discovered, yet there are many other undiscovered species living and thriving that we have yet to encounter. Many of these creatures are in spots that we cannot yet access - like the deep dark places of the earth and sea.

These species that live in the dark places of the world are pretty remarkable. God created them in such a way that they would be able to live in a place with little (hardly any really) light. Certain mammals will have huge eyes and retinas to allow as much light as possible in. Certain sea creatures of the deep will possess phosphorescent qualities to their bodies that give them a translucent glow. Other animals are given greater sensitivity to things like sound or touch to allow them to compensate for the lack of vision.

Now, despite the amazing ability to adapt that God has blessed His creatures with - a subterranean creature with retinas the size of softballs would have a very difficult time surviving and existing if suddenly thrust into the bright terrain of a Florida beach. Their first instincts are to do that which they know, and have always done. The bright light would be a huge shock to their whole system. Truth be told, they would likely die if such an environment change were to happen.

We are pretty amazing creatures too. God made us to live in the light of His holiness and righteousness - to do that which is good and true and holy. Yet, we struggle to live in the light, don't we? That's because the natural instincts God made us with got skewed and broken the moment sin entered the world. We were all born with a natural tendency to a life of darkness. We are creatures built and equipped for a habitat of light, yet trying to get by in a habitat of complete darkness. As you might imagine, if we don't change habitats, we will die - no amount of human adaptation can save us.

Thanks be to God, Jesus died to save us from the darkness. Through His death and resurrection we have been delivered into the light of life - our originally intentioned instincts towards righteousness restored. Through Christ we now walk in the light of the Lord, just as we were made to.

This restoration is our salvation - we are now fully able to be and do good, true, and holy things again. Oh, but we got used to our old destructive dark living, didn't we? Sometimes these habits are hard to break.

Yet through Christ, and the strength of His Spirit we can overcome these sinful temptations and choices. He has, He is, and He will deliver us into the goodness of His light.

Live as children of the light.

Be God's, Scott

Pigpen

2011-04-06T12:53:00.003-04:00

"Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever." Psalm 23: 6

You all remember Pigpen from the Charlie Brown (Peanuts) comics, right? He was the little boy who didn't enjoy the finer points of personal hygiene and bathing (as little boys are want to do). As a result, he walked around with a little dirt cloud surrounding and following him everywhere he went. Thus the name Pigpen.

We may be made of cleaner countenance than Pigpen (well most of us) when it comes to our bathing habits. And, we may not have a cloud of dirt following us around, but...

Sometimes I wonder if we are not too different than Pigpen. The only difference being the type of cloud that follows us around. Our dust cloud is not dirt, but all of the junk from our past that we often cling onto, often for the express purpose of beating ourselves up. Our past mistakes follow us around - an ever present reminder of our brokenness and our fallibility. Even the knowledge that Jesus has forgiven us, isn't enough for us to forgive ourselves. Our dirt follows us for the rest of our lives.

Only, it doesn't have to...

What if we could leave our junk from the past, in the past? What if we could lose the guilt, and free ourselves from stench of our mistakes from an earlier life? What if instead of having our cloud of sin and guilt follow us for the rest of our life - goodness and love followed us all the days of our life?

A thorough scrubbing from Jesus' forgiveness is really all we need. Once He forgives our past - the slate is wiped clean (and so are we). He doesn't see a sin cloud surrounding us when He gazes upon us, but a cloud of righteousness. And if Christ, who is holy and without sin, saw fit to forgive and clean away our junk...who are we not to forgive ourselves - and simply let go.

Far better to be one who walks through this life followed by a cloud of goodness and love - in fact, that might be exactly the kind of cloud that attracts the attention of others, and leads them to join you as a tenant in the house of the Lord forever.

Be God's, Scott

A Sheep's Life

2011-04-05T09:10:00.004-04:00

"The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing." Psalm 23: 1

The image of God as our Shepherd has been a rich and cherished one for many believers over the years - as has this Psalm. Even more so, when one fully understands the job description of an Ancient Palestinian shepherd.

A shepherd's job was to tend to the sheep as they moved and grazed through the sweeping hills of ancient Palestine. They did not pen up their animals as we do today - rather they moved the flock from pasture to pasture in search of good eating and drinking. The sheep, single-mindedly waddled around on their stubby little legs, with heads down, looking only to quench their appetites. It was the job of the Shepherd then, to tend the flock by doing 3 things - Protect the flock, Guide the Flock, and Feed the Flock.

It was a shepherd's job to protect the flock, because the flock could not protect themselves. In fact they would not even be aware of any impending danger, because they were concerned only with feeding their appetite. So the shepherd, with staff and sling in hand, protected the sheep by keeping them together, and watching for predators. No decent shepherd worth his salt would ever lose a sheep on their watch. They would protect each and every sheep from any kind of danger.

It was a shepherd's job to guide the sheep, because sheep walk with their heads down munching away. Eyes on the ground have a hard time seeing the big picture and knowing where to go. Left to there own devices, sheep would wander aimlessly - even into a desert or over a cliff to their destruction. The shepherd knew the best ways to go, and would ensure that all of the sheep in his flock went the right way. Sometimes this meant a swat in the hindquarters from his staff to a sheep headed unwittingly in the wrong direction - but every shepherd took it upon themselves to guide the flock in the correct direction.

It was a shepherd's guide to feed the sheep, because the sheep were unable to feed themselves. Remember there were no pens and troughs for controlled feeding - the sheep needed to be led to a good green pasture in order to fatten them up. That is what the shepherd did. He knew where the good pasture land was and he led his sheep to the feast. He wouldn't be much of a shepherd if he let his flock become malnourished and die. The shepherd fed the sheep.

So, if God is our Shepherd that seems to indicate that we are sheep. In fact the Bible says that "we all, like sheep, have gone astray." We have been walking around aimlessly with our heads down looking to quench our insatiable appetite for sin, and if not stopped and corrected, we will eventually walk ourselves towards our destruction.

Thankfully so, Jesus is our good shepherd, and we shall lack nothing under His care. He chases us down and returns us to the safety of the flock - in fact He gave His life for His sheep. With His power and love, He protects us from any real danger, He leads us into paths of righteousness, and He feeds us with the Word of God. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.

Under the care of our Great Shepherd Jesus, we will truly never be in want for anything.

Be God's, Scott

The Beauty of the Heart

2011-04-04T11:15:00.004-04:00

"But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16: 7

Our culture is obsessed with the outward appearance. The amount of money, time and effort that people spend to have just the right hairstyle, a lean trim muscular figure, perfect white straight teeth, just the right trendy clothing and accessories, young age defying skin tone, etc etc - is mind boggling. Our culture deceives us by telling us that physical beauty is the epitome of being human. We are bombarded with images of beautiful "perfect" looking people on magazine covers, TV and movie screens, and other various advertisements. Beauty is in, and oh, how we painfully try to measure up to these unlikely standards.

And why do we care so much about our outward appearance? I mean, who decided that the things we call beautiful are the standards to shoot for? Who decided that outward appearance would be the means by which we judge each other, or are judged?

Though I have no proof to back it up - I suspect that "beautiful" people have an easier go of it in our world. I would guess that they are given more breaks, and the benefit of the doubt more often than not. All because...it is human nature to judge people on the basis of outward appearance. Regrettably, this is true in our time, just as it was true in Samuel's time, thousands of years ago.

This can be oppressive and disconcerting news for those of us who are not (shall we say) magazine cover material.

Thankfully, God does not operate in the same way as the rest of the world. He does not judge on the outward appearance - what we look like, how old we are, what gender we are, what kind of car we drive.

God looks at the heart.

This means for us, that in order for God to use us, in order for us to be of value in what God is doing for eternity - it is the quality and sincerity of our heart that matters most. And a beautiful heart is one that looks holy and loving like God's own.

The context of the Scripture above is God's selection of David as the next King of Judah. David was the least likely to be chosen of Jesse's sons - he was the youngest (the runt of the litter). In fact, by outward appearances, no one person would have picked David for such an important position as King of God's people (in fact Jesse didn't even invite David to meet with the prophet - he was out in the fields with the sheep). Yet God saw David's heart - he was "one after God's own heart." This is what qualified David to be used and chosen by God.

I wonder what our churches would look like if we spent as much time, effort, and money in tending to the quality of our heart, as we presently do with our outward beauty. I suspect our world would, in turn, become a much more beautiful place to live.

The beauty of the heart is the important and eternal thing - everything else pales in comparison.

Be God's, Scott

Unlikely Witness

2011-04-02T09:28:00.004-04:00

7 "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)"...

27 "Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him." John 4: 7-8,27-30

These verses frame the amazing story of Jesus meeting with the adulterous Samaritan woman at the well. This woman truly had no business talking with Jesus - a. because she was a Samaritan and He a Jew (Samaritans and Jews wanted nothing to do with one another) b. because she was a woman (during the chauvinistic time of this narrative, a male would have regarded giving instruction to a woman a waste of time) c. She was a sexually promiscuous woman (she had had sinful trysts with 5 men, and was likely even shunned by her own people - why else would one be off in the desert heat of high noon all by themselves in order to fill their water jars, when every other woman did so in the cool of the dawn?).

She had no business talking with Jesus...but Jesus not only shared a cup with her, but He also shared the Good News of His coming with her. Jesus did not see a Samaritan, or a Woman, or a Sinner...Jesus saw one of His children in need of a Saviour.

And His time with her made quite an impact (time with Him always makes an impact), because when the disciples returned, she departed for the town boldly witnessing to all, the Good News of Jesus. And, surprise, surprise - people actually came out of the town to see and be with Jesus.

What I find interesting about this story, is that the disciples (all 12 of them) had just returned from the same town, and they didn't have one person following them out to see and be with Jesus. The disciples had also shared a cup with Jesus, and knew the hope of His glory. They had seen His miracles, and listened to Him teach of His love which led to eternal life. They too, (even more so than the Samaritan woman) had a story to bear witness to - and one would think that they would be eager to do so to any and everyone they came into contact with.

Yet they returned to Jesus without anyone following them, while the Samaritan woman's story brought out many. How is it that these "super spiritual" disciples were out witnessed by the town pariah?

I suppose one could argue that the disciples didn't witness at all, because they didn't think they were supposed to do so with the despised Samaritans. However, I think this is a good story from God to remind us that the testimony of anyone, no matter who they are, or what they have done can be effective for Christ.

Sometimes the best witnessing is not done by Pastors, or Theology Professors who have always lived their lives in obedience to Christ...sometimes the best witnessing is accomplished through the humble stories of broken and hurting people so loved by God.

Your story with God is unique, and it is your own - nobody can deny it or take it from you. You do not need a masters in theology to be a witness for Jesus - all you need to do is tell others your story of meeting Him.

May God, through His Spirit empower everyone of us to share our stories, that He might change lives.

Be God's, Scott

Absurd

2011-04-01T09:03:00.004-04:00

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5: 6-8

Absurd - "inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense"

Sometimes I wonder if we don't take Christ's death and our salvation for granted - as if it was something Jesus had to do, or that we somehow had it coming regardless. As a result, could it be that we minimize the sacrifice offered up on our behalf? Do we truly comprehend the ludicrous nature of the sacrifice of Jesus?

This brief, yet beautiful passage, shakes us out of our entitlement doldrums, and points us towards the passionate love of God for us in Christ Jesus. It does so, by challenging us to walk for a moment in Jesus' sandals. We are confronted with the hypothetical - would you be willing to sacrifice your life in place of someone else, in order that they might live? Would you willingly lay down your life for another?

Paul's thoughts are that some might (but most likely will not) die in place of a good and noble person in order to save their life. My thoughts are that the human "survive at all costs" instinct is so strong, and our fear of death is so great, that even this choice - dying for one we love and respect - is easier said than done. I'd like to think I would, but I am honest enough with myself to recognize that when push came to shove, I might not.

Paul points out pretty accurately though, that he can't think of any person who would willingly sacrifice their life in order to save another who has done them harm, an enemy, one who has shown nothing but animosity towards them. Truly, who would do such a thing? Absurd, right?

Christ did this very absurd thing...Christ died for the ungodly. He who is holy and good and pure, sacrificed His life so that those (like you and me) who have shown Him nothing but sinful animosity, might live. We have done nothing to deserve this sacrifice, but yet He freely made it for us and our salvation.

If we did nothing to deserve this act, why did He do it?

God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

His sacrifice (his life for ours) came as a result of His great love for us. And only one possessed of an incredibly great and absurd love would ever do such a thing.

May you know today the incredible and absurd love that God has for you, and may His sacrifice lead you towards a life of thanksgiving and worship.

Be God's, Scott

The Broccoli Face

2011-03-31T10:33:00.004-04:00

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5: 1-5

There are times when I ask my kids to do something they would rather not do, if they were to have their own choice in the matter. I will ask them to get off of the video games, or eat their vegetables, or read a book, or to go to bed at a set and reasonable time. All of these necessary demands (and others like them) are ones a parent often makes of their kids. And though the child may not want to do them, or see the merit in them - the parents are actually imposing these directions upon them with some foresight.

I ask them to turn off the video games, because I want them to stay active and be healthy. I ask them to eat their vegetables, because they are a necessary fuel for the human body to operate properly, I want them to live for a long time. I ask them to read a book, because reading while young is one of the keys to intelligence and school performance, and excellent school performance will lead them to be able to choose pretty well any vocation they want. I ask them to go to bed at a regular bed time, because sleep is important for a kids physical growth and mental acuity, in order to do their best and be healthy they need their rest.

You see, all of these directions must be endured by our kids. In fact many of them would call these things suffering at the time - at least that is certainly what the face indicates as the broccoli hits the tongue. Yet we put our kids through these "sufferings" because as parents we are not in the short term business of merely pleasing our kids, but in the long term business of preparing our kids for a successful and godly life.

I think this is what Paul was getting at when he bluntly states that "we also glory in our suffering." Whatever our suffering may be called at the time, the last thing we want to do is glory in it. Suffering is not enjoyable or pleasing after all. How could we possibly glory in it?

Well, Paul would encourage us to look at the long term consequences of suffering, rather than whether or not it pleases us in the short term. Since as Christians, we have peace with God and we can safely boast in the hope of future glory - suffering should never be perceived as punishment from God. Looking down the road our suffering produces perseverance - a sticktoitiveness in which the Christian pushes through the suffering, and keeps on going armed with the strength given by Christ. It's a never give up attitude. And when one has this type of godly perseverance, one's character is shaped and established - this means your actions and life are becoming more and more holy, reflective of the character of Christ. An approved character assures one that God is working in their life, shaping them and honing them according to His will. And this character produces hope - hope is the assurance that at the end of it all, everything is going to work out glorious for the believer.

In other words, we are not asked to endure suffering as a form of punishment, we are asked to endure suffering with the hopes of it helping to shape us into righteous children of God.

So, when we are stuck in the midst of a suffering situation, Paul tries to encourage us to look past the immediate discomfort towards the sure hope of our salvation in Christ.

No more need for that "broccoli" face...

Be God's, Scott

Listen Up

2011-03-30T10:40:00.003-04:00

"Today, if only you would hear his voice,
“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’” Psalm 95: 7-11

My son is studying French right now in school. I always kind of liked French when I was in school, so as I was helping him study his verbs for an upcoming test last night, I was secretly delighting in what little knowledge of the language I have retained. One of the verbs he is learning is the verb "ecouter." This verb gave me pause of thought, because I could not remember if it meant "to listen" or "to hear." The verb "entendre" was the French verb for the other one. Now, you may think to yourself, what's the big deal - "to listen" and "to hear" are essentially the same action...Well, not really (at least in the French language.

I was reminded by my son that ecouter means to listen, and entendre means to hear. To hear (entendre) means to audibly take note of a sound - for an example - I hear thunder of in the distance, or, I hear a baby crying. It is plain and simple, sensing a sound. To listen (ecouter) is a much deeper and more intimate action - it means to not only to hear a sound, but also to engage in communication with the sound. For example - I listened very carefully to the game instructions, or I am listening to the weather forecast. With listening or ecouter, there is a level of interaction with the noise.

Sometimes parents wonder if their kids simply hear their voice (kind of like the brass horn vibrato of the adults in Charlie Brown), but don't really listen to what they have said, when the kids once again disobey. It's one thing to hear a sound, it's another altogether to engage and respond to it.

Are you a listener or a hearer of God? God wants us to listen to Him, and not to simply hear Him.

God says in Psalm 95, "Today, if only you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

God is speaking to us all the time - primarily through His Word, the Bible. Many of us hear the Word of God for our lives - whether in church, through personal reading, or sometimes even songs. We have heard it well enough over the years to recognize it, and to easily identify its content. For many, His voice is a distinct sound - we know what He is calling us to do and to be. The sound of His voice carries with it a call to obedience.

The reality is that until we obey the voice of God and live it out in our life - we will only ever be hearers of God. To listen to God is to obey God - to do that which He asks us to do. We must not harden our hearts - or as I like to put it - tune God out (or relegate His voice to background noise in our life). His voice demands preeminence and our obedient response.

Lord God, teach me how to be a better listener to your voice...

Be God's, Scott

What have you done for me lately

2011-03-29T09:43:00.005-04:00

1 "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land." Psalm 95: 1-5

One of the terms I often like to use to describe this peculiar society that we live in, is to call it a "what have you done for me lately" culture. What I intend to say with this moniker is that we tend to treat people on the basis of how well (and how recently) have they serviced us. It's really a poke on our individualistic and selfish mindset, that encourages us to see everything and everyone created and ordered for the express purpose of meeting our felt needs.

I mean, marriage relationship of seven years not quite operating with the same romantic passion as that first year? Not loving me with that same initial fervor? Time for this thing to end - what have you done for me lately?

Presidents and Prime Ministers (and every politician in between) are judged by individuals on the basis of how their decisions and policies have affected me, personally (never mind the big picture). The fortunes of politicians rise and fall on the whims of this simple question...what have you done for me lately?

Even movie stars and athletes who were once beloved, sooner or later find themselves on the wrong end of public affection, when they either make a mistake or simply stop giving us what we want...what have you done for me lately?

I wonder if this mindset does not trickle into our relationship with God as well - especially with our praise and worship. Do we tend to praise God only we perceive He is doing something for us? Say for example, when He heals us from an illness, or when He gives us a good crop...But then hold back our praise when we perceive Him to be silent or not serving us - maybe when things aren't going so well? Is our relationship with God (in particular our attitude in offering worship) predicated on what God has done or not done for us? What have you done for me lately, God?

What I like about this Psalm, and it is a good bit of reality for our self-centered existence, is that our Worship of God should not depend on anything God has or has not done (and it certainly has nothing to do with us!).

The reason that we are to praise God continually, sings the Psalmist, is because of who He is. "For He is the Great God - the Great King above all gods." Worship should never revolve around us and our felt needs - worship is always about the very nature and character of our unchanging God. He who holds the universe that He created in the palm of His hand. He who is awesome in power, and unending in love. He who has always existed in beautiful splendor. He is worthy of our praise!

Really, wouldn't our society be a much more pleasing place to live if we became a "what have WE done for HIM lately" kind of culture?

Be God's, Scott

Tough Times

2011-03-28T09:41:00.004-04:00

"The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?” But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”" Exodus 17: 1-4

So there was the entire nation of Israel, in the middle of a desert wilderness. They had only recently departed a life of slavery and captivity in Egypt, from which God had miraculously delivered them, only to set them on the way to the promised land of Canaan. This journey was to take 40 years, though at the time of this story they did not know it - in fact, they had only really just begun their journey. Not entirely unexpectedly, the people of Israel found themselves to be thirsty, with a source of water to quench that thirst sorely lacking in the middle of the desert...so they let their leader have it.

"Give us water to drink!" "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt only to let us, our kids and our livestock die of thirst!"

Things became difficult, and their faith unraveled. In fact, it immediately turned into complaint, and uncalled for accusation. They did more than just whine about the difficulty of their present situation, they accused Moses of rescuing them only to kill them all in the desert - either as some nefarious evil genius, or an absolutely incompetent leader. Moses realized the truth of their complaint and accusation though...it was not really against him, it was against God himself. God, after all, was the one who delivered them from Egypt and gave them the future promise of entering the promised land. In fact God had already miraculously provided for them on their journey! He turned the Red Sea into dry land to ease their escape, He directed their journey himself with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, and He even already provided food for them to survive with Manna and Quail...yet, they complained and accused.

How easily the Israelites lost their faith in God's providence, when a little bump entered into their journey. How soon they forgot the loving care that their LORD had already provided.

But, thankfully we are nothing like the Israelites...right? I mean, we never lose our faith in God's providence when a little bump upsets our reality. We never forget the many times that God lovingly cared for us in the past without fail.

OK, so maybe we are all a little bit like the Israelites at times - when the going gets tough, the tough start complaining.

Maybe you are in a desert place right now, thirsting out of necessity and not knowing where or when your thirst will be quenched. Whatever your difficulty, know this for certain - the LORD your God is with you. He has provided you with everything you've ever needed, exactly when you needed it in the past, and He will continue to do so in the future.

Tough times never last, because God is everlasting...

Be God's, Scott

Born Again

2011-03-25T09:42:00.004-04:00

"Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." John 3: 3-5

"Born again" has somehow become more than it is. It has in some regards become a branded noun of the fundamentalist used as a dividing rod in our culture. In fact, the title "born again christian" is about as redundant as you can get. I'm not sure Jesus ever intended it to be a noun. I see it is a verb - An action required of us and done by the Spirit through the work of Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is the place where God dwells and reigns with his beautiful love and justice. It is the place where salvation is found and lived out in community right now, and it is the place of eternal bliss yet to come. Jesus' simple gospel call from the beginning was "repent, for the Kingdom of God has come near." To be sure, the Kingdom of God is the place that God created and designed us to live and move and have our being - all in and under the Lordship of Jesus. Our functional purpose as created humans is to live in the Kingdom of God - to glorify and enjoy Him forever. We will never truly be joyful or at peace until we enter into this Kingdom.

Unfortunately, our sin has barred us from entering into this perfect delight that was prepared for us - for what can sin have to do with God's holiness. The Kingdom of God remains elusive to any still enslaved to their sins. In fact Jesus says not only can one not enter it, but one cannot even see it.

There is only one way to see and enter into our home with Christ...Jesus says we must be born again. Not a physical re-birth, as Nicodemus wrongly assumes, but a Spiritual re-birth -one in which the sinful nature that we were originally born with dies, only to be regenerated unto new life, righteous and perfect. This type of re-birth happens on the inside, and cannot be seen or detected by even the finest physicians, but does eventually manifest itself in holy actions. It is the Spiritual re-birth (or regeneration) that is necessary for any of us to enter into the Kingdom of God.

Thankfully, the very one who spoke these words, laid down His life on the cross, and in so doing crucified our sinful natures with Him. His resurrection three days later enables us through faith, to be similarly raised from spiritual death.

The work of Jesus allows us to rightly be born again. The work of Jesus allows us not only to see the Kingdom of God, but to enter into the rest of His presence as well.

Thanks be to God, that He did not leave us to die in our sins, but that, out of His great love for us, gave us the means to be born again!

Be God's, Scott

Camping

2011-03-24T13:47:00.005-04:00

"After six days, Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John, his brother and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Just then, appearing before them was Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three tents - one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah." Matthew 17: 1-4

Have you ever had one of those rare and beautiful transcendent moments in your life when you really knew, felt and sensed the awesome, loving presence of Jesus? I mean, really experienced it - to the point of being overwhelmed and awed - so much so that there was never any doubt that God was real, God was immense, and God loved you.

I have been blessed on occasion in my life to have had God explode into my ordinary existence. I have had mountain top experiences of drinking deeply from Jesus' awesome presence, and quite frankly, there is nothing quite like it. I remember wishing that the feeling and experience could have lasted forever...

Peter, James and John were blessed with an awesome experience - before their eyes, up on the mountain top, Jesus, (for a brief moment) stripped back His humanity to reveal the entirety of His godly nature. He face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as bright as a white light, and then to top it off - Moses and Elijah (long dead rocks of the Hebrew faith) stepped out into the open and began talking with Jesus! Jesus blessed the three disciples with a private and personal glimpse at the awesome extent of His almighty holiness - and they were left with an indelible experience. Can you imagine, being there intimately with Jesus, Moses and Elijah, in full view of all that makes God great?

Is it any wonder that Peter's first response was to pitch some tents and camp for a while on the mountain? Peter wanted some permanency to this experience. Tents would surely allow this mountaintop experience with Jesus to keep on going.

But alas, for Peter, James and John, the transcendent mountaintop experience was not to last. Jesus had work in the world of the ordinary for them to be about.

Although I strongly desire to experience these mountaintop moments with Jesus as much as I possibly can - Jesus also has work for me to be about in the valleys. I will have eternity to "camp" with Him and bask in His presence. Until then, I will be content and grateful for the little glimpses of glory that I get, and let them encourage and embolden me for my work amidst the ordinary.

Be God's, Scott

Help Is On The Way

2011-03-23T10:28:00.003-04:00

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121: 1-2

After dinner last night, as I was just beginning to enjoy my book, my son popped his head in and said, "Um Dad, my laptop is doing something weird, can you come and fix it for me?" My love of my son overcame my laconic after dinner haze, and I got up and went to the kitchen to check it out. Now, I know a little bit about computers, but not nearly enough to consider myself as any sort true help to anyone. However, what little I do know can be illuminated by the online support people and available FAQ's.

I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out why the battery on my son's year old laptop was dead and unchargeable. I went to the manual. I plinked around with the preloaded computer applications in order to test it. I went to online forums, FAQ's, and the HP website support. I went everywhere I could think of going, and quite frankly I wasn't getting anywhere. I distinctly remember thinking aloud..."what I really need is Bill Gates to walk through that door and tell me what the problem is." Well, Bill never came to help, but I did eventually read enough to figure out that my son needed a new $30 battery.

Have you ever thought that before when frustrated and in need of help? If only the expert, the one who invented this thing, could walk in and show me what to do!

Computer troubles are the least of our worries, aren't they? Batteries and error messages pale in comparison to the difficulties that routinely pop up in our life. We cry out for help in the midst of our helplessness when someone close to us dies unexpectedly...when we lose our job...when we receive a debilitating illness or injury...when a natural disaster takes away our home...when an intimate relationship is on the tipping point of ending...when our addictions threaten us anew.

When you are in need of help - to whom do you direct your cry? Where does your help come from?

I have faith that the Lord will answer my cry, swoop in, and give me exactly the help I need in any given situation. After all, He says He will in His word, and who am I to question God's word?
And why shouldn't He? He is the maker of heaven and earth - in other words, the almighty expert on everything and anything to do with life in this universe. He has the ability to handle and help any of our problems because He is greater than all of them - He is the maker of all things!

Who are we to fret or despair in our troubles? Why should we ever let them overtake us? All we need to do is to cry out for the maker of life.

Our help comes from Him.

Be God's, Scott

kneel

2011-03-22T10:20:00.004-04:00

"I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12: 2-3

God's covenant with Abram is filled with the language and promise of blessing.

The Hebrew word for blessing is Barak (yes, that is what President Obama's name means), and when you look at the etymology of this Hebrew word - it literally means "to kneel." In the Old Testament sense of the word, a blessing was something of value given graciously from one of power and authority to someone of lower standing. This blessing was a public declaration of favor, and endowed the recipient with power for prosperity and success. It was clearly a wonderful thing to receive a blessing - and since it was a gift and favor that one truly did not deserve or earn, it was traditionally received by humbly kneeling and accepting.

One receives a blessing by humbly kneeling.

Abram received wonderful unmerited blessings from God - the promise of land, descendants, and future blessings from God and others. All of these Abram humbled knelt and received, for who could imagine anything better than receiving a blessing from God himself! God loves to bestow blessings upon His children because He wants the world to know His love, His peace, His joy, and His faithfulness. Now, did you notice why God gave Abram these blessings? There was a reason or purpose behind the gifts...

Abram received these blessings so that through them, he might be a blessing to all of the families on the earth. Abram was blessed in order to be a blessing to others. This is the simple motive behind God, in His good pleasure blessing us - He wants us to use whatever blessing He has given us in order to bless others. Our blessings from God are not to be hoarded or used only for personal pleasure, or selfish gain - but in humble thanksgiving seeking out others to bless.

What might this blessing of others look like?

Just as we received our blessings from God on our knees, we also ought to offer to bless the world on our knees. We truly bless the world, when we humble ourselves before them and become their servant. We were fully given our blessings through Jesus, about whom it is said, "He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Eph. 1:3 This same Jesus, gracefully gave us these rich blessings by humbling Himself, even to death on a cross. Jesus became a suffering servant to give us our heavenly blessings, and as He does so, He says, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." John 13:15

We are called to bless the world by humbly serving them - one gives a blessing by humbly kneeling.

Be God's, Scott

Leave and Go

2011-03-21T10:40:00.005-04:00

"The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you"...So Abram went, as the LORD had told him." Genesis 12: 1,4

Human sin had ravaged God's relationship with His beloved creation. Humanity, in its pride and depravity, had separated themselves from their creator. Prior to the great flood, God had found only one righteous person in the world, Noah, that convinced Him not to wipe out all of His work. And then not too long after the second chance shown by God to His creation through Noah, humanity again led by the nose of their sinful nature, constructed the tower of Babel in a futile attempt to gain equality with God.

In spite of humanity's constant efforts at thumbing their collective noses at God's grace, lordship, and love - God's love for humanity never ceased. Even though by all rights He really should have wiped the slate clean with us and started anew - His faithfulness and patience know no end.

God had a plan for the redemption of humanity, in fact, it was a plan for the redemption of all of His creation. And God's plan began with one man, who was asked to obey in faith a rather large askance.

Leave your country...leave your family...leave your house - everything you know, everybody you know, the only life you have ever known - and go to a land I will show you. Not even a specific destination. Just, leave and go. Keep walking in the direction I point you, until I tell you to stop, then you will be there.

But where is there, God? Don't worry about that, just leave and go.

But what am I to do when I get there? Don't worry about that, just leave and go.

But what about my family and life? Don't worry about that, just leave and go.

The redemption of the entirety of creation depended on one man being willing to drop everything, and to leave and go when God asked Him to. Surprisingly, Abram went as the LORD told him to. I say surprisingly because I wonder if I would have left and gone.

I mean, am I the only one who is blown away by Abram's faith and trust in God here. Surely he should have at least asked for a little more information before making his decision right. I often have a hard enough time obeying God in faith for simple things in my life - let alone one in which He calls you away from family, friends and lifestyle to only He knows where.

Abram's trust and faith - his willingness to leave and go - challenges us to do likewise whenever God asks us, no matter what He may ask of us. The simple lesson here is that when God calls you to do anything for Him according to His plan, He will always do His part...He will never leave us hanging, let us down, or spurn our trust with unfaithfulness. If Abram can rightly trust God in this huge choice, surely we are able to leave and go when God calls us amidst the small and simple choices that challenge us in everyday life.

God used the faith of Abram to execute His great plan of redemption for His creation...I wonder what He might be able to accomplish through you and me if we but choose to leave and go in faith when He asks...

Be God's, Scott

We are not as strong as we think we are...

2011-03-18T09:06:00.007-04:00

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry."
Matthew 4: 1-2

The human being is an amazing resilient creation. Throughout the history of the world we have shown the capacity to adapt and endure almost any and every difficulty faced. With grit, guile and inner strength, when in the face of adversity, we more often than not boldly stare it down, and push back. Our plucky survival instinct has served us well over the years - we were created to be strong and resilient.

However, as one of my favorite songsters, Rich Mullins, wrote - "we are not as strong as we think we are."

Physically speaking - I have seen some of the strongest people I have ever known felled and conquered by disease and illness. Unfortunately, no amount of inner strength, or "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" attitude had the capacity stop the onslaught of disease. Even more simple than disease - we cannot live or function very long without food, water, and sleep. Take any of these three things away for any amount of time, and tough humanity is reduced to a helpless creature.

Emotionally speaking - some are stronger than others I suppose, but even so, are we really as strong as we let on? I mean, in the face of an earth shattering relationship betrayal, or a tragic death, or an unexpected loss of income and employment - is our plucky survival instinct enough?

Then there is temptation - the sweet sirens call to sensuously indulge in disobedience to God. To willingly drink of sin in spite of its ill effects on us. If you are anything like me, the temptation is often much stronger than my resolve, and if it came down to a cosmic arm wrestle between my strength and the temptations allure...much to my shame, the temptation usually wins.

We are not as strong as we think we are...but I know of One who is stronger than our hurt, more mighty than our struggle, tougher than our tough times, and fully capable of pinning down our temptations. In fact, in our weakness, He is made strong.

Why was Jesus tempted so in the wilderness? Jesus who had never known what it is to be in need, or to struggle, or to hurt, willingly stooped down to earth, took on our humanity, and then proceeded to test the limits of the human condition. In the desert: he knew thirst, he knew hunger, he knew loneliness, he knew temptation. These things that often leave us reeling were endured by Jesus for 40 days. But why?

Empathy...

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Hebrews 4:15

God knew that we didn't have enough strength to endure life in this sinful world on our own. He knew that we would all eventually come across stuff that was beyond our pluck and guile, and he didn't want us to have go it alone. So He walked our journey for Himself.

Jesus understands our pain, because He lived it. Jesus knows how difficult it is to survive temptation, because He survived it. Jesus, fully human, knows exactly how you feel and what you are going through. Jesus, fully God, is almighty in power and strength and able to strengthen and uplift us when we are unable to do so on our own.

Our own strength has limitations and will only take us so far...but the strength of God in Jesus Christ will surely be sufficient for all who seek it.

Thanks be to God, that although we are not as strong as we think we are - Jesus is exactly as strong as we need Him to be.

Be God's, Scott

Represent

2011-03-17T12:20:00.003-04:00

"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" Romans 5: 17

I recently, like many of my American and Canadian friends, endured that annual rite of Spring - Tax Season. When I lived in Canada, I had the system pretty well figured out. I downloaded TurboTax and easily gave unto Caesar that which was Caesar's. Now that we have lived in the States for a bit, I must confess that I still have yet to figure out how to do my taxes for the IRS. But then again, I suppose many Americans who have lived here for years still have to figure that out.
So, I take my receipts and official documents to a special tax accountant every year, who asks me a few rote questions, and then proceeds to complete my taxes for me. She does a great job, and for me, a relatively pain free tax season.

Now, in order for my accountant to submit my tax reports off to the IRS, we have to do something technical and official. I, and my wife, have to sign a document that allows our accountant to represent our case to the IRS. Once we do that, our accountant officially speaks on our behalf, and she expertly communicates our interests with them, as if we were speaking to them ourselves. In a legal sense, she speaks for us to the US government. This is representation.

The accounting of our salvation is not so different from the accounting of my taxes. Adam, when he sinned, not only plunged himself under the curse of sin and death, he also acted as our representative. As our representative, he also plunged all of humanity under the curse of sin and death. As the scripture said, "death reigned through this one man."

Just as I am unable to account my own taxes, I am also unable to account for my own sins. My reason for not being able to account for my own taxes is incompetence...my reason for not being able to account for my own sins however is not mere incompetence - it's my sinful total inability to do anything about it. It's impossible for any person to take care of their own sins.

Thankfully, just as we had one representing us in our depravity, we also have one representing us in salvation. Jesus Christ came to account for our sins as our representative. He paid the penalty for our sins by taking our place. He represents us before God the Father as judge and declares us right and holy. The gift of righteousness comes only through faith in the one who stoops to represent us.

Thanks be to God for taking our place.

Be God's, Scott

Duty?

2011-03-16T10:56:00.002-04:00

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you." Psalm 32: 8-9

So, how would you describe your part in your relationship with God - as one who obeys and follows reluctantly because, really, you have to...or, as one who obeys and follows joyfully out of a loving thankful heart? Maybe somewhere in between? I think these are important questions to consider. The Scriptures seem to indicate that "why" we obey is more important even than "if" we obey. Our motives are important to God. He wants us to want to follow and obey, and not to do so begrudging out of compulsion. And really, can you blame Him?

If you were in crazy love with someone, how would you want them to respond to your love? And when I say crazy love I mean crazy love: someone that you are so in besotted with that you think about them all the time, you do whatever you can to bring them joy and contentment, you shower them with tokens of your affection, and you would protect them to the death (even if it meant giving up your own life). How would you want the object of your desire to respond to your love?

Perhaps they could send you flowers with a note attached that read, "Here are the flowers you require, I bought them for you because I had to meet your expectations." Perhaps a part of their wedding vows sounded something like this, "I will always care for you, because I am obliged to do so. I will never leave you, because that would probably make you upset." Or perhaps on the occasion of your anniversary, you are invited out for dinner with a, "well if we must go...let go and get it over with."

I am thinking that these responses just seem ridciulous right? One wants their love returned in equal intensity. One wants their affection returned in kind with heartfelt meaning and not duty.

God shows His love to us in many ways, including directing us in the way we should go in life, and by always keeping a loving protective eye on us - not to mention the greatest of these...giving up His own life for us.

How do we often respond to God's love in our relationship with Him? If you're like me, you are often like the mule in David's Psalm - needing bit and bridle to forcefully make you respond accordingly against your will. Obeying and following, but not being crazy about doing it. In fact, if you didn't feel like you had to obey God, would you still?

God wants us to want to follow and obey Him. His desire for us, is that we love Him with the same intensity as He loves us. A true joyful relationship with God comes from not only receiving His love, but responding in kind out devotion and gratitude.

Be God's, Scott

Pleasure Now...Pay Later

2011-03-15T09:57:00.003-04:00

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Genesis 3: 1-7

Here we have the infamous story of the downfall of humanity - Adam and Eve plunging the good creation of God into sin and brokenness. Everything from earthquakes, tsunamis, cancer, betrayal, broken relationships, murder, injustice, war, death, famine (all of it and everything more that is wrong) can all be traced back to this very scene in Genesis.

I am not sure what was going through Eve's mind as she was deftly tempted by the serpent, but her (and Adam's) simple act of disobedience wrecked everything - and I for one am not pleased with them.

Here they were in the perfection of the Garden of Eden - paradise. They lived in perfect relational communion with their Creator. They were given the authority to work and care for the creation. There was no hurt or pain, or sickness or disease. And they were given all kinds of food to eat - in fact they could eat to their hearts content from every tree, except the one. I mean, they had EVERYTHING, and only one simple rule to adhere to - don't eat the fruit from the one tree.

Yet, that is exactly what they did. They spurned perfection, and eternal bliss with God because they just had to sample the one thing they were not to eat. It's as if for that brief moment their brains ceased to function. I am not sure what else to think about the story and why they did it. Why else would you seek a temporary forbidden pleasure, something that you know you shouldn't do, something you know will carry long term consequences...rather than simply stay the course - obey God and enjoy His perfect presence and bliss forever.

Of course, we can't relate to Adam and Eve, right? We never have moments in our lives when a temptation overwhelms our common sense. Surely we would never succumb to a sinful disobedience because it would give us a momentary bit of sensory pleasure even though we knew it would be harmful to us and carry with it negative consequences. We always choose to stay the course with God - obey Him and enjoy Him forever, don't we?

The reality is, that it is not too hard to see ourselves in this story. I would like to think that were I in their situation I would have done differently - but if I am honest with myself, I am not sure that I could say that with any sort of confidence. Much to my shame, I, all too often, choose the momentary sinful indulgence, over the eternal faithfulness to God.

Perhaps Adam and Eve are not the only ones to blame for the broken mess we find ourselves in - could it be that I too have played a part?

May God show us grace and forgiveness, and give us the strength by His Spirit to avoid temptation and choose instead, faithful obedience to Him.

Be God's, Scott

Dirty Hands

2011-03-14T13:12:00.000-04:00

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2: 15-17

I do not know what it is like where you live...but where I live, here in the Thousand Islands area of New York, Spring is getting all coiled up and ready to leap out. My front lawn is no longer covered in snow, and the ice covering the river is receding more and more every day. In fact, today has brought forth a warm sun, the kinds of which I have not felt in a long time. Spring is an exciting time for folks who must live through a cold, snowy winter.

My wife, the gardener, is very excited for the arrival of spring. I have caught her a number of times creeping around the muddy yard with her face bent low towards the dirt of her gardens, fervently willing the tulips and daffodils skyward. She's got that twinkle in her eyes that I see when she wants to get her hands dirty. Before you know it, she will be fully invested in pulling, digging, cultivating, planting, and tending the ground around our property.

Perhaps you are a gardener as well...some people just love the process of working and caring for the land.

Isn't it interesting that after having created Adam, and this, remember, is prior to any type of sin or fall (everything was still heavenly perfect), God proceeds to plop Adam down in the Garden of Eden with the mandate "to work it and to take care of it." Interesting to me in a couple of ways - the first of which is the fact that God created Adam from the very dirt that He was now giving him responsibility over. Adam had a special intimate relationship with the Garden that God entrusted to his care. Secondly, God evidently created Adam to work in His paradise, and He trusted and valued him enough to allow him to work alongside God in a partnership of creation care.

Of course, the mandate that God gave to Adam, He gives to us all. He defines our relationship with creation for us. We too, are to work it and care for it. Now, this does not mean that we are all to take up Gardening on a full time basis...but is does seem to mean that God has created us to be "environmentalists." In the midst of our unique connection to the earth we have been charged by God to protect and preserve the creation. I believe that this calls us, not to view the creation as a natural resource given to serve us, rather, given that we might have the blessed privilege of serving the land. And this work is what we were made for, and through it we will bring glory to God - an act of worship.

As the Lord brings forth new life once again from the barrenness of winter, may He continue to entrust us with the valuable mandate to work and care for His glorious creation.

Be God's, Scott

Lenten Fasting

2011-03-12T09:46:00.000-05:00

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6: 16-18

The obseverance of fasting is one discipline that is often done by Christian folks everywhere during the 40 day season of Lent. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians are obligated to fast during Lent. Protestant Christians have no such rules to follow - though some do participate in a fast of sorts in order to spiritually prepare their hearts for Easter Celebrations. Fasting by definition is the sacrifice of something (usually food) in order to both identify with the suffering of Jesus, and also to turn ones heart prayerfully towards Jesus. The need and hunger for food, reminds one of the need to turn to, and rely on Christ.

I know that a lot of people are participating in some type of fast this year, because they have told me - and anyone else with access to their Facebook account. Some have given up candy, some Ice Cream, some meat, some cursing, some speeding, some video games, and some have even given up Facebook - with an Ash Wednesday status update proclamation of "talk to you in 40 days."

I actually quite like the idea of fasting - I have done different types in the past, and have found them to be useful in pointing me towards Jesus and His righteousness. However, I have to wonder...why are all of these people fasting? Is it because they think it's something they're supposed to do? Is it because so many other people are doing it? Are they all truly fasting with the purpose of prayerful communion with Christ?

I am surely not one to judge other peoples intentions or motivations (as if I could). I pray that God blesses those who are fasting in order to eagerly seek His presence. I do, however take Biblical issue with the way in which folks are going about their fast, and I humbly offer this guidance.

In the above Scripture, Jesus is pretty clear that when you fast - you need to keep it quiet. It is just something between Jesus and you. You are not to let on to anyone else that you are fasting. This would seem to be informative to my Facebook friends who have announced to the world wide web that they are in fact fasting...shhhh, don't tell anyone.

Why would Jesus demand this of us?

Simply because the fast is for Him, and not for other people. The biggest barrier to prayerful communion with Jesus is our sinful pride. Pride in fasting comes when we share with others the fact that we are doing so. It almost screams of unspoken intent - "I sure am pretty spiritual huh?" Sharing the news of your fast with others seeks the applause of humans, but fasting in secret before God seeks the "reward of God."

For those of you fasting, may God bless what you do in secret as you seek to identify with the sacrifices of Christ.

Be God's, Scott

The Ballad of Jeremiah Smithson

2011-03-11T08:50:00.000-05:00

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

Jeremiah Smithson lived during the time that we like to call the "Wild West." Gold Rush, Saloons, Sheriffs, and Sarsaparilla come to mind when we think of this colorful time in American history. For Jeremiah Smithson though, the only thing "wild" about the West that he lived in, was his son Jacob. While Jeremiah was straight laced, hard working, and a religious man - his son Jacob, now 19, had grown into a hard drinking, violent, lazy and dangerous man. Jacob was regularly involved in gun play, brawling, looting and anything else you could imagine a man with a black hat doing in the Wild West.

As Jacob became more and more notorious and feared throughout the west, his father continued to love him, and daily pleaded with him to turn his life around. His father's heart ached for his beloved son. He was the only one who still saw a glimmer of hope and goodness when he gazed upon Jacob - to everyone else, he was a dangerous powder keg ready to go off.

Finally, one dry and dusty day...Jacob did go off - at 5pm on a Thursday afternoon, a heavily intoxicated Jacob stumbled into the house of a local family eating dinner. He proceeded to shoot and kill the Father and the Mother leaving their 3 young children orphans. Jacob stumbled out of the house with a chicken drumstick in his hands only to pass out on the roadside in front of the house he devastated.

Jacob was quickly arrested, put in jail, and set to be hanged the next day at noon - much to the satisfaction and relief of the town. Everyone in town that is...except for Jeremiah, his father. For where the town saw a monster, he saw a hurt and confused little boy, desperately in need of some grace and a second chance. Jeremiah went and pleaded with the officials for mercy upon his son, but they were hearing none of it. Their law clearly said that when one took a life, one needed to give up a life - that was justice. And while Jeremiah certainly could not argue with that, he still was willing to do whatever he could to prevent the hanging death of his son, Jacob whom he loved.

As Jacob was brought forth to the gallows, the whole of the town was gathered to bear witness to Wild West justice. The noose was forcefully fastened around Jacob's neck, when the Sheriff asked him if he had anything to say for himself. Jacob, looked out and over the crowd assembled, and with tears of regret in his eyes, humbly told the crowd, "What I did was wrong. I am sorry for killing those innocent folks. And I am sorry for all the other harmful things I did to the rest of you. Truth is, I deserve this - but I tell you what, if I had to live my life over again, I would do it differently. I would live my life like my Father...a good man, and the only one who ever saw any good or hope in me. My biggest regret is that I let my Father down." With that he put his head down resigned to die, even as his Father was pushing his way forward to speak with the Sheriff.

All the crowd could see was Jeremiah speaking animatedly with the Sheriff, gesturing wildly with his hands - they could not help but feel sorrow for such a kind and pure man. After a moment of conversation, the Sheriff walked over to Jacob, all the while leading Jeremiah up to the gallows behind him. He ordered the noose taken off of Jacob's neck and put on Jeremiah's. As the crowd looked upon this scene with stunned and confused faces, the Sheriff clearly and loudly stated, "The law simply says, one life taken, one life given - this is justice. This here man, Jeremiah Smithson, willingly offers to take the place of his son in order to receive the blow of justice due him. His life, for the freedom of his son. This may seem unusual, but I see no legal reason why he cannot do so."

With that, Jacob was escorted down the wooden stairs, and Jeremiah prepared to hang. His last words were these, "son, I love you, and I implore you now, to walk upright." With that, the creaky wooden trap door opened, and Jeremiah Smithson was no more.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The ballad of Jeremiah is our gospel story - the story of a loving father unwilling to watch his children perish in their sins, even to the point of taking our place at the meting out of justice.

I wonder how Jacob responded to his new lease on life purchased for him by his father. I would like to think that he sought to live an upright life like his father did.

How will you respond in the living of your eternal life, purchased for you with great sacrifice and deep love?

Be God's, Scott

On referees and original sin

2011-03-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

"For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Psalm 51: 3-5

I have a love/hate relationship with referees - well truth be told...mostly the latter. This goes all the way back to when I was a kid playing soccer and basketball, and extends to the present day as I watch my kids play from the stands. In my mind, I am convinced that the referees (lovely people I am sure when they are not wearing stripes) are conspiring against my children, and in fact, myself personally. And well, far be it for me not to point this out to them, in the hopes that perhaps I might re-direct their attention to the ineptitude of their officiating (I mean it's the least I can do right? A public service).

Truth be told, I have left a couple games feeling embarrassed for myself - ashamed of my actions. I often envy those other parents who can sit there contentedly with a smile - simply enjoying the spectacle of their kid having fun. For me, I get emotionally involved in the game, and my passions sometimes lead my mouth to criticize folks that in any other arena of life, I would never dream of speaking such harsh statements. I don't intend to go to the game and get bent out of shape over the refereeing...sometimes, it just happens, despite my desire not to let it.

Perhaps you have an area in your life as well in which you struggle to do what is right despite your best intentions. If we are truly honest with ourselves, we all have these areas in our lives.

The Bible goes so far as to say, that we were "sinful from birth, sinful from the time of conception." In other words, the moment we cast our first labored infant breath - we all possessed a natural proclivity to sin. It is our default or reflex tendency to do the wrong thing in the eyes of God. I can't say that I really like this truth...but I suppose that doesn't stop it from being true.

The hope that I have in my sinful human condition rests in Jesus - the embodiment of the mercy, loving kindness, and grace of God. Jesus came and died to free me and you from the enslavement of our sinful nature. Oh, it still haunts us, and will continue to do so until we get to heaven - but Jesus in his forgiveness, enables us to do holy, noble, and righteous things. Jesus in his tender care for us, fills us with His Spirit to empower us to lose our thirst for sin. In Christ, we are gradually being formed more and more into holiness.

God hasn't given up on me, and he hasn't given up on you. I may still have a natural tendency towards referee animosity, but thanks be to my great and merciful God, I am forgiven, and I am improving. And at the least, the whole biblical idea of being born desiring to do the wrong thing, gives me some means of explaining just what was going on in the heads of some of those referees ;)

May you know the forgiveness and holiness of God in your life as well.

Be God's, Scott

Sound the alarm

2011-03-09T11:17:00.000-05:00

"Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming.
It is close at hand—

“Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave behind a blessing—" Joel 2:1,12-14a

Here in Alexandria Bay, like many small villages of its kind, we are blessed with an awesome volunteer fire department - men and women who work very hard, at times risking their own lives to ensure the safety and protection of the community. These brave and committed souls have to be ready at any instant to drop whatever it is they are doing when an emergency arises.

How do these folks know when an emergency arises you urban dwellers might inquire? THE Alarm - A super loud air horn that shakes the windows and sends my cat scurrying with panic and fear through the house. An alarm that can be heard for miles away. When this alarm sounds, volunteer firefighters drop their dinner utensils, throw on their boots, hurry to their trucks and head off to the fire hall. The rest of us in the village listen and wonder what might have happened, all the while raising silent prayers up.

The alarm sounds - and people respond.

The prophet Joel sounds a window shaking alarm as well - one that begs response. Into the day to day goings on of life, amidst the busyness and banality of daily routine - God sounds the alarm.

The alarm is a reminder that the Lord is returning, and the fact that He is returning ought to make a difference in how we live our lives. Life is more than the sum of our investments. Life is more than the argument we have with our neighbor. Life is more than what we will eat for dinner. Life is more than stuff, and pleasure, and me and you. How much has sin blinded us from the reality of our present situations.

As we enter into the period of reflection and self assesment called Lent - God sounds the alarm. The alarm reminds us that life is about pleasing God and planning for His return. This may upset our way of life - but then again maybe our lives need some upsetting.

The volunteer firefighters respond immediately by running towards the emergency. Joel begs us to respond to God's alarm with similar immediacy and urgency - return to God.

Whenever you choose to do so, no matter what you have done, or how far you have strayed - Joel tells us that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger. He will welcome, protect and bless all who respond to His alarm.

Be God's, Scott

Welcome

2011-03-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

Well, it is Ash Wednesday 2011 - and that means the Lenten journey to the cross is upon us once again. I would like to invite you to join me over the next 40 days. I will be offering up a brief devotional thought, designed to season your spiritual journey, each morning through Lent. On each day, but Sunday, I will offer up some thoughts on the passages suggested by the Revised Common Lectionary.

I pray that God may use my meager and humble thoughts and ruminations to draw you nearer unto Him. May He add His blessing to these words.

Feel free to pass along the link to others, and feedback and discussion is more than welcomed.

Be God's, Scott

Concluding Thoughts

2010-03-26T12:08:00.000-04:00

"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him - not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." Philippians 3:8-9

The period of Lent is a time of self examination for most. It often involves the Spirit of God making us quite aware of our own brokenness and complete need for God. It is a time when we stop for a moment and think to ourselves - wow, being a Christian is tough sledding...it's a constant struggle between sin and obedience.

Of interest to me in this passage is the word "rubbish." Paul says that in comparison to knowing God and having a relationship with Him, everything else in his life (his best accomplishments, good works, his money, his power, his fame, his legacy...everything) is rubbish. Paul is making a strong statement here and you might not even realize how strong, for in the Greek in which it was originally written, the great theologian of the church dishes out some uncharacteristically salty language. The greek word translated "rubbish" is skubalon. Skubalon is only used one time in the whole of the Bible, and it literally means #$^@*$! (or human dung if you will).

Paul is shouting in as loud a voice as possible that everything else in his life is #$^@*$! compared to knowing Jesus. In other words, all that matters in life is ones relationship with Jesus.

As we begin our entrance into Holy Week with Palm Sunday tomorrow, let me ask you to reflect on this...

What matters most to you in your life? How does that manifest itself in the way that you live it?

**thanks again for journeying with me through Lent - this will be my last post for the season. I look forward very much to celebrating Easter week with you - either here in the Bay in person, or in the Spirit of unity wherever it is that God has placed you.

Be God's, Scott

Running Lines

2010-03-24T11:18:00.000-04:00

"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Psalm 126: 5-6

In the movie Hoosiers (one of my all time favorites) Gene Hackman plays the role of new basketball coach Norman Dale, at a little school in Indiana called Hickory High. This school had a very small basketball team that had never achieved very much in that basketball mad state. Coach Dale set the goal of winning a state title before them, and the way that they were going to achieve it was through team play, fundamentals and hard work...lots of hard work. In fact at the beginning of his tenure there, for the first few practices, the team didn't even pick up a ball, they just ran ran lines over and over and over. This physically and mentally exhausted the kids - some even quit. They were not used to this type of suffering in practice. When they (or their parents) complained, Dale simply said, "my practices are not designed for your enjoyment."

What his practices were designed for, whether the kids realized it or not, was to shape them into champions so that they might achieve their goals. The torturous hard work of running lines got them into shape and brought them together as a team. The corporate tears they sowed in practice eventually led to (spoiler alert for a movie released in 1986) them reaping the joy of the Indiana State championship, beating a team much bigger and stronger than them. I don't think that it would be hard to argue that without the blood, sweat and tears of suffering at practices those boys would not have enjoyed the State title. Coach Dale put them through difficulty in order for them to reap amazing joy. I have no doubt that the moment they won that game and experienced the joy of achieving their goals - that all their suffering and toil was forgotten.

I don't know any player who really enjoys running lines, it's hard work that is not a lot of fun - but any player worth his salt will tell you that unless you do this hard work, you will never achieve your athletic goals. As they say, "no pain...no gain."

The Christian life is a lot like running lines at times isn't it? We hurt, we strain, we suffer under the difficult circumstances of life. We work hard at serving our Lord, only to be persecuted, or laughed at. As long as their is sin in the world, life will be hard - "we will sow in tears and continually go forth weeping." Sin and its effects are not pleasurable, our bodies and souls were never designed for sins enjoyment. We were designed for righteousness and God's unfiltered presence. Friends, life will be hard and beat us down.

But our goal is heaven - our hope is victory in Jesus!

We run the race to gain the prize - the salvation of our souls. We shall reap in joy at the harvest because all our suffering and toil will be forgotten the moment we see our saviour face to face.

I never liked running lines, but the thing that got me through was focusing on my goals and not the present struggle. Even in the midst of our earthly struggle, may our eyes be fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

Be God's, Scott

laugh

2010-03-23T09:46:00.000-04:00

"When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue was singing." Psalm 126: 1-2

Lent isn't a time that you'll often hear reflections on laughter - so today is your day!

I am a laugher. I am a smiler. I always have been, and I hope I always will be. One big issue I had with church growing up was that there was little room for these two things. I grew up worshipping with lovely godly folks, but laughter and smiles were in short supply in our church - particularly during the worship service. The pastors always seemed so serious, and most congregants appeared dour (almost downright angry). I never heard anyone ever say anything funny during a worship service (at least intentionally). Sometimes funny things happened but people were too serious to laugh it off.

I remember one time, in the very first church that I served as a youth pastor, that bears this out: The senior pastor was a loving, yet very grumpy looking fellow - he loved God and His people but I recall finding him rather intimidating and serious (and I don't think I was alone). We were celebrating communion (as an aside, isn't funny that we say "celebrating" communion, when really our partaking of the sacrament is anything but celebratory - at least in the way that we usually think of celebrating) and our loving, yet dour faced minister fumbled the tray of communion cups during the hand off to the elder. The tray, along with all the cups and juice went flying and spraying everywhere. The minister had this never before seen frazzled and panicked look on his face as the tray fell. It made such a loud crash, and for a moment everyone was silent as the minster and elders just stood there frozen in shock.

I wanted to laugh out loud so much. This could just be my bizarre sense of humour, but I thought it was probably one of the funniest things I had ever seen. In fact, thinking now, if I was in the minister's place, I would've likely broke the tension and made some sort of funny quip poking fun at my self. This minister, after he got over his shock and embarrassment just kept going on like nothing ever happened. In fact the spilled tray and cups stayed there on the floor for the duration of the service.

Laughter is an outward sign of inner joy. Laughter is what the victorious do when their victory is assured. Laughter belongs in church and in our faith lives. I think that God is richly blessed when we laugh and smile. I think that God would have been warmly joyed when my minister fumbled the communion tray in much the same way that we are when we watch a puppy we love chase a butterfly. I suppose we could rightly be accused of taking ourselves too seriously.

Now sin is a serious thing - something worthy of eternal consequences that are anything but funny.

But here's where laughter comes into our faith life - God has brought us back from the captivity of sin! We've won! And He did so by the most extraordinary means possible - actually becoming a human infant growing only to die and rise again. We've been brought back from the dead - a situation that is so ludicrous and implausible that ones mouth cannot help but be filled with laughter, and our tongues fit for singing.

May you revel and laugh with God today in the sure joy of your deliverance!

Be God's, Scott

Stench

2010-03-22T13:25:00.000-04:00

"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?" Isaiah 43: 18-19

I have met a lot of people over the years, and I have heard a lot of different stories of sin. Many of the sins could be classified as small (at least from a human perspective), yet some have been staggeringly huge. Truth be told, I have heard enough stories of sin from enough different people, that new stories of sin (no matter how shocking) rarely take me by surprise. However, regarding these stories that I hear from people - I have found a pattern that repeats itself time and time again despite the wide variety of people, and the wide variety of sins: Folks have a hard time letting go of their guilt and moving on.

It seems to me that we have a hard time forgetting and moving past those sins that we have done. Often they seem to follow us around like the stench of a skunk. We often try to move on, but then, out of nowhere, we catch a whiff of our past failure and our guilt brings us back. Feelings of guilt from past sins can prevent us from experiencing joy, intimacy in relationships, and even freedom. Many of us choose to stitch our past sins on our shirts like the Scarlet Letter A - marking us out for all to see as a failure and a sinner. I mean, it's not like we're proud of them...quite the opposite. We do so because we think we deserve it, that we're not worthy to forget and move on. This is a horrible way to live, yet so many of us do so - self-imposed chains tying us to our past.

Thanks be to God, it does not have to be so.

Jesus died to forgive our sins - all of them, even the ones that cause us guilt and shame. And He came to deliver us into a place of freedom. Through the blood of Jesus, as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us. Jesus shed His blood that you might have freedom from your past, and a renewed hope for the future. In case you're not reading between the blatant lines here, let me say it straight. You needn't feel any guilt anymore for the sins you've done, you needn't beat yourself up over them, or carry them around with you as a reminder of your failure - Those sins (and all your sins) were nailed on the cross with Jesus and then buried with Him in the grave, and there they shall stay.

Jesus wants to remove your guilt and shame. Ask Him to, and He will. He'll give you the freedom that you long for. One where you'll no longer remember the former things, or consider those things of old - God will do a new thing in you.

Be God's, Scott

un Worthy

2010-03-20T11:43:00.000-04:00

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son." Luke 15: 18-19

The story of the Prodigal Son (or the Loving Father, however you wish to read and name it) is one of the greatest stories in the grand scope of literature. What makes it great, is that it is really our story, isn't it? The son essentially tells his Dad that he wishes that he were dead. He is leaving and the father better well give his inheritance NOW. Graciously, the father does let his son choose his own path, gives him the money, and lets him go. The son goes on to blow all of his money on wild and sinful living, only to be found homeless, penniless, and without friends and family taking up residence in a pig sty. The son hit rock bottom, realized what a huge mistake he made, and decided that home with Dad wasn't so bad after all. He dusted himself off, humbled and penitent, hoping just to get a job on his Dad's farm.

The above scripture is the reunion scene - and it tells us a lot about God, and a lot about what our response to God ought to be.

The Father (representing God) saw his son approaching the homestead, even though he was a long way off - that meant the father never stopped looking and longing for his son to return. When he saw him, he ran towards him and tackled him down in a flurry of love hugs and kisses - the father didn't force his son to take the walk of shame up the laneway, he, overjoyed at his return, ran to him and showed him how much he loved him and missed him. Through his actions, the father clearly welcomed his son back like he had never left. The great love of the father for his lost and returned son forgave and reinstated in one huge embrace.

God misses us. Many of us have run away from God, and He legitimately misses us. His love for us is so great, that He is actively looking for us, and longing for us to return home to him. And when we do, He will absolutely run to us, embrace us and welcome us home. The pain of what we did, gets swallowed up in His fierce love.

And what of the son...He doesn't take the love and acceptance of his father for granted. Even though his father obviously welcomes him back, and is clearly delighted that he is home - the son realizes that he does not deserve to be there. He still goes through with the speech that he had planned, confessing his sin to his father. He recognizes that his father's response is not only unexpected, it is undeserved as a result of the way that he treated him. He confesses the reality that he was no longer worthy to be called a son anymore.

We, ran away from God's home. We turned our back on His love and care, and went off to go it on our own. The reality is that none of us are worthy to be welcomed back into the family of God. Our sin and disobedience ought to preclude us from ever setting foot there again.

Thankfully, God's outrageous love for us makes us worthy and grants us sonship.

In light of this story, I wonder how often we forget our unworthiness before God's great love. I wonder how often we forget that we really have no right to be here - in fact we still deserve to be in the pig sty.

May we never feel entitled to the love of God, or take His mercy for granted.

Be God's, Scott

Welcome

2010-03-19T08:57:00.001-04:00

"Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1-2

Here's the thing we often forget about Jesus and what He actually did during His ministry years - He spent time with the social outcast. Sure He spent the majority of His time with His disciples, teaching a leading them - this was, after all the task of a Rabbi. However, much of His ministry time, in and amongst the people He dearly loved, was spent with those particular folks who were sneered at and looked down upon by the religious establishment. The Pharisees detested the tax collectors, because they were Jews working for the Romans interests by taking a large and unfair amount of money away from them (some above and beyond for their own pockets) in the name of Caesar. Tax Collectors were cheats and turncoats - despised. Sinners in the eyes of the Pharisees were anyone from prostitutes to lepers to Gentiles. There was a very clear delineation between sinner and saint in the eyes of the religious in Jesus' day and the general rule was that never the two should meet.

Jesus, however, a Rabbi working within this same religious system, turned this general rule on its ear - Jesus did more than simply not avoid sinners - He sought them out and shared intimate meals with them. In so doing, He made it known that God loves everyone, that God is willing to step down into the world of the sinner and show compassion, and that followers of Him ought not to keep their religion behind closed doors with a sign that says "For Saints Only."

Who are the "sinners" in our world? I know, I know, we are all sinners...but who are those people that society in particular singles out as pariahs? They may be different people in different parts of the world - but are these not the people that Jesus would be sharing His life and company?

As Christians, we are called to be like Jesus. The fact that Jesus ate with sinners, tells us that to be a follower of Jesus is to do likewise. Our churches and worship services were never intended to be exclusive gatherings for the pious and holy - rather, places for all people to come and sup with the love divine. May our lives and churches be places accused of welcoming sinners.

Be God's, Scott

Ambassador

2010-03-18T09:41:00.000-04:00

"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5: 20

David Jacobson was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Canada on October 2, 2009 after his appointment from President Obama. Mr. Jacobson lives in Ottawa, the Capital city of Canada, though he doesn't actually live in Canada. Technically, he lives in and works out of the American Embassy - this property is officially US soil. An ambassador is appointed by the highest authority in his/her country to reside in the capital city of another country, in order to represent the affairs of their homeland. They are given authority as ambassadors to speak on behalf of their leader, in addition to ensuring their country's best interests are maintained. An ambassadors primary work is communication - communication with both his/her leader, and the country they're appointed to serve in. Essentially, ambassadors are called to sacrifice living on their home soil, in order to speak for and represent their country in a foreign land. Though, I'd hardly call Mr. Jacobson's appointment a sacrifice (Ottawa is a pretty nice and safe place to live) - sacrifice might to be easy a term for Karl Eikenberry: US Ambassador to Afghanistan, or William Garvelink: US ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Isn't it interesting that Paul calls all Christians, ambassadors for Christ. Whether we realize it or not, we have been appointed by Christ Himself (the very highest leader in the Kingdom of Heaven) to represent Him in this world. We are given the authority to speak on His behalf, and to represent His interests here. And we are called to do so sacrificially, while living in a foreign land - made so by the taint of sin and rule of the devil. Just as an ambassadors primary job is communication - our primary job as ambassadors for Christ is communication. We are at once to be in constant communication with our leader Jesus, while at the same time communicating His message with those dwelling amongst us in this world.

And what message does Christ want us to communicate? What are His interests that He desires us to represent in how we live, and by what we say?

Reconciliation...

The message that all may find peace and unity in the Kingdom of Heaven. The reality that Jesus Christ died and rose again in order to free all from the chains of sin and the devil - that no one needs to be His enemy, that everyone is welcome in Kingdom through the forgiveness of Jesus. We have been reconciled to God through Jesus.

Reconciliation is the message that Christ calls all Christians to bear into the world as His ambassadors.

May each and every one of us fulfill our appointment with faithfulness.

Be God's, Scott

Glove Love

2010-03-17T11:15:00.000-04:00

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

I have had the same baseball glove for years, and if you saw or ever had occasion to wear my glove, you would have no problem identifying this fact. It's old and beaten up - there are cracks and rips in the leather, and the lacing is all messed up. I tried rescuing my glove last year with a repair kit to no avail. Truth be told, my glove doesn't catch baseballs very well. I suppose it's time to get a new one. Here's the problem though...I'm comfortable with my old glove, I've grown accustomed to it, and I'm not sure I'm willing to part with her.

Besides, getting a new glove requires some adjustment and discomfort. For one, it comes all stiff and shiny. In order to get a new glove ready to play you have to work it in. You need some linseed oil and a lot of massaging, pounding and maneuvering to get it just right, otherwise your hand won't be able to squeeze it shut very well to catch the ball. It takes some time, effort and adjustment to get the glove just right. I'm not sure I want to go through the adjustment - but then again my old glove just doesn't catch the ball anymore.

How much is our old life pre-Christ like my old baseball glove? That life of sin and giving in to temptation and living for self was so comfortable. We'd lived it so long that we have grown accustomed to it, and there are times that we are seemingly unwilling to part with it.

Christ has graciously given us a new life in order to replace our old life of sin. Our old life was leading us towards death, while this new life leads us towards eternity - the best life possible. Our response to this amazing gift ought to be to completely rid ourselves of our old life and its habits - despite their beckon to comfort and habit. My baseball glove used to be able to perform its function well, but now I can't even catch a ball with it - Truth is, regarding our old life, its only function ever, was to lead us to death. New life in Christ allows us to really live and do so forever.

However, like a new glove, new life in Christ is not always easy, and it does require some effort, time and work at adjustment. New life in Christ requires persistence and habitually doing the work of thankful obedience. This work stands in stark contrast to the comfortable work of our old life, but like a new glove, the more you do it, the more comfortable and rewarding the new life will become.

Thanks be to God for giving us new life, and for transforming us from death to life. I guess I ought to pony up and purchase a new glove after all...oh well, at least I'll get to go to the Sports store :)

Be God's, Scott

Confess

2010-03-16T13:40:00.000-04:00

"When I keep silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin." Psalm 32: 3-5

As part of our Sunday morning worship services, we have a fixed time when we confess our sin to God. Every once in a while I have an astute parishioner who asks a really intelligent question about this: they ask, "if God completely forgives our sins when we become a Christian, those past, those being done right now, and even those we've yet to do (and He does), why do we still need to confess our sin to God on a regular basis?" Now that is a good question wouldn't you say?

I always give back a two part answer as to why it is important for us to do this, and both parts are really for our benefit rather than God's. The first reason is because confessing ones sin has a way of humbling ones heart, recognizing our weakness and brokenness, and ultimately, reminding us of our complete need of a saviour. Confession leads the sinner into an assurance of God's presence and forgiveness. In this sense confession grounds us in the reality of our fallen nature.

I think that today's passage steers us towards the second reason for confession of sin. In it, David speaks of the consequences of unconfessed sin; of bones growing old, groaning, heaviness of heart, and a lack of vitality. David was waxing poetic on something we really already know, and that's that unconfessed sin hurts and oppresses us as humans. It's as if we carry a needless weight around our neck that hinders us from running. It's as if we handicap ourselves with earphones and blindfold hindering us from clearly hearing and seeing God's will. Unconfessed sin can be so oppressive of spirit that it can even have physical consequences - ultimately, unconfessed sin discourages and prevents us from doing God's will.

We must regularly confess our sin to God in order to free ourselves from its burden. Confession is an act of spiritual hygiene - a scrubbing of the conscience with a reminder of God's love and forgiveness.

David knew his brokenness all to well, and he often felt the weight of its consequences. David confessed so that he might once again know God's grace, while at the same time freeing himself from its burden. "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD."

Be God's, Scott

Transitions

2010-03-15T10:34:00.000-04:00

"Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan."
Joshua 5:9-12

I have had a few transitions in my life that have been monumental. For me, a monumental transition is one where something of significance happens that changes the course and fabric of my life forever in a very profound way. Perhaps you have experienced transitions such as this. Two of my biggest life transitions occurred when I was married at the age of 24, and when my first child was born at the age of 26.

When I was married, I went from single man living on my own (and really only responsible for myself) - to a married man sharing my entire life with my wife for the rest of my life. I transitioned from independent and autonomous, to interdependent and a shared life. This moment happened when we said our "I Dos" and I distinctively remembering that my life will never the same again...and it has not. My story with becoming a Father was similar. The moment that Zach was born, Tanya and I lost our freedom to only make decisions for ourselves. We lost our sleeping routines, spending patterns, leisure time and many other aspects of our previous lifestyle. The requirement of caring for a child is an experience that changes your life.

The above passage describes a moment of transition for the people of Israel - a turning point from the old way of things to a new way of things. God had just brought them out of slavery in Egypt and through a 40 year desert sojourn towards the promised land of Canaan. God had been faithful to them in their old life, always providing for them, leading them, and protecting them. In fact, every day He provided for their needs by raining down manna from heaven for them to eat until they made it to the land flowing with milk and honey. The passage above describes the very moment that they made it into the promised land and ate their first meal from its fruitful produce. At that moment, God no longer needed to feed them their daily manna, and it stopped. For Israel, nomadic desert life was done, and settled life in Canaan had begun. A transition moment that changed their lives.

I believe that my marriage and the birth of my kids were moments of transition brought to me by God's good hand to lead me to a new place in my life, in much the same way that God led the Israelites through their moment of transition to the promised land. God provides for us before and after our transitions, though often in different ways, however our old life and our new life are both characterized by God's bountiful hand.

Today, lets celebrate this God who leads through life's transitions all the while providing us with exactly what we need.

Be God's, Scott

Figs

2010-03-13T09:32:00.001-05:00

"Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
Luke 13:6-9

I for one am glad for God's patience with us.

The man in the parable was losing patience with his fig tree - I mean fig trees are supposed to bear figs after all. His tree had not been giving him figs for 3 years. That's a long time - considerably longer when you consider Leviticus 19: 23-25which sets out some laws regarding trees and fruit. Fruit from newly planted trees was not to be eaten for the first 3 years, and in the 4th year, all the fruit was to be given to the Lord. Since he hadn't been getting his fruit for 3 years, it's likely that his tree was 7 years barren. His solution...cut it down, it's fruitless and taking up valuable soil nutrients.

Agriculturally speaking - does this make sense? Actually, yeah, it does make sense. Chances are pretty good that the tree will not produce fruit after not having done so for three years. In fact, it could be argued that this man was more than patient already for letting it go 7 years.

But then, an unnamed individual begs for more patience - one more year with extra special care, and then if there was still no fruit, cut it down. One more year than the tree deserved. One extra year of care and special tending doing whatever possible to coax fruit from the barren tree.

As Christians, we are called to bear fruit. Fruit of character action like love, kindness, gentleness, self-control etc. In short we are to live our lives like Jesus did - holy and righteous. To not do so is to live as a barren tree - one that is intended to bear fruit, but not doing so. The reality of this parable is that God has the right to cut us down whenever He pleases. He planted us for the purpose of bearing fruit, and if we do not do so, we are fit to be cut down in judgment - and be sure that judgment will come.

I for one am glad that God is patient with us.

Jesus came that we might be fruitful. Jesus begs with the Father for patience and long suffering. Jesus nurtures and cares for us, kind of like digging a trench around us and fertilizing us. He does everything He can to allow us to produce fruit. Yet, all to often we still resist, don't we. God, by all rights, should have cut us down long ago - but He has not. Instead, He continues to show us patience and love and nurture. Yet, we shouldn't take His mercy for granted, for judgment is assuredly coming.

In the midst of God's loving patience, may you endeavor to be fruitful for God.

Be God's, Scott

Worse

2010-03-12T08:48:00.000-05:00

"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Luke 13:1-3

During the days of Jesus, Pilate was the most hated man in Jerusalem. He was a loose cannon, and did whatever he wanted, without any regard for the Israelites and their traditions. In this Bible passage, we find Jesus being questioned by the Pharisees during a particularly explosive political climate. Many scholars believe that the blood situation being invoked here by the pharisees had to do with his procuring money from the temple treasuries in order to build one of his grand projects. The Jews naturally protested and caused problems for him. Pilate wanted to quell the uprising, but arresting or publicly killing the rabble rousers would likely only incite them more, so here's what he did...he recruited and some greedy Galilean Jews to attend temple worship in and amongst the insurgents. Then, in the midst of the worship ceremony, these undercover Roman cops for a day pulled out their concealed daggers, killed the protest leaders. Everyone knew that Pilate was behind it, but no one could come right out and prove it. Pretty rotten of Pilate and the Galilean Jews.

The pharisees were hoping that Jesus would speak out and condemn Pilate and the Galileans for their atrocities. Jesus answers in an interesting way, though not condoning what happened, he sends a question right back at them..."Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way."

He does an interesting thing here, he doesn't dismiss the sin of the murderers, rather he points out the fact that those questioning him were also sinners, and that their sin was no better than those of the traitors. In fact, if they did not repent of their sin, their end result would be the same - they too would perish.

Jesus dismisses a common myth out there today - that some people are worse off in God's eyes because their sins are worse off in our eyes - and conversely that people who live better in our eyes are better off in God's eyes. This is not true. The reality is that all people are equally sinners and fit to perish. Still, we do this all the time don't we? I'm a much better person than such and such, because they did this or that. We tend to rank and judge others on the basis of what they did or didn't do.

Jesus challenges us to look in the mirror, rather than always looking outward. We need to deal with our own junk rather than condemning others. This is a humbling thought, but one that causes me to love others as God does, as well as praise and thank God that He chose to die for a sinner like me.

Be God's, Scott

Temptation

2010-03-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Cor. 10:12-13

Go ahead, take one...you know you want it...you know you need it...doesn't it look good? How can you just look at it, and not take it? Just one isn't going to hurt you...c'mon grab it, indulge...if you don't take it someone else will...might as well be you.

So what was that one thing for you? What was it? We all have those things don't we? Things that we know aren't good for us, that like to tug and pull at our senses - promising us a momentary jolt of satisfaction. These temptations have been known to derail the lives of great men and women over the years. Some temptations are relatively harmless, like Ice Cream or Pickles (or both if you're pregnant) - others can be very dangerous like drugs or adultery. The common denominator with all temptations is that they lead you away from obedience to God, and, if you think about it, finding your satisfaction in Him. Sin is like that though, isn't it? It ultimately devours and destroys you.

The Devil has been playing the same con for years - holding up something shiny and tasty for us to consume and be satisfied that pulls us away from God. Many have been led astray by his hollow promises. So what can we do to avoid temptation - especially the ones that can really do us damage?

I have a number of really good friends who are admitted addicts. They know temptation - it's power and pull, as well as the collateral damage it can leave in its wake, better than most. They could tell you very quickly how best to avoid temptation, as it's found in their 12 steps: the very first thing to do is to admit that you were powerless over the addiction (ie. the addiction/temptation was stronger than you), the second thing was to believe and turn to One more powerful than the temptation to deliver you (ie. turning to God and letting Him strengthen you to overcome the addiction). My addict friends know full well that the only way they can overcome their temptation is by first admitting their own weakness and then by turning to God for His strength.

As Paul says in the above Scripture, when dealing with your temptations..."if you think your standing so firm, be careful that you don't fall"...ie. in your sinful state the sin and temptation is stronger than you. And like the addict, when you are tempted, don't try to go it alone, rather turn to God, "He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Be God's, Scott

Sanctuary

2010-03-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

"O God you are my God; early I will seek you. My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory." Psalm 63: 1-2

This psalm actually has a title that gets us into its context and setting - "A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah." Being in a desert type wilderness is not an easy experience: there is little food to find, little water to be had, excruciating elements to endure, and prowling predators looking to take your life. David was in such a wilderness when he wrote this psalm. In spite of his fear and discomfort, he was not consumed by them. The desert did not overcome him. David you see found his comfort, protection and sustenance in his God. Early on, in his foray into the desert of Judah, he sought the God that cared for him, and he relied wholly on his God to watch over him.

It can be very easy to let the desert times in our life overtake us. More often than not, the fear seems larger than our hope, our harsh and excruciating situations weaken us to the point of surrender, and our spirit are being starved to the point of unconsciousness. We too, like David, need to seek our God early in our wilderness journey. But sometimes that is really hard to do isn't it? Doesn't feel as if sometimes when we survey our situation, we have a hard time seeing God, only more and more sand dunes and despair. What can we do when we have a hard time finding God's care in the wilderness?

David went looking for God in the sanctuary to be reminded of His power and glory.

David went back to that place in his life (perhaps even literally back) where God's glory and presence and love for him was so real and tangible that it made the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention. He went back to the place where he most remembered God's power knocking his socks off. He went back to the sanctuary.

Do you have a sanctuary? Do you have a place in your life where you had an amazing, never forget it experience with our God, where He made your knees weak with His presence and comforted you with His love? I hope so. This place can be your sanctuary to look for God when the deserts of life try to consume you. I have even had times in my life where, in the midst of difficulty, I have even physically traveled back to one of my sanctuaries in order to find the reality of God's love, protection and provision. I thank God for places like this and the fact that His presence is so amazing that it leaves such a residual memory for us.

Maybe you need to look for God in the sanctuary right now - as you do so, may you be overwhelmed by His power and glory.

Be God's, Scott

Soda Pop

2010-03-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

"Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance." Isaiah 55: 2

The New York State government in its efforts to make some money (and allegedly improve the health of its residents) have proposed a somewhat controversial sugar tax. Under the new proposal, all soda pop (non-diet) and sugary beverages will be taxed 1 cent for every ounce. Bureaucrats believe that this sugar tax will net the state a cool 400-450 million dollars a year. This same proposal came up last year as well but was voted down, though all signs this year point to its passing. Many people are outraged over this tax, especially those who make a living off of the production, distribution and selling of these drinks, and those who love to drink them.

To me, it's much ado about nothing. I guess it doesn't bother me at all, because I don't drink these drinks - but it did get me to thinking...it's interesting that Soda has absolutely no nutritional value for us. In fact, Soda has a negative effect on our health - it actually hurts us. Nutritionally speaking, God designed us to consume certain things in order to survive and function - Soda is not one of those things. Whenever we buy and consume a Soda, we are inevitably spending our money on that which does not ultimately satisfy. You have to have a really good marketing department to create and sell something to people that has no redeeming value and actually hurts you.

Our addiction to purchasing and consuming Soda even though it does not satisfy us is really a good metaphor for our spiritual consumption as well.

We spend a lot of time and effort chasing after this and that to make us feel important, validated, fulfilled, and satisfied. We spend a lot of money on leisure time, big screen TV's, cars and boats, investments, you name it. We spend a lot of time on self actualization, relationships, climbing the corporate ladder, making as much money as we can. All of these pursuits are done with the hope of finding satisfaction in life.

The reality is that they will not...they will always leave you wanting more. In fact, much like Soda Pop they can actually do you harm. The Devil and his marketing department have done an excellent job of creating and selling something to people that has no redeeming value and actually hurts you.

Our only real satisfaction comes through Jesus Christ - knowing, glorifying and loving Him. Says Jesus to you today, "Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance."

Be God's, Scott

To Good To Be True

2010-03-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price."
Isaiah 55: 1

Isn't that a wonderful bit of Scripture from Isaiah! Imagine with me for a moment that the above quote was taken from a Newspaper article for the grocery store here in our River community. Could you imagine the response from the readers..."hello, what is this?!? Free food and drink for anyone that wants it! What a great store!"
I suspect the lineups and rush to cash in, on this incredible freebie would be long, and swift to grow. I also think that this store would very quickly run out of groceries at the expense of their greedy consumers. I mean, who wouldn't want something for nothing - where can you get that anymore? And this offer is apparently for anyone, because everyone thirsts, right?

I guess if I read this in the newspaper, I would just figure it was a joke (perhaps April Fools Day) or that there would be some type of strings attached. My folks taught me when I was little that if it sounded too good to be true, than it probably was.

Of course, this Scripture is not talking about real food and drink, and grocery stores gone wild - so then, what is it talking about? It still seems like a pretty incredible offer, no?

God our good Father offers us all salvation and new life in Jesus Christ. He offers to quench our spiritual thirst for a saviour, and our spiritual hunger for the Word of God, now and forever more. And this offer from God to you is an incredible one! There is nothing you can do to earn or purchase it, it has already been purchased for you by Jesus. It's a gift that you need only grab and claim with thanksgiving. All may come and avail themselves of this amazing freebie. This offer from God is not too good to be true...it's real.

May you enjoy your salvation today, and the simple knowledge that Christ fully satisfies you!

Be God's, Scott

The Great Understatement

2010-03-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

"As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)" Luke 9:33

So Jesus took three of His disciples with Him (Peter, James, and John) on a little trek up a mountain to pray. Once they got there, and while they were praying, something pretty amazing happened. The rugged and plain visage of the earthly rabbi Jesus was visibly and physically altered right before the eyes of the disciples. Jesus face changed and His clothing shone and flashed like lightning. In short, Jesus fully revealed His heavenly glory to these 3 disciples. What was previously covered and hidden by the limitations of human flesh, beautifully spilled out of Jesus for the disciples to gaze upon. Their eyes beheld the full glory of God - an incredible gift.

Now, to make this moment even more amazing - long gone heroes of the Jewish faith, Moses and Elijah miraculously appeared before them also shining majestically. They proceeded to speak with Jesus about His impending life, death, resurrection and ascension. Moses, and Elijah! This is the American equivalent of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln showing up at your backyard Barbecue. Yet there they were, right before the eyes of the now mouth agape disciples, frankly discussing Jesus end game.

So, in light of this incredible, never happen again situation - the full glory of Jesus shining like the sun before them, and the very real presences of Moses and Elijah there joining Him - Peter makes his great understatement...

"It is good for us to be here."

Now, I don't know if He was trying to play it cool, or if he didn't really get the gravity of the situation, but whatever the case, here was this incredibly awesome event unfolding before him, and Peter utters a statement that might have been more appropriate for someone attending an exciting football game. "Boy, this is a good game, we should stay til the end." This seems to me to be a real underwhelming response to an overwhelming event. I'd like to think that if I was blessed to have been in Peter's shoes that I would have been immediately thrown to the ground prostrate on my face in worship of Jesus, instead of looking for tents.

What if I told you, that as Christians, even though we can't physically see Him, we are in the holy and glorious presence of the fully glorified risen Lord Jesus. I often like to think of this when I attend worship on Sunday morning. How often is our response to Jesus' glorious and real presence in worship really a great understatement. More often than not, we say even less than Peter - "it was not good to be here, I would rather be somewhere else." And far, from putting up tents and staying longer, we impatiently check our watches when the service goes one minute past the regular dismissal time.

The glorious Jesus deserves more than our great understatement. May your life be filled with the reality of the presence of our awesome King, and may your response be nothing less than awe and worship.

Be God's, Scott (ps. next post will be on Mon. - meeting all day tomorrow in Syracuse)

Citizenship

2010-03-04T10:47:00.000-05:00

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which is able even to subdue all things to Himself." Philippians 3: 20-21

My oldest son is a high achiever - he does very well academically in school. For him, anything less than a 90% kind of bums him out. He recently came home from school with this perturbed look in eyes. I could tell something was bugging him because he had this indignant clenched jaw thing going on. So I asked him how his day at school went. He went on to tell me that in his 7th grade social studies class they were given a pop quiz for credit consisting of actual questions from the US citizenship test. My little perfectionist was definitely non-plussed about the 60% he scored. I actually thought it was pretty good, considering he is a Canadian and has only been in the US school system for 1 and a half years, but I could see how his youthful fairness meter would be tipping to unfair.

Me, being the clever Father that I am, suggested he obtain some questions from the Canadian citizenship test in order to quiz his teacher and if she failed to score better than he did on his US quiz - he could get a guaranteed A+ in the course...that was when I got the "Dad, you're a crazy man" look.

Citizenship is an interesting thing. In order to become a citizen of the US, you need to either be born here, or naturalized into one through a number of different means. It can often be a long and difficult process to become a naturalized citizen of the USA. However, once you are a citizen, you are a citizen, just as if you were born here, complete with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that come with it. To become an American is to live into the ideals and precepts of freedom and democracy, as well as abiding by its constitution and bill of rights and the law of the land.

Paul describes Christians as having a citizenship in heaven. New life in Christ allows one to become a birth citizen in the Kingdom of God - this is an incredible privilege. It's also one that is not a difficult or onerous process - there are no tests, paperwork, fingerprinting, and time constraints. The entrance point is simply faith in Christ.

And citizenship in heaven trumps any type of earthly citizenship because it is eternal and our leader is a holy, all powerful God rather than a fallen worldly leader. So what is our responsibility as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Just as American citizens are called to abide by the constitution and the bill of rights and the law of the land - Citizens of heaven are called to obey and abide by the Word of God, the Bible.
Just as American citizens are called to live into the precepts of democracy and freedom - Citizens of heaven are called to live into the precepts of love and mercy.

As citizens of heaven, we are called to allow our identity be swallowed up in the glorious identity of our head - Jesus. May we endeavor to do so, and as we do - may others recognize the amazing privilege of our citizenship and want to join in too.

Be God's, Scott

Giant Delivery

2010-03-03T13:37:00.001-05:00

"And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD."
Psalm 27:6

Triumph, victory, that feeling of having overcome an difficult obstacle - these are feelings and opportunities that we are blessed with every now and then. And they are wonderful empowering moments in any ones life. The only problem is that getting to that feeling, means first undergoing adversity, and difficulty while facing hopeless looking odds. These types of situations we are more familiar with...yes?

I mean, how often do the circumstances of life stack up against you? A mountain of debt, a relationship that looks beyond repair, a fearful disease, the hurt of losing a dear loved one - I could go on, but you get the idea. Everyone of us faces our own unique giant enemies, and at times we feel consumed by them.

David, who wrote this Psalm, knew these giant enemies all too well. Sometimes we forget that David the poet and songster King began his biblical career as a boy slayer of Giants. David literally was faced with a mountain of an enemy in the form of Goliath, that frankly, he had no chance of overcoming. Yet...armed with only a sling, a stone, and faith in a God who does move mountains, who does crush giant enemies, and who is larger and greater than all our obstacles - overcome he did.

Listen to David's brash words to his giant enemy. "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel...for the battle is the LORD's." I love it. David's confidence and strength to overcome his giant enemy came not in his own strength or might or chance...but from the hand of the LORD. It was really His battle. God overcome David's enemy on His behalf.

The same is true for us. Do you really believe that there is any obstacle or giant enemy facing you that God cannot overcome, slay, and deliver you from? Put your faith in Him and allow Him to fight your battle for you. He will give you triumph, victory, and that great feeling of overcoming an immense obstacle. He can, because He is almighty...He wants to because He is a faithful Father.

And when He does, please, like David, do not chalk it up to coincidence, or your own self actualization - give thanks and praise to God. Worship Him with all you've got. He is your deliverer.

Be God's, Scott

Home is...

2010-03-02T09:39:00.000-05:00

"One thing I have desired of the LORD, that I will seek: That I may dwell in the home of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple." Psalm 27: 4

"Home is where the heart is." "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." "Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." "I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself." "Home is the place where it feels right to walk around without shoes." "Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, but grow old wanting to get back to." "Home is an invention on which no one has yet improved."

What is home for you?

Home at it's best is an idyllic safe haven. And it's more than just a place - it's a place where loving community happens that you can join in on. In other words, home is defined not so much by the bricks and mortar and property on which it sits, rather by the relationships that happen therein.

Many of us, have at times, been privileged to live in homes such as these - though in reality, even those homes had their rough spots, and were anything but perfect. In fact, a good many of us grew up in poor homes. Homes that did not always feel safe; where loving relationships didn't really create an atmosphere of home. Many of us merely grew up in houses. It could be that many of us are merely residing in houses right now, and long for the warm sense of home that seems out there somewhere.

Everyone longs to be in a home like this, because we were made to dwell in a home like this.

God made us in order for us to dwell with Him in His home. The Psalmist identifies this inner human craving, by putting voice to our inner thoughts - I desire and seek to dwell in the home of the LORD all the days of my life. We sell our selves short whenever we choose to hang our hats anywhere else. Dwelling any place other than the home of the LORD is a huge step down, whether we realize it or not. That's why the Psalmist declares later on "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the home of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (Psalm 84:10)

The LORD offers an idyllic safe haven for all to dwell in - a home where we can rest in the presence of a relational loving God. Of course the best part is the view...gazing upon the beauty of the LORD.

Why settle for any other house, when you can dwell in the perfect home with the perfect family all the days of your life.

Be God's, Scott

Staring at the Stars

2010-03-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

"Then God brought Abram outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And Abram believed the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15: 5-6

Life is never dull when you're walking with God.

Our culture beckons us to pursue comfort. Relaxation and leisure time are noble worldly pursuits; and the ability to simply not do anything is something that many people work their fingers to the bone for. We find comfort in our toys, our vacations, our retirement, our days off, our technology - lots of things. God says to all who will listen, "Comfort, comfort my people." Is God really calling us, as Christians to pursue this type of leisurely comfort as part of faith walk? Does our salvation give us a free ticket to no longer worry about what may come and therefore relax your way towards heaven - Hakuna Matata.

I believe that the life of a comfortable Christian in this sense is really a misnomer. It makes the Christian life seems easy, and quite frankly, a little boring. God does not call us to a life of dull inactivity. What God calls us to is a life of surrender - "carry your cross and follow me." What God calls us to is a life of radical faith - "follow me and I will make you fisher's of men." What God calls us to is a life of suffering for His name's sake. What God calls us to is a life of thankful obedience. These callings from God certainly do not come across as comfortable to me (at least in our understanding of the word comfort). So what kind of comfort does God offer us in the midst of this radical call to change your lifestyle?

God certainly upset the applecart of Abram's comfortable life. In his old age, God called him to be the father of His children - the person through whom God would interact and bless humanity with. God chose to do this by making Abram an impossible promise, and then by asking him to believe Him, and obey Him no matter how crazy it sounded. Abram, naturally was a little hesitant to the idea. I mean, who wants to have their life turned upside down, from a life of creature comfort to a life of difficulty. Could he believe this promise making God?

God convinced Abram to follow Him in faith, by taking him outside on a beautiful clear night and directing his attention to the skies. He showed him the vastness and beauty of the stars, and said "see all those stars, that's how many descendants you will have, I'm good for it." Abram, at this point, believed the promise keeping God, and as the story goes, God did exactly what He said He would do, and we today are one of those stars he initially gazed upon.

Abram found his comfort, not in his circumstances, but in a promise keeping God. He did not let the impossible or difficult nature of the call dissuade him from following, because in his heavenly gazing, he saw a vast awesome God that dwarfed any impossibility or any difficulty.

The stars have been up there for a long time. Did you ever stop to think that the same stars that God showed Abram, are the same stars that we see in our night sky? When we gaze into the heavens on a clear summer night, we are not only staring galaxies and astronomical occurrences - we are staring firmly into the eyes of an awesome promise keeping God.

The Christian journey is not intended to be comfortable, and as a result it is certainly not dull. God will call you to do impossible and difficult things. He will make promises to you that will seem ludicrous. So why do them? Why pursue this type of illogical comfort?

Just look up at the stars.

Be God's, Scott

A Hungry God

2010-02-27T08:38:00.000-05:00

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for 40 days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry." Luke 4: 1-2

This passage gets (at least for me) to the heart of Jesus and His love for us. Technically speaking, as far as the economics of our salvation goes, the bare minimum required was for Jesus, the Son of God to bear our flesh, live a perfect sin-free life, die on the cross for our sins, and then rise from the dead. This incredibly humbling act of grace earns for us by faith our salvation. It was really all that was required.

Jesus however, did more than the bare minimum.

God himself, not only took on our flesh, but He also took on every possible form of suffering that comes with being a human hip deep in a sinful world. His journey to the cross began not with a coronation or pep rally - but with a 40 day journey of suffering in the desert. God willingly walked towards difficulty, and in an amazing turn of events, He did not use His might to immediately snuff it out - rather, He took it all.

He suffered temptation, the likes of which we could only imagine, and He forced Himself to know and experience hunger. And all of this suffering took place, not at the park, the mall, or the golf course, but in the loneliness of the desert. He allowed the devil to sock Him with his best punch, without any evident defense. God suffered.

So why did Jesus suffer? Why did He do more than the bare minimum?

Out of His great love for us. Whenever we must endure temptation, whenever we are hungry, whenever we must struggle through the desert - know this: We are loved, and carried, and strengthened by one who has gone before us. Jesus fully understands how we feel and what we're going through. Jesus did more than was needed because He wanted to be able to love you as much as He possibly could.

The God who loves you is a hungry God.

Be God's, Scott

Equality

2010-02-26T08:20:00.000-05:00

"Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him." Rom. 10: 11-12

I learned early on in life that there is a pecking order in our world - a social hierarchy if you will. I remember vividly the inequality in the society of the elementary school playground - boys outranked girls (at least in the eyes of the boys). I remember vividly the inequality in the society of the burgeoning puberty of junior high - looking good brought you to the top of the ladder. I remember vividly the inequality of high school popular society - a cutthroat pecking order based on anything from looks, and athletic performance, to the ability to party without conscience.

Adulthood has it's social hierarchy too, doesn't it? Money, vocation, family, looks, gender, race, political preference...all of these things and more tend to peg us into some sort of social strata. Life can certainly be difficult and a burden when lived out on one of the bottom rungs of the ladder, constantly being stepped on by others advancing at your expense. Quite frankly sometimes life isn't fair, and we treat others differently based on their place in the pecking order - whether we realize it or not.

The Kingdom of God is completely different from the cutthroat hierarchy of the world. It stands out in stark opposition. For in the Kingdom of God, there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, beautiful and plain, male and female, intelligent or slow, a CEO or a fry cook. The Kingdom of God is a safe place where anyone and everyone can enter in, and never be put to shame. There is equality in Christ.

This Kingdom is an Oasis of safety and healing from the dog eat dog nature of our society. The good news is that anyone can enter this Kingdom and receive the blessing of God.

May you know the blessing of unity in Jesus.

Be God's, Scott

simple

2010-02-25T09:01:00.000-05:00

"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"
Rom. 10:9-10

I realize this will make me sound old, but...is it just me, or are things just getting more and more complicated? Things that used to be simple, are now elaborate, time consuming tasks. Last year I coached basketball at the local high school - something I really enjoy doing, and have done so, off and on in different places for years. When I first began volunteering at the school, it was a very simple process - meet with the coach and principal to get their permission, and that was it. This year, the New York State High School Athletic Association decided that all coaches (paid or volunteer) needed to take 3, 3 credit junior college courses on coaching, and receive training in 3 other seminars - all of this would have been at my expense, and I would have had to travel at least a half hour or so for the training.

Now, I am not really complaining - it is what it is. But wow, they sure made a simple thing very complicated.

I wonder if we've done that with salvation. You must attend a certain church for a certain amount of time, you must attend certain classes in said church, and know certain and particular things, you must tithe 10% of your income, you must listen to Christian music, you must have a Jesus fish bumper sticker, you must not smoke or chew or go with girls who do, you must be fluent in the language of the church - Christianese, you must dress a certain way, you must always bring your specialty to the potluck etc. etc.

You get the idea right...I wonder if we haven't made coming to Jesus more about conforming to some type of complex Christian sub-culture rather than the simple plan of the Bible.

The Bible can at times be difficult to understand, but I don't think the way to salvation is - it's simple.

Believe in your heart in the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ - and confess this belief out loud for all to hear and see. This belief and confession might take many shapes and forms, but it's ultimately about the belief and confession and not the way one manifests them.

God still offers a simple plan of salvation to all through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Believe it in your heart, and confess it with your mouth.

Be God's, Scott

Angels

2010-02-24T10:24:00.000-05:00

"For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot upon a stone." Psalm 91: 11-12

I don't know if you've noticed, but angels are everywhere. There is a peculiar fascination with angels like never before in our culture. They're on TV shows, and the focus of movies and books. There are a multitude of websites about them, and even stores which sell nothing else but angel stuff. Much of this information is fanciful at best. People are enamoured with the idea of angels. Unfortunately, there are many that take their fascination too far, to the point of worship. So what's the real deal with angels?

Angels certainly are real. They are spiritual beings created by God to serve Him and us, His beloved children. They are not objects of worship or any more special than humanity. They are just another amazing aspect of God's creative brilliance designed to bring Him glory. Now the real role and substance of angels may not sell many books, movies, or figurines but I would argue that it is more than amazing.

What would you think, if I told you that angels were created in large part because of God's great love for you. God loves you so much that He dreamed up these amazing heavenly beings. And these amazing heavenly beings were charged with the task of watching over you: ministering to you, both physically and spiritually, and protecting you from danger. Angels, in essence, act as God's protective hands and feet, invisibly watching over you and I, keeping us safe from harm. God has given His angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways.

Who knows, how many times we have been spared from calamity through the protective intervention of angels? I suspect, more times than we could even know.

I do think it important to note though, in our consideration of these beings, that they are simply doing what they were created to do. They are instruments of God - graciously used by Him for our protection and benefit. If anyone is to be thanked and venerated for this gracious act, it our beloved Father - He who cared and continue to care for us enough to create and sustain spiritual beings to minister to us.

Thanks be to God for angels who bear up those who love Him. May you know His love and protection on this day.

Be God's, Scott

Desert Survival

2010-02-23T11:02:00.000-05:00

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and fortress; my God, in Him will I trust." Psalm 91: 1-2

The desert is one of the harshest places on earth for humans to survive. The unforgiving temperature and sparse landscape make any type of prolonged existence in a desert more than difficult. Two things in particular have brought about the death of unprepared desert wanderers over the years - dehydration and heat stroke. The lack of water, and the human body simply overheating are the two obstacles that must be overcome if you ever found yourself stranded in a desert. With this in mind, there is one thing that will help you with both, something to look for immediately...and that is shade.

Not only can the temperature be considerably less in the shade, thus keeping your body temperature down, but the shade also helps you conserve water by discouraging sweat. When faced with a harsh desert environment, the first thing you must do find some shade and be still.

Much of the Bible was written by people all too familiar with the harshness and danger of the desert. Israel was surrounded by the Sahara desert to the south and the Arabian desert to the east. In fact much of their land is on what geologists would call a rocky plateau desert. They knew that deserts could kill you, if you did not respect them. They knew the value of shade for one's salvation.

David, in the Psalm above, describes God as shade, and encourages all to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Journeying through life can certainly feel like journeying through an unforgiving desert can't it? Not only can it beat us down, starve and exhaust us - but it can often leave us feeling all alone, scared, and uncertain about what might be coming next. It doesn't take much living to come to the realization that life is more likely to be desert than amusement park.

For those wandering in the desert, David gives us hope and salvation. He invites us to take up residence in the shade of God: To draw near to Him and to be still in the protection of His shadow.

The desert moments in our lifes journey will come, and they will try to consume and overtake us. We have two choices to make in response - try to go it on our own by stubbornly putting our head down and trudging through the heat of the day in no particular direction, or to seek out the protective shade of our good and loving God.

May the shadow of our LORD protect and replenish you on your journey.

Be God's, Scott

Road Trip

2010-02-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

"He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and now behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God."

I just came back from a road trip sort of vacation with my family to New York City. My boys are at an age now where they simply stick their heads in their video games for the trips duration - nary a peep to be heard. I found myself feeling a sense of nostalgia for the days when they were little and filled with wide eyed wonder, and would spend 90% of any Road Trip asleep in the vehicle. We would start out at home surrounded by familiar sights and smells, only to have then wake 4 or 5 hours later, (like it was only a minute or two for them) in a completely different world for their senses to consume. I would have loved for my boys to have experienced New York City like this (it's really quite different than Alexandria Bay you know ;)

I can just imagine them staring up in awe at all the lights and huge skyscrapers, all the while wondering, "where are we and how did we get here?"

As we begin our journey of Lent together today, lemme ask you - Where are you right now, and how did you get there? Are you at a place you want to be? Are you at a place where God wants you to be?

God took the Israelites on a journey to the promised land of milk and honey, and once they arrived, they had one of those moments of clarity. A moment wherein they recognized how far they'd come, and how much different and better this new place was from slavery in Egypt.

Their response was one that I think we'd be wise to consider for ourselves in our journey - They recognized that it was God's doing that brought them there, they were filled with thanksgiving, and their wide eyed wonder gaze, upon this great and good God, led them to a place of worship.

God is still great and good - and He still wants to lead you to places of "milk and honey." I'm afraid we spend way too much of our lives resisting God's direction in lieu of our own best laid plans, even though God's direction is clearly and evidently best. The Israelites did this more than once in their 40 year journey to the promised land - but God was patient and faithful with them. He brought them home.

May you be aware of God's good and great leading in your life, and may His direction cause you to stare in wide eyed wonderful thanksgiving, as you worship Him anew.

Be God's, Scott

Introduction

2010-02-22T09:18:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone - Blessings to you and yours wherever you are.

My Lenten journey with you begins today.

I hope to write a daily devotional throughout the season of Lent in order to help make our journeys to the cross this Easter both meaningful and reflective.
It's been my experience in talking with people that we reflect far too infrequently any more - let alone on spiritual matters, the grandeur of God, or our sinful estate. Yet there is much value in slowing down, taking a deep breath, and carefully examining where we are at, how we got here, and where we are headed. Lent, for me, acts as a Yield sign on my spiritual journey to slow down and to take in my surroundings.

Each devotional will follow the scriptural suggestions of the Revised Common lectionary. I welcome your comments and input as well, for those who wish to make this shared journey conversational.

Be God's, Scott

Conclusion

2009-04-04T09:50:00.000-04:00

Well, today's post was the last one for this lenten season. Tomorrow marks the end of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week, with Palm Sunday.

I have enjoyed writing and reflecting on these Scriptures with you over this period of time. I hope and trust that God has richly blessed you with His Word, and drawn you deeper to Himself and His amazing love for you over this lenten journey.

May the love of God the Father, the Peace of Jesus Christ, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be yours in a very real and tangible way this Easter season and beyond.

With much love in Christ, be God's, Scott

Union

2009-04-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die."
John 12:27-33

Throughout Jesus earthly ministry, He most certainly drew all kinds of people to himself. His amazing teaching, miraculous signs, and magnanimous personality drew everyone from children, to women, to Jews and Gentiles, to Pharisees and Tax Collectors - sinners and saints alike made intimate company with Jesus. Many people, from all different walks of life were drawn to this God-Man and moved to give up everything to follow Him.

Jesus says here in predicting His death, "when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself." For Jesus, the purpose of the cross, in which He was lifted up in glorious suffering for all to see, was to draw all people to himself. It is interesting (at least to me) to note that historically speaking, Christ's crucifixion did not draw all kinds of people to him. In fact the Scriptures will tell you that those masses who shouted "Hosanna" on Palm Sunday shouted crucify him a few days later. Those same people who waved palm branches in jubilant joy as he past them, would later hurl insults and spit upon him. Even those in His closest circle left him and went into hiding as he hung on the cross. Only the brave Mary's and disciples in Pharisee clothing Joseph and Nicodemus, stuck with him 'til the end. Jesus death on the cross did not draw all people to himself like his earthly ministry - His crucifixion left Him all alone, an object of scorn.

So, was Jesus wrong in predicting that the cross and His suffering would draw all people to Him? Not at all. The cross was the event in which Jesus united all of humanity to Himself. Even though we rejected Him, scorned Him, spat upon Him and left Him alone in His suffering...He died in order to draw us to himself for eternity.

His suffering and death defeated our sin, removing the one barrier that existed between us and Him. Now we do not merely draw near to Him as one might draw near to a charismatic athlete or actor signing autographs. We draw near to Him in an intimately miraculous way - fully united to Him in His death and resurrection. As the author of Hebrews reminds us, "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Jesus death does much more than allow us to be drawn into His presence (and really wouldn't that have been enough!) - His death unites us in Spirit with Him for eternity.

We who left Him alone in His sufferings on the cross. We who sinned with great aplomb and selfish indulgence. We who would rather draw people to ourselves than be drawn to Jesus...It was for us, that Jesus journeyed to the cross.

May this awesome reminder of God's grace in our special union with Christ encourage to you worship and glorify Him in such a way that others are drawn to Him too.

Be God's, Scott

Appleseeds

2009-04-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

"Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
John 12:23-26

Jesus' talk of seeds and kernels here reminds me of that simple little children's poster that captured my attention as a kid. There was a picture of a little girl holding this extra large delicious apple sliced down the middle and counting the seeds. At the bottom of this picture, the text read something like this, "man can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed." I can vividly recall the satisfying work of logic that my young brain went through to make sense of this statement. The seed had an apple tree in it, with lots of apples, year after year, but only God in His great wisdom knew how many. The only way for all these apples to actually manifest themselves was for the seed to be buried, and die - then, and only then, could we see the blessing of so many more apples.

Here, Jesus describes Himself as such a seed, as He predicts His death and burial and resurrection - something that would be painful, yet necessary for the ample blessings of new life to flourish. In Jesus' life, death and resurrection we see a distinct act of glory. An act of sacrifice so great and unexpected that the Son of God was lifted up for our undivided praise and honor. Jesus was glorified on the cross.

I wonder though, if Jesus had something else in mind as well, when He spoke of it being His hour to be glorifed. I wonder if the thing that would give Him glory was not just the amazing act of sacrifice, but also the fruit that would burst forth from the seed.

We, are the fruit that was born out of the suffering seed. We are the apples that were hidden inside the dying kernel. We are the ones, who by faith, were designed to give Christ and His cross glory. How could we ever give Christ glory? Jesus seems to indicate that we glorify Him when we too become little seeds of sacrifice. We must "hate our life," "deny ourselves, pick up our cross" and "follow Him." When we live our lives for His sake and His glory we become living sacrifices - healthy fruit born out of suffering.

Christ died so that we, by living sacrificial lives of faith might give Him the glory He so richly deserves. To rightly honor and glorify Christ's passion, we must likewise sacrifice all in a life of service and discipleship. And then, amazingly, and undeservedly, God will honor us...we shall one day be lifted up in glory with Jesus to be where He is.

O Lord, forgive me for those times that I have selfishly loved my life at your expense. Forgive me for those times that I have not lived a discipleship life of sacrifice, but of cowardice and consumption. Please empower me to be a seed of glory for Jesus - that all I do, meagre as it is, may bring glory to your name. And Lord haste the day when all the fruit of your sacrifice may reside in glory with you. AMEN

Be God's, Scott

The Suffering Servant

2009-04-02T11:32:00.000-04:00

"During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 5:7-10

So, how does this passage make you feel about Jesus? The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Creator of the ends of the Earth, the Alpha and the Omega, the One who was, and is, and is to come - the great almighty Son of God...reduced and humbled to a crying, weepy, submissive, and suffering servant. Surely this meek and vulnerable picture of Jesus is not accurate...or is it? I find myself initially taken aback at this portrait. I'm pretty sure that I would rather think of Jesus as a glorious victor. I think it's one of those Bible passages that catches us by surprise by upsetting our expectations.

This passage plainly slaps us in the face with the humanity of Jesus - He experienced emotion as we do, He cried and He wept, He experienced the grief that comes when a loved one dies as well as the grief that comes when a close friend betrays your trust. He experienced what it was to be hungry and homeless in addition to experiencing what it was to laugh and dance and rejoice amidst human relationships. Jesus was fully human.

Many people would tell you that Jesus' only time of suffering was during the week of His passion - the taunts, the mocking, Gethsemane, the scourging, the cross, enduring the wrath of God on our behalf. I'd even go a lot farther than that though...I think Jesus entire time on earth as the Word made Flesh was an experience in suffering. Not only did He immerse Himself in this world full of sin only to be spurned and hurt by those very people He created with fearful and wonderful love. Not only did the eternal One who was without beginning or end, subject Himself to a birth (bloody and meagre) and death (bloody and meagre) - but in His willing incarnation, He also limited Himself from the eternal relationship of love that He had always known with His Father and the Holy Spirit. It is no real stretch to argue that Jesus entire life on earth was truly an act of suffering.

So, why would the Son of God willingly humiliate Himself and endure wholesale suffering when He could have chosen not to?

For you...so that when you suffer He might be able to empathize and minister to you - understanding. But even more than that - that He might forgive your sins and grant you eternal life - our great High Priest forever - our Suffering Servant!

Thanks be to God for willingly suffering for us. O Lord give us the strength, and help us to consider it pure joy when we endure suffering of all kinds for your names sake. May we do so knowing that we are following You.

Be God's, Scott

Delight

2009-04-01T10:41:00.000-04:00

" How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word."
Psalm 119:9-16

I can't say that I can recall too many scriptures from the days I was a young man/teenager. However, I do distinctly remember reading and reflecting on this passage. I mean here was a passage especially for me - a young man. Through the eyes of a teen, most of the Scriptures were written for grown ups with grown up issues - there weren't a lot that specifically addressed me and my adolescent context. Perhaps that's why I liked and remembered this one so much. I mean, I was a teen who had put His faith in Christ and who was endeavoring to keep his way pure - this verse spelled it out for me plainly - albeit, leaving me perplexed.

How was I to keep my way pure? To stop sinning and pursue holiness? Well, all the answers to those questions were to be found in the pages of the Bible - that same book that was written for grown-ups and was filled with lists of names I couldn't pronounce, in a language and style that was part Shakespeare part Chaucer. Truthfully, at the time, I recall feeling a sense of anti-climactic disappointment. How was I to grow in Godliness - read a book. I had somewhat resigned myself to a life of impurity, for how could I ever relate to this antiquarian book?

The author of the Psalm hid the words in his heart to the point where he could recount them all from memory any time he needed to say them out loud - I had a hard enough time reading it, let alone memorizing it. The author of the Psalm equivocates the joy of reading and obeying the law with the joy that comes in obtaining large amounts of cash - in my selfish teen existence I would have taken the money every time. The author of the Psalm meditated on the words thinking deeply on what they meant - I didn't meditate on anything past the few seconds it took to decide what to wear in the morning.

I knew that reading, memorizing, and meditating on the Bible were important but I had a real hard time getting in to it - it seemed so foreign to me. Not surprisingly, I did struggle with sin in my life.

I wonder if this Psalm is more than just a bit of loving advice for young men. I wonder if these are precious words of life for all of us. A reminder to get back at it and make Bible reading and study an important part of our life. A call to purity through dedication to the Scriptures, not as a means of guilting us into it, but in offering a delicious drink of cold water on a hot day.

I'm pleased to say that despite my initial hesitation and fears, I stuck with the Bible. I can't say it was (and is) always easy, but I stuck with it. I moved from reading little snippets, to the Gospels, to the New Testament, to the Old Testament, to the Bible as the whole revelation of God's great redemption plan in Christ Jesus - my only rule of faith and life. I have learned to love the Word of God and cherish each word, digging for the meaning out of it as a young lover does the words of a love letter from their beloved. I will never stop being amazed at how this living Word continues to nourish and feed me in new and surprising ways time after time.

O Lord, continue to keep our ways pure through the light of Your Word. Increase in us daily, a desire to want to read and mediate on it, in addition to our understanding. May we never neglect Your Word, rather may you continue to take us to new and surprising places of joy and delight.

Be God's, Scott

Confession

2009-03-31T09:37:00.000-04:00

" Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom
in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Psalm 51:1-10

One of the great stories of the Reformation has to do with confession. Martin Luther, then a monastic and scholar would attend formal times of confession with a priest. This process of confession for the absolution of his sins became increasingly frustrating to Luther though. He discovered that as soon as he left confession and was walking out, he would sin again and need to return to confession to confess that sin for his absolution. This process of confession, only to immediately sin again became a huge burden to Luther. He imagined what might happen to him if he were to die not having confessed all of his sins.

It was in the midst of this burden, and during a time of devout study of Scripture that Luther was led to a freeing truth by the Spirit of God - that we are justified of our sins once and for all by the grace of God through faith. Forgiving our sins is God's work of grace, and not our work. When we receive the gift of Christ's forgiveness in faith, all of our sins are forgiven - the ones we did, the ones we're doing, and the ones we haven't even done yet. To be justified is to be declared forever righteous in the eyes of God. In a very real sense, when God looks at our lives, He blessedly sees the righteousness of Christ and not our filthy rags.

In other words, the only confession of sin that we will ever need in order to justify us before God is the one time confession that comes through faith at our initial conversion. From that point on we live in the freedom of righteousness bought for us by Christ. The astute reader amongst you might ask the very good theological question - if by grace through faith we have already been declared righteous before God, why do we still need to confess our sins? I mean we do this every week as a part of our Sunday worship liturgy.

The simple answer is that our prayers of confession are really not for God, but for us. We do not confess our sins in order for God to forgive us, but because God has already forgiven us in Christ. It is an exercise in honesty and humility where we claim the promises of God for our own life. It is an admission to ourselves, others and God, that although we have already been declared righteous in Christ, we are still sinners - and these sins often prevent us from doing that which God would have us do. Our confession is also a constant reminder that we are in need of a savior - we ought not take our freedom in Christ for granted, rather our humble confession ought to lead us to a life of thanksgiving and service.

Psalm 51 is a wonderful prayer of confession from David after he (a servant after God's own heart) had an adulterous tryst with Bathsheba and made arrangements to have her husband killed. This prayer evidences for us the raw honesty and penitence of a sinner. Oh that we would have the same raw honesty in our own life before God.

May our sins not be a burden to us as they were to Luther. May we claim the promises of our baptism, and live in the joyful freedom of forgiveness in Christ. May our confession lead us to rely even more deeply on our savior and propel us forward into thanksgiving and service.

Be God's, Scott

I Know French

2009-03-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

“The time is coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34

Knowledge is an interesting word. In Canada growing up we all took French classes every year. One thing I learned about the word knowledge is that the French have two words for it: Savoir - means to have knowledge of a fact. Connaitre - means to have knowledge that is intimate relationally regarding a person or a place. Savoir is, I know what my wife's name is (Tanya, if you're interested ;) Connaitre is, I know my wife better than anybody else does.

I find these two distinct understandings of the word knowledge to be helpful when we consider our faith, and how it is that we may know God.

The passage above is a beautiful picture of the new covenant promises that God has made for us in light of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Prior to Christ, our knowledge of God was limited to that of a savoir knowledge. Knowledge of God came from the law. Humanity was able to know about God through the law, and consequently we were able to know the extent of our own sinfulness. In the law we could see God's holiness on the one hand, and our depravity on the other. Unfortunately, our knowledge could not go anywhere past that stage because our sin prevented any type of intimate knowledge. The law is our work to try to know about God.

The work of Christ graciously enabled humanity to have a connaitre knowledge of God. A knowledge which moves beyond mere facts and figures and into intimate relationship (as God has always intended for us). Christ's work on the cross of "forgiving our wickedness and remembering our sins no more," removed the barrier that we put up, and gave us the freedom to really know God. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." You see, Jesus by forgiving our sins and fulfilling the law for us effectively re-united us with God in vibrant relationship. In Christ "we shall all know Him, from the least to the greatest." The work of Christ changed our relationship with God from an external one defined by our work, to an internal one defined by Christ's work. If the law was our work to try to know God, then grace is God's work for us that we might truly know Him.

I wonder though, despite this Amazing news, how many of us are content with a life of knowing lots of things about God - knowing all the Bible stories, right theology, the right things to do at church, how to morally act in society - yet not truly knowing and enjoying your blessed relationship with God.

Our life of faith is not about following a bunch of external rules and regulations - our work...our life of faith is all about grace - God's work, and enjoying our intimate connaitre of Him.

Be God's, Scott

Zero to Hero

2009-03-28T08:59:00.000-04:00

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:4-10

Any of you remember these ads...

Charles Atlas promised Comic Book readers of the 70's quick and amazing transformation from Zero to Hero simply by sending away for his book and 15 minutes of work a day. How could a skinny boy resist the opportunity to morph into a tough, punch throwin' muscleheaded man? - particularly if the swim trunks were included :) Though I have never tried Charles Atlas' program - which is quite obvious for those who have seen me - I question if this sort of "too good to be true" promise of instant "before and after" transformation is even possible.

Physically...no - but Spiritually...thanks be to God...YES!

OK, here's the amazing "after" to yesterday's "before." Yesterday the Scriptures left us with a pretty bleak picture of the human condition - dead in our trespasses and sins. The rest of the passage describes the "after" state of our transformation in Christ:

- instantly made alive in Spirit - regenerated from death to life

- immediately raised up with Christ, where we (right now!) sit with Him in the heavenly places - in other words, upon being made alive we have been elevated to eternal life right now and already glorified in Jesus

- marvellously shown the exceeding riches of His grace

- the stain of sin which had previously tarnished and rusted the workmanship of God in us, has been completely removed to the point where we can now do what we were always created to do...good works

I mean this work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf is nothing short of an amazing undeserved spiritual transformation.

And how does on receive this new life in Christ? Not by anything we could ever do in our spiritually dead state (like we'd boast about that), but solely by grace through faith. Ultimately, it was the richness of God's mercy and His great love for us that raised us from death to life.

Thanks be to God for not leaving us to rot and rust in our sinful dead state, but for quickening us to new abundant life out of the depths and richness of His love for us in Christ Jesus.

Be God's, Scott

I See Dead People...

2009-03-27T08:43:00.000-04:00

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath."
Ephesians 2:1-3

A friend was sharing with me a story the other day about this big tree they had on their property. One day, out of the blue, this big old tree snapped at the trunk, tipped over and landed on two of their cars - I was even graced with a picture to see the damage. This big old tree had been a fixture on that piece of land long before my friend ever pulled up residence there. Why did this tree fall over you might ask? Despite the fact, from all outward appearances, that the tree was healthy, alive and vibrant - it was dead and rotting on the inside. After the tree snapped in two, you could see the death and rot that was previously unseen. Kind of makes you wonder about other big trees you see as you pass them by - is there death behind that bark that is beyond our vision?

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, gives us a similarly sobering reality about the nature of humanity - though we are born, and live and breathe and move - we are in fact spiritually dead. Outward appearances indicate life, health and vitality: We love, we laugh, we play, we work, we cry, we dance. All of humanity move through this life with the appearance of strength and vitality, while all the time rotting away in death on the inside.

He tells us that the cause of this inner death of spirit is our transgressions and sins. This condition of spiritual death is one that all humans are born into through no choice of their own. Much as a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome child had no choice in being born with a debilitating addiction to alcohol (the choice was made for them by their parents) - we were all born with a debilitating addiction to sin (a choice made for us by our first parents Adam and Eve). As a result, our natural tendency is to sin and fulfill the lusts of our flesh, not obey God in our spirits. In fact, if we are spiritually dead, we are totally unable to live in good relationship with God as we were initially created to be. The human condition is tragic in that we all have the outward appearance of life and vitality, but in reality we are dead people walking.

In our dead condition, we can do nothing to resuscitate ourselves any more than a corpse could choose to pop out of a coffin on its own.

Thanks be to God, in Christ Jesus, that He has made us alive! He has conquered sin and death. His resurrection has enabled our resurrection.

As one made alive in Christ, as I walk the streets - I see dead people - people who are spiritually dead and unaware of it and I am filled with compassion. I keep my eyes on the trees and wonder, not in judgment, but in love and hope.

Oh LORD, may you continue to bring life to those we know and love through your Son Jesus, and Father, may you even use a recovering sinner like myself to help bring others this life. AMEN

Be God's, Scott

My Own Personal Jesus

2009-03-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
John 3:16-18

Ah...John 3:16, those sweet familiar words from the Book that we love. For most people they are the first (and only) words memorized from the Bible. Though, I suppose if you are going to memorize any Scripture, might as well be these words of life.

I wonder with you today, if our familiarity with these words, in conjunction with our self-centered culture, has lead us into an under appreciation of what Jesus is really saying here. Let me see if I can explain.

I can remember a time when I was a youngster, having a well intentioned adult discuss John 3:16 with me and instruct me to personalize the verse by putting my name in place of "the world." So, something like this...

"For God so loved Scott that He gave His one and only Son, that if Scott believes in Him he shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Now, I understand why I was instructed this. The adult wanted to teach me of God's amazing love for me. The fact that even if I was the only one who needed saving unto everlasting life, Jesus still would have come and died. This is a knee-knocking thing to think upon. And truthfully, this is exactly what our self-centered culture longs to hear - faith is about you and your belief in Jesus in the vacuum of an isolated personal relationship. The spotlight is on you and Jesus without much consideration of community or the world we live in.

I see the negative effects a personal relationship with Jesus gone awry can have: Christians more concerned with personal growth than service and love. Christians more concerned with being blessed than being a blessing. Christians more concerned with fulfillment than suffering. Christians more concerned with a need for self-help than using their self to help others.

The reality is, that we need to make all of these concerns a priority.

The reality of things is that Jesus did not say "insert your name." Jesus said that He came out of His love for the whole world and to provide for its everlasting life. The Greek word for world here is cosmos, and it encapsulates all of God's creation that suffered the curse of sin - the earth, the stars, the animals, the plants, and the humans. God's plan in salvation is bigger than saving those humans who come to Him by grace through faith in Christ - it is nothing less than the redemption of the cosmos - a plan that He graciously invites His redeemed children to participate in.

Life in Christ is much more than having your own personal Jesus - it is enjoying the love of God, including everlasting life right now in community with His beloved creation and the saints. And it is sacrificially loving the world as He has, alongside Him in partnership.

Be God's, Scott

Good

2009-03-25T13:39:00.000-04:00

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south."
Psalm 107:1-3

Let me tease you with a scary thought today...what if God was not good, and what if God was not loving? Go ahead, try to imagine that scenario, an exercise that I found very difficult to do. But think about it:

If God is almighty and all-powerful - in other words, there is nothing that He cannot do any time He wants to do it. He can create and eliminate. When He speaks, things happen.

If God is omniscient and omnipresent - in other words God knows everything and He is present in every place, in every time all at once. Nothing is beyond Him or hidden from Him.

Imagine if this improbably big and incomprehensible God was without the defining characteristics of goodness and mercy. I mean, if God were bad or evil in addition to all that awesome power and authority He would be incredibly dangerous, and we would find ourselves at the mercy of a tyrannical despot. If God were not good, it would be incredibly bad for us. However, God is good and loving at the core of His being (in addition to all that other stuff). Though I do wonder how often we take it for granted that He is good and loving without really appreciating that fact.

The Psalmist does not take God's goodness for granted. In his song of praise to God he reminds all of us who have been redeemed by the mercy of God to give thanks to Him. We simply ought to give thanks to God because of His goodness. This thanksgiving ought to flow into our everyday lives in which all we do is a testimony of gratitude to God's goodness.

When we choose to pray, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and will stoop to listen to our prayers.
When we choose to serve, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and that He chose to come to us as a servant.
When we choose to obey, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and that His commands are the best way for us to live.
When we choose to love, we do so with thanksgiving that God is good and that He first loved us.

To confess in a God that is good is to live a life of extreme gratitude.

May you know and experience the totality of God's goodness today.

Be God's, Scott

quick note...

2009-03-21T09:43:00.000-04:00

I will be attending a Pastor's retreat thingy at Camp Fowler on Monday and Tuesday. I am not sure if they have internet access there or not. Depending on the wired up capacity of that place there may or may not be a Meditation post until Wednesday morning.

Enjoy your worship amongst the saints tomorrow!

Be God's, Scott

Authority

2009-03-21T08:52:00.000-04:00

"Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken."
John 2:18-22

I'm no expert in law. In fact everything I learned about the law, I learned from TV cop shows (gotta love my generation ;) That's why I know what Mendoza rights are - that's where the police officer warns the arrested perpetrator of their protective rights. They always warn them something like this, "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." I suspect the purpose of this practice is to protect the accused from some type of self-incrimination, or perhaps police baiting.

I find it interesting in this passage of Scripture that Jesus (at the beginning of His ministry - immediately after cleaning out the temple) says one sentence that said so much in so many different ways to so many different people.

"Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days," was Jesus' response to the Jews who had demanded a sign to prove some type of authority after trashing their commercial interests. Jesus, of course was foretelling His death and resurrection - a clear cut sign of His authority to do whatever He pleased. Indeed, anyone who has the power to rise up from the grave, has the very authority of God. This would be THE miraculous sign of miraculous signs. The disciples put two and two together after the death and resurrection of Jesus. They recalled this very statement of Jesus and finally believed. For them, this statement of Jesus was life, and a reminder that their LORD has authority over this place and their lives.

I find it interesting that later on in Jesus' story, during His trial, that this statement comes up again - only this time not to champion His authority over the grave, but, ironically, to convict Him to it. Matthew 26 tells of Jesus' trial before the Sanhedrin. They had had enough of Him and were looking to have Him killed. Trouble was, they couldn't find any condemning evidence against Him.

"The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ”

The bit of "evidence" that eventually led Jesus to the cross was this same statement - a statement claiming authority in equality with the One True God. Jesus' statement of loving authority was comfort to the disciples yet blasphemy to the Jews. In fact, as Jesus hang suffering on the cross, painstakingly bearing the punishment for our sin, the Jews mocked Him and added to His suffering by shouting out derisively, "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

Thanks be to God, He did not succumb to the taunts, but suffered and died to fulfill His statement of authority. Jesus willingly gave up His Mendoza rights in order to die for us.

How much authority have you given Jesus in your own life? Are you constantly asking Him for signs or proofs in order to validate His authority? Jesus' words are gold and true, and His authority is blessed and right.

O LORD, do assert your authority in my life, and aid me in removing any doubt or roadblocks that I have built up, that are preventing me from experiencing the joy and peace of Your resurrection.

Be God's, Scott

Zeal for His house

2009-03-20T08:37:00.000-04:00

"After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
John 2:12-17

So, you wanna know what makes Jesus mad? You wanna know what fills Him with a righteous anger that shatters that calm vanilla visage we so often have of Him? Well, here is the passage for you.

He walks into the outer court of the Gentiles in the temple shortly before the Passover - a time where every Jewish male must make a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem to worship God and have the sins of the nation atoned for. The scene that greets Him sets Him off. The priests, over the years had developed a lucrative business for the temple coffers of both exchanging foreign cash for Jewish currency at unfair rates, and selling animals for sacrifice at tourist trap prices. The court of the Gentiles was supposed to be the place in the temple where the Jews mixed and mingled with the Gentiles and shared with them the glory of the One True God, yet instead they ripped them off. The focus was not worship but commerce and greed.

So Jesus loses it...He makes a whip out of cords, drives all the vendors out of the temple, and sends coins flying as he upturns tables. Can you imagine that scene? Can you imagine the stunned looks of His mother, brother and disciples?

What made Jesus so angry? "How dare you turn my Father's house into a market?!?" The very place where God dwelt, the very place where His people were able to worship Him was being desecrated by sin. The place where God dwells ought to be holy, pure and worthy of His character. The place where God dwells ought to be a place of worship, with nothing dividing the attention of those worshipping. The temple of God ought to be used for nothing more than beautifully housing God and worshipping Him - certainly not a place for people to profit on the backs of pilgrims.

Jesus anger was twofold: He was angry because people had forgotten and neglected the presence of Holy God, and He was angry because these vendors were preventing people from rightly worshipping God...So He snapped.

I wonder how you might react if I told you a sobering truth this morning from Paul's letters to the Corinthians - "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God. You are not your own." "For we are the temple of the Living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them." If we are a temple of the Living God, that means God dwells in us, and that means our purpose for living is to worship God. Going further, we are to be a Court of the Gentiles for those who do not yet know the one true God - a place where they can come and hear of the glory of the One True God.

O Lord, I am sorry for the many times and ways that I have desecrated this temple. Lord, for all of those times I used this temple for anything other than pure worship, I seek your forgiveness. Clean me from within Lord Jesus, that I might be a Court of the Gentiles in this world where people can come and hear of your glory. Please continue to show grace, mercy and patience to me in my struggle with sin, that I might be a shining reflection of your glory.

Be God's, Scott

A Fool For Christ

2009-03-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength."
1 Corinthians 1:20-25

I was in my second year of studies at McMaster University. The summer leading up to that particular semester I had served as a camp counselor at Camp Shalom. During that summer I had become convinced at the heart level of Christ's great love for me on the cross. God had moved in a powerful and beautiful way in my life. I entered that fall semester at McMaster a new man, excited about my faith...it didn't take long for me to become the fool for Christ.

I was sitting, for the first time, in a tutorial of about 25 students for a class called Cultural Anthropology. The Teachers' Assistant, a young and zealous graduate student all of about 25 years of age, began the class with a simple question for us: "Is there anyone in this class who calls themselves a Christian?" The question was met with silence, and at least for me, it seemed as if the off white walls of the windowless classroom were closing in on me. I cautiously raised my hand with my eyes fixed on the TA. It didn't take too long to glance around the rest of the room panoramically to notice that I was the only one in the class with my hand elevated. Either I was the only one in the class that believed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, or I was just the only one "foolish" enough to raise my hand.

The TA, looking smug, and without a doubt arrogantly enjoying his new found authority, replied to me with a smirk on his face..."Well, that won't last, I can guarantee that you will forget that foolishness by the end of the semester." Upon which the rest of the class snickered and guffawed as my faith was made to be the butt of the joke.

I remember for the longest time being severely offended that this man coined my faith foolishness. He made me out to be the fool in front of my peers in the attempt to encourage higher learning. However, the more I think of it now, particularly in light of the passage above - I will wear that insult as a badge of honor. I am a fool for Christ, and there is no shame in that. In fact, it was to me, a sign that I was on the right path.

Paul points out in his letter to the Corinthians that faith in Christ will always be foolishness to the wisdom of the Gentiles. The message of Christ crucified that I preach is illogical to our common senses entrenched and blinded by sin. The Gospel is foolishness and it is offensive precisely because it points out our responsibility in Christ's death.

The thing that offends and insults the sensibilities of the world so - to preach Christ crucified, is to put the blame squarely on our own shoulders. It is to confess our own negligence and responsibility in the death and punishment of Jesus. The reason that Jesus died that cruel death was us. He willingly took the punishment due to us so that we might be redeemed to eternal life and righteousness. We are the guilty ones deserving of the cross - if we had not sinned Jesus would not have ever needed to die.

People call this Gospel foolish because no one wants to believe that humanity at its core is sinful, and treacherous. It offends, because when we proclaim it, we are necessarily casting blame and responsibility on folks for the cruel death of an innocent.

I do not write this in order to encourage all to be one of those incorrigible "us and them" Christians who looks down there noses as the smug "Gentiles" of the world who "hear the message of the cross and are perishing." I write this as a reminder that I once was blind as well. I too was once one of the perishing ones. I heard the message of the gospel many times, and finally, one summer at Camp Shalom, thanks be to God, it was no longer foolishness but "the power of God leading to salvation."

I will continue to lovingly and humbly raise my hand and proclaim Christ crucified. I will endeavor to be a fool for Christ, if this is what is necessary for the Good News to be heard.

Be God's, Scott

Radiant

2009-03-18T10:46:00.000-04:00

"The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes."
Psalm 19:7-8

Perfect, trustworthy, right and radiant are the poetic words used to by David to sing the praises of God's Word revealed to him in the Law. Immediately following David's song of praise to the glory of God seen in the gift of His creation, he goes on to sing a song of praise for God's gift of His law. Perhaps the most telling of these adjectives to me (at least on this day) is radiant.

Radiant is probably a word that we have not often used to describe God's written Word. It's a word that evokes strong feelings. In fact, this beautiful word might be quicker used to describe a sunset, or a bride on her wedding day, or perhaps even a child's smile. Though I love the Bible, and cherish it as my only rule of faith and life, I must confess I have rarely thought of it with words that conjure up images of beauty. Truth be told, I have, over the years, found it difficult to understand, tedious, demanding, and ominous - images of radiance have not often jumped into my head. So where was David coming from in using the word radiant to describe the law? Can we really, in good conscience, use this word to describe the Book that we love today?

I think we can, and I will tell you why - the word radiant actually means emit light, or to beam it out. Something that is radiant, shines out light for all to see. In this sense the Bible is truly radiant, for it beams out the light of God's glory for all to see. In fact radiant fits right in with perfect, trustworthy and right, in that all four are words equally used to describe God. If the creation is God's way of generally revealing Himself to humanity, then the Word of God even more succinctly reveals to us what God is. When we indulge in the perfect, trustworthy, right and radiant law, we are given a glimpse into the very nature of God. His Word radiates His glory. To read the Bible is to know God.

Is it any wonder then that reading this Holy Word revives ones soul, gives wisdom to the simple, gives joy to the heart and light to the eyes - for to drink deeply of it is to fill up on the knowledge of the very nature of God.

I think every Christian knows and feels that they probably ought to read the Bible more frequently. In fact, over my years in ministry, it has been my experience (both personally, and from young and old alike) that many feel a lot of guilt over shoddy reading practices. I still find reading the Scriptures tedious at times, sometimes ominous, and more often than not, demanding. The thing that has freed me from guilt and nudged my nose deeper into the Book is the idea of its radiance. I no longer read because I feel I ought to...I read because I want to know and be known by my Faithful Father. I read to touch His glory, so that I might be a reflection of His glory for all to see. I read to say thank you.

Praise be to God for His radiant Word!

Be God's, Scott

For the beauty of the Earth

2009-03-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."
Psalm 19:1-4

I can still remember having a holy transcendent moment with God in the middle of my Freshman Biology class at McMaster University - a time, truth be told, that I did not have many. I remember the professor lecturing on the intricacies of the human cell, and how all these microscopic parts worked together in such an economic yet marvelous way to make the cell function. I was momentarily taken aback at just how perfect the design was. As I stared at the cellular structure diagrams, I could not help but see the fingerprints of the One who dreamed them up, and I felt a sense of awe to be able to witness a small part of the Creator's brilliance.

I have since had similar blessed moments in my life when the evident work of the Creator's hands has led me to a place of worship: the sun setting over the Pacific ocean and painting it different shades of orange and red, cold streams spilling down the Green Mountains of Vermont into a quick moving river, a clear night in the wilderness where the heavens seem to come alive with bright pinpricks of light, the wonderful birth of my two sons (words can't do this one justice).

All of these events, and the many more that I did not recount, served to point me to the blessed Creator and give Him praise and glory.

I think David had some similar holy moments within creation. For to him, the starry heavens at night were not just beautiful in themselves - they declared the glory of God. The skies did more than just go on and on and on - they proclaimed the work of God's hands. God's creative brilliance both tells us and shows us a little bit of His glory. In the work of His hands, we see both His artful imagination, and His perfect design. God reveals a little bit of Himself to us in and through that which He created and that which He continues to create.

Emerson said, "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not." This quote resonates with me, because God's handiwork has many times strengthened my faith. The beauty of the earth has assured me of God's beauty. God's care for the sparrow has assured me of His care for me. Watching the sun rise every morning assures me that God is faithful. Witnessing the flowers emerge from the ground each spring assures me that Christ also rose from the ground.

I am reminded on this day, that I too am fearfully and wonderfully made by God. I too, like the heavens and the skies, was made according to His good pleasure and was designed to declare His glory and point people to Him. Oh, Lord, give me the strength to live my life in such a way that people see the fingerprints of your authorship and want to give you glory.

May you notice the creative brilliance of God on this day, and may it lead you to a holy place of trust that implores you to worship Him.

Be God's, Scott

Rest

2009-03-16T09:17:00.000-04:00

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the LORD you God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Exodus 20: 8-11

In the movie "The Terminal" starring Tom Hanks, he plays an Eastern European immigrant who is forced to actually live in JFK airport in New York City for quite awhile when an immigration snafu traps him in limbo. He takes up residence in the airport, and lives his life there as best as he can - he eats, he makes friends, he takes care of himself, he works as he is able. However, never once does he come to the point where he decides to take up permanent residence there. I suppose he could have, everything for a human to survive is right there in JFK - but not once did he ever lose sight of the fact that the airport was not his home. The airport was always designed as a place for people to pass through - a temporary stop. The movie wouldn't have made much sense if Hanks' character decided that he loved residing in the airport, and worked hard to live there for the rest of his life.

It would be foolish for anyone to make the busyness of the airport their permanent residence, right? Surely we would never live our life in such a way.

Every time I read the command above regarding the Sabbath, I am convicted of my continuing efforts to live in the busyness of this temporary residence called life. I forget that this world is not my home, and that I am just passing through. I get so busy watching the interesting people mill around the airport and hustling back and forth on the moving walkways, that I have taken my eyes off of my heavenly destination. More often than not, I find myself at home and busy in the airport.

The command to remember the Sabbath is a command to live in the rest that God intended for you.

Do you know what the highlight of creation was? Many of you might answer the creation of humanity - but I don't believe that to be the case. The climax of creation, the moment that all the rest of the creation was leading up to was the seventh day...the Sabbath rest. I mean after every day of creation we find the same pattern of conclusion/ending - "so the evening and the morning were the _____ day." There was a clear ending to each movement of creation...except for the seventh day. At the end of the seventh day God simply sat back, admired the fruits of His imagination and enjoyed living in the midst of His creation. He rested with creation, thereby blessing and sanctifying it.

This state of Sabbath rest, where God fully enjoys being in the midst of His creation, was the reason why we were made. Sabbath rest in the presence of God is our home. Unfortunately, our sin has removed us from our intended Sabbath rest with our Creator. Our sin has us stuck in Terminal 3 with all the Starbucks and Newsstands. This world is not our home, our home is in heaven where we will someday enjoy our Sabbath rest with God forever. Thanks be to God, Jesus came to break us out of the airport - to forgive our sin and restore our Sabbath rest.

This command was never meant to be burdensome or oppressive. This command is like a cold splash of water in the face reminding us that we were made for rest with our Creator and not ever-moving baggage carousels. To practice Sabbath rest here on Earth has me looking forward to my final destination - heavenly rest in the presence of our triune God contentedly basking in the glory of His creation.

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus

Be God's, Scott

The Grand Understatement

2009-03-14T09:19:00.000-04:00

"After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus."
Mark 9:2-8

The story is told of the little boy making his first ever visit to see Niagara Falls. His parents were very excited to show him the grandeur and awesome size of this natural wonder of the world. Well the parked their car and began to walk over to the viewing area. As they walked nearer to the spot the noise of the water began to increase, and the cold mist began to dampen the little boys hair. The little boy was so small that he couldn't see the Falls at all as they walked up because he was unable to see over top of the protective barrier. Upon reaching the premier viewing area, the little boys Dad picked him up and set him upon his shoulders, and said, "well Son, here's Niagara Falls, what do you think?" The little boy, sat there eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape as he drank in the sight before him. It took him a while, before he replied awestruck..."It looks really wet Dad."

A grand understatement if their ever was one. :) The scripture above includes one of my favorite lines in all the Bible - one that just happens to be another grand understatement.

Quick recent history update: Peter had just figured out on his own that Jesus was in the fact the promised Messiah, and he said as much. Jesus followed that up by plainly divulging the extent of His suffering and death to come. Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him. Then Jesus put Peter in his place and clearly laid out the tough road ahead to be a follower of Christ. Here's what comes next - the Transfiguration.

Jesus takes Peter, along with James and John, up on to the mountain, and while there He chooses to fully reveal His glory before them. The extent of His holiness, grandeur, beauty and awesome power was laid before them. They even witnessed glorified Jesus hanging out with faith hall of famers Elijah and Moses. In this very instance, Peter and the other two were given a sample taste of what heaven itself is going to be like. They were treated to one of the most amazing moments in the history of humanity - the pleasure and privilege of being in the presence of the glorified Christ.

Peter, overwhelmed by this moment, and unsure of what to say, spits out this great line all the while with knees a' knocking - "It's good for us to be here, lets put up some tents and stay for awhile." That's great, a classic understatement - "good to be here?" How's about the best and only place to be. How's about the place that we were meant to be, and will be someday in heaven for more than just a taste, but for the whole enchilada.

Here's the neat thing - as you enter church tomorrow morning, bear in mind that you are entering the glorious presence of the risen Christ. You are ascending the mountain with all those other church attenders, and Christ will be there in all the splendor of His majesty. How often do we neglect to notice the fact that Jesus is there and that He wants to show us the extent of His glory. The glory that we were made to know and experience.

As you attend your various houses of worship tomorrow, may you be blown away to the point of grand understatement at the very real and glorious presence of Jesus. May we all leave church tomorrow uttering, "It is good for us to be here, lets put up some tents..."

Be God's, Scott

Soft

2009-03-13T08:19:00.000-04:00

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:34-38

Mogos Hagos Kiflom was a Christian in the country of Eritrea (a small North African country bordering Sudan). He was a house church leader in a predominantly Sunni Muslim area. Mogos was unjustly arrested and placed in the vile Mitire Military Confinement Center. His crime - simply being a follower of Jesus. I've used the past tense in my description of brother Mogos, because he is no longer with us. Mogos was tortured to death after countless requests to recant his faith were unsuccessful.

Unfortunately, stories like Mogos' are not unusual in our world. In fact, I recently heard it said that more Christians were martyred for the sake of Christ this past year than any year in the history of the world - including Nero's Rome!

I suspect that Mogos' friends and family, and the brothers and sisters of his house church would likely read Jesus' words above in a slightly different way than most of us North American Christians. To deny oneself and to carry the cross of Jesus is very much a call to endure the same physical suffering as Christ should the LORD require it. For many North Americans to deny oneself and to carry the cross of Christ is merely to turn down a prime Sunday AM tee time at the local course and attend the local church with stadium seating instead.

For many persecuted Christians, when Jesus says, "whoever loses his life for me and the gospel will save it," they truly know that they may be asked to actually die for the sake of Jesus and His gospel. For most North American Christians these words are often spiritualized and sung without thought on Sunday AM.

For many persecuted Christians, when Jesus asks - "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?" They would answer, well, that's not good at all. We are just passing through this world which is not our home. The things of this world are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. For most North American Christians, we do our best to have our cake and eat it too - we endeavor to gain the whole world, our soul, and heaven as well. We work very hard to hold on to the things of this world as if we were meant to spend our eternity here.

Now, admittedly, I've been a little harsh on North American Christians today (of which I am one). Some might say, I've portrayed us to be a soft, unfocused lot, particularly in comparison to our persecuted brothers and sisters in the rest of the Church. Rightly or wrongly, I'll let you be the judge.

I suppose that I read these words of Christ this morning and was left challenged. How easy it is to gloss over them. I want to be a follower of Jesus in every sense. I want to carry my cross and follow Him. I don't want to follow only when it's convenient for me or comfortable.

Where we in the church today seem to do everything we can to make following Christ seem as easy as possible to seekers, true discipleship (as required by Jesus) is incredibly difficult - in fact, it costs your life.

Please spend some time praying today for our persecuted brothers and sisters throughout the world.

www.persecution.com

be God's, Scott

He turned around

2009-03-12T09:19:00.000-04:00

"And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of men."
Mark 8: 31-33

This passage is the turning point in the Gospel of Mark for Jesus' earthly ministry. It is at this point when He begins in earnest His journey to the cross. Jesus, after keeping His end game more or less a secret (coincidentally, theologians call this the "Messianic Secret") from His disciples, and generally teaching them through the often confusing metaphorical language of parables, finally comes clean. The secret of His mission is revealed to His faithful disciples, but only after Peter figured it out on his own, "You are the Christ!" Even so, Jesus commanded His disciples to keep this secret, lest zealous followers misinterpret His goal and become a roadblock to the cross.

This passage marks the beginning of the end for Jesus. His first steps away from His beloved disciples and towards the suffering and loneliness of the cross.

So what did you think of Jesus' reaction to Peter? The same Peter who just confessed that Jesus surely was the Christ, upon hearing that the Messiah was to suffer and die (at the hands of His own people), brought Jesus aside to rebuke Him. Quite clearly Peter's take on what the Messiah would do and accomplish was very different than what Jesus' real goals were. If Jesus was the Christ as Peter believed, then surely Jesus couldn't die...the Christ was to lead and restore Israel in victory. So, bold Peter, takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him.

I think Jesus' reaction says a lot about both His love for His disciples and His single mindedness, even though it comes off as quite harsh. "Get behind Me Satan!" is about as a harsh a response as one could ever expect to receive from Jesus. But notice that Jesus doesn't say it to Peter, until after "he turns around and looks at His disciples." What happened during that moment when He glanced His disciples' way? I think Peter's rebuke tempted Him. I think it tempted Him in a very similar way that Satan tempted Him in the wilderness prior to His earthly ministry (see Luke 4: 1-13). It tempted Him at the core of His humanity - "you don't have to do this Jesus, stay with us, you love being with us. You can still have everything you want here and now. Surely you don't need to suffer and die - no human being willingly walks towards that." "Get behind me Satan!" is the same thing Jesus said to Satan in the midst of His desert temptation. Perhaps that time in the desert prepared Jesus for this very difficult moment of choice. His steps undoubtedly got heavier the closer He came to His suffering.

But when Jesus turned and looked at His disciples, He remembered why He needed to suffer and die. I wonder if in that moment, Jesus, fully God and fully man, didn't just see the faces of the beloved disciples before Him. I wonder if He saw each of ours as well. I wonder if all the faces of those He so dearly loved emboldened Him to avoid the temptation and walk singlemindedly towards the cross. Thank you Lord for turning to look at us.

May God give each of us (those He dearly loves) the strength and grace to set our minds on the things of God, and not be misled by our selfish human urges.

Be God's, Scott

Simul justus et peccator

2009-03-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

"This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."
Romans 4:22-25

The gospel message in knee-bucklingly awesome, and frankly almost beyond comprehension. The Apostle Paul seemed to have a similar sentiment regarding the gospel, particularly as he wrote the book of Romans. The passage above concludes chapter 4, which was a technically brilliant discourse on the heart of the gospel - justification by faith. In the statement "it was credited to him as righteousness," the "him" refers to Abraham, and the "it" refers to the faith that was gracefully given to him by God. In short, he convincingly argues that Abraham was justified before God not because of his acts of obedience, but rather, because of the righteousness given to him by faith from God. The justification of Abraham was entirely the work of God.

Simul justus et peccator is a latin term coined by Martin Luther that gets to the heart of our justification by faith in Christ. It means, "at the same time a sinner and justified." Our justification, (btw - justification is a legal term in which the accused in declared "blameless" and completely innocent. In regards to our sin, I like to remember that to be justified is "just as if I never sinned.") awesome as it is, is also entirely the work of God, and worth celebrating. It's also a line of thinking worth thinking about.

Imagine a court case where you have been accused of the murder and sentenced to death by electric chair - and, truth be told, you are guilty (we're imagining remember ;). Justice requires an equal punishment for the crime committed, and justice regardless must be satisfied. Just as you are about to be lead off in chains to your execution, a stranger stands up and willingly offers to take your place to the judge. I mean, even though he was completely innocent of the crimes, he nevertheless offers to receive the punishment due you and save your guilty butt. The judge considers this, and relents, acknowledging that as long as justice is satisfied and someone pays the requisite penalty, it is fine with him. So your chains are taken off and fall to the ground, just they are quickly placed on the innocent man who took your place. In so doing, the judge legally declares the innocent man guilty - crediting him with your guilt and sentencing him to endure your punishment, while at the same time declaring you to be innocent - crediting you with the now doomed man's righteousness. You walk off in unmerited freedom, while the innocent man dies in your place.

Hard to believe? Well this is exactly what Christ has done for us. We are guilty of sin and sentenced to death. Innocent Jesus willingly took our just death sentence upon himself - "He who knew no sin, became sin for us." God the judge credited Him with our guilt, while at the same time justifying us, declaring us blameless, crediting us with the righteousness of Jesus. To believe and be assured of this sacrificial transaction is the gift of faith, which comes from God alone - it is not our doing...it is all God's doing. As a result of Christ's work, the wrath of God was satisfied and we are justified, and now we ought to live our lives in such a way that He is glorified!

If this season of Lent reminds us of anything, it's that despite the saving work of Christ...we remain sinners. We still stumble and sin our way through this journey from life to death. In our struggle with sin, it would do us all well to remember our justification through faith. To remember that because of Christ, we are "at the same time a sinner and justified." To remember that God will credit to us His righteousness when we have faith in Him. And to remember to glorify Him in every way, every day, because "He was delivered over to death for our sins, and raised for our justification."

Despite our sin, we may live in hope and confidence, just as if we had never sinned...this is the amazing truth of the Gospel!

Be God's, Scott

The Dimensions of Gratitude

2009-03-10T13:16:00.000-04:00

"You have answered me. I will declare Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him all you offspring of Israel! For He has not abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him, He heard."
Psalm 22: 21b-24

Maybe this has happened to you before - Someone asks you to do a favor for them that more or less calls you out of your way, or somewhat inconveniences you, but you do it anyways (even with a cheerful smile on your face) because you want to be kind. Then when you're done and you see this person again, not a word of thanks - it's like you never did them a favor at all - or (perhaps even worse) you get a thank you, but it's really one of those over the top, syrupy, insincere thanks... like they expected you to do it all along anyways.

Now I'm not saying that the reason you do something kind for someone is in order to be thanked, but receiving a genuine thanksgiving is a real treat.

Psalm 22 is a really interesting Psalm that displays for us the shape and dimensions of thanksgiving. The first half of the psalm (up until verse 21) consists of David praying to God in lament, and asking to be delivered from his suffering. Some psalms (like some of our prayers) would end right there with a hurtful cry to God for relief...but not this one. "You have answered me," says David to God. The remainder of the psalm turns into a psalm of thanksgiving for answered prayer - after David had his prayer answered, he thanked God for it. I think his joyful response to God gives us an idea about what thanking God looks like.

Declare Your name - David declared God's name to his brethren. Specifically, he shared with all who listen and likely even those who would not, how God had answered his prayer. David excitedly told his story of God's gracious deliverance. One way my kids show me thanks for a great gift they get at Christmas is to hear them tell everyone what it was they received. We need to declare the Name of God with excitement to all within earshot, as a testimony of His deliverance in our life.

Praise and Glorify Him - David showed his thanksgiving by worshipping God. In the context of a worship service (in the midst of the assembly) and in his daily comings and goings as a descendant of Jacob he praised and glorified God. His life was lived in worship to God, singing with his lips and with his actions the greatness of God. We need to praise and glorify God every moment of our lives as well.

Fear Him -To fear God is to obey His commandments. Obedience is not merely dutiful service, but truly an exercise in thanksgiving. Obeying God's commands is not burdensome, or a chore, rather the pinnacle of our gratitude. We need to give thanks to God through obedience.

I often take the kindness, mercy and answered prayer of our LORD for granted. All too often I am the one who doesn't finish the psalm, or give a word of thanks, or...even worse, I am the one who offers up a token "thank you" out of a sense of entitlement. God does not need our thanksgiving...but He certainly deserves it.

May we live lives of thanksgiving to God by declaring His name, praising and glorifying Him, and fearing Him in gracious obedience.

Be God's, Scott

El Shaddai

2009-03-09T09:02:00.000-04:00

"When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make a covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
Genesis 17: 1-2

This scripture passage marks a very important moment in the history of the world as we know it. In it we see the beginnings of the covenant of grace - an agreement initiated by God between Himself and humans to once again bless us despite our sinful disobedience. This covenant was made with Abram, a man specially chosen by God to be the recipient of this unmerited gift. God promised to bless this 99 year old man with descendants that would out number the stars, a great name, and a father of many nations. Only problem from Abram's (and his wife Sarai) perspective was that they had no children, and humanly speaking they were a little past their prime (at least as far as child bearing went).

This passage comes 13 years after Abram and Sarai lost their patience and faith in the God who always keeps His promises. They decided to take matters into their own hands by hooking up Abram with Sarai's maidservant, Hagar. Consequently, Hagar had a child named Ishmael. However this child was not to be the child of promise. Abram and Sarai's sin and lack of patience with God only produced a child who was destined to become, "a wild man, whose hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him." Their disobedience had produced not a child of blessing, but of curse. Abram and Sarai had messed up their part of the covenant with incredible expediency, and they had to have known it. Interestingly enough, God did not speak to Abram again for 13 years after his failing - 13 years of silence from God.

But God did speak again, because unlike Abram, God keeps His promises. It may have taken 13 additional years, but God gracefully gave Abram and Sarai a second chance by reaffirming the covenant with him.

I think it's significant to note the name which God gives Himself in His re-introduction to Abram. He tells him that He is God Almighty. The Hebrew name used here is one you might be familiar with - El Shaddai. This name literally means - the God who is wholly sufficient - and most times when you find this name used by God in the Old Testament it is given in greeting whenever His servants are particularly despairing or hard pressed and need reassurance. Abram clearly questioned the sufficiency of the LORD to provide him a descendant, this much is obvious because he tried to provide one himself. Abram undoubtedly was despairing, likely wondering if his poor choice had removed God's favor from him.

But God did not give up on Abram...He came to him again reminding him that He is and always will be El Shaddai - the God who is wholly sufficient.

This story hits home for me in a couple of ways (and I wonder if the same is true for you): I see myself quite clearly in the sandals of Abram. I too have often questioned the fidelity of the LORD in the promises He has made to me. I have disobeyed His call to me to walk before Him and be blameless. I too have tried to provide for myself on my own, in any number of creative ill fated ways, and in so doing questioned His sufficiency in my life. By all accounts God should have left both Abram and I alone in the dust with the consequences of our choices. I would've had no reason for complaint.

However...God did not give up on me. With much grace and mercy, He continually re-introduces Himself to me as El Shaddai, the God who is wholly sufficient. Though reassured and humbled by this act, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised...I am after all (like you) one of those promised descendants [exceeding multiplications] of Abram, and God's promises run deep and long.

O LORD, please give me the courage and the strength to name you as the El Shaddai in every area of my life.

Be God's, Scott

Homeless and lonely - (Saturday a little early)

2009-03-06T18:56:00.000-05:00

" Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!
Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you."
Psalm 25: 16-25

I had lunch with a homeless guy once in Toronto. We developed a quick intimacy over our conversation and a plate of whatever it was we were serving that day in the soup kitchen. Towards the end of our meal, I asked him a question, not knowing whether he'd answer me, or send me back a stupefied stare. I asked him, "what the hardest part of being homeless was," and the moment it left my mouth, I wished that I could've grabbed it a jammed it back in there. Stupid question, right? Well, truth be told, he didn't seem offended at all. In fact he truly seemed appreciative of the question.

His answer moved me, and I never forgot it. He looked me square in the eyes, took a sip from his styrofoam coffee cup and told me, "The hardest part of being homeless is the loneliness. It's like you don't exist. People walk past you and over you like your a piece of garbage and not a real person. Being homeless is lonely."

Needless to say, my heart broke for him, and all the other lonely people on the streets. God did not design people to be lonely and afflicted, rather to be valued children of God in vibrant affirming relationship with Him. From that day on, whenever I pass a homeless child of God on the streets of the city I make sure to turn towards them and look them straight in the eyes. I want them to know that I see their humanity - that I don't think they're garbage - that they are valuable.

Our sin has made us spiritually homeless, lonely apart from our God. Even after we have come to faith in Him and had our relationship renewed, we can still feel the pain and affliction of loneliness when we sin and push God away - running away from home and back into the streets. We were never meant to endure affliction and hurt and loneliness.

Thanks be to God, that He does not ignore us, or walk past us with scorn. Thank God that He treats us much better than we treat each other. God turns towards us, looks us square in the eyes, and embraces us. Every time we sin and alienate ourselves from Him, every time we run away from Him, He chases us down, forgives our sins, and loves us all over again. Truly, our hope is in Him.

Lord, look upon our affliction and distress and take away all of sins. Guard our lives and rescue us. AMEN

Be God's, Scott

Directions

2009-03-06T08:18:00.000-05:00

"Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from old.
Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD."
Psalm 25: 4-7

I don't like the idea of the GPS technology. I suppose I don't like the idea of some computerized voice telling me where to go and when to turn. Why, you ask? Because I am amazing at directions, and finding my own way...OK...truth be told, not so much. I actually stink at directions, and finding my own way, but I am excellent at being stubborn and proud in my driver's seat. This, combined with my penchant for always wanting to be at least 5 minutes early for everything has caused me to be very snippy with my wife on more than one occasion (much to my shame ;) I'm not sure what possesses me to have this "do it on my own" tendency, but have it I do at times. Don't tell me where to go and when to turn. Let me find my own way, even if it means being late, getting lost, or sinning against my wife. What's up with that?

But I'm probably the only one with this problem...right? ;)

How many of us struggle with this stubborn pride in our spiritual life journeys as well? I mean, how many of us walk through life getting lost, taking wrong turns, and sinning against the ones we love all because we wont take the simple directions of our loving God? We think we know best, despite the fact that sin still clouds our decision making ability. Self-reliance trumps reliance on God much to our detriment. We are a stubborn lot aren't we?

David had it right - though I wonder how long it took him to come to this realization - when he finally said:

"Show me your ways - teach me your paths - guide me."

Oh that that would be my prayer as well, for my driving stubbornness is often reflective of my general spiritual stubbornness.

To rightly pray this to God, I think one needs to deny oneself and do two things: Confession and Obedience. Confession is a humble and honest admission that I don't really know the best way to live my life. I make mistakes and wrong turns. I sin and get lost. I confess that I cannot direct myself - I will always fail.

Obedience is listening for God's direction and then, well, obeying it. First, we must listen to God's direction through His Word and prayer. Then, thankfully, and trustingly doing that which God wants you to do. When God shows you the way to go - go that way. When God teaches you the correct path - take it. Where God guides - follow Him. Obedience is our act of submission and faith.

O LORD, save me from myself and my stubborn nature. Help me to remove my pride and help me to listen and trust. AMEN

Be God's, Scott

PS. It's my day off, so I am off for a drive with my wife...I promise to be humble and behave ;)

He Covers Me

2009-03-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

"To You O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed;
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause"
Psalm 25: 1-3

Shame...a powerful human emotional state. Shame defined is a painful feeling of being exposed, uncovered, unprotected, vulnerable. Going back to the origins of the word we can find the meaning "to cover." Though, do we really need a bookish definition to know what shame is? Shame is something we have all felt over our lifetimes to varying degrees. In fact we have likely done backflips of choices through our life journeys in order to avoid being shamed. How often have we done ethically questionable things in order to "cover up" something we did that might expose us and leave us vulnerable to the slings and arrows of an unforgiving world.

I can remember instances of my own boys boldly lying to me when they were very young (too young to have been culturally conditioned to know what they were doing) about doing something they were forbidden to do, even though they were caught red handed. For them, like us, the thought that one might get "found out" is almost too much to bear. These episodes reminded me of Adam and Eve's shame, after disobeying God. Immediately after doing so, they realized their nakedness and sought to cover themselves, and then they hid from God.

After an honest evaluation of your relationship with God, how many of you find yourself still paralyzed by shame as you relate with God? How many of you are secretly fearful of God because He knows the "real" you, secret shames included? How many of you are truthfully fearful of the Lord's return and judgment day, because you believe on that day that your secret, sinful and shameful life will be exposed for all to see? I think shame hinders our spiritual journeys more than we'd care to admit.

David did not want to be publicly shamed for His allegiance to God. Though I suspect David also feared being shamed by God for his own sins and indiscretions as King of God's chosen people. So, David turned to God and prayerfully implored Him to cover him up. He did this by doing an act of faith - he lifted his soul and gave it to God (relinquishing his own sense of control) and fully trusted Him to care for it and cover it. Deep in his heart, David knew this truth about God...He does not want to shame us, or for us to feel ashamed in His presence because of our sins. He wants to cover us.

That's why He sent Jesus to take on our shame, and be fully exposed, uncovered, and vulnerable on the cross. In willingly mounting the cruel cross, Jesus scorned its shame in order to remove ours from our relationship with God. In fact the good news of the gospel is that God did not leave us like Adam and Eve futilely trying to cover our shame on our own. The good news is that He covers us up with the righteousness of Christ. Our shame is gone in the presence of God because Jesus covers us.

May you also lift your soul to Him, put your trust in Him, and let Him clothe you in His glorious righteousness.

Be God's, Scott

Blessed be Your Name

2009-03-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

"Immediately, the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to Him." Mark 1: 12-13

Discovery channel has this great show on called Man vs. Wild (Zach and I really like to watch it together). On it, this guy named Bear Grylls travels to distant places in the world that would be difficult to survive in, and then he goes on to show you how one could do just that. He's gone to the Amazon, Alaskan Wilderness, and the African plains to name but a few. One of my favorites was the episode I saw where he went to the Moab desert in Utah. Here's a glimpse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlFpb5nofrg

This episode reminded me of Jesus' time in the wilderness/desert where He survived 40 days despite fasting and temptations. Seeing the hot, punishing conditions made Jesus' humble turn in the wilderness all the more real for me. That must have been incredibly trying! The Son of God, rather than let temptation find Him, willingly was driven out to face it head on, in the most sensational way possible. Out of His hunger and in His human weakness, He was tempted with food, pride and the desire for power and possessions. Even in His weakest human moment, He did not give in to temptation, but rather clung to the fidelity of His relationship with God. Out of this time of trial He was attended by His angels, ready to begin His purposeful journey towards Calvary.

The word tempted here comes from the Greek word peirazo, which literally means to put to the test or trial in order to discover the type of person someone is. Through Jesus' trial we discovered that He was indeed perfect, blameless and holy, fully willing to endure anything for the sake of His beloved. The temptation validates Jesus' candidacy for the more difficult journey ahead.

God seems to have a habit of putting His people to the test to discover the type of people they are, and to test their readiness for that which is yet to come. He did this very same thing with His people Israel as the wandered in the desert for 40 years, before emerging into the promised land. And I know that He often through the power of His Spirit drives many of us out into our own times of trial in the wilderness. What wilderness has God brought you through? Perhaps the trial of disease, poverty, death of a loved one, persecution...in some sense we all have our own type of wilderness trial don't we, and they are not pleasant.

For those in the wilderness, please be assured by this: your God is always with you - in fact He can absolutely sympathize with your weakness and what you are going through, because He too walked through the desert. And count yourself worthy that God has chosen to use whatever wilderness experience (suffering) that you might have to endure in order to prepare and shape you for a glorious journey yet to come. "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind." (1 Peter 4: 1b)

As you find yourself identifying with the wilderness trial of Jesus, may you sing along with Matt Redman,

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Be God's, Scott

2009-03-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

"It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1: 9-11

Relational...in a word (as if a word could suffice), God at the core of His being is relational. The baptism of Jesus is a clear and beautiful portrait of God's relational nature. We see in this event the perfect yet mysterious inner workings of the trinity. Briefly, to say God is triune is to say that God is three distinct persons, yet also, at the same time One God. God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are distinct while at the same time One: they are co-eternal, co-equal, and in constant communication. The glue that holds this transcendent union together is relationship - specifically an eternal relationship of magnificent love.

In Jesus' baptism, we see the Holy Spirit gently descending upon Him as a sign of Christ's anointing. And we also hear the presence of the Father, lovingly proclaiming how pleased He is with His beloved Son. Even in the Son of God's humiliating descent into this world broken and stained with sin. Even in His eternal nature taking on the fragile human flesh. Even in His suffering and tears. Even in His being subjected to mocking, taunts and insults by the very people He made...the relational love union that bound together our triune God, remained strong and intact. They forever dance, glory and delight in the presence of the other.

The doctrine of the trinity would be in danger of becoming an obscure triviality if it were not for one amazing truth. Our relational God also seeks to re-establish the relationship with us that we dissolved when we sinned. You see God created us to be in loving relationship with Him. Christ came to forgive our sins, and to allow us to re-enter into that which we were made for.

When we put our faith in Christ, we are said to have union with Him. As mind boggling as it sounds, in Christ, we are graciously invited to participate in the marvelous and dynamic relationship of love that binds together the trinity. We too are welcome to dance, glory and delight in the presence of our majestic and eternal God. God stepped down, not only to meet us half-way in mending the relationship...God stepped down and elevated as high as we could possibly go - right into the heart of His love!

May each of you, today, take a moment to dance, glory and delight in your relationship with our triune God.

Be His, Scott

Zachariah

2009-03-02T13:01:00.000-05:00

And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh: the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth." Genesis 8: 12-17

My eldest sons' name is Zachariah. He is named after the Zachariah found in scripture. Zachariah was an old testament prophet, and as was the case with most Biblical names, the name Zachariah meant something significant. Zachariah means, the LORD remembers. This is a simple (yet, really quite profound) theological truth for us fallible humans to get our heads around. God remembers everything. Well perhaps better technically said, God knows and sees everything. He does so, because He reveals himself to us as both omniscient (all knowing) and eternal (He has no beginning and He has no end and He exists outside of time). So God knows everything that's going on and He sees all past, present and future all at once. The LORD remembers.

However, I think this truth (that the LORD remembers) also refers to God's faithfulness - specifically that God can be trusted to always keep His promises. When God makes a promise He will always remember to keep it. This remembrance/faithfulness can be seen in God's covenant (or special everlasting promise) to every creature of the earth through Noah. After the flood - a time when one can clearly see the just repulsion of sin from our holy God - the LORD, in an act of mercy and grace promises all flesh that He will never again send a flood to destroy them. His sign to us that He would remember this promise, was the rainbow - something we can still see today and be reminded of God's faithful love for us.

During this season of Lent, when one often becomes painfully aware of ones own shortcomings and sinfulness, how does this truth - knowing that God remembers, make you feel?

Think about it, a God who is so repulsed by sin that He sent a flood to destroy everything, is fully aware of every sin you do, and even those ones you haven't done yet. For how many of us is God some type of all knowing figure skating judge, carefully recording every mistake we make only to poorly grade us publicly later? Perhaps the idea of God always remembering sends a shiver up your spine. In the case of our sins, it would be in our best interests to have the God who remembers, not remember anymore.

Fortunately God's merciful love is seen for us in Jesus Christ. You see, just as God promised security to all flesh through Noah - a total act of grace. God (He who remembers), also promises to remember our sins no more through Jesus. Jeremiah told of the coming of Jesus, a time when He would die in order to forgive our sins before God. "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more," (Jer. 31: 34) says God. This time has come to pass. Our sin is forgotten by God in the righteousness of Jesus. When our faith is placed in this Christ, it's just as if we had never sinned. As the God who remembers looks upon His children of faith, He does not see our filthy disobedience...rather the holiness of Jesus.

You do not need to look up to the sky for a rainbow in order to remember God's faithfulness - look no further than the waters of your baptism as your sign and seal of God's covenant of grace with you through Christ. Indeed, the LORD remembers, and I am grateful to Him that He does. May you remember the waters of your baptism during this season and know with assurance of God's faithful love for you.

Be God's, Scott

American Idol Christianity

2009-02-28T07:56:00.000-05:00

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6: 1-4

Reality television programs are everywhere, and on every channel. They have become the pre-eminent sign post for our "look at me - and love me" generation. Our culture is filled with people who crave the spotlight and the public adoration that comes with it, and they all seem to find their way on to our digital airwaves. American Idol is probably the biggest of all of these shows: aspiring singers primp, strut, gyrate, and even sing for the judges in front of them and in the homes of America in the hopes that they will be affirmed and adored. Everyone wants to be celebrated and famous - even if it means the possibility of being publicly shamed and berated by the Simon Cowell's of the world.

I wonder how much these shows have infiltrated our cultural fabric and our thinking. I mean, our sinful nature has always been selfishness and self-idolatry at its core. By nature, all humans have a natural tendency to pride and self love over and against humility and love of neighbor (and God). These shows have subtly given us the permission we crave to pursue the spotlight in all we do in life. How often have you found yourself craving the spotlight, or an undo amount of attention and affirmation for others? How many times have you done things for the applause of others?

On the flip side, I wonder if these shows have also subtly turned us into a nation of harsh critics of performance rather than intent. Do we all not subconsciously turn into Simon Cowell when others "perform." I've often suspected that many of the "worship wars" running rampant in the church today are symptomatic of this tendency to critique harshly. How often have we sat in a worship service and not liked the song (for whatever reason) and thought..."absolutely horrible." I mean, we judged their outward performance rather than delighting in the presence of God and the gifts that He has given them.

Being a disciple of Christ in this culture, who seeks to live a life of righteousness is difficult at best. On the one hand, we have a cultural tendency to want to shine a spotlight on our godliness. We want everyone to see how good of a Christian we are. Yet on the other hand, we live out our Christian witness in the gaze of a harshly critical public eye just looking for a reason to knock us down a peg. So how are we to life a life of discipleship in this day and age of American Idol Christianity?

Jesus tells us "to be careful not to do our righteous acts before men in order to be seen by them." Our acts of mercy, our life of piety, our spiritual disciplines ought to be done in humble service to God, and not for the approval of those in our culture. To do any type of christian living for the applause of humanity is to try to bring the glory on ourselves and not to our great God. The reward of a faithful christian life is not the fame and celebrated applause of human culture, rather it is the simple pleasure and joy of serving a loving and faithful God.

Be God's, Scott
ps. remember, no blog's on Sundays :)

Sin and Flying Turkeys

2009-02-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, and You only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." Psalm 51: 3-4

"As God as my witness...I thought turkeys could fly." This line (by Arthur Carlson), was my absolute favorite line from one of the funniest episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati (back in the day). Some of you might remember the thanksgiving episode where the cracked promotions department decided it would be good business to give away turkeys for thanksgiving. The only thing is, they decided to do so buy throwing live turkeys out of a helicopter - to disastrous results http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iafzqOCaxA4. (I think it's OK to laugh during lent ;) Clearly turkeys cannot fly, they were designed to do so, even though it looks like they should be able to - they are birds after all, and they have wings...but they cannot. Doing something that you were not created to do, will often necessarily lead to disastrous results.

The simple biblical truth I'd like us to think about today, is that humans were not designed nor were they created to sin. Though by all outward appearances it may seem as if we were well designed to sin (we do sin a lot after all) - the truth is that we were created to be holy and in relationship with a holy God. Humanity's chief function is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So you see, when we sin, we are doing something that we were not created to do, and it will necessarily lead to disastrous results.

The consequences of sin are evident in our world - just turn on the evening news: death, pain, societal breakdown, hatred, war, famine, pestilence, jealousy etc. Clearly the sinfulness of humanity (from the smallest to the greatest sins) has consequences for the humans involved. It affects both the sinner and the ones sinned against, because sinning was never God's intention for us.

King David takes the consequences of sinning one step further though - as he humbly confesses his sin of adultery with Bathsheba to God. When we sin, ultimately, we sin against God. When I lie to my friend - I sin against God. When I think lustful thoughts - I sin against God. When I cheat someone in business - I sin against God. David hits on a really simple theological truth here - since God made us to be holy and to enjoy Him forever, anytime we sin (no matter how great or small) it is an affront to the one who made us. We reject His perfect design. Like Adam and Eve, we are telling God that His design and plan is not good enough, we know a better way. Bottom line here...no matter what the sin is, it is a huge problem of eternal consequences.

Thanks be to God, that He sent His Son to die for us turkey's and our futile attempts to fly. That He loved humanity enough, to restore in us to ability to be holy and function as He had always intended us to.

The Fast That I Have Chosen

2009-02-26T09:34:00.000-05:00

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, you cover him, and hide not yourself from your own flesh? Then, your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you." Isaiah 58: 6-8

Throughout my years as a Youth Pastor I was always left invigorated and encouraged by the honest and earnest Christianity of teens. They really taught me a lot about a healthy and passionate spirituality that often defies the controlled conventions that we adults like to place around it. Teens are always ready to experiment with different forms of spiritual practice, and are not afraid to think outside the box. In fact, over the years, whenever lent rolled around, I would come across teens discussing what they were going to fast from over the Lenten season. Sometimes it was chocolate, or TV, or facebook, (though I haven't yet heard of anyone fasting from Text messaging...I'm sure there is someone out there doing that as well ;)

Whenever a teen shared with me their fasting strategy, I always asked them the same question - "Why on earth are you fasting?" Answers were mixed reflecting a desire for experimentation, being a part of the chic thing to do, and worship, but they always led us into a good conversation as to the importance of intent. Jesus, himself said regarding fasting, "when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting." Matt. 6:16 In other words God is looking for expressions of inner humility and repentance in fasting and not just a going through the motions outer display (particularly one that screams "Look at me! Aren't I holy!")

I think that fasting is a wonderful way to identify with Christ during this Lenten season. In self- denial not only does one acquire some empathy for the self-denial and humility of Jesus, but one also clears out some of the noise and clutter in ones own life, allowing a more honest self-reflection.

One thing in particular that God has been teaching me over the past few years is that Christianity is much more than just personal relationship with Jesus. It is far greater than me, doing all I can to grow closer to God. Beyond that, it involves me, being a part of a called out community, to partner with Christ in redeeming this world that He so loves. With this mind, I think Lent, and the fasting that comes with it, needs to be much more than a season or ritual that revolves around me and my relationship with God alone. Fasting is more than a mere exercise in personal piety. I think that's why I like this Isaiah passage so much.

Isaiah called out the Israelites who were fasting as a form of habit in a spiritual vacuum as it were. In God's eyes, fasting is not just eliminating something like food, but in fact consuming in its place redemptive justice and love. In other words we do not fast in order to be idle - our fasting should inevitably lead to identifying with Christ in our love for our communities and our world.

So for those of you who have chosen to fast in some way during lent (and for those of you who haven't...there's still time ;) may I challenge you this morning with the words of Isaiah as to the intent and purpose of your fast?

How are you undoing the heavy burdens of the oppressed and setting them free?
How are you sharing your bread with the hungry?
How are you sharing your home with the homeless?
How are you clothing the poor and naked?

As you contemplate these questions, may the Lord give you opportunity to live them out in love, in the place where God has called you - and as a result may your light break forth like the morning, your healing spring forth quickly, and your righteousness go before you.

Be God's, Scott

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T10:03:00.000-05:00

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job 42:5

I have always found Ash Wednesday to be one of the more interesting and challenging days on the Christian calendar. Not only is this day the onset of the season of Lent - a period of fasting and renewal for the disciple of Christ to identify with Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the wilderness - but I also like to think of Lent as the one day when we Christians come clean and get real with the rest of the world.

Many Christians over the years have traditionally worn ashes on their forehead for all or part of this day as a public declaration for all to see of their brokenness and their utter need for a redeeming savior - a visual confession of sin. Ashes, throughout the scriptures have been used as a symbol of our mortality, repentance and grief. In short, they have been used as a means of shouting out our own sinfulness and fragility, especially in contrast to the holiness and eternal nature of our God.

Job, when his senses were wholly confronted by the holiness of God, was absolutely convicted and made aware of his own failings. His sins were laid bare before him. In contrast with God's perfect nature, Job's sinful nature (as righteous as it may have appeared to outside eyes) shouted out an affront to God. He became aware of how far he had fallen away from God's holy standard - therefore he abhorred (or despised) himself and repented in dust and ashes. The ashes were the outward sign of the inner brokenness for all to see.

To wear ashes today is to brazenly display our sinfulness - a declaration of personal abhorrence if you will. Though I think it's important to note that this is done for the purpose of pointing all who see them, ultimately to the holiness and beauty of God. His greatness and goodness is seen all the more clearer in our brokenness and weakness. It shouts to all our utter need for a savior. As Christ said to Paul in 2 Cor. 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Like I said earlier, it's the one day of the year when we come clean to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the rest of the year is predominantly spent telling them how right we are and how sinful they are. The funny thing is, that those outside the church already know that we are a bunch of sinners - the cry of hypocrite is commonly heard. To them the ashes are evident, and they only chuckle in bemusement at our own attempts to cover them up with some type self-righteous spiritual make-up. I think what the world needs to see is not our self-rightness, but rather our brokenness and the righteousness of Christ that joyfully shines in contrast.

I wonder what it would look like for Christians to wear ashes every day. Perhaps by having the same attitude of Paul, who responds to Christ with the declaration "therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecution, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Be God's, Scott

A Lenten BLOG: Introduction

2009-02-24T09:14:00.000-05:00

I like to think of Lent as both a period of preparation and a period of self-reflection: preparation to once again confront the reality of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and self-reflection on how one is doing at identifying with the life of Christ in daily practice (ie. discipleship)

This BLOG will be a daily meditation throughout lent and provided for all those who seek to both prepare and reflect on Jesus Christ in advance of Easter.

On a technical note...I will try to get them on first thing in the morning, but please be patient if they are not immediately up - sometimes life happens.

May you wholly be God's as we journey forth together, Scott