Fear not…

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:1-7 ESV)

Is it easy to not live in fear?

In the day and age we live in, there are ample times and reasons every day for us to fear our very existence. People are gunned down in the streets that have nothing to do with the crimes that got them killed. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can easily get caught up in the evil and darkness around us. We will always go through valleys and pains in our lives, however we do not have to live in fear.

We can live a life of love and not fear because we have the promise that God has named and claimed us and because of this we can live a life filled with love rather than fear of what might happen. We can live without fear of what will happen because no matter what happens God will be with us.

So live without fear because you are God’s!

God provides

Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord , but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” (2 Kings 4:1-7 ESV)

Have you ever needed something and wondered where it would come from?

Many of us have been where this woman is, ready to give up on everything. Ready to pack it in and just lay down and die…

Yet when she was ready to do this the prophet told her to gather jars and pour her little oil until the jars were full then go and sell them to live off the wages…

You see just like this widow, God will use what you have and give you an abundance.

Sabbath

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a sabbath for the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in their yield; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord: you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your unpruned vine: it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. You may eat what the land yields during its sabbath — you, your male and female slaves, your hired and your bound laborers who live with you; for your livestock also, and for the wild animals in your land all its yield shall be for food. You shall count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the period of seven weeks of years gives forty-nine years. Then you shall have the trumpet sounded loud; on the tenth day of the seventh month — on the day of atonement — you shall have the trumpet sounded throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces. In this year of jubilee you shall return, every one of you, to your property. When you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not cheat one another. When you buy from your neighbor, you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you only for the remaining crop years. If the years are more, you shall increase the price, and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of harvests that are being sold to you. You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God. You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live on it securely. (Leviticus 25:1-19 NRSV)

Do you take a sabbath? We need to take time to rejuvenate.

Here God tells the people that the land must have time for sabbath and we all just have time for sabbath. So take your time for rest and rejuvenation.

We all need it, God took time during creation, so are we better than God? We need sabbath.

Seek

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. (Psalms 53:1-6 ESV)

Do you seek the Lord?

This psalm says there is no one who seeks the Lord. It says there is no one who does good.

Do you seek the Lord or do you seek to fulfill your own needs?  When you seek the Lord you will be moved to do good.

Then God and you and all of creation will rejoice!

Prodigal who?

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: … “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe — the best one — and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'” (Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 NRSV)

This story is the parable we all grew up knowing as the Prodigal Son. Prodigal is lavish spending , recklessly using what you have…

This story and the whole chapter of Luke 15 is thought to have been about repentance. The son after telling his father he was dead to him by asking for his portion of the father’s wealth comes to his senses and repents. Now don’t get me wrong. He comes to his senses. Nothing makes a good Jewish boy come to his sense quicker than wanting to eat what you are feeding the pigs you are working with. But is that what this story is really about? And this chapter? If so what is the part about the older son all about and what about the other 2 parables in the chapter?

The other 2 parables are the lost sheep and the lost coin. If this chapter is about repentance then how does a sheep repent and how does a coin repent. A sheep rents by say, “I’m sorry I’ve been baaaaaad.” and a coin repents by saying, “I promise I’ll change.”. So are these stories about sheep and coins repenting or are they about the shepherd and the woman? Just like the Prodigal Son is not about the son, but the father, just as the story begins, “There was a man who had two sons.”

The story is a it the father who goes out of his way to shame and dishonor himself to get his son back. The father who lavishly and recklessly gives his wealth, honor and dignity to get his son back. The prodigal father, just like God. God is chasing after you, so just turn around and see Him there chasing after you…

Happy

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
Psalm 32 (NRSV)

Are you always happy? Is your life always together and everyone great?

Actually those are 2 different questions.

Your life always being together and everything being great is something that is never actually realized. We have moments in our life when that happens, but there are times that everything seems like it is falling apart and it is far from great…

Being happy is not having everything together and having everything be great. Being happy is knowing that God is on your side and no matter what you will face it will not be alone.

If we listen to the counsel of God and follow where He lead we can know that He is always with us and we can be happy.

Sight…

So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord — for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. (2 Corinthians 5:6-15 NRSV)

In my minds eye I can see your face… goes a line in the DC Talk song Minds Eye. It is a song about the above text how we live by faith and not by sight. We have never “seen” God or Jesus. Yet we all have “seen” God and Jesus. In the face of the child we give their first gift. In the face of the person who needs food that we give a hot meal to. To the person we listen to that needs an ear for compassion.

We have never seen the wind, we have seen the effects of the wind but never the wind. God needs us and asks us to believe in His promises and know we can live by faith and not worry about not seeing.

Because seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing!

Lose heart…

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling — if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5 NRSV)

Have you ever been involved with something where the circumstances were not what you wanted and were hard to handle? Did you wonder if that situation would ever end?

It is easy for us to get hung up on the negatives in our lives, and to just focus on all of the bad things happening. We can get caught in the trap of wondering if we will ever be put of the bedtimes and our lives will be good and wonderful. Well the good news is yes we will, but the bad news is not until Jesus comes back.

You see we have been promised glory, as we sit on high with Jesus and God in the next life. But this life will always bring pain and sorrow along with the joy and wonder. We wil need to hold tight to the promises and trust that God will always be with us.

So trust in Him and know that His promises are true.

The Kingdom

He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”  (Luke 13:18-21 NRSV)

What is the kingdom of God like? It is a place for birds to find rest and home. It is like air that surrounds us and is every where.

Or if you are a Star Wars fan it is like the Force, which in the words of OB1 Kenobi, “surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together.”

You see the kingdom of God surrounds us ans is in us and holds us close to Him. So don’t think you far to find God. He is right there with you right now, and always will be.

I know the law…

For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:12-16 ESV)

“Don’t tell me what I know and don’t know, I know the law!” comes an emphatic statement from Lieutenant Caffy in A Few Good Men. He is talking about what is actually the truth and what he can prove or not prove. The point is the law will win in the case he is talking about.

Do you ever feel that way? If I only know all of the rules and can uphold them, then I will be good. But knowing the rules really only gives us the clear line by which we will be judged. You see according to this passage it does not matter if we know the law or not we will be judged by Jesus Christ. None of us will avoid being judged.

Knowing the law will not help unless you can follow incompletely and even of you don’t know the law you still must live up to Jesus’ standard…

So who can stand? Only the one found in Him…