In Good and in Bad…

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. (Job 1 ESV)

Have you ever lost everything?

I’ve lost money, and a car, a job and many things in my life. I have actually, with my wife, lost two children to miscarriages before we were blessed with our three wonderful children. We wondered during this time if we had done something wrong. Did we stay out in the hot weather too long? Did we not eat the right foods? DId we not do soemthing right, or did we do too many things wrong? Why did htis happen to us? What did we do to deserve this?

It is kind of like the man born blind in the gospel, where the disciples asked Jesus who sinned this amn or his parents? And it was neither. Sometimes things are out of our control, and no matter how much we long for an explaination there is not one. We have to accept our life at face value and move forward in the day in and day out things that happen. We can seek to follow after God’s heart, but that does not guarrentee us that we will get a rose garden and everything will be smooth sailing. Job found out that his life could crash around him, but he never gave up on God. And God never gave up on him.

Our reading for today is just the first chapter of a long story that details all of the struggles Job and his friends went through. Job never gave up on God, even when his whole world was ripped out from under him. We can see from this that we should never give up on God, because God has promised and will always walk with us through everything we will face.

Apple of my eye

Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. (Psalm 17 ESV)

Have you ever looked deep into someone’s eye and saw yourself?

Do you ever think about yourself as being in that spot of God’s eye?

The psalmist here says “keep me as the apple of your eye…” As if that is something that God can really do without us assisting. In order for me to be the apple of someone’s eye I have to be there with them looking them in the eye. So in order for you or me to the apple of God’s eye, we have to be looking God in the eye. Are you really able and ready to do that? That means you see God in the face and are ready to hear and be who He is leading you to be. Now if you do this, He will shelter you under His wing and keep you from all danger and harm. That does not mean that life will be easy or things will be smooth sailing, but you will have His undivided attention and the protect of His presence.

So stare at God’s eye and become the apple of His eye… And hold on for the ride of your life!

Walk as He did…

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:1-6 ESV)

Jesus is the covering of our sins, He takes away what would keep us from God. But He does not only do that for us, but He does it for the whole world. And the way we know that we are covered by the Holy Spirit is that we follow His word and keeps His commandments.

Now what are these commandments? We read that and think we have to follow the commandments, the 10 commandments or all of the Law. But is that what it is? I’m not sure that is what Jesus was talking about when He told us to keep His commandments.

The author of John gives us a clue in the last verse of our text for today. “Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” If we are abiding in Him then we should walk the way He walked. We need to go to those who would never come to us because they know they will be judged. We need to love everyone regardless of where they come from, how much they have, what they have done, are doing or will do. We need to help others see the love that God has for them. We need to not judge. Jesus told people they were forgiven for their sins and advised them to go and sin no more. No where did He tell them if they did not stop their actions they would be separated forever from God. He could have judged and He never did, so if we are walking as He walked we can not judge, but we have to love.

They commandments Jesus is talking about is love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. Love is what we are called to do and be. So walk as He did and love everyone you see.

If..

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1-13 NRSV)

Have you ever questioned something you know to be true?

Have you ever wondered if something was real even when you could look at it and feel it?

Today we read the story of Jesus in the wilderness, the desert, with Satan being tempted after He had fasted and spent time with God for 40 days. Satan questions if Jesus is the Son of God. Satan says to Him, “If you the Son of God…” Does Satan not think He is the Son of God.

We read this passage of scripture and we think that Satan is questioning or trying to get Jesus to question His identity. But what if Jesus’ identity is secure and Satan was not questioning it or getting Jesus to question it, but was affirming it. What if I told you the translation was not the best. The word in Greek for if also means since…

So Satan could have been saying, “Since you are the Son of God…” all of the scripture that speaks to the Messiah is about you and you can do all of those things so why do you still suffer here? Why don’t you just take care of it? And isn’t that where we get caught? Rather than trusting in and knowing that God will be there for us, we question if He is there.

Do not wonder if God is there, remember that since God is there you will be walking in His shadow.

time…

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV)

There is a time for everything…

I really wish there was not a time for death. It is hard to lose someone we love, and I wish there was not a time for moving of lose, because these are painful times when we have changes that come and cause us anxiety and stress. We are leaving behind something and wondering what comes next.

It has been a year since I resigned as pastor of the congregation I was serving. I have wondered a lot over this past year about where God has led me and where He has called me, and where He is leading me and calling me to go.

I believe each of the calls I have served as pastor was a calling from God. I was there for a reason. I may not have a clear understanding of what that reason was, but I was there because I needed to be. It was for that time, that I was there… There is a time and place for everything.

So do not mourn change, or mourn the lose of friends. Because I have friends all over the country because of my serving those calls, and the friends that are true will always be friends, regardless of where you go. And trust me it is nice to have a place to crash in many states and countries of the world. We should not mourn what we will lose but anticipate what God is leading us to do next. But do not anticipate the next at the detriment of today…

Remember timing is everything. God’s timing not ours. So know you are where you need to be for now. And when He is ready for your next great adventure, that is when He will lead you to something different…

My refuge and my stronghold

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides under the shadow of the Almighty, Shall say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my stronghold, my God, in whom I put my trust.’ Because you have made the Lord your refuge and the Most High your stronghold, There shall no evil happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your tent. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. Because they have set their love upon me, therefore will I deliver them; I will lift them up, because they know my name. They will call upon me and I will answer them; I am with them in trouble, I will deliver them and bring them to honor. With long life will I satisfy them and show them my salvation. (Psalm 91:1-2; 9-16 NRSV)

Do you dwell in the shelter of the Lord?

Do you abide in the shadow of the Almighty?

One might ask how do you know you do this? How can you be sure that you are dwelling in the shelter the lord provides, and staying in the shadow of the Almighty?

First of all what does it mean to be in the shadow of the Almighty? To dwell in the shelter of the Lord seems clear. You are living in the protection of the Lord. But to abide in the shadow, what does that mean?

Well to be in someone’s shadow means you are close to them. Are you close to God? Are you in the shadow He casts as He walks in the sun?

And if so how do you know?

Well if you can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and not be afraid you are.

If you can stay your course even when it seems the world is against you, you are.

If you can keep your head up even when it seems that evil and darkness have won, you are.

If you still believe that God is for you and you cling to the hope that only He can give in the face of what would make most people break down and give up, you are.

Because only through the strength of God are we able to walk and move and continue in the mission He has given us. So do not lose hope and walk in His shadow…

Great thoughts for the start of our Lenten journey from a friend…

riverfriar's avatarRiverFriar

“I pray that, according to the riches of his glory… Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may… know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ” –Ephesian 3:16-19

Lenten Lesson #1: God uses the imperfect.

So today is my day off.  And before 11 a.m. I’ve already made 9 loaves of Communion bread…  I know, I know:  I need to get a life!

But, I enjoy making Communion bread.  It’s almost a “Zen experience” for me.

As I made the bread, some loaves came out nearly perfect; others quite imperfect:

Image

But thankfully, God uses the imperfect!

Sacramentally, Lutheran Christians say that through God’s Word and Promise:

  • The ordinary is capable of containing the extraordinary, and
  • The finite is capable of containing the…

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Clear calling…

“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.” And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” (Acts 7:30-34 ESV)

I wish it was always that clear. Now I can say I am not sure exactly what I would do if I saw a bush on fire and got closer and it started to speak to me… I have to admit I would probably scream like a little girl (no offense meant) and run away…

But wouldn’t it be great if God’s call to each of us was this clear. I mean He lays it out there for Moses. There is no question what God is going to do and what He is asking Moses to do. But maybe it is that clear.

Maybe we just do not want to go or be where God is leading us to be. Maybe we do not think God would ever go where we feel He is leading us so we know our feelings have to be wrong. We all know God has never surprised anyone in the past… (if you think this is a serious statement please read Jonah, and the gospels where it speaks of the Pharisees)

Maybe God is very clear in what He is asking us to do but we are not willing to go and do what He has told us to. Like. Defiant 5 year old, we know what is best and will not do what our parent has told us to do. We know what is best and have more knowledge than the one who is advising us in this situation. (again if the dripping sarcasm does not get you see Gideon in the Bible and how he had to keep asking God to prove that He was actually asking him to do what He was asking)

So clean out your heart and mind and follow where He calls you to go. Not where you want to go or where you think He wants where to go, but where He is calling. His calling is clear most of the time if we are willing to listen and follow…

Fasting

“Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. (Isaiah 58:1-12 ESV)

Are you ready for Lent?

Well wether you are ready or not it is here… And are you ready to give up something for Lent? Do we have to give something up for Lent in order for us to get the effect of what this season is about? I mean do we really need to sacrifice caffine, or soda, or pop, or hamburgers, or french fries? Do we give up all meat and only eat fish? Is growing closer to God about what we eat and consume and what we keep ourselves from? It could be… But I know some very spiritual people who eat all kinds of junk food. They are connected to God and the stuff they put into their body does nto seem to effect that. I also recall as I type this that Jesus said it is not what goes into a person that defiels them, but what come out…

Which is what we hear about today in the above verse from Isaiah. We are prescribed to fast, but it is not a fasting that gets us attention. It is one that allows the bonds of wickednessto be loosened, the straps of the yoke are undone, the oppressed go free, and every yoke is broken! The fats we are to take part in has us sharing our bread and food with the hungry, and giving the homeless a place to stay and giving the naked some of our own clothing. Yes it is a denying of self, for the betterment of the neighbor. The Fast we are called to is one of loving those around us with what we have and what Gid has given us. It is not about getting soemthing more, or drawing attention to ourselves. It is about the other!

So this Lent I invite you to not worry about what you are giving up, but focus more on the world around you and see where God is calling and leading you to go, and what He is asking you to do.

Who is God calling you to love today?

How is God calling you to use your gifts?

Where is God moving and how can you go with Him?