Friday, May 31, 2019

Forgiveness

In John 14:25-27 Jesus encourages His disciples with the promise of the coming Spirit to help them deal with life. They would encounter rejection, betrayal, hatred, fear, frustrations; thankfully, we’re offered the same comforting Spirit to help us along our journey, too.

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives I give to you….”

That’s the key for us as well--remembering all the things the Word has taught us when we find ourselves in our own state of frustration, rejection, betrayal, etc. Jesus’ words link us to God’s age-old promises: “The Lord goes with us, wherever we go” (Joshua 1:9); “Let those who fear the Lord now say, ‘His mercy endures forever.’ I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me…” (Psalms 118:4-7); “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:12).

God gives us the strength to continue walking in His path, living by His standards, and loving the way He does. But sometimes mustering up genuine compassion for those who have wronged us isn’t easy or natural. That’s why we have to trust in His process of being formed into His image.

In fact, the opposite of living according to His principles adds tremendous stress and unrest in our lives. Some psychologists recognize the physical damage that the failure to forgive does to our bodies and mind.

First of all, forgiveness is different from condoning, excusing, forgetting, even reconciling (even though this is an important step in bringing unity to a relationship). But the health benefits some professionals recognize are:
• Less anxiety, stress, and hostility
• Lower blood pressure
• Fewer symptoms of depression
• Stronger immune system
• Improved heart health
• Higher self-esteem

It takes greater strength, wisdom, and faithfulness to seek forgiveness, even if the other party isn’t interested in it. In the same way, Jesus sought to rectify the separation between God and man, even before we cared to embrace it (Romans 5:8). Gandhi once said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

Jesus gave us something to help us to be stronger spiritually and physically. Trust God’s ways over your own!

Friday, May 24, 2019

What's the Catch?

“You’re cancer free!”
“We’re giving you a raise!”
“Congratulations!” These are all phrases that would be good news that we’d love to hear. How about “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joys of heaven” (Matthew 25:23)?

What makes that such great news? Because something I didn’t deserve was given to me. Something I had no hope of obtaining on my own was made possible through Jesus’ sacrifice. When we really begin to realize the weight of our sin and the gift God gave us, that is what typically causes us to want to follow him. (Romans 6:23)

Regardless of what compelled us to follow him and trust in the words and instructions of Jesus, there’s a catch! Usually when someone says, "I have good news, but there’s a catch," that means it’s not as good as it sounds. However, in the case of the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, “the catch” isn’t bad or tricky.

It’s about sharing our good news with others and helping them see how that good news can be theirs, too! Many times, WE get in the way of that process. We let our ego, our pride, our fears, or our laziness dominate our responsibility to promote God’s gift to the world.

Perhaps for that reason Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it…” And He tells some potential followers in Matthew 8:18-22 that the “Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” As a follower of Christ, we must be willing to sacrifice just like He was AND for the same reasons. He gave up all so that He could reach more people and be less encumbered by the things of the world.

Consider the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We can look at this as a command (which we should), but we can also look at this as our opportunity to talk about the good news of God’s grace by sharing with others what makes the good news, our good news.

The book of Mark starts out with Jesus’ first words, “Follow me,” and they end with “Follow me.” Even though “follow me” may not be included in the Great Commission, we know this is exactly what Jesus devoted His life to doing – “follow me” in sharing the hope of eternal life.

Our biggest challenge as a church is to be faithful to the last words of Jesus’ earthly ministry. How far will we go to share our faith? Will we give into fear? Will we make excuses? Rather than focusing on how you might not do it perfectly, instead reflect on how God did something perfect in your imperfections by making eternal life possible.

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Happy Mother's Day!

In Mark 7 Jesus contrasts faithful service to God from the mockery many of the Pharisees had made it. He explains how their lack of willingness to sacrifice for their parents (for example) was a rejection of God’s will, and therefore it was in vain. (Mark 7:6-13) He uses the word Corban, which He defines as a gift for God. In the Hebrew, the word is Qorban, which has a lot to do with “closeness” and “a relative.” What God would have liked to see the children do for their parents is to be willing to sacrifice for them when they were in need.

A 17th Century theologian said, “Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to.” There’s no higher honor than to sacrifice. This was what God wanted from the Israelites during the days of animal sacrifices, and it’s what He wants from us today. Romans 12:1, “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,” which is truly the way to worship him.

Many people say they are willing to sacrifice anything to be happy, but would they give something up to bless someone else? Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” And in Acts 20:35, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”

Perhaps it’s for this reason that we feel so compelled to honor our military, or our teachers, or our police and other servicemen. But as satisfying as sacrifice may END UP feeling, we don’t always feel that during the sacrifice.

This Mother’s Day, we honor our mothers for the continual sacrifices they make for others. They set the standard of genuine love, nurturing, compassion, and selflessness. The Bible has several examples of women who were willing to give up so much for those they loved. Hannah, in particular, gave the child she prayed for over to Eli the priest to serve God (1 Samuel 1-2). It might be hard to put ourselves in her shoes to understand giving up someone you waited so long to get, we can also realize that when we give our children over to God, then we are perhaps giving the greatest blessing of all to the ones we love – the Love of God! (John 3:16)