Homecoming

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  —Luke 15:10

I attended two different homecomings this past week. One was Oakland Church’s 100^th Anniversary Homecoming. We rented a large tent and invited former pastors and son/daughters who had gone into the ministry from Oakland back for a few days of reunion, worship, and celebration. We made old fashioned apple butter in two copper kettles on an open fire the week before to serve on homemade bread. A special meal Saturday night, in addition to the bread and apple butter, included vegetable soup made that day according to the ancient Oakland recipe.

In the services, we had testimonies and preaching by returning pastors and a special visit from Rev. Richard and Wilma Jean Burns’ son, Doug portraying an early Methodist circuit-riding preacher. God’s Matches, a 1970s youth choir led by David Michael Ed reunited for Saturday’s service.

The second homecoming occurred as I conducted a funeral service for a dear friend who was also my wife’s uncle. When I first met Mel, he was not walking with the Lord, and his living arrangements were not the best. Darlene and I decided to simply accept him, her aunt, and the situation in love. A fast friendship developed and the closer the two of us became the closer Mel grew toward the Lord. I had the privilege of conducting their wedding a few years later and became a faithful prayer partner for them.

As I led the funeral service last week, I got to meet his family, share our common love for Mel and celebrate our common hope in Jesus Christ as our resurrection and our life. The Bible describes a coming banquet where Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church, enjoy a tremendous reunion dinner together (Revelation 22:17). The funeral service was truly a celebration of a glorious homecoming for Mel.

Both of these homecomings reminded me of another party described in the scriptures. In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories about lost things that are found: a sheep, a coin, and a son. At the end of each parable, a party is thrown because that which was lost had been found. Jesus says, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). After we announced that God’s Matches would be singing at our Centennial Homecoming, I received many testimonies of persons who came to faith through their ministry.

As God drew Uncle Mel closer to Himself, Mel found a little church in New Bethlehem and began attending. The pastor guided Mel in turning his life over to the Lord. I was not there when Mel prayed the sinner’s prayer, but later, we had many conversations about the Lord and the common faith we shared. Mel’s life and his new found faith late in life remind me that there was once a party in heaven for me, too. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and stepped over the line to faith, all the activities in heaven stopped, maybe only for a moment, and a party was held in my honor. Wow! God loves you and me that much. It sure puts life, death, and homecomings in a different light.

Cracked Wedding Ring

“Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”  —Ephesians 4:26b-27

I don’t know how it happened, but one day, I noticed my wedding ring had cracked. This isn’t my original wedding ring. We replaced the original after I lost it while mowing the lawn. It must have felt extra tight on my ring finger that day so I placed it on my pinky. When the mowing was complete, the ring was missing. We borrowed a metal detector and searched the lawn, but no ring could be found.

The decorative finish on my replacement ring stops two-thirds of the way around at an indent on both sides. I never take my ring off; so when I do any kind of rigorous work with shovels, hammers, or handle materials, the ring often gets misshaped. It’s gold, and gold is soft, so I simply straighten it out again. One time, it must have cracked at the indented crease. I continued to wear the broken ring for months. Although it was cracked completely through, it seemed to stay on OK. I even swam on vacation with it on but often thought about the possibility of losing it.

My cracked wedding ring reminded me of cracked relationships. We allow many imperfections to exist in our relationships with loved ones and do nothing to fix them until a crisis comes along. Ephesians 4 tells us to “not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (4:26). If there is a problem in our marriages or any relationship, we should mend it quickly. We wouldn’t drive our car with a tire nearly flat. It’s usually too late to check the oil level in your cars’ engine after the low oil warning light comes on.    

If we allow unresolved issues and unforgiveness to continue day after day, we give the devil an opportunity to sow seeds of anger, malice, and hatred. If there is something wrong in your relationships, make it right. Ephesians 4 continues to urge us to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (31).

If we would take care of our marriages and other relationships the way we take care of our hunting and fishing gear, our face and complexion, or our cars and techie gadgets, then our families, churches, and country would be much stronger. Rather than neglect your marriage, allowing cracks to exist in your relationships, why not say encouraging words that build up your spouse according to his/her needs and benefit those who listen (Eph. 4:28). I would imagine right now, there are loving words of kindness and forgiveness that are waiting to be spoken in most relationships. Why don’t we heed the teachings of scripture to “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).

Oh, by the way, I got the ring fixed this past week. My local jeweler repaired it, polished it, and touched up the decorative finish. It looks as good as new, and now I feel much more secure that my wedding ring won’t slip away. Can you say the same about your marriage? Pay some attention to your relationships. Offer some words of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. You won’t regret it.

God's Power, Our Weakness

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”   —2 Corinthians 12:9

How did David, a shepherd boy, the youngest in the family, too small and insignificant to be considered by Samuel as a future king, slay the mighty giant? The answer, he didn’t. God defeated Goliath through David’s courage and faith. How did the innocent, orphan, beauty pageant contestant, Esther, a foreigner, become queen and save the Jewish people from destruction? She didn’t. God working through her obedience and courage did.

When Gideon faced the Midianite army with 32,000 men, God instructed him to send soldiers home because Gideon had too many men. After 22,000 went home, God told him there were still too many. When the army was weaned down to 300 men, God said they were now ready to fight. You see, if Gideon and his entire army had defeated the Midianites, they may have taken the credit and glory for themselves (Judges 7). But if a mere 300 men defeat a huge army, God will definitely receive the glory. God’s ways are not our ways. The ways of God are often exactly opposite to the ways of human kingdoms.

This world looks for the strong, the intelligent, and the swift to win the day. God says, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). In the kingdom of God, the first shall be last, the least the greatest, and those most unlikely heroes bring glory to God.

The apostle Paul lived with an affliction. It may have been physical, emotional, or mental; we are not told. We do know Paul called it, “A thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). Paul prayed three times for the Lord to remove it. Now, we are not talking about some ordinary person praying for God to remove a problem from one’s life. God had used Paul to raise the dead, cast out demons, and heal the sick. God protected Paul from beatings, shipwrecks, and poisonous snake bites. If Paul prays three times for the Lord to remove something, we would expect God to act. Instead, God replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Rather than be glorified by Paul’s great testimony of victory and healing, God wished to show His perfect grace and power in Paul’s life through weakness. I am not suggesting we go around telling everyone our worst flaws and weaknesses thinking these will bring glory to God. But, if we live a life of faith in spite of challenges, if we step out in courage in spite of fears, and if we surrender even our weaknesses to God in confidence that they may bring Him glory, then God’s power will be truly made perfect in our weaknesses.

You may feel you have very little to offer God today. You may be thinking, “If I get this part of my life together, if I get a little stronger in that area, then I will be of some use to God.” That kind of thinking is exactly wrong. Thinking I can make myself presentable and useful to God by my own efforts is a works righteousness. “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” (Eph. 2:8-9). God loves you so much that Christ came and died in your place. There is no way to improve upon such a sacrifice. Simply turn to God and accept His grace. God loves you.

How Much is Too Much?

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”   —2 Corinthians 9:7

At our house, I can and often watch almost anything that comes on the television. I do, however, tend to migrate to typical outdoors and manly things like the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and sports. My wife watches almost nothing but occasionally the Game Show Network, and the Weather Channel capture her interest. Her two favorite shows are Local on the 8’s and $25,000 Pyramid.

Last week, we turned on the TV to catch the weather and then flipped to the game channel. The new American Bible Challenge game was on. By the way, we got every answer right but one. We forgot Jacob’s daughter’s name, Dinah. Family Feud followed where teams try to guess what 100 surveyed persons answered on a variety of subjects. One question caught my attention. “What is an appropriate amount to put in the offering plate at church?” In the Fast Money round, one lady guessed, “$20.” Ten persons agreed. When her partner’s turn came, she said, “$10.” I think 14 persons agreed. The number one answer was $5.00. You can see why this interested me.

How much is too much? I don’t think we really know, but the Bible very clearly tells us how much is too little. The Old Testament consistently speaks about giving a tithe to the Lord. A tithe is 10% of your income. It is called the first fruits (2 Chron. 31:5). If we do not give the first 10% of our income to God, it’s not enough. We often debate whether tithing refers to before or after taxed income. Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (Matt 22:21). I guess if we put the government first, we would tithe on the take home pay. If God is first, then tithe on our gross pay. $5 in the offering plate would imply an income of $50.00.

In the book of Malachi, God seems very intense about the whole tithing issue. God curses the Israelites for robbing Him by not giving their tithes and offerings. God said, “You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house” (Malachi 3:8-10). God clearly describes anything less than 10% as not enough.

But how much is too much? In the New Testament, the emphasis on how much to give shifted. New Testament Christians believed that they themselves and everything they owned were under the Lordship of Jesus. They saw all their income as belonging to God. (100% and not just 10%). The New Testament model for Christians was to keep only what was needed to provide for themselves and their families. I guess too much would be giving to the point that you and your family depended upon and became a drain on the resources of others. Beyond that, the New Testament describes giving in terms of generosity rather than law.

The verse, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart,” refers to the upper limit of giving. The tithe, 10%, remains, for me and many, the minimum we should give. Giving beyond the tithe is limited only by our ability to give and the amount of joy we receive in giving. The scripture continues, “For God loves a cheerful giver.” Maybe the reason so many people and businesses are so grumpy these days is they don’t give enough. God promises to open the windows of heaven to meet the needs and more of those who give. Let us give generously and joyfully.

Faith vs. Optimism

“Who knows, the Lord might be gracious to me.”                     

 —2 Samuel 12:22

From daily conversation, I would have guessed that there are more pessimists in the world than optimists. Someone comments as they dial the phone, “They probably won’t be home” or “They probably won’t answer.” When approaching a green traffic light, we moan, “It will probably turn red just as we get there.” Describing people in Winnie the Pooh terms, I would think there are many more Eeyores than Tiggers in this world. “Oh hum, I just knew I’d lose my tail today.”

The simplest research, however, reveals that humans tend to an optimistic group overall. Psychologists have established the fact that most people are actually irrationally positive. This phenomenon is called the optimism bias. Most people expect to live longer and be more successful than average, and we tend to underestimate the likelihood of getting a serious disease.

Although, I profess to be an optimist, I am not an irrational optimist who simply thinks all things just work out in the end. I read an anonymous joke recently, “An optimist fell from the top story of a skyscraper. As he passed the fourth story, he was overheard muttering, ‘So far, so good!’” Irrational optimism might be understood as a fatalistic belief that everyone, or at least you, will live happily ever after.

One of King David’s greatest contributions to the Christian faith story is optimistic faith. David demonstrated an optimism that God could be trusted to show up just when you needed Him most. It was not merely an optimistic bias that everyone experiences a fairytale ending but a belief that the God of the Bible, the God of creation, the Author of the plan of human salvation, will keep the promises of His word. God can be trusted and has our best interests in mind.

After David’s grievous sins of adultery, murder, and cover up, his child born to Bathsheba became fatally ill. David fasted and prayed while the child lived but quickly arose, cleaned up, and went into the Lord’s House to worship after the child died. When asked why he fasted and prayed, David replied, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me’” (2 Sam. 12:22). David showed optimistic faith in God. Even while he was being disciplined for terrible acts, he held the belief that God was good and might still be gracious to him.

Was it faith or optimism that prompted David to face the giant with five smooth stones and a sling? (1 Sam. 17:40) As David approached Goliath, he replied to Goliath’s challenge, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Sam. 17:45). Faith is the optimistic belief that God can be trusted in the difficulties and challenges of life. God is not a God who lives in a castle at the end of fairy tales. God is the God who sent His Son to be born into our broken world, walk in our sin-filled streets, and die on a criminal’s cross for you and me.

Faith is not merely an optimistic bias. Faith is putting our trust in the Lord, trusting our future to God as we walk in obedience to His will and His Word. Are you seeking relief from past deeds? Are you facing major challenges today? Call upon the Lord and trust Him to keep His Word. 

New Creation

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”     —2 Corinthians 5:17

Being from Punxsutawney (although I never actually lived in Punxsy, I did pastor in its outskirts for seven years), I was very interested when a movie came out in 1993 with the title,
Groundhog Day. For those who don’t know or maybe don’t care, Punxsutawney is the home of the world famous weather prognosticating groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. In the movie, Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, an egocentric TV weatherman from Pittsburgh who must unwillingly report on the annual Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney. Each morning he awakes to repeat the same day over and over again.

Several things made the movie entertaining for me: the comedic antics of Bill Murray, the romantic plot between Murray and his news producer played by Andie MacDowell, and the parallel between the movie’s silly plot and real life. In reality, much of life seems like we repeat the same day, same chores, and same problems day after day after day. The book of Ecclesiastes agrees, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9). Many of the religious systems of the world have embraced the idea of re-incarnation to explain the way life appears to be.

I will admit that even as a Christian, many days of my life seem like I am repeating the same duties and activities. Yes, at times, I could agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” But, out of my relationship with God through Jesus Christ, I see something new almost every day. On the days I don’t see newness, I am probably to blame for not paying attention or for being preoccupied with some selfish trouble of my own. The creative

God who made the universe and all of us lives in me and every other Christian believer by the Holy Spirit.

My summer has been a repeat of many other ones, too busy. But even in the busyness, if I face life with my spiritual eyes open, many new things come into view. Last week, I watched karaoke at a wedding reception. It was awesome. Why didn’t anybody think of that sooner? This weekend I go fishing at Raystown Lake with three new fishing buddies. Who knows, we may even catch a striper or two. Last week I got to pray with a young boy to receive Christ in morning worship. It doesn’t get any better than that. To my surprise, at this writing, I have received two responses to my offer to give away Bible storybooks from last week’s article. As long as I don’t focus on troubles and boredom, life is full of surprises.

If I am a follower of Jesus, if I am in Christ, then I not only experience something new every day, but I myself am a new creation. The old gospel song says, “He’s still workin’ on me, to make me what I ought to be.” Yes, God is still working on me. I am a work in progress. Every day, if I allow the Spirit to have His way, God takes out more of the old and puts in more of the new. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God...” Not only do I get to see new things, I get to experience God working in and through my life. You can too if you will allow God to make your life new. God is a perfect gentleman. He will not force His way into your life, but the moment you open your life to His love and grace through Jesus Christ, God’s creative Holy Spirit begins to make all things new.

Help the Children

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  —Luke 18:16

My son and I played and practiced a lot of baseball together, and we designed and built a lot of projects together. I still love spending time with him today, but I missed out on one important thing I wished we would have done more often. As he was growing up in his early teen years, I remember feeling that he wasn’t embracing my values as readily as I hoped he would. Although, he never really rebelled terribly, I risked it all and asked him the ultimate question.

I said to my son, “Ryan, you know I love you, right? Have you ever seen anything false in my life where my actions didn’t live up to my words?” These were set up questions, because if he said, “No,” then I would ask him why he did not follow my example more closely or behave better. Well, if you are going to risk your honor and ask such questions of a teenager, be prepared for the answer. Ryan thought awhile—I was thinking I got him—but then said, “You always preach about personal and family devotions, but we don’t read the Bible together very often.” Ouch!

To my wife’s and my defense, we did read the Egermeier's Bible Story Book the whole way through after meals for a long period of time, We also tried different family, children, and teen devotional books but the whining of our children, the challenge of our schedules, and sheer exhaustion of life often made it easier to skip Bible reading with our children. After all, they were in church multiple times each week. No excuses!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.” If I rewrote this in the positive, it might read, “Let the little children come to me and help them get closer.” One of the best ways to help our children get closer to Jesus is spending time with them reading the Bible. I have noticed many successful parents and some of the most Christ-like children are those who spend time reading God’s Word together. When the children are young, read short Bible stories to them and as they grow older, involve them in taking turns reading as a family. One family read the entire Bible together in the one year plan by reading three chapters every night after supper and 5 chapters on Sundays after dinner. It was a transformational year for them all.

Looking to my bookshelf, I located that same Egermeier’s Bible Story Book. The paperback cover is slightly tattered, but looking on the presentation page, I see it was presented to my daughter in 1982 (she would have been 4), by her Uncle Allen and Aunt Christi. Thank you, Allen and Christi. That gift was one of the highpoints in the devotional life of my small children at the time.

In an article a few months ago, I offered to give anyone a Bible who didn’t have one, but no one contacted the church to take me up on the offer. Either no one took me seriously or everyone who read the article could afford or already had a Bible if they wanted one. I am making the same offer for the Egermeier’s Bible Story Book. It follows the Biblical text closely and is a great way to introduce Bible reading to young children. If you cannot afford one and would like one, please contact me through the church website below. I’ll see that you get one. Won’t you help the children, your children, get closer to Jesus?