Joy Today, Hope Tomorrow

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”   —Psalm 30:5b

The Christmas shopping buzz has begun with fervor. Many search for that perfect gift for the person who already has everything. For my grandchildren, I am personally looking for that unique gift that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg but will also not end up broken in the yard or discarded in the land fill before the winter is over. We all joke about how the children will spend weeks playing with the boxes while they throw away the expensive toy or gadget that came in the box.

The familiar phrase “Here today, gone tomorrow” reflects our culture’s acceptance of throw away household items, relationships, and our very lives. Many no longer attempt to repair mixers, TVs, lawnmowers, or marriages. We discard them and head off to WalMart or shop online for the next bargain. I can still remember the day when things were built to last.

The truth of human frailty underlies the idiom “Here today, gone tomorrow.”  “Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow” (Psalm 144:4). Human lives are very fragile and vulnerable. Our lives may be moving along nicely, and everything changes with the slip of a foot, a call from the doctor, or a text message from a significant other.

“Joy today, hope tomorrow” better describes the Christian’s life. Joy is a present reality looking forward to a future hope. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b). We may live in difficult times. Earthly possessions and relationships may become broken and discarded, but Jesus Christ remains the same. How quickly we forget that God created human beings for eternity.

Christians are interesting creatures. I say creature because Christians are a whole new life form. 2 Corinthians 5 states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God” (5:17-18a). We live with the same weaknesses and shortcomings as others but possess an abiding joy that sets us apart. Yes, we face all the same challenges but “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

As you do your Christmas shopping, remember there is only one perfect gift. Jesus Christ is God’s perfect gift to all people. He came to earth, lived a sinless life, died in our place, and rose again from the grave to offer us eternal life. Eternal life begins when we acknowledge and receive God’s gift and continues forever. Be thankful we are not throw-away items to God. God loves us and plans to enjoy loving us for all eternity.  The greatest gift you will ever receive has already been purchased and offered to you on Christmas.  May God fill you with joy and hope this season. Happy shopping. 

A "Free" Offering

“Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing.”   —Psalm 107:22

What would you say if we took up a sacrificial offering that was truly “free,” an offering that cost no money and didn’t break the wallet? Usually, when we speak of an offering, even a free-will offering, we are thinking of giving money. King David, in the later years of his life against God’s will, took a census of Israel against. God punished Israel with a terrible plague. When acquiring the threshing floor to offer a sacrifice to stop the plague, David refused to give a sacrifice to the Lord that cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:23). Offerings usually cost.

The sacrificial thank offering mentioned in Psalm 107:22 costs no money. The Bible does prescribe a peace offering of thanksgiving that involves giving animal, flour, and oil offerings that would cost money (Leviticus 7:15), but I believe the sacrifices of thanksgiving above refer to verbal praises and thanks to God. Notice verse 22 exhorts us, “Tell of His works with joyful singing.”

Over the past few months, I have been completely immersed in stewardship issues. Our Church began designing and planning a stewardship campaign, entitled, “Rise Up!” back in the summer. In October, I preached stewardship messages challenging each of us to make our three-year commitment on November 4. Now, I am encouraging everyone to give a First Fruit offering, a down payment, on their pledge. As the pledges and moneys come in, it’s time to turn the focus away from money and to praising God with a sacrifice of thanksgiving for all He has done.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving and spend some quality time with family and friends, hopefully, we will take advantage of the opportunity to give a “money-free” offering of praise and thanksgiving to God. A thank offering to God may cost you time, a bit of your pride, some vulnerability, a measure of courage to speak out, but no money.

An offering of thanksgiving requires us to use words, to speak or sing. Have you ever asked a child, “What are the magic words?” Of course most children reply, “Please and thank you.” Often when giving a gift to my grandchildren, I pause for a verbal response from them, and if I don’t receive one, I add, “And what do you say?” They usually respond, “Thank you.”

Many Christians find it difficult to talk to their unchurched family members about God. Thanksgiving is an excellent time to introduce spiritual conversations into family activities. It’s natural, it’s almost patriotic, and it’s a holiday. The scripture tells us, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). I believe Thanksgiving is one of those times to give such an answer.

God is good all the time. God has blessed each of us in numerous ways this past year. Let us pause and recognize how God’s hand has moved. Then let’s offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. Let us offer a free offering to God. Just maybe God will turn a national holiday into a family holy-day. Happy Thanksgiving.

A Thorough Checkup

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”                 —1 Thessalonians 5:23

I went to the eye doctor for a check up this past week. This is really big news as I have never been to an optometrist in my life. I always had good vision and never needed anything until recently as my eyes began to mature.

As I prepared to leave for my appointment, someone asked me who was going to drive me home. Drive me home? Why would I need someone to drive me home? They told me that eye doctors often put drops into your eyes in order to do a thorough exam. Your pupils remain dilated and you see poorly for several hours. I replied, “I don’t really want a thorough exam, I just want better reading glasses.”

Most of us like to avoid those thorough tests prescribed by our doctors. You know the mammograms, pap smears, prostate exams, and colonoscopies, to name a few. We don’t want the doctor to thoroughly examine us, we simply want this wart removed, or this headache cured, or this tingling to go away. Interestingly enough, doctors and surgeons usually like to know what’s going on inside the engine before they start rotating the tires.

Spiritually, we often come to Jesus because of some problem we are having in life. I’d like my marriage fixed (really, we just want our spouse fixed). I need my finances transformed—rather than making Jesus Lord of our finances; we simply want a better job or someone to pay our electric bill. I am having anxiety attacks and need Jesus to give me peace. God is the Great Physician and not only wants to give us peace and health but desires to sanctify us entirely: spirit, soul and body. God isn’t concerned with quick fixes and minor repairs. God wants to do a complete life make over in us.

The word “sanctify” used in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 means “to make holy.” Usually we think of holiness to mean not doing anything wrong. Although holiness may imply holy living and doing right things, holiness has a relational aspect to it. Holiness for the Christian also means belonging to God. If I am completely God’s, I am holy. Holiness has to do with being in love with God. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

I believe it is God’s desire to sanctify us wholly. God wants to make us completely His, but this can only be done if we invite the Lord to search and know us completely. The Psalmist concludes Psalm 139 with a beautiful prayer of surrender and consecration, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (139:23-24).

Are things in your life not working correctly? Maybe it’s time for a thorough entire-life checkup. Good checkups usually include eyes, heart, and other body parts, but a thorough checkup would include asking the Lord to search our lives completely and to sanctify us wholly unto Him. It may be time for you to call upon the Lord and surrender to His will and way in your life.

A Storm is Coming

“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.”    —Matthew 7:25

As we prepared for, watched, and now clean up after the terrible hurricane Sandy, we may feel a false sense of relief that at least the storm has past. But, I am concerned that many greater storms are just around the corner. I am not necessarily referring to weather and nature storms like tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and blizzards which will surely come. I am thinking of moral, social, political, and spiritual storms that are brewing around us.

I am writing this article a few days before a presidential election day. From every analysis, from every political perspective, we are in the midst of a political tornado. The parties are diametrically opposed to each other. Each party morally opposes the other’s stance. One party disagrees entirely with the other on how to best lead our country. The personal attacks and slanted rhetoric could surely not get any worse.

For myself, I am probably not helping the situation as I am very committed to one moral and political viewpoint. However, I personally believe the economy cycles up and down. Unless we are in the last days before the return of Jesus Christ, I believe the economy will improve in the next four years regardless of what either party does to correct it. I am certain that the political party in power will take all the credit for this turn around.

Morally and spiritually speaking, we are in the midst of a brewing storm as well. Jesus, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). Regardless of whom you would like to blame, most people around me are not hearing (reading or listening to) Jesus’ words; therefore, they are certainly not putting them into practice. Jesus goes on to say, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.” Jesus said the storm came. He did not say the storm might come, or the storm will hit the east coast or the southern coast. Jesus simply said the storm came.

I fear for many around me as the storm comes. Most are not living their lives on a solid foundation. Many are not grounded spiritually, morally, emotionally, or financially. Jesus promises to keep safe all who ground their lives on Him. If we hear Jesus’ words and put them into practice, our lives and homes will be kept safe and secure. Jesus also said, if we do not build our lives on Him and His word, we are building on shifting sands. Just like the beachfront homes destroyed by the hurricane Sandy, the shifting sands of the latest fad, most recent opinion poll, and newest belief system will not keep us safe when the storm hits.

A storm is coming, but I am not afraid. As Ira Stanphill wrote in the old Gospel song, “Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand; but I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.” You may already be in the midst of your own storm. I urge you to call out to Jesus. The disciples called out to Christ to save them from drowning on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus spoke, calmed the sea, and rescued them all. Call upon, and follow Jesus today. He will never let you down, and He will keep you safe in the coming storm.

The Power of Words

“He grants sleep to those he loves.”   —Psalm 127:2 (NIV)

Many of you have heard sermons or teachings about watching what you say or how you criticize your children because there is power in your words. This past week, I received a whole new understanding how words have power.

I often quote Psalm 127:2 in the New American Standard Version (NASB), “It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” I claim this verse to rest at night when many things are left undone and deadlines loom. I go to bed trusting in God’s promises to provide for what is needed. God always comes through. Often between the times my eyes open in the morning and my feet hit the floor, huge problems are solved or entire sermons planned and thought out.

Recently, however, I have had trouble getting my mind to slow down when I lie down to sleep. I can be dead tired, but when my head hits the pillow, a flurry of thoughts begin racing through my mind. In the morning I may have something all worked out, but I spent the entire night figuring it out rather than sleeping. I have told God several times in my morning prayers that I claimed Psalm 127:2 (NASB) to mean He works things out while I sleep.

I jokingly said the other day, I think I better start quoting Psalm 127 from the New International Version (NIV), “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.” I quoted verse 2 from the NIV two days ago, and for the last two lights, I slept soundly. Maybe there is more power in our words than we think.

If we think our words are powerful, consider how powerful and sure God’s Word, the Bible is for us. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Yes, all of God’s promises are true and certain in Jesus Christ. Hebrews tells us, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (4:12). God’s Word is certain, living, and powerful.

Many Christians live in defeat and exhaustion because they do not spend time in God’s Word. In order to know God’s powerful and effective promises, we must read and meditate on God’s word. We can memorize specific passages to recall them when we need faith, comfort, or direction. The more time we spend reading and studying The Bible, the better able we are to claim God’s promises.

What need or challenge are you facing today? Does God’s Word say anything about it? What instruction does it give? What promise can you claim? The old gospel song says, “Every promise, in the book, is mine, every chapter, every verse and every line. All are blessings, of his love, Divine. Every promise, in the book, is mine.” You cannot know the promises of God if you are not reading chapter, verse, and line. I encourage you to claim the promises of God. There is definitely power in God’s words.

Blessed are the Givers

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”          

—Luke 6:38

Jesus spoke some very touching Beatitudes, but I’d like to add my own, “Blessed are the givers, for they shall never be poor.” I am not adding to the Bible, only summarizing some Biblical truths about giving. You see, one cannot be poor if they are giving to meet the needs of another. Givers are rich for two reasons. One, according to God’s principle of seed and harvest, those who give cannot be poor because God promises to bless abundantly all who give to God and to the needs of others. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over” (Luke 6:38). Although many struggling families ignore it, and TV evangelists abuse it, the truth still holds. God promises to bless those who give.

Givers are also rich because they focus on meeting the needs of others rather than on themselves. Givers don’t realize they are poor. “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Eddie Ogan’s story, Richest Family in the Church, illustrates this point beautifully. I first read this story as a circulating email. More recently, I did a little research to find its origin.

Ms. Ogan first included her story as part of a monthly letter she writes to Assembly of God missionaries in the northwest. Richest Family in the Church describes an event in Eddie’s childhood when the minister announced a special Easter offering for a poor family in the church. She, her sisters, and her mother sacrificed, scrimped, and saved to joyously make a $70 donation to this “poor family.” They later found out they were the poor family when the minister paid them a visit giving them the offering, only $87. They had never known what it felt like to be poor, but they suddenly did not feel very joyous.

They went very reluctantly to church the next Sunday and listened to a missionary speaker who asked for a special offering for a roof. Eddie’s family immediately put their $87 into the plate. The offering came to just over the needed amount of $100. The missionary praised the little church for such a great offering stating, “You must have some very rich families in this little church.” Eddie’s family realized they were not a poor family, but the richest family in the church. My apologies to Eddie for my brief summary of her story. If you would like to read the entire story, you can easily find it with a simple search of the internet. If you don’t have internet, call or write me at Oakland UM Church, I’d be glad to send you the entire story.

Ms. Ogan remains a very rich person. According to her facebook page, she is now 80 years old, has 33 grandchildren, makes quilts for Teen Challenge, knits over 5,000 hats for orphans around the world, and most recently, is making over 5,000 African rag dolls for aids orphans. She will soon celebrate her 60^th wedding anniversary with her husband, Phil.

If you are not feeling especially blessed these days, take a cue from Eddie Ogan and Jesus. Look around for someone worse off than you and sacrificially give to bless them. I pray God will open the windows of heaven to meet your needs, and even more, I pray you will feel more blessed than ever. 

United We Stand

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” —Psalm 133:1

Many of you probably remember the famous line from John “Hannibal” Smith of the A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together.” I would agree but might add, “I love it when Christians come together around God’s will and vision for the Church.” At Oakland, I am having the awesome privilege of working with many believers coming together around a vision and common ministry. This past week, some of their unified, cooperative labors of several months have born fruit. It’s beautiful to behold.

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). After Jesus left 120 followers behind and ascended to heaven, the early church waited for the outpouring of power in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1 tells us, When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” (NIV1984) The phrase “were all together” definitely tells us they were physically together in the same place, but they were also unified in will and spirit. From the New King James Version, Acts 2:1 reads, “They were all with one accord in one place.” Can you remember a time when your family, your church, or a group of people were all in one accord in one place?

When Christians come together around a common goal under the direction of the Holy Spirit, God’s blessing and power are bestowed upon them. Scripture tells us, “I can do everything through him [Jesus Christ] who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). Add the power of the Holy Spirit and unity, and there should be no stopping Christians or the Church. Jesus did say, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).

 Why, then, do so many Christians feel weak and defeated? One simple explanation is that we are not united in doing God’s Will. We are often at odds with our family and fellow Christians. When accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, Jesus replied with an eternal truth. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and a house divided can not stand (Mark 3:24-25). If we are divided as a family, as a Church, and, I might add, as a nation, we cannot stand.

As we draw closer to another election, our divisions and lack of unity become plainly clear. It is no wonder we face so many challenges as a country and culture. We are not united, “one nation,” and we are definitely not united “under God.” We seek our own personal agendas—the Bible calls willful disobedience and selfishness, “sin.” We seek re-election and our party’s agenda before the good of the nation and what is good and righteous in God’s eyes.

If all Christian’s in America would be together in one accord, we may be stopped or stymied politically, but we could never be stopped spiritually. Jesus told the disciples to “Wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). They waited together in one accord and were baptized with power and God’s Spirit. They left the Upper Room and converted the world. Let us humble ourselves under God’s will, be reconciled to our brother or sister, strand united for Jesus Christ, and transform the world.