Grateful

 Gratitude comes hard to us. Mainly because we're such an entitled bunch....even in the church. We think good things, blessings, are our due. It's what life, or from a Christian perspective, God, should be giving and doing for us. When it seems like He's not, gratitude has little if any place in our lives. How blind we are.

I remember very well the first Thanksgiving after the disaster that would take my marriage and family and sidetrack my ministry. I was living on a bleak church campground, far from my family and isolated from most of those I'd call friends. Darkness was abounding everywhere around me, and knocking at the door of my heart inwardly. All I could see was what was wrong. Looking upward, to Him, was so difficult. I felt comfortless, but He would show me, as He has so often, and will faithfully continue to do, that He was with me, abounding in grace towards me.

Thanksgiving was only a few days away, and I had no idea of what I would do. I expected to be and was prepared to be alone. He had other ideas. In the area lived a pastor and his family. I'll be honest and say I'd never really known him well, and even thought him more than a little odd. He attended the small fellowship I was attending, and after the service, he approached me and asked about my plans. I told him I had none. He invited me to come and be with him and his family. I accepted, with a mixture of gratefulness and trepidation. As I said, I thought he was a bit odd and I'd no idea what to expect. What happened as I joined him, his wife and his son, was that I was with a family that loved each other deeply, and made me feel welcome. They were very gracious and I was very glad to have been invited. God had shown up in the darkness with these three flames of light. It was a small thing, but He showed me that even in the deepest pit, He is present, He is working, and I can be filled with gratitude that He is.

What I've learned, what I know, is that in this fallen and often darkened world, He has infinite ways to "show up" with the Light that is His Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes it's in the form of people, at other times in material, emotional, and spiritual ways. He doesn't leave us comfortless. He doesn't leave us in despair. He gives us evidence of Himself. He gives us a reason to take another step in the faith journey. He gives us His Son. Over and over again. And we can be grateful.

In your life there may be pain, loss, and sorrow. These things are real....but He is more real. And because He is more real, we can rejoice, we can praise Him, and we can be thankful. The chorus goes, "Give thanks with a grateful heart." May we do so this day, and every day. Within the darkest clouds lies His greatest Light. Look for it. Expect it. And when it comes.....be glad, and....give thanks.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Friends

A question was asked in one of my devotionals today, did I know that Jesus was my Friend? I could immediately answer that yes,  I did. I have not doubted that for many years, if indeed I ever did. He has proven it to be so countless times over. Jesus Christ is my friend, and I am thankful beyond words. But then, after answering that question, another came to mind. One that impressed me deeply enough that I had to write it down in my prayer journal. It simply says, "I know that Jesus is my Friend, but to what degree am I His?"

Friendships in the days we now live in are pretty transitory. And shallow. Few are long lasting. The fact that we live in a highly mobile culture is part of the reason, but I think the truth is that we often see friends as those that can help us, or at least help make our lives more enjoyable and rewarding. If that ceases, we simply move on to other, new friends. That this happens in the world is no surprise, but it is found almost as often in the church, which is our shame. I think to some degree, all of us have been guilty of this. 

So, I go back to the question I asked myself; what kind of friend am I to the Lord Jesus? He knows I see Him as my great friend, does He see me as His? What reasons do I give Him for doing so? When we think of what is entailed in true friendship, loyalty, consistency, self-sacrifice, even the laying down of our lives, how much of any of that is involved in our friendship with Him? Fairweather friends are always looked upon with disdain because we know they aren't friends at all. Yet, in our walk with Him, are we more fair weather friends than we are real ones?

Those who come to Christ have been given the greatest gift in all the universe; friendship with the King of kings. None of us are worthy of that, but I think that truth escapes us. I don't think we realize or dwell upon the honor He gives us and how little we value it. He places a value upon us we're not worthy of, yet in return, too often we treat His friendship as having little value at all. How we must grieve Him.

I write this today so that we might all ask ourselves these questions. Scripture says that He is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. How closely do we "stick" to Him? May it be for me, for you, that when our faces come before Him, His heart is warmed with the knowledge that we are friends who never leave His side or walk away from Him, for that is surely who and what He is to us. He has called us His friends. Looking at the way we live and relate to Him, how are we responding to that honor?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Stepford God

 There's a classic movie from the 1970's called The Stepford Wives. It's the story of a community of husbands who come up with a way to control their wives, making them into their idea of what a woman should be. They turn them into beautiful robots. This leads me to a question for each of us; have we, you and I,  been trying to "create" our own Stepford God?

Before answering, we might want to consider some things. We call Him an awesome God, but we also use that word to describe anything from potato chips to the latest Hollywood blockbuster. We sing and talk about the wonders He does and the miracles He works....until the time comes when we really need one. Then, instead of believing for one, we begin to look for solutions that we can touch, see, and understand. We talk about a Kingdom not of this world, but we rarely seem to be in touch with it. We agree that He is a God of mystery, but we aren't very comfortable with that. We actually prefer a God we fully understand and have some, much control over. We want a God who comes with an easy to comprehend "How To" manual. Know this; there is no such God.

In His Word, Almighty is often used to describe Him, but that's not really the original language. Lord of hosts is the original translation, in the Hebrew, The God of angel armies. The God of armies who fights for His people. He is a God who comes and stands with you, fights for you, literally crushing every obstacle, mountain, and enemy that stands before you. A God who, as spoken in Hosea, breaks through gates of bronze and cuts through iron bars. As Hosea 12:5 says, He is the Lord, the God of hosts. The Lord is His name.

Os Guinness said, Many Christians seem to be atheists unaware. We who profess to be believers scoff at those who say there is no God, but we have to be asked; in our day to day living, facing difficulties and impossibilities, coming up against mountains, giants, and enemies of our souls in our marriages, families, lives, and ministries, do we bear witness that we have true faith in an Almighty God? In the Lord of Hosts?

The One who is unbeatable, undefeatable, greater than all? Or do we seek solutions, answers, remedies in our own strength? And if we do invite Him in, is He god with a small g, a god we can control? One who will act like we believe He should? Are we really just atheists unaware? 

He's the Lord. The Lord of Hosts is His name. Is that what He really is to you and me today? Is He really the God who can break down any bronze gate, cut through any iron bar? A God who will be all His name says He is, and in fact, be infinitely more? What's in a name? With our God, EVERYTHING!

Blessings,
Pastor O 

Restored

 I came across a kind of paraphrase/definition of Jeremiah 30:17. It moves me deeply. God is a Restorer of what is broken. In your moments of deepest pain, He is already working to heal, to rebuild, and to make you whole again. Powerful, and so true.

One thing among many that is true for all of us is that we are born broken into a broken world. Broken by sin. Sin that affects us all, from the inside out. We are both victims and participants. We are captives, and we have no power in ourselves to make ourselves free. The evidence of this is everywhere. None of us are unscathed by this reality. Yet there is hope. Hope that has as its source, Jesus Christ. He is the Life that conquers death, the Light that pierces the deepest darkness, and the hope that crushes the most crushing despair.

All of us need to receive and experience the truth of Jeremiah 30:17. Where is brokenness laying hold of your life, your marriage, your family? Where is the pain, the suffering? Where are the wounds, the deep, festering wounds? What has been destroyed, seemingly beyond repair? Where do you feel like your life has been shattered into thousands of different pieces? Where are you feeling like just giving up?

Can you dare to believe the truth of Jeremiah 30:17. Can you dare to believe that He is the Restorer of even the most broken things? Can you dare to believe that in the deepest pain, the most intense suffering, He is there, applying His healing balm? Can you dare to believe He can bind up every wound, every broken heart, marriage, and family? Can you dare to believe that even in the most hopeless of situations, He is your hope, that despite appearances, He is at work? That He will heal, rebuild, restore, and make whole? 

I cannot give you timelines or details. I cannot tell you what His restoration will look like. I can only tell you that what He promises in this verse is true and it is real. I have experienced it. So have countless others. So can you. Dare to believe Him. Dare to receive Him in the fullness of His promises. He is the Restorer. He is the One who makes all things new. Let Him be the One who does so for you.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Burning Bushes

 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro,[a] the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai,[b] the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” Exodus 3:1-3

The late pastor and author Jamie Buckingham, writing about the wilderness experiences of our spiritual lives said, "The tragedy of our wilderness experience is not that we have to go through grief and suffering, but that we often miss the blessings from burning bushes - the things through which God speaks." That is a powerful statement. None of us look for the wilderness, and in fact, we usually want to do anything to avoid it, or once in it, get out of it. Yet there are wonders there if we will have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Moses, once a prince of Egypt, was now a humble shepherd walking in the backside of the desert. We can only imagine what must have been going through his mind about his situation. Foremost would have to be, where was God? We often tend to get so focused on the desert we're in that we lose all sight and sense of Him. Our ears grow deaf to His voice and our eyes dim to His Spirit. The enemy will use the desert to try to convince us He has abandoned us, forgotten us, that He cares nothing for us. As we yield to those suggestions we become hardened to His Presence. The reality is that for everyone He leads into the wilderness, He has a "burning bush" that will be unique to us alone.

If Moses had been consumed with bitterness and anger over his situation, he either would never have noticed the burning bush, or if he had, would have been so consumed by his circumstances that he would not have bothered to go over to it. If that had been his response he would never have experienced and heard the voice of his God. He never would have become what the Father was using the wilderness to mold him into. Moses wouldn't have, and neither will we. J.D. Walt said, "Everything that happens is not God's will, but He has a will in everything that happens." However it may be that we have ended up in the wilderness, He is sovereign there and He has a will and purpose for us. It will be for our good and for His glory. He will use the wilderness to take us deeper into Himself and higher in His ways and life. He will bring us out, and when we emerge, we will not be the same. We will be stronger in the power of His life, but this will only be so if we see the burning bush and turn aside to see and hear what the Lord will say and do through it.

If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, there is a wilderness awaiting you and more than one. Maybe you're there already. Burning bushes will be placed specifically for you. Will you turn aside for them, or in bitterness bemoan that you are there, bombard Him with complaints and pleas to get you out of it? If so, you'll miss His burning bush and the door He will open through it. If you're in the backside of the desert, keep walking. Keep trusting. Keep believing. He has a burning bush for you, and a way not just out of the desert, but into the fullness of His life. He never ceases to bring beauty from ashes, or green meadows from deserts.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Passing By

Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  Matthew 20:30

What I'm writing today isn't new, but it's always fresh. It's always real, and it's always beautiful. Today, in your life, my life, everyone's life, Jesus is passing by. What will you do with Him? Will He keep going on, or will you cry out to Him for His presence, His wholeness, His healing?

The two blind men had likely spent a great amount of time sitting beside that road, likely begging money from those who were walking by. Obviously they'd heard of Jesus, of His works and ministry. Were they waiting for Him, hoping that on this day might be the day He would come by, see them, and give them their sight? Or maybe this was just where they always sat and though they knew who He was, never believed He'd actually come by them, or if He did, that He'd even notice them. In any event, when they did hear that He was near, they called out to Him with all their being, with all their need. They were not going to miss Him. Maybe they had before, but they would not on this day. They called, He came to them. He asked what they would have from Him. They wanted their sight, and He gave it to them. What would have happened had they not called out. We can't be sure, but I think He would have kept on going by. Jesus responds to our faith in the midst of our need. That's why so many of us miss His passing by.

We are all, in our own way and need, sitting by the side of the road. We sit there with our pain, our grief, our loss. We sit there with our crippled lives and souls. We sit there in our sin. We sit there in our desperate need for Him. He knows this. It's why He's there in the first place. Scripture says that He came to "seek and save that which has been lost," but He will never force Himself upon us. If we're willing to let Him keep going, He will. How many times have we let Him do so, all the while holding tightly to our pain and need? Will we do so again....today?

Someone said that we don't invite Christ into our lives, He invites us into His. With each passing, He does so. He invites us into all His life, to experience the fullness of His life. What will we do with that invitation? What will you do? Do we continue to sit beside the road, crushed by our need and pain, or do we give it all to Him, along with ourselves, and be healed, restored, made whole? We have that choice in His constant passing by. What choice do we make? What choice do you make....as He passes by you right now?

Blessings,
Pastor O

 

His Glory

David asks in the 24th Psalm, "Who is this King of Glory?" All of us should ponder this question, but I don't think most of us do. We're much more likely to dwell upon our problems, needs, and situations. As we do, their "presence" in our lives grows, and the reality of His glory becomes less and less. All the while, He calls to our hearts and invites us to come to Him, to discover Him. To know Him. 

Who is this King of Glory? Finding the answer is a lifelong journey, a journey that requires all of our hearts to complete. When we do, there are rich discoveries waiting for us. Coming to know Him is coming to know life. The yearning for this in our hearts doesn't originate with ours. It originates with His. He craves intimacy with us. He wants us to know Him....deeply. "Deep calls unto deep," as Scripture says. 

David, writing in the 27th Psalm says, "My heart has heard You say 'Come,' and my heart replies, 'Lord, I am coming.' " Today, right where we are, His heart calls to ours, inviting us into His wonder and presence. Not for a quick prayer or a few verses of Scripture. He calls us to come and dwell in His love, His goodness, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His healing. To discover anew, or perhaps for the first time, the beauty and majesty of His glory. Yet few of us hear Him call. Why?

Psalm 24:7 calls for the gates and doors to be lifted and opened, that the King of Glory may come in. This is why we don't hear or respond. The "gates and doors" of our hearts and minds must be opened to Him. Gates and doors that we have constructed to protect ourselves, to keep us from hurt, to keep us from life. The gates and doors we've erected to keep people out are also keeping Him out. They must be opened in order that He and His glory may come in. He could break them in, but He won't. These doors will only open from our side.

There's huge risk involved because we will embark upon a journey with Him that is filled with risk, danger, and vulnerability, but it will also be a journey filled with Him, with His life. It is a life more than worth every risk and danger we could come upon. A life worth living. A life that not only beholds His glory but is swept up in it, becomes a part of it. It's the life we were made for. 

Chris Tomlin wrote the song "King of Glory" with this lyric; There is one God, He is Holy. There is one Lord over everything. There is one King, He is Jesus, King of Glory, strong and mighty......Who is this King of Glory? He is the Father. He is Holy. He is Lord. He is King. Over everything. He is Jesus....He is yours and He is mine, and His heart calls upon ours to know Him. To risk it all for the surpassing joy of knowing Him. To do so we must open our gates, tear down our walls, and open our closed doors. Risky indeed, but it will be worth it all. He stands on the other side of your doors and walls, calling to you. All you need to do is open the door. Do you dare?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Fool's Gold

 Mark Buchanan, in his book, The Rest Of God, tells the story of his wife's grandmother, who lived in British Columbia. This part of BC was the gateway to the Yukon, where a large gold strike had taken place. Gold had been found in her region as well, right near the home grandmother Alice lived in.

Alice loved to garden, but in the midst of her garden was a large stone, so large she couldn't remove it. Trying to make the best of it, she set to work polishing it, smoothing it, seeking to make it look like it at least fit in the garden. She was using sandpaper, and as she worked she noticed something that astounded her. She saw a thin dusting of gold on the stone. Gold! With excitement, she rubbed even harder and more gold dusting appeared. Joyfully she worked and more traces of gold were accumulating. Her heart soared. She was going to be rich! Stopping to rest, and wiping her brow, she noticed something different about her wedding ring. The upper side was fine, but the underside was reduced to just a few strands of gold. She had sanded it away. The gold she thought she'd found was only filings from the ring. As Buchanan put it, "It was the remnants of her heirloom. It was her treasure reduced to dust. It was all fool's gold."

How much of our life has been wasted chasing "fool's gold?" What has been lost to us in the pursuit of that which in the end was nothing more than dust? How driven have we been in chasing things that may not even be real, or once found, give us no fulfillment at all? How much of life do we live on the "fast track," filled with busyness and activity, but in the end yield nothing but dust? 

The Chinese use two characters in coming to their word for busyness. Heart and killing. Busyness kills the heart. Is it killing yours, exacting a cost you'll never be able to pay? Are you exchanging the riches found in Christ for the dust of this world? Have you been chasing after what you thought was the abundant life but find you are losing your life in the chase? Is all of it killing your heart?

God has much for us to do, but none of it involves busyness. Whatever it is we do, we must first spend intimate time with Him. Someone said that it is hard to see or hear Him when we live life on the run. Psalm 45:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God," while Psalm 34:8 reads, "Taste and see that He is good." To do either, we must stop our obsession with the dust we think is gold. We simply dwell with Him and in doing this, we discover what true riches really are. 

Have you been a dust chaser? Is your treasure in HIm being rubbed away by the pace you seek to keep? Is your heart slowly dying because of it? Stop! Be still. Know Him. Experience Him. He will restore your life, your real treasure. He will make you to live again. Let Him have your attention. Let Him have you.

Blessings,
Pastor O

The Knock

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in....." Revelation 3:20....."The picture of Jesus standing outside the door of His own church is tragic." Chris Tiegreen

We've all seen the little cards with the portrait of Jesus, standing at the door, which represents a human heart, seeking entry. We love the picture, but most of us miss the true meaning. We see it as an evangelistic portrait, that of Jesus entering into the heart of the lost soul. That's partly true, but it is not the heart of lost, unbelieving people the portrait represents. It's His seeking entry into His lost church. A church that somehow has drifted from Him, leaving Him standing outside of it, while He seeks entry into what is already His. A church that is His, but that has on so many levels, forgotten Him. It is indeed a tragic picture.

Friends, we are the church, and the question must be asked of each one of us; where have we left Him outside of our hearts? In what areas has He become unwelcome? Where is He seen as an intruder, not an abider? We've likely heard some form of the illustration of the homeowner who always has at least one room of their house that's off-limits to any visitor. One room that no one is invited to see. One room where all the trash that they want no one to see is kept. Where is our "one room" in our hearts? Where does He stand, gently knocking, seeking entry, and being steadfastly denied?

We need to expand the question beyond the individual and onto our fellowships. Fellowships that make up His Body, His church. What areas of the church is He not invited into? What topics are off limits as concerns our preaching and teaching. Off limits because they may offend. Where might there be matters of sinful behaviors and patterns that aren't addressed because if they were, people may leave, growth may be stymied, finances choked? Where might He be knocking, but as elders and leaders, we aren't listening, and He keeps gently knocking, standing outside the door of His own church?

May we, as individuals and as a Body yield to His searching knock. Even more, as we hear it, may we open the door. May we no longer be a part of a tragic picture.

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Everything

 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Galatians 2:20

I belong to a segment of the Body that holds this Scripture to be a central tenet of its theology. Indeed, I believe every part of the professing church does as well. How many of us really live it out? How many of us have really died out to our self-centered lives so that we now live fully for Him? I'd like to share three quotes that will hopefully shed light in each of our hearts today.

"Living sacrifices have to be willing to die." Chris Tiegreen....Romans 12 commands us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to Christ. That means we live on the altar of sacrifice and we are His. Totally and completely His. Many can quote this verse freely. Too few of us can live freely in it. Why? Because we don't really want to "die" to our own desires and ambitions. We don't want to die to desire to control our own lives and surrender to His control. Many have come to His altar with the intention of surrender, but far too often, we quickly step off of it. We're not really ready to die. We love our ways too much for that. Therefore we can never live out Galatians 2:20.

"There is only one way to deny yourself. It's to give yourself away." Jesus called all those who would follow Him to deny themselves and take up their crosses and follow Him. In the ancient world, crucifixion not only killed you, you were completely powerless throughout the ordeal. All control was in the hands of the powers that had sentenced you to such a death. When Christ calls us to take up our cross, we cease setting the agenda of our own lives. We cease to lay any claim upon our own lives. All that we are is given over to Him. We have given ourselves away to Him, which is the ultimate denial of ourselves. Again, we know these Scriptures. Only too well. The cross He calls us to is not that smooth, beautifully crafted one we see in most churches. It is rugged, and it is blood soaked, with His blood and ours. If you've heard His call to take up your cross, to deny yourself, have you? 

"There's nothing they can take from us when everything we have and are already belongs to Christ." Our flesh will protect itself against anything that threatens it....especially Christ and His cross. We don't want to "lose" what we feel is ours by right. We don't want to surrender our possessions, our desires and dreams, our ambitions, and our will to anyone, even Christ the King. We fear losing these. The only way to overcome and defeat that fear is to surrender to Him. To give ourselves willingly to Him. When that happens, we begin to experience what Paul meant when he said that he no longer lived, but Christ lived fully in and through Him. Paul said that when he surrendered to Christ, the world's interests (control) in him died, and his interest (longings for it) died as well. 

So what's keeping us from living out what these men and what Paul himself spoke of? Someone said that we want just enough Jesus to get us to heaven, but not enough Jesus to change us on earth. This is truth, and this is the reason we run from the cross and the self-denial and death to our wills and the living out of His. Great numbers within the professing church are found in this group. Are you? He calls us to the cross. Do we run from it, or to it?

Blessings,
Pastor O