Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“And Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.” I Chronicles 27:32b

Early in the year the United States went through the ritual of installing a new president, and with him, a host of government appointees. Every four years, the federal government produces the book, U.S. Government Policy and Supporting Positions, better known as The Plum Book. According to The Plum Book, 7,078 positions have to be filled by the new administration. “The Plum Book is used to identify presidentially appointed positions within the Federal Government.” Of the positions, 1,118 will require Senate confirmation.

I Chronicles is an early version of “The Plum Book” for the nation of Israel. It consists of various chapters giving a list of leadership positions within the nation of Israel. Chapter 27 gives a final list of other civic officials such as who is over king’s treasuries, over components of agriculture, the military and major counselors for King David.

A key position that is not included in the American Plum Book is the role of friend. However, in the midst of all the key government appointees for King David was the title “friend” given to Hushai. We know very little about Hushai but we do know that he was worthy of the title friend. David had many close companions and loyal follower, but only a few friends.

David understood the role God had given him but he also understood the necessity of godly spiritual friends and counselors in his life. David understood the importance and power of friendships. He understood that “the heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” (Prov. 27:9)

Jonathan was that soul-friend for David. Scripture tells us that, “the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” (I Samuel 18:1). Jonathan took his role as friend seriously, even at the risk of his own life. When pressured by his own father to reveal David’s hideout, he refused to the point that “Saul threw his spear at him to strike him.” (I Sam20:33a)

David’s inner circle included two close friends, Ahithophel and Hushai. Only Hushai had the title friend. David’s so-called friend, Ahithophel, betrayed him in his lowest moment (2 Samuel 17). Ahithophel used his position of influence with David for his own personal self-seeking opportunity. Hushai used his position of influence with David to protect and help his friend.

“Both served the king, but each had different motives. The opportunist works for his own glory, but the servant for that of his master.” (William MacDonald) Hushai earned his title, friend, by walking with David through some of his most difficult experiences. Hushai was ready to go into exile with his friend and lose everything. (2 Samuel 15:32). However, he willingly stayed behind to `became David’s spy when asked and was able to defeat “the counsel of Ahithophel.”

Aelred of Rievaulx said of friendship, “What happiness, what security, what joy to have someone to whom you dare to speak on terms of equality as to another self; one to whom you need have no fear to confess your failings; one to whom you can unblushingly make known what progress you have made in the spiritual life; one to whom you can entrust all the secrets of your heart and before whom you can place all your plans!”

Tuesday, June 8, marks National Best Friend Day. It might be a good day to send a note to a friend on how important they are in your life. Spend some time praying for your friends who have been there for you over the years. The writer of Proverbs reminds us that, “wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.” (27:6) These are the friends you need most in life because they speak truth and wisdom into your life. Unlike Job’s friends, true friends hold the rope in the midst of storms.

Jesus understood what it means to be a friend and what it is to be a friend of the King of Kings in John 15. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me…. This is my command: Love each other.” (15:13-15,17)

“What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

 

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

 

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

 

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer.” (What a Friend We Have in Jesus, vvs 1&2)

 

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me… Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:1,5-7

“Jesus didn’t say that any particular ethic, doctrine, or religion was the way, the truth, and the life. He said that He was. He didn’t say that it was by believing or doing anything in particular that you would “come to the Father.” He said that it was only by Him—by living, participating in, being caught up by the way of life that He embodied, that was His way.” (Frederick Buechner)

Seth Polk, outgoing chairman of the International Mission Board trustees, in his final address at the May trustee meeting, shared a quote by Dr. Paul Chitwood, President of the IMB. “As Dr. Chitwood regularly states, 154,937 people die without Christ every day around the world. This is unacceptable and our purpose as the redeemed is to make Jesus known, so the lost will be saved and the saved will be discipled.” Dr. Chitwood is passionate about getting the gospel message to the ends of the earth.

I fully agree with Dr. Chitwood’s remarks of the tragedy of those who die without Christ. Yet, maybe just as heartbreaking are the billions who must face every living day without Jesus. For many, they live without knowledge of who Jesus is. For many, they live life fully knowing about Jesus but have made the decision to reject Him in their life. Countless others live life having made the decision to follow Jesus yet live their lives as if He doesn’t exist. The modern trend of deconstructing their faith leaves many people living life without the hope of Jesus. Hopefully in their reconstruction of faith they will find Jesus for their life.

Jesus welcomes our questions of faith, responds to our challenges but He always comes back to “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Jesus spent a lot of time teaching about the Kingdom and helping us live a Kingdom focused life. Jesus’ mission was to move people out of darkness into the light. His strategy was simple: “Follow me.” As we follow Jesus we avoid the darkness and can walk on His well-lit pathway. Those walking in darkness are constantly bumping into objects – objects of hatred, violence and philosophical hopelessness.  For those of us who walk in the light of Jesus, we see the path ahead allowing us to avoid many of the pitfalls.

The billions who live in the world daily without Jesus and the billions who live in the world daily with Jesus all live in the same chaotic world. A world where injustice still impacts people, violence causes unrest and lack of peace, physical and spiritual hunger abound all amid a heightened mistrust of others.

Dallas Willard, commenting on John 8:12 wrote, “Another important way of putting this is to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did.”

My preference is to always walk in the daylight. I find it rather challenging to see in the dark, maybe age has something to do with the problem. What I do know is that I avoid a lot of sore shins if I walk in the light. This is even more important in my spiritual life. I am confident of Jesus’ promise that if I walk with Him, I “will have the light of life.”  What about you?

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.” Matthew 19:13-15

In this touching, but powerful scene captured by Matthew, Jesus rebukes the disciples for putting up barriers that keep children from coming to him. I can picture Jesus standing up and pushing aside the disciples to make a pathway for these little ones to come to Him. Jesus had a way of welcoming the marginalized of society, including children, into His kingdom.

The spirit of the disciple’s view about children continues through the generations. The English proverb, “children should be seen and not heard” dates back to the religious views of the 15th century. Our current modern attitude towards children is now closer to “not seen, not heard.”

The Care Quality Commission from the U.K. issued a report addressing child abuse and neglect. Part of their report stated, “Society has changed dramatically over the last 50 years, with leaps in technology and increased global mobility presenting new challenges. Children are groomed for sexual exploitation and radicalization on social media, and young people from certain communities can be at risk of trafficking and female genital mutilation. The number of children identified as having been abused or exploited is only the tip of the iceberg – many more are suffering in silence.”

Over the past few months, I have read of four-year-old Cash Gernon being taken from his bed in a Dallas neighborhood to be found murdered only blocks away, 12-year-old David Mack, shot and killed in southwest Atlanta, 13-year-old Floridian Tristyn Bailey stabbed to death by a 14-year-old fellow student, and a  9 year old Atlanta boy recovering after being shot.

If these stories break our hearts, how much more do they break the heart of Jesus! The value that Jesus placed upon children is being lost in our so called “modern society”. “Modern” children face a major obstacle in just being born. According to Guttmacher Institute, 18% of U.S. pregnancies in 2017 ended in abortion. Living is not easy either since, according to The American SPCC group, five children die every day in the United States from abuse while 45.4% of deaths caused by child abuse are children under the age of one year. Other life obstacles such as gender identity confusion and drug use are also prevalent.

When Jesus was asked the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He didn’t hesitate in His answer by doing a “show and tell” for them. “He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:2-5)

Helen Keller said, “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” As a father and now as a grandfather, my heart breaks to think of the challenges our children face. Yet I am reminded we have a powerful advocate for our children in Jesus. “It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.’ (Luke 17:2)

Now is the time for us as followers of Jesus to take seriously Jesus’ compassion for children and to pray against the evil that is destroying the lives of our children, the lies that are being forced upon them daily and the abuse that is physically being done daily.

Lord, hear us as we cry out to you today on behalf of our children. Restore to our children the tenderness and innocence of their childhood, protect them from the abuse of adults, the misery of drugs and the lies of the evil one.

“God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” Gal 4:6

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2

Do you remember your first loan? I signed my name on the loan papers for a used 1968 Dodge Charger when I was in high school! Over the next many months, working after school, doing odd jobs, I made the monthly bank payment for my car. I quickly learned the definition of debt, “Something owed, such as money, goods, or services. An obligation or liability to pay or render something to someone else.” I drove the car, but technically the car belonged to the local bank until the day I made the final payment and my debt was paid in full.

The feeling of being debt free was as amazing then as it is now. The same feeling was experienced yesterday as our church celebrated being Unleashed. It was an amazing day of celebration and praise as we watched the note that had kept us leashed to debt for years, go up in flames. Yesterday marks a new beginning when our church will no longer be leashed to debt.

Paying off a debt places the responsibility on us as an obligation, compared to forgiveness that places the responsibility on another person to extend grace. The lender holds no claim on you since you made the last payment but in a richer life-giving way, the one extending forgiveness holds no claim on you since you have been forgiven. I knew I could pay off the car loan given enough time and payments. Our church knew that we could pay off the building note even if it took years. However, there is one debt we could never pay off without help. Scripture tells us that, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

Jim Denison tells the story of a priest in the Philippines who carried the burden of a secret sin from years before. He repeatedly confessed the sin to God but never found peace until he learned the power of forgiveness. A woman in his parish loved God deeply and claimed to have visions in which she spoke directly with her Lord. The priest was skeptical and said “the next time you speak with Christ, I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed while he was in seminary.” The woman agreed.

“A few days later, the priest asked her, “Did Christ visit you?”

“Yes, he did,” she replied.

“And did you ask him what sin I committed in the seminary?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what did he say?”

“He said, ‘I don’t remember.’”

Forgiveness is freedom. No longer do we carry the burden of debt. No longer do we worry about the next payment. No longer do we allow our past to destroy our future. Astronomer Copernicus asked that this epitaph be on his grave: “O Lord, the faith thou didst give to St. Paul, I cannot ask; the mercy thou didst show to St. Peter, I dare not ask; but Lord, the grace thou didst show unto the dying robber, that, Lord, show to me.”

Matthew records that Jesus confronted the teachers of the law who objected to Jesus’ words to the paralyzed man in chapter 9 that his sins were forgiven. Most likely they would have been OK if Jesus had simply healed the man but not the bold declaration of, “your sins are forgiven.” Yet Jesus would not let the man be held in bondage and responded to their unforgiving legalism by saying, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven, or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” (9:4-6)

We are wonderfully and beautifully reminded that, “as far as the east is from the west…he removed our transgressions from us,” (Ps 103:12) and “whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” (Romans 4:8) Forgiveness based on the promise “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” (2 Cor 5:19)

In Jesus, our forgiveness is complete.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

 

 

 

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of those who say, ‘David seeks to do you harm’? This very day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you into my hand in the cave, and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the LORD’s anointed.” I Samuel 24:9-10

David had the opportunity to kill Saul.

David had the backing of his supporters to kill Saul.

David had the motivation to kill Saul.

David had justification to kill Saul.

David had political and military rationale to kill Saul.

What David didn’t have, was God’s blessing and permission to kill Saul.

This encounter between David and Saul in I Samuel is a powerful story that has a lot of application for us today. We can have all the right to do something but unless we do it under the leadership of the LORD then it becomes only revenge. David respected Saul, not as a man known for his character or leadership but as God’s anointed king. David trusted God to act on his behalf in the right time. “I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life. May the LORD judge between me and you! May the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.” (24:11b-13)

G. Wells wrote that “If there is no God, nothing matters. If there is a God, nothing else matters.” David could have easily justified his actions in the court of human opinion but he knew he could never justify it before God. It is easy to justify any action, belief or activity unless we are truly seeking to glorify God in all situations. Like David’s response to Saul, we live in an age when the world needs to see us not desiring revenge, but trusting fully in God’s timing and response to handle every circumstance.

David would be king and he knew it, because he had been promised the role and anointed by Samuel. Yet now he finds himself living in caves and running for his life. It seems as if God had abandoned him until this moment when it looks like the tide had turned in his favor and he could get rid of his enemy. He could have become impatient and hurried up the process. He could have decided that God needed some help to make his kingship happen. However, David knew his kingship wouldn’t be on his timetable, but on God’s.  “May the LORD therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.” (24:15)

I can listen to the news and begin to think there is no hope. I can think of a million ways how God should handle the problems in our world. I can get frustrated and anxious, or I can let God handle life since He has a lot more knowledge and experience than me. Watchman Nee expresses well what the world needs from us today.

“A day must come in our lives, as definite as the day of our conversion, when we give up all right to ourselves and submit to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ…There must be a day when, without reservation, we surrender everything to Him—ourselves, our families, our possessions, our business and our time. All we are and have becomes His, to be held henceforth entirely at His disposal. From that day we are no longer our own masters, but only stewards. Not until the Lordship of Jesus Christ is a settled thing in our hearts can the Holy Spirit really operate effectively in us. He cannot direct our lives until all control of them is committed to Him. If we do not give Him absolute authority in our lives, He can be present, but He cannot be powerful. The power of the Spirit is stayed.”

David could have taken events into his own hands but at what cost to his future? We can take our life events into our hands but at what cost? However, when we put our trust in God, we can know there is a hope and future for us. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Cor 2:9)

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

During a 1940s field trip in England, theology students visited various residences of leading historical church figures. The bus stopped at the home of John Wesley, and after touring the home, the students were shown Wesley’s bedroom.  On the floor were two knee imprints where Wesley had prayed for hours on end for God to send a revival to England and the United States.

Once back on the bus, Dr. Orr realized one of the students was missing and went back to look for him. Going into the bedroom, he found the young man kneeling in the same place praying fervently, “Do it again, Lord! Lord, would you do it again?! And would you do it again with me?!” 

The professor touched the young man’s shoulder and told him it was time to go, so young Billy Graham stood and rejoined the other students on the bus. I believe Dr. Graham understood fully what Oswald Chambers had written years before. “Prayer does not equip us for greater works—Prayer is the greater work. “

It was with that same fire and determination that Graham stood on the U.S. Capitol steps on Feb 3, 1952 challenging the political and government leaders to pray for spiritual revival in the United States. On April 17,1952 Congress passed a bill designating a National Day of Prayer which President Harry Truman signed into law.

Thursday, May 6 marks the 70th anniversary of the “National Day of Prayer.” The question each of us must ponder is this, “Do we really want God to intervene in our nation? Are we really ready to pay the price of fervently praying for God to intervene in our nation?”  A. W. Tozer said, “To desire revival . . . and at the same time to neglect prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another.”

We are facing unprecedented times of spiritual darkness, both in our nation and globally. Now is not the time to “neglect prayer and devotion” but to pay the price that John Wesley and others have done over the course of history. We are reminded by Paul in Ephesians, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (6:10-12)

Billy Graham will always be known for his great crusades and his passionate call for everyone to come to faith in Jesus Christ, but equally important was his call on the steps of our nation that cold, February day challenging our nation’s leaders to prayer. I thought it appropriate to end this article with his grandson Will Graham’s prayer on behalf of our nation.

“Heavenly Father, today we confess that we are in great need for you. Lord, our lives are in a mess. We have traded the truth for convenience and temporal pleasures. Forgive us for loving ourselves so much. Forgive us for thinking that we have all the answers. Forgive us for calling good evil and evil good.

We have made a mess of our lives apart from you. But we ask for your forgiveness right now. Lord, cleanse us anew now, we ask. May your glory be seen in us. We ask for the Holy Spirit to guide each of us that we might be better able to discern your will in the days ahead. Give us the wisdom you have promised to those who ask and the strength that you alone can give.

Lord, we need you. Our country needs you more than ever. Therefore, we take this time to confess our total dependence on you. Lord, we pray that the glory of the Lord will shine during this time. May people see your glory in us. As the world is captivated by fear, help us to be captivated by your glory. May the world turn to you and call to you in our time of great need.

Help our eyes to be fixed on you during this storm. And through the storms of life, we ask for your Holy Spirit to unite us, to fill us and intercede for us in our time of need.

In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.”

May it be our time to again pray as Billy Graham did decades ago, “Do it again, Lord! Lord, would you do it again?! And would you do it again with me?!” 

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

“The life of prayer, like life itself, is not always happy and peaceful. Into prayer we take our anxieties, loneliness and discouragement along with our joy, awe and celebration. In order to deepen any intimate relationship, we must be honest about our feelings.” (author unknown)

The collection of 150 Psalms are inspired and honest prayers; containing songs of praise and prayers of lament, hymns celebrating God’s steadfast love and prayers for vindication against enemies. The Psalms cover the full range of emotions of our ups and downs on our spiritual journey.

The story is told of a professor who would often ask his students, “How are things with your heart?” This simple but powerful question forces us to stop and reflect. The Psalms put words to this question that go beyond our superficial responses, especially as we encounter the major recurring theme in the Psalms that “God’s path is a way of life.”

I didn’t hesitate to follow the Google map directions as we drove through the Colorado mountains last week. I knew we were on the right path if I listened and responded to the directions. Such is our life as we let God ask us the question, “How are things with your heart?” and then follow the path upon which He directs us.

Read and reflect on Psalm 16 with this question before you, “How are things with your heart?”

“Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.

As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16

What are the spiritual gifts you have found along your path?

What moments in the last 24 hours do you feel grateful for?

What counsel has God given you this last week?

LORD, show me the path of life that I may walk fully and completely in your presence and secure your fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“But he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:24-25

“Conscious communion with God through intentional prayer is vital for our Christian life. Only through regular conversations with God will we experience his vision for life and be effective for his glory.” (Dallas Willard).  David, as well as other writers in the Psalms, understood this fully. Some examples of opening prayers include:

“Help, O LORD” Psalm 12

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” Psalm 13

“Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer” Psalm 17

These are heartfelt cries from deep within the writer’s soul. They understood the blessing that God listens and responds. He desires to hear from us and we desperately need to hear from Him. The most important lesson that the disciples wanted Jesus to teach them was how to pray and it was a lesson He most willingly taught them.

The church is rich with doctrines that help us understand our salvation, justification, and sanctification but one of the most powerful, yet often neglected, is the doctrine of intercession. “The atonement accomplished our salvation; intercession is the moment-by-moment application of that atoning work.” (Dane Ortlund)

Jesus prayed in the garden for those who would come after him. Jesus’ prayer was in the midst of the greatest war for our souls. He prayed that we would not be lost but experience eternal life. It was on the cross Jesus completed the task of atonement, but the task of intercession continues daily. It is in this intercession that Jesus sees and hears our prayer requests and goes before God the Father.

Peter didn’t understand the significance at the time when Jesus told him, “but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32) Jesus’ prayer of intercession would make the difference in Peter’s life as he would work through the shame and guilt of betrayal. Similarly, Jesus prays for us today in the face of our own shame and guilt that our faith will not fail.

The disciples didn’t understand the significance at the time when Jesus told them, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15) Jesus’ prayer of intercession would give them the courage to face the trials they would eventually endure, just as he intercedes for us today in our trials.

I often wonder in the midst of the chaos, turmoil and divisiveness in which we find ourselves today, if we fully understand the significance of the fact that Jesus is making intercession for us. “Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

We rejoice in the gift of eternal life that Jesus made possible for us. Let us rejoice also in the intercession that Jesus makes for us on a daily basis. There is no burden, no problem, no challenge that God can’t handle as Jesus intercedes for us. “since He always lives to make intercession” is a mighty foundation on which to stand and place our hope.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  Deuteronomy 31:8

King Saul was given the assignment in I Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites – an evil, godless nation who had persecuted and fought against the Israelites as they escaped Egyptian slavery. Saul was anointed by the prophet Samuel with the words, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD.” I Samuel 15:2

“Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.”  If the account ended at this point everything would be perfect since Saul’s instruction was to destroy everything, leaving nothing behind. However, the story goes amiss when Saul decides to spare King Agag and keep the “best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them.” In fact, the record shows that Saul modified the instructions and only destroyed what he deemed “despised and worthless.”

Partial obedience in God’s eyes is no obedience. When Saul was confronted by his failure to follow God’s instructions, he followed the age-old tradition of justifying his actions. Saul, when confronted, proudly announced, “for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the LORD your God.”

It is so easy to justify our sins if we paper them over with God-talk, religious intentions or feel good statements. God doesn’t want us to justify our actions, he wants us to follow him completely. Samuel reprimanded Saul with the words, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the LORD?”

The bottom line for Saul was that he wanted the best for himself. However, it didn’t take long for God to reveal Saul’s heart. Similar to the world today if we can sanctify our actions, then we can make our actions look very pious. In the same way as with Saul, God quickly reveals the nature of our hearts. God sees the heart, the real motives and calls them out. “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?”

Saul, like us, quickly justified his actions. “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD.” “I have gone on the mission” you sent me. I kept the best as a “sacrifice to the LORD.” The problem isn’t what God asked of Saul. His heart revealed a lot when Saul told Samuel the sacrifice is for “your God.”

The world today needs men and women who can say “you come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defeated.” (I Samuel 17:45)

Unlike Saul, David chose the road of obedience. One man or woman with a smooth stone, empowered by God, will destroy the greatest army. In a world where evil is rampant, when moral character and integrity is hard to find, where the family is under attack, where traditional understanding of gender and marriage are reeling, all seems hopeless until you pick up the stone that God has given you. It is a lonely, scary place to be. Vulnerable feelings of inadequacy until you let God guide your hand with the stone.

“A soul-deep emphasis on the love of Christ (what the ancients called “devotion to the heart of Jesus”), so vigorous in the past, so much on the decline today, would flourish once again if people would understand that it consists essentially in accepting Jesus Christ as love incarnate, as the manifestation of the unconditional love of God for us.” (Brennan Manning)

Jesus, I so desire to follow you completely in all the tasks you choose to give me. Find me faithful and in obedience to the assignments you give me. Let me pick up the smooth stone that is needed to impact my world for you.

God is great,

Pastor Lynn

 

Unleashed: As You Go – Pray

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:21-22

“U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time.” This recent headline came at the same time as Holy Week.  Christians around the world celebrated Easter yesterday and yet fewer and fewer Americans identify with the church. Gallup first measured this statistic in 1937. Church membership that year was at 73%. Over the course of the decades there was a slight drop but still maintaining a majority of the population, until 2010. We began to see a significant decline, resulting in this year’s dramatic drop to 47%.

I will not go into all the rationale given for the decline nor the obvious impact on society. As you well know, church membership doesn’t necessarily imply passionate followers of Jesus Christ. In some ways this number may actually represent a positive trend as the church rids itself of “in name only” Christians. The church is growing leaner but hopefully not meaner. Could it be that we are on the verge of a new awakening?

I mourn for those who have walked away from the church yet I am hopeful the day will come after the world has beaten them down, robbed them of hope and left them empty,  they will hear Jesus calling, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

The message of Easter isn’t about a spectacular past event celebrated once a year nor is it about waiting to live a blissful life after death. “The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.” (N. T. Wright)

The Resurrection was and is bodily, a transformed body. The transformed, resurrected body of Jesus brings life and hope to a fallen world.  The power of Easter must be put into effect to “transform at a macro level and to the intimate details of our daily lives.” In the midst of changing cultural norms, increased social divisions and rampant violent actions, it is only through the power of Easter that this world has hope. Easter as a once a year event gives us bunny rabbits and chocolate covered eggs, but it doesn’t transform lives, doesn’t impact nations, nor bring hope to those in need.

“Christian holiness consists not of trying as hard as we can to be good but of learning to live in the new world created by Easter, the new world we publicly entered in our baptism. There are many parts of the world we can’t do anything about except pray. But there is one part of the world, one part of physical reality, that we can do something about, and that is the creature each of us calls, “myself.” (N. T. Wright)

How do we live in the world created by Easter?

We live in the world with our focus upon “a new heaven and a new earth.” Rev 21:1

We live in the world different because God said, “I am the LORD your God…Be holy, for I am holy.” Lev 11:44

We live in the world in light of Matthew 4:17. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

We live in the world having let “the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.” Col 3:15

We live in the world for we “are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one In Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:26,28

“How do we live in the world created by Easter?” Our answer is pretty simple . . .  Jesus. This will be the only answer that will make a difference for those walking away from the church.

 

God is great,

Pastor Lynn