Wait-er?

"There are some things we can only learn in God's waiting room." -Rev. Dr. Bud Reedy

So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days. (John 11:6)

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" (John 11:40)


In John 11:1-44 we have the account of a family that experienced God's Waiting Room. When Lazarus became ill, Martha and Mary did the best thing they knew to do: they called for Jesus, their Lord and Friend, and they waited. Jesus waited too. And, from the perspective of Martha and Mary, Jesus waited too long. The sisters buried their dead brother. When Jesus showed up, Martha was reluctant for the tomb to be opened after such delay. But Lazarus, who had been in the tomb for four days, was brought back to life by the word of the Lord, and the community was astounded at the powerful miracle.

Fast-forward to June 27, 2014. Some of us are asking the Lord to show up on our behalf. Some of us are experiencing the pain of God showing up "too late". Some of us are asking the Lord to not open the tomb where our lost hopes are buried. And some of us are on the edge of witnessing a profound miracle.

O Lord, our Lord, we submit to Your schedule; we trust Your timing; we wait with believing hearts. 

Dead Wait.

During Sunday's sermon, Reverend Dr. Bud Reedy shared part of his testimony with us. Near the end of the testimony Pastor Bud made a profound declaration about his experience of God's faithfulness: "That which I have surrendered, He has kept."

"Surrendered." It's a word that we often associate with defeat. But for the Christian, the act of surrendering our will and our desires to God is an act of victory. We are no longer ruled by our circumstances. There is no longer any earthly situation that holds our hearts captive. Fear cannot paralyze us anymore.

Let us surrender ourselves, and our concerns, to the Lord who loves us. When we give all we have (and all we are) to the service of our King, then He becomes our focus. When we are convinced that God knows everything (and knows what is best), then He becomes the Director and Governor of our lives. When we trust His timing (and patiently wait for Him), then He responds with a love that never fails to astound us.

The apostle Paul said, "I've been crucified with Christ, and yet I live-- but no! It's not the old me that lives: it's Christ Jesus who lives in me. This life I live in the body is lived through the faith of the Son of God, the One who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, paraphrase mine.) If our old self has died, then we have made room for the Spirit of Christ to empower us to wait on God. We have no need to take matters into our own hands, because we have placed every matter into the hands of God.

• Have you died to self, selfishness, self-centeredness, self-sufficiency?
• Are you convinced that God can handle your life-situations better than you can?
• Do you see your circumstances through the eyes of Jesus, the One who always operates out of love and never operates out of fear?

Wait patiently for the LORD!
Wait confidently for Him!
Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner,
A man who carries out wicked schemes!
(Psalm 37:7, NET)

Privilege Can Wait.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21)

Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Reverend Dr. Bud Reedy brought up an important question for us to consider: When we are in crisis, do we expect that Jesus will grant us special favors because we are “tight” with Him? There is a prevailing notion that our joyful tithing, our presence in church, our participation in ministry, and our faithfulness in prayer are tokens that garner privilege with God, and that therefore He is somehow “obligated” to immediately rescue us from every crisis that comes our way.

In the John 11 narrative, Martha and Mary expressed a sentiment that is not unusual in Christian circles: Jesus, if You had shown up when we asked for You, then we could have been spared from this tragedy. As Pastor Bud noted, there is a sense that Jesus is supposed to “drop everything and come running” when we call Him. But let us consider Jesus. His desire is to obey His Father, even if the path of obedience brings pain. He did not refuse the way of the cross.

“Jesus responded, ‘Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40) Sometimes, our experience of God’s glory is birthed through tragedy. Sometimes, our “privileged” status as lovers of Jesus even makes us a target for tragedy, as Satan seeks to turn our devotion away from our Lord (see Job 1:9-11). When those tragic moments touch our lives and break our hearts, let us continue to rest in the goodness of God.

Lord Jesus, You are the One who can reach into tragedy and extract Glory. May You be glorified in us today.

Dinner Can Wait.

Luke 10:38-42

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

In Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Bud Reedy read the above passage and noted that Jesus would go to the village of Bethany to “chill”—that is, to take a break and relax in the hometown of his friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. In the Luke 10 account of Jesus’s visit to Bethany, we note that Martha and Mary had very different responses to His presence.

Mary chose to sit at Jesus’s feet and listen to what He was saying. Martha chose to make preparations, working around the house.

What do you do when a guest shows up?

It’s an interesting dynamic to consider. If Jesus shows up and our response is “a guest is here,” then it’s easy to fall into the pattern of what folks traditionally do when a guest shows up. There are guest towels in the bathroom, guest soap in the dispenser, special meals or special desserts that the family doesn’t experience unless a guest is present. Sometimes, we’re so busy preparing special things for the guest that we don’t even get to talk to him. We, like Martha, become entrenched in the processes of preparation.

But, if Jesus shows up and our response is “our dear friend is here,” then there is a different atmosphere! A dear friend is not present for the gourmet desserts nor the fancy teacups. A dear friend has not shown up to see what amazing culinary and home decorating skills we have. Our dear friend has stopped by to visit with us. Mary, who knew the immense value of the friendship, opted to spend her time in the company of her Lord, who was her Dear Friend.

What do you do when Jesus shows up?

Do you busy yourself with sprucing up the décor of your heart? Do you, figuratively speaking, serve the sorts of foods you think He wants to eat? Do you make yourself into something you usually aren’t… only to revert back to your old ways when His presence becomes less palpable?

Today, let’s consider the example of Mary. There was plenty of work that could have been done, but she wasn’t doing it when Jesus showed up. Instead, she sat at His feet and listened, allowing His words to do a work in her.

Jesus, Dear Friend of ours, this is Your time; we sit at Your feet and we listen; everything else can wait. Speak Your word to us. Share Your heart with us. Teach us to love as You love.

"Wait"-Bearing...

In yesterday’s sermon Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene was blessed to hear the message of the Lord through Rev. Dr. Bud Reedy, a Nazarene pastor and our brother in the Lord. Our guest speaker shared with us from John 11 and Luke 10, and we took time to understand the love of God expressed through the discipline of waiting.

As we go through this week, we will take time to consider points from the sermon. For today, though, I would encourage all of us today to re-read the Scripture passages from yesterday. One of the dangers of “familiar” passages is that we tend not to read as closely or as carefully as we do when approaching new material. But I hope that today we will come to the Word with the expectation that God will reveal something new to our hearts.

Luke 10:38-42

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

John 11:1-44

Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, but to God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days.

Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders were just now trying to stone you to death! Are you going there again?” Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks around at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After he said this, he added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I am going there to awaken him.” Then the disciples replied, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” (Now Jesus had been talking about his death, but they thought he had been talking about real sleep.) Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas (called Didymus) said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go too, so that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days already. (Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, so many of the Jewish people of the region had come to Martha and Mary to console them over the loss of their brother.) So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.”Jesus replied, “Your brother will come back to life again.” Martha said, “I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who comes into the world.”

And when she had said this, Martha went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” So when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet him.) Then the people who were with Mary in the house consoling her saw her get up quickly and go out. They followed her, because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the people who had come with her weeping, he was intensely moved in spirit and greatly distressed. He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Thus the people who had come to mourn said, “Look how much he loved him!” But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see! Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying?”

Jesus, intensely moved again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.) Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, because he has been buried four days.” Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

Who Are You...And Who Is Your Father?

John 8:25-59 (NET Bible)

So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, “What I have told you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the Father who sent me is truthful, and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.)

Then Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak just what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do those things that please him.” While he was saying these things, many people believed in him.

Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “We are descendants of Abraham,” they replied, “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be really free. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. But you want to kill me, because my teaching makes no progress among you. I am telling you the things I have seen while with the Father; as for you, practice the things you have heard from the Father!”

They answered him, “Abraham is our father!” Jesus replied, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would be doing the deeds of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! You people are doing the deeds of your father.”

Then they said to Jesus, “We were not born as a result of immorality! We have only one Father, God himself.” Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. I have not come on my own initiative, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept my teaching. You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I am telling you the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, because you don’t belong to God.”

The Judeans replied, “Aren’t we correct in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father – and yet you dishonor me. I am not trying to get praise for myself. There is one who demands it, and he also judges. I tell you the solemn truth, if anyone obeys my teaching, he will never see death.”

Then the Judeans responded, “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet you say, ‘If anyone obeys my teaching, he will never experience death.’ You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people say, ‘He is our God.’ Yet you do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his teaching. Your father Abraham was overjoyed to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”

Then the Judeans replied, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!” Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out from the temple area.

My Father Calls me Into Maturity.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared that God's intent is for children to grow up. And while this thought may seem to be an obvious statement on the first read, the issue of development is a serious issue in the body of Christ.

We begin life as infants. Infants are famous for their dependency. As Pastor Sam noted, even a baby's strength to cry is influenced by the nourishment he or she has received. No one ought reprimand a baby for being a baby. But if a person who is fifteen years old manifests a level of dependency that is common to infants, then the general consensus would be that something is wrong. The expectation is that, as persons move from infancy to adolescence, they move from dependence to independence.

Similarly, our society holds the expectation that as adolescents grow into adulthood, there is a shift from independence to interdependence. There is the realization that life is not "all about me", but that collaboration and teamwork are critically important to the functioning of families and communities. A selfish, self-absorbed fifteen-year old is given much grace. A selfish, self-absorbed fifty-year old is not. Why? Because there is a prevailing notion that people who are matured in years are willing to engage in sharing, perspective-taking, and understanding of the opinions and needs of others.

God, our Father, has designed us to grow up... not just biologically, but also spiritually. The Bible notes that Christians who are new in the faith, like babies, should be given spiritual milk-- the basic tenets of the faith. Older Christians who have logged more years in the faith ought to be able to handle spiritual meat-- deeper conversations concerning the things we know and believe (see Hebrews 5:11-6:3). People of God, we are called to grow up. May God help us all to grow up in Him.

How old are you in the Lord? (For how many years have you embraced the Christian faith?)
Are your faith-years a true representation of your spiritual age?
Does your spiritual behavior tag you as dependent, independent, or interdependent?

My Father Carries Me Into Jubilee.

Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. (Leviticus 25:10, NIV)

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam took time to speak of the father wound: there are some of us whose experience of fatherhood has been an experience not of compassionate support, but of abuse, neglect, or rejection.

We bear the risk of expressing the negative behaviors to which we have been exposed. The father wound is found in us as we live lives of apathy, anger, or alienation toward those around us. As Pastor Sam said, "The devil has conspired with history so as to produce a people who have to protect themselves by not feeling... it is the manifestation of the reign of sin."

However, there is good news: God our Father has promised healing to us! And for Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene in particular, as we celebrate our fiftieth year of ministry, there is a sense of kairos: we are in a jubilee season where God is pouring out wholeness and healing and grace. Our pastor made a wonderful point concerning Psalm 27:10: God steps in "...when father forsakes me...and when the Lord takes me up, that is going to represent healing to the father wound."

In the Jubilee year, ancient Israel experienced a profound shift in status. Debts were released. Lands were restored. People were set free from bondage. It happened then, and it can happen now. Today, as we submit ourselves to the Spirit of God, His presence and power releases us from our own bondage to apathy, anger, and alienation that had been built into our spirits.

God, our Father, is the Lord of Jubilee. Let your burdens go, and let your Father carry you into His grace, healing, and release.

Do you want to be free? Lift your chains, I hold the key!
All power in heaven and earth belongs to Me:
You are free!
(Mark Hall/Bernie Herms)

My Father Cares For Me In My Loneliness.

Though my father and mother have abandoned me, the Lord will gather me in. (Psalm 27:10, NET translation notes)

God, our heavenly Father, gathers us in. We who belong to Him have this privilege of being held by Him. As Psalm 27:10 indicates, the presence and company of God is so powerful that it even soothes the soul that has been abandoned by parents.

In Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam shared the example of a child who raises her hands as an indication that she wants to be picked up and held. Have we raised our hands to God today? Have we asked Him to pick us up?

When God picks us up, we are held and embraced by His love.
When God picks us up, we are raised so that we can see Him more clearly.
When God picks us up, we are placed in a position to see things from His vantage point.

Today, as we reflect on the goodness of God, let us boldly ask Him to pick us up once more.

God, loving Father, I raise my hands to You!

My Father Cares For Me In My Frailty.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14, NIV)

During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared with us various characteristics of fatherhood as revealed in Scripture. Today, let's reflect on the example found in Psalm 103.

Verse 13 of the psalm reminds us that fathers have compassion. What is compassion? Dictionaries describes compassion as a feeling, an emotion that indicates one's consciousness of another person being in need or in distress. Further, that emotion moves one to provide help for the person.

Psalm 103:14 shows us why God, our Father, demonstrates compassion towards those who fear Him: because He remembers that we are dust. Though we reverence God, we in and of ourselves do not have the capacity to live as His faithful, obedient children. Our frames are weak. We find ourselves completely dependent upon Him. And He, in His compassion, reaches out and aids us in our need and our distress. He walks with us and keeps us from stumbling. His Spirit in us teaches us to do what He says. He fathers us.

God of compassion, we have no greater resource than You. Cause us to leave off our weak attempts at self-sufficiency; give us the wisdom to cling to You.

It's Genise's.

"And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God courageously. (Acts 4:29-31, emphasis mine)

Lord, pay attention to their threats...

We do not deny that there are persons in the world who want us to ignore God's agenda, and who have threatened us with harm. However, our response is not to condemn them; our response is to ask God to take note of what His detractors have said and done.

...grant to Your servants to speak Your message with great courage...

God's message is not a message to be whispered apologetically nor timidly. Our great God, who does all things well, has tasked us to share His message confidently. This is not a confidence in our own ability to deliver His message; rather, it is our confidence in the truth of His message.

...while You extend Your hand to heal...

In the book of Acts in particular, we find a connection between the word of God and the power of God to heal. The disciples asked God not only for the boldness to speak, but for His healing to be experienced by those who heard the testimony of the apostles.

... and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.

As we see in Acts, the disciples did notable miracles in the name of Jesus. However, we also note that persons who invoked the name of Jesus without knowing Him were overcome by demonic powers (see Acts 19-11-16). It is imperative that we who claim to be Christian not only know the name of Jesus, but that we know Jesus (and that He knows us).

Acts 4:31 is such an encouragement to we who pray! "And when they had prayed...". Some things happened when the disciples prayed. Amen. Earnest, authentic prayer is never an empty exercise. The prayers ascend to God, and God responds. Like Acts 4:31, the response may be instant. Or alternately, as Daniel 10:12-13 indicates, the response may delayed by a conflict between spiritual forces. But, either way, God answers. Let us be renewed in the light of that truth.

Have you prayed today?

Climate Control.

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam noted that spiritual gifts are exercised in the climate of faith. Our pastor reminded us of the passage in Scripture that speaks of the atmosphere of unbelief in Jesus's hometown:

Now Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then he went around among the villages and taught. (Mark 6:1-6, NET, emphasis mine)

Pastor Sam also shared that what Jesus was not able to do in His hometown, He was able to do in Capernaum:

After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, because he loves our nation, and even built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!” So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well. (Luke 7:1-10, NET, emphasis mine)

What a contrast. The "insiders", the men and women of Jesus's neighborhood, took offense at His presence in the synagogue. They refused to acknowledge His status, instead referring to Him as a common laborer. The "outsider", a Roman centurion, recognized that he was not worthy to bear the presence of Jesus in his house. The centurion referred to Jesus as Lord, the One with the authority to impart healing, and the centurion even realized that Jesus could command healing without having to be physically present-- just say the word, Lord, and by Your word healing will occur.

When we speak of Jesus, what sort of climate rules our speech? Is our Lord amazed at our unbelief? Or, is He amazed at our faith?

Ordinary Me. Extraordinary God.

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam noted that unusual and unexpected abilities are found in the person who is being made competent by the Holy Spirit.

In the account of the healing of the man who had been lame from birth, the narrative records the response of the religious leaders to Peter and John's defense: When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13, emphasis mine)

Our God is not restricted by our frailties. He is able to use us to do amazing things-- things that are not contingent upon our education nor our training. And, in using us to do things that we know we cannot do in our own strength, God ensures that only He gets the credit.

How does God bring this about? By the power of His Spirit in us.

Lord God, I submit myself to Your Spirit. Take my ordinary life, and do extraordinary things, for the glory of Your name. Amen.

Perhaps It's Not Too Late, Baby...

"For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old." (Acts 4:22)

In Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam noted that the experience of redemption is life-giving: the consequence of the disciples' ministry work was edifying to people and glorifying to God. Our pastor used a passage from Acts as an illustration: a man who had been lame from birth, and had spent over forty years as a beggar, experienced a healing that caused people in the community to give glory to God. (See Acts 3:1-4:22) The Holy Spirit, working through Peter and John, brought deliverance.

I wonder if any of us are dealing with a challenge we have encountered, every day, for over forty years. I wonder if any of us are dealing with an issue that has, literally or figuratively, crippled us from birth. I wonder if any of us have spent a few decades as spectators, glancing at people who are sick in body or mind or spirit, passing them by on our way to worship, and having nothing to offer apart from sympathy... or words of dismay... or pronouncements of hopelessness.

What does it mean when a Christian has given up on God's power to change lives? What if Peter and John had assumed that because the lame man had been lame for forty years, it was therefore 'too late' for God's Spirit to intervene in his life? We are blessed to have the Acts 4 narrative as a proof and a reminder of what the Holy Spirit is able to do, and as a proof and reminder of the consequences of divine action, and as an encouragement to believe God is not bound by time, and as an impetus to move us to hear and obey the Holy Spirit's direction in regard to prayers for healing and deliverance.

Pastor Sam, from time to time, has shared a few words that I've paraphrased (below) for us to reflect on today. We can consider it a creed of sorts. We can memorize it, or not, but perhaps the better thing is to pray that it be our lived reality.

The Holy Spirit has come and has made Himself available to us.
The Holy Spirit is present to accomplish God's desire in us.
The Holy Spirit is able to manifest His works through us.

My prayer for us today is that we, like Peter and John, will experience the fullness of God's Spirit, and that His presence and power will overflow as a healing agent to those around us.

Lord God, cause me to see life through the eyes of Your Spirit. Give me the grace to engage prayers for healing and deliverance. Cause me to be prompted not by what I see, but by what You say. Holy Spirit, fill me again, so that You can use me as a worker in Your kingdom. Amen.

Absolutely Distinguished.

"We're not satisfied to just 'go through our liturgy'." (Pastor Sam)

During yesterday's pre-sermon prayer, Pastor Sam recalled the petition of Moses:

Then Moses said to God, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? (Exodus 33:15-16)

The word distinguished is one that we can reflect on today. What is it that makes a Christian stand out from the crowds of people from other faiths, or from those who claim to have no faith? It's not the engagement of the worship that sets us apart. Back in Moses's day, people who were not worshipers of the God of Israel were nonetheless quite engaged in the worship of the gods they knew. Further, it was not even the experience of the wonders that set God's people apart. In the early stages of the Egyptian plagues, there was a cadre of magicians that had no problem duplicating the signs (see Exodus 7:8-12).

The people of God, then and now, have a distinguishing mark. It is the presence of God. God Himself is found in our community. God Himself is found in us. There is the evidence of the Word: it is God in us, His goodness expressed through our lifestyle and ministry, that catches the attention of the world.

Let's take inventory today, especially those of us who "do church" as part of our life-routine. When people hear our speech, or see our works, or read what we write, what do they walk away with? Is their heart filled with the joy of the Lord? Are they inspired and moved to draw closer to God?

Lord God, give me the experience of You in a deeper way today... I want to bear a distinguishing mark that identifies me as belonging to You. Do Your work in me today, I pray, so that You will be glorified. Amen.

Let's Get It Together!

One of the drawbacks of blogging is that it's easy to think of each post as a stand-alone commentary, rather than as being a small part of a larger work.

In that context, let us remember that this past Sunday's sermon was actually the second in a series of sermons about Pentecost. Below are links to a few Scripture passages from the first two installments. Thoughts shared by Pastor Sam are in italics (paraphrase mine). I encourage all of us to take time to read and reflect on the verses and statements below.

I. The Promise-Fulfillment of Pentecost (May 4, 2014)

If the promise of Pentecost has been fulfilled, then it ought be fulfilled in us.
First Corinthians 6:19-20

Sometimes, what God is doing requires a prophetic interpreter.
Acts 2:14-18

To what extent are we fulfilling our experience of this promise?


II. Embracing The Promises of Pentecost, Part 1 (June 1, 2014)

The promise is to "as many as the Lord shall call"... but what is the promise of Jesus?
Acts 1:8

Witnesses have had a transformation of character: not in their own strength, but because of the power of God.
Second Peter 1:3-4

The Spirit-empowered Christian witness has an observable character profile.
Matthew 7:15-20

Lord God, please help us to tell others about the power and love of Jesus that radically transforms human hearts.

Call Waiting?

In this past Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam made the following observation (paraphrased here): We are not Gnostics. Our Christianity is not just about what's hidden in our hearts; it's observable.

Our pastor referenced the epistle of First Peter. In the first chapter of this letter, we learn that Christians' lives, more than their words, indicate what they believe. Peter writes: "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy because I am holy.'" (First Peter 1:13-14, emphasis mine)

Conformity, in some form, will be found in all of us. The question becomes, to what are we conformed? According to the First Peter passage, Christians ought experience a shift: the soul that was once conformed to worldly lusts is transformed, and as a result it becomes conformed to God's likeness. What does this look like in a practical sense? It looks like the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23). As Pastor Sam shared, and I paraphrase here, it is neither more seminary nor more philosophy that will help us become "better" Christians, but more of the Spirit of God. A confession of faith, accompanied by actions which demonstrate the love of God in a fallen world, paint a picture of authentic Christianity.

Lord God, you know the confessions of my mouth, the actions of my body, and the intentions of my heart. May every part of me be managed and directed by You. Please conform my will to Yours by the power of Your Spirit. Amen.

The Know-Do Dichotomy.

"There might be persons who are worshiping faithfully... and many of them know exactly what God wants. The problem is, in their hearts, they have now come to resign that you can't do what God says. The old lie is still reverberating." (Pastor Sam)

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam spoke of the danger of Christians being found to be ineffective or false witnesses. In particular, as we live in this world that is cynical and skeptical of the Christian faith, we must be able to not only speak truth, but also to live truth so that the world can have a true vision of what Christianity is all about.

Some Christians have had an experience of salvation, but have not been radically transformed by the Spirit of God. That is, they know God, but they are not doing God's will because their lives are not governed by God. But, for Christians who are authentic, credible witnesses, the Spirit's character transforms their character.

Our pastor shared the question from Acts: "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?" (Acts 19:2, italics mine) God calls us into synergy with Himself, and this synergy is accomplished not through our determination, but by the work of His Spirit. And when the Spirit is present in us, His character is expressed through us, and the will of God is done by us.

For those readers who know that their character is indicative of a lack of authenticity, today's prayer is paraphrased from the end of Pastor Sam's sermon. I pray that, as you pray, you will experience God's Spirit helping you to become a credible witness.

Spirit of God, if anything is to happen in me, it will only come through You. I surrender my efforts to You so that You can do what is needed in me. Amen.

In Character.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a, NET)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared with us that the credible, Spirit-empowered Christian can be identified by their character profile. In yesterday's blog post we took time to consider the words of Jesus in regard to authentic prophetic ministry. Today, let's take a moment to reflect on the words of the apostle Paul regarding Christian character.

In Galatians chapter 5, Paul encourages Christians to understand their freedom in Christ not as license to sin, but as license to love others in the way Jesus Christ has loved us. Paul says, "If you are continually harming and exploiting each other, beware! You will destroy each other! But I tell you, walk according to the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh." (Galatians 5:15-16, paraphrase mine)

What does it look like when a person loves in the same way God loves us? How is this Spirit-walk of love expressed in the world? It looks radical. Why? Because, as Pastor Sam noted, it is a love that cannot originate from us. On our own, we are incapable of loving our enemies through our own strength. It is only the Spirit of God who can instill in our hearts the capacity to love the unlovely. And, when this love of God is demonstrated, it shows the world a particular 'character profile' that is unusual and attractive... it shows the beauty of Christ's love expressed consistently and authentically, even in the most painful of circumstances.

Is your testimony supported by your character?

Fruit Dupes.

Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-16b)

In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus shares with His disciples an important key to ministry assessment: Check the fruit. It is the fruit that demonstrates the heart. It is the fruit that reveals the true motives and character of men and women.

In Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam noted that our experience of the Christian faith is not simply an internal, private devotion to God. Our faith influences our day-to-day living. If we are filled with the love of God, then that love will flow out of us and cause us to express God's love to others.

We live in a world where the prophetic is easily counterfeited. And, this is nothing new: in ancient times, the magicians of Egypt were able to perform several of the wonders that Moses and Aaron did (see Exodus 7:8-11). We must take heed to this age-old reality. If our assessment of the prophetic is limited to the observance of signs and wonders, then we will place ourselves in a position to be deceived. God, through Jesus Christ, has pointed out the one distinctive we can count on: character.

If someone were to assess your character today, what would they say?