"Weight" List.

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared with us a very sobering checklist. The scary thing about the checklist is that it does not refer to those who had no encounter with God, but rather those who claim to be Christians who love the Lord. We Christians, then, have a question to wrestle with: We say we know what Scripture says. Are we doing what it says we ought to do?

As we reflected on Psalm 100 and the importance of engaging worship in a manner that pleases God, we learned that it is God who knows the motives and intents of our hearts. He calls each of us to draw near to Him. But, though He calls, He has given us the freedom to answer according to our own will and inclination.

Our pastor noted that the inclination of our heart is typically demonstrated by our response to God's instructions. Let's review the list from the end of Sunday's sermon and take inventory of our own standing with God.

The Checklist: Where is your worship-life today?

• I know what God has said, but I don't care about doing what God has said.
• I know what God has said, but I fail in my attempts to do what God has said.
• I do what God has said, but only because I fear the consequence of not doing what God has said (Hell).
• I do what God has said, but only because I want to be compensated for doing what God has said (Heaven).
• I know what God has said, and the knowing has informed my doing: I am joyful in worship and joyfully obedient to Him.

Lord God, help us to move from mere reading and recitation of Your word; move us into a life of obedience to You, with the help of Your Holy Spirit. Cause our worship-life to be an authentic expression of joy and gladness, for the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Singing With An Attitude... Of Joy!

In his sermon on Psalm 100, Pastor Sam noted that the adjectives define the attitude with which we are to enter into worship. The psalm begins with the following directives:

v  Shout for joy;

v  Worship with gladness;

v  Come with joyful song;

v  Enter with thanksgiving and praise.

I wonder what our corporate worship would become if every person expressed joy, gladness, joyful song, thanksgiving, and praise in the presence of the LORD.

Interestingly, the psalm does not place any condition nor rider on this worship protocol. It does not toss in any disclaimers like, “Well, if you had a really rough day, if someone bumped into you on the subway, if you had to walk for an hour in the rain and mud, then it’s excusable to stand in the presence of the King of kings with a sour face.” No. We are called to express joy, even in the most trying of circumstances, when we worship our LORD. We are called to thank and praise Him.

Our God is the One who reigns above every inconvenience, every circumstance, and every tragedy. He can bring glory to Himself by forming our characters through crises. We may think we have nothing to rejoice about with regard to what we are suffering in life, but we have everything to rejoice about when we acknowledge who God is, what He says, and what He does.

The LORD is in our company. We are in His presence. Shout for joy!

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

In My Head And In My Heart...

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam spoke on Psalm 100. This particular psalm is familiar to our Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene family, as it is one that many of us memorized in childhood.

Let's review Psalm 100 in the King James Version (the way many in our community memorized it) and also in the New International Version. As we read each line, let us take inventory of our present standing with God:

v Are we aware of what God has said in His word?

v Are we doing what He has asked us to do?

v Is our relationship with Him characterized by our joyful obedience to His commands?

Psalm 100 (King James Version and New International Version)

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he who hath made us, and not we ourselves: we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Know that the LORD is God; it is he who made us, and we are his [see footnote a]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless His name.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues throughout all generations.

[a] or and not we ourselves

It's More Than Skin Deep.

In Sunday’s sermon Pastor Richie referenced the story of Miriam, who was stricken with leprosy for a week. She was stricken with leprosy as God’s public response to her private sin: a discussion she’d had with her brother Aaron, in which she instigated hateful speech against Moses.

Today, we live in a time where we can do wrong on the inside and still look great on the outside: instant manifestations of God's reprimand are rare nowadays. But as Pastor Richie shared, if God were to strike us today with leprosy as punishment for our sins, we’d all be lepers-- our God has been gracious to us, and He astounds us with His patient love. That said, though, we remain aware that our sins have consequences, and we appeal to our Lord to help us live in a way that is pleasing to Him. We seek His intervention and deliverance not because we want to avoid the embarrassment of being stricken with leprosy, but because we love our Lord and long to hear His commendation.

Numbers chapter 12 contains the account that our pastor mentioned. Let’s take time to read the entire chapter, keeping the following questions in mind:

v  Have I been harboring biases and ill will against the people of God—whether related to their families, their spiritual gifts, or the decisions they have made?

v  Have I been seeking to bring others into agreement with my private sins?

v  Have I asked God to forgive me and cleanse my heart from sin? 

Numbers 12

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”

The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back. After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Testimony Mine.

Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. (Mark 1:45a)

“When you’ve experienced something real, it’s not a chore to share.” –Rev. Richard Griffiths

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie noted that we must decrease the need for apologetics and instead grow in our own experience.

Our church “mode” is often to spend lots of time talking about what other people have written or said about the power of Christ Jesus. And while it’s not a sin to reference great writers and speakers, it is nonetheless a sign that perhaps we have not had our own profound experience with the Lord.

In Mark 1:45, the man who had been completely healed of leprosy couldn’t contain his gratitude. He had to tell people about what Jesus had done in him, and for him.

This week, let’s take inventory of our conversations. Are all our references to Jesus mediated through the experiences of other people? Or, do we have something to say about what He has done for us personally?

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Speed-Reading.

Today, let's re-read the passage from Sunday's sermon:

Mark 1:40-45 (New International Version)

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

Jesus was indignant [See footnote a]. He reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

[a: the Greek of this phrase can also be understood as "Jesus was filled with compassion". As Pastor Richie noted on Sunday, there is the dual sense of being angry at injustice while also being in a position to compassionately address the injustice.]

Let My People Go, Version 2.0.

If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the year of Jubilee. Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. (Leviticus 25:39-41)

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry. (Psalm 34:14-15)

In Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam reminded us that all human life belongs to God. It is a reminder that we need to revisit every now and then, because sometimes we forget: that is, sometimes we act as if we own other people. This belief finds expression in our comments, our behaviors, and our responses when people fail to live up to our personal expectations.

The entrance of Jubilee is our signal to let people go. In ancient Israel, the Jubilee was marked by an exodus: workers left their communities of employ and returned to their own lands and clans. The people of God who had fallen on hard times, times so difficult that they sold themselves into servitude, could hang on to the hope of the Jubilee year. They knew that even if they did not live to experience the Jubilee for themselves, their children would one day be released.

But for us, in these modern times, what does it mean to be released?

Here at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene, our Care Groups are reading and studying about the grace of God. And we are learning that, in today's context, we are called to release people spiritually. Though we do not own slaves in a literal sense, we may have been a figurative "slave-holder" in our hearts. We are called to forgive those who have wronged us. We are to walk in love, even though we live in a world where hatred is often the order of the day. We are to, as the Psalm says, "seek peace and pursue it" so that others will experience God's grace in our presence. We are to release people, because God in His mercy has released us from our bondage.

Perhaps the Lord has reminded you of a person or persons who have been abusive to you. Perhaps He has reminded you of a person or persons that you have been abusive towards. Perhaps your heart is breaking over the hardships of relatives or friends that are challenged with how to forgive, release, and rest in God's authority to love and judge His people as He sees fit.

Take heart. Jubilee has come.

Lord God, You offered freedom to us even before we understood the depth of our bondage. You loved us even though our lives were so unlovely. Please give us Your grace as we seek to follow You in this act of Jubilee. We speak the word of release and freedom over the lives of Your people. We know that You have heard our heart-prayers and we thank You for Your loving intervention.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Land LORD.

"The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers." (Leviticus 25:23)

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam shared that God is the ultimate Owner of all property. It is the word of the LORD revealed in Scripture. In the Leviticus passage above, we see that God explained to Moses (and, by extension, to us) the reason for redeeming and returning properties in the Jubilee: it was never ours to keep. It's God's property.

King David reiterated God's ancient mandate in this way: The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1).

Like ancient Israel, we in today's context recognize that we are strangers in this land. God has allowed us to live, and He has placed us in particular families and in particular regions of this planet, and we may even (like Israel of old) hold title deeds and legacies, but as we read Scripture we are cautioned to hold on to these distinctions loosely.

But, our lack of ownership does not exempt us from caring for God's earth and the things in it. Our pastor noted that, though we are not owners, we are called to be stewards of the things God has given us. The way in which we manage God's property reveals the passion, enthusiasm, disdain, or indifference that resides in our hearts.

Today, let's reflect on a few Scripture verses that pertain to stewardship.

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (First Corinthians 4:1-2)

To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations-- as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. (Deuteronomy 10:14-16)

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand." (First Chronicles 29:14)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (First Timothy 6:6-8)

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

"Cease" The Day...

"The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields." (Leviticus 25:11-12)

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." (Genesis 2:2-3)

In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Sam brought up a point concerning God's design for human beings (paraphrased here): In the beginning the Lord created man on Day Six, and then He instituted Sabbath rest on Day Seven. The first lesson taught to man, then, was not the mandate to work: it was the mandate to periodically and intentionally cease from work.

This is a mandate that was also given concerning the working of lands, supported in Scripture by the miraculous signs promised by God to the Israelites. In Leviticus 25 we see God's assurance of His provision being poured out into the lands that adhered to the cycle of rest and labor: "You may ask, 'What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?' I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in." (Leviticus 25:20-22)

An old crop that feeds a household for three years?
An old crop that remains edible through the seasons' weather changes?
An old crop that does not succumb to the habits of insects and creatures known to invade farmlands?

Well, God promised to make abundant harvest a reality for those who demonstrated obedience by letting their lands rest. Let's take Him at His word.

Questions for reflection:

• Are we okay with taking a break from "doing our own planting"?
• Will we rest and make room for the miraculous to occur?
• Do we trust that God, who created us with the ability to work, is also the God who can sustain us in our rest?

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.