Monday, October 22, 2012

Jesus Take Me Away - John 16




"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. 
John 16:33

Life is hard.
Today in the world we will read of people dying from malnourishment, war, disease, false imprisonment, anger, hatred, bigotry, and even genocide.
Today we will witness crimes of passion, negligence, apathy, and premeditation.
Today we will watch the news reports of increased debt, decreased wealth and inflamed poverty – right here in the United States.
And today, we will want Jesus to take care of it all. 
We will want to be like that old commercial for bath product – “Calgon Take Me Away! - but instead we will want to shout: “Jesus – Take Us Away!

In the midst of all of the troubles of this world, we often wonder:
Where is Jesus?
Where is the one who loves us and has given us his grace?
Where is the Savior of the world – because the world needs some serious saving?

But what we must remember is that Jesus is just where he said he would be. He is with the Father – and he sent us the Counselor – The Holy Spirit to be in us and to help guide us through these dark and trying times.

Jesus never promised us that life would be easy. 
He never promised us that we would have a world filled with sunshine, rainbows and unicorns. 
People will suffer – as much as we hate to see or even to experience that suffering first hand – that is what scripture tells us; that is what Jesus told us.

In this world you will have trouble…” Not exactly a Hallmark Greeting Card love letter – but it is the truth. This world is a dangerous and sometimes quite despicable place to be, but it is not hopeless. No, it certainly isn’t hopeless.

We can have hope because despite all of the wicked ways of this world we have a thread of hope in the knowledge that Jesus overcame this world. Jesus defeated all of the sin and the evilness of this world with his single sacrificing act of death on a cross. We have hope because we have Jesus in our hearts – because we have Jesus in our lives. We have hope because we have Jesus as our Savior.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Surely Do Flow!

Scripture

 Quote


“Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”
Mr. Cosby Himself - Bill Cosby


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Being In With The King - John 15


As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
John 15:9
 
The leaves are falling all around us. When I open up my back door to let the dog out at night, I can smell the rich aroma of burning leaves and fallen branches. The image of friends gathered around a fire pit - laughing and enjoying each others' company - wafts through my mind with that simple scent and I am reminded how much we need each other.
 
From the middle of spring through to the middle of fall, trees are filled with vibrant green leaves. These leaves provide relief from the rage of the summer heat and shelter for the weaker plants hiding in their long shadow. But, as summer turns to autumn, leaves begin to loose the nourishment they once found in the branches of the tree and they pull away from the tree - falling to the ground in a vast array of beautiful color. We ooh and aah at the color, but as much as I enjoy seeing the fall colors arrive I am always a touch melancholy at their arrival. Winter is on its way.
 
As the leaves change color they are dying. They are loosing the one thing that gave them strength and vibrancy. They are loosing the one thing which made them a force against the raging heat of summer and the storms of night. They are loosing there connection to their tree.
 
The same thing happens to us when we stop seeking the Father and His love in our lives. When we think we have enough of God's love to sustain us for the "long haul" and we turn away from studying His Word, spending time with His children, and we choose to be in-this world rather than in with the King. We loose our nourishment - our life blood - when we step outside of the circle of God's grace and his purpose.
 
Jesus commanded us to remain in his love. He commanded us to stay connected to the tree of life - to stay connected to the King. The leaves are only strong against the storms of life and the raging heat of summer when they are lush with the nourishment the tree provides. But as the seasons change those same leaves cannot maintain their strength against the storms as they are easily blown to the ground to wither and die.
 
Jesus warns us that the same thing will happen to us if we choose to sever ourselves from the life giving strength of the King - He is the vine - we are the branches - and the only way we will produce fruit is to remain connected to Him. The only way our lives will be strong and withstand the storms and the heat we will face is to be in with the King. We are not self-sustained creatures. We are like the leaves of the trees. We need nourishment from the tree. Without Him we will surely wither under the heat this world offers.
 
Scripture

John 15

Quote

Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.
Leon Bloy
 
 

Friday, October 19, 2012

The Choice is Yours - John 14



Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” 

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
John 14: 1, 4 

On so many days I feel just like Thomas.  
Lord, I don't know where you are...how can I know how to find you?

We live in a world constantly telling us which way we should go.
How we should look. 
What we should believe. 
How we should dress. 
Who we should be.
How is it ever possible to know which way to go?



Jesus has spent his entire ministry telling his followers where he was from and to where he would be returning. He told them how to live their lives and what the Father expected of each of them. So when Thomas asks so innocently, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way.” He is basically saying that he has missed everything Jesus said to his disciples through out his ministry. Thomas wasn’t so different from you and me.

We are often blinded and cannot see the path of truth that God is laying before us. We struggle with knowing exactly what to do and when to do it. Recently, I heard a woman say that she was waiting for a “sign” from God to tell her what she should do next. She had become paralyzed waiting for God. She was essentially saying, “Lord I don’t know where you are in my life so how can I know the way.” We would all love God to give us a step by step map for which move we should take in our lives, but that isn’t what being made in God’s image is all about. He doesn’t make our decisions for us - He has given us free will. He expects us to make choices; to make decisions on where we are going to go and how we are going to live. He has already given us His truth and His life – now it is our turn to make the decisions on how our path will lead us to Jesus and to Him. 

Jesus told us – just as he told his disciples 2,000+ years ago – where he was going; where he is in fact waiting for us at this moment. He went on to the Father’s house. We know that he is preparing a place for us – because he promised us he would. And we know that the only way to get there is through a relationship with him. Now, how you reflect that relationship – how you live out God’s grace in your life is up to you.
You can accept it and live fully in truth and love and life. Or you can turn away from Him and His truth, wondering where God went in your life.

The choice is yours.
  Scripture
John 14

Quote

“Christ is not valued at all, unless He is valued above all.” 
Augustine
 
GUMY THIS SUNDAY - 5-7pm ALL GUMY AGES!!!! 
 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Jesus Wept - John 11





Jesus wept.
John 11:35

Jesus wept.

Two little words.

The shortest scripture passage in the Bible and yet, so telling.

In two words, we feel Jesus’ compassion, pain, loss, sympathy, empathy, sorrow and love - all of that emotion conveyed in two little words.

Jesus was truly human. 
Only a human could feel the loss of a friend with so much depth and so much beauty.

And Jesus was truly divine. 
Only a Savior – only God – could raise a man from four days in the grave.

Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  
(John 11:43-44)

This story of Lazarus’s resurrection is fascinating – not merely for the miracle and foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death and resurrection – but because of the depth of human emotion and love Jesus shows to Mary and Martha in their time of need.

These two women were so disappointed in the Master they had come to love and to trust. 
Where had he been when Lazarus, their brother, was sick and needed his healing
Where was Jesus when they wept as Lazarus took his last breath and succumbed to the illness? 
Where was he when they suffered their loss?

These ladies felt abandoned and so very lost. When Jesus arrived, four days after their brother had passed, they sought his comfort all while gently rebuking him for not being where they thought they needed him.

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

They believed in his power – but they could only see what they thought they needed. They could not understand that Jesus is bigger and can do mightier things than our finite minds can fathom.

Jesus knew at the moment he entered Bethany that he would raise Lazarus from the dead. 
He knew that he would perform one of his greatest miracles. 
And yet, he met these ladies where they were in their grief. 
He was so human that he felt their sorrow as his own and he wept with them.

So often we want Jesus to answer our cries with what we can see as the perfect solution to our problem. But what we have to learn from Mary and Martha is that Jesus’ healing – Jesus’ desire to fulfill our true needs – is so much bigger than what we can see in our little minds. 

And sometimes, to prepare us for the miracle he has planned down the road, he knows we need him to walk along side us in the midst of our suffering and sorrow and we need him to weep with us. 

And without that good cry, we will never be ready to receive the blessing he has waiting on the other side of the valley.

Scripture

Quote 

If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.
Robert M. McCheyne 

Question of the Day

When do you feel Jesus walking with you - sharing your sorrows and your burdens?

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

To Love Like Jesus - John 13




I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3

"Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so..."

Jesus loves me. 

This is a fact ingrained in the very marrow of our beings. From the time we are small children, barely speaking or crawling, we know that Jesus loves us. We read it in the Bible. We hear it in the words of music. We feel it when we step into a church filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus loves me.

But how do I love Jesus?

I was chatting with a friend yesterday and through our conversation it dawned on me that we are always focused on how Jesus, how the world, how our friends or our family love us. 
Am I being fulfilled?
Am I being loved enough?
Am I getting what I need?

And Jesus loves us to the point of overflowing. He loves us through everything in our lives and regardless of how we love him back. Jesus does not put any conditions on his love. He doesn't ask:
Am I being fulfilled?
Am I being loved enough?
Am I getting what I need?

Jesus doesn't ask those questions - he simply loves us with "an everlasting love". 

But I am not sure I always love Jesus with the same passion.

All too often I love him with an after-thought love rather than a primary passionate love. 
I become too consumed by my needs, wants and desires to ever ask him what he wants from me, even though he told all of us what he expects:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35

Jesus commands us to love as he loves. 
He wants us to love without expecting anything in return.
He wants us to love without worrying about being fulfilled or being loved enough or getting what we need.
He wants us to love unconditionally and to trust that whatever we are missing from the love of other human beings will be made complete in him. 

We are to trust his love to be everything we need.
And we are called to love as purely and selflessly as he loves us.

Love without boundaries.
Love without expecations.
This is how Jesus loves.

He loves without expecting anything in return.

Scripture

Question of the Day
How can you make loving unconditionally a consistent part of your life?

Quote of the Day
The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.
Brian Tracy