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Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 31, 2021 at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. – Isaiah 51:3
Thanksgiving and Anticipation
The God who comforts us has come with song. He has come amidst the sounds of thanksgiving and praise. He has come to a people in anticipation, a people longing for redemption. The God of comfort is He who turns deserts into gardens of delight. It is He who brings salvation and justice. It is He who writes His law upon on hearts. It is He who causes the ransomed captive to return singing. He is the God to whom we give thanks and whose arrival we celebrate.
He takes our waste places and makes them flourish. Where are the waste places in your life? What of your hopes have you written off as hopeless? In what dimensions of your existence have you relinquished your dreams? These are your waste places. Into these wastelands comes the Messiah of Israel, your comforter.
Where is your wilderness? Change its name to Eden. By faith embrace the new day that God is bringing to you. Embrace Him in the desert and watch the flowers of new life bloom around you.
Sing with joy. Sing with gladness, Make melody in your heart. This is the day of thanksgiving. This is the time of refreshment. This is the time when longings swell into a chorus of fulfillment. The Day of the Lord is near.
Every new season reminds us that He has indeed come. Every year we remember that as He once departed, He will come again in the clouds of glory.
This is our blessed hope. All holidays are holy days, sacred or secular. We look back and we look forward. We are blessed with the big picture, but we also know that there is more to come.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Until then, we shall rejoice in You!
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 30, 2021 at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The Ancient of Days (1794). Watercolor etching by William Blake - Public Domain
"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. " - Daniel 7:21-22
Daniel is given a glimpse into the final triumph of God over the powers of evil. That is the glimpse of ultimate victory we see when we look down into the troth that cradled Jesus. That vulnerable baby, young, innocent, and full of potential was the Ancient of Days.
To call Jesus the Ancient of Days is to attribute to Him all wisdom, knowledge, authority, and power, but it is also to call Him hope. His coming means the end of the warfare where God's people are battered and beaten by sin and evil. His advent is the triumph of justice, truth, and righteousness.
Every wrong ever wrought, every slander spoken, and every act of bigotry and ruthless hate is righted by Jesus, the Ancient of Days. Every sin is accounted for by His death and resurrection. He is the one true hope of those who long for justice.
Injustice is so prevalent that we find it more comfortable to turn a blind eye and allow ourselves to be numbed to its impact. But God is not blind. Nor is He indifferent to the plight of the broken, wounded, and persecuted. He is the defender of the forgotten and the champion of the weak.
The Ancient of Days has come and the final outcome to the battle between good and evil has been decided.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 25, 2021 at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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We will all end up in some fire, hot water, or lion's den at some point in our lives.
If we follow Jesus, are sent by Jesus, or answer the call of Jesus, we are most likely to get in some sort of trouble for it. May it be what Congressman John Lewis called, "good trouble."
What common themes are emerging for your life?
"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."- Daniel 3:16-18
"… If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.." - Luke 9:23
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us …." - Ephesians 3:20
The Hebrew children would have readily said "amen" to the words of Jesus. And they knew the reality of Paul's declaration of faith in the power of God to deliver. But they also could identify with the words of Esther when challenged by Mordecai, "If I perish, I perish."
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood that there are some things far more important that safety and security. Those concerns and the fear that we might somehow be harmed or killed too often govern us. For them, the integrity of their faith came first. Their loyalty was to God, the Almighty, and nothing that any man could do to them could deter them from their commitments.
Our God is great and powerful. He is a faithful God who stands by His people. The demands of discipleship are enormous, but God places even greater demands upon Himself. To remain faithful to Himself, He is faithful to His people. For every cross and every furnace, He is present. He never leaves or forsakes us. He does not stand aloof from our struggles and is not powerless to deliver. We can trust God enough to submit our lives to Him.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 25, 2021 at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Firey furnace, good trouble
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The Thinker -CC BY-SA 2.0, File:Le Penseur in the Jardin du Musée Rodin, Paris 14 June 2015.jpg, Douglas O'Brien from Canada - IMGP2543
Ten Strategies for Making the Most of Every Day
We start each day with hope. At least I do and most positive people I know do the same. There is an occasional "dreaded" day, but it is the exception and is usually combated by positive self-talk and prayer.
The rule is that we begin our mornings expecting to exploit our effectiveness and embrace our opportunities. Our "to-do" lists are full and our hearts are ready to meet our challenges until something happens. We don't finish our first task in the time we have allotted. We are now behind.
Then there is another glitch ... and another ...
And we begin to lose hope and heart.
How do we make the most of our days ...
Here are some suggestions. Since the sound of my thinking is sometimes "mmmmmmmm," I will use "m"s to gather my thoughts.
Build margins into your life and into your calendar. Don't overcrowd your day. We just don't allow enough space for the unexpected and serendipitous interruptions of "aha" moments into our time. Allow space in your planner and in your life to wander, wonder, and discover.
Accomplish more than one task at a time. Consolidate trips. Listen to books in your car. Think efficiency in your planning. Take work to the coffee shop. Focus on the moment you are experiencing so that you accomplish more in less time. Prepare to use 5-15 minute slots effectively by having some basic tools ready to use and with you. Learn to use time wisely.
Be ruthless in eliminating the time and task demands that will not advance your mission, purpose and goals. Set a specific amount of time for tiny and minimally consequential tasks each day. Do what must be done first. Then, when the time is over, move on and take the list back up tomorrow.
Take charge of your own schedule. Politely excuse yourself from many good things that are not centered on where you are currently going in accordance with your mission. Give your time to people, but do so with wisdom and set appropriate boundaries. Invest your life where it will bear fruit. Your time is the only space in which you can live your life. Manage it.
You won't get this all at once. Grow a little in it every day. Keep a journal of what you are learning. Keep track of what is effective and ineffective and learn from yourself.
It is a word that means "serve." PLAN to serve people some every day. Build service into your schedule. Organize your time so that you have time to do things for others that will not benefit you in any predictable or tangible way.
Master some skills that you will use frequently. Some things you do well take less time because you have eliminated your learning curve. Also, discover who or what masters you so that you will always have a compass to help you decide the direction you will take each day and all your days.
Movement in life is essential. Apply grace as you proceed through the day and move things around in your schedule. Life takes unexpected turns. Have a planner with enough space to scratch through some things and insert new ideas and plans.
Gather other people to assist you in the days you cannot accomplish at all or accomplish alone. Delegate where that is in your power and enlist when your only power is influence. In order to do this, you'll need to cultivate good relationships daily. People are willing to help friends. So make friends.
Meet and Meditate
Start every day with a meeting. If you meet with God, which I recommend, prioritize that meeting. Prioritize it; don't categorize it or compartmentalize it. Let it envelope everything else in your life.
If you are not there in your practice or belief, at least meet with yourself. Focus first on "being" issues, but bring your calendar to the meeting. Sometime, before it is done, go over it with God, your Higher Power, or yourself. Do it devotionally and openly and don't rush the time.
One could go on all day, but then one might start wasting time. What are your strategies?
Consider that and celebrate this, your today. it is the only today you have quite like it.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 23, 2021 at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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"There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it." ~ John Ruskin
"In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by rests, and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the theme. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives; and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator."
"How does the musician read the rest? See him beat the time with unvarying count and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breaking place had come between."
"Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not to be dismayed at the rests. They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we look up, God himself will beat the time for us." - John Ruskin
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 22, 2021 at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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" Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech." So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth." (Genesis 11:1-9 ESV)
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 21, 2021 at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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"The arms of the wicked ..."
"... shall be broken."
" The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;he is their stronghold in the time of trouble."
(Psalm 37:39 ESV)
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 21, 2021 at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."
And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said o the sea, "Peace! Be still!"
Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"
And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?''- Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)
Reflections on Storms
In the boat and in the storm,
Though it be anomaly or though it be norm,
Tossed and swamped, and dramatized,
Sleeps One who cannot be traumatized.
Sways to left and rocks to the right.
Sun grows dim, land out of sight.
It seems He's asleep until He's awakened,
That One is still and cannot be shaken.
"Wake up, Master Jesus for all that we cherish
Is now being rocked! Don't you care that we perish?"
He got up and sat up, and spoke to the winds
And turned His attention and spoke to His friends.
"I see you're afraid; do you even know why?
Have you no faith; Don't you know it is I?"
He was there in the boat, along with His fellows,
But resting in peace, then commanding the bellows.
Just a word from His mouth and the seas would be calm.
He is wellness, shalom, deliverer, and balm.
And filled with an awe that enshrined that dark hour
They wondered aloud who He was with such power.
We've each had our storms and at times been aware
Of unshakable Presence and a Word that was there,
But never imagined the difference He makes,
Maintaining the peace while everything quakes.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 20, 2021 at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Praying Over the Bible
"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. " Psalm 119:18
Before you read, pray.
This grand and simple prayer is an expression of expectation and faith. Our level of discovery in scripture will seldom exceed our level of expectation.
It is seekers who find according to Jesus.
David expected wonderful things from the law of God. He, in turn, found wonders beyond anything he could have dreamed.
Dr. Martin Luther King said,
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Dr. King, approached the scriptures to be instructed and informed. As he formed his philosophy of non-violence from the example and teaching of Jesus, so we must be willing to be shaped and molded by words we have never read along staircases of truth we have never traveled.
Dr. King also said on the night before his death,
"I just want to do God's will"
In the same way, we must approach God's Word in search of His will with a desire to receive it and do it whatever it may command.
Dr. King once wrote,
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
Much worse is willful ignorance and arrogant stupidity. Our prayer over scripture and our reading of the same must not be arrogant and all-knowing. We come to God for instruction and apart from that instruction, we remain willfully ignorant.
We must come humbly, willingly, and prayerfully.
The psalmist speaks of his own longing for God's Word in verse 20 and of God's rebuke for the arrogant who think they already know it all in verse 21.
"My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments."
In verse 24 he speaks of God's laws as his counselors. Because that is so true, we bow before God before we even open his Word, asking that He guide us and teach us.
Martin Luther King, whose birthday we commemorated this week, is but one example of what God can do through the life of a person who comes prayerfully to the scriptures for instruction and enlightenment.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 20, 2021 at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 17, 2021 at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Originally posted January 10, 2010
Live loose; live light; live large.
I have been reflecting on an issue that often troubles me. When a crisis occurs in the world, there is an urge to pack up and go, or to at least to write a very big check. Many share that urge. But we are constrained by time commitments, lack of preparation, and enormous personal debt.
As part of the changes in my own life, I am thinking I need to make an effort to live loose, live light, and live large.
Living loose means to take life as it comes and to be able to join Isaiah in his declaration, "Here I am; send me."
If we live loose, we plan and implement our plans, but we do not become so attached to our plans that they take precedence over our purpose for living. Strategies are vital to our goals, but they change. They must not rule us. Calendars represent commitments to be honored, but there must be some flexibility built into our rigid lives.
Living loose means living in a state of readiness to respond to God's call through the suffering of the world.
Living loose may mean having a passport ready at all times. I don't have that. It may mean having contingencies plans and back up prepared for our routine commitments.
Mostly it is an attitude.
I need to live light. Too often we are guided by our limitations. We have created many of those limitations through compulsive spending, mismanagement of credit, consumer greed, and appetites out of control. I have wasted thousands of dollars for which I have little to show.
What do we really need? What is interfering with our ability to give when a need arises?
How can we lighten our loads and live simpler, more rewarding and satisfying lives?
Not only debt, but possessions and expectations of comfort and pleasure can tie us down.
So can mismanaged health and wellness. We are often just too out of shape to be ready to respond. I, for one, have abused my body through years of eating too much of the wrong food and failure to push myself beyond my comfort level in exercise.
These are seemingly innocent sins, but they have effected my availability.
I am just being honest here - I have not lived light. Yet, in recent weeks, I have been experiencing an emptying of myself before God. It has been obvious on the physical level, but it has informed my soul and my spirit.
The sad consequence of the past, however, is that barring a miracle, I could not financially, physically, or professionally get on a plane tomorrow and fly to Haiti.
Neither do I have the money in the bank to write a big check. I will write a check, but it will not be what I could have written if I had lived more wisely and lightly.
There are skills I ought to require, but there is the ever-present excuse: When can I find the time?
Where does anyone find time? We make time.
Living large means we take the world into our hearts and let it expand us beyond ourselves. It means growing toward a God-sized concern for the pain of humanity. It means weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. It means thinking globally and eternally.
Living large means loving our neighbors as ourselves.
We love ourselves. We pamper ourselves, indulge ourselves, and fatten ourselves. In the process, we destroy ourselves for usefulness. We need to find a new way of loving ourselves that embraces the whole world. We need to transform our love of self into something that feeds a new self, a servant self, a more fulfilled and joyful self that is available to God and others.
As we change ourselves and love ourselves that way, we can love and change the world.
Live loose; live light; live large!
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 16, 2021 at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Psalm 20:1 - May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
In the spirit of blessing and benediction, we come to pray for a friend. Such a prayer blesses the giver, the receiver, and the heart of God. In this case, the intercessor is speaking to God on behalf of another but in doing so openly, is speaking also, to the other on behalf of God. It is a ministry of healing, grace, and love that encourages the head upon which the blessing is laid. It is priestly and it is sacramental. Protection and deliverance come to the distressed often after the prayer of another. Who can you bless today?
Psalm 20:2 - May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
In ministry, the help that we offer does not come from us. It proceeds directly from the presence of God. Our encouraging presence is not a gift of our own resources, but of the Master who fashioned us and sent us forth equipped to serve. We offer support by "being there," but that support is the Christ within us who comes alongside. He is the Spirit, the Paraclete who lifts the broken and heals the wounded. We can withhold such a blessing to our detriment and that of others, but we cannot manufacture it. Stop withholding.
Psalm 20:3 - May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. Selah
This verse, interpreted in the light of the New Covenant lifts up the cross in the presence of God and the person we desire to bless. It is not our sacrifice, but that with which we identify in Christ that makes an offering of our lives acceptable to God. We can have confidence in such a sacramental act as was wrought in the passion of the Lamb of God. Into the malaise of our frail attempts to appease God, He entered with the perfect offering for sin and made this prayer possible.
Psalm 20:4 - May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
As astounding as it may sound, God desires to give us our desires, but only after He has transformed those desires and brought them into sync with His own. He wants our plans to succeed, but inasmuch as His Spirit has planted those plans in our hearts. The progression of the blessing is the prerequisite experience of the blanket prayer. First there is distress, then divine deliverance and protection, followed by help, support, sacrifice, and offering. The transforming power of these events paves the way for success.
Psalm 20:5 – We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.
There have been many along the way that have cheered you on to spiritual success and growth. The have applauded God at your salvation, baptism, and first steps in discipleship. They have encouraged you and embraced you along your pilgrimage. It is your turn to do this for another. You are called to be an encourager or a mentor or even a cheerleader. You have the capacity to invest your life and prayers in someone other than yourself and to take great joy in his or her progress. Don't let the opportunity slip away.
Psalm 20:6 - Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.
It is a serendipitous moment when we realize within ourselves that God does indeed save those upon whom His purposes rest. Jesus Christ is God's anointed and all who are found in Him are heirs of God's purposes, promises, and privileges. We suddenly discover that we can reinterpret every event in our lives in the newly discerned light of God's eternal program in which we are included. Live each day in the light of His promises and in the confidence of your secure position in His eternal family.
Psalm 20:7 – Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
The difference between God's anointed and the self-appointed is a matter of trust. We don't need more insight as Brennan Manning has noted in "Ruthless Trust," but more trust. We need to recklessly abandon our lives to God with such radical displacement of self and fleshly confidence that we will sink or swim based only upon God's truth, love, and faithfulness. It is the call of the Christian to climb as far out on a limb with God as possible and then, to live there in an ever deepening reliance upon Him and Him alone.
Psalm 20:8 - They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
Those who trust in the weapons and schemes of man are ultimately frustrated in every human effort. Often, the contrast is most pronounced in times of crisis, grief, or hardship. The countenance of the worldly falls with the loss of position, strength, prosperity, or self-confidence. The godly, though battered, bruised, broken, and besieged, will rise up and stand firm. Grief and sorrow befall every soul, but "that soul who on Jesus hath leaned for repose …" God "… will never, no never desert to his foes."
Psalm 20:9 - O LORD, save the king! Answer us when we call!
From the sanctuary of Israel rises up a song of prayer for the man who symbolized their security, well being, and success as a nation. God's people had the impulse to pray for their nation and leaders in the days of the psalmist. They knew that no people and no potentate could stand apart from the awesome power of the King of the Universe. How seldom we pray for people in power, for decision makers, for the affairs of state and for people of note. How deeply they need our prayers.
Let us commit to pray for all our leaders.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 16, 2021 at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Reflections on Psalm 18
Psalm 18:1 - I love you, O LORD my strength, O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.
We sing of our love for God this morning.
Psalm 18:2 - The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
The psalmist reaches deeply into his reserves of imagery to describe the security, stability, and solidity that God brings to his life. He uses, in this verse, only one image to describe his own response: "in whom I take refuge." There is only one possible response to the trustworthiness and faithfulness of a strong and mighty God who loves us. That response is trust. From the place of faith and trust we proceed to praise, obedience, consecration, and rightful fear.
Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. (Job 13:15)"
Whatever the circumstances of our lives, the intensity of our senses, or the severity of our emotions, God is our stronghold and trust is our way of saying "yes" to Him.
Psalm 18:2 - The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
It was 1999 and a tornado had ripped through Moore Oklahoma. Homes had been destroyed. Families were devastated. The need was great.
One of the most recognizable architectural features in town was the high and visible cross at the First Baptist Church. It was also the location of an emergency center.
The word went out to all who needed help, "Go to the cross."
Churches have often been adorned with steeples, towers and crosses. They are present so that the buildings will stand out and remind the community of the majesty and strength of God in redemptive love and unswerving power.
It is God Himself who is our fortress, deliverer, and high tower. He is our strength. He is our shield. He is our salvation.
We can go to Him.
We understand the love of God and how we benefit from His love. What we sometimes overlook is how dependent we are on His strength. No matter how much He might love us, if He were not strong enough to keep His word and save us, it would all be for naught.
But alas, He is strong and loving and we can go to Him.
Psalm 18:3 - I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
There are three vital touch points in this verse. One is the vocal and volitional response of the trusting heart to God. The next is of greater importance. It is the acknowledgement of the worthiness of the One to whom all trusting souls call. The third and least important is the resulting salvation for all who call to God in faith. In what sense and with what intensity have you been calling to the Lord in recent days? Have your desperate and passionate prayers been bathed in a sense of the wondrous worth of God? Have you been going for God and His glory and letting deliverance follow or have you been shifting the focus to the resulting salvation of your life. Keep your perspective in prayer. It is always all about God. Out of that salvation always follows.
Psalm 18:4-5 – The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave [coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
There is a graver danger than death. It is the denial of death. The psalmist is not seduced by its subtle and intoxicating lure. He looks around and sees, eyes open, the threats that surround him. He does not avoid confrontation, but brings these issues honestly and forthrightly to God. Adopt a strategy of brutal honesty in your life of prayer. In doing so, you bring your awareness of God front and center in the midst of the perils of life and death. Peace and victory are very near the soul that can look death in the face without turning away.
Psalm 18:5 - The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
There are snares of the devil and snares of death and snares of those who are threatened by the path we travel. And all such snares are designed to divert us from that path, the way of the Master. We all face them and some of us come through them.
Just turn the word "through" over and over in your heart and mind. Then celebrate. Celebrate because the snares did not finish you off. Celebrate because you either avoided them or, with God's help, managed to break free of their clutches. Celebrate deliverance. Celebrate strength in times of trial. Celebrate grace!
The psalmist knew the snares of death. He saw them as road blocks. But he also saw them in the past tense. He had come through.
Of course, some of them have caught you. Whether they caught you off-guard or whether you moved headlong in their direction, eyes wide open, the same grace is for you. Others simply hindered you and brought you discomfort and disquieting, sleepless nights. Whatever the circumstances, look in the mirror. You are still here. You have come through.
What next?
How will the snares of the past prepare you for the snares of the future? Are you wiser in Christ? Are you stronger in Him? Do you have a greater hope and a more solid faith? Is your resolve more resolute than ever before now that you have stared down the snares of death?
You can make it because you have made it. You can make it because others have made it. You can make it most of all, because you have a forerunner, Jesus Christ, who has finished the race and stands at the finish line to welcome you.
Neither hell nor death, nor the defeated one who wields them as weapons against the elect of God can defeat you. You are passing through the snares. They are not eternal. Nor are they all powerful. You are much more than a conqueror through Him who loved you.
Psalm 18:6 - In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
It is not stress that threatens our souls, but distress. And even distress is not the end of the matter for one who is working out his or her trust in God. "That soul who on Jesus hath leaned for repose …" is not hesitant to cry out to God for help. The lessons from the Twelve Steps of A.A. are modified to say that we admitted we were powerless over sin and human frailty - that our lives had become unmanageable and came to believe that only God in Jesus Christ, who is far greater than ourselves, could restore us to sanity. In my distress and out of my distress, my cry is to God who hears me. Let these words challenge and comfort you.
Psalm 18:7 - The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.
God is not to be toyed with. When He hears the distressed cry of those whose trust is in Him and releases His power to deliver, there are repercussions. Peter Marshal once preached that prayer is a very dangerous business. Things get shaken. The quaking of the earth is an awesome voice, but it is the voice of God that truly gets the attention of a complacent world. Don't stop praying, but never succumb to the delusion that prayer is merely a benign exercise of religious sentiment. It is not. It is a trigger that may release the anger of God through agreement with Him and His purposes. Though His wrath is ultimately redemptive, its delivery can be very frightening. When you pray, be prepared to tremble with the earth.
Psalm 18:9 - Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
God wants us to know some things about Himself that we may tend to overlook if the extent of our theology is "Jesus loves me; this I know." That is a true and faithful summary statement, but it is amplified by the prior knowledge that He is a holy and awesome God who is intolerant of anything that goes against Himself, His purposes, and yes, His love. Again, do not toy with God. Do not reduce Him to a simplistic formula or a divine, cosmic grandpa. We must know enough to fall down prostrate in His presence before we can crawl into His lap as beloved children. The two may happen simultaneously, but one will never be without the knowledge of the other. He is God and we are not.
Psalm 18:10 - He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
God is not sequestered in Heaven. Neither is He confined to a dogma or a domicile. At any time, He can and does part the Heavens to come in judgment, deliverance, and grace. This image of God "coming down" is not a contradiction to the truth of the immanence of His presence. This is a functional description of His intervention in our affairs in response to the cry of a trusting soul. God responds to your response to Him through prayer. Never minimized in your mind the significance of your prayers. When you pray, you are on holy ground.
Psalm 18:11 - He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
The heart thrills at the music of these words. The vision of God mounting the cherubim and soaring on His very wind is dramatic, inspiring, and comforting at the same time. In the previous verse we saw dark clouds under His feet. That tells us that this vision of "God-to-the-rescue" can only be seen by the trusting soul whose sight penetrates the darkness and views reality from the eyes of faith. Let us number ourselves with such as they whenever we look upon the deathly dangers and antagonistic arrogance around us. Thus we shall prayerfully maintain our focus while the world stumbles in despairing darkness.
Psalm 18:12 - He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-- the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Darkness is not a characteristic of God. However, He clothes Himself in darkness. He does not fully disclose Himself for to do so would overwhelm even the faithful. Through the eyes of trusting faith, we receive His self-disclosure of light and truth, but only through a glass darkly. Apart from faith, all we see are dark rain clouds. Do not be deceived – not all that is obscured is the harbinger of death. Behind the clouds, there is light. Learn to look for God in every crisis of belief. He is present.
Psalm 18:13 - Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
It is no wonder that God clothes Himself in darkness. His brightness is so brilliant that no human could bear the storm. Someday, we will be enabled to see fully as we are seen and to know fully as we are known. Until then, we view with unveiled face through the glass, the glory of the Lord. Unlike the great and mighty Oz who was merely a mild mannered professor from Kansas behind the veil of thunder and lightening, our God is so very much more that we can see or know. As Rich Mullins, who now sees very clearly, sang, "Our God is an awesome God."
Psalm 18:14 - The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
Sound is a phenomenon, in the natural world, that is centered in vibrations of various frequencies. These vibrations cause ripples in time and space that reverberate and resound to the human ear. Like thunder, vocal sound gets our attention. The voice is refined sound. God's voice is heard because God will not be silent and has something to say to us. If we will listen, His voice will thunder in our ears. Otherwise, we will deafen those same ears to truth and love. We must remain alert, even if that makes us vulnerable to be startled, for in that startling, we are awakened to hear God at new frequencies of reality.
Psalm 18:15 - He shot his arrows and scattered [the enemies], great bolts of lightning and routed them.
With the same conviction that we affirm that God is not to be toyed with, we are reminded that God does not toy with us. His anger at sin is unambiguous. His wrath is without prejudice. It is not an emotional outburst from a temperamental potentate, but a proportional response to all that blasphemes His name and oppresses His people. Evil is a bully. Its only strength is in numbers. Only truth stands alone and God is truth. When the oppressors of all that is godly "gang-up" on God's children, He comes with arrows, lightening, and all that is in the arsenal of truth to scatter them and render them impotent. Do not be afraid of Satan though he commands a host of demons. One Word of God will route the enemy. Align yourself with Him and be secure.
Psalm 18:16 – The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
The poetic imagery speaks for itself, but the truth is grasped in meditation. Nothing can withstand God's rebuke. He has the final word
on all matters: moral, ethical, spiritual, and intellectual. He will not bow to our perceptions or opinions and He will not withhold His judgment. He breathes truth. All that comes forth from Him is true and sometimes that truth scrapes away the veneer of falsehood with such ferocity that the effect can only be described as wrath. But with His relentless insistence upon fidelity to Himself, His purposes, and His ways, He breathes also, love. And when we behold it, we know that it is the real thing.
Psalm 18:17 - He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
Here is God, breaking through the resistance, piercing the darkness, rebuking all deceit and wickedness, and relentlessly pursuing His purpose. Here is God, thundering forth His voice, blasting the clouds with bolts of lightening, God who is pure and fully integrated, God who judges all that is against His ways. This God stoops low to lift us. He bursts through the clouds to rescue His beloved. He draws us out of the deep waters where we are drowning. He is the God who saves. We have come to appreciate His anger. Now we can fully appreciate His saving love.
Psalm 18:18 - He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
Think for a moment of the strong enemies I your life whether they are habits, attitudes, discouragements, or addictions. How often have you underestimated their power over you and your powerlessness over them? What have been the results of overestimating your strength? Christianity is not about us being strong; it is about God's strength within us. Pride is that enemy which empowers every other enemy to conquer our souls. Release pride. Expel it from your life. Admit your powerlessness and trust in God to rescue you from your enemies within and without today.
Psalm 18:19 - They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
When you are down, you are also vulnerable to every enemy that lives around you or inside you. Temptations surface when our pain is most acute and our weakness most profound. Satan comes to accuse, deceive, and allure in our disaster. The foes of our souls are looking for opportunities to get in our faces and sneer us into subjection. But the Lord is our support. Consider it today and rely upon it. Make it the subject of your prayer and stand in the assurance.
Psalm 18:20-21 - He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
God's delight in His children is what moves Him to rescue us. As we would seek to protect the ones we love, so He reaches out to us. It is about a relationship. That's what righteousness is – something being rightly related. Our filthy hands are made clean because of our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. It is on that basis that we are rewarded. It doesn't seem fair because it is not. It is grace.
Psalm 18:22-24 - For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
Perhaps the psalmist felt he had done no wrong. Perhaps his definition of "doing no evil" was limited. Or maybe he understood blamelessness in terms of a fresh and up-to-date righteous relationship with God where God's mercy and grace make up for the deficits in our spiritual accounts. A Christian reading these words must filter them through the teachings of Jesus and the reality of the cross. All have sinned; all have turned away; and none is blameless. However, God is willing to see us as blameless through a right relationship with His righteous Son. The important factor is that we are turning to God and He gives us confidence in His presence by His own merit. Thus we can understand a pray the prayer of the psalmist with calm assurance.
Psalm 18:25-26 – The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
The difficulty with this verse is the same as the previous. From what we know from the rest of scripture, our righteousness does not carry enough clout to purchase a reward. Our cleanest cleanness is filthy. Our faithfulness is fleeting. We have much blame. But that is not the whole story. The slightest overture of response toward God, the tiniest demonstration of faith, the simplest suggestion of sincere seeking is met with God's adequacy and provision. God rewards the little we bring to Him by supplying all that is deficient in us. It is the song of grace that resounds from these verses and it is a precious song indeed. He makes us righteous, clean, faithful, and blameless that He and we might enjoy a relationship of love and joy together.
Psalm 18:27 - to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
Our purity comes from God. Having said that, let us consider purity as an attitude through which we approach God. The idea of purity evokes images of brilliant light shining through a diamond revealing the full spectrum of colors. It calls to remembrance the embrace of a child, the song of a sparrow, and the penetrating sincerity of an eager student on the first day of class. Purity is a condition of the heart, focus of the mind, and consecration of the body. It is undiluted devotion and singular commitment to a one and only center which gives everything else meaning and perspective. The pure in heart will see God because God is pure. Ask God to purify your soul and spirit today.
Psalm 18:28 - For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. The psalmist declared that God's Word was his light and his lamp. John declared that in Jesus, Light came into the world when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Jesus illumines the world with His coming and illuminates the Word of God with His very presence.
Just one candle, Jesus, lights the world with brilliance and truth.
These are days of escalating attempts at spectacular light shows – synthetic lights, exploding lights, psychedelic lights – all designed the baffle, amaze, and bewilder.
Yet, when Jesus came, aside from one great burst of glory with a shepherd audience and a star that only some wise men noticed, He presented Himself as one tiny candle, a baby. And that was enough to light the world as John said, "the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:5)
In shining forth as a candle in the dark, Jesus made sense of hundreds of years of sacred scripture, He revealed the mystery of the ages, He brought hope to the dark hearts of men, and He called us to join Him as the light of the world, not to be hidden under a bushel. He was and is just one candle, but out of that one, many. As you light your Christmas candles, remember that it only took one to light the world forever.
Psalm 18:28-29 – You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
Humility is a prerequisite to salvation. No one who is promoting her own resume of righteousness can expect to benefit from mercy. No one bragging about His lack of need will find the place of neediness needed to receive grace. Haughtiness may impress those whose mantra is to win by intimidation, but it commands no respect from God. God will have none rise except those He raises. He will exalt none but Himself and those who He brings alongside Himself. Our only aura is darkness, but God turns the darkness of the humble into the light of Heaven. Humble yourself before God today and He will lift you to the realm of eternal inextinguishable light.
Psalm 18:30 - With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
My great grandfather, we are told, was at Gettysburg in Pickett's charge. He survived that blood bath though scores of Confederates fell around him. As they ran up that hill against a line of blazing guns, they must have been chilled with fear and numbed with dread, but for some reason, they proceeded – as did the freemen in South Carolina immortalized in the film, "Glory" and the heroes of Normandy. At the command of a leader and for love of country or cause, many a soldier has advanced against a troop and scaled a wall that required more strength, courage, and skill than he or she possessed. In life, in our battles and skirmishes with sin, self, and sickness, we are called upon to give more than we have and extend beyond our abilities. It is then that God helps us with His external encouragement and internal power.
Psalm 18:31-32 - As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
God's perfection is the only hope of any person for anything that approximates perfection. His flawless word is the standard by which all truth may be evaluated. He is God, pure and simple and for those who come to Him to find refuge and help, He never falters or fails. He is steady; He is sure; He is solid; and He is faithful. He is the Rock. In prayer today, put absolute trust in Him for He alone is trustworthy.
Psalm 18:33 – It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
The psalmist was never bragging. He has known all along that his blamelessness, faithfulness, and righteousness all come from God. He understands that God's perfection is the essence of any personal holiness that might ever be visible in our lives. His strength is all that can make us strong. Paul came to know this reality when he declared that when he was weak he was strong because Christ's strength could be made manifest. Only God can equip us for the challenges, battles, and difficulties we will face in this life. Only God can complete our lives as we draw upon His perfection and strength. Live in faith and dependence today.
Psalm 18:34-36 - He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.
Who would not opt for solid ground upon which to stand in every situation? Only fools love battle and seek out conflict. Having made both of these statements, one must acknowledge a contrasting truth: only cowards always flee and only chronic whiners always require ideal conditions in their lives. Our spiritual feet are made for the rugged places of life. Our arms are trained for battle. God is preparing us for the adversities of life, not for virtual ease. He knows what we must face and He knows that we must face it with Him or fail. Greatness does not result from minimalist thinking or avoidance of adversity. Greatness comes as the God of the universe stoops low to lift us up in the midst of fiery trials and contentious circumstances.
Psalm 18:37-39 - You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet.
As we pursue the enemies of truth - prejudice, lust, discouragement, bitterness, and so many others – we do so with ruthless commitment to follow through to the end. We perform beyond our capacities and with courage that we do not possess in and of ourselves. We are assured of an ultimate victory that may often appear allusive and distant. So often we sense that something beyond our sight is occurring to straighten the way before us. At times we have been running with patience and speed and our ankles have turned throwing the balance of the race to our opponents. This does not need to be the case in our spiritual battles. God protects us against frivolous injuries to the end that we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Do not be afraid of freak accidents along your spiritual path God is winning this thing and He is doing so through you,
Psalm 18:40-42 – You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes. They cried for help, but there was no one to save them-- to the LORD, but he did not answer.
God 's strength is an awesome thing indeed. David was a military man, but only by necessity. By profession, he was a shepherd who was called upon to shepherd a nation. Immediately, he was besieged by the foes of God and forced to take up battle. He paid a high price for being a man of war. But sometimes, he saw a reality that escapes the self-sufficient: God goes to war before us and for us. He has the capacity to fight our battles and cause our enemies to cringe with fear and turn away. Satan is our great enemy-accuser and we are equipped to go to battle with him. He will bow at our feet, but not because our strength is so strong; God is strong and His strength makes us strong. It is out of our relationship with God that we may call upon Him when we are under attack and He hears. No other cry reaches His ears. Stay up-to-date with God and you will be prepared for anything.
Psalm 18:43-45 – I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets. You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me. As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me.
Never underestimate the power of God at work in and through you. You will be utterly amazed at what He can accomplish through your life and the impact that it will have upon others. If it is your goal to impress people with your own strength, agility, cleverness, and wit, you will be disappointed. If you desire wealth, fame, power, or respect you might be tempted to work toward those ends. You will fail or find a miserable success. However, if you seek God and His ways, He will bring you more than you could ever hope for and broaden your influence beyond your wildest imagination.
Psalm 18:46-48 - They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds. The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me.
Loss of heart is inevitable for those who oppose God. Exaltation is the shared inheritance of the saints. Praise God and lift up your head. Resist the temptation to avenge yourself against injustice or assert your own dignity. God is your champion. You will not win your spiritual battles through clever speech, biting comments, or skillful rhetoric. You will not be exalted through a show of human strength. Your hope is in God. Seek to understand His power and glory in the context of an intimate relationship with Him and leave all of your issues to Him.
Psalm 18:49-50 - Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.
We are establishing a pattern of reflection, praise, and thanksgiving on the last day of the month. Let this be no exception. Meditate upon theses words and apply them to God's providential acts in your life. Record them in your journal and sing unto the Lord with all your heart and soul. His unfailing kindness is praiseworthy.
So praise Him!
I love you, LORD!
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 14, 2021 at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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One pictures the one being sweet and the other, rather robust and, perhaps, a little bitter. And this prophet still has a word for our times!
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. – Luke 3:5-6
God called John to be a smoother and a "straightener". In many ways, John's role was nothing more than to clear away the obstacles that might impede the message of the one who would come after him.
He was a voice.
He was a voice in the wilderness.
And he cried out with passion and conviction removing excuses and uncovering facades.
He was the one to come before Jesus who could really move some mountains and clear some paths. John was a co laborer with God as we are called to be and His mission was simple:
To be an agent through whom all flesh might see the salvation of God.
God has no desire to hide His salvation. He wants all to see it. He wants all to receive it.
We have the task of removing the impediments.
What kind of impediments are there? Sometimes mountains are too high, valleys are too low, and roads are too crooked and rough. We can cooperate with God to change that.
One impediment to people seeing God's salvation is our tendency to speak religious jargon that no one understands. We mask the grace of God in a jungle of theological language and church talk.
Another is our insistence on traditions that have lost their meaning. Or it may be our own negativity or the contradictions of our lives – the dichotomy between what we profess and what we practice.
We have to remove the obstacles that keep people from coming to Christ or even hearing the Word of God. The problem is not so much that people don't want to hear as much as they sometimes cannot hear over the irrelevant chatter. Remove the impediments and let everyone see the salvation of God.
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Luke 3:7-8
From the fruitless, John required fruit. From a brood of vipers, he demanded an answer. From complacent religionists, he called for a willingness to get real. Just because they had enjoyed the benefits of covenant, it did not mean that could not be replaced. Everyone is dispensable – even those who think they are not.
Multitudes had come to be baptized. John was not impressed with his own ability to draw a big crowd. Crowds filling space do not equate to revival. Something more was necessary.
If he had had a headquarters to report to, his report might have been quite impressive, but as we said, he was not impressed. He was looking for something more because God is looking for something more.
John was preaching the possibility and necessity of life change.
Why did they come? Was it a curiosity? Was it a desire to follow the crowds? Was it a fad? Or was it fear of being left out or worse – wrath?
Some come out of wrong fear and some out of right fear. If you do not know the difference, read the book of Proverbs or visit the Grand Canyon. Right fear is awe and reverence; wrong fear is manifested in fight or flight reflexes. It is concerned only with self preservation and avoidance of trouble.
John knows there is something more and so should we. Fruits of repentance are those changed attitudes and deeds that reflect faith in the possibility of life change. They grow out of lives that have been moved by a deep desire for a more fruitful life.
Abject terror will not change our hearts. Judgment is real, but fear of judgment will not, by itself, bring us to repentance. God can do that inside of us and He is ready and willing to do so, but we must desire it and believe that it can happen.
Showing Up
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. - Luke 3:9
Once a thriving industrial plant, the factory had ceased to be productive. Chaos was the order of the day. Supervisors could not predict who would show up for work and when. Even the unions were in a state of panic.
The problem was attendance. It was the first time I'd ever heard of an adult business with an attendance committee. People were not showing up for work; but neither were they quitting or getting fired. Because of contractual clauses, they were remaining on the company and union roles and bleeding both dry in benefits.
They wanted to be employees, but they didn't want to show up for work. They wanted the benefits of employment, but none of the obligations. They didn't even show up.
That is the way John viewed the "generation of vipers" who came to be baptized. Some of them wanted the benefits of association with God and the symbols of covenant relationship, but they did not see the relationship between that and being useful.
Fruit trees exist to bring forth fruit. That is their nature and that is their function. God's people exist to bear fruit as well. It is both the nature and function of covenant people to be useful in the kingdom of God.
John was harsh. He knew what orchard owners did with barren trees. They cut them down to make room for more productive crops. He considered it presumptuous of people to think that they should be allowed to continue being useless and not be replaced.
Remember that John was preparing the way for the Lord. He was the voice that God used to flatten hills and make crooked roads straight. And he was telling it straight. He, like the law, was a schoolmaster to prepare the way of the message and messenger of grace. His role was to amplify the need for repentance and make it plain that God was not pleased with the status quo.
We need to hear this word today. God wants our lives to bear fruit. If they don't we are simply occupying space on Heaven's roster. Show up!
Asking the Question
And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? - Luke 3:10
John got the response that he must have hoped for. It was the right response. It was the only logical response from a people who had been touched and pierced by the penetrating Word of God:
"What shall we do?"
It is a word of hope and desperation. It is a word that reflects sincerity and contrition. It agrees with The messenger of God that all is not right and needs to be made so.
What shall we do when we look at our lives and see no fruit? What do we do when we realize that we are part of the problem, obstructing rather than constructing, reaping benefits without bearing responsibility, failing to live out the true purpose of our lives?
What do we do when it becomes clear that we are keeping our names on the roles, but doing nothing to be productive?
We ask the question.
When we ask the question, we take a giant leap forward because it is pregnant with contrition and intention. The question opens us to what God wants to do in us and through us. It expresses repentance and prepares us for adventure.
We can be more, do more, experience more, receive more. When we ask the question, we are on the verge of discovery that the real benefits of covenant relationship are intertwined with its obligations and opportunities for service. The real privileges come with embracing our calling.
What we must do is ask what we must do.
God loves the question and has an answer prepared, but He cannot or will not deliver it to us until we ask because we will not receive it.
The application to the Christian life is the call to serve – more so, to BE servants, available, cheerful, ready, willing, even eager to be co-opted into His program.
The good news is that God wants you. The questions is: Are we ready to ask the questions?
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. - Luke 3:11
Sometimes we are ready for a really complicated answer to the big questions and all we get is something like this.
It's like Fulghum's book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
Live simply and share what you have.
We'd really like it to be more complicated than that – and in some ways it is. But this was a start. It would certainly be a major change for the folks John was addressing as it would be for many of us.
God always starts where we are. He doesn't try to overwhelm us. He gives us small bites first and eases us into complexity and difficulty.
For instance, when Thomas wanted to know where Jesus was going and to understand the way, Jesus simplified it for him as if He was saying, "Thomas, you don't have to figure it all out – All you need to know is that I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. If you want to get to come, just come by me and only by me."
He was simplifying things for Thomas and for all of us.
John is saying that he would like to see some small indicators that folks meant business – indicators of a change of heart and mind which he could call repentance. "Show me," he declares.
What must we do? We must do something in character with heart change. Somehow, our lives, once moved by a new relationship with God, must reflect a transformation of values.
Suddenly, there is something more important than having more than we need. Maybe one coat is enough – or one car per driver or a few less toys.
Turning our lives over to God is not rocket science. It is not a burden that none can bear. The Christian ethic is simple: Live simply and share what you have. Do the right thing.
Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. - Luke 3:12
There are different things that different folks must do – but it is always very simple to take the first step.
Stop doing the most blatant thing you are doing wrong. In the case of the hated publicans/ tax collectors: Stop cheating.
To receive this message meant that they had to agree that they had been cheating – even extorting from their own people on behalf of a foreign power for their own enrichment. To do so would have been to come clean and mean business with God.
Life change for the publicans would be a radical departure from the norm. As simple as the command was, it was not easy. They had valued profit above all else like the "Ferringis" in Star Trek – a race of humanoids who were the most cunning and ruthless merchants in the galaxy. They lived by "The Laws of Acquisition," one of which might be paraphrased, "Love is good, but money is better."
The publicans had to learn that love is best and everything else is a distant second.
Part of repentance is to recognize that you are doing wrong and stop doing it. But we say, "I just can't; It is too hard; it is too engrained into my identity; it is who and what I am."
John says, "Hogwash! You can change. Life change is possible. Repentance is the norm. Stop cheating people."
Every sector of society has its own inherent temptations to sin. Every individual has a unique set of hot buttons that create pitfalls and weaknesses of the flesh. For each of us, fruits of repentance take on a different color and flavor, but they all share one thing in common – Possibility.
We can do with God's help and by His grace. The salvation that He wants all to see comes with the possibility of change. If we mean business, and zero in on our own vulnerabilities, we can embrace it.
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. - Luke 3:13-14
There were men of influence and power who came to John to be baptized, men who wielded authority over common people, who carried the sword and were authorized to use it to subdue, torment, and enforce.
These men also had the capacity to abuse their power, to punish their enemies, to extract unfair compensation, to be bribed, to extort, ad to oppress. No one would challenge them. They had free reign to inflict violence and abuse people.
John tells these soldiers to be very careful how they used their power. They would need to humble themselves and realize that they were called to live by a higher power than that of their captains or their swords. Having power would no longer be a license for them to misuse it to their own selfish ends.
It is an awesome responsibility to have authority. It takes more grace to carry greater power. To be a covenant man or woman in a position of great influence requires fruits of repentance reflected in a servant's attitude.
One's coworkers and fellow soldiers/officers may not be willing or able to reinforce such life change. Only God can and he will.
We all have arenas of temptation that are unique to our stations in life. The same call is present for each: Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance: Stop doing what is wrong; live simply; share what you have; live for God.
Art - Hieronymus Bosch's St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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With all the bizarre, wild, illogical conspiracy theories being circulated, one is often at loss for words.
At the same time, while factual, evidence-based assertions are questioned and labeled "fake," one may have the words, but fear to speak them. Ridicule and vitriol may follow any clear-headed argument.
But then, one watches live feeds on the television or internet and sees and hear things in real time that seem unreal. One throws up one's hands and drops ones jaw in disbelief. In times like this, truth, though sometimes stranger than fiction, is still not believable.
Here is an answer the next time you hear or read, "You can't make these things up."
Oh, I think you can make it up.
Anything can be made up.
Some people are really good at making things up or transforming things through literary acumen.
The power of human creativity is vast and unfathomable. And most of us are very good at suspending disbelief to enter into the marvelous experience of a good narrative when it reinforces the waves of the narrative ocean in which we swim.
You have to admire the skill if not the veracity.
Therefore, if you don't like the way things are, write a new story, but don't just assume it will materialize into reality. Write it and then, live it, create it, and make it happen.
Look and listen to what someone very bright and gifted can create with a little imagination and skill!
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 11, 2021 at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. - Luke 3:13-14
Power is a desirable thing when you don't have it and a dangerous thing when you do. In many ways, it is a neutral force on the surface – like a bag of gold sitting in the corner of a room not doing anyone good or harm.
Yet, like the bag of gold, power is seldom allowed to just sit there. People who have it use it, either for good or for harm. They are tempted to use it primarily for themselves and they often use it to oppress the powerless.
They almost always want to keep it and they are reluctant to share it.
There were men of influence and power who came to John to be baptized, men who wielded authority over common people, who carried the sword and were authorized to use it to subdue, torment, and enforce.
These men also had the capacity to abuse their power, to punish their enemies, to extract unfair compensation, to be bribed, to extort, ad to oppress. No one would challenge them. They had free reign to inflict violence and abuse people.
Now, they were hearing a message they had never heard before. At least they had not taken it to heart. There was a morality that should govern their discharge of power. There were principles that brought them under a greater authority than their own. There was a truth that should inform their attitudes and actions. How they treated people mattered.
They had personal and corporate sins that called for repentance.
Under deep conviction, they asked how the message of the Baptizer applied to their lives and positions.
John tells these soldiers to be very careful how they used their power. They would need to humble themselves and realize that they were called to live by a higher power than that of their captains or their swords. Having power would no longer be a license for them to misuse it to their own selfish ends.
It is an awesome responsibility to have authority. It takes more grace to carry greater power. To be a covenant man or woman in a position of great influence requires fruits of repentance reflected in a servant's attitude.
One's coworkers and fellow soldiers and officers may not be willing or able to reinforce such life change. Only God can and he will.
We all have arenas of temptation that are unique to our stations in life. The same call is present for each: Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance: Stop doing what is wrong; live simply; share what you have; live for God.
If you have power, tremble before God and ask the same question these men asked: What shall we do with all this power?
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 11, 2021 at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Bless God
Bless the Lord, O my soul ... and all that is within me ... - Psalm 103:1
Audacity and capacity are issues that are triggered by this prayer as it is suggested to us. It is audacious to think that we could somehow bless God. Yet, He has given us the capacity to be a blessing to His heart.
We bless God when we worship Him. He delights in our praises. He enjoys our singing and our words of adoration. He looks beyond the superficial and relishes our heart devotion as we come to Him.
He is blessed by our love response as we receive His love and return it to Him in obedience, faith, and love for our fellow human beings.
We can bless God with our words, deeds, and emotions, but God is most blessed when our lives are completely engaged in love for Him – loving Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. He is blessed when we remind ourselves to bless Him and we follow through with everything that is within us.
What is within you today? Not all of it is positive, but when you offer it to God, He is blessed because He can take it and transform it for His own purposes. Nor is everything within you negative. You cannot be the judge of that. All you can do is commit everything within you to His glory and allow Him to sort I out. It is His holy Name that must be honored, and His holiness is all that can make our lives holy and acceptable as offerings of worship.
In the process, He is blessed. And that is what counts.
A Father's Love
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. - Psalm 103:13
The love of God is a tender love.
It is a father's love.
It is a patient love, understanding, compassionate, forgiving, and gracious.
The love of God for His children moves Him to desire what is best for us, what brings us closer to Him, and what develops in us the character that is in Him.
God's love for us as His children is consistent, persistent, and generous.
He never fails us. He is always present and always true.
Like any father, He wants His children to grow and mature. He wants us to make good and wise choices and honor our family name. He offers us His support, guidance, and correction to that end.
God's love is real. For that reason, it is sometimes a tough love, a love that can say "no" and mean it, but a love that delights in every opportunity to say, "YES!"
God, our Father, rejoices with us, weeps with us, and loves us even when we are unlovable.
That is because we are never unlovable to Him.
Mostly, God, our tender, loving Father carries us on His shoulders and lifts us so that we might become more, through Him, than we could ever imagine on our own.
Days as Grass
As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. – Psalm 103:15
For our season, whatever it may be, we flourish. Then comes the wind and we are gone. Soon, the very memory of our lives fades from the consciousness of our successors and we are thought of no more.
Such a thought might be deemed depressing were it the whole story.
The rest of the story teaches us that from everlasting to everlasting, God's love is a constant toward us. His covenant people are never forgotten.
It goes on to tell us that God's throne is never abandoned and that He rules over all.
He it is, according to Psalm 103, who forgives all our sin.
It is He who heals our diseases. Not one of them disappears apart from His wise intervention or creative genius.
He redeems our lives, crowns us love and compassion, satisfies, renews, and administers justice.
How comfortable it would be for us to remain as a grassy flowering meadow, but that is not the way of life. We come and go. Soon we will fade.
Our privilege and responsibility is to bloom in every place we are planted for as long as it is springtime in our lives. It is to be as inwardly beautiful for God as we can be for as many days as we can and to move through the seasons of life with grace and trust.
We may not always be green, but we shall always be loved.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 07, 2021 at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Bless God
Bless the Lord, O my soul ... and all that is within me ... - Psalm 103:1
Audacity and capacity are issues that are triggered by this prayer as it is suggested to us. It is audacious to think that we could somehow bless God. Yet, He has given us the capacity to be a blessing to His heart.
We bless God when we worship Him. He delights in our praises. He enjoys our singing and our words of adoration. He looks beyond the superficial and relishes our heart devotion as we come to Him.
He is blessed by our love response as we receive His love and return it to Him in obedience, faith, and love for our fellow human beings.
We can bless God with our words, deeds, and emotions, but God is most blessed when our lives are completely engaged in love for Him – loving Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. He is blessed when we remind ourselves to bless Him and we follow through with everything that is within us.
What is within you today? Not all of it is positive, but when you offer it to God, He is blessed because He can take it and transform it for His own purposes. Nor is everything within you negative. You cannot be the judge of that. All you can do is commit everything within you to His glory and allow Him to sort I out. It is His holy Name that must be honored, and His holiness is all that can make our lives holy and acceptable as offerings of worship.
In the process, He is blessed. And that is what counts.
A Father's Love
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. - Psalm 103:13
The love of God is a tender love.
It is a father's love.
It is a patient love, understanding, compassionate, forgiving, and gracious.
The love of God for His children moves Him to desire what is best for us, what brings us closer to Him, and what develops in us the character that is in Him.
God's love for us as His children is consistent, persistent, and generous.
He never fails us. He is always present and always true.
Like any father, He wants His children to grow and mature. He wants us to make good and wise choices and honor our family name. He offers us His support, guidance, and correction to that end.
God's love is real. For that reason, it is sometimes a tough love, a love that can say "no" and mean it, but a love that delights in every opportunity to say, "YES!"
God, our Father, rejoices with us, weeps with us, and loves us even when we are unlovable.
That is because we are never unlovable to Him.
Mostly, God, our tender, loving Father carries us on His shoulders and lifts us so that we might become more, through Him, than we could ever imagine on our own.
Days as Grass
As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. – Psalm 103:15
For our season, whatever it may be, we flourish. Then comes the wind and we are gone. Soon, the very memory of our lives fades from the consciousness of our successors and we are thought of no more.
Such a thought might be deemed depressing were it the whole story.
The rest of the story teaches us that from everlasting to everlasting, God's love is a constant toward us. His covenant people are never forgotten.
It goes on to tell us that God's throne is never abandoned and that He rules over all.
He it is, according to Psalm 103, who forgives all our sin.
It is He who heals our diseases. Not one of them disappears apart from His wise intervention or creative genius.
He redeems our lives, crowns us love and compassion, satisfies, renews, and administers justice.
How comfortable it would be for us to remain as a grassy flowering meadow, but that is not the way of life. We come and go. Soon we will fade.
Our privilege and responsibility is to bloom in every place we are planted for as long as it is springtime in our lives. It is to be as inwardly beautiful for God as we can be for as many days as we can and to move through the seasons of life with grace and trust.
We may not always be green, but we shall always be loved.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 07, 2021 at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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How Do You Spell Success?
Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8)
Modern and postmodern man defines success subjectively, materialistically, and temporally, but God defines it universally, spiritually, and eternally. When He promised Joshua success, He did so by His own standards and fulfilled that promise magnificently. From Joshua's example and from the whole counsel of scripture, we can discover that success is spelled out in biblical principles and values.
S is for Submission to the will of God.
Unless we align ourselves with kingdom purposes, we cannot consider our lives successful no matter what we accomplish. Joshua was willing to submit.
U is for Understanding the big picture.
When God fashions a successful man or woman, He gives that person a broad view and a vision that is confined neither to present circumstances, nor to that person's narrow world of experiences. The scriptures which Joshua was to make a daily part of His life give us God's big picture.
C is for Commitment to the long haul.
We must be willing to run the race after we have run out of breath, after our legs begin to grow weak and our strength begins to fail. Discouragement and weariness are no match for a man or woman on mission from God.. The conquest of the promised land was a going to require the rest of Joshua's life and God's mission will consume all of our days as well.
C is for Concern for people & communication.
As a leader of people, Joshua would have to cultivate his skills as a people person. His shepherding role would be as vital to his success as his skills as a military leader and his capacity to envision the future under God.
E is for Effective expenditure of energy.
Joshua must have had a keen concept of time, He and Caleb had been with the children of Israel since the beginning of the time in the wilderness. He also knew how fragile time and timing can be and the energy required to manage time wisely.
S is for Social responsibility
Joshua had a responsibility to God and to the people. God had called him to look after the well being of every family in the household of Israel. The responsibility was awesome but it is the price of successful leadership.
S is for Sincerity of focus.
God could trust Joshua because He knew that Joshua would be able to focus on the goal and the tasks necessary to achieve that goal. Sincerity requires single-minded focus and it is also part of the price of success.
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 05, 2021 at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Do we really grow wiser with the years?
It is not an absolute given, especially if wisdom is something we resist.
Contrary to what we have heard, practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. If we practice foolishness, we will cement it into our behavior patterns. If our thinking is stubbornly calcitrant, it will grow brittle and crack.
However, it does not take as much of an effort as a decision in order to grow wiser.
We can and we should. It is normative. It is expected. It is the gracious way to age.
Eleven years ago, I turned 55, on this very day. I threw myself a party. I used it as a fund raiser for some causes that I loved.
I also wrote this (slightly edited to exclude some obsolete invitations):
Reflecting on 55
I am reflecting a bit - not too much, but some. Fifty five years once seemed like a lot of time. Now it doesn't. Different people have used that much time with varying degrees of effectiveness. Some have puttered along. Some have frittered it away entirely. Depending on the day of the week and the season on my life, I am somewhere in the continuum.
Tomorrow, I turn 55. It is a double matching digit birthday and I want to celebrate my gratitude for the opportunity of living. I have decided to give it away to three of my favorite local causes ...
We are having a party!
I announced it and it is sort of a stone-soup party. I am bringing some meat, some song sheets, and myself. Whatever else happens, whatever else ends up on the table to eat, whoever comes, is all up to others.
My life has been sort of a stone soup life. I drop a little bit of something and others have added to it and made something of it.
In today's reading from "My Utmost for His Highest," Oswald Chambers quotes from Hebrews 11:8: "He went out, not knowing whither he went."
I especially gravitated toward and related to this quote:
"One of the difficulties in Christian work is this question - "What do you expect to do?" You do not know what you are going to do; the only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually revise your attitude towards God and see if it is a going out of everything, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder - you do not know what God is going to do next. Each morning you wake it is to be a "going out," building in confidence on God."
So, I really don't know what this celebration is going to be or if anyone will come or contribute to the whole ... but I am going to show up.
And showing up is a pretty big deal in life.
My birthday presents are for the causes I mentioned because these are a few of the places where I would like to see some good soup brew. These are places where I am currently investing my life in a small way...
It really is not about me.
That is something I am learning about my life. It is not about me, but I am responsible for the choices I make inside my skin and exercise through it.
I am glad to be alive. I look forward to many years. I know 55 is not old even though I'll be able to get "senior coffee" at McDonalds and order off the senior menu at Denney's. However, I have less time now than I did before - more wisdom, but less time to use it. It would be presumptuous to count on what is not promised to the neglect of what is. I have not been promised unlimited days. I have been promised unlimited grace and countless opportunities for each day I live.
I (we) have also been promised that as we make small investments in others, those investments can and will multiply through the efforts of those who add their own to the pot.
So, the adventure continues and this is but a milestone. I invite you to celebrate with me by celebrating the life you have been given and investing it in living on purpose and in encouraging other people to become all they can be.
Now, I am 66, It is not a milestone birthday. At 64, the Beetles had a great song I could play. At 65, it was Medicare and a traditional retirement age in years past. At 66, it is the oldest my dad every got to be before he was taken from the earth by a brain tumor --- I I thought he was elderly.
I do have his toothless grin when my dentures are out and what a grin it was, especially when he was watching Urkle on television,
I did think I was wise at 55, but I also knew that I had a long way to go. Now, I think I have even further to go. Two days after the above post, I wrote this.
Wrong Door - Wrong Store
I had a pretty good lesson in humility and pride yesterday. It was a moment of internal embarrassment and readjustment in my thinking.
It was one of those outdoor shopping centers with a Best Buy and an Office Depot spaced with several other stores in between. I was comparing prices on laptops and calculating insurance reimbursements in light of a recent burglary. It is the upside of getting ripped off.
But that is not the story.
I had taken note of the order of the stores from the parking lot and calculated that I could get a nice walk in just by moving between them and within them. I left Best Buys and began to walk toward Office Depot when a man crossed my path looking a bit dazed and confused and heading toward the Target Store.
When he was unable to open the door because he was attempting to enter through the exit, I mentally prepared to point at the entrance to help him out. I may or may not have actually pointed. I am a little fuzzy on this point because the real work was going on inside me. There was a flash of smugness and superiority. "I can read signs."
That was short lived.
At the next shop, I entered through the correct door - without a hitch. How proud of myself, I was. "I can read signs." I looked around and, in a moment of bewilderment, observed racks of clothes.
"Why are they selling clothes at Office Depot?"
They were not. They were selling clothes at T.J. Maxx.
Tom Sims, the great sign reader-adherer, had entered the wrong store while basking in the glory of in his ability to use the right door.
"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." - I Corinthians 10:12
(Read it in THE MESSAGE and check out this day's "My Utmost for His Highest" reading for uncanny overlaps.)
So, which was worse, the wrong store or the wrong door?
Somehow, as I chuckled inside at my own fallibility and silly pride, I knew I would have to confess this in my blog and hang it out like dirty laundry for all the world to see.
There was also some mention of a speck in your brother's eye and a plank in ones own as I recall ...
Life humbles us if we lean into it. That is not just OK. That is worth celebrating.
By the way, 2010 was a major year of change in my life. A little less than a month before my birthday, while it was still 2009, I had gastric bypass surgery. So, my birthday party was one of my first times of trying to eat and it turned into a bit of comedy.
Eyes Bigger than Stomach
I cannot imagine how many times I have heard and said, while staring at an insurmountably challenging plate of food, "My eyes were bigger than my stomach."
Simply put: We put too much on the plate because it looked so good --- and manageable.
So last night at my birthday-stone-soup-fund-raising-potluck bash, I found myself staring a a much smaller collection of vittles on my plate and, after a few bites, thinking, "My eyes were bigger than my stomach."
Then, before actually uttering the words, I began to chuckle.
That attracted some attention -- a grown man chuckling to himself while staring at a miniature hot wing.
I was chuckling at the thought, "My goodness, my eyes really ARE bigger than my stomach now ... without question. Lay them on the table beside each other and that is the reality."
So I shared the insight and others joined me in the chuckle which gave me permission for a long and hard belly laugh.Just a little post-bariatric surgery humor.
So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom. - Psalm 90:12If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. - James 1:5
Posted by Pastor Tom Sims on January 03, 2021 at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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