Being a Change-Maker

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Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. Phil 3:20-4:1 CSB

Paris 2024 Olympics has ended and the record books have closed.  The record books will show events, winners, losers, and times that future Olympians will try to break these records. However, the official records fail to capture the behind-the-scenes events that tell the real stories.

You will not find Esther Kim’s name in the Olympic taekwondo record books but she exemplifies a greater feat; humility. When faced with the opportunity to easily beat her best friend and advance to the Sydney Olympics, she forfeited the match. Why? Kay Poe, her best friend and training partner, found themselves in the same match but Kay had injured her knee in the previous match and could barely stand. Esther could have justified the win: she had trained hard, wanted to go to the Olympics, and now had the opportunity to win but she chose to honor her friend first. Esther said, “I was in a very unfair situation. How can you go out there and fight someone who can’t even stand up? There was only one choice to be made, and that was just to forfeit and bow out.”

Max Lucado writes, “True humility is not thinking lowly of yourself but thinking accurately of yourself. The humble heart does not say, “I can’t do anything.” But rather it says, “I can’t do everything. I know my part and am happy to do it.” The humble heart honors others.”

Powerhouse swimmer Adam Peaty came within two-hundredths of a second breaking Michael Phelps’ record of 3 successive golds in the men’s 100m breaststroke. He will probably swim again for gold but the real story is a simple cross tattooed on his sternum with the words, ‘Into the Light’ right below the cross. Since coming to faith last year, he has been very open about what Jesus has meant to his life. In a recent interview with BBC Sports, he said, “I’m not crying because I came second…These are happy tears,” he explained, smiling through reddened eyes. “I’m not going to define my whole career by a medal…I asked God to show my heart, and this is my heart. I couldn’t have done more.”

It was unreal watching Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone run and win the 400-meter hurdles. She was amazing, a picture of excellence and beauty in motion. It is even more gripping to hear her motivation behind the winning.  “What an honor, a blessing, and a privilege. I never want to take these moments for granted. In a week where my faith was tried, my peace wavered, and the weight of the world began to descend, God was beyond gracious. It’s always hard preparing for one moment you may or may not get back. In my mind what kept repeating were the words “Trust in Jesus”. I didn’t know what the outcome would be, but I did know He was who I wanted to lead me through the journey. What an amazing journey it was!” …His word is sufficient, his promises hold true, and all the glory belongs to Him. At the end of the day it is FAR beyond gold.” (from her Instagram post, 8/9/2024)

These Olympians realized they had a platform to share a greater message than just a moment of personal glory. A platform that allowed them to point others to a message of hope and salvation. Their journeys were long and hard, spending hours and hours in the water, on the field, or in the gym preparing for these few seconds of instant fame but in the end, each will tell a greater story.

We can all agree we live in a broken world that needs a savior and we applaud those with such dynamic platforms but how do we fit into the picture of helping to mend a broken world? Unfortunately, the solution can sometimes be a savior that fits our stereotype of one. Yet the world will only be changed when those who are called Christians really begin to follow and live like Jesus. Living like Jesus is really the only answer to Quaker writer Douglas Steere’s question: “How does a person become increasingly Christian when he or she already is one?”

Pastor James Emery White writes, “Yet there are few spiritual athletes. We are weak, flabby, and out of shape. Our lives have become earthly in orientation and fleshly in operation. We conform to the patterns of the world, when we could be morphed into the very image of Christ (see Romans 12:1-2). We focus on religion instead of relationship and practice instead of passion. Such a life – not rooted in an authentic relationship with God, full of rhetoric and posturing, form and mannerism – is all but empty. We become people possessed with knowledge “about” as opposed to an acquaintance “with.” But only an intimate relationship with the living God is true spirituality. And only true spirituality can impact the world.”

It can be overwhelming to look at world events yet we want to be change makers. In that desire, the best place to start will always be in prayer. I hope this prayer by Jill Weber, who is with the 24-7 Prayer organization, can give words to your desire to be a change-maker in our broken world.

“Lord, when I look at the newsfeed and see the devastation in the world, I often see my own reflection, my own sin as well. I’ve been greedy, I’ve carried anger in my heart, I’ve vied for power and prestige, I’ve judged others, I’ve been unjust and unloving. And so Lord, I identify with the sin and the brokenness of the world. Forgive us. Heal our hearts and our land.”

God is great!

 

Thank you for subscribing to Prayer Safari, blessings on your coming week.

 

What’s in a Name?

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I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. Rev 2:17b NIV

What’s in a name? You listen for a particular name so you can pick up your pizza at the counter. When they hear their first and middle names, mischievous little boys and girls know it will not be a good day. The final rounds of graduations have been completed and each person waited eagerly to hear their name being called out so they could receive their diploma. We all like to hear our names called out, whether at the pizza shop or an elegant ceremony.

Through the years, parents have spent countless hours trying to come up with the perfect name. The problem is, you can’t count on your chosen name being popular in a few years. My mother’s name was Mildred, a name that was in the top 10 for over two decades in the early 1900s, then it vanished from the lists. When’s the last time you heard of a little Mildred? However, there is hope for the Mildreds, Normans, Gladys, and Doris of the world according to name expert Sophie Kihm but it will take about 100 years. The seemingly “old-fashioned” sounding names will become trendy again, which means someday there will be an increase of Mildreds in kindergarten classes.

There are a few of us who will patiently sit through the scrolling list of names at the end of a movie, acknowledging the countless list of people involved in the movie production. They deserve a little acknowledgment! Scrolling through movie credits is a little like scrolling through the list of names in the book of First Chronicles. You encounter name after name but then all of a sudden you stumble over Jabez. Maybe not a name in the top 20 since few parents want to stick, “he makes sorrow,” on their baby. You wonder if every time little Jabez heard his name being called it reminded him of the pain that he had caused his mother at birth. Playing outside had to be a challenge hearing all the boys shouting, here comes “he makes sorrow.” (I Chron 4:9-10)

Jabez didn’t have a choice on what his mother named him. He may not have liked the name, but he did have a choice on what he would do with the name in life. Instead of making others sorrowful, he asked God to bless him and expand his influence. I like the NKJV translation, “that I may not cause pain, And God granted his request.” That is taking your name and giving it a new meaning for life!

Mildred was a name that identified my mother among her family, friends, and community. However, the real part of her identity came out of her values, character, personality, and faith. Our true identity is not the label we call a name but the deep values that we come to know.

The world knew in the 1970s that the name, Charles Colson, reflected a power-hungry, ruthless hatchet man for Pres. Richard Nixon, and would eventually be convicted of his crimes and sentenced to prison. The name, Colson was tarnished, reputation destroyed, and politically finished. The story could have ended there, and his name would have gone down in history as a disgraced and ruthless man. Yet his story wasn’t over because of God’s work of redemption in his life. He left prison in 1975 having served his sentence but more importantly, he walked out of prison with a redeemed name because of Jesus Christ.

Jonathan Aitken was a broken and disgraced former Member of Parliament in the UK. It was through Colson reaching out to him in friendship and support that changed Aitken’s life. In a letter to Aitken, Colson wrote, “Your greatest test will be right now, Jonathan. You can let circumstances shatter you as I saw you quoted in the press or you can decide that adversity will be your greatest blessing…As you know, I have looked back on Watergate and thank God for it. Through that crucible I came to know Christ personally and discovered that in the darkest moments of my life, He was working to produce what I would later see as the greatest blessings of my life.”

Aitken in his biography on Charles Colson wrote, “For Colson’s footprints on the sands of time go predictably deep in the spiritual fields where he has worked since his Christian conversion.” “Colson has lived to see his reputation transformed and his life redeemed. By any standard it is a remarkable turnaround, which his admirers say could have been accomplished only by the hand of God.” (Jonathan Aitken, Charles W. Colson, A Life Redeemed)

What’s in a name? Without a doubt, it is far more than a picture on your driver’s license or even the name on your regular paycheck. Author Ann Spangler writes, “It helps to realize that names in the ancient world in which the Bible was written often functioned differently than they do today. In addition to distinguishing one person from another and linking people to their family heritage, names were thought to reveal the essential nature and character of a person.”

What’s in a name? Paul knew something about tarnished names since people would hear his name and go into hiding out of fear of him. That was until God took him and he became a work of art, a new creation. Paul would later write, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor 5:17).

What’s in a name?

Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, O LORD God of hosts; do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me.” Psalm 69:6

God is great!

America’s Sacred Holiday

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Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. Malachi 3:16

If parents were allowed to roll their eyes, I am sure the vast majority have done so or at least thought about it, if they had a young child sitting in a church service. Long before children’s church, I learned how to sit through many church services beside my mother. Hopefully, she didn’t have to roll her eyes very often!

Little boys and girls must do something to entertain themselves but not end up in trouble. You know you are bored if you enjoyed reading through the Baptist Hymnal. Drawing circles on the bulletins helped pass the time and with imagination, the bulletins could turn into a lot of different things.  However, the most entertaining exercise was always watching the people. There were a few funny moments such as the older gentleman in the choir who would fall asleep during the sermon and even once fell out of his seat. Yet, there was a comforting sense of familiarity in seeing the same people week after week, usually sitting in the same spot.

Thing-watching was always a good practice. Like most small Baptist churches, we had a table in front of the pulpit. Years later the words, “Do This in Remembrance of Me,” would impact my life greatly. It was carved into the blonde-finished table and captured my attention and forever changed my life. I would come to know the great sacrifice that Jesus paid that I might have life and it would be at this and future tables that the bread and cup would stir remembrance of what Jesus did in my life.

The disciples who were gathered in the upper room that evening didn’t fully grasp Jesus’ words about bread and the cup until much later. As they finished eating, Jesus took a piece of bread and a cup of wine offering thanks.  He then spoke the words, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me,” (Luke 22:19). Those simple words would become the remembrance of a costly sacrifice given for the following generations.

Whether it is a pile of stones, monuments, or specific days, history is filled with reminders to tell the next generation of a sacrifice that took place. “Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” (Elie Wiesel)

Jacob set up a pillar to commemorate God’s vision to him in Genesis 28. Joshua had leaders of each tribe in Joshua 4 pick up a boulder from the dry river bed and erect a memorial to remind the next generation of God’s love and miraculous intervention. Samuel set aside a large stone and named it Ebenezer to remind the next generation of God’s goodness and grace in I Samuel 7.

Today marks the United States’ celebration of Memorial Day in remembrance of men and women killed in military conflicts. If a secular government could have a sacred holiday, Memorial Day would come close to that day. Though Memorial Day is a unique holiday in the United States, I found similar types of celebrations in other countries honoring their citizens killed in action. “Remembering the past plays a vital role in the identity of any nation. Sociologists claim that a society aspiring to endure must become a community of memory and hope.” (B.K. Waltke)

The concept of a Remembrance Day for those killed in war originated shortly after the Civil War. It was originally called Decoration Day as people decorated graves of veterans who lost their lives with flowers and wreaths. Memorial Day or Decoration Day was first celebrated on May 30th but Congress moved the date to the last Monday in May of 1968 and becoming a federal holiday in 1971.

Memorial Day is a perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the cost of freedom. It is a cost paid through the blood and sacrifice willingly given for others to enjoy freedom. These men and women in the military who were killed in action paid for freedom with their lives. For the sake of others, they paid a heavy price.

Cultural commentator Jonah Goldberg writes, “Democracy’s greatness lies in the fact it is a hedge against bad things.” It took these men and women to build hedges against tyranny, injustice, and hatred. “This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day, it’s a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom.” (Tamra Bolton)

Historians estimate that over 1,300,000 men and women have been killed in the various wars and conflicts the United States has been engaged in since the American Revolutionary War. Each number represents a son or daughter, husband or wife, grandchild or friend that never came home. Each number tells the story of a generation that ended that day. Each number tells the story of commitment and sacrifice. Memorial Day allows us to remember those stories of courage with a heart of gratitude.

We give thanks to these men and women who gave their lives and remember even now the enduring loss and pain that exists in thousands of households across this nation.  Former President Barack Obama said it well, “Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.”

LORD, let us never forget the costly sacrifice of these men and women who died to build a hedge against evil which has allowed freedom to be celebrated. More importantly, thank you for the sacrifice of the cross that gave us freedom and life. “Your name, LORD, endures forever, your renown, LORD, through all generations.”

God is great!

 

A Real Celebration

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There is nothing better for people to do than to eat, drink, and find satisfaction in their work. I saw that even this comes from the hand of God. Who can eat or enjoy themselves without God? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 God’s Word

Who doesn’t love a good celebration? Yesterday the world celebrated Cinco de Mayo, ok, so maybe not the whole world, but lots of people.  Cinco de Mayo revelers mark the occasion with parades, parties, mariachi music, Mexican folk dancing, and lots of food and fun.

Why does Cinco de Mayo generate such festivities? Surely it must be a major Independence Day celebration or at least some religious holiday that would create such excitement, but it’s not. The day marks the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The win was more of a moral victory for Mexico than a strategic victory. Though a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become a major celebration in the United States, focusing on commemorating Mexican culture and heritage. Here are some fun facts about Cinco de Mayo:

  1. Only 1 in 10 individuals know that Cinco de Mayo represents the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla.
  2. 40% of Americans believe Cinco de Mayo marks Mexico’s Independence Day.
  3. It is not a federal holiday in Mexico.
  4. Sizable crowds, street festivals, live music, and dancing are all staples of celebrating.
  5. Mole Poblano is the official dish of Cinco de Mayo.
  6. Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston are known to hold the biggest events.
  7. 87 million pounds of avocados are purchased for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, more than any other time of the year! (from Bryan University website)

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is a lot of fun but it is only once a year.  However, another celebration takes place every week that should be just as lively and spirited. It is a festival of worship where millions gather globally to celebrate God.

Henry Sloane Coffin wrote, “If there is one characteristic more than others that contemporary public worship needs to recapture it is this awe before the surpassingly great and gracious God.” I feel Eugene Peterson translated Psalm 150 with a similar thought, that worship is a festive time of celebration.

“Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies;

Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his magnificent greatness;

Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings;

Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute;

Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin.

Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!”

Now that is a celebration, and we get to do it Sunday after Sunday. “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Ps 118:24

God welcomes all who will come to join in the celebration, and it doesn’t matter the age, gender, social influence, economic condition, ethnicity, or education. “When we worship together as a community of living Christians, we do not worship alone, we worship ‘with all the company of heaven.’” (Marianne Micks)

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 NIV)

Job celebrated in worship even when he found himself in a desperate situation. With everything he loved gone, “Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship.” (Job 1:20)

A poor widow celebrated in worship even in an economic crisis. Jesus “saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins…she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4)

Paul and Silas celebrated in worship even in a hopeless situation. They were stripped, beaten, thrown into prison, and put in the inner dungeon cell with feet fastened in the stocks. Yet they were found, “praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:22-25)

Jesus celebrated in worship even when He knew pain and suffering lay ahead. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Whether you celebrate Cinco de Mayo or not, it will not be a life-changing experience. However, celebrating God in worship will be a life-changing experience. Dallas Willard in The Great Omission said it well, “The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds…This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him…. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the polestar of our inward beings.”

Together we celebrate in worship as one “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” because “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” In this celebration of worship, we can echo the words of the heavenly angels, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

God is great!

 

Fragrance of Real Value

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May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

Oh, the sweet aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, the inviting smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning and the newly cut grass on a warm Saturday afternoon. Just as there are comfort foods, there are certain smells that touch the deepest parts of your soul.

McDonald’s fully grasps the power of smells. Fast food giant McDonald’s launched a new and rather quirky marketing campaign in the Netherlands. They have found a way to recreate the smell of their fries through a billboard. According to a company press release, “For decades, McDonald’s has seduced taste buds around the globe, making it one of the most beloved and recognizable brands out there. But the brand realized that there’s something just as memorable for consumers as their golden arches, products, or jingle: their smell.”

McDonald’s Netherlands placed a series of plain yellow and red billboards in Utrecht and Leiden that appear blank until passers-by are within a few feet and they are greeted by the distinct aroma of McDonald’s French Fries coming from inside the billboard. The billboards were strategically placed to trigger cravings close to a restaurant. “When every brand is targeting eyeballs, McDonald’s targets noses.”

Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, CMO McDonald’s Netherlands, states: “McDonald’s is all about Good Times. We are well known for our distinctive brand assets that they are mostly visual. Smell has been proven to be more effective at sparking clear and emotional memories than images. With the inclusion of this next sense in our advertising, we found a new way to remind people of Good Times at McDonald’s.” (McDonald’s press release)

What value does the world put on a scent? For McDonald’s, it is worth millions if people are triggered to buy their food. For the wealthy, it may be a bottle of Clive Christian No. 1 which holds the title for the most expensive perfume that retails at $2,350 per ounce. However, far more extravagant is the value that God places upon the incense that comes from those who worship Him.

Living in a broken and ugly world we can become Christ’s aroma.  We become an aroma that attracts some to life but repels others. For those attracted, we become life.  “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Cor 2:14-15)

Living in a broken and ugly world we can become the incense of prayer. God hears the prayers of his followers who stand in the gap of hopelessness. What a beautiful and powerful picture of heavenly hosts holding golden bowls of the incense of prayers that may seem weak to us but are received by God as a sweet aroma.  “Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.” (Rev 5:8)

Living in a broken and ugly world we can become the aroma of worship. Jesus facing the closing days of his earthly ministry, was preparing his disciples when Mary interrupted the dinner in an act of worship. Pouring a bottle of expensive perfume upon Jesus, it became a holy time of worship. A costly fragrance that would have lingered for days reminding house guests of Jesus.  “And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (ref John 12:1-11)

It would be the sweet smell of worship that would stir God’s heart for Noah. As Noah and his family walked out of the Ark to begin again, he would first stop and worship. It was through his act of worship that “The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” (Gen 8:21)

Smells can bring comfort, disgust, and warning depending upon the source. Freshly baked bread will stir hunger while the smell of rotten eggs alerts us to a natural gas leak. Yet as incenses rise to God from our acts of worship and prayer, what a beautiful reminder of who we are in God. We can become the fragrance that permeates all of life for Jesus. An aroma of worship that reminds us of our hope and future in God. Are we the fragrance of life or death?

These words from CeCe Winans song, Worthy Of It All, “Day and night, night and day, let incense arise” remind us of prayerful worship:

“All the saints and angels bow before Your throne

All the elders cast their crowns before the Lamb of God and sing

Lord, You’re worthy

From the rising of the sun to the going down of the sun

Day and night, night and day, let incense arise

Day and night, night and day, let incense arise

You are worthy of it all” (CeCe Winans, Worthy of It All https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oKYx0PXz5I

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. (Daily prayer of St. Teresa of Calcutta)

Together we can become Christ’s sweet fragrance, bringing life to a broken and ugly world.

God is great!

 

God’s Gift of Time

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Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

If I only had a little more time! These words have echoed across centuries – just a few more minutes would help. Richard Swenson in his book Margin wrote, “Forty years ago, futurists peering into their crystal balls were still predicting that one of the biggest problems for coming generations would be what to do with their abundant spare time. I remember hearing this prediction often. In 1967, for example, testimony before a Senate subcommittee claimed that by 1985 people could be working just twenty-two hours a week or twenty-seven weeks a year. Exactly when they stopped talking this way I am not sure, but they did stop. No one sits around today trying to figure out how to spend their free time. On the contrary, the topic of conversation is usually how to get some. Virtually everyone I know is time desperate.”

Thankfully the world timekeepers have heard your plight and are working on a plan. Unfortunately, they are going to take time from you. Clocks may have to skip a second—called a “negative leap second”—around the year 2029. This will be the first time in history timekeepers have had to consider subtracting time from the clock. Daylight saving time doesn’t count since they take an hour but give it back to you in the fall. In an article in the journal, Nature said it is due to the planet rotating just a tad faster than it used to.

Duncan Agnew wrote, “This is an unprecedented situation and a big deal. It’s not a huge change in the Earth’s rotation that’s going to lead to some catastrophe or anything, but it is something notable. It’s yet another indication that we’re in a very unusual time.” (from an article by Seth Borenstein)

Seconds didn’t make a difference in life until atomic clocks were adopted as the official time standard in 1959.  Judah Levine of the National Institute of Standards and Technology wrote, “The fights are so serious because the stakes are so small.”

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) does a great job keeping America on time. Two people can look at their Apple watches and be synchronized. We take uniform time for granted now, unlike the 1800s. At high noon on October 18, 1883, William Allen united a nation, not politically but by setting their watches.  Until then every train station set its clocks by the sun so it could be noon in New York, 11:58 in Trenton, and 11:56 in Camden. It took eight years for Allen to convince the nation to adopt the time zones that we have today.

There is no question that trains and planes need to run on synchronized schedules, that stores should open on time, and that you know when to get to your meeting as scheduled. However, the writer of Ecclesiastes captured a more important time zone outside the NIST-designated time zones, God’s time zone. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 gives a great list of God’s time zones, “a time to.” Mabel Boggs Sweet, mother of writer Leonard Sweet put it wisely, “God’s clock keeps perfect time.”

Time may have been easier when people depended upon the sundial and they went to bed when it got dark. However as far back as 200 BC people complained about not having enough time. Roman playwright Plautus turned anger into poetry:

“The gods confound the man who first found out how to distinguish hours!

Confound him, too,  who in this place set up a sun-dial

To cut and hack my days so wretchedly into small portions.”

Even though He operates on eternal time, God created earth and life to be in time segments. “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:4) I think God is pretty smart to give us training wheels for time as we prepare for what eternity time looks like.  Segments of time are understandable for our finite minds and beautifully lay the foundation for helping us appreciate the concept of eternity.

Ancient civilizations may have understood the value of time better than our modern world. They lived their life in segments of days, seasons, years, and finally death. Our modern civilization may have time down to the microsecond and even track those seconds perfectly but somehow in our micro timekeeping, are we in danger of losing the very value of time and far worse, the hope of eternity?

In his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer writes, “When the sun set our rhythms of work and rest, it did so under the control of God; but the clock is under the control of the employer, a far more demanding master…I used to read biographies of great men and women from history who got up to pray at four o’clock in the morning—Saint Teresa of Avila, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon. I would think, Wow, they are way more serious about Jesus than I am. True, but then I realized that they went to bed at seven o’clock! After nine hours of sleep, what else was there to do?”

Moses understood the blessing of time:

“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures…Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:10a,12)

Peter understood the blessing of time:

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:8-9)

God understood the blessing of time:

[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Ecc 3:11

Time! What a great gift from God. Time, may we use it wisely to savor the beauty of creation, listen well to the sounds of life, and pause just a little to reflect upon all the blessings of God.

God is great!

Amazing God in all Circumstances

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Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV

Do we worship an amazing God? When is God amazing? Amazing, as a word, has been criticized as one of the most overused words in English, but I think it is always appropriate when applied to God! There are not enough adjectives now to truly describe God.

So, when the headline “God is an Amazing God Says Pastor Whose Daughter Miraculously Survived Car Wreck” caught my attention the other day. The pastor’s daughter narrowly escaped a horrendous accident. A guardrail pierced the entire length of the car, leaving his daughter with only minor scratches on her hands and feet.

If you looked at the picture of the car, you could also say it was a miracle she survived. I do not belittle a grateful father for describing God as amazing. I am thankful that he could praise God for his daughter’s survival. However, I started to think, Is God only amazing when things are going well? If the outcome had been different, would God still be amazing?

In the same timeframe, the daughter of a family in Georgia was brutally killed. Laken Riley a young, aspiring nursing student at Augusta University was killed during a morning run around the University of Georgia campus. Describing the incident as a senseless and avoidable tragedy, her family would have reason to question if God was amazing. Yet her Mom, Allyson Phillips shared, “My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be forced to endure. I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time.”

I don’t know the family but I could guess they would answer that God is amazing and maybe more so in the face of this tragedy. Mrs. Phillips went on to share, “I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this.” (Billy Hallowell, CBN)

“Jesus, as I wait today in this dark and desperate world where many dreams have died, teach me to trust even when I can’t understand, and help me, Lord, not to hide from life’s shadows and pain.” (Prayer from Lectio 365)

Finding answers as we struggle through pain, suffering, heartache, and doubt is never easy and many times, unanswerable. We all like answers that can fit into a brightly wrapped box adorned with ribbons and bows. Academically you can get a nice, concise answer on the ‘why did it happen’ but down in the depth of your soul, the only word you hear is, Why?

British pastor Pete Greig commenting upon the Matthew 27 account of preparing Jesus’ body for burial wrote, “During Jesus’ lifetime, countless people came to Him with requests—for healing, for teaching, for forgiveness, for presence, for answers and explanations. But now that He is dead there is nothing whatsoever to be gained by coming to Jesus. Quite the reverse: it’s risky, distressing, and pointless. And so, there is something particularly moving about the selfless devotion of the characters in today’s reading as they lovingly tend His corpse. It’s easy to worship when everything is wonderful, but far more powerful to do so when our hopes and dreams have died. It’s easy to be faithful when our faith makes sense, but faithfulness begins when our faith seems insane.”

Praise comes out of a heart that is nurtured in the intimacy of God as Father. It is through images of his tenderness and care that we can find the words to express our adoration and praise of God. David Roseberry writes “The Bible uses human metaphors and word pictures to talk about God. It must if we humans are to understand it! We are image-oriented people and tend to have difficulty relating to abstractions. Models help us understand how things work. This is true on a scientific level and a theological level as well. For example, if we claim—as the Bible does—that God is good, powerful, loving, and kind, we are speaking in the abstract. These statements can be accurate, but what do they mean to us? To others? But saying God is a good, powerful, loving, and kind Father helps us understand the idea. “(David Roseberry, The Psalm on the Cross)

It is in this intimacy of worship that David was able to write the Psalms. Jesus quoted Psalm 22 as he endured the agony of the cross. The words of this Psalm allowed his soul to worship God even amid his pain, humiliation, and suffering. “From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!” (Ps 22:25-26 NRSV)

Throughout the last several weeks as we journeyed through Lent, Good Friday, and ultimately the life-giving Resurrection, we reflected upon grace nailed to a cross.  It was in this grace that cost Jesus dearly, that the stranglehold of death and sin was broken. Hopefully, we have been reminded that as broken and sinful individuals, we could never, on our own, have the capacity to praise God. Only through God can praise come as He is the subject and object of our praise.

The first Archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Church was Thomas Cranmer. One of his lasting and maybe most impactful legacies was as the principal architect and author of the Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer understood that we are too broken and sinful to offer God praise, only through God comes praise.

“Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you, no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Names; through Christ our Lord. Amen”

God is great!

Journey Toward Eternity

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Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:1b-3 NIV

The iconic engineering masterpiece, The Golden Gate Bridge, spans the one-mile-wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The American Society of Civil Engineers recognizes it as one of the Wonders of the Modern World. The bridge is an internationally recognized symbol and is described in Frommer’s travel guide as “possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world.” (Wikipedia)

Millions of cars, trucks, bikes, and walkers have traveled across the bridge since it opened in 1937. Though famous internationally, it is also famous for the number of people who have committed suicide on the bridge.  Harold B. Wobber became the first person to commit suicide by jumping over the four-foot rail less than three months after its opening. Since then, over 1,600 people have committed suicide with an additional unknown number whose bodies were not found.

Former California highway patrol officer Kevin Briggs has become known as the Guardian of the Golden Gate. When Briggs finds someone preparing to jump to their death, he engages the person in conversation with some simple questions about their plans for the following day. He has been able to talk more than two hundred people from taking their lives. (article in Denison Forum)

The Golden Gate Bridge is easily identifiable for its beauty, but it becomes a symbol of death to those without hope. The Cross of Jesus is even more easily recognizable throughout the world. The cross designed as an instrument of death became a symbol of hope and life because of Easter.

Lent has provided us time to slow down in our spiritual journey to refocus upon the coming days of Easter. It has provided opportunities to sit and reflect upon our hope in Jesus. It is a hope not built on shifting opinions but on the rock-solid promises of God.

Jesus’ journey toward the cross would bring life to us but not without great cost to him. The pain and bodily suffering of the cross had to be indescribable for him yet just as horrendous was the pain of rejection and betrayal that he had to endure.

The pain of a kiss. Judas had sat under his teachings, watched the healings, and fellowshipped with Jesus yet rejected the kind of Messiah that Jesus would become. “And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.” (Luke 22:4). The pain of that midnight kiss must have weighed heavily upon Jesus. “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48)

The pain of a rooster’s crowing. Peter had become one of Jesus’s trusted inner circle members. Peter had pulled the net onto the boat overflowing with fish, stood on the mountaintop with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, and watched as a little girl was raised from the dead yet that morning spoke the words, “I don’t know him!” Can you imagine the pain of these words to Jesus? Also, the pain in Peter’s heart as he heard  “the rooster crowed” and then seeing as “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” (Luke 22:61)

The pain of a yelling crowd, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” The crowd! Men and women who had listened intently to his words, many had eaten fish and bread with him on the mountainside and just days before, had been willing to cry out, Hosanna! Only now to hear, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”

Yet the greatest pain of all is the silence of His Father. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The gaping wounds, the nail-punctured hands and feet, the humiliation or the mocking words couldn’t compare to the darkness and emptiness of his Father’s silence.  “The more painful our suffering and thus the less we understand why God allows it, the more we need to trust it to his compassionate care.” (Jim Denison)

The lament of Psalm 22 would minister to Jesus’ soul that dark and godless afternoon. The words of this holy Psalm would express his desolation of God being far away and yet the consolation of feeling God’s presence, even on the cross.

Charles Spurgeon beautifully captured the richness of this Psalm on the cross. “Psalm 22 may have been actually repeated word by word by our Lord when hanging on the tree; it would be too bold to say that it was so, but even a casual reader may see that it might have been. It begins with, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And ends, according to some, in the original with It is finished.

Before us, we have a description of both the darkness and the glory of the cross, the sufferings of Christ, and the glory which shall follow. Oh, for grace to draw near and see this incredible sight! We should read reverently, putting off our shoes from our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush, for if there be holy ground anywhere in Scripture, it is in this psalm.”

The cruelty of the cross has been transformed into a symbol of living hope with the words, “It is finished.” The cold isolation of a grave has been transformed into living life with the words, “He is not here; he has risen.” These symbols of death have been transformed into a living faith with the climax of this powerful prayer, “Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.  (Ps 22:30-31 NLT)

“Christ breaks through to you, not in those places where you are strong, where your skills are well-honed and developed, but precisely in those areas in your life where you know failure or weakness. For it is there that you come close to the power of the Cross. It is precisely there that God is waiting to meet you, long to offer you forgiveness, strength, and renewal, to live and work not in your own strength, but in the strength of Christ.” (Geoffrey Tristam)

Easter!  He is Risen! This is the reason why I can end my blogs each week with the words,

God is great!

Go Quickly and Tell His Disciples by Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese

Journey Toward Destiny

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As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41 NIV

The countdown to the Eclipse 2024 is underway. On April 8, the “Great North American Eclipse” will move across the United States. The path of totality will start in Mexico and move across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before heading out over the North Atlantic. For a few minutes, the moon gets to overshadow the sun.

April 8 would not have been a good day if you were the king of Mesopotamia in 763 B.C. You could have easily related to the Shakespearian quote, “Uneasy is the head that wears a crown” because a total solar eclipse was seen as an omen of death for rulers of the Assyrian Empire. They were uncertain of what would happen, but since the Assyrians worshiped the Sun God, the Moon God, and other sky deities, a total eclipse of the Sun held tremendous spiritual and political power. To avoid such an untimely death, the king would name a substitute king for the day who would become the reigning monarch for the day and take on the curse of the omen and be sacrificed. “The substitute king would enjoy all the trappings of regency before being ritualistically killed to fulfill the prophecy.” (article by Rebecca Boyle)

Lent has been a season of preparation preparing us for the arrival of the true King and the fulfillment of prophecy – a King that would become the substitute instead of having a fake king to be his substitute.

The climax of the Journey Toward Destiny began as the people crowded the streets of Jerusalem preparing for the entry of Jesus. Whether you fasted during Lent or used these 40 days to prepare your heart for Easter, the time has come. This season of preparation has prepared us for the event far greater and vastly more important than any total eclipse.

Palm Sunday marks the church’s celebration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event that each Gospel writer captured in their own unique style. Even reading the narratives you can feel the excitement mounting, the pressure building, and hope intensifying. The people are pushing and shoving to get a place on the street to welcome the King. Is this finally the fulfillment of centuries of anticipation coming true? Finally, will Jesus be the one to restore their rightful place as a nation and break the bondage of the oppressor?

“A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt 21:8-9)

“What comes into your mind when you think about God?” A.W. Tozer asked this penetrating question in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy. The question could have been asked on that day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on His Journey Toward Destiny. The same question is appropriate to ask of ourselves as we enter into this final week of Easter.

The crowds wanted a political hero, a military strategist, but most importantly a powerful commander to restore their nation. What they got that day was the Son of God riding on a donkey heading for a cross that would open the doors for redemption and salvation.  The crowds would return home at the end of the day. Some would go home disappointed that he hadn’t entered on a white horse. Some would go home disillusioned that the revolution didn’t start overthrowing the Roman occupation. Some would go home that evening angry that Jesus didn’t meet their expectation of a Messiah.

However, among the palm-waving crowds that day, there were a few that would go home that evening having experienced the coming of the Messiah as prophesied generations before. They would become what they worshipped and would come to Jesus, the true Messiah. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9: 9-10 (NIV)

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.” (Tozer)

The crowds cheering for Jesus that morning upon his entry into Jerusalem were also part of the crowds that would be yelling again in a few days for Jesus. However, instead of yelling Hosanna to the Son of David, they would be yelling crucify him, crucify him. What changed? They became what they worshipped which shaped their destiny and their beliefs. Tozer went on to write, “We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God…Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes to mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.”

What comes to your mind when you think of God? As you enter this time called Holy Week, I trust there will be an opportunity to drown out the crowd noise, find time to step away from the busy week and simply let your thoughts focus on Jesus. Try reading a different Gospel account each day of the events related to Holy Week.  Let Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John guide you in a time of reflection and worship preparing your heart, soul, and mind for Easter.

Jesus, as we approach Easter, let our hearts and minds be filled with praise and thanksgiving for all that you endured for us. Let us never forget your sacrifice so that we might have life. Thank you for the amazing gift of salvation.

God is great!

Hosanna in the Highest! by Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese

Journey Toward Life

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I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the LORD your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Deut 30:19-20 CSB

What does the world have to offer its residents? We have unbelievably fast internet, can watch 24-7 cable, eat exotic foods, go from one side of the earth to the other within a day, or if bored, choose from a thousand different movies to lull us asleep on any given night. You could name a myriad of things but what it can’t give is the true value of life.  “We live in a culture in which when the priorities of life are set, gratitude seems to be squeezed out. We have lost the ability to receive life as a gift.” (Richard Foster)

Lent is a season of preparation reminding us of the journey Jesus took to bring the ultimate gift of life. Jesus was on a journey toward the known to reveal the unknown to those who followed. It was a journey of hope, faith, pain, suffering, and victory. As we take this journey toward Easter, it allows us to see life as a gift, otherwise without Easter, death is the only gift given.

Without life as a gift, the unexplainable happens as the value of life is so easily dismissed.  Little Halo Nelson will never experience any tomorrows after her body was found at the bottom of a utility tunnel in Schenectady, New York. Her mother, Persia Nelson has been charged with second-degree murder committed with depraved indifference. (Samira Asma-Sadeque ,People Newsfeed,3/12/24)

Without life as a gift, the bizarre happens. Two Georgia men, Stephen Glosser and Caleb Kinsey were charged with the bombing of a woman’s house and plotting to release a python to “eat” the victim’s daughter, federal officials announced last week. The two men were charged with stalking, use of an explosive to commit a felony, and possession of an unregistered detonation device. (Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 3/11/24)

Without life as a gift, the unimaginable happens. Esperanza Rae Harding, 20 was charged with 2nd degree murder of her baby. Why? She wanted to show her boyfriend that he was her top priority. She allegedly drowned her baby, took a picture of the body, stuffed it into a backpack, and tossed the bag into the trash. (Christine Pelisek, People Newsfeed, 3/11/24)

Without life as a gift, the hopelessness of life happens. Over the last couple of decades, the rise of euthanasia or assisted death has become culturally acceptable and legally permissible in many countries of the world. Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) has grown from 1,000 in 2016 to over 10,000 in 2021 or 3.3% of all deaths in Canada. (Gov’t of Canada report). Canadian doctor, Ewan Goligher, a Christian, writes, “What is more unbelievable is that the ability to have one’s life ended on short notice is an increasingly acceptable option for Canadian patients—with implications that will reverberate around the globe.”

“Once a society embraces killing as an answer to suffering, the ‘suffering’ that qualifies for termination never stops expanding. Since lethal-injection euthanasia became decriminalized—and then, formally legalized—the killable caste has expanded from the terminally ill, to the chronically ill, to people with disabilities, to babies born with serious medical conditions, to the mentally ill, etc., etc., etc.” (Wesley J. Smith, senior fellow)

Life as a gift can only be found on the journey to Easter. It was not an easy journey Jesus took, but he knew life was a gift and only he could give it. Jesus has the only right response when the world asks, “How can suffering possibly be meaningful? What would make life with suffering worthwhile? If suffering is absurd, it can seem natural, even rational, to choose death.” (Ewan Goligher)

Jesus is life itself! “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Jesus is life itself! “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:4)

Jesus is life itself! “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Col 1:19-20)

“The voice of God indeed daily calls to us; calls to the world to abandon sins and seek the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly. O that we may all hear the call of the Father and, sometime, at last, be converted to the Lord….In silence and in meditation on the eternal truths, I hear the voice of God which excites our hearts to greater love.” (C. S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis)

Walking on the dusty roads toward Jerusalem, I do not doubt that the disciples were confused and searching for answers. “At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.” (John12:16)

Jesus’ words to Martha at Lazarus’ death had to be on their minds as they walked that day. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) In a few days, all of this would make sense to his followers but at what cost to Jesus?

Life is a gift but only because of the journey toward Easter!

Holy Spirit, Only You can heal our bitter, broken, disillusioned hearts. Will you plant seeds of hope in our hearts, my heart? Show me how to listen well, love gently, trust fully, believe deeply, and point to the life of Your eternal kingdom without rushing past the tender places.

God is great!

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