Almost!

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Then Agrippa said to Paul “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”  Acts 26:28-29 NKJV

Lots of words could fall into the sad category, but I tend to think the word, almost ranks right at the top in this category. Almost is a word filled with missed opportunities. It is a word filled with regrets, bitterness, and struggles.  You are so close yet so far away. I almost won the race, but I came short. I almost took that new job, but I didn’t apply. I almost won the election, but I failed to enter the race.  Almost!

Merriam-Webster defines almost: “very nearly but not exactly or entirely, very near but not quite.” This little adverb finds itself in the company with words such as about, all but, more or less, nearly, somewhere. Words reflecting myriads of “could have been” and “should have been”.

Almost could be the defining component of lottery expert Brett Jacobson’s research. According to Jacobson, a total of $2.89 billion was never claimed by winners in 2017. Recently, a $14.6 million prize expired in Arizona because no one came forward to claim the money. Hung Nguyen lost out on $1,08,624 because he lost the ticket. Almost winners, but no one claimed the prize.

Stefan Thomas fits nicely into the almost category. He almost had $220 million except he lost the password. Thomas made headlines last year when he revealed forgetting the password to access his bitcoin account. The Business Insider story said, “the secure hard drive, on which 7,002 bitcoins were stored, was an IronKey device. It gives owners 10 chances to guess their password before encrypting the contents.” As of January, this year, he has two attempts left to unlock his riches or the contents will be permanently encrypted. Thomas said of himself that the mistake left him feeling like a “complete idiot.” “But much worse than the loss of the money was my self-reproach: I simply couldn’t believe I had lost something so important.”

This little word almost keeps many of us from discovering the beautiful vista of life just over the mountaintop. We get tired and give up before we scale the peak.  Almost finds energy at the bottom of our valley experiences. They are the moments in our lives fueled by fear, lost opportunities, lack of self-confidence, empty bank accounts, and a host of other things. Things that make saying almost, too easy.

Reading scripture, you find stories filled with almost moments:

The Israelites almost made it to the promised land but disobedience kept them out.

The rich young ruler listened well to Jesus and almost followed except for his money.

King Agrippa almost became a Christian but he couldn’t give up the pomp and power of position. Paul, the prisoner, carefully and meticulously lays out the case for Christ in Acts 26. Almost but never became King Agrippa’s ultimate decision of his life.  “If only Paul had been a little more eloquent. If only Agrippa had been a little more receptive, a little braver, a little crazier. If only God weren’t such a stickler for letting people make up their own minds without forcing their hands. But things are what they are, and almost is the closest Agrippa ever got to what might have changed his life. “ — Frederick Buechner

“It is sad enough to miss God’s invitation. But to just miss it is sadder still, especially when an apostle is trying to help you discover it! May almost never mark our spiritual journey.” –Faith that Matters

The world is filled with almost millionaires. The world is filled with politicians who almost won their election. The world is filled with lots of almost moments.  Unfortunately, hell is filled with almost persuaded people who will miss the opportunity of a lifetime. “If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.” –C.S. Lewis

In our spiritual life, almost can rob us of the life that God desires to give. For King Agrippa, almost persuaded is as close as some will get to experience the greatest joy of life, Jesus. Is there an almost that is keeping you from enjoying the life that Jesus offered? Life is too short to let almost be the defining word of your life.  So maybe the category for almost isn’t sad but tragic.

Jesus is the best answer to an almost lifestyle. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6

God is great!

Arrival of Advent – The Christ Candle

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The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Isaiah 9:2-7

The battle had raged for months, the rains were relentless, the despair of war was increasing, yet on a dreary night the sounds of Silent Night echoed across the war-ravaged land and two armies declared an unofficial and impromptu cease-fire on the Western Front near Frelinghien, France during World War 1. It was a moment of hope as calm rested upon the battlefield. A short interlude from fighting occurred on December 24 and 25 and became known as the 1914 Christmas Truce. It was a small, localized event with a small group of soldiers, but for a brief moment they experienced peace. Christmas came to those war-torn trenches.

Fleming Rutledge writes,  “Advent always begins in the dark.” It was in the dark that the angels came to the shepherds. It was in the dark that the star guided the Magi to the Savior. It was in the dark that Joseph and Mary escaped to Egypt. It was in the dark of night that Nicodemus came seeking the truth. It would be in the dark that Jesus was betrayed by Judas.

Could it be that in the darkness of 2021, Advent has been more powerful and hopeful this year? Has our focus been more on Jesus than on the glitter and usual activities of Christmas? I hope so! Jeff Peabody wrote that we can learn to reframe our questions from “Lord, when will this darkness be over?” to “What is pointing me toward Christ?” As we do, we may find there is significantly more light in the room than we realized.”

The calendar day that marks Christmas may have passed but not the Incarnation. We watched the flickering flames of the hope, faith, joy, and peace candles that illuminated our advent wreath grow brighter when the Christ candle was lit for Christmas.  The world no longer has to live in darkness as God orchestrated the radiant light of Jesus’ birth. Jesus would tell the world that, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

The shepherds returned to their sheep that dark night but they had seen the Light.

The Magi returned to their homeland but they had seen the Light.

Mary and Joseph packed their belongings to return home but now they carried the Light.

Aging, faithful Simeon had waited expectantly but now he held the Light in his arms.

Precious Anna had worshipped and waited for decades but now she led in worship of the Light.

O Little Town of Bethlehem you were so preoccupied that you missed the Light.

King Herod, you were so blinded by evil and lust for power that you missed the Light.

America were you so consumed with materialism, violence, and division that you will miss the hope of the Light?

We live in an age when anything and everything can be politicized about Christmas. People get upset when others say Happy Holidays or leave off merry in Christmas. The real tragedy is not to know the Christ of Christmas. Life without Jesus leaves a bleak, dark, and hopeless world. A world that recognizes the day but not the person of Christmas.

What did you do with the Light this Christmas?

Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth, and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled.

Joyful, all ye nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies;

With angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.

God is great,

 

 

First Week of Advent – Hope – Lighting the Prophecy Candle

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By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance. O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. Psalm 95:5

Hopelessness! This seems to be the primary diagnosis of our nation, of our world and, maybe of ourselves.  It seems as if daily the only news is bad news – conflict, violence, senseless rage against others. This overwhelming daily dose of bad news can quickly numb our hearts and souls. If someone would visit the doctor, the diagnosis would be chronic, low-grade hopelessness. We grasp for anything that offers hope, yet like the advertised medicines on TV, the side effects of the cure seem to be worse than the illness.

The story is told of a little boy in a hospital who found hope in an unusual way.  “One day a teacher who was assigned to a mentoring program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child in the hospital. She took the child’s name and room number and talked briefly with the child’s regular class teacher. “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now,” the regular teacher said, “and I’d be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn’t fall too far behind.”

 The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, “I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs.” When she left she felt she hadn’t accomplished much. But the next day, a nurse asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. “No, no,” said the nurse. “You don’t know what I mean. We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to live.”

Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?”  (article from Bits and Pieces magazine)

“There are no hopeless situations: there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.” – Clare Boothe Luce

G. K. Chesterton wrote that: “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all…it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.” Hope was finally found after four hundred years between the close of Malachi and the coming word that the Messiah would be born. Now, the prophecy candle would be lit. Gabriel, the angel of the LORD, came to Zechariah, announcing that he and Elizabeth would give birth to a son who would be named John. Though they were long past childbearing years they would be part of God’s plan for hope. They would have a son in their old age but not just any son. Their son would “make ready a people prepared for the LORD.”

A few months later Gabriel made his way to Nazareth with the greatest birth announcement the world would ever hear. It was an announcement that would rock the world forever! In this small, politically insignificant village, Gabriel made his way to a young woman and Mary heard the words, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

Hope, as defined by the dictionary is “To entertain a wish for something with some expectation. To be confident; trust. To look forward to with confidence of fulfillment.” God defined hope in the birth of Jesus. “…Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:18-19

Sunday marked the first day of Advent. In the midst of all the shopping, decorating and activities that mark the Christmas season, this Advent season can remind us to set aside time for spiritual preparation for celebrating the coming of Jesus Christ. The flame of the first candle reminds us that God kept his promise to send a Messiah.

Hope found in a feeding trough. Hope – wrapped in a blanket. Hope – worshipped by the lowly shepherds as well as the ruling Kings.

Christmas is the very essence of hope as we experience God coming into the world, “Emmanuel, God is with us.” (Matt 1:23) As you reflect upon the Hope candle, whatever struggle you face, use it as an opportunity to experience the hope found in the coming of Jesus. In a dark world, one candle’s light is as powerful as a floodlight on a dark night.

God wouldn’t send his son to offer hope if we were dying without hope, would he?

Lord, let me be attentive to what truly matters, without being distracted by trivial things.

For opportunities to encourage others who may be struggling without hope.

For grace to rest in the midst of uncertainty and unrest in my life.

For hope that comes each morning through your love and grace. Amen.

 

God is great,

Would your faith be made easier by having a Lord you could see?

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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. Hebrews 11:1-3

Would your faith be made easier by having a Lord you could see?

Over the years the people of Israel had experienced a rhythm of revival and regression, domination and defeat. Finally, they had an answer for all their problems, we want a king! They had God but how much better it would have been if they had a flesh and blood king like all the neighboring nations.  Instead of listening to the prophet Samuel’s warnings about what it would be like to live under a king, “the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (I Samuel 8:19-20)

“Yahweh alone was King over Israel, the prophets thundered: to be feared, to be loved, above all else to be obeyed. When the people decided they wanted a king of flesh and blood like all the other nations, Samuel warned them that the consequences would be tragic (1 Samuel 8:4-18), and history proved him correct in every particular. In the long run Israel as king and kingdom vanished from history altogether.” (Frederick Buechner)

Mark Buchanan tells the story of musician Ray Charles who went blind at age seven. “He lived his childhood in rural poverty, in a one-room shack at the edge of a sharecropper’s field. In the movie about him, in a scene from his childhood, he runs into his house and trips over a chair. He starts to wail for his mother. She stands at the stove, right in front of him, and instinctively reaches out to lift him. Then she stops. Backs up. Stands still. Watches.

Ray stops crying. He quiets. He listens. He hears, behind him, the water on the woodstove whistling to a boil. He hears, outside, the wind pass like a hand through cornstalks. He hears the thud of horse hooves on the road, the creak and clatter of the wagon they pull. Then he hears, in front of him, the thin faint scratch of a grasshopper walking the worn floorboards of his mama’s cottage. He inches over and, attentive now to every sigh and twitch, gathers the tiny insect in his hand. He holds it in his open palm. “I hear you, too, Mama,” he says. She weeps with pride and sorrow and wonder.” Charles later explains to someone, “I hear like you see.”

To “hear like you see” beautifully describes the faith that allows us to see beyond our physical realm of life. You may think “flesh and blood” answers will solve all the problems but they seldom do. Living a God-focused faith allows you to hear like others see. It allows you to enter deeper into the heart of God than any physical senses can ever take you. Living a God-focused faith allows us to see what others will never see.

Israel looked for their answers in a flesh and blood king but was quickly disappointed. Today we look for answers in “flesh and blood” solutions. If only this political party could be elected, they would solve all our nation’s problems. If only our elected officials would act boldly against neighboring countries. If only…. becomes the “flesh and blood king” that never can provide a future.

Would your faith be made easier by having a Lord you could see? Without a doubt but the great thing, we have that LORD.

He is called Jesus-Immanuel; God is with us. He is called “Our Father” who provides for us, forgives us, and leads us.  He is called Jesus-the Good Shepherd. He is called Jesus-the Resurrection and the Life. He is our Advocate.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. –Psalm 121

God is great,

 

 

That was God!

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“What are we going to do with these men?”  they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.” Acts 4:16

When was the last time you simply said, That was God!  Maybe you had been sick and recovered; maybe you were out of work until one day out of the blue you get a job offer; maybe you have been dealing with a problem at work and all of a sudden you have an epiphany.

It is not always easy to explain the unexplainable. Non-believers will try to find a rational answer. Some will call it fate, others, pure luck. Believers will often use the word miracle but more as a good luck term. “The living God, the God Who is God and not a philosopher’s abstraction, lies infinitely beyond the reach of anything our eyes can see or our minds can understand.” –Thomas Merton

IMB missionary George Smith should be dead but he is not! George and his wife Geraldine serve in the country of Uganda. George became sick in January with Covid and had to be medically evacuated to Nairobi, Kenya where he was placed on a ventilator with very little chance of survival. Yet as doctors talked to his wife about the need for end of life decisions, she simply continued to pray. People around the world simply continued to pray. New believers in Jesus who had recently come out of Islam realized the need to pray. George is now home in Louisiana recovering. Is this miracle or medicine?  The simple answer is both, but If I could ask George he would probably say, That was God!

The miracle for George is not necessarily the recovery, but the story that he will be able to tell. Miracles have a purpose which always point us to God. Jesus preformed many miracles that always told a story – a story that pointed people to God, a story that changed lives, a story that led to redemption. “What makes it a miracle is that God performed it specifically to make himself known, to communicate with human beings. When God pokes into our world through the miraculous, he is communicating with us, otherwise we cannot appropriately use the term “miraculous” to describe the event.” –Eric Metaxas

Peggy Noonan thought miracles existed “in part as gifts and in part as clues that there is something beyond the flat world we see.” We live in an age when people are looking for clues that there is something more than the life they are living. It could be that God will use miracles to point people to him because you would think miracles would be a sure-fire way of drawing people to him. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Jesus performed miracle after miracle yet faced increasing opposition and rejection.

Mark tells the account of when Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth. “And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” (6:5-6) If Jesus couldn’t perform miracles in his own hometown, how can we expect people to be moved by miracles today?

Moses stood on the shore of the Red Sea and watched the hand of God split the water. That was God!

Queen Esther stood before the king to save her people. That was God!

David stood at the edge of the battlefield having faced the biggest giant of his life. That was God!

Jesus hung on the cross and said “It is finished.” That was God!

Today you may be standing at the edge of a hospital bed praying for healing of a loved one. Today you may be pouring out your heart for a wayward child. Today you may be pleading for mercy. The miracle you need more than anything is God himself. At the end of the day you are able to cry out, That was God!

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:29-31

That was God!

God is great

Lynn