Connecting Points

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Today’s Topic: How Near Is He?

Today’s Text:  Psalm 119:151 (ESV)  But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true.

A young boy was having great difficulty with math. He avoided it as much as he could. His dislike for it was a result of his initial inability to understand it, and as a result he chose to not even try any more.

After several meetings with school teachers and officials, the parents decided to enroll him in a private school where he could get more specialized attention. After only one day of attendance his parents noticed him doing math homework. Every day the first subject he talked about was math. They called the teacher to see what had happened, and she had no explanation other than the fact that he was determined to do well.

When asked by the parents why the sudden and drastic change in attitude and performance, he responded, “They take math really seriously at this new school. Right on the wall in the front of the class is a plus sign with a man nailed to it.”

 Trouble has a tendency to change our perspective on truth. The Psalmist was in that predicament as he wrote today’s verse. In the preceding verse, Psalm 119:150, he had written, “They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose; they are far from your law.” His perspective was that the trouble was near. Then, in a moment of truth, he recognized that no matter how near the trouble, his Lord was nearer.

The Hebrew word translated near brings depth to our understanding of the nearness of our Lord. There are three contexts in which the word near appears:

• Near in location
• Near in relationship
• Near in time

What marvelous truths these are. Our Lord is ever-present with us. He will never leave us. His location to us is more near than anyone or anything else, for He is in us. By the regenerating and indwelling power of the Holy Spirit the Lord Jesus Christ lives in those who by faith in His sacrifice for sins are saved eternally. This is what the Apostle Paul refers to as our hope of glory – Christ in us! The Lord is near.

He is near in relationship, for by abiding in us we are in constant fellowship with Him. He cannot and will not forsake us, for we are His children by rebirth. We are heirs of all things in eternity with Jesus Christ himself, with all the rights of a family’s first-born son. Our heavenly Father honors for all eternity the birthright that was granted to us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Brother.

The Lord is also near in time. There is never a need to make a future appointment to deal with present trouble. Never do we have to stand in line to see Him, talk to Him, or hear from Him. And after hearing from Him, while we may wait on Him to do His work in His time, we do not wait for His presence to keep us constantly at peace. He is instantly available, immediately accessible, and intimately approachable.

The enemy may be drawing near. Trouble may be approaching. BUT YOU ARE NEAR, O LORD!

May this promise be our constant perspective, for it is truth!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Today’s Topic: Ears of Love

Today’s Text:  Psalm 119:149 (ESV) Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;

Babies cry. It’s the only way they can communicate for the first few months of their lives. It’s God’s gift to them and to the baby’s parents. It’s hard for the parents to accept this gift at 3:00 AM, but nonetheless it is a gift. The love that the parent has for the baby looks hears the need not the annoyance. Love focuses on the person not on the imperfections of the communication.

This truth thrills my soul when I meditate on it from a spiritual perspective. Many times to my Father in heaven I am a crying baby, vocalizing nothing but murmurs and groanings. Yet with ears of love He hears my deepest need. He answers me according to His lovingkindness.

Charles Spurgeon writes this in his classic work entitled The Treasury of David, of which I am so blessed to have an 1884 second edition printing of all seven volumes in my office. Thank you Grandpa.

When God hears prayer according to his lovingkindness he overlooks all the imperfections of the prayer, he forgets the sinfulness of the offerer, and in pitying love he grants the desire though the suppliant be unworthy. It is according to God’s lovingkindness to answer speedily, to answer frequently, to answer abundantly, yea, exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think.

Our hearts long to know the surrender of our will to the extent that we fully trust the lovingkindness of the Father. Questions arise in our minds and are answered as soon as they are asked:

• When are we ever worthy of asking the Lord for anything?
• When have we earned the answer we seek?
• Are not all of our prayers to be voiced with this attachment – answer me according to your lovingkindness?
•  Is this not the only way we can be assured of any answer at all?

Father, teach us to pray with the humble cries of a child. Teach us that it is not in our abilities and perfections that we receive your grace and love, but in our brokenness that you hear us and extend your lovingkindness. Grant us the faith to understand that your love surpasses our weakness and inabilities, and that only good answers come from your heart, and only answers that come from your heart are good for us. Thank you for hearing us with your ears of love! Amen.

Connecting Points

Monday, February 04, 2013

Today’s Topic: Sleepless Nights

Today’s Text:  Psalm 119:147-148 (NIV)  I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. ¹⁴⁸ My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

I’m blessed to be able to sleep very soundly. I find that I don’t sleep for very long in that state, but it’s very restful. I fall asleep fast, sometimes in the middle of sentences, and I don’t move much for the first four hours. After that anything can happen. There are no guarantees of sound sleep after 2:30 AM.

Most of the time I’m able to go back to sleep right away, but if there’s been stress in my life my mind starts racing as it looks for solutions. Sleep comes harder then. Worry can set up a stronghold more powerful than caffeine.

I am convinced that if we took a poll of our friends and family we would discover that sleepless nights are common. We would also find that the cause of sleeplessness is also common – the cares of life. We literally spend hours each week lying awake at night thinking about how to fix life’s problems.

Worry is not always the problem. I also don’t sleep well when I am exciting about something I get to do the next day. It’s especially bad if that event starts early in the morning, like a summer fishing trip. I might as well not even go to bed the night before, because all night I will be looking at the clock wondering if it’s time to go yet. Enthusiasm is an equally powerful stimulant.

The Psalmist admits to sleepless nights caused by enthusiasm. His early morning wake-up calls and his middle-of-the-night ceiling stares have nothing to do with worry, but rather with the enjoyment of time with his Lord and Savior. He confesses that he needs help, but his sleeplessness is not cause by his own problem-solving efforts or ownership of the issue. Instead, every time an issue keeps him from sleeping, he turns to the Word of God in which he has placed his hope. He even proclaims that he intentionally uses the times his eyes open in the night to meditate on God’s promises.

I have discovered the incredible blessing of sleepless nights when my mind is at rest in Christ rather than racing to find solutions to problems. I have discovered the incredible strength that comes from God even when I have had less sleep because my hope is in Him.

Saturday night I went to bed confident of what God had given me to preach on the next day at church. I had determined that I would not go to bed early, as I typically do on Saturday nights, and that I would not rise extra early to spend more time in the Word. I was sure I could sleep in because I was prepared. Or so I thought.

At 4:45 AM my alarm went off. I had not set it. I had not intended to wake up at that time. As I quickly reached over and shut it off to reduce the risk that Denise would wake up, my very next thought was this- “What do you want, Lord? There must be a reason you want me up this early.” I argued with His answer for only one minute, and then rose, got dressed, and headed to the office to see what He had planned. As I drove I looked carefully for any opportunities along the way that He had prepared for me. There was nothing – no accidents, no hitchhikers, and no stranded motorists. There was nothing out of the ordinary at the convenience store when I got my coffee. As I drove the last few blocks to the office I wondered what He was going to show me.

When I arrived and opened up my notes for the sermon, the Holy Spirit clearly revealed that there was more He wanted me to know. So for the next two hours I did more research, more praying, and more writing. It was an incredible time with my Lord before the dawn. I hadn’t even cried for help, but He knew I needed it and woke me to fulfill His promise of constant care for me.

As I reflect back on that early morning I now understand what the Psalmist means when he says his hope is in God’s Word and he meditates on His promises. Not once on Sunday – not early in the morning nor mid-afternoon nor early evening – did I ever feel tired or regret having been awakened by the Lord. It was especially significant to me that after being awakened, every thought of my mind was focused on what God’s purpose was for getting my attention. It was truly a time of walking fully in the Spirit of God.

How about you? What causes your sleepless nights, and what do you do with your time?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, February 01, 2013

Today’s Topic: Leap for Joy!

Today’s Text:  Psalm 119:143 (ESV) Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.

I am so thankful for the time I was given growing up to live in a rural farm community. There’s something about the farm that captivates my heart. As I drive through our scenic state my heart is most often moved by the sight of a farmhouse with outbuildings nestled into a grove of trees surrounded by rolling hills of pasture and cropland. It brings a peace to me that only being on the water in a boat can rival.

One of the visual images I have in my mind from some days on the farm in North Dakota is a scene that involves young calves. They have been penned up overnight in a small enclosure with adequate room to move and find water, but with not enough space to run and jump as calves love to do.

I arrived at the farm at dawn to help my friend move the calves to pasture. We re-positioned all the gates of the feed lot so that the calves would be funneled to the wide-open spaces of the pasture. The funnel was intentionally narrow to control the calves’ behavior. The final gate we opened was the gate that held back the energetic young steers. We did not have to coax them to go through the opening.

They proceeded quickly through the one-hundred yard passageway, generating more speed with every step that drew them closer to what they considered to be freedom. They had done this before, and knew that very soon in comparison to where they had been there would be no more restrictions. Within five steps on exiting the last gate every calf started jumping and running and twisting and turning and leaping. They were exuberant. FREEDOM! That word exploded from every release of energy every calf made.

That is the picture that came to my mind this morning as I read the words of Psalm 119:143. Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight. What brought that picture to my mind was a verse used by Charles Spurgeon today in my daily promise devotional called Faith’s Checkbook. The verse is found in Malachi 4:2, and it says, But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Sometimes, and probably more often than not, we feel like those calves penned up in a stall. The troubles of life have us caged in. We are being nourished just enough to stay alive, but we are far from feeling free enough to leap for joy. But as we begin to recall the previous experiences of freedom found in the commandments of the Lord, the light of dawn begins to appear. Hope rises in our hearts when we hear the sound of Heaven’s voices coming from the mansion on top of the hill. The Son of Righteousness has risen, and He is coming to open the gates.

We quiver with anticipation as each promise and command of our soul’s Farmer is remembered. We delight in each one as they produce the sound of creaking and clanging as the gates swing open. Then at last the Master stands at the final gate that has locked us in, and with one word of permission he sets us free. At last we can see a passageway to the pasture where we can be fed again. We move towards it, not caring any longer that our movements are still restricted by the same barriers that seconds earlier had penned us in. There is now an opening in the cage, and our hearts and minds are fixed on making our way to it.

When the last barrier has been removed, we begin to leap for joy. We run and don’t get weary. We jump and don’t get injured. We have been released into the great pasture of God’s promises. FREEDOM! That word explodes from every part of our lives as we move about in the spaciousness of God’s grace.

Whatever has you penned up today, there is hope for freedom in the commandments and promises of God. The Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in His wings, and you will soon go out leaping for joy if you pass through the gates He is opening.

Pastor John