Daily Devotions

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Current Study: Love         

Today’s Topic: Love Means No Strings

Today’s Scripture:   Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. 

Love languages are not designed to be yo-yo’s. If you think they are, then you are the yo-yo. You see, a yo-yo is a toy with a string attached. When that string is attached to your finger, the toy will return to you after you give it away. Some people spend their lives in the world of yo-yo relationships because they think love has strings attached.

By definition, love languages have no strings attached. Let’s take a quick look at the definition of a love language. This may sound pretty simplistic, but it’s important. The name itself reveals two intertwined elements. The first is, obviously, love. The second is communication. To put it simply, a love language is how love is communicated to someone else. But the key to really understanding this is the word love. Real love is all about the other person and not about self. For real love to be effectively communicated it must be spoken in the language of the recipient, not the giver. This is vital for us to understand. Love cannot be sufficiently communicated to another person when done in the most meaningful way to the giver. It must be done in the way it will be fully understood by the receiver. The communication of real love must be all about the one you love, and not about self.

There are two love languages left – physical touch and giving gifts. Just the mention of them brings out the importance of understanding the definition we just gave. These two love languages provide multiple yo-yo opportunities. We must cut the strings. Physical touch and the giving of gifts are not about what feels good to you, but what will be understood as true love to the other person. For true love to be experienced there must be certain emotional and physical responses in place. Love will create a sense of security and trust. Love produces the assurance of unconditional acceptance. Love will bring transparency and openness based on that acceptance and security. And just to be really clear, for the physical elements of love to be fully appreciated, these emotional and psychological elements must be in place first. This must be the goal of even the language of physical touch. In case you’re wondering, the love language of physical touch is not a synonym for sex. Sorry guys!

That brings up another important point to remember – love languages can never be motivated by the need to receive a benefit. That would be the yo-yo’s way of thinking. If you are attempting to speak the love language of your spouse so that they will respond with something you want, then your attempt to show true love is wrong. You are using a yo-yo. Love is about unconditionally giving yourself to the other person with no strings attached. Will there be benefits? You bet! But they are the product of the sincere expression of love, not the selfish one. Those benefits can only be fully experienced if you know they came back to you freely and not as a result of the string you had attached.

On Saturday, many of you will give gifts to express your love for your valentine. Some of you will expect some physical touch in return. Quick, get on your knees right now and address this issue with God. He gave the world the ultimate gift of love in Jesus Christ knowing that from the majority of the human race He would receive nothing in return. Believe me when I tell you that gifts given with even unspoken strings attached will soon be discarded, because the strings are obvious to the receiver. You cannot hide that kind of secret motivation for long! Pray that God’s grace will overwhelm you with a true spirit of love that gives everything and expects nothing.

As I sit at my desk, there is a picture on the wall right in front of me. It is a picture of me sitting with a Cajun man named Raymond. Last year, when I was in his village on the bayou of Louisiana, I had the marvelous privilege of praying with him as he surrendered his life to Jesus. The picture shows me sitting next to him in the fellowship hall of the church with my arm around his shoulder. It was a physical touch of love that demonstrated unconditional acceptance and security to him. That was my only intent. That was a physical touch of love.

Try that with your spouse. Prove to him or her that your touches have no ulterior motives other than to express the assurance of unconditional acceptance. Give gifts that have meaning to them and not you. Be creative. Then before you give the gift or attempt the touch, make sure you have disconnected all strings. Don’t be a yo-yo.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Current Study: Love         

Today’s Topic: Love Means Spending Time

Today’s Scripture:  John 16:6-7  Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

It was so cute. She came walking into the house pretending to be holding on to a leash. As the door started to close behind her she yelled, “Don’t let the door slam on my crocodile.” I quickly grabbed the door as she walked by pulling the imaginary leash attached to her new imaginary friend. For weeks afterward she never went anywhere without him. He was soon joined by two imaginary lions and a bumble bee. She would make up stories about each one and include them in all of her play time. She knew that each one existed somewhere in real life, but everything about her friends was made up to fit her needs and purposes. We think we have figured out why. Our granddaughter made imaginary friends with everything she was afraid of to calm her fears.

Some people do that with God. They know He exists somewhere out there, but they simply conform Him to fit their own goals or calm their own fears. All of the time they claim to spend with Him is just imaginary play time to please themselves. They have never spent any real time with Him because they still fear the changes He may bring to their lives. There is no true relationship, and certainly no intimacy.

When God first created mankind, He walked and talked with them for real in the Garden of Eden. There was intimacy because there was the sharing of quality time. When sin broke that intimacy, God sent Jesus to re-establish contact. Try to imagine what your relationship with God would be like right now if all record of God contacting man was erased. It would not be considered anything but an imaginary relationship if we had no history upon which to validate God’s character through His interaction with man, and if we had no possible way of spending time with Him today. Relationships require relating. Relating requires reality. The reality is that God sent Jesus to earth to reconcile our broken relationship by relating to us.

The disciples had three years worth of relating to the reality of God revealed in Jesus. Their testimony becomes the history upon which we can know the reality of His existence. But there is so much more. When the time came for Jesus to return to His position of glory at the Father’s right hand, his disciples were scared. They didn’t want to be left alone. Jesus understood their need for ongoing relationship, and gave them an incredible gift – the indwelling and never ending gift of quality time through the presence of His Holy Spirit. He would be in them and with them forever. As great as they thought it was to have a physical relationship with Jesus, they were about to experience something greater – Christ in them. Always. Constant quality time.

The third love language is, as you’ve guessed by now, quality time. It is where true intimacy is developed. Face to face, eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart time. Imaginary time brings zero intimacy. Phone calls and emails only bring limited intimacy. The fullness of intimacy can only be experienced through quality time in personal contact with a real person. We desperately need it in our marriages. Our kids and grandkids need it consistently. We need it for ourselves. There can be no true intimacy without it.

The depth of our intimacy is accurately measured by our commitment to quality time. Our relationship with God proves it. Take away all of the other love languages and leave only this one, and intimacy would still grow. The disciples lost their physical touch of Jesus. There would be no more giving of gifts except for His indwelling presence. They would no longer hear His words of affirmation. Jesus would no longer be there to serve them. Yet Jesus said that it would be good for them to not have any of those things so that they might experience the wonder of quality time. Jesus knew that the highest level of intimacy with God would be found in the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus invested in quality time.

But wait – intimacy must be a two-way street. We must also invest in quality time with Him, as well as others. It’s fairly easy to take relationships for granted. We’re in the same house together. If we’re married we sleep in the same bed together. We eat together. We talk about the activities of the day together. But when do we really spend time talking about heart issues? Can we really say that our love and intimacy with one another are growing? Do we really believe that our love and intimacy with God is growing as well when we don’t spend quality time getting to know His heart?

There is no greater gift of intimacy you can give to the one you love than the gift of quality time. Sure, we’re all busy. But really – are we too busy to love? So make a commitment today to get growing. Grow in your love and intimacy with Christ by spending quality time with Him. Don’t take His presence in you for granted. Then do the same with your spouse, your kids, your extended family, and your friends. Long after the activities and gifts are gone, they will remember the time you spent with them.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Current Study: Love         

Today’s Topic: Love Means Serving

Today’s Scripture:  John 13:1  It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

Others. It is the one word that I think best describes love. It was certainly the way love was expressed in the life of Jesus. His life was all about others. How can real love be about anything but others? True love is the denial of self. True love is expressed in the service of others.

For three years Jesus had taught and modeled the principles of the kingdom of God to the disciples. He had shown them the love of God. He had sacrificed his time and energy for the sake of others. He had compassionately met the needs of others. And now, as the time drew near for Him to offer His life as the perfect sacrifice for our sin, He would show us the full extent of His love. He would humble himself and become a servant.

It is so easy for us to get self-absorbed. Life tends to be a downward spiral into serving self. The pace and demands of life catch us like an undertow and drag us down. We use every ounce of energy we have just to try and stay on the surface. At times we feel like we are trapped in a whirlpool that is spinning us in a tighter and tighter circle around self-preservation and self-fulfillment. As we approach the dark hole in the middle from which there is no return, our focus is less and less on the calm waters outside the whirlpool and more and more on the darkness approaching. We are about to become totally absorbed in self.

But look at the life of Jesus. As the time for His own glory grew closer he became more absorbed by the lives of others. As the pressures of life mounted, He spent more quality time with others. As the rejection and persecution by people He loved increased, so did His concern for their well-being. When we would be focused on protecting self, He was focused on serving others. Jesus lived this way because He chose to be motivated by love. Love always puts others ahead of self. Love always serves others.

The second of the five love languages I have chosen to address is Acts of Service. When Jesus wanted to model the full extent of His love for His disciples, He became their servant. He had taught them this principle earlier in His ministry when He said, “The Son of Man has come not to be served, but to serve.”  He had loved them and others that way consistently. But now was the time He would model the completeness of that love. Twelve men who had committed to three years of personal training for ministry by the Master, were now gathered for a meal. In their preparations no one had remembered to hire servants. Not one of them considered that role for themselves. As they entered for the meal, and removed their sandals, not one of them thought about the necessity to wash the dust off their feet so they would be clean as they reclined around the table together. They had not yet learned to be fully focused on others. They were still self-absorbed.

To show them the true heart of love as manifested in service to others, He got up, removed His outer garment, took a basin of water and a towel, and proceeded to wash the disciple’s feet. He washed all of them, including the one who would betray Him. He showed them the full extent of love by performing an act of service even for the one who was undeserving. His life was all about others.

Yesterday we talked about the words of love. They are necessary, but not independently adequate. Words must always be confirmed by action to be understood as truth.

There is a deadly disease that destroys relationships. I suffer from a severe case of it right now. I think many of you do also. I have named it MoFaValBirChrisaryosis. Call it Holiosis for short. It’s a disease that damages our relationships at least 359 days per year. That’s because we tend to only show expressions of love on holidays – Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, Christmas, and Anniversaries. We go out of our way – maybe – to make that day special, and then hope that the overflow of love will keep the tank full until the next holiday. In reality, those holiosis expressions of love are merely self-centered attempts to create an image of love, because for 359 other days of the year we live self-absorbed lives. There is only one cure for this disease – daily acts of service and expressions of love.

Love is a lifestyle. Jesus proved it. He did it by always thinking of others first. His love in us will be proven by our service to others.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Monday, February 09, 2009

Current Study: Love         

Today’s Topic: Say the Words

Today’s Scripture:  1 Corinthians 16:13-14  Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love. 

Today on my favorite morning radio show – which I only get to listen to for a few minutes as I drive to the office – the two hosts were debating whether or not men like to receive Valentine’s Day gifts. Mark believed they do. Matt said they didn’t. Mark said men need to hear that they are loved. Matt said it’s all about the man showing the woman she is loved. At one point Matt even said, “Valentine’s Day is so girly!”

Well, I have to side with Mark on this one. Valentine’s day is about the expression of love. Now historically it may be true that the emphasis has been on what men do for women, but women want to express their love as much as men do. Maybe Matt isn’t so concerned about getting a gift or a card because gifts and words of affirmation are not his love languages. Have you ever studied the love languages? In case you haven’t, we’re going to take a quick look at them this Valentine’s week so you have the information you need to express your love in the most appropriate way. After all, you don’t want the expression of your love to go unnoticed or unappreciated.

According to author Gary Chapman there are five love languages, and we all track heavily towards one of them. The five languages are –

§         Words of Affirmation

§         Quality Time

§         Receiving Gifts

§         Acts of Service

§         Physical Touch

If you want to study them in detail, go to http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/learn.html. I want to share just a few suggestions from each of them this week. Because the main issue on this morning’s radio show started with the subject of cards, let’s begin with the love language of words – words of affirmation.

This morning I received an email from a famous pastor. It wasn’t a personal one – it was his weekly devotional he writes. Here’s what James MacDonald of Walk In The Word has to say about the language of love.

One of the most powerful ways to communicate love to the people in your life is with words. Words matter. Yes, actions are necessary to back them up, but at the end of the day, you’ve just got to get some things said. Make it your goal to get these four phrases in your weekly, if not daily, vocabulary:

1: I love you.

Men, the key is to say it deliberately. Don’t mumble it into the phone and then hang up. “Whew. I said it and it didn’t get messy at all.” Yeah well, it needs to get a little messy. Get her in your arms, look in her eyes, and get it said: “I love you.” Or pull your kids to you, no matter their age and speak the words. They may fidget, but they’ll remember and be altered by your genuine expressions of love.

2: I need you.

I’ve been praying that the bedrooms of every married couple reading this will ring with these words. How about it, men? In your private moments, tell that woman who has stood by you how much you need her. Go ahead: “My actions may sometimes communicate the opposite, but I want you to know that I know I really need you.”

3: There is no one like you.

OK, ladies. Every man is one among millions. At work, he’s one among thousands. At church, he’s one among hundreds. So when he walks through that door each night, he desperately needs to know he is your one and only. He’s first, highest, and best. Tell him.

And that leads to . . .

4: I thank God for you.

Tell your beloved spouse, children, and parents that they are a gift from God to you. Better yet, pray aloud together. Let them overhear you tell the Lord how grateful you are that God gave them to you. Wives, tell your husband, “Honey, you’ve worked so hard lately and I so appreciate the way you try to take care of our family and the energy and effort that you put into providing for us. Thanks for being a faithful man.” Husbands, look for your opportunities to say, “Babe, thanks for one of the greatest meals I have ever had. What you made tonight was fit for a king.” And after she picks herself up off the floor, she’ll be like, “Uh, thanks.”

Get the words said. Yes, it really matters. Expressing your love is a huge piece of making your spouse and your family the priority, lifelong relationship that God designed for you and that you all desperately want.

Great stuff. Let’s put it into practice. Let’s start speaking the language of love. Come on – say the words.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Current Study: Reconciliation         

Today’s Topic: Pursue Peace

Today’s Scripture:   Romans 12:17-21  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends upon you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Sometimes it’s just not possible. Our best attempts at reconciliation are met with stiff resistance. We cannot help but wonder – “How far should I go to make things right?”

So what’s the answer? How far should we go to bring peace? I know for myself there have been times in my life when I just didn’t have anything left to make things right. I think I struggle with this issue because somehow I was led to believe that I am responsible for other people’s choices. As a result, I developed a dysfunctional need to fix everything. That’s okay when I’m working on a dryer or a dishwasher, but not with people.

I was challenged with this a couple of weeks ago when I received an email from a reader who shared how she misunderstood this aspect of reconciliation. She said, As a very young child there was a lot of yelling in my family. I tried to be the peacemaker by making excuses for everyone’s behavior. If that didn’t work, I’d apologize for whatever was wrong just to stop the fighting.

What the Father pointed out to me was that I was reinforcing Satan’s lie that I deserved no better than to be treated this way.  My whole life I have, in effect, accepted responsibility for others actions so that they wouldn’t feel bad and would have a way to save face. I tried to keep the peace. I came to realize that I wasn’t doing anyone any favors and maybe doing more harm than good. It’s not up to me to make excuses for anyone’s transgressions. It is my place to say “That hurt” and forgive them. Or “I’m sorry I hurt you. Please forgive me”. Just like the Father does for me.

In an attempt to feel good about herself, this reader was actually prolonging a lie that actually made matters worse. The truth is that we are not responsible for the choices of others. We are only responsible for ours. When the Bible calls us to be peacemakers we are not to confuse that role with that of an enabler. Taking responsibility for another person’s choices and actions only enables the behavior to continue. That’s not true reconciliation. Reconciliation isn’t real unless both parties agree. That can’t happen unless both parties take personal responsibility for their own choices and actions. It isn’t peace if both parties in the dispute aren’t brought to a point of repentance for their own actions. We must stop sugar-coating our choices and the choices of others, and we must not fix the consequences until the full lesson has been learned. That should be true not only in our relationships as adults, but it sounds like a good guideline for proper parenting as well.

Our Scripture passage today emphasizes this point of personal responsibility when the Apostle Paul writes, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” It’s pretty obvious that we are only responsible for our own choices. We are charged with living in peace with others. We are not charged with forcing others to live in peace with us.

Sometimes they won’t respond with peace towards us. When they reject our attempts at peace, I see three possible responses we could have. First, we could retaliate. For an example of this and how God taught King David a lesson, read the story in 1 Samuel 25. Our Scripture passage above makes it clear that we are not to take revenge in any form.

Second, we might try to manipulate the situation to bring what looks like peace. This may involve things we’ve mentioned before like taking false responsibility for an action or by lessening the severity of the action or the hurt it caused. This type of dishonesty does not bring true peace.

Third, we can continue to love – not only in thought and feeling, but in activity. This is the only correct response to people’s rejection of our attempts at reconciliation. We must not deceive ourselves into believing that we are truly living at peace with everyone if that peace is in word only. There must be specific activities of good intentionally directed at our enemies if the evil is to be overcome.

Surrounding the story of King David in 1 Samuel 25 are two other stories of David’s relationship with King Saul. Saul had chosen to be the enemy of David. Twice, once in 1 Samuel 24 and once in 1 Samuel 26, David spares King Saul’s life. Read those stories. When you’re done, put the lessons learned from all three stories together and you will discover the truths of Romans 12:17-21.

We have not been commanded to do something impossible. By the grace of God present in our lives, we can live at peace with everyone.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Current Study: Reconciliation         

Today’s Topic: Trust the Promises of God

Today’s Scripture:   Genesis 33:10 For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 

It was a bad case of sibling rivalry. In their culture, the oldest male child was given the birthright, which meant he would not only officially carry on the family name and heritage, but would receive a double portion of the inheritance. It was understood and accepted by all the other siblings who were usually separated by a year or more in age. But in this case, two brothers were born just minutes apart. In fact, they were born so close together that the second twin actually had a hold of the heel of the first born as they were delivered. Poor mom. What is that like to deliver a baby with his arms pushed out first?

Even in the birth of twins, it is obvious which one is the firstborn. He would be the child of blessing and he would receive the birthright and the inheritance. Or would he? Mom knew the answer. Even while in the womb the two babies had been jostling for position. Their mother asked the Lord for an explanation. He told her that each boy would be the father of a great nation, but that the younger boy’s nation would be the greater, and the older boy would end up serving the younger one. Hence the sibling rivalry. But that rivalry was exaggerated by the parents. Dad liked the oldest brother best, and favored him. Mom chose the younger brother, and nurtured him. She even went so far as to try to assist God in the accomplishment of His plan for the boys.

When they were grown and prospering, word came to the younger son that his twin brother’s caravans were on an intercept course with his own. He was scared. He feared for his life and the lives of all his family members and servants. He knew that reconciliation was the only possible solution. So he devised a plan that would hopefully appease his brother and make peace. The foundation of that plan was the promises of God. As he is preparing to meet his brother by dividing his entourage into two groups and designating a series of large gifts to be presented to his brother, he stops to commit the outcome to the Lord. He prays, “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” The promise of God gave him the confidence to seek reconciliation.

Wrestling with reconciliation of people is hard work. It takes great endurance and perseverance. To test the younger brothers resolve, God sends a man – I believe the Son of Man – to wrestle with him. The young brother is so strong and determined that the Lord has to actually dislocate his hip. Still he will not let go until he receives the blessing of God for his life. Not only does God bless him, but he changes his name. No longer would he be called Jacob, but rather Israel, and would become the father of the nation after his own name.

Immediately after the wrestling match, as the sun rose on a new day, Israel saw his older twin brother Esau coming towards him. He went towards his brother in brokenness and humility, trusting the promises of God. As he approached him with bowed head, his brother ran to him and embraced him. They hugged and they wept as their conflict melted into reconciliation. But that wasn’t enough for the older brother. He wanted to be completely reconciled, and his first words resulted in his introduction to all the members of Israel’s family. There would be no remaining animosity.

Israel of course believed that his gifts had paved the way for such reconciliation. But that was laid to rest quickly when Esau minimized their importance in the reconciliation by refusing to accept them. Israel insisted, but not because the he considered  the gifts to be a bribe, but rather an expression of thanksgiving for the reconciliation that took place. Israel said, “Accept these gifts, for to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.”  Gifts cannot bribe reconciliation. Gifts are the result of reconciliation.

So what did we learn? You will probably get more out of this story than just one point as the Holy Spirit makes application of the truths to your specific situations in life. But this one thing is significant for me – By trusting the promises of God, I will persevere through any pain and be patient no matter how long it takes, so that I might receive the blessing of God that comes through reconciled relationships. How about you?

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Current Study: Reconciliation         

Today’s Topic: Trust the Sovereignty of God 

Today’s Scripture:   Genesis 50:19-21 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

It started with jealousy. “Why did dad love him so much more than he loves us,”  they complained. So they hated him and treated him unkindly while dad treated him with kindness and gifts of love. Things got worse when this youngest brother began predicting that one day all of the older brothers would bow down to him and serve him as their king. Now they hated him even more. How dare he speak in such a degrading way about them? Even his father was upset with this, and rebuked him. His words were causing major family problems.

Then one day his older brothers took advantage of an opportunity to remove him from the family. In a remote place with no witnesses, they had their little brother trapped. At first they were going to kill him and be done with it, but one of the brothers used his influence to persuaded the others with an alternate plan. Some travelers from another land were nearby, so they sold their brother to them as if he was a slave. Then they took that precious coat their father had made for their brother as a symbol of his love for him, and they coated it with goat’s blood. The coat was delivered to their father and it was reported that he had been killed by a wild animal.

The brother was taken to Egypt by the travelers and sold there as a slave to a high ranking government official. But the young man made the most of his situation. He didn’t let anger turn into bitterness which would have destroyed his potential. Instead he trusted that God, in His sovereignty, would still bring good from all of it. He never got involved in payback. He spent no time devising a plan to be restored to his previous position. His new home and new position is where he would focus on being faithful to his LORD.

During the next few years his resolve to be faithful was severely tested. He was thrown in prison based on a false accusation of adultery with his master’s wife. He was neglected by two friends who had promised to help him after he had helped them. But through it all he remained patient and faithful to allow God to fulfill His plan. Finally his opportunity arrived, and he was restored to his position with his master. His faithfulness was eventually rewarded with a position of leadership, which eventually led to him being second in command of the whole country.

Meanwhile, his brothers and father are suffering from a severe famine in his former homeland. They travel to their brother’s new land, not knowing that he is there or that he is in charge of what they need to survive. After a series of events that test them, their brother is revealed to them and they are filled with fear. They remember what they did to him, so he must also remember. They know how they would have born a grudge if what they did had been done to them. They realized that not only did their brother have the right to repay them for the wrong done to them, but that he now had the authority and the power to repay them in kind. At best the saw that they would be slaves for the rest of their lives. At worst he would have them killed.

But that was not the heart of their brother. He had the heart of God, who did right even when wronged. Their brother saw the hand of God in control of all things, and surrendered to God’s purpose and plan. He saw the bigger picture, and realized that had it not been for what his brothers did to him years earlier he would not be in a position to rescue them now. He saw the fulfillment of his faith – that God is always in control, and what we see as evil is still a part of God’s plan to bring Himself glory and good. So rather than retaliate, he reassured them and they were reconciled.

The story of Joseph found in the last 12 chapters of the book of Genesis is amazing. It is a story with false accusations, hardship, and hurt, all with the potential for great pain and revenge. But it is primarily a story of faith and forgiveness. It is a real story of reconciliation. I urge you to read the whole thing. I encourage you to listen as the Holy Spirit teaches you the lessons of faith in the sovereignty of God and faithfulness of the follower of God. You will learn the power of perseverance. You will discover the fulfillment of forgiveness. You will revel at the reconciliation of relationships. But be careful as you read. You will see yourself in the story somewhere, and God will seek to change you. Let Him do it. You may see it as temporary hurt, but God intends it for good.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Monday, February 02, 2009

Current Study: Reconciliation         

Today’s Topic: Stories of Reconciliation

Today’s Scripture:   Romans 9:1-3  I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.

Everyone has a story. I’m sure this morning there will be a lot of stories told about the Super Bowl and the commercials during the game last night. I’m going to tell you one right now.

There were 18 seconds left in the first half. The score was 10-7. Arizona was on Pittsburgh’s three-yard line and preparing to take the lead. Kurt Warner released a pass headed towards receiver Anquan Boldin, when Steeler linebacker James Harrison stepped in front of Boldin and intercepted the pass at the goal line. He then proceeded to run past and over almost every Cardinal player on his way to a 100-yard touchdown. It was the longest play in Super Bowl history. It was phenomenal.

I was amazed. I was shocked. I wanted to see Kurt Warner win. I am a boyhood Pittsburgh fan. I didn’t know whether to be angry or overjoyed. Just as Harrison crossed the goal line the phone rang. It was my son Josh. He was having a youth group Super Bowl party. I thought he was calling to see if I had seen the play. When he answered there was no noise in the background. There was excitement in his voice. He proceeded to inform me that two of the unchurched girls in his youth ministry were at the party. They had also been in church in the morning. They had lots of questions, and Josh and his wife Brittany had spent a lot of time talking to them during the day. At the very moment that the officials ruled that Harrison had scored a touchdown, Josh informed me that both of the girls had just prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. God had just intercepted two lives and scored touchdowns in their lives. His story is better by far.

After rejoicing with Josh for a moment, I asked him if he had even seen the interception and touchdown run. He knew nothing about it. There was something much more important that he was doing. We rejoiced some more – after I told him the football story – and he told me he’d give us all the details at our staff prayer meeting this morning. I can’t wait to hear all of the details. There is no greater story than the story of reconciliation to God.

I have two things with which to challenge you. First, how many of us would be willing to sacrifice the first-hand experience of Super Bowl stories and even the funny commercials for the experience of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with another person? Would we have told them to wait until after the game? I am so proud of Josh and Brittany for sacrificing the temporary and insignificant for the sake of the eternally significant. We must all be alert to the distinction we must make between personal gratification and God’s call to be ministers of reconciliation, and we must choose the latter over the former every time.

Second, I want to share some stories of reconciliation with you over the next few days that will hopefully encourage you. Some will be stories like the one today – stories of reconciliation to God. Others will be stories of reconciliation between people. I must admit I have limited resources for stories of people reconciling with others. Maybe you have one or two and would like to share them. Please email them to me, or, if you prefer, post them yourself to this blog. I want us to see reconciliation in action.

In closing, let me challenge you to look carefully at your life and see what things, interests, goals, or activities there are in your life that take priority over being interrupted by God to be a minister of reconciliation to another person. Surrender them. After all, is there anything so great in our lives that it should be held on to at the cost of another person’s soul?

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Current Study: Reconciliation         

Today’s Topic: Reconciliation Brings Restoration

Today’s Scripture:   Jeremiah 15:19  Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me.”

                                        Jeremiah 33:10-11  This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD.

When I was born out in Pennsylvania almost 56 years ago, my mom and dad were missionaries with the American Sunday School Union. They had very little in the way of possessions. Mom wanted a rocking chair so she could snuggle and cuddle with her precious first born son. One of the farm families they knew from their missionary work told Dad that there was an old rocking chair up in the hay loft of the barn. They could have it if they wanted it. Dad climbed up and got it, took it home, cleaned it up, and put a new cushion cover on it. It was an old chair, and had no arm rests. It couldn’t have been very comfortable for mom as she supported the head of her baby with nothing to support her arm. But every child she had was rocked in that chair. When I was in high school I remember my grandma who lived with us sitting in that chair as she read her Bible. That rocker had become a family heirloom.

As time went by, the chair got older and weaker. One of the small rails along side of the seat cushion snapped. One of the braces between the legs cracked. It was hard to see the chair not being used for its original intent because it was broken. It just sat in the room as a conversation piece, but had no real function. I asked if I could have it. My request was granted. At the time we were living in a community that was surrounded by farms owned by Amish craftsmen. I took the chair to one of them and asked if it could be restored to useable condition. The hardest part would be duplicating the curves in the original side rails. He said he would do his best.

When we got the chair back it was beautiful. Every detail of the original had been duplicated. The cut, curves, and grain of the wood matched perfectly. I decided to put the chair to the ultimate test – I sat in it. There were no creaks any more. It rocked. I mean it literally rocked. Living right next door to us at the time was an antique dealer. I took the chair over to him and asked him to appraise it for me. He looked it over carefully. He noticed it had been restored, but only thought it had been refinished. He was not able to see the new parts that were put on the chair. He offered me $300 for it. I refused, and then told him the truth about the restoration. He didn’t care. He still wanted the chair.

I still have that rocker. I even sit in it every once in a while. Most of the time it rests in our guest bedroom which is our family heritage room. But that chair is more than just an heirloom – it has a new significance to me today. I see it now as an illustration of reconciliation. If you’ve been following closely this week you will notice that there have been four aspects of reconciliation we have discussed.

§         Responsibility

§         Reaching Out

§         Repentance

§         Restoration

Each one of those “R’s” applies to my rocker. I took personal responsibility for its condition. As a teen ager I may or may not have been the one who was actually sitting in it when the leg brace cracked, but I certainly did sit in it a lot, so I certainly was responsible. When I saw it was deteriorating and in some regards broken, I reached out to fix it. When I took it to the Amish craftsman I had to confess to him everything that was wrong with the chair so he could repair it all. I was willing to watch the chair be changed, and I was even willing to be changed if he told me that the chair was not repairable. Repentance requires change. When the chair was repaired, it was restored to its original function. In fact, after the restoration, the chair had greater value than before.

That’s reconciliation – taking responsibility for what is broken, reaching out in repentance, and restoring it so that it not only functions again but has greater value than before. That’s how Jeremiah describes it when he relates to us the LORD’s words – “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me.”  Reconciled relationships are restored relationships that bring honor to God.

Does your life seem to be a desolate waste, filled with broken things? Does it feel like you’ve fallen off your rocker. Let the words of the LORD encourage you – In the places that are deserted there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before. Reconciliation brings restoration. Restoration brings rejoicing. Your relationships can be restored, and they will rock! Get started today.

Pastor John

Daily Devotions

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Current Study: Reconciliation         

Today’s Topic: Repentance Brings Reconciliation

Today’s Scripture:   2 Corinthians 7:9-10  For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 

As far as the Biblical record indicates, the Apostle Paul wrote more letters to the church in the city of Corinth than to any other church. A careful reading of the two letters we have in the Bible reveals that there were at least two other letters he had written. One of those letters which we do not have but is referred to in Second Corinthians was, by Paul’s own admission, pretty harsh. He was having a hard time getting people of that church to stop their sinning, and to stop bringing that sin into the church. There came a time when he had to get really firm and forceful with them. Paul was acting righteously. He was fulfilling God’s call upon his life. The people had made their own choices that brought out the wrath of God against their sin from their spiritual mentor. What Paul did was justified. How he felt about it teaches us a lot about reconciliation.

As you read the seventh chapter of 2 Corinthians – and I encourage you to do so slowly and carefully – you will discover the love and compassion Paul had in his heart for the people he had to correct. After writing the letter of rebuke to them, he immediately felt sorrow over how it was going to affect the people he loved so much. Even though he had the right to write, he also had the heart to hurt. The New Living Translation puts Paul’s words in verse 8 this way – I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. That’s the kind of heart attitude we all need if we are going to see God reconcile relationships.

Far too many Christians bring a spirit of pride into their relationships. I know I’m right and when they finally realize it they will come to me and repent. That certainly wasn’t Paul’s attitude. Paul knew he was right, but his pride never overwhelmed the pain he was causing by being right. We get so wrapped up in the story of our won life that we stop caring about the stories being lived out by others. We especially seem to not care how our story is having a negative effect on their story. That uncaring spirit is especially magnified when we convince ourselves that we are not to blame for how they feel. But Paul shows us that true reconciliation is only possible if the one in the right cares about the one in the wrong, just as God the Father did for us when we were in our sin.

We can only imagine how much Paul must have prayed for the people to whom he wrote the letter of rebuke. His heart was breaking that he had to discipline those that he loved. As a parent I know what it’s like to walk away from a moment of discipline with one of the children and go to a quiet place and pray for them because I knew how much they must be hurting to have had to be corrected. In fact, I had that happen yesterday with one of the grandchildren. The correction of sin in any of our lives is painful because all sin is the prideful expression of self. It hurts to have self accused of being wrong. We take it as an attack against our value. We usually lash back at the one doing the correcting, trying to restore some self respect by minimizing theirs. That is what concerned Paul when he said he understood the pain he had caused them. He was afraid they would lash back at him rather than be led to repentance and reconciliation.

We must learn two things from this. First, we must not react in a prideful way when someone tries to correct a wrong in our lives. We must respond as Paul said the people of Corinth did. Look at what he says about them. I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. That’s incredible. That’s how reaching out to bring repentance results in reconciliation. That’s the kind of sorrow God wants all His people to have when they are confronted with sin in their lives.

Second, we must not react in a prideful way when we have to correct the wrong in someone else’s life. Paul wanted the hurt to last only long enough to bring them back to Christ. Pride seeks prolonged pain. Love seeks repentance and reconciliation. It would be easy for us in our sinful flesh to hope the hurt endures long enough to teach them a good lesson. Paul knew that would be our natural tendency when he contrasted that attitude with the heart of love in First Corinthians 13. He said, Love does not delight in seeing evil done to another. The true heart of love, while needing to correct wrong, feels the pain caused by the correction, and hopes change happens quickly.

Reconciliation only happens when repentance is present. Paul repented – not for writing the letter, but for the pain the letter caused. It was that spirit that proved to the people at Corinth that he truly loved them and desired what was best for them. As a result they were led to repentance and a reconciled relationship with God and each other. Each one of us is somewhere in this process in our own lives. We are either being corrected or we are having to correct another person. From either perspective, crucify pride, and let Godly sorrow bring you to repentance so reconciliation can happen.

Pastor John