This lesson 12 of the Study The Upside World of Theology.

Chapter Eleven

Hope is a four-letter word everyone can use.

“16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 ¶ (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."” (Romans4:16-18 NKJV)

            I love the phrase “contrary to hope, in hope believed”  as Paul, who knew the sufferings of Jesus in his own body, tells us the story of Abraham who held on to God in what has to have been one of the longest waited for prayer requests!  Abraham would fail and much pain would come from his failure, but in the end a greater glory would grow from the seed of hope which brought hope to all of humanity!

            Over the years I have discovered the power of words like love and faith to change lives and to resurrect lives even here on earth.  The power of these words in our lives and families is so great that love and faith are talked about so much, preached about so much and even placed on cups and plates to celebrate their deep value to those of us who are in Jesus Christ.

            But over the years I have also seen the deep value of hope.  I believe it is almost impossible for someone to come to Jesus without the preparation of hope in their lives.  Hope is the rich soil that the seed of faith brings for the fruit of love in our lives!

            Despair, despondency and depression are like roots that grow and curl around our lives and choke out the good things that God has for us.  They shade us from the Light of God and leave us weak and wandering in the darkness.

            Many years ago I read an article in the newspaper that said a majority of fifth graders did not have a reason to live and no hope for the future!  I was stunned!  When I was in the fifth grade I had so many dreams of the future I had trouble settling on any one!

You can’t!

            God has created us with incredible gifts and graces so we can live a wondrous life, bless others and bring glory to God!    But the world tells us “you can’t” at an even more unrelenting pace and over much more media than we ever dreamed possible.  Young girls are told they are either too much or not enough and young boys are constantly given limitations so we can “be fair” to others.

            God given gifts and graces are quashed by a society of the can’t to the point even the Church believes it!  But God says something different!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

            Let that sink in for a moment!  If you can hear that and begin to believe than you will experience the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit blowing through your life!  All the weeds of doubt will be pulled out and cast away to make room for the seeds of hope to be planted into your life!

            We are not limited by our own abilities or talents for God can empower and gift us for every occasion and opportunity God sets before us.  If we are honest even our abilities and talents are gifts from God which we are given so we can glorify God, care for ourselves and bless others. But through God’s strength we are capable of not just doing more, or doing it better, but we can organize and fully use all the gifts and talents given to us by God.  God can give us the courage to go where we wouldn’t on our own and to do what we believe we are incapable of doing.

What do you believe God is calling you to do or to be?

What is your response to God’s call?

What are three things you have to offer God?

1.

2.

3.

How do they work together?

If you do not hear God’s will for you could it be because you doubt yourself or God?

November 28, 2017 Tuesday

22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.  Genesis 3:22-24 NKJV

            So many see this as part of the curse and miss the expression of God’s love.  Remember that we had eaten of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil and therefore in our sin we starting dying until we die.  We started the process of slowly dying and getting older and weaker until we die.

            If we had eaten of the Tree of Life we would never die yet get older and weaker and be susceptible to diseases.  Could you imagine if we just got older, weaker and more infirm forever!  Earth would be so full of nursing homes and care facilities everyone would have to take care of those suffering but never be able to be healed and have a new life by death!

            God saved us from this horror by keeping us from the Tree of Life!  Such a love to cast those you love from you to save them!  Rejoice in the Love of God which saves us even from ourselves!

            Sarah and Live returned to Springfield. Illinois safely and we give thanks to God!  We had such a good time together.

            But this left me very weary so I spent the rest of the day resting and recovering.

November 27, 2017 Monday

13And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:13-15 NKJV

            Why would God offer His “only begotten Son” for people such as us?  I believe the answer is found in the scripture above.  God “put” a battle between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.  In the Bible seed comes from the male so here we have a unique seed of the woman.  Jesus came from the Virgin Mary and so was the only person who was born of the seed of the woman.  And Jesus was crucified to death by the seed of the serpent but His resurrection broke the power of death and Jesus recovered the keys to Hell!  The serpent did “bruise” Jesus but He “bruised” the head, the power, of the serpent! 

            And even today there is war between those who follow Jesus and are of His seed and those who follow the serpent and are of his seed.  We see Christians being persecuted and martyred but the seed who think to be a martyr is to die killing others.

            The question is, which seed are you? 

www.dailydoseofglory.com

Spent the day with all the kids and ate out at Snappy Tomato and had some very good pizza.  It was good to spend time with all of us together Bonnie, Sarah and Levi, Jonathan, Rebecca and I.  Still as it said in a John Wayne movie I am “weary, travel worn”. 

Had a doo time of prayer and listening to Matthew.  Having read through the Bible twice this year I am still treading my way through the Qur’an and will read through the Gospels in preparation for Advent and Christmas.

November 26, 2017 Sunday

5“Look among the nations and watch— Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days Which you would not believe, though it were told you. Habakkuk 1:5 NKJV

            This is the day we celebrate the Resurrection Jesus and the hope of our new Life, “let us rejoice and be glad in it!” 

            This is also Christ the King Sunday and we REMEMBER that Jesus is not only King of Kings but is also our King and Lord!  During our devotion from Near to the Heart of God we read this hymn by William Cowper.  The author said that Cowper had written this hymn after being saved from a suicide attempt!

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; 

He plants His footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm.

 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread 

Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; 

Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.

 Blind unbelief is sure to err And scan His work in vain; 

God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain.

            One of the hardest and most important things I learned in my time as a pastoral minister is to distinguish that are my things and what are what I call God things.  Then I could realize what I was called to do and what I must trust in God to do.

           

            Today was a bad day and I couldn’t stay for the entire service.  The pain was terrible and I rested all day while Sarah, Levi, Rebecca and Bonnie went to a movie together.  That night all the family ate together but I was not able to go.

November 26, 2017 Ephesians 1:15-23 Tithing grace

25^th Sunday after Pentecost     How can you tithe on God’s love for you?  How can you show gratitude?

Psalter Reading Psalm 100:1-5

 A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; a We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV

“15 ¶  Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16  do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18  the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19  and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20  which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21  far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22  And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23  which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:15-23 NKJV)

My father-in-law Rev Ken Perkins used to say that one of the lasts things a man gave to God was his wallet.  Why do we struggle with tithing or even giving?  Some would say that we have too many bills, others they don’t know what tomorrow will bring, others they need to save for their children’s future and some would say they just want to keep it.

But in reality these non-answers all really say the same thing.  We don’t trust in God to provide for us and be there for us.  If that is true can we really say we trust in God for our salvation?

Can we really say we trust God for all of eternity if we cannot trust God for the coming week or year?  Is our faith in God so small that we cannot trust in His provision?

For over 30 years Bonnie and I tithed to God even when our salary was about $14,000 were living in 2 places and going to seminary.  This is not to brag but to show it can be done.  God has blessed us and shown His glory in our lives and ministries.

Do you really believe that God needs your money?  NO!  So why does God want you to give?  Because knows we need to give!  If we do not share with others we come to expect more and not only become unhappy with what we have we want more of everything. 

Become free of the enslavement to more and find the joy in the Lord as you offer back some of what He has blessed you with.  Discover the presence of God as you give and then you will receive the fullness of God’s love and power!!!

Chapter Ten

Faith is not what we live for, but what we are willing to die for.

The history of the Christian Church has been consistently punctuated with martyrs and martyrdom.  For about 2,000 years people have given their lives for the Lord Who gave His life for them.  Jesus warned that those who followed Him would face persecution and warned about our response to that persecution.

“"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26 NKJV)

One of the earliest stories of the Church is of the first Martyr as Stephen is killed while Saul, who would later give his life as a Martyr stood by in approval.

“58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:58-60 NKJV)

           There are many things that we believe, there are fewer things we believe in but there are very few things that we believe in enough to give our life for.  My interest in the Civil War began as I wondered why anyone would stand in line facing troops a short distance away and shoot at each other!  What makes a person stand there in line especially as the war went on and 25 to 40% casualties in a battle were normal!  Some units had 80 to 90% casualty rates in a single battle. 

            What made them not only stand there, but come back for the next battle?  When I read the histories and the books written by Generals I thought it was for their love of country or for the flag.  But as I read the journals and letters of those who stood in line again and again they said they were there and stayed there for their families, their friends and their homes.

            What are you willing to give your life for?  Or should I ask, who are you willing to give your life for?  Who would you stand up for in the face of the flames, crucifixions, stoning, rapes and the endless ways Christians have died because of their faith and for Jesus who died for them!

                        

Make a list of whom or what you are willing to give your life to or for.

Look over your list and for each one show why you would be willing to either live for or die for it or them.

            We may think being able to give our life is unusual or out dated thing but look at the world around us in our lifetime.

1.       Christians in the Soviet Union were arrested and put under psychiatric care because the State believed that being a Christian was a sign of insanity.

2.       In China children of Christian parents were not allowed in the better schools or training programs.  Christians are jailed under very harsh conditions.

3.       In the Middle East Christian girls are kidnapped and either forced into marriage or converted to Islam through rape.  Churches are not allowed to make repairs and crosses openly displayed are being taken down.  Bibles are used as toilet paper as they were in Bethlehem.

4.       Under ISIS Christian boys and girls are sold into sexual slavery and girls as young as 9 are sent back to their parents only after they have been made pregnant.  Religious buildings that are not Islamic or are the wrong kind of Islamic are destroyed.

This does not include the shootings in Columbine and Utah which targeted Christians specifically.  There are many attacks on Christians around the world and they not only have to fear for their own safety but for their families!

What would you do if someone with a gun asked you if you were a Christian?  While there is no way to know for sure it would help if you had thought it through before.  How should you respond?  By the example of Jesus Christ, the examples of those who have given themselves for their God and the Written Word of God what should you do?

What are you willing to sacrifice for Jesus?  What are you NOT willing to sacrifice for Jesus?

November 24, 2017 Friday

1Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”  Genesis 3:1-3 NKJV

We have celebrated Thanksgiving and this Sunday is Christ the King Sunday and then we will begin our journey through Advent to Christmas where we celebrate the first Gift of Christmas.  But before we get to Christmas we must understand why we need Christmas.

            God created everything good and all combined to be “very good”.  But like children with new toys on Christmas morning we broke God’s gift as we broke faith with God.

            One of the striking things about this part of the story of the Fall is Eve’s response to the serpent.  After the serpent asks Eve if God told them to not eat of a particular tree Eve responds, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Eve adds to God’s first command and law by adding to it. So many times we feel we know better than God and must “add” to His teaching.  This arrogance gets us into trouble now and eternally!

            As we honor God by our faith and obedience we also allow God’s life to grow within us!

           

            Today is a bad day after getting very little sleep last night.  I feel very tired and weak and hurt a lot.  We will have lunch with all the kids today and that will be a joyful time and gift from God.

November 23, 2017 Luke 17:11-19 Lacking   Thanksgiving Day

We enjoy not because we are not thankful!  We lack because we lack gratitude!

11Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:11-19 (NKJV)

I seldom have a message for Thanksgiving Day because we have made it a family time and we do not have a Community time to worship.  But I regret this because this is a day that even though it is not in the Christian Year calendar I still believe is a Holy Day rather than a holiday.

In this Gospel verses we are told an interesting story that I must admit too many times I missed the real point.  We see this as being about how ungrateful the nine lepers were.  But if we look closer we see something deeper.

All the lepers were healed but only one leper was made well by his faith!  Some will ask what is the difference. Thankfulness and gratefulness is lacking.  And that is the difference in being healed and being made well.

All of us receive the wondrous abundance of so much of God’s bounty and grace.  The sun shines, the rains come, we have so many good things but we are not well.  We hunger for more!  We want more and we even demand more and come to see it as our due and right.  We do this all the while others do without basic needs!  WE ARE NOT WELL!

But like the one leper who came back we can be freed from the sin of lacking if we look the other way and praise and thank God for what we have rather than only see what we “lack”.

The problem of not being thankful and only wanting more is that there is never enough and our lacking is not only continuous but grows with each acquisition.  And as our lacking grows we grow less and less well.

Within the transient happiness we lose our eternal joy and we become more and more unwell.  We see being healed as the most amazing miracle ever seen, but Jesus warns us in His parable that for every ten people healed only one may be made well!  Which are you?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!  May you say to God thanks for giving us so much but even more thanks for forgiving us!

November 23, 2017 Thanksgiving Day!

A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; a We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV

Happy Thanksgiving!  Sitting here is terrible pain and unable to do so many things I used to some may think I find it hard to be thankful.  But they would be wrong!

I am thankful for a God who gave Himself for me, I am thankful for a family who has stood by me and love me and I am thankful for the Church who continues to bless me.

I am even thankful for all the pain and loss because I have come to know my God and My Love in so much of a deeper way!

Give thanks to the God who loves us and see all that you have!  Do not miss out by only seeing what you do not have or what you want.  Find joy in celebrating what you do have!  Again, Happy Thanksgiving and thank God for forgiving you!!!

November 22, 2017

18Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD: 19“ The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, 20to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.” 21So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem 22when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. Psalm 102: 18-22 NIV

            My Love may my praise and worship be passed on to future generations so You will continue to be praised and worshipped on earth as You are in heaven!  For You heard and still hear our cries My Love and You weep for us and You reach to us enough though we do not listen or reach out for You!

            Over the last weeks my God, My Love, has led me to pray for so many places and for so many people.  Each day and night it is like travelling the world even though I never leave my home even though disabled and shut-in.  I experience God’s deep love for those hurting and see not only that God counts their tears but weeps for us also.

Here is the tenth part of the study The Upside Down World of Theology.

Chapter Nine

Committees are formed so we can say we did something without having to do anything.

            Over my years in so many churches in so many places a constant thread is that when we realize we should do something but don’t want to be the one to do it we will set up a committee to “look into it”.

            After a series of meetings with deep discussion we will come up with a plan of action and absolutely nothing happens!  At first I thought this was just an odd occurrence but over time I have come to realize it is a plan that we understand but do not talk about.

            As I look at this Theology it calls me to understand just what human leadership should look like.  Read the following Scriptures and think about them for a little while before going on.

“8 ¶ The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."” (Revelation 4:8-11 NKJV)

“12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:12-15 NKJV)

WHY!!!

“24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ 26 "But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27 "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.” (Luke 22:24-27 NKJV)

            In the verses above we see Leadership Models for the Church which includes leading in Worship of the Most High God, leading by serving those you are leading and by serving others so they can be brought to Table together in the Lord.

            This type of leadership is not only upside down but backward to those of us in the world.  We see the leader as a lord type position when for the Christian there is only the One Lord Jesus Christ. 

            In the Church the role of the leader is to point others to the Lord and seek to help them come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and not their own, their congregation or denomination.  We know this to be true because is exactly how Jesus lived out his life before us pointing us to the Father and honoring the Father in all that Jesus said, taught and did.

            And thus Jesus taught us that final part of leadership by example that leaders must teach others by example.  Even as we human leaders fall and fail we teach others by our confession and repentance what to do when they fall and fail!

            As human beings we teach a dependency upon God and a servant’s heart for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the lost.  We love as we are loved by God, serve as we are served by God and hope in patience for them as God has hoped in patience for us!

Looking at the scriptures above how do you think God sees you?

How do you think God sees those in your congregation?

How do you think God sees the lost?

Do these scriptures change the way you lead others?

November 20-21 Monday and Tuesday

Psalm 100 A psalm. For giving grateful praise. 1Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, e and we are his1; we are his people, f the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. NIV

            Over the last months I have tried to chronicle God working in and through me in times of great pain and loss.  I usually began with my condition and then showed God’s grace in glory in the midst.  But I want to change that and begin with God’s glory from now on.

            Psalm 100 has always been a favorite of mine as it is such a beautiful time of praise.  I find when I want to praise God it can help to begin with a Psalm which get me started.  Then I find my own words of thanksgiving and praise and if I continue on there comes a time when you run out of words because you realize God is beyond all our words and then you understand why He is THE Word.

            As we prepare for Thanksgiving remember that thanks is the door opener but to come into God’s present we must present God our praise!  Thanksgiving is remembering what God has done and praise is remembering who God is!

            As I write this these two days have been very hard and the pain has grown in so many ways.  I have started a Chair Yoga video and it helps but the last time I used it the pain was amazing.  But God is so good and as Psalm 100 declares, “His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

November 19, 2017 Sunday

            I slept better last night so we were able to attend Worship.  It was a wonderful service going through the Christian year. It was both beautiful and meaningful.  With each major season there was an explanation, a scripture and a hymn.

            Couldn’t stay for Sunday school since I felt so bad and then I rested all afternoon.

November 18, 2017 Saturday

            Last night I was not able to sleep and got up and didn’t get to sleep until about 5AM and woke up about 6AM.  This gave me a good time to pray and to relax some.  When I woke up my eyes were twitching so I had uncontrollable blinking.  This made it hard to walk and I was a little confused.

            Resting today hoping I can go to worship tomorrow.  I am so weary and feel so bad from the bad day and week.  I have got into the routine of watching college football on Saturday.  The college sports are more enjoyable and have less of the “political” touch to them.  And it seems a little confusing that people can get paid so much for playing a kids game!  Just like actors get paid so much pretending to be someone they aren’t.

            Sorry about the rant but I guess I am still a preacher.  My Love still gives me sermons which I share with you.

November 17, 2017 Friday

            This was a very bad day and I spent the day in bed and in a lot of pain.  I felt so weak and weary from the pain and from the twitching and the jerking in most parts of my body.  My muscles were tight most of the day and that makes me very weary and weak.

November 19, 2017 Matthew 25:31-46 Seeing Jesus

24^th Sunday after Pentecost  We see Jesus everyday in the face of those deeply in need. Psalter Reading Psalm 123:1-4

1 Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. 2Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us. 3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. 4Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.     Psalm 123:1-4 NKJV

31“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46  (NKJV)

Over my years of pastoral ministry so many have wondered why they did not see God in their life and around them.

This parable gives us the answer to that question.  The reason we do not experience Jesus is we look in the wrong places.  We cannot experience Jesus as we huddle in our congregation but in truth where you experience Jesus is as you meet the needy and hurting in the community around you and the world.

We can see ourselves as being good and that we deserve all the blessing God has given to us but as the Psalmist tells us we are just in need of the daily mercy of Jesus as anyone else!  This Psalm is a Psalm of Assent that people would sing as they climbed to Worship at the Temple.  Three times they would cry out for God’s mercy.

All around you people are crying out for God’s mercy!  They are hungry (need the Bread of God), poor (need the riches of God’s grace), broken (need God’s healing) and hurt and destroy others (need God’s forgiveness and His power to change)!

Step out of your comfort zone and offer God’s mercy and love to those in need!  You will not know what to say or to do but God will give you the heart to care, the courage to dare and the words to share!  And there you will experience God!!!

November 16, 2017 Thursday

            This morning I awoke feeling more rested than I have in a long while.  Thanks My Love for the rest!  When I got up My Love asked me to pray for the children of the Philippines again.  It seems more and more God asks me to lift up the children around the world who suffer so much.  In so many places children are sold to molesters and into slavery, at times even by their parents.  Some Muslims do horrendous things to little girls and their mothers even help.

            So often when we think of God we think of Him as judging or so kind.  But I have experienced My Love and seen His love and the tears He cries for those who are hurting!  In the Psalms it says that God has numbered my tears!  Isn’t that amazing!  I can’t remember my tears, but God knows them and has numbered them! God cries for the children who suffer so much and He also weeps for those who hurt them!  Celebrate God’s love by lifting up those He cares for!

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November 15, 2017 Wednesday

            Was in bed by 8PM and didn’t get out of bed until 7AM but still feel weary. Still not hungry but ate an orange so I can take my meds.  Bonnie is in Kodak with her friends from McKendree and I pray she is having a good time.  Though I do believe it is impossible not to!

            The day was a weary one though I was able to get my weekly chores done.  I try to wash our sheets each week.  Bonnie has to take them off so I can wash them.  This gives me a sense of doing something and that I can help Bonnie.

            Lately I have been spending much of my prayer time in worship and praising God!  I can spend a lot of time just praising My Love.  Sometimes I wake up and will spend an hour just praising God!  This time has become the highlight of my days!

Here is the ninth part of The Upside Down World of Theology.  Once again please use this study in any way it is helpful to you and brings a smile to God.

Chapter Eight

Love is decision not a feeling.

            “4 ¶  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 ¶  Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” (1Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV)

            Love is usually seen as an emotional or physical attraction or attachment between two people.  I remember this young couple who went through pre-marital counseling with me.  Both of their families didn’t want them to get married.  At the least they wanted them to wait a little while.  I usually ask for each person in a couple to tell me three reasons why they want to marry the other person and one of the reasons cannot be that they love the other and they can’t use the same answers.

            As they struggled to come up with even one reason the girl finally gushed, “Because I get this feeling in my stomach whenever he is around.”  My response was to wonder if maybe she was just allergic to him.

            In 1 Corinthians 13 we have some of the most beautiful writing in all of human time.  Love is defined and shown how it looks as it is lived out.  For LOVE CAN BE SEEN!  Love is not an emotion to be felt but a decision we make at a point in our lives and lived out every day.

            I choose to love someone.  This is not because they are super good looking or because they will make be a better person.  The first is lust and the second is self-centered.  I choose to love someone because I realize that while I need them they also need me.  There are ways I can make them a better person.  Indeed without me they are incomplete just as I am without them.

“26 ¶ Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV)

Notice the language.  

Let us make man in our image = the Triune God is expressed in man

Let them = man is more than just one, like God man is a plural

God created man in His own image = the desire came to fruit

In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them= okay this really doesn’t make sense!  He created him; male and female He created them!  But it does!  For Man is not male or female!  Man is the combination and union of a male and a female!  Only truly joined together can Man be the image of God.  Only together can they find union and learn how to live as one though of more than one.  Only together can Man created life as part of the image of God!

The WOW factor

I realize I am starting to get closer to understanding God when the WOW factor kicks in!  Is this not amazing?

Action

            Notice the description Paul gives of love.  And remember that this letter is written to a divisive, carnal and very unchristian group of Christians!

Love    suffers long                 is kind                         does not envy              does not parade itself

            is not puffed up           does not behave rudely           does not seek its own  

is not provoked           thinks no evil                          does not rejoice in iniquity

rejoices in the truth     bears all things           believes all things        hopes all things,

endures all things       Love never fails.

WOW!  You would have to be super-human to do this!  Why you would almost have to be God!  Getting it yet?  Love is a decision by us to act in a Godly manner toward someone and this decision causes us to depend upon God which strengthens our love for God!  Did I just hear a WOW?

Is this why Jesus always ties our love for others with our love for God?

How do you get the help from God to live this way?

Did (and does) Jesus love you in this way?    (Not a yes or no question.)