But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice… Phil 2:17
This morning was a tough one. The Lord asked me if I would I spend my life on a calling that showed no kingdom progress? The only legacy at the end of my days would be obedience. I recoiled. “Where is purpose in that? What glory would it bring to You Lord?” Still, the question hung in the air. I realized not only was He asking, but He had been asking for some time.
Yesterday, an experienced Christian jolted my ambitions. “While we are usually looking forward to a brighter kinder earthly future, living for Jesus in this failing world will only become more difficult. The world will be more, not less, hostile to Christians.” That grim insight snatched the bounce out of my expectations to have some positive impact on the planet.
Back to the question. What of it Don? Are you ready to say with John the Baptist, “He must become greater; I must become less” (Jhn 3:30)? I prolonged my reasoning, “Lord, isn’t it Your way to work through people to glorify Yourself? And You want me to embrace a life with no part in that?”
I knew in my spirit He confirmed, “That is what I’m asking. We will see your perseverance from heaven but no one else will. Are you willing?”
In turmoil, I got off my knees; it wasn’t working. I lay prostrate; still no peace. I sat up to pray. This had to be settled before leaving the room. Finally, I added this to my journal:
‘Lord I give You my life’s work. If I am poured out as a drink offering with no visible kingdom success, so be it. My definition of success will be obedience to You.’
Prayer: Lord, I give You everything; even my urge to be needed in Your work.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Sermon – Thanksgiving Nov 27, 2005
Spiritual History of Thanksgiving
Today we are going to create a timeline of the history of thanksgiving. God knew humans to be natural whiners but it has always made Him angry.
(1450BC)
The Israelites in the wilderness were the consummate whiners.
Num 11:1-6
11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"
In Deuteronomy Moses provided the guidelines for these Thank Offerings:
Deut 12:15-18
15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 17 You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. 18 Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns — and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
From days long ago, God has wanted His children to be a thankful people; rejoicing at whatever we do.
Hebrew Peace Offerings
The Children of Israel were commanded to offer many different types of sacrifices and offerings. One was the peace offering. There were three kinds of peace offerings: (1) thank offerings in response to an unsolicited special divine blessing; (2) votive (vowed) offerings in pursuit of making a request or pledge to God; and (3) freewill offerings spontaneously presented in worship and praise.
(1000BC)
The Psalms many times refers to the Thank Offering. David said:
Ps 56:12-13
12 I am under vows to you, O God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
(600 BC)
In the days of the prophets, it was foretold that we would be a people who would live in thanksgiving before God.
Jer 30:18-19
"This is what the LORD says:
"'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents…
Did you know these that many of these old prophesies are about us? Romans and Hebrews tell us we are the new Israel, the new Jacob, the true children of Abraham.
Rom 9:6-7
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children.
Then Paul goes on in chapter 11 to describe how we were grafted into the inheritance of Israel while they were cut off. So these prophesies did not fail; they are fulfilled in us! Knowing that, let’s continue reading this prophesy in Jeremiah.
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving
and the sound of rejoicing.
“From them will come songs of thanksgiving.” That is us.
(50AD)
Fast-forward again to the time of the New Testament. We are encouraged many times to live thankful lives.
Eph 5:4-5
4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
Phil 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Tim 2:1
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-
Col 2:6-7
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Col 4:2
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Col 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 Thess 5:16-18
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Not Blind, Just Thankful
God doesn’t want whiners; He wants thankful, grateful children. But that does not mean we are to run around fooling ourselves that everything is fine in this old earth. It is not fine; it is broken. When we accept this pinched-down existence as fully satisfying we are far too easily pleased and living without any true imagination. In Romans 8 Paul speaks of our groaning identification with the brokenness of this world.
Rom 8:17-23
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
So we groan and acknowledge the brokenness of this world but did you catch the reason Paul gave for overriding our complaints? Our present suffering is not worth comparing to the glory to come. That is why we can stand here suffering from heartache, illness, or need and still be smiling like a Cheshire cat. The key to living a grateful, thankful life is in our perspective.
I want to illustrate this important point. We often talk about keeping the mindset that our cup is half-full not half-empty. Honestly it is easy for me to look at the pain and turmoil of the world and slip into a half-full-whining-attitude. This communion cup represents our life. Let’s fill it halfway with the water of life. Looking at that tiny cup, I can see where it is easy to complain, but there is so much more to the picture for those in Christ. First, the water we have in us is not ordinary. We have Jesus living in us and so the water of life is effervescent in us. These effervescent tablets represent the living water that is in us. So let’s refill the communion cup with sparkling water.
Next, we have to realize how much more is just about to be poured into us. This giant container represents paradise and glory with Jesus. Volunteers will hold it over the communion cup and just start to pour it into the cup. I have a couple of verses to illustrate this perspective.
Phil 4:5
The Lord is near.
Heb 10:37
For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.”
God’s coming is very near, in just a little while. We are about to be deluged and drowned in real, bubbling, everlasting life. It is poised over our heads and just a breath of time away from happening. It is like using a fire hose to clean a dirty crumb off our plate. We will be so washed by abundant life that, as Paul puts it, our present sufferings are not worth comparing to that glory.
The hole in this poster board represents our perspective. We often see only the half-empty glass. As Christians we need to look at the entire perspective and that will keep us thankful and praise-filled as God wants us to be. He has done so much for us with much more to come. With the gift of Jesus, there is no room for whining, only for full-on praising.
(1621AD)
According to tradition, the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by the English Pilgrims who had founded the Plymouth Colony, now in the state of Massachusetts. An interesting fact about the Puritan custom was that observances were not held regularly; they usually took place only in times of crisis or immediately after a period of misfortune had passed. That makes me think they took the thanksgiving tradition from the Hebrew Thank Offering tradition which was also spontaneous and not only on one day a year.
May we learn to look at the bigger perspective of all we have in Christ and celebrate Thanksgiving everyday.
Prayer
Ps 95:1-2
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
Today we are going to create a timeline of the history of thanksgiving. God knew humans to be natural whiners but it has always made Him angry.
(1450BC)
The Israelites in the wilderness were the consummate whiners.
Num 11:1-6
11:1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them.
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"
In Deuteronomy Moses provided the guidelines for these Thank Offerings:
Deut 12:15-18
15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 17 You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. 18 Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns — and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
From days long ago, God has wanted His children to be a thankful people; rejoicing at whatever we do.
Hebrew Peace Offerings
The Children of Israel were commanded to offer many different types of sacrifices and offerings. One was the peace offering. There were three kinds of peace offerings: (1) thank offerings in response to an unsolicited special divine blessing; (2) votive (vowed) offerings in pursuit of making a request or pledge to God; and (3) freewill offerings spontaneously presented in worship and praise.
(1000BC)
The Psalms many times refers to the Thank Offering. David said:
Ps 56:12-13
12 I am under vows to you, O God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
(600 BC)
In the days of the prophets, it was foretold that we would be a people who would live in thanksgiving before God.
Jer 30:18-19
"This is what the LORD says:
"'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents…
Did you know these that many of these old prophesies are about us? Romans and Hebrews tell us we are the new Israel, the new Jacob, the true children of Abraham.
Rom 9:6-7
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children.
Then Paul goes on in chapter 11 to describe how we were grafted into the inheritance of Israel while they were cut off. So these prophesies did not fail; they are fulfilled in us! Knowing that, let’s continue reading this prophesy in Jeremiah.
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving
and the sound of rejoicing.
“From them will come songs of thanksgiving.” That is us.
(50AD)
Fast-forward again to the time of the New Testament. We are encouraged many times to live thankful lives.
Eph 5:4-5
4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
Phil 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Tim 2:1
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-
Col 2:6-7
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Col 4:2
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Col 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 Thess 5:16-18
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Not Blind, Just Thankful
God doesn’t want whiners; He wants thankful, grateful children. But that does not mean we are to run around fooling ourselves that everything is fine in this old earth. It is not fine; it is broken. When we accept this pinched-down existence as fully satisfying we are far too easily pleased and living without any true imagination. In Romans 8 Paul speaks of our groaning identification with the brokenness of this world.
Rom 8:17-23
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
So we groan and acknowledge the brokenness of this world but did you catch the reason Paul gave for overriding our complaints? Our present suffering is not worth comparing to the glory to come. That is why we can stand here suffering from heartache, illness, or need and still be smiling like a Cheshire cat. The key to living a grateful, thankful life is in our perspective.
I want to illustrate this important point. We often talk about keeping the mindset that our cup is half-full not half-empty. Honestly it is easy for me to look at the pain and turmoil of the world and slip into a half-full-whining-attitude. This communion cup represents our life. Let’s fill it halfway with the water of life. Looking at that tiny cup, I can see where it is easy to complain, but there is so much more to the picture for those in Christ. First, the water we have in us is not ordinary. We have Jesus living in us and so the water of life is effervescent in us. These effervescent tablets represent the living water that is in us. So let’s refill the communion cup with sparkling water.
Next, we have to realize how much more is just about to be poured into us. This giant container represents paradise and glory with Jesus. Volunteers will hold it over the communion cup and just start to pour it into the cup. I have a couple of verses to illustrate this perspective.
Phil 4:5
The Lord is near.
Heb 10:37
For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay.”
God’s coming is very near, in just a little while. We are about to be deluged and drowned in real, bubbling, everlasting life. It is poised over our heads and just a breath of time away from happening. It is like using a fire hose to clean a dirty crumb off our plate. We will be so washed by abundant life that, as Paul puts it, our present sufferings are not worth comparing to that glory.
The hole in this poster board represents our perspective. We often see only the half-empty glass. As Christians we need to look at the entire perspective and that will keep us thankful and praise-filled as God wants us to be. He has done so much for us with much more to come. With the gift of Jesus, there is no room for whining, only for full-on praising.
(1621AD)
According to tradition, the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by the English Pilgrims who had founded the Plymouth Colony, now in the state of Massachusetts. An interesting fact about the Puritan custom was that observances were not held regularly; they usually took place only in times of crisis or immediately after a period of misfortune had passed. That makes me think they took the thanksgiving tradition from the Hebrew Thank Offering tradition which was also spontaneous and not only on one day a year.
May we learn to look at the bigger perspective of all we have in Christ and celebrate Thanksgiving everyday.
Prayer
Ps 95:1-2
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Spiritual DNA
He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Cor 1:21-22
Spring is almost here as evidenced by the buckeye tree. Gray mud from the creek morphs into its spent inanimate trunk. However, out on the tip of each skyward twig, if one looks closely, are lime-green buds. As much as I hate to use the trite phrase ‘bursting forth,’ there is indeed a lot of bursting and forthing going on. The florets of exploding popcorn are incongruent with the hard rough bark; as though pasted on by a clumsy florist. I ask myself how these silky, vibrant, outbursts of life can come from so dead a thing as this wintering tree? The answer: Deep in the heart of the sleeping shell lives an ooze of sap carrying the DNA for what is to be.
I am that tree; a dormant dry shell of the life and “glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18). Through Christ, I will burst into a form of life incongruent with the present. All I see now is gray trunk, but I can’t doubt it for one second. I hold a guarantee. The proof is in the Word of God, in that tree, and in my heart. Deep inside me is an oozing trace of the life that will be. The Holy Spirit is my deposit—my hint of the ecstasy found before the Throne.
Even in my dark winter, I carry the spiritual mapping of what I will be when spring arrives. The Spirit will ignite my true DNA and I will explode in transformation. I will look back on this present form and the link to my new body will be traceable but the similarity between the two will be no more than night is to day, or a caterpillar is to its butterfly, or a gray stump is to the leafed-out flowering buckeye.
Prayer: Sweet Spirit, thank You for Your holy deposit inside me.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Eternal Encouragement
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thes 2:16-17
One leaden foot after the other, she plodded up the marathon’s grueling route, sweat rolling off a beyond-weary body. At mile 21 her gait had worn to a forward stumble. She wanted to quit. At the top of the hill was a tiny cheer-squad—two friends and her mom. In the space of three-and-a-half seconds, she jogged past their enthusiastic shouts. Images of sympathy, love, and goodwill were flash-imprinted on her memory. The joy she carried from the checkpoint swept tears down her cheeks. The echo of voices that believed in her overrode fatigue. Her legs found new motive and the last five miles went down in strength and grace.
A little encouragement can make the impossible doable. In the verses above Paul, Silas, and Timothy hale as we run past. “Hey runner, God says to be encouraged by His grace.” They trot alongside to add a few clarifying shouts. “If grace means His Son was sacrificed on your behalf, you must know He is also willing to bring you to paradise.” Falling back they holler, “He loves you and will strengthen you for every good deed and word.” From far behind we hear, “So go for it!”
Further along the course we now see Jesus jumping and rooting. “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance… You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Only hold on to what you have until I come” (Rev 2:1-3; 2:25).
We have come so far, we cannot give up. Countless disciples—even Jesus Himself—are all watching and they believe in us. Get new energy. Keep going. Finish strong.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I hear Your enthusiasm. Please keep cheering.
One leaden foot after the other, she plodded up the marathon’s grueling route, sweat rolling off a beyond-weary body. At mile 21 her gait had worn to a forward stumble. She wanted to quit. At the top of the hill was a tiny cheer-squad—two friends and her mom. In the space of three-and-a-half seconds, she jogged past their enthusiastic shouts. Images of sympathy, love, and goodwill were flash-imprinted on her memory. The joy she carried from the checkpoint swept tears down her cheeks. The echo of voices that believed in her overrode fatigue. Her legs found new motive and the last five miles went down in strength and grace.
A little encouragement can make the impossible doable. In the verses above Paul, Silas, and Timothy hale as we run past. “Hey runner, God says to be encouraged by His grace.” They trot alongside to add a few clarifying shouts. “If grace means His Son was sacrificed on your behalf, you must know He is also willing to bring you to paradise.” Falling back they holler, “He loves you and will strengthen you for every good deed and word.” From far behind we hear, “So go for it!”
Further along the course we now see Jesus jumping and rooting. “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance… You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Only hold on to what you have until I come” (Rev 2:1-3; 2:25).
We have come so far, we cannot give up. Countless disciples—even Jesus Himself—are all watching and they believe in us. Get new energy. Keep going. Finish strong.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I hear Your enthusiasm. Please keep cheering.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
True Beauty
So God created man in his own image… Gen 1:27
A camellia garden is at the end of our church’s street. One perfect but completed bloom fell onto the mulch. Its circlet of pink-tinted petals reached imploringly up from the mud as if to say, “I am still alive and too fine a thing to be down here.” Each petal boldly pushed a wafer-thin finger of vibrancy and color into space—a delicate expression of God’s penchant for beauty.
What makes the curved form, ethereal construction, and blended hues of a flower attractive to us? What makes the emerald masking of a mallard handsome? Why are the millions of interweaving vibrations of a symphony intoxicating? How is it that a rainbow’s arc of prism-splayed color never fails to illicit an, “Ah, look at that?” What causes the breathless pause when a poem completes its rhythm using precisely the right word? Why are the stars incredible, sculptures enchanting, dances captivating, sunsets breathtaking, children adorable, and diamonds dazzling? Why was my pink camellia enthralling and the mulch around it common? What makes beautiful, beautiful?
A wildly creative God made no two humans alike and so we will never fully agree on beautiful. Still there are some commonalities to our definitions. We like patterned symmetry but also the unique and rare. We like pure and unflawed. We like ordered yet creative. We like the rhythm of crescendos and rests, contrasts of thrills and tranquility. It occurs to me that all of these are what God is. God is dependable, unique, rare, pure, unflawed, ordered, creative, passionate, restful, thrilling, and serene. We are patterned to love the things our Creator is. A billy-goat couldn’t care less about the display of a peacock’s tail, but a peahen really goes in for that sort of thing. She is patterned by God for attraction to iridescent feathers. You and I are patterned to love what our Father is. And that is what beautiful is.
Prayer: Father, I am glad to be like You.
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