The Promise

Genesis 24:1-9

 

 

There comes a time in every person’s life when they look back to see what they have accomplished; how they got to where they are today; how they will be remembered.

 

This past week I turned 65, so these are the thoughts that came to my mind. Ultimately, it has to do with how has God worked in my life, and how has He used me in the lives of others. In the final analysis, all that matters is what is eternal.

 

In the passage today, it states that “Abraham was now very old”. He had just buried his wife who had born their only child Isaac. He was living in a land that belonged to others. In fact, he had to buy a field with a cave in order to bury his wife. He was a foreigner; an alien in the land. He was alone with his son and his faithful long time servant.

 

So it was natural for Abraham to look back on his life and remember the promise that the Lord had made to him. When Abraham was a young man God had called him to a life of faith with these words from Genesis 12:

 

“The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s

household to the land I will show you. ² “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

 

Abraham believed in God’s promise and faithfulness. He wanted to make sure that the Lord’s promise continued through his son Isaac. So Isaac was very much a continuance of that promise from God to Abraham... as are we.

 

Therefore, as I look back on 65 years of living, I can see how God has been faithful; how He has always been at work in my life; how He has always been with me; how He has always loved and forgiven me. He has kept His promise.

 

I hope and pray that you can see God at work in your life as well, and that His promise and faithfulness are evident to you.

 

 

 

 

 

The Speed of Change

Hebrews 10:1-25

 

When I was in college the campus computer that was used for class took up most of one room and required using stacks of punched cards to run it. Today, some 45 years later, we carry computers around like a wallet.

 

In the mid 90’s it was uncommon for people to have a cell phone. If they did have one, it was bulky and inconvenient to use. Today, it seems like everyone has a pocket size cell phone, and many of those are smart phones with a computer chip in them. So much for the college computer I used. The speed of change is staggering.

 

Some people embrace change, but my impression is that most people resist change.

Historically, change has come on the heels of great violence. You need look only at our American history with the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Even the decade of the 60’s had a lot of violence with race riots and the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.

 

People resisted change in Jesus’ day too which also resulted in much violence. Jesus was truly a revolutionary of his day. He systematically changed the focus from law to

grace; from ritual sacrifices to the sacrifice of one for once and all; from following the religious rules to following Jesus; from excluding everyone but Jews to including all. He literally changed the world.

 

From Hebrews 10 we learn three things:  

• First that the old system of Jewish laws and ritual sacrifices didn’t work.

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.”            Verse 1

 

• Secondly, that through Jesus’ dying we have been forgiven and made clean.

“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”                       Verse 10

 

• Finally, we can go into the throne of grace with hearts fully trusting him to receive us because Christ has taken our sins away.

… ^“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”  Verse 22

 

The speed of change today is amazing, but what Christ did 2000 years ago forever stays the same. It cannot be changed. But it can change us. The result is that no matter how fast the world around us is changing, our faith in Christ remains the same but changes how we relate to our friends, family, work and the daily grind of living. It gives us an eternal perspective, not pie in the sky, but for here and now.

 

Geared to the times, anchored to the rock. Let us follow the Revolutionary Jesus!

 

 

Defining Moment

2 Timothy 4:1-8

 

 

Frank Gifford died this past week. He was 84 years old. He played in the NFL for 12 years and later was one of the original announcers on ABC when Monday Night Football debuted. One of the current ABC news announcers said that “he was a good man and a good person”. That was his eulogy; his defining moment.

 

According to my NIV Study Bible, Paul wrote 2 Timothy after his fourth missionary trip. At the time he was in prison. This was nothing like the rented house he lived in the first time he was a prisoner. This was a cold hard dungeon where Paul was chained like a common criminal.

 

He seemed to believe that he was near the end of his life, and with that in mind gave his own eulogy when he wrote, “⁶For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

 

You get the sense that Paul is looking back on his life and remembering his friends at all the churches where he ministered: Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, Philippi, and others. He is remembering how God has used him in the lives of so many people for his Lord and Savior.

 

With that in mind, he gave Timothy some final instructions. “I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.”

 

Previous to this in chapter 3 he also wrote, ^“16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

 

Paul seems to be preparing Timothy so that when he reaches the end of his life, he too can say like Paul, “I have fought the good fight”. Indirectly, Paul is preparing you and me for the same defining moment.

 

If we follow Paul’s instructions, then we too can say with him, “⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

 

In the meantime, let us live life, one day at a time, with faith in Christ so when we arrive at that defining moment, we too can stand and say like Paul, “I fought the good fight”.

Life is Like a Rose Bush

John 15:1-17

(The second of two devotionals on this passage.)

 

 

We have a rose bush in our front yard. It was there when we bought our home. Although I’ve never been much of a gardener I have kind of adopted this rose bush. Every year it has produced tons of flowers. One harvest will come and go, followed by another.

 

But then last year I noticed that beetles were attacking it. They would swarm over a flower and eat it; eventually killing it. I bought some spray and would drench the bush but it didn’t seem to deter the beetles. Now if I see them swarm on a bloom, I prune the flower. Sometimes I flick them off with my finger sending them into orbit.

 

It’s become personal for me. Those nasty beetles attacking my poor defenseless rose
bush. I get angry at them and frustrated that they keep coming back. But we keep fighting them; the bush and I that is. Somehow the rose bush keeps budding and producing beautiful flowers. That’s what it was created to do of course.

 

In today’s passage Jesus said, ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you

can do nothing… ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

 

Like the rose bush, bearing fruit is what we as believers are created to do. You might do this by serving as an usher, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, helping with VBS or serving on a committee. Or maybe you help with a homeless ministry or food pantry or go on a short term mission’s trip.

 

It could also mean that you show God’s love by word or deed with the cashier at Meijer or Walmart or Wendy’s. It might mean treating your mechanic or restaurant server or person that cuts you off in traffic the way Jesus would. Why do we do this?

 

From the same passage Jesus said, ^12 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

 

As a disciple of Christ we are called to bear fruit with the same love that Christ showed us. He has given us gifts for us to bear fruit. And he has brought people into our lives for us to bear fruit with. People like our friends, co-workers, family members, people at church and others.

 

Like my rose bush, we have been created for this. We may need some pruning by the Gardener, or there may be spiritual attacks (probably not beetles though). But in the end, Jesus called his disciples to bear fruit in love. What will you do to bear fruit?

 

 

What’s This Song About Daddy?

John 15:1-17

(The first of two devotionals on this passage.)

 

When my daughter was about eight years old we had a conversation one day while driving in the car. The radio was on and she asked what the song was about. I told her, ‘It was about love’. The next song came on and she asked the same question. I gave her the same answer. Love is always a popular topic for songs. But what does it mean?

 

People say that they love the Buckeyes. Because of that, they spend hundreds, if not
thousands, of dollars on season tickets, tail gating, bowl games, clothing and memorabilia. Not to mention, hours watching the game and then hours talking about the game afterwards. Is that love?

 

Jesus gave us a standard, or measuring stick if you will, for love in today’s passage.

 

“I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends; and you are my friends if you obey me.”           John 15:12-14 Living Bible

 

Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor. In his parable of the Good Samaritan, he taught us that our neighbor could be someone we really don’t necessarily like. For instance, let’s say that you are a diehard Buckeye fan and you meet a Michigan fan. Is it harder to love that person than a fellow Buckeye?

 

What about someone who breaks into your house? Could you love them? Or someone who harms a family member? What about that person? How do YOU define your neighbor? The Pharisees had certain rules that wouldn’t allow them to help a Samaritan. Do you?

 

Jesus spoke the above words before the crucifixion so that the disciples didn’t have that perspective to understand what he was saying. But, with the fifty-fifty hindsight that we have, his words have more significance don’t they?

 

As an eight year old, my daughter asked me a very profound question that day. The answer was just as profound. Jesus calls us, actually commands us, to love others like he loved us. I don’t know about you, but the measuring stick for love just got raised significantly higher.

 

 

Thirty Years of Faithfulness

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

 

On August 10, 1985, my wife, daughter and I, with the help of family and friends, packed up all of our earthly possessions and moved to Columbus, Ohio. As I consider these past 30 years, there are many fond memories. It was a life changing move for all of us, and looking back, I can see how God has faithfully used people and circumstances in our lives.

 

The move was precipitated by my work. The couple who was our host when we first came for our interview and later to find a place to live, became great friends, and were probably one of the main reasons we moved to Columbus. God certainly used them as well as many others that we met over the years.

 

In September of 1985, our daughter started kindergarten. My wife helped in the classroom every day. The teacher saw something in her and encouraged her to return to school. God used that teacher to motivate my wife to do just that. As a result, she taught in inner city Columbus for 23 years.

 

Our daughter graduated from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. During one summer break, she worked at Damon’s Grill where she met her husband to be. Who knows how different her life would have been had we not made this move. God has been faithfully at work in each of our lives.

 

Looking back gives us twenty-twenty vision. We can see how God has been working when in the middle of life, sometimes we can’t. Hindsight allows us to recognize God’s faithfulness.

 

That’s what Paul was writing about to the Thessalonians. Keep in mind that the Thessalonian church was under extreme persecution at the time. Compounding this were lies that were being told that the rapture had already taken place. And guess what? The Thessalonians didn’t make the cut!

 

Paul explained first that it was a lie, and second that certain things had to take place before the Second Coming could happen. He wrote about the rebellion and the man of

lawlessness. He pointed out that the lawless one was under the control of Jesus. The bottom line for Paul was that, no matter what, God was in control; God was always with them; and God was always faithful.

 

Thirty years have flown by for us. During those years there have been some very difficult and painful times. Deaths, loss of job, a miscarriage, regretful decisions; things that still hurt even to think about today. But we know that through it all, God has been

God is the Rock that we cling to.

in control, always with us and always faithful.

God is always at work in your life. Just take a look back to see how.

 

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”                     2 Thessalonians 3:3