Do Unto Others; Respect And Care For Them

Do Unto Others; Give Generously out of love for others
Zion Servant Event - making fleece blankets for LWR

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets." Matt 7:12

You have heard the saying: "what goes around, comes around." Others refer to it as karma. What really is happening is that when you treat others with disrespect they most likely will treat you in the same manner that you have treated them. It is human nature. People simply have a hard time showing respect for those who disrespect others. When people break the rules of society, there are usually consequences set in place by society as a whole. I dislike this word, karma, immensely. I think a better word for this might be justice.

"Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones." Psalm 37:27-28

Show respect for others and they might show respect to you. Love others and you will be loved. Do good to all people that it may be well with you and them; that we might all live in harmony and peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sea Creatures Trained Easier Than The Tongue

"For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:7-8

I admit that I have picked up a bit of slang and my grammar is not always the best; but, I tell you there are days that I simply do not understand the English that is being used by many today. What sometimes sounds like insults; derogatory remarks toward or about others, I am told actually isn't! That's just the way people talk in 2015. I am sorry. But, I prefer not to be addressed or hear anyone else addressed in a manner that according to language used as far back as 2000 would be considered verbal assault.

It can be most difficult to control the tongue when one is angry or hurt; but, in general conversation? Oh, my! There are many days that I just want to run back to my little corner of the universe and sit in silence. Of course, I can't turn on the radio or television when I do that because I'd just hear some more of the same.

It is hard to tame the tongue. It is even harder when one does not know the difference between what is appropriate to say and what is not appropriate. Think: treat others as you would like to be treated. So I sit in the sheer silence and listen. I listen for our Father's gentle whisper, "I am with you now and always."

God's Peace - Pr. J

Romans 8:31-39 Our Father Loves You

Romans 8:31-39 NIV
The love of a parent for a child is beyond comprehension. Most human parents will go to all lengths to protect and guide their children. There are even times when, because we are human, a parent's love actually enables our children; harming their futures. There also may be times when something comes between a parent and a child; but, that does not mean that the parent stops loving them no matter what their children may have done.

As I have witnessed this love between parents and children, I have often thought; so how does our Father in heaven feel when we go astray; when we do what we ought not or fail to do those things that we ought to be doing; when we turn our backs on Him; when we reject His good gifts and receive worldly favors of false gods? No matter what influences might come into our lives that would estrange us from our Father in heaven; Paul tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of course, God knows you personally, because He is your Father and He will always love you. May He help us to love Him more, because He loves us so.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Acts 4:32-37 One Heart and Mind

Acts 4:32-37 NIV
"All the believers were one in heart and mind." Wow! That would be awesome! United in the Body of Christ, they shared everything they had and there was no one needy among them. Just amazing that people should share and give so freely.  There was no need for government programs there. Neighbors took care of neighbors who could not take care of themselves. It worked, not because some gave to those who had nothing; but, because everyone worked with one mind in Christ for the Good of all, for the glory of God.

Everyone had something to give and everyone had something to contribute; whether it be in time, talents, gifts of the spirit, or material things. There could no sloths in this group of Christians; there could be no hold-outs. Everyone freely shared what they had with one another for the glory of God.

I'm not sure when all this total sharing ended. But, I imagine it ended because the human hearts have such a difficult time doing good for our neighbors if it means that we might have to live with a little less "stuff." This kind of communal living can only work when we are of one heart and mind in Christ.

May God help us to live reconciled to God in Christ Jesus and with one another; living and serving with one heart and mind.

God's Peace - Pr. J

John 12:37-50 Our Belief Or Not Doesn't Change the Truth

John 12:37-50 NIV
There have been many times when others have tried to sway me. They have tried in vain to convince me that that Jesus is not my Savior; that God our Father is a myth; and that the Holy Spirit is not present and active in my life and the world around me. Often, it is because they don't care to hear the word that the Father has given us through Jesus. There are many who would much prefer to have it their way rather than God's way. I usually just end up smiling at the futility of it all. God is God. He Is Who He Is. You can try all you want to change Him to meet your standards; but, human beings cannot change the essence of God. It is just not possible. You can spend your days trying; but, in the end it will be God who will have the final say.

Even after Jesus performed many signs, many would still not believe in him. There were also those who believed in him but would not openly acknowledge their faith in him because they did not want to offend others. It is not so different today. There are many who believe, many who do not, and many, many who have been baptized into the faith who will not witness to the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus the Christ because they are afraid of offending others.

Whom would do you have the courage to offend; those without faith or the one who gave His Son to die for you? As for me, I have been an offense to God enough already in my lifetime. "....as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Matthew 15 - What To Wear?

“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.'”  (Matt 15:1-2 NRSV)

On occasion, I have heard a whisper or two about how someone dresses "for church" or how a child misbehaves in "in church." (I have church in quotes, because the term in church is used rather than the term "at worship.") Tradition has taught us that there are certain ways we should dress for and act in "church." These are traditions that have come down through the generations. I'm thinking Jesus probably did not change clothes to go to the temple or to preach as he was traveling from city to city. During the time Jesus ministered, here on earth, one of the big "no, no's" was to not wash before you eat. There were whole rituals set up to ensure that hands were washed - rituals that were not to be broken.

We have the religious and we have the faithful. The religious might also be faithful, but often they will remind us of the Pharisees and scribes who faithfully accused and persecuted Jesus. The man-made laws and traditions certainly set them apart from other people; but did they set them apart because of their faith in God or because of the faithfulness to man-made traditions and laws?

Not long ago, one of our members was dropped off by one of their children for Worship. I invited the daughter to join us - but - she said she couldn't come in because she had a pair of those pants on that sort of look like pajamas. Consider this, who exactly are you dressing for? Who are you afraid of offending? Man or God? Do you not pray at home, in the shower, in your pajamas, in the garden, in your running clothes, at work? Do you run to change clothes before you go before God to speak with Him, in prayer, on all of these occasions? Personally, I don't think God cares what we're wearing.

As that child of God, who felt that she was not dressed for "church" declined my invitation to join us at Worship, I thought of Adam and Eve in that garden, naked. God didn't care that they were naked. After they ate of the tree of knowledge, it was they who cared, not God. Since they were ashamed, God made them clothes to cover themselves with and then closed the garden off to them so that they might not eat of the tree of life and live forever.

I like tradition almost as much as the next person; however, let us be mindful that sometimes these traditions separate us from God rather than bring us (and others) closer to him. It is faith in the One who shed His blood for us and not what we wear that reconciles us to God, our Father, in His eternal kingdom.

"This people honors me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,    teaching human precepts as doctrines." (Matt 15:8-9)

God's Peace - Pr. J
P.S. The winter that I was snow-mobile trail boss in southern Ontonagon County, I often went to Worship Services in my snow-mobile suit, simply because I did not have time to change and had to get back out on the trails immediately after worship. It was either not change or not Worship. Which would you choose?

Ezekiel 10 - In God's Glory

"Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim." (Ezekiel 10:18 NIV)

Ezekiel describes the movement of God's glory to the outside of the temple. This movement occurs in concert with the cherubim, the four living creatures, of Ezekiel's visions. These cherubim were amazing creatures. "Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle." (Ezekiel 10:15) Four faces, wheels whirring in multitudes of directions beneath the; yet, amazingly, they all move in one direction. They all move in the same direction at the same time. They do not deviate from the course. They leave the temple with the glory of God in unison - together.

They leave the temple in order for the man clothed in linen that sits above them can scatter burning coals over the city. "The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in." (Ezekiel 10:2)

He went in among the wheels and one of the cherubim handed him the fire. They worked in unison, they went straight ahead, all with one mission, according to God's will, in the glory of God.

May it be so for the church on earth, that whatever God wills for His people, it is done, for His glory.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 29 - Works Without Faith Is Dead

"The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
Woe to those who go to great depths
to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us? Who will know?"" (Isa 29:13-15)
 

Sunday morning rituals and then the rest of the week what do we do? On Sunday mornings we praise the LORD with our lips, but how much honor do we give the LORD during the rest of the week? Some of the saddest moments of my life is when I realize someone worships on Sunday morning purely out of ritual or because they think this "act" is the good work that will grant them eternal life. Or, maybe, it's to enhance their political or business life. I assure you, works without faith is useless.

James tells us (James 2:17-19)  "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." 

I know! I know! Martin Luther was not impressed with James. He considered it an "epistle of straw." But, think for a moment... If we have faith - that is a living faith, we will live that faith and it will show in all that we say and do and that goes beyond Sunday morning. Likewise works without faith is useless for our or any one's salvation. Faith, indeed, will produce good works. It is a natural outflowing of our faith and our love of God. Showing up on Sunday morning and not worshipping and honoring God, not living in the Way, the rest of the week is merely a once a week (or month or year) good work.  Maybe we attend this worship service it's because we like the people there or that the people actually do good works. Maybe, it's the preacher you like or maybe you are just paying your dues - just in case - to appease God. Hopefully, the Word you hear during that one hour on Sunday morning will produce the faith you have pretended to have.

You can pretend all you want. Maybe the pretending will become a reality for you. I don't know. There is a 12-step motto that tells us to "fake it 'till you make it." Who knows, it might work. God can accomplish great things through little steps.

But, let us not think that God does not know our motivation? That even though on the outside (on Sunday morning) it looks like we are worshipping; but, in reality we might be just serving self. We might be able to hide it some of the time from some of the people, maybe even all of the people. (Except your Pastor - there's a good chance he/she already knows your motivation) But, you cannot hide your motivation, your plans, from the LORD, ever! He promised to be with you always and He is. Do you think He does not see what you don't want Him to see. Don't delude yourself into thinking that somehow you can hide the fact that there are other things that you put before God during the rest of the week.

Real faith produces good works. It will inspire us to worship and honor God and to feed His sheep, so to speak, the rest of the week.

May God bless the words of our lips, the meditations of our hearts and minds, the work of our hands and every step that we take that all may honor and glorify God, our Creator and Redeemer. Amen
(OK - so I revised that last prayer a little bit)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

P.S. Sorry so late today. The power went off before I could post about 6 a.m.. In the meantime, I planted some flowers and went kayaking. Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 2 - Walk in the Light of the LORD

 "Let us walk in the light of the LORD." (Isaiah 2:5b NIV)

We await the day when the LORD will come in the splendor of His majesty. "There will be no more war. The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.. (vs 11) What a day that will be! The earth will tremble. The people will tremble. We will finally realize the fruitlessness of worshipping silver and gold, the work of our own hands, and every knee will bow in recognition of the LORD, God, Almighty.

Isaiah's sermon is a hard one for many to hear. All is not right in the world. There is much trouble on every side; mostly caused by greed or jealousy, caused by desiring what we cannot have. Scripture tells us that Satan, the oppressor, was cast down to the earth. Do you remember why? Isaiah 14:12-14 says: "How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.""  Satan wanted not just to be like God. He wanted to be God. He wanted to be worshipped. There is a little of the devil in all of us, it seems. He sneaks out (or in), when we're not looking, trying to convince us that we are worthy of honor and glory. Sometimes, we believe him. Well, not sometimes, often. We often put ourselves before the LORD, our Creator and Redeemer. And, when we recognize the sin that dwells within us, it should be enough of a reason to go before the LORD, seeking His mercy and grace often, like daily, like a few times a day?

There is only one God and the day will come when all people will have no choice, but to recognize Him as the one true God. Those who desire and/or think that they are gods and above God, will be humbled and their pride brought low as He shows Himself to all people in the full splendor of His majesty. I'm just thinking it would be a whole lot easier on everyone if we could all bow before Him now and "walk in the light of the LORD." 

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. A warning... do not fall prey to the temptation to glorify the works of your own hands; but give all to the glory of God.

Psalm 94 - The LORD Sees

Again, the psalmist reminds us that there are no secrets from God.  He who fashioned the ears, hears.  He who formed the eye, sees.  No one can hide the injustice that they do from God.  It can be hidden from man for awhile, but it cannot be hidden from God.

Young people always amaze me.  I was young once (a very long time ago) and I still remember.  For some reason when we are young (and sometimes when we are old) we think that we're going to get away with doing the things we ought not do.  That rarely happens.  There are usually consequences to our negative actions in this world.  Even if others don't see what we do in secret places to harm others, God sees.  "The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile." (vs 11)  The One who created all things; the One who knows all things; He is the judge of all the earth.

Take care that what you do and say is according to His will - God sees. His judgement will be founded on righteousness, and the upright in heart will follow it. (vs. 15)

God's Peace - Pr. J