Our Gentle Savior

Gentleness. Not exactly a trait you would expect from the omnipotent Creator God of the Universe. And yet, the Holy God--righteous and just in all His actions--is gentle. He sent His Son, our Savior, to lift us up out of our sin, free us from condemnation, adopt us into His family. How does the song go? "Love lifted me . . . when nothing else could help, love lifted me." He stooped down, saved my soul, while I was yet a sinner and His enemy--His gentleness found me.

And now as our gentle Shepherd, He nourishes us, satisfies our thirsts through the indwelling Fountain of the Spirit, restores us when we fail and crumble and struggle, leads us in the right path, uses us--failures and all--to glorify His Name. Knowing His sheep, some that have wandered He pursues on the mountaintops and carries them home; for some He stands in the doorway waiting for them to come to their senses, return home, to be embraced by the gentle Father who has never stopped loving them. He runs to greet them: "You are always my son, my child. Always."

And we must be sure to remember and rest in His gentleness toward all His sheep. You have those you love and care for--He will stoop to lift them up, He is their gentle Savior too. You can trust them to His gentle, omnipotent care. It is gentleness that encourages us to cast our burdens on Him, to take His yoke for He is meek and gentle and able to take our burdens and give us in their place rest.

Today, our gentle God who stooped down to "lift us up out of the miry clay," will stoop down and lift us up when we stumble, and stoop down and lift up those we love that are struggling to find His rest and provision. He who "knows our frame, that we are but dust," does not despise us, but embraces us as His beloved children deeply in need of His gentle touch. Sense His gentle touch today. He will touch you with His gentle love.

Friendship

One gift that God gives to us is friendship. Too often, we focus on the times they may disappoint us or, even worse, disagree with us. Heavens!!! How could they? But instead we need to focus on what a great treasure they are to us--what love gifts. Friends are the ones whose presence we miss, and our response is to lift them in prayer that that day they will be immersed in a sense of His presence. Friends are the ones who sharpen us through their encouragement, through the examples they set of faithfulness to others and to Him. Friends are the ones who see us as we are, love us as we are, and gently wait for God to change what needs changing in our thought-life and then in our actions. They are not afraid when we purposefully or "accidentally" reveal to them our many faults. And they are not afraid when they do the same in our presence. We know that the holy love friends have for us--friends given to us by God--cannot be lost, will not be despised, because of His love living and breathing in their hearts and minds. And they know the same is true of us toward them. And we learn to love each other not in spite of but because of. We lean on them; they lean on us. Two cords are stronger than one. We both know that we love each other, and that the kindness of the loving God of forgiveness spontaneously controls our tenderheartedness. Are friends perfect? Excuse me while I look in the mirror and groan at the things that old man has done to hurt those he loves. Do they on occasion "fail" us? Excuse me as I shake my head at my own love failures. But what a joy they are to be sent by Him into our lives so that we would understand His love toward us more deeply. And what a challenge they are to us that God will use us in their lives so that they will always know how deep is His love for them. Friends--what a gift from the God of love that we may spread throughout the world evidence of His genuine, spontaneous, holy love. And what undeniable evidence to the world of what a friend we have in Jesus.

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The Hymn of Habakkuk

The Hymn of Habakkuk

"I heard and my inward parts trembled,

At the sound my lips quivered,

Decay enters my bones,

And in my place I tremble.

Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,

For the people to arise who will invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

And there be no fruit on the vines,

Thought the yield of the olive should fail,

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold,

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength,

And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,

And makes me walk on my high places.

For the choir director, on my stringed instruments."

Yet.

I will exult.

I will rejoice.

I will walk.

I will sing.

He is my salvation. He is my strength.

Convinced

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

Convinced

What Must I Do?

In a world that is overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and thus, helplessness, what is Christ's ambassador to do? In a world that is trying to solve its problems with a total disregard for a man's soul . . . "But what will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"--what is His child to do? In a world experiencing its greatest famine--a famine for the hearing of the Word of God--starving for meaning and purpose but with no thirst for God, no desire to taste and see, what must the believer do? Men and women have such an unquenchable appetite for what can never fill them. Many give lip-service to the call for justice, but tell them justice will come only when they are willing to risk and sacrifice some of their own security and financial gains and see what the response will be then. Narcissism pervades our culture. What can we do? In a world where science tells us--and so we teach our children--that we live in a world without God, a world that spontaneously appeared without a known cause, and we are but products of time and chance--free will is an illusion, we are the puppets of natural selection--no "thoughts" of our own, no choices that are not predetermined and inescapable, no right or wrong. What can we do as His witnesses? Hopeless? Helpless? A bat can turn the world into total chaos. Hatred and haughtiness can be weapons of murder, and oppression can be ignored for centuries as a means to maintain my political power or because to address it, would interfere with my cash flow.

What must God's people do?

Cry out with Amos, "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." And by emphasizing--as Amos does--that righteousness is the foundation of justice, and that every truly righteous man cries out for it. The church and the believer must refuse to become--or to remain a captive--to the lie that it can become entangled in the world of politics without sacrificing its spiritual power and being blinded to the unrighteousness that is the bedrock of the pursuit of political power. The believer must live a righteous life--live by faith--do what is right in God's eyes with no regard for the consequences. The believer must live a life that radiates his hope. Hope in God. Life under the sun is hopeless unless He is at the center of it. And those who know that this life is not all there is, that faith in Christ assures a blessed hope, must hunger and thirst after righteousness, must live a life committed to holiness, overflowing with compassion for the poor and oppressed, motivated by a sorrowful joy that is others' centered, esteeming them better than themselves. And the believer must live a life of holy love dedicated to meeting physical needs with physical stuff and spiritual needs with spiritual "stuff" simultaneously.

Complete justice will not come until the King returns. Proximate justice must be the heart of every child of God--founded on righteous living, resting in a faith that does what is right confident in the loving and wise control of God over the outcome of each choice, enlivened by a living hope, empowered by the only Love that says "you matter to me more than I matter to me, and you matter to Him so deeply that He died for you that you might live by a confident faith that pleases Him, rests in the sure hope of eternal life, reflect a life that lifts up His love and draws others to Him. Hopeless? Never--I am in His hands, secure in His unconditional love. Helpless? Never--His Spirit lives within me--"I can do all things through Christ who is my strength."

"And now--right this very moment--we have faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love." Faith and hope for today to give our lives meaning and purpose and focus. Love for now, for today, to make Him known--and for all eternity. So live.

Reflections from May 2020

Is there anything more powerful than a singing heart filled with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? It pleases God's heart, speaks to my heart, and encourages those whose heart is also filled with song. And isn't it thought-provoking that the songs that I find in my heart come from the music I listen to? Do the songs in our hearts (my heart) praise Him, enrich our souls, encourage others to rejoice in their relationship with Him? Just asking.

______________________

What leads to spiritual stagnancy?--a heart that denies God's intervention, believes He is indifferent to the needs of His people--maybe even irrelevant and unneeded; a heart that doubts the loyal love of God. There is all the difference in the world between a "stagnant pool" and the still waters that God leads His people to for refreshing. Spiritually prosperous are those that thirst after His righteousness. They shall be satisfied.

______________________

God's grace is the bedrock of His compassion. And His compassion is always active in our lives both positively and "negatively." He is moved by our struggles, lovingly kind in His concern for us. Even in my times of disobedience, He is slow to anger, quick to forgive, tenacious in His gentle embrace. We live--always--near to the heart of God.

_____________________

The secret of effective prayer is the admission of our helplessness.

_____________________

I can sit under the teaching of God's Word and be spiritually deaf; the genuine hearer obeys--with joy.

_____________________

God's definition of a good life: doing justice, loving kindness, walking humbly with Him.

_____________________

A prayer for each day: "God, give me a teachable spirit."

_____________________

"Safe am I, safe am I, in the hollow of His hand."

Thoughts

Thoughts on my heart:

Mankind--everyone of us--has inestimable value and worth because we are created in the image of God Himself. To deny that that is true is to rob a human being of his inestimable value and worth.

A nation in order to be blessed by God must be just, compassionate, and righteous. Not one of these; all of these.

Jesus set this example for us: "Let each of us esteem others to be better than ourselves." Esteem. Better. Each of us.

The one assignment God has given all His people--Be a servant. Minister to others.

The great obstacle to understanding is the 2 x 4 in my eye.

Listen don't talk. And when you feel like you must say something, powerful speech emanates from a soft answer. It is the soft answer that cures anger.

The community that must be seen with its arms wide open, its heart broken, its humility confessional, its compassion bottomless, its prayers inclusive, and its comfort inescapable is His church.

If my application of the principles of God's Word contradicts the clear teaching of God's Word, my application is ungodly.

Small acts of kindness, small words of encouragement, small deeds of love and acceptance are spectacular acts of healing because everyone of us can do them every day.

The greatest power for good in the world and permanent change--perhaps the only power for good and permanent change--is the individual Christian and the body of believers as one mind demonstrating in word and action the unquenchable love of Christ. Yes, it begins with the truths I hold to in my mind.

Don't stop at the one mile marker when doing good.

Everyone with a need is your neighbor--spiritual need, physical need, emotional need. Need. The Gospel: you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as Christ loved you. It is not the other person's responsibility to love that way that matters. It is my Spirit--controlled responsibility to love that way. And its source must be the Spirit. I cannot spiritualize the natural man that is me.

God is on His throne. The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. Lord empower us to make the significance, the weightiness of Your presence, visible to the world. Today.

Spontaneous, Holy Living

"But, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

The genuine, spontaneous, spirit-controlled believer demonstrates all of these traits that radiate from the Spirit in his or her thoughts, and words, and actions, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

He loves with a holy love, a grace love--nothing about the other person or their actions can quench his love. "But God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." If his love is going to be as holy as His love, then how the other person responds to his love is irrelevant.

The genuine, spontaneous believer reflects the joy of God in every circumstance. For the good of others, he will endure all things. "For the joy that was set before Him" our Savior endured the cross and the shame to prove the love of God by finishing the mission." If the believer lives in His presence, eager for His well-done, he will find fullness of joy. Nowhere else.

He demonstrates God's peace. Through steadfast prayer for the hurting and oppressed, God teaches him to think right and to love right in all situations. His mind is dominated by the things worthy of praise.

His patience is the Spirit's patience. Eager to embrace the hurting, no longer how long it takes to demonstrate the love of God to them, he is unafraid to be taken advantage of, unafraid to be misunderstood, unafraid to be hurt. He is the living channel of the mercy of God that he himself so desperately needs.

He is kind. "Be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you." Seventy times seventy is just the starting point. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" was His cry from the cross for those who nailed Him there, mocked Him, denied the tears He had wept for them. And make no mistake about it, some of them found that forgiveness.

His goodness makes His obedient love genuine. He seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Obedience to the commandments is not a burden but an empowerment to strive with all his heart to do always those things that please Him.

His faithfulness makes him unshakable, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. His daily prayer is "though none go with me, still I must follow." Must. "How can I do less than give Him my best, and live for Him completely, after all He's done for me."

He is always a gentle shepherd--stooping down to lift up the fallen, the victims of injustice, the suffering stranger, even the disobedient, wandering sheep. No one is ever so far down that he cannot stoop down to lift up, taking their burden as his own.

And why is self-control last? Again, it must be--if his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness are going to be holy, they must be genuine, spontaneous, a reflection of the Spirit's control. He must deny himself, put others needs above his own, be unaffected by their response to the Spirit's working in his life to show them Jesus cares. He must abhor the need for self-defense leaving his reputation in the hands of the Father. Then, by God's grace even the Pilates of this world will have to say, "I find no fault in this man."

In such a time as this, may every person I encounter, every circumstance I face, every thought in my heart, every word out of my mouth, and every action that I take be the spontaneous, holy, reflection of the Holy Spirit's complete control of my every moment.

History 101

When Paul arrived in Athens, the intellectual center of the Roman Empire, he--a scholar himself--was not impressed by how much these intellectuals knew, but rather appalled at how little they knew of what was important. He, of course, tried to strike up a conversation with anyone who would listen. Eventually, they asked him to share his "new" idea with them.

So, he told them the old, old story. First, he forced them to acknowledge their fear. They had an idol for every god they could think of, and just in case, one for a god they didn't know about. Their motto: "Let's keep all the gods happy; Can't give them an excuse to lower the boom on us." Abject fear and insecurity.

Then, he introduced them to the one true God--the Creator of--and thus, Lord over--the universe--the heavens and the earth. The God who had created mankind in His likeness--His image. This God was the Sovereign of human history. Not one nation had ever come into existence without His making it so. And He was the God who was hands-on in history. Whatever happened was under His control and had a majestic purpose. Peace, war, oppression, liberty, justice, pandemic all were designed by Him to cause men and nations to seek Him. If they would do that--even as they were groping around in the dark--He would find them. And how inane it was to have been made in His image and then try to make Him into an image. The meaning of history is that God is seeking to save those that are lost.

And why is that so important to Him? History is going to end with a day of judgement. The date is already settled. Those who refuse to repent will be eternally judged by the One who gave His life to redeem and save them--the One who has conquered death so that those who seek Him and are found will never die.

How did they respond to that marvelous history lesson? Some mocked--"the preaching of the cross is to those that perish foolishness." Some said, we'll talk about this again--later. I pray they did. Some believed--were no longer lost in the darkness but found, and transferred into the Kingdom of Light.

And you? Going to keep living in fear and of dying a physical death? Going to continue to be overwhelmed by a world that seems to have no meaning or purpose? Going to refuse to acknowledge your need of the Savior and thus, face eternal death--professing how wise you are until it's too late to escape the day of judgement? There will be no mocking or sneering on that day.

The Creator King of the Universe has swallowed up death in victory; has provided justification, redemption, forgiveness for those who repent of their own self-righteousness and trust in Him. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."

Leadership

Effective Christian Leadership: an unequivocal denial of self expressed in an unrelenting--in word and deed--concern and compassion for the needs--real and imagined--of everyone in the group. Only remotely possible one day at a time--each day beginning down on one's knees praying for more of Him and less of you to be seen in your life--in word and deed. Concern and compassion become action verbs. If one person in the group refuses to become involved forty-nine times in a row, the leader can't wait for the fiftieth time to ask--compassionately.