"Give us this day our daily bread..."

It has been over forty years since I attended Johnson & Wales for Hospitality Management. The first year was for culinary arts, and one of my chef instructors ruled the class as if it were in his own restaurant. It was a class making bread. Cooking is an art (culinary arts), but baking is a pure science. It requires the correct temperatures, fresh yeasts, and something I do not often possess patience,  

We have heard with our ears, O God: our fathers have told us what you did in their days in days long ago. Psalm 44:1

When Stefani was a small girl, I would say the word, "Hands" reminding her to place her hand in mine. We walked this way crossing the street or even in a mall.  This led to a bond between a father and child which has lasted for seventeen years.  The truth is one day I will place her hand into the hand of her future husband.  

The span between her childhood and adulthood gives her dad many opportunities to speak about the wonderful things God has done in my life.  These are not fables or bible stories of people she does not know.  These are eyewitness accounts of things which occurred in the thirty-six years since I received Christ as Lord.  

The Purpose Of A Testimony

If called to give a testimony in a court of law, I report facts as I see them.  I might be challenged by an attorney testing if I truly believe what I have seen. 

An eyewitness' testimony is the simple recitation of facts given in evidence.  They may not be as walking on water or feeding five-thousands with a few fishes and loaves.  These are the chronicles of God's leadership to get a college degree or someone reminding me to listen to God's call to the ministry.  It was God's leading to help smaller churches in West Virginia.  It was God's provision of a ministry position with benefits because Vicki might never return to work after surgery. These factual events occurred because of God's Providence.   

The Testimony of a Paren

As a parent, I find my most important role is telling the wondrous things God has done in my life.  Each time I give a testimony, she may question the truthfulness of the testimony.  How did God lead me into the ministry? Why did God put you into the ministry? These any many more.  However, the questions give me the chance to reinforce the message. 

Why is Disciplesip a Process

The Making of a Disciple

A sermon I preached years ago deals with the fear and doubt of the disciples the night of the Resurrection.  Ten disciples are gathered in a locked room while Thomas is missing. Fear immobilized the men and may be making plans to escape the city. Suddenly the power of the Resurrection is seen when Jesus appears in their midst.  If the power of the Resurrection brought Jesus to life, why is becoming a disciple a hard and lengthy process? 

Roadblocks to Discipleship

Self-Reliance

One reason is self-reliance. Names like J. Paul Getty and Rockefeller fill history books about their impact on the industrial age of America.  These men and many more came from poverty and into wealth. These self-made men are known for their success and can be an icon for people today.  The Kingdom of God does not function or glorified in this type of individual.  Jesus himself could only do what the Father showed him. If disciples are made complete at the new birth then it might be a tendency to believe everything this "super-disciple" did was because of his personal efforts.

Lone Ranger Disciple

The church was initiated at Pentecost when peoples of various tongues, tribes, and cultures heard the Word of God and believed.  What God did at the Tower of Babel by dividing mankind in languages would now become the most incredible witness of the church.  The church is made of individuals from around the world with different backgrounds, cultures, and languages but one common purpose- "Go and make disciples!"  They are blessed and gifted for the purpose of ministry and each member is interdependent upon another to accomplish this Commission.  No Lone Ranger disciples!

Relational Discipleship

In my life as a Christian, I have many ups and downs while walking with the Lord.  I realized God knew I would stumble so He would be there to make sure I never fell completely.  In this, I can celebrate because His Word says there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. I have the record of my stumbles so the victory is not mine. God is good because he allows me to share His joy. I share Christ's love and his message of reconciliation and I have the chance to see someone taken out of the Enemy's hands and never lost again.  Jesus told his disciples they would do greater works than he did.  When he raised Lazarus from the grave there would come a time when Lazarus would eventually die.  When believers work together to bring the light of Christ to people--they literally take part in raising someone dead in their sins and now alive in Christ.  How much joy is that?

The apostle John uses the word believe as a verb in his Gospel.  John refers to belief as taking faith and putting it into action.  Thomas doubted and when Jesus came to him, he said, "Stop being an unbeliever and become a believer!"  Why would Jesus say this to a man who was a loyal disciple?  The others had continually told Thomas of the resurrection, but Thomas would absolutely not believe unless he could see and touch the wounds of his Lord.  He had seen the miracles but now he was full of doubt.  John's idea on miracles can lead someone to faith but are insufficient for continual faith--such as Thomas.  To John, belief/believing was to take hold of faith, trusting the Living Word of God, accepting Jesus as the full revelation of God on earth and accepting his commission to go and make disciples.  It wasn't the miracles but the written word which shows Jesus as Messiah, Lord, and God.

Why Time

Discipleship takes time because Jesus is working to remove the impurities of my life by the crucible of time, pressure and heat.  A lump of black coal under heat, pressure, and time eventually becomes a diamond.  But don't stop there- a diamond must have the facets chipped away and polished to reach its pure luster and value.  So, don't worry!  He looking at the finished product--you reflecting the light of Christ in the world. 

Has Anyone Noticed Job Titles Have Changed?

Has Anyone Noticed Job Titles Have Changed? http://mentzersmoment.blogspot.com/2011/04/has-anyone-noticed-job-titles-have.html

Do You Hate Dirty Windows?

Do you hate dirty car windows as much as I do?  Traveling around as a chaplain I find dirty windows get on my final nerve.  There have been times I have pulled over in a parking lot to clean the streaks, filth, or road grime which accumulated on my windows.  When sunlight hits the window at just the right angle it adds to the glare and distorts my vision further.  During the winters we struggle with a brine solution the road departments place down to help with clearing snowy roads. It gets splashed on your windows from the vehicles in front and you go through gallons of washer fluid keeping the windows clear.  I have tried a myriad of cleaners and solutions to get them as clean as possible.  I have used baking soda or soda pop to neutralize the road acids. I have made solutions of ammonia, vinegar, Dawn and newspapers to get them clean.  Of course, I have purchased the stand-by Windex or other glass cleaners, but still the windows remain streaked.  Nothing I do gets them completely clean!

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is
darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:22-23 NIV)

Jesus sandwiches this passage amid his teaching on the Mount.  The listeners are common people with the common concerns of daily life. Food, shelter, clothing are just some of the problems on their minds.  Now fast forward two-thousand years and our needs have not changed much.  We strive just like those Jesus taught for these and even more and as we strive for more and more our eyes become cloudy.  Our eyesight changes from healthy to unhealthy as we changed the direction of our eyes.  It becomes a slippery slope when the peace promised by the angel over Bethlehem disappears as we seek things and not Him. Jesus asked those to consider the darkness which comes from unhealthy eyes.  In John 1:5 NIV, John tells us that God is light and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.  As our eyes become unhealthy, what happens to our view of God?  Our thoughts of God, faith, Jesus, church become clouded from our dirty eyes.  The distortion increases until we can no longer see clearly.  Peace is replaced with strife, confusion, and dismay as the things we seek cannot fill the hole in our souls like God did. The solution to the problem of our streak-filled windows (eyes)--the right cleaning solution--pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, just like others who have a pure heart.   

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:20-22 NIV)

We need to pull over, stop and change directions! We may also need to change posture from standing to kneeling as we turn back to HIM.   Focus upon what God has called us for--to live unparalleled lives in him.  He has called the weak things of this world to glorify him by actions, words, and worship.  The things which distort our vision maybe the very things we need.  But, do we need God more?

The Disease of ALS

I have learned many medical terms in five years with hospice.  Many times the nurses would see my puzzled look during Inter-Disciplinary Group meetings and would tell me what words like dyspnea and hypovolemia (shortness of breath and reduction of blood or fluids) meant.  In the service to people coming onto hospice, there are multiple questions concerning the patient's past medical history and certain standards which must be met before admission.  There is always a sadness for us if they do not met those standards because it is also obvious they need help and there is nothing we can do because of Medicare.

The disease of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is no different and the Glad Notes our nurses use are three pages of in-depth standards which the patient must meet.  I have had two people within my extended family who both suffered from this terrible disease.  One of them, Pop, was like my father after my dad passed away.  When Vicki and I asked Pop and Granny to substitute for my parents at our wedding, they lovingly agreed to the part.  Pop took his role very seriously because on the eve of our wedding, at forty-three years of age, Pop began to give me a father to son talk about marriage.  One of his wise proverbs was to never complain or offer assistance about my wife's cooking.  He said to eat everything she makes with a smile.  The second proverb dealt with having an argument with my beloved.  He told me he and Granny had never had a fight.  I told him he was either a saint of the world's biggest liar.  He never told me how he did it, but after his death from ALS, I told that story at the graveside committal.  The audience laughed but Granny told me later it was true.  Whenever she was ready for a fight, Pop left the area until she calmed down.  I sure wish he had said that part fifteen years earlier.

It took two years of Pop having unknown symptoms before I got the call from Granny, "Steve, Pop has ALS!" I heard the fear and uncertainty in her voice.  You see Granny and Pop dated only 26 days before they got married and now over sixty years of marriage faced a certain and final conclusion.  I asked Granny if they had suggested hospice and she said they would be coming in soon. Over the next several months I could hear the decline in Pop's voice.  However, his Tennessee humor never faded.  When I got the final call, I wept and cursed the disease which took away my Pop.

Today, as I write this blog, there are tears in my eyes for Pop and all the Pops, Toms, Gregs (Vicki's uncle) and others who are affected by this disease.  But the fight and research against this disease which has affected me personally needs your financial support.  Please give.  Just $2 is all we are asking.  Thanks.

Is Your Eye on the Storm?

The age old question for those who follow after God and his Son is: "Why do evil people thrive and succeed and the righteous seem to suffer?"  As a new believer in my twenties, I found Psalm 37:4 and it told me to delight in God and he would give me the desires of my heart.  But in the verses preceding this one it says:

Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

How does a believer trust in the Lord and the good living as secure people in a crooked and perverse world?  As I was driving and praying on Sunday I noticed on the left side of the highway as I headed north a bunch of dark storm clouds approaching over the Ohio hills.  On the right side of my car over the state of West Virginia, a blue and cloudless sky. It was if God was reminding me like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress by  John Bunyon, we travel the same road towards the Celestial City we call Heaven.  Like Christian, when we get our eyes on different circumstances and evil people, we lead our selves farther away from God.  The answer is knowing where to put my eyes.  The God who stirs up the whirlwind is the one who sends the gentle breeze soothing a sweat-filled brow.  The God who sends the tumult of a storm is the God sending gentle rain awaking sleeping plants from their winter's nap. 

If we focus upon the actions, activities, and successes of those who flaunt God's reign, our attitude becomes angry, bitter, and maybe even jealous of their success.  We wonder why God allows them to prosper and the righteous to suffer.  In doing this, we forget what verse three says:  Trust, Do, Live and Enjoy!!! Those who practice evil will dry up like the spring grasses of Israel hit by the dry winds which shrivel up the grass and flowers.  If we trust in his provisioning, does it REALLY matter what the evil person gains?  If we are doing good for the purpose of the Kingdom, should it PREVENT our joy by continuing to follow his plans?  If we are envious of the successes of evil ones, are really ENJOYING the life he has for me?

Thirty years ago my desire was to be the only Mentzer family member to graduate college.  I had no awareness of His plans for me.  If I had just kept my eyes on the financial rewards of the unbelievers around me, I would never know the joy of serving him.  My desires have changed from personal desires to what he desires.  I am not going to worry about the storm clouds which will come because I am trusting in the one who controls it all. 

THIS IS A REPOST OF A POST FROM TWO YEARS AGO.  I WAS TOLD A PORTION OF THIS WOULD BE IN A MEMORY BOOK FOR CAMP COWEN'S 70 YEARS OF PROVIDING CHRISTIAN CAMPING IN WEST VIRGINIA.  TO DATE IT IS MY MOST READ BLOG POST.

In John Denver's ode to country living, Country Roads, it speaks of West Virginia life and the beauty of its people. Yesterday we drove our daughter, Stefani, to just such a place. Sandwiched between the mountains of West Virginia and the Birch River is a place many in the state would consider "all most heaven" and for good reason. Camp Cowen is both rustic and beautiful with the cabins covered by a canopy of sixty, eighty and hundred foot trees that may have been around when West Viirginia became a state. As I watched the families bringing their children, I began to notice something in the faces of the adults. They looked around with growing smiles and longing looks as if they had come home. I was fascinated by the Cowen mystique since I had never gone to church camp as a child. Adults joined in with the children and they played bean bag toss. Others greeted other adults as long ago relationship of a by-gone day.

I asked Rob Ely, Director of Discipleship, Camping and Youth about this. Though this title is well deserved for the years of work he had given to Cowen and youth across the state, he is as much a kid as his charges for the week. When he smiles, it is infectious and inviting. Dick Clark has been called the eternal teenager but they have never met Rob Ely. While most ministers his age are settling into pastorates, he is still running around the camp in shorts, shirt and sneakers. As he greets the children who have come back year after year, Rob calls them by name. While the title is listed on the web page for the camp, words like coach, friend, encourager and lover of God are written across his countenance. When asked if any of the adults volunteering this week had once been children here, he advised me many had and said they were "giving back".

Susie, this week's director also added she found Christ here as a child and coming back yearly she developed relationship with people across the state who hold her in Christian accountability to the ideal of Cowen and prayed for her as well for this week. She further added that as she enters the gates into Cowen she feels the presence of God. Our daughter's counselers greeted each child in the cabin, helped them get settled and began learning their names. One was Emily, a married twenty-one year old college student at Concord who is seeking to enter medical school. She left her husband for the week to serve with little girls because she too had found Christ here and over the years knew this was a place of ministry for her.

We left for Cowen yesterday morning at 8 AM and returned from a four hundred mile plus trek about 10 PM. Thinking about this blogpost all the way home I realized the "giving back" was not out of obligation or debt but a profound commitment to share the same Chriist with other children just as it had happened to them. For the parents who journed long and for churches who make this a priority, the "giving back" may one day bear much fruit. My good friend Tom Smell has a picture of him when he was a few months old in the arms of a missionary at Camp Cowen, and if it pays off for Stefani as it has done for Tom, Susie, Emily, Rob and unknown thousands of people who have entered the gates of Cowen, then we have shown her a bit of "almost heaven".

Gossip's Purchase Price

There’s nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth. Proverbs 18:8 (CEV)

 

The term gossip monger is an interesting word for participants of gossip.  Gossip is generally "rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature" causing damage or irreparable harm to a person's reputation. It is also used of someone who promotes something undesirable. A monger is a person who deals in a specific commodity--such as a fish monger.  The root for the term monger comes from the Latin for a dealer in slaves.  A gossip monger could be defined as a person dealing in gossip who enslaves a person by words which can never be silenced.  Gossip tends to spread like a fire  growing in size and intensity and eventually exceeds the original bit of rumor.  What may have been truth now becomes even more sensational and like the Internet, once it is out there, it is out there.  So if someone trades in gossip, what are the costs?

 A Transgression to the Law of Love.  Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan and the lengths he went to help an injured Jew.  This parable offended the religious leaders because Samaritans were half-breed Jews who only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament and did not worship in Jerusalem.  They were such a nice subject of gossip but Jesus used this man to show his disciples everyone is a neighbor and the Law of Love extends to all.  In a transgression of the law the person has crossed beyond the boundaries established by God. How can we say we love our neighbor when by our words or participation we enslave them!

  A Damage Reputation: Theirs and Yours.  Gossip strikes at the image of the person and its destructiveness relates to the idea of condemnation.  Those who have pronounced judgment upon the victim have tried, convicted and sentenced a person to humiliation, shame, guilt, and sorrow.  Sounds like a heavy judicial pronouncement to me.  However, the damage to your reputation is equally damaging.  God's word in Romans 1 links a gossip to such evil behaviors as evil, greed, strife, malice, slanderers, and they have no mercy or love.  The saying, "if they gossip to you they will gossip about you" makes you an untrustworthy person and even God's word says this.  In  Proverbs 11 says a "gossip betrays a confidence but a trustworthy person keeps a secret." 

So the next time someone tries to offer you a tasty morsel of gossip, try this:

"No thanks.  I am trying to live a better life for Jesus."  And they may say something like this: "What, are you trying to be holier-than-thou!" (By saying no you are making them aware of their failings.)  You can calmly says, "No, I am not trying to be a holier-than-thou.  I am trying to as holy as HIM!"  "Would you like to join me?"

 

What Springs From You James 3:1-12

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. James 3:9-10

Growing up in Orlando, my dad’s company had a yearly picnic at Altamonte Springs.  Hundreds of men, women, and children assembled under the huge pavilion rented for the Bendex Corporation.  While the adults spent most of the time there, down the road was the object of a kid’s desire: the springs.  The water came from an underground aquifer and the temperature was a brisk 60 plus degrees.  On the sunny Orlando days, sliding down the water slide and landing in the cold water was so refreshing.  It was something to dream about year after year. 

James begins the discussion by addressing first those people of the church who had great influence and their speech could cause others to stumble.  In addressing those teachers to the church, he reminded them they face a stricter judgment.  While he does use the word for judgment, it is not the one which speaks of God’s final judgment.  It was understood God holds those who teach falsely leading others astray responsible and here James includes the rest of the congregation.   While some had sought the position within the church, his warning suggests their desire to teach had other motives than teaching the accepted teaching of Christ and the Apostles.  

There were Jewish Christians teaching believers had to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic Law in addition to following Christ.  There were others who believed such false teaching which denied the virgin birth, or the full humanity of Jesus.  They believed flesh was sinful and evil; God could not be flesh.  So the speech of these teachers was leading others to stumble.  James tells us that we all have a moral failure in one way or the other. He tells the church if such a person could be found who bridled the tongue; he would be complete or perfect controlling the rest of his body.   We can remember is James 1:19 he warned the believers to be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger. 

James discusses the effectiveness of the uncontrolled tongue.  Once untamed horses are trained to the bit, it will follow the direction of the rider as he pulls on the bit.  In the times of the Bible, there were large ships carrying a 1,000 passengers and cargo.  Even these large ships would still be tossed about by the fierce storms, such as the one which shipwrecked Paul.  In the face of such fierce storms, the small rudder at the rear of the ship set the course.  While you could not see the wind, it was effective and destructive.  Likewise the tongue, a small member of the human body and can be deadly. This tongue makes great boasts—not the individual.  The boasts are lofty of the individual’s abilities and means to “lift up the neck”.  The tongue is seen as a fire which starts so small and yet it kindles up and destroys anything in its path. The tongue is established as a world of evil—injustice, wickedness, and wrong-doing.  In this world, the tongue then defiles the rest of the body by its actions.  The tongue in the Old Testament is deceitful, the seat of sinning, mischief and vanity.

It is in the book of Psalms we start to see the relationship of the tongue to the inner nature of man.  The unbridled tongue sets the course of one’s life.  It is set afire by Gehenna, which from the history of Israel held much shame. Here children were sacrificed to pagan gods and was declare declared unclean.  Jesus used this place, which now was the city of Jerusalem’s garbage dump which continually burned to refuse from the city, as a reference for the eternal fires of hell.  This tongue of hell cannot be restrained.  It is an evil which is full of poison—like that of a viper.  It destroyed the victim from the inside out—bringing death. 

The last example seemingly is the most destructive—both to the offender/and the offended.  James begins describing the speech within the church.  He calls them brothers and speaks of the idea of praising God and cursing man.  The words he used describe action which is ongoing in his own church.  What the tongue is doing in the church is causing the destruction of other Christians. The highest use of the tongue is in the proclamation, adoration, and glorifying of God and Father.  James usage of the term God and Father may make the following part of the sentence even more destructive because not only has mankind been made in the image of God, but fellow worshipers are reborn in the image of God by faith in Christ.

As Jesus taught, what comes out of the mouth is a measure of the heart, James reminds these brothers the double tongued speech of praising God and cursing of brothers is wrong and must be stopped. The metaphor he used describes completely the speech which praises God and curses man—it is bitter.  Salt water added to sweet water makes the sweet water unusable; just as worship of praise for God mixed with the abuses to his creation makes worship-speech unusable.

Application

Stumbling Speech  But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other! Galatians 5:15  In a book recently given to me, Three Simple Rules, A Wesleyan Way of Life, by Rueben P. Job, he describes the first rule, DO NO HARM!  In choosing to do no harm, my speech will not cause a brother or sister to stumble.

Pausing and thinking before I speak and take the time to discern what if anything should be said.

a.       Honor the other person as a child of God and not harm them with my speech.

b.      End gossip/speak harshly about someone I may have a conflict with.

Deadly Speech   Do you love life; do you relish the chance to enjoy good things? Then you must keep your tongue from evil and keep your lips from speaking lies! Turn away from evil! Do good! Seek peace and go after it! Psalm 34:12-14

The next step in knowing what springs from you is to take an active stance against deadly speech.

a.       Speaking falsely can happen in two ways: one is the intentional lie and the other is not completely honest with the facts.

b.      Take the action to literally turn away from evil and to do good. 

c.       Do whatever is needed to maintain peace.

Destructive Speech  Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.  As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.  

Proverbs 26:20-22

I will seek to live in peace with my brother or sister who has been made in image of God.

a.  I choose to stop the continuation of a matter by not being the means of transmission.

b.  I choose to stop being the kindling which creates a fire which destroys.

 

Why All These Troubles James 12-18

All of us at one time or another has taken a test.  It was either one given by a teacher or in preparation for entrance into college, graduate school or higher.  At times, we may have studied days in advance to pass the test; others may have only needed the night before.  Then there are times when we didn’t get prepared and may have done poorly then complain about the test or the teacher when it was in us to pass it.  James is talking about another test—one which comes to the believer and he tells them these tests can produce great joy when we pass God’s test.

James faced a growing problem for the Jewish believers.  A growing sentiment of Jews wanted to rebel against Rome.  The Zealots would use force against Rome with its legions.  He was being pressured to forgo his Christian convictions and take part in this rebellion but James would not and it would end in his death, being thrown from the pinnacle of the Jerusalem temple and then clubbed to death.  In the midst of trials (which come from those outside) and temptations (which are internal), James states the believer should be filled with Joy.  Jesus told believers they would be blessed if they resisted the persecution for his namesake.   These tests are used by God to develop in us endurance.  The KJV calls it patience, but it is not a passive word.  The building-up of endurance through trials/temptations brings forth faithfulness, obedience, and confidence.  These three qualities make up the active word—endurance.

Believers facing tests might become angry or bitter, but James says they produce joy knowing God is actively involved in the life of the believer.  Perfection is when the person has matured into a perfect and complete relationship with God.  This perfection develops the believer in qualities and skills for the glory of God.  This perfection develops so the believer lacks nothing in his life.
Endurance is present when the believer stands on his feet and winning against these tests.  James admission of those lacking wisdom shows they have not yet reached that level of faith, reminding God does not rebuke nor condemn the believer who asks for wisdom.  Wisdom in the Old Testament is always associated with godliness allowing the believer to avoid the paths of wickedness and instead live a life of righteousness. To gain this wisdom, the believer must reject the worldly wisdom God thinks is folly or funny.  Therefore God uses these tests to nurture and prepare the believer to meet them in victory.

James addresses the way man gains this wisdom.  It must be done in faith.  Faith is not a mental exercise or based upon a creed but it is practiced before God.  Faith is both evidence and a substance according to Hebrews.  It is living out your faith, publically without shame.   James is a perfect picture.  Once, as Jesus half-brother, he rejected the faith.  It would be after the resurrection he would believe, eventually becoming head of the church in Jerusalem.  Wisdom helps the believer to see trials and temptations for what they are: an application of faith which helps us to overcome the trial/temptation.  Each person is under the control of someone—whether it is God or the Enemy, or self.  The person James calls “that man” is tossed like a wave because he has not committed himself fully in faith. The term is “two-souls” because the Jews thought the heart was the location of the soul.  “That man” would move from one opinion to another—God can do it/will God do it/no God wouldn’t do it. “That man” is unstable.  He is restless in all areas of his life: family life; business life; social life; and spiritual life.  In Mark 9, a man tells Jesus “I believe, help my unbelief!”  This man is not unstable.  He is asking for more wisdom and he would receive it, while the unstable person will not get it.  Peter though is the perfect picture.  Asked to walk on the water, he takes his eyes off of Jesus and looks at the storm-tossed waves and begins to sink.

The one who asks and receives is being documented as he faces the trials, asking for wisdom if he needs, and continues on in endurance. This word is the testing of precious metals/coins for their authenticity.  The more impurities are removed, or less mixed with other metals, the number of karats increases till you come to 24K gold.  A person is authenticated in the acceptance of his condition. Over two-thirds of the Roman Empire where considered slaves.  This person should take glory that if the world calls him a slave, God has raised him up.  The rich person, who Jesus said was almost impossible for him to enter into the Kingdom, perhaps has been led by God to a poverty of the spirit which brought him to Jesus.  The only person who could determine authenticity is the one who did the testing.  Since God determines what is authentic he gives to the one who has endured trials and resisted temptations a crown.  This is not the gold crown of a king.  It is the laurel wreath an athlete would receive for being victorious.

We see a comparison between the one lead away by his desires and the one who endures.  The one who complains God tempts him does not understand the purpose of trials.  He is taken away by his own desires--words used in hunting and fishing.  The person is lured away and trapped by his desires.  Blaming God is the process for the sinful man--Adam blamed God for giving him Eve, who brought him the fruit; Adam did not accept his own guilt. Temptation is seen in life: lust—birth—maturity—death. As sin grows, it brings forth spiritual or physical death. Just as the sinful man brings forth death, God brings forth eternal life.  God gives good and perfect gifts to the one who is maturing.  Good gifts are used for good works and Perfect gifts are internal: kindness, love, etc.       Lastly, he by his own will bring forth salvation.  So, finally, we see two wills: the will of man which leads him astray, trapped, producing more and more sin which leads to death—or the will of God which tests us to perfection and eternal life.

APPLICATION

1.       Trials Develop the Believer

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

a.       We learn joy as we develop steadfastness

b.      We learn wisdom as we develop faith

c.       We learn single-mindedness as we develop a firm conviction

2.       Trials Authenticate the Believer

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God Philippians 1:9-11

a.       A blessed believer has endured temptations

b.      A blessed believer has been authenticated

c.       A blessed believer is rewarded

3.       Trials Reward the Believer

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

a.       God loves giving Good gifts

b.      God loves giving Perfect gifts

c.       God loves to give Salvation

Hospice Care Introduction Video - YouTube

Hospice Care Introduction Video - YouTube

The Fear of Disappointing God

When I was a child I never could seem to "get it right" with everything my parents expected.  My room was not clean enough.  Grades were not good enough.  I could have chosen better friends.  I just never seemed to get it right and to this day, I sometimes can still be fearful of other's expectations.  We buy a gadget and expect it to work as promised by the manufacturer and get angry when it fails our expectation.  Brides may expect their new husbands to act like their dads did and face disappointments when they fail.  A mother-in-law may expect her son's new wife to cook, clean, and tend to babies and may be angry when she chooses to work outside of the home. 


But, does God have an expectation of us?  Can we disappoint him when we fail him?  Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good? Will he never smile again? Is his love worn threadbare? Has his salvation promise burned out? Has God forgotten his manners? Has he angrily stalked off and left us? "Just my luck," I said. "The High God goes out of business just the moment I need him." (The Message Psalm 77: 7-10)

 
The human part of us may feel we can disappoint God, but the psalmist continues his song with the rest:

Once again I'll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts. (The Message Psalm 77:11-12)

 
The action of God's love must be without exception for it to be selfless love.  We can be disappointed by others' actions, but it usually is about me.  These are my expectations of you-especially if your failures reflect upon me.  Parents may be disappointed by a child's failings, but not God.  Couples may be disappointed by each other, but not God.  He knew I would fail him, but he still chooses to love me.  He knew I would break his laws, but he still chooses to redeem me.  He knew I would fail to offer mercy to others, and yet he still offers it to me each day. I can continually look to the wonderful things he has done for me as a reminder that he does not get disappointed in me. 

The Fear of a New Direction

When I was a young boy in Orlando, we would build forts in the woods beyond our home.  Of course, if you were part of the gang, you knew the pitfalls and traps we laid out for those who would dare trespass into our lair.  We had sticker bushes tied back so if you walked down the path and tripped the string, you got brushed with sharp points.  We dug holes and filled them with the stuff in the backyard if you owned a dog (no further picture needs to be shown) and sharp sticks in them as well.  It is amazing I grew up to be a minister!  However, if you knew the path, these would be no problem. We know the stories of men who would rather drive around for hours instead of stopping and asking for directions.  We also know the joke that heaven will have less men than women because most men would not stop and ask directions to heaven.  I even argue with my GPS on the dash of my car, resisting its instructions and tempted to toss it out the window. 

We all have expectations and plans for how we expect our life to go.  We plan our weddings, college, and career spanning decades with the plan to retire to sunny Florida.  But things sometimes get in the way.  Children, sickness, financial woes, and business failures can cause us to have to re-direct our plans and courses. 


In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9 NIV


Do we fear the different direction which God has determined?  Are we like the Christian who professes to God he would go anywhere he commands and then gives a laundry lists of places he does NOT want to go?  At first it would seem cruel for God to place in our paths hardships and events which challenge our life plans.  God has a greater purpose and if we trust him and not fear his decisions we might find ourselves doing things which would seem impossible.  My goal from college was to complete graduate school and work to earn the designation of CHA, or certified hotel administrator.  I would travel the world and manage some great hotels.  And then God showed up one year after college and I knew I needed to be doing something for him. 

The fear of God changing my plans kept me arguing with him for three years.  In four weeks I will have the chance to do something I never thought possible--pray before the West Virginia Senate.  Fear has a way of keeping us from great opportunities.  Heroism is not about extraordinary men and women doing heroic things but ordinary men and women doing their best in the face of great obstacles. 


Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Do I Really Matter--The Fear of Insignificance

When I was in high school I pledged for a club called Civitan.  Civitan was THE club at Oak Ridge High School and our pledge class had nearly thirty pledges which eclipsed most of the other service clubs entire roster.  We were a service organization to help our school community and the surrounding area around Oak Ridge.  For a kid who felt like a fly on the wall, if I got into Civitan I would be considered one of the "ins" instead of the "outs".  One of the activities we needed to do to show our commitment to the club was to sell Krispy Kreme donuts and I thought if I sold a bunch they would think I would be an asset to the group.  I went out the weekend before and sold sixty dozen donuts.  When I turned my order in, the club president asked who sold the sixty donuts and I proudly raised my hand.  When pledge time was over, I got my gold and blue Civitan pin and now I had gained significance.  But this feeling did not last very long because others did not think I was so significant.  My gold pin didn't mean much to parents, teachers, and other kids.  To them, I was still Steve. 

In the 1 Corinthians 12:14 passage in The Message, they use the word significant to describe how each member of the body of Christ is important.  In fact Paul said God has arranged each part of the body of Christ exactly as he chooses.  I am not significant because I have a certain role/responsibility as a pastor/chaplain, but I am significant because I am an equal part of the entire body of Christ in its creation.  John says to us who have believed:

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12 and 13 (NIV)

By God's personal will, he has "born" me and I am his.  I really do matter to him as a loving father to his child. 

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:30-32 (NIV)

Even though I have significantly less hair than in high school, I know God does care for me--a matter of significant importance to him.  You see, God pledged his Son for my redemption and Jesus paid the cost which is significantly more than a box of donuts. 

Fear of New Things

In a couple of day we will begin a journey going through the Max Lucado book, Fearless.  Dealing with a family member the other day discussing the physical decline of her mother, I used the very lesson we will discuss this Thurday: finding the peace of Christ in the midst of the storm.  I hope we all don't expect a storm in church this week, but we may have begun to sense a fear of things like, "What if I don't fit in?" or "What happens if I break down and cry in front of others?" or "What if they don't like me?"

Twenty-nine years ago this August I was facing the same doubts and fear.  I was a twenty-seven year old hitch-hiking to Rhode Island to start college for the first time.  All I had were two duffle bags with clothes and about twenty dollars in my pocket.  I got dropped off on I-95 in the Bronx and the houses over the side of the highway were like those barns Lucado speaks about in Chapter 1.  I asked God for another ride and sat there for three more hours watching the sun sink toward the western sky and soon coming darkness.  I began to pray, "Lord, Send me a Christian!  Someone who lets me know I am here because you want me here and not of my own accord."  Shortly someone pulled over and picked me up and took me to Stanford, CT.  I stuck out my thumb and a car pulls up--with a large Bible on the front seat and Christian material in the back--Jay Orvis, who brought foreign Christians to study in the United States.  He took me home and fed me after introducing me to his family and a couple from Israel.  Amazed?  So was I!

If you starting to wonder about the class-STOP.  Don't let fear stop you from being fearless.  Pray for God to impact you these next ten weeks like he did for me so long ago.  The end of the story is this--if I had not gotten a Bachelor's degree then, I could not have entered seminary years later when God called me out of the hotel industry into vocational ministry.  I had learned to trust God more by that time but it was still a struggle leaving. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Love Conquers Death

As I watched the end of a marriage yesterday it was not in a courtroom being dissolved by a judge but death. This loving couple faced the greatest enemy to marriage as they had faced years of struggles--together hand in hand. In the midst of dying there was compassion, care, concern and love. They built their love like they built their home--piece by piece and without debt. Each new window they replaced sealed the home from the cold yet it warmed their hearts as an accomplishment shared. Each new nail hammered into place was another anchor as two worked and became one flesh. Their joint faith became the picture which years later would have their daughter to become a lay-minister. And as the hour approached, the three of them shared one last bed together, arm in arm, united by their love.



Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-15

Man fears death but it was the Love of God made flesh which defeats this fear. Anyone who does not know the Lord is in a prison of their own making. Death is the warden which anchors man. He struggles against its oncoming and the cosmetic industry rakes in billions of dollars from those seeking to hide the onset of aging.

Though they now be apart for a short season, by faith they can say:

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Darkness--Our Foe!

As I sat this morning in the small glow from our Christmas village soon to be taken down for another year, the balance of our apartment was dark.  The pictures of our daughter and the Christian decor were covered by this heavy darkness and the light from my laptop screen seemed brighter because the darkness was complete.  As it has happened every day since creation, God brought forth the sun for light to our eyes and warmth to our day.  As a child, I ran from the darkened halls of my parent's house when I would get dressed for bed. Forgetting to say good night, I would race through the dark tunneled hallway to the living room and light.  I could have turned on the switch by my bedroom, but the fear of the darkness removed reason from a six year old.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  (John 3:19-20 NIV)

Has anyone ever seen a bar at nighttime with the lights turned up?  The answer is no.  Many of us remember the name, Studio 54.  This famous New York disco of the 70's and 80's was famous for
the "beautiful" people hand selected to enter into the world of drugs, drink, and debauchery.  Within the walls of Studio 54, the creators of the venue walked in darkness stealing millions of dollars and eventually spending time in prison for their crime.  Man loves the darkness because he thinks he can hide his deeds.  As children of God we need to act like children: we need to run from the darkness toward the light.  In the light there is my heavenly DAD where there is no darkness.  Not a bad place to be for a child afraid of the dark. 

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. (1 John 1:5-6 NIV)

The Defeat Of Fear!

In Isaiah 6 he records a vision of the heavenly court and the praise and adoration which was
being given to God. This soon turns to a personal fear because of two things: his speech and the speech of his people. In The Message of Isaiah 6, we read:   Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out."And then I heard the voice of the Master: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"I spoke up, "I'll go. (The Message Isaiah 6)

In this passage we can see what a godly-fear does and what it produces in man. When faced with the high holiness of God we recognize the deficit in our lives. We were born into sin and continue in the life of sin with all of its destructive behaviors. Recognizing the fact like Isaiah that every word and deed we have ever done is tainted-even blasphemous (The Message Isaiah 6:1-8) brings redemption and justification. The payment of Christ's righteousness bring a new status as children of God and a different fear-awe of what God has done to us and for us. With this fear-awe, we become willing for service.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. (Luke 12:4-5 NIV)

There is another type of fear which reveals itself in such things as fear of success, failure, etc., and this type of fear immobilizes us. In my past I had such a fear of failure I either choose to do nothing or to strive so hard to cover all the bases failure was not an option. I feared what others might say if I failed and so I did not try. How did I overcome this? I chose to accept the fear-awe of God and not fear what others might say. This is not an arrogant thought but giving more credibility to God than man. I know I am his son by adoption and his outlook for me is eternal.

I Resolve ...

It would seem odd for a blog relating to New Year's Eve resolutions to come out three days later, but I figured by now a majority of those resolutions so resolutely made Saturday night no longer are valued or maybe on life-support.  Companies like Weight-Watchers, Jenny Craig, and gyms advertise around this time trying to gain business from those who resolve to lose weight or to join and gym.  Why is it most people wait to the beginning of a new year to make such resolutions?  Could it be the significance of beginning anew each January 1st gives people the motivation to make such resolutions?