Loving Service

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ                

Colossians 3:23-24

The Fourth of July reminds us that our country was founded on the way things ought to be.  Christian men and women, following their faith and applying it to all aspects of their lives, decided that once and for all there should be a place where people can live in freedom.  They modeled this society on the Christian ideals they were raised with and which was the driving force of their lives.  We rightly remember their achievement with fireworks and family celebrations.  But most of all, we must remember that this great country was founded on the freedom that God created for all of us.  The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.   Everything that comes after this declaration, all of our government and society, is based on this thought: God created us to live a certain way.

As Christians, we know that way.  In America, we can read about it in our bibles whenever and wherever we want.  Not all have that same luxury.  In some places in the world, it is a crime punishable by death to be a Christian.  Some things we can help change but others we can not.  We need to try to do our very best to make sure everyone knows about Christ.  We must live right, pray always, and share Christ in loving service to the Father who has given us everything.  Thankfully, because of those people a few hundred years ago, we have that opportunity here in this country.  While we give thanks for them, let’s remember that we are serving the living God above all else with everything we do.  Let’s let others see the freedom, joy, and love that God placed in our lives through Christ by the way we live our lives here and now in this great country.

Forgiveness

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:14-15

Do you ever find yourself saying, “Man, I just can't let what he did to me go...”?  I think we all have that someone who did something to us that we just can’t seem to forgive and forget.  For some of us, it may be many someones.  For others, it may be yourself, not being able to move past something you did or keep doing that you think is unforgivable.  I think it is just part of our nature to carry that resentment no matter how hard we try not to.  I confess that I still have have some things that some people did to me stuck in my brain and they can still make me upset.  And I also have some things that I find it hard to ask God for forgiveness for.  Have I truly forgiven them if that is the case? Have I truly forgiven myself?  I hate to say it but I don't think so if it keeps coming back.

Scripture often discusses forgiveness.  In fact, it is the central message of salvation:  God has forgiven our sins through the sacrifice of His son Jesus so that we might have eternal life.  So what is scriptural forgiveness?    Colossian 3:13 states, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”.   Forgiveness does not seem to come easy.  Our natural instincts seem to kick into self-preservation mode when we feel we are wronged and it doesn’t seem that we have an overabundance of mercy in these situations.  If we are to truly call ourselves Christians, forgiveness must be a choice we make motivated by our obedience to God and His desire for us to forgive.   Since forgiveness goes against our nature, we must forgive by faith so that we may “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).  It is God that finally determines justice so we must trust God in faith to do the work in us that needs to be done so that the forgiveness will be complete.  God states in scripture that He will respond to our desire to please Him when we choose to forgive (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 10:17, Psalm 103:12).  While we may not always understand or see it, He completes this work in His time until the work of forgiveness is done in our hearts.

Peter posed a question to Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22; “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”   We need to always be forgiving of ourselves and others no matter what we might feel otherwise.   Give your grievances to God and let Him do His work in you and you can’t go wrong.

Silence is Golden

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mark 1:35

We live in a very noisy world.  Our households, schools, and workplaces are filled with the whirring, buzzing, and murmuring of all the people and the multiple gadgets that are around us there.  Have you ever noticed how quiet it is when the power is out?  We have a lot of stuff around us that makes noise.  We buy ipods and MP3 players to strap to our bodies so we can always have our music. We buy video games and portable DVD players so we can be entertained whenever we want.  In silence, we close ourselves off from all that noise. In our modern world, total silence is extremely rare. In fact, what we today call quiet is really only a little less noise.  Have you ever tried to go a long time without talking?  It’s hard.  I find I start talking to myself, out loud.  I can’t help myself.

Scripture reveals Jesus often went off by himself or with a few of his disciples to think and pray.  His example is one we need to seek if we want to try to live our lives more like him.  However, for most of us wandering into the desert or up a mountain is not something we can easily do.   Fortunately, we don’t need to do that to practice solitude.  We need to find the time to be still in the context of the lives we’re living.  We need to find quiet interludes during the day to focus our minds on God.  For example, most people spend time alone driving in the car to work, or on the bus going to school, or running errands.  This is a great opportunity for silence and solitude if you just turn off the music and converse with God in prayer.  While you might initially be uncomfortable since it is so different from our usual world, you may find as you practice it more that it will bring the refreshment of God’s peace (Philippians 4:7).  We come into this peace by training with Jesus in silence and solitude.  Even if life is stressing us out, we can learn to be inwardly silent and go to that place where the Lord can calm our souls and fill us with a deep sense of well-being.  It just takes being quiet with God in your heart.

Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, said, “The purpose of silence and solitude is to be able to see and hear”.  We can more easily hear the Spirit speak to us when our heart is still and silent before the Lord than when we’re rushing about.  It can help us maintain our focus on God continually, to live conscious of God’s presence in each moment as we go about the activities of our day.  How awesome is it that God is always with us?  Let’s try to stop and be quiet and listen to His voice.

Leftovers

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5

We very often have leftovers from our meals.  We make too much food, or the kids don’t like it, or we end up just not being that hungry after all.  Whatever the case, there is still food left when we are done.  So we save it off to eat later.  Almost always, the food does not taste as good the second (or third) time around.   The texture is usually either tougher or mushier than when it was first served.  The joy of eating a meal is just not the same for me when it is leftovers.  My wife will say that there are some things that can be better as leftovers such as meatloaf sandwiches.  I am happy for her that she has found that but I just don’t like leftovers all that much.  She is welcome to all the leftover meatloaf!

You can find many discussions about this concept with regards to God.  But for some reason, the idea just sticks with me.  Perhaps it is the memory of that sigh I get when it’s leftover night.   It is just something I can completely relate to.   God asks us to give Him our very best all the time.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-38, “...‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.”  Notice that it does not say love God with your heart after you do some other things.  It does not say love God with all your heart a few times and not so much at others.   Love God with ALL your heart and ALL your soul and ALL your mind.  If you really  do that, you’re doing it all the time.  

Do you just say a two minute prayer while you're driving to work and tell yourself you pray daily?  Do you think about God during the sermon on Sunday but not that much other times?   Do you only read scripture during bible class or maybe in a daily devotional email?  These are leftovers and I am not sure this is what God is asking of us.  Loving God with everything you’ve got is obviously easier said than done.  God knows that.  But in His infinite grace, patience, and love, God sent us Jesus to help us through this life.  Jesus set the example and sacrificed Himself so that we might have forgiveness for the times when we serve God our leftovers.  Let’s help one another live more like Christ and serve God a feast with everything we do all the time.  God gives us the strength to do it; we just need the faith to do it.

Out of Control

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Mick Jagger once said, “It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back.”  The problem for most people is that second part.  We all have that urge to explore boundaries, to try those things which we know may not be the best choice for us.  As Paul wrote in Romans 7:15, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”  It is part of who we are because God designed us to think for ourselves and have the freedom to choose to do right or do wrong.  The hardest thing to do it seems is to recover and learn from those choices that lead us astray.  

So how do we keep ourselves from going so far astray that we can’t get back?  First and foremost, remember that God is always there with you.  “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  With God’s help and guidance, we can develop habits that will help us better decide what our true priorities are and say no to those other things and be content doing so.  These habits will give us a bigger yes burning inside, things like daily prayer, service to others, silence and solitude, and meditation on scripture.  They just need to be looked at from the viewpoint of the athlete.  Only through dedicated and repeated practice can an athlete attain the highest levels of achievement in their sport.  The same goes being a Christian.  If we practice these habits until they are second nature and we don't even need to think about them anymore, it can help us grow into a more complete and intimate relationship with God.

Many newer books on this topic focus on aggressive and bold transformations or whole life changes.  These sound awesome when you read them but in the end are hard to sustain in practice and seem to be a short term answer to a long term question.  While we set our ultimate desires on Heaven, we need to set our hearts and minds today on the path Christ forged for us and stay the course.  Stay positive and try to keep control of yourself but don’t get too hard on yourself when you slip.  We all slip, only Jesus was perfect.  If we help each other practice the habits God wants us to, we can together walk into Heaven one day with a smile on our face and gratitude and love in our hearts.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Gentleness

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

We have all at one time or another come across someone who tries to teach you something very loudly.  I know I have unfortunately been that person to someone else as well.  It could be about any topic, but politics and religion seem more than others to spark this tendency.  They become very animated as they speak, the volume increases, they interrupt often and use very forceful arguments.  You walk away in time and you may very well believe whatever it was that person was saying but even if you do, it is unlikely to stick because of the harshness of the delivery.   All you remember is the emotion.

As Christians, we need to be able to discuss the wonders and joys of living for God without resorting to this behavior.  We should be able to discuss that living a Christ centered life brings happiness in this life and eternal peace in the next in a gentle and persuasive fashion.  We need to inspire others to follow Christ and convince them of the truth found in God’s word without beating them on the head with the book.  Following Peter’s advice, “...in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15)

It’s easy for us to understand gentleness but easy to understand and easy to do are not the same thing.  We can be harsh in the way we talk to other people without even realizing it or meaning to.  Like everything else worth doing, gentleness is learned by practice.  And if we read about Jesus, we can learn how he did it.  Jesus wanted to help those who were hurting and in the end, His gentle strength was evident to all. And He is still giving mercy to everyone through us as His brothers and sisters.  We gently and patiently bear the burden of others and humbly try to help each other through this life because that is what He did.  If we tell others about that when we help them, not only will we grow by speaking the truth in love, but they may want to know Him more too!

Goodness and Mercy

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:16

When we do good, good things happen.  This is how God’s plan for us works as we read in Romans 8:28.  But some days it seems it is almost impossible to do this.  Everything may seem to line up against us and we get caught up in our own troubles and temptations.  But as Christians, we try to be more like Christ each day we live and doing good was the way Christ lived.  He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and was friendly to those whom the culture of the time considered unclean and unworthy.  Think of how much better this world could be if we truly and faithfully followed Christ’s example.

I often hear people say that you can go to Heaven if you just are basically a good person and treat other people well.  But then they also will ask why you are going out of your way to do good things for people, that you will get used and are a pushover.  But God asks us to do good to others in so many places and in so many ways in His word that we come to understand that goodness is His nature.  And since we are made in His image, it is in our nature as well.  We are to do good as much as it in us, even to our enemies, regardless of how they treat us in return (Luke 6:27-36, Romans 12:20).  He wants to do good in our community and help create a better world (Matthew 25:35-40).  He wants us to do good to one another so that we can all work together to further His glory (Galatians 6:2).  

There are so many ways to do good for other people.  We all have some talent that we can use to help others and we need to use them to the best of our ability.  God doesn’t ask us to solve all the world’s problems, He just asks us to do what we can and be an example to others.  “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).  You never know how practicing goodness to others is going to affect peoples lives but we can do our part to be a part of God’s plan.  Start today!