Due Season

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal 6:9).

In an agrarian society, where people live directly from the land by sowing and reaping, Paul's words make perfect sense and no explanation is needed.  They understood that there was a time to sow and separate time to reap.  They understood that in between the sowing and reaping came a period of time where cultivating what was planted was necessary for the crop to produce a harvest in the future.

In a post-industrial society like we live in today, we expect to stop by MacDonald's, talk in a box and have the food ready when we get to window.  We order a product from Amazon at night in our PJs and look for it to arrive to our door in 48 hours.  We can call Domino's and have a pizza delivered in 30 minutes.  We just aren't very keen on the idea of doing something today and then wait through a entire season of perhaps months or even years for results.

Paul's open-ended approach of "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people" (v. 10), waiting for positive results or real change to occur in another's life, or in the life of the church, is just foreign to our "once and done" mentality.

However, true change and lasting development requires time and timing.  There are seasons for planting and then there are seasons for reaping - the two do not occur simultaneously.  The fact that you put in your best effort today and see no results whatsoever is not particularly evidence of failure but likely the necessity of time to take root and develop.

You've tried hard, you've put in your best effort but you are seeing no results.  You want to give up, but don't.  Keep doing good, keep faithfully laying what you do and why you do it before the Lord.  At the proper time, if it is to be, God will make it grow (cf. 1 Cor 3:6).  Even if the results you had in mind do not come to fruition, "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Rom 8:28).  As my mother used to say, "good comes to them that wait."  Jus' Say'n.

Bearing Fruit

When I was a young Christian, I worked hard at "bearing fruit" as I had read the passages saying, "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt 3:10; Lk 3:9).  And I believed, based on what I read and was taught at the time, that bearing fruit was converting others to Christianity.

So, I had to be out knocking doors, confronting people with the Word, convincing them of what I believed and getting them to accept Christ in baptism.  If I accomplished that act and continued to accomplish that act, I was bearing fruit, otherwise I was destined to be cut down and thrown into the fires of hell.

Problem: Where is grace in all that?  And, does my salvation really depend on the decision of others to embrace my faith and convert to Christianity?  Really?  To be saved I have to be able to change others?  In other words, I have to earn my salvation by producing replicas of myself (bearing fruit)?

No!  For two reasons: 1.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works..." (Eph 2:8-9).  2. Fruit bearing is not something done external of the tree, it is something that is done coming from within and as a part of the tree itself.  Listen to the words of Paul: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal 5:22-23).

Fruit bearing is being is reproducing the seed-bearing aspects of the tree.  When that it done and that seed falls into fertile ground, it will take root and grow.  But the fruit bearing is separate and apart from the growth of another plant.  I believe that will happen as we live out a Spirit-filled life but producing another Christian is not the point, being changed by the presence of the Spirit, by grace is the point.  Jus' Say'n.

The Knock

I don't generally knock on my own door.  Normally, I just walk in as I have the key and the code to open the doors.  However, the other day, when I parked in our garage, I found the door locked and I was without a key to that door, so I knocked.  Fortunately, my wife heard my knocking and opened the door so I could come in for supper.

Jesus faces this same situation where he stands at the door of his own house, the church, and has to gain entry by knocking: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, they with me" (Rev 3:20).

Many would object saying that he is at the door of sinners, not the church.  I would counter by saying that he is knocking at the door of sinners in the church.  I know this to be true because the Book of Revelation was written for and sent to "the seven churches in the province of Asia" (1:4).

Could he be knocking on the door of your church?  Could you be one of the sinners within whose door is locked against him?  Are your eyes fully set upon Jesus?  Is your heart fully open to him?  Or have you lost focus, has your heart become calloused, have you "forsaken the love you had at first?" (2:4).

It happens easily enough, where one's passion for the Christ begins to wane as concerns about finances, health, job security, status, retirement, family, etc. - all begin to take the top spot in our time, energy and resources.  For many, even recreation time of biking, fishing, hunting, vacationing, all begin to eclipse their love for the Lord.

The question is not for "the many," it is for you, it is for me, it is for us.  Do we still have "first love" for Christ or has it been replaced.  The what it is replaced with does not matter; it matters only that it has been replaced.  So, what say you?  Is Jesus knocking at your door?  Will you answer it and invite him in to "eat with him and he with you"?  Jus' Ask'n.

Clueless but Unshaken

The software program used by the hospice I work for has not been especially user-friendly.  In fact, it has been challenging enough to bring nurses to the point of tears and chaplains to the point of cussing.  I was fortunate enough to have been using an equally evil software program in my insurance business I had before beginning hospice work that it was less of a hurdle for me than many.

In fact, over the years, I have been able to train new chaplains on the system and help others in different disciplines to slay the software dragon.  But, a new day has dawned; the decision has been made to switch to a new system, a hopefully better and more user-friendly system, but new to everyone - even me.

So what this means is that I will no longer be a system sage that others turn to, we will all be equally ignorant as we transition from one software program to the next.  We are about to experience a software wilderness of sorts, moving into a place where none of us has gone before.

As I think about the upcoming move to a new and different system, I am reminded of the Children of Israel moving into the Promised Land.  The new land would be far better than what they had been experiencing but it was completely unknown.  Nonetheless, they would enter the land as the Lord directed.

However, young Joshua, who likewise would be a novice in this new land, was not afraid - not because he had such great confidence in himself or that he had some special knowledge of this place. He was clueless about the extent of where he was about to lead the people but unshaken because he knew who would be there with him: The Lord!

And, God told Joshua, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Josh 1:9).  The where, the what and the when are not so imposing or important when you know The Who.

I feel this was about a company-wide move into a new software program, I know there are a lot of praying people, concerned about our ability to provide the best care possible for our patients, that are laying this out before God - I'm one of them.  And, I know God will be there with us.  I am not discouraged.  I am clueless but not shaken.

May I suggest that whatever new or different or challenging thing you are about to face is no different?  It may be completely unknown and daunting to you, but it is not with God who goes before you if you are following Him.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you.  Jus' Say'n.

Race

I listened to a science professor speaking at a graduation in which he said that it was scientifically proven that we all came from the same source, that the idea of races is a myth - there is only one race: The Human Race.  He went on to illustrate this truth with the example of a Great Dane crossing with a Chihuahua and coming out with a dog.  When a man and a woman mate, they produce a human child, period.

The difference in the color of our skin, the professor went on to say, was a product of the degree of sun impacting us due to longitude and latitude and climate - basically the amount of exposure to ultraviolet rays.  We are not different races but one race from different parts of the globe.

This scientific fact squares with the biblical truth that God is our Father, the One Source of all mankind.  We all originally came from the same spot on the globe but as we moved out, we were exposed to different environmental conditions that began to change our outward appearance but not our inward being.

All of the tension and violence surrounding race begins to look more foolish than ever considering there aren't any racial divisions, that we all are of one race.  This oneness is further advanced by the prayer of Jesus "that all of them [his followers] may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you" (Jn 17:21).

There is One God, who created one mankind and calls us all to be one human race.  Isn't it time that we listen to the truth about ourselves and stop the nonsense of racial division that is really a laughable distinction over the degree of darkness of each other's tan?  Jus' Ask'n

Patient Faith

The story is told of a woman who had a large tree in her back yard that she wanted removed.  Remembering a sermon in which the preacher quoted Matthew 17:20, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move," she decided to try moving it by faith.

So, that night she prayed to God for the tree to be moved out of her backyard.  The next morning, she looked out the back window to see the tree right where she left it.  As she turned away to get her morning coffee, she exclaimed, "Yep, it's still there, just like I thought it would be."

The problem?  Where does one begin?  She lacked even mustard seed size faith as she didn't really think the tree would be gone.  Her prayer was more of a "Hail Mary Pass" than a strategic request of faith.  James says that those "who doubt should not think they will receive anything from the Lord" (Js 1:6-7).

She also lacked the patience to wait upon the Lord further displaying a lack of trust, for when we truly hope in the Lord for "what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently" (Rom 8:25).  God's timing is not our timing.  We can ask of the Lord but we cannot demand of the Lord, let alone dictate the schedule He must keep.

Faith in God means to trust in Him to act on our behalf in the right way and in the right time.  Faith inherently requires patience as we expectantly wait for the Lord to provide.  "And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised" (Heb 6:15).  Jus' Say'n.

Seasons

It was common in California to purchase a new house with literally no landscaping or even any grass in the back yard, which was enclosed with a privacy fence that hid the incomplete part of your property.  The working theory was that people could always get around to a back yard when they had the time and money.

However, due to the fact that it often took so long to get around to the back yard, it became a sort of running joke that when your back yard was finished, it would be time to move.  The completion of that particular project, marked the end of a season and by then things had changed so much you could no longer stay due to job changes, a need for a larger house, whatever.

Some joked that they simply didn't plan on finishing the back yard so they wouldn't have to move.  I'm not sure that ever worked but I do know that when they were ready to move, they had to scramble to finish the back yard as people weren't willing to buy a previously owned house without a completed back yard.

My point in waxing nostalgic is that life itself is really made up of a series of seasons, or as it has often been phrased, "A line of beginnings and endings."  We start and we stop, then we begin again.  It is generally sad but at the same time exciting.  When your child goes off to college, you cry a little but you are so excited for what lies ahead for them.  When you retire, you grieve over the passing of youth on one had but look forward to being able to travel or spend time with family

The apostle Paul said that we "groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling...but we do not wish to be unclothed" (2 Cor 5:3-4).  In other words, we look forward to that day when we will be with the Lord in our heavenly home but we are not anxious to die, leaving everyone we know and love behind.

Nonetheless, seasons come and seasons go.  Whatever our feelings at the time, we will move from one to the other, and so, how are we to deal with the next season?  Answer: take our eyes off the change and put them on the Changer, accepting that "The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad" (Ps 118:24).  If we trust that God has our lives in his hands, we can rejoice as we look forward to each new season on our journey home.  Jus' Say'n.

Sanctuary

When you come home at the end of a troublesome day, where do you go?  Do you head the fridge for a little comfort food?  Do you sit down with your Xbox where you are more in control?   Do you pull the cork out of a bottle so you can "wine" down? Do you go to the Internet where you can find endless forms of escape?  What is your sanctuary?  

Concerned for his disciples, Jesus said, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (Jn 17:17).  The sanctuary Jesus offered his followers was and is the Word of God, that allows "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding [to] guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:9).

I go to my sanctuary each morning when I open the pages of the Bible and devotional material. I believe that the study of God's word has a purifying and peace-producing effect on my heart, mind and soul.  May I suggest that you create a sanctuary time in God's word daily?  Jus' Say'n.

Listening

The old toothless black man mumble as he spoke.  Some of his words made sense, others not at all.  I listened intently, keeping eye contact as talked.  When he smiled, I returned mine.  When I understood what he had said, I nodded or said a word or two of support.  While much of what he was trying to convey passed by me, I caught what I could.  What I returned to him was respect and concern.

I sat close, tuned in and quietly listened as he related how thing had gone since we last met.  He had experienced an epic battle with a wasp in his house in which he wound up falling and injuring his rib area as he struck the arm of the couch.  But - the wasp was vanquished.  Although most would not have considered it much of a battle, at his age, with his limitations and physical health, it was a story worth telling and, therefore, a story worth hearing.

As I was leaving, he thanked me for coming, warned me to be careful out there and to be sure and come back again.  Why?  What did I do for him that caused him to be grateful and invite me to return?  I listened with respect as he told his story.  I affirmed his worth and applauded his victory over the invading wasp.

An old black man and a not quite as old white man sat together on a couch and talked about life and faith, with a mutual respect based on nothing other than God made us both.  This is precisely what the apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians based on their common faith in God: "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" (1 Thess 5:11).

In a country so divided by race and ideology, why not try to come together as children of God, not over what we believe so much but rather in Whom we believe.  Jus' Say'n.

Finding Purpose

So often I hear my terminal patients say, "I know I'm still here for a reason.  I just wish I knew what it was."  Many are more than ready to pass on but keep waking up each new day wondering why God didn't take them the day before.  So they wait and they wonder.

I wonder why mature Christians wait for a word from above when that Word has already been delivered centuries ago: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of all mankind" (Eccl 12:13).

The Bible is filled with things God wants us to do like, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 19:19). So, what can you do for your neighbor?  Even if you are bedridden, you can still pray for those around you.  The Word says to "let your light shine before others, that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Mt 5:16).  It is just as important how one dies as it is how one lives.  People are watching.  Are you allowing your faith to shine through your deeds, especially as you are facing difficulties or even death?

Here is God's will in a nutshell: "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says" (Js 1:22).  The Bible is not just a history book or a book of poetry or a series of stories; the Bible is the Book of Life and the directions for living are to be found from cover to cover.  Take time to read it and do what it says.  In so doing, you will be fulfilling God's purpose.  Jus' Say'n.

Finishing Well

Solomon wrote, "The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and patience is better than pride" (Eccl 7:8).  Americans, however, tend to focus the other way around.  We are more caught up in a "Grand Opening!" than a strong finish.  In fact, we are more likely to restart several times than to struggle through, following a plan to the end.

Couples will spend months planning and thousands of dollars on a wedding but never read a book on marriage or attend a weekend seminar to improve their relationship.  God forbid you suggest we should seek counsel on how to keep a marriage together.  It is so much easier get a divorce and start over.  Prince Charles and Princess Dianna spent millions on their wedding but allowed their marriage to crumble into dust.

Millions of young people jump into college but many simply do not follow it through.  Only 56% of American college students starting a four year degree finish it within six years.  Just 29% of students entering a two-year program finish it in three years.  And only 27% of college graduates have a job related to their major.  Strong starts, weak finishing.

With new businesses, about 80% make it past the first year, 50% past year five and 30% are still in business after year ten.  Again, lots of time, money and energy on the launching of a business but not nearly as much though about long-term sustainability.  We are, as previously mentioned, big on Grand Openings but not so much on keeping it open for the long haul.

What's the problem?  Why so many finishing poorly?  The problem, as Solomon intimated is pride over patience (read Eccl 7:8 again).  Patience, Solomon assures, is better than pride.  Pride gets us going but patience keeps us moving, especially when the going gets tough.

Pride assures us we can handle college but patience is needed to handle the rigors of college and the rigor mortis of the teaching styles of some professors.  Pride gets us to borrow the capital to start a business but patience is needed to capitalize on the often meager opportunities for advancement.  Pride tells us that we are ready to set a wedding date but patience alone sees us through the rough patches on the way to our Silver Anniversary.

James gives the analogy of the farmer who "waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains" (James 5:7).  Pride comes before a fall (cf. Prov 16:18) but patience causes us to stand firm (cf. James 5:8).  Jus' Say'n.

Worth

The rich farmer in Luke 12:16-21 foolishly put his trust in the bottom line instead of the Benevolent Lord.  He was sure that he had everything he wanted in life.  The truth was that he had everything but life - he died that very night with the divine epithet: "You fool!" (v. 20). 

We haven't changed much over the last 2000 years.  We are still chasing the dollar bill as if it will truly give us life providing security, satisfaction and significance.  Really?  Why then do the wealthy continuously chase after more riches?  Why is it that couples married for a long time look back fondly at those early, lean years?  

The problem is that we have come to believe that our worth is measured in dollars and cents.  Therefore, our ultimate value will always be just ahead.  Rockefeller was once asked, "How much is enough?"  He responded, "Just a little bit more.  Sadly, we never quite have enough and we can't even insure we'll keep what we've got.

 But the truth is that God settled our worth on the cross (cf. Jn 3:16) and His currency is secure for eternity.

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Downward Up

Solomon once wrote, "A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor" (Prov 29:23).  

At first glance, this doesn't seem quite right as pride is usually seen as that which puffs us up and causes us to feel superior. True, but puffing up and feeling superior are illusions from the bottom. 

Several years ago, Tandie purchased me a series of golf lessons for my birthday.  One of the first things the pro said was, "Golf is a game of opposites.  You have to power down in order to cause the ball to rise up."  

Often, biblical truth seems that way. Here, in particular, puffing up with pride can keep you from mending a fence that might contain a gate to success later. It can keep you from listening to constructive criticism that might have helped to propel you further. It can keep you from admitting a fault you could have then changed and saved your marriage or career. 

Pride can keep you from serving and deny you from becoming more Christ-like. Humility, on the other hand, can cause you to defer to the person who can lift you up.  It can allow you to follow closely behind Christ as He brings help and healing to others and to you as well. Humility places you in the position to be blessed by God (cf. James 4:10). 

Opposite from the natural man's thinking as it may be, the way up spiritually is down. By the way, my new downward golf stroke caused more upward motion. But I find playing every year or two keeeps me in the duffer zone. That principle holds true for spiritual development as well. Jus' Sayn.

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Living Free

In Galatians 5:1, he apostle Paul writes, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."  Can we then, do anything our hearts desire?  Can we justifiably make any choice that seems good to us?  

Actually, no.  We were "set free from the law of sin and death" (Rom 8:2), which used to "reign in your mortal body" (Rom 6:12).  So, if we yield to the natural impulses we feel or make choices based solely on what we want, then we are slaves again to that which leads to death. 

It is from this very slavery, the bondage of self, that we have been set free. We are not free to do what we want, which is slavery to our worldly passions, we are free to do what is right, free to walk in the "path, which leads to life" (Matt 7:14).  

Paul puts it this way, "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love" (Gal 5:13). Jus' Sayn.

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Victorious Life

Listening to some preachers, especially televangelists, talk about the victorious Christian life, one gets the picture that faithful Christians will be healthy, wealthy and wise. Some teach that if you lack anything or want something, all you've got to do is "name it and claim it" and it's yours. 

Why then did the prophets have such difficult lives?  Why did the apostles become identified as "fools for Christ" (1 Cor 4:10)?  Why did Jesus suffer?  

When the Psalmist wrote, "The Lord is my stronghold of whom shall I be afraid" (Ps 27:1), why was he needing a stronghold?  Why does James teach that difficulties serve to mature our faith (cf. Jas  1:2-4)? 

The truth?  We will be victorious in heaven and God will see us through difficult times in the meanwhile, but the Lord doesn't promise a carefree life to the faithful - quite the opposite, disciples are called to a life that includes sacrifice (cf Lk 14:33).  

The apostle Paul didn't say he had found the path of joy-filled circumstances, he said that he had "learned the secret of being content in all circumstances..." (Phil 4:12).  The victory was being remade in Christ (Phil 4:13), not In having it made. Jus' Sayn.

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God's Grip

In Isaiah 49:15, the Lord rhetorically asks, "Can a mother forget the  baby at her breast?"  Of course not. But, he promises, even if she did, he could not for he has engraved our names in the palms of his hands.

As a child of God, your name is tattooed in his palm.  This gives new meaning to Jesus' promise in John 10:29, "No one can snatch you out of my Father's hand."  Just how would one go about grabbing a tattoo out of anyone's hand, let alone God's?

The settled truth is that no one and nothing can separate you from God (cf. Rom 8:38-39).  Only you, by the freedom of choice God has given can, "turn your back on God even as a washed pig returns to the mud" (2 Pet 2:20-22).

As long as you desire to follow Jesus, regardless of how much you struggle, you cannot fall or be plucked from his grip.  Despite the fact that you have not developed spiritually as much as you think you ought to have or you're not as good a person as you believe you should be, don't give up on you - God hasn't. Jus' Say'n.

Desires of the Heart

"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps 27:4). 

So, if I go to church, I'll get that new house?  If I read my Bible, I'll get that new iPad?  If I give money to a homeless person and I'll get that raise?  To hear some tell it, yes.  But if listening to the Word, no.  

To delight in the Lord is to desire His will and to seek after His ways. When our heart is reconditioned by the Spirit, we begin to want what God wants and to seek after His will. When we are in tune with God, then, like Paul, we will be "content in all circumstances" (Phil 4:12). Our hearts will be full as we help someone in need, they will swell as we wipe away the tears of someone hurting, we will take delight when good prevails over evil. 

As a side effect, when we "Seek first the kingdom of righteousness" (Matt 6:33), our personal needs are met as well, but getting what we want becomes secondary in our hearts to seeing God's will carried out. The desire of our heart becomes experiencing God and His rule in our lives. Jus' Say'n.

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