Letting Go

You hear a lot of distressing comments by church members as a minister.  Over the decades I've borne witness to countless defenses of personal sin, I've listened to couples explain why their marriage just can't work, I'be been on the receiving end of harsh blasts of criticism, I've listened to members describe their anger in terms that would make a sailor blush, I've counseled with some who shared their deepest hidden sins.

However, perhaps the most distressing thing I've heard members of the church say ha been, "I just can't forgive..."  Or its second cousin, "I can forgive but I'll never forget."  What both of these disclaimers mean at their core is, "I just can't let go of..."

Not to forgive mean to keep giving value to an offense.  It means to consider something negative so valuable as to continue carrying it long after the offense, it is a means of continuing to give life to or to resuscitate a personal injury from the past.  To suggest that you forgive but do not forget isn't usually a statement of cerebral fact that getting over doesn't include developing amnesia.  It is to suggest that while you give lip service to forgiveness, you keep your teeth sunk into the offense.

This hanging on to the offense of another is to hang on to the sin in your own heart.  Sins of hatred, evil thoughts, desire for revenge, rejecting the way of love, setting barriers to reconciliation, obstructing redemption and rejecting personal forgiveness for your own sins.  Wait!  What?  My sin?  It wasn't my sin, it was his, her's, their's.

No, their sin is between them and God.  This sin of refusing to forgive is yours.  It is built upon their past sin but it is your current, ongoing sin.  And, this sin's consequence is far worse than whatever sin they were guilty of in offending or injuring you because you survived that sin while you are not surviving this one.  This sin you are carrying daily and it could carrying you into eternal separation from God and everything good and holy.  Their sin occurred in a moment in time, yours is a movement of time and perhaps eternity.

Listen to the warning of our Lord Jesus Christ: "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matt 6:14-15).  Did you hear that, really hear it?  Your sin of refusing to forgive another includes the choice of refusing God's grace.  Their slight, however great it's impact, pales in comparison to your clinging to the anger and hatred fomented within your heart.

Don't.  Don't let the offense of another occupy a space in your heart and mind for free.  Raise the rent and kick it out.  Get the help of the Holy Spirit to evict the sin in your heart.  Let go and let God.  Jus' Say'n.

Connected

Jesus promises, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (Jn 15:7-8).

Wow!  That is one big promise.  If you remain connected to Jesus, whatever you wish will be given to you.  It would seem that the prosperity preachers are right.  Being connected to Christ means that you will have all the things you want - all you've got to do is ask.  This seems like solid support of the "Name It and Claim It" theology.  Right?  Wrong!

The problem with prosperity preaching that I've heard is the focus seems to always be on health and wealth.  What I'm hearing from proponents is that God wants us to be free from sin and sickness and sagging economics.  It seems to put God in the health and wealth business to the degree that you can have all you want and be free from ailment in the bargain.

Basing that theology on this passage is fundamentally flawed as the internal context alone rejects it.  Notice the two keynotes to having whatever you wish: 1) "remain in me" and 2) "bear much fruit."  The one who asks and receives whatever he asks is remaining in Christ and is focused in bearing spiritual fruit.

Go to the chapter and notice verse 14, which reads, "You are my friends if you do what I command."  These "friends," followers of Jesus, "do what he commands."  Those who are connected to Jesus, desire the will of Jesus in their lives and therefore would be asking for that will to be evident (or bearing fruit) in their lives.

Jesus followers will be receiving whatever they ask for as they are asking "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10).  They are asking for God's will to be accomplished in their lives not that they would have all the stuff they wanted or be free from sickness of all kinds.

Jesus is not promising to be a genie in a Bible so to speak.  He is promising to grant us spiritual riches and spiritual health, which may have nothing to do with their material counterparts.  While having a big house and a nice car is nice, it has little to do with establishing God's kingdom in the hearts of men.  While being physically strong and healthy is nice, it doesn't advance the Kingdom either.

When you are connected to Christ, you will want he wants, you will be praying for his will to be done in you and you will be transformed into his likeness.  You will become a fruit-bearer filled with the spiritual fruit of God [which] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness" (Gal 5:22).  These are the riches you will seek and receive.  As a result, you and those influenced by you will be drawn into the kingdom of God, experiencing all you would ever ask for.  Jus' Say'n.

Peace

There is so much over which to be stressed today.  The economy has had the slowest recovery since the Great Depression and if the cycle of recession isn't somehow detoured, we should be entering another one very soon.  Mindless, heartless and seemingly soulless radical Islamics are bombing, shooting, driving trucks into crowds with increasing frequency.  Race relations have taken a giant step backward, murder in our inner cities is stepping up, jobs are being shipped out as undocumented are sneaking in and unvetted immigrants are being slipped in.

Faith in God, pride in country and the foundation of the family are being eroded.  The Affordable Care Act has resulted in millions of Americans facing higher deductibles and co-pays with lower a decreasing amount of actual coverage.  Our political landscape remind me more of landfill.  The race for the White House has been a race to the bottom.

The genetic encoding of the Creator for gender is being rejected for a "gender du jour while the sexuality designed by God for procreation of the human race and sanctified as the act of marriage has become reduced to nothing more than a smorgasbord of choices to satiate the sexual appetite of a post-Christian populace.

We live by the clock which is sucking the life out of living as we try to juggle the increasing demands of family, jobs and community responsibilities.  Quiet time, family time, time to relax are being passed by as we race against that clock, which keeps our stress index at its peak.

Russia is on the rise, radicalism is on the offense, democracy is on the run, Christian values are under siege and the American Dream is fast becoming a pipe dream.  Religious radicals, political profiteers, race-baiting reverse bigots, capitalist cronies and socialist bloodsuckers - we have all the ingredients for a big bowl of stress stew.

And then there is "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, [which] will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:7).  In the middle of the milieu of a crazy, mixed up world in which wrong is seen as right and right is seen as wrong, where the good are often persecuted while the bad are being rewarded; we can be at peace.  You really can "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Pet 5:7).

I'm not saying it is easy.  In fact, it will take supernatural power to bring about that peace.  But that is exactly the point: the supernatural power of God is available in Christ and through His Spirit.  He will not make you embrace it but it is always available, and you can be at peace even in a tumultuous world where there is little peace afforded.  Take it to Jesus.  Let go and let God.  Jus' Say'n.

Prosperity Gospel?

This morning I read these words from Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither---whatever they do prospers."

So, are the prosperity preachers correct in saying hat Jesus came to insure our savings as much as assure our salvation?  Are riches and righteousness together a sign that God is with you?  Does your praise and your portfolio rise together?  If so, what about the prophets of old and their lack of profit realized as they proclaimed the Word of God?  Why were the apostles a ragtag band of followers instead rags to riches examples of faithfulness?

Precisely why did Jesus tell the rich young man, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven" (Matt 9:21)?  And then warn his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven" (v. 23)?

How is it that the righteous prosper and yet so many followers of the Messiah flop at fail to have money?  Because the prosperity of God's children is stored up in heaven, where their true treasure and their hearts are found, not on earth (cf. Matt 6:19-21). The abundance or absence of money has nothing to do with the prosperity of the godly.

Followers of Jesus can equally be princes and paupers. Hollywood, Washington and Wall Street are filled with the materially wealthy but spiritually bankrupt. On the other hand, I have been in the company of third world peasants who were rich in grace.

I'm not trying to say their is virtue in being poor, I'm absolutely saying there is no virtue in being rich. Material wealth is immaterial: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Phil 3:7-8).  Jus' Say'n.

His Word

There was a day before the advent of complicated contracts filled with legalese where a man's word was his bond and binding deals were sealed with a handshake. In today's world even a written contract is little guarantee that what was said will be done.

Not long ago, I shook hands with a man who signed a letter of intent saying, "I don't really need a signed agreement. When I give my word I keep it."  But he didn't, not even after affixing his signature to the agreement in written form. His word, verbal and written, was not worth the paper he signed.

Sadly, this is not uncommon. The world is filled with lawyers drafting up binding contracts and suing the people who break them anyway.  And, of course, there is always a lawyer on the other side defending the one breaking the contract. It is sadly too true that promises are made to be broken. Even the most sacred of promises, "Until death do we part," is broken in the majority of cases today.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone's word was their bond, if what one said was always exactly what they intended to do and actually did?  Can you imagine a world where everyone kept their word, that everything they said could actually be "taken to the bank?"

Instead too many are being deceptive from the start, never intending to keep their word. Some construct contracts with small print for the express purpose of providing a loophole. When I was a boy, crossing your fingers behind your back provided that loophole.

And none of us has always kept their word. None of us can even truly insure we can keep our word. Our intention to keep it does not guarantee will have the ability to do so. Nonetheless, I choose to trust people and I desire to be trusted. I do so because that is the world I want and because it is the world to which I am called - The Kingdom of God.

In God's Kingdom, the spoken word becomes reality from the moment it is spoken and remains true forever. There is no going back on it, there is no time limit on it, there is no fear of it changing or being set aside.  As Jesus so firmly assures us, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" Matt 24:35).

This is our hope, this is our assurance when everything else crumbles around us, when our last friend runs out in us, when our last hope begins to fade on us - Jesus will never betray us or fail to keep his promises. He "will never leave us as orphans" (Jn 14:18). His word is better than gold, you can do more than take it to the bank, you can take it from here to eternity. Jus' Say'n.

Seasons

The afternoons are still warm enough to break a sweat here in Arkansas but the mornings are cool enough to enjoy a hot cup of coffee on the patio with a blanket thrown over your shoulders. For now early morning comes with a heavy dew on the grass, soon it will be a white layer of frost. The season is changing (for my friends in California, you can Google what dew and frost are).

Seasonal changes are not limited to the weather. Life itself is a passing of seasons as we mive from the spring of youth on through the winter of elder years when hair, white like the snow covers our heads (again California friends please see Google for snow).

Change, like it or not, is constantly on the horizon. We can deny its approach, we can stick our heads in the sand or add color to our cover or greying heads, but change is coming, it never stops. The Bible is very clear on this subject: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot" (Eccl 3:1-2).

The seasons of life are not to be resisted or denied but embraced as a natural and necessary part of life. Could you imagine a life w in which you did not go through seasons?  What if your baby never did grow up?  What if that child never learned to walk or talk?  What if your child never experienced a family of his/her own?

What if you had been stuck in puberty, hostage to raging hormones and agonizing with acne all your days?  What if you were raising children all your life and hitting the 9 to 5 grind until noon on the day you are buried?  What if you grew very old and very sickly but never died?  While change can be scary, staying the same can be terrifying.

On the other hand, being able to depend on some things is absolutely essential. Having a retirement plan that will live as long as you do is really important. Being able to rely on your adult kids when you reach your elder years warms the heart. Knowing your spouse will still be at your side when time has passed you by is critical.

But the most important thing to know in an ever changing world is that God who loves us so never changes: "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end." (Heb 1:10-12).

While change happens all around us, some to the good and some to the bad, God remains present. As always and forever, He has the whole world in his hands. Regardless of the change you are going through, God "will not leave you as orphaned" (Jn 14:18). Regardless of the losses you suffer, in Christ you will ultimately gain. Oh, and whoever is elected president, Christ will still be King. So relax and trust in Him, not in him or her. Jus' Say'n.

The Path To Success

The pursuit for success is something into which we are launched from the womb. Even before we are born, our parents begin to pray for our well-being and good fortune. For the start they work at teaching us to talk and walk, then to read and write. They want us to learn to ride a bike and then to drive. They I aisle we finish high school and then on to college. They want very badly for us to succeed in life.

Success, is generally measured in terms of dollars and cents, so we are set on a path that hopefully will allow for the accumulation of wealth, which includes a good education, leading to a good job that will allow us to buy a nice house and put a tidy sum aside for retirement. Buying stuff along the way serves as an indicator of wealth accumulation, which assures us and others we are on the path to success. 

But are we indeed?  Will the path of wealth accumulation lead to success?  If we have a good job, a fine house, a fully vested 401K and lots of stuff, are we successful?  Not necessarily, wealthy people can be just as miserable as people in poverty. A study by the San Francisco Federal Reserve fond that "Keeping Up With The Jones" can increase the rate of suicide. 

Another study concluded that while poverty can be a major cause of misery, that location increased suicide rate. Living in a neighborhood among wealthier people where the income gap is more evident increases the misery factor. 

In "Business Insider's" Your Money section, Mandi Woodruff writes that while $34,000 is the misery line and $75,000 is the benchmark for financial happiness, earnings over that amount haven't been shown to increase happiness. In other words, having enough made a difference but having a lot did not.  Knowing your family would have a roof over their heads and food on the table increased the sense of well-being, while having more than one needed didn't seem to move the bubble. 

The deal is that having everything money can buy doesn't buy you happiness and can't fill the empty place in your soul only God can fill. After we have gotten every material thing we can imagine, we wind up asking, "Is that it?  Is that all there is to life?"  

King Solomon, after building cities and amassing untold fortune lamented,  "Yet, when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun" (Eccl 2:11). 

Jesus shines a light on our and Solomon's quandary: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:19-21). 

The study I referred to above is correct, location is important in raising the happiness factor. In fact, location is everything. If our path to success does not lead to and our wealth is not found in heaven, we will never have true, lasting and fulfilling wealth. Jus' Say'n.