Wish you had been here …

… with us.  Back in March of 2010 I wrote about a Baptist Funeral, telling you a bit about what I have in mind.  Statistics show it wasn’t well read (probably because of THAT word) but there were two comments.

Wednesday I attended such a Baptist funeral, designed to celebrate life.

That is a copy of the banner lifted behind the pastor.  It was created by her husband to help us celebrate her life.  Earlier Marty had written his beautiful feelings acknowledging God’s sovereignty and kindly allowed it to be reposted.  In Wednesday’s service we did celebrate her life with us, and her life that continues with the Lord.

A slide show of Lisa’s beautiful smile (always as in the banner) in so many photos crossed a screen to the front right of the sanctuary as we entered.  Their previous pastor gave her favorite verse:

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV)

She displayed her trust throughout her life, even in her last conscious interaction, and He had directed her path, all the way home. Her pastor spoke using “Lisa is …” for our God is Lord of the living, as He said:

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matthew 22:32 KJV)

Attendees had an opportunity to write a card of our memories to leave for Marty.  Several were read during the service by her dear friends and all will go to Marty and the children for their own memory building.

Our pastor spoke of Lisa’s homeschooling; how she taught Sunday school classes; how she taught piano (without charging) to anyone interested in music; how she and Marty had boxes of Bibles in their home to give away.  He spoke of the recent times they discussed her future. While she held no fear, there was some apprehension about the process of death, but no hesitation regarding what awaited her afterward.

And, he gave the gospel – just as I explained in my earlier post.  He gave us John 3:16, along with John 3:18, then the end of that chapter, John 3:36.  He moved on to Romans 10:13, and reminded us that for all the good we know about Lisa, none of that helped her into heaven. Her belief in Christ fulfilled the scriptures.

Pink and silver balloons were released by those who went to the cemetery.  They were to remind us of the last song during the service, Chris Rice’s untitled that calls us to “Come to Jesus, and live.”

I’ve been involved in on-line discussions that include how much denial there is about our own death, or of those we love.  I must remind my readers not to avoid the subject nor the preparations, especially the spiritual.  And, I’ll leave you with my favorite, most faithful feelings about my own home going:

Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. (John 14:28 KJV)

Grieving for what we miss is natural, but rejoicing about the future we attain is truth, too.  Come to Jesus, and live.

How Much Change?

”Paul in Damascus” Detail from unidentified work on Wiki Commons

Following his conversion from non-believer to accepting Jesus’ deity, Paul’s change of heart was noticeable – and noticed.

And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? (Acts 9:20-21 KJV)

Most Christians do not find their conversion changes to be this public, but they certainly should be noticed by those sharing their lives. We all do things as unbelievers that we should not be doing as Christians.

A recent lesson for our Junior High Girls was taken from Ephesians 4 – putting off the old and putting on the new. The old unbeliever might have held grudges, participated in gossip, used inappropriate language, lied, stolen – a dozen little things.

Now that doesn’t sound like felonies, does it. Especially among teenagers, right? Their emotions leap by bounds from one to another, and their conversations do the same. They do get angry, they do hold grudges, gossip about the latest piece of information they’ve heard, repeated conversations with language they’ve heard at home or at school, lied for protection and swiped a pen or pencil without thinking.

The problems grow when we continue to do these childish things as adults. Yes, we grow angry and hold grudges, even against family members. We read gossip in the headlines of major papers and accept it as news, spreading our own unsupported viewpoint without research. We allow inappropriate (= foul) language into our homes through television and pay to hear it in movie theaters, without complaint. Then we’re shocked to hear children repeat those same words. We lie. Again, for our own protection or to hurt another. As for stealing, we take things from others, ranging from their time to their money. Haven’t you? I know I have.

When we become Christians, the old should be put off and the new put on. That new is laid out across many scriptures. A few examples follow this scripture:

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24 KJV)

Not self-righteousness, but God’s. Paul’s writings about putting off the old and putting on the new followed his own conversion, his own change.

But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. (Acts 9:22 KJV)

He converted people then and his writings helped convert me, proving that this is the very Christ! May we also confound those who do not understand our belief. We should always measure our interaction with Paul’s chapter close:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32 KJV)

Caiaphas

Christ before Caiaphas by Mattias Stom, 1630 (Wiki Commons)

Sunday morning's sermon was on Caiaphas' prophecy. It made me think about how God does not need any one of us to accomplish His will. Oh, He has tasks for us, but if we resist another will be sent to accomplish His purpose.

The first verse that comes to mind regarding this is in Esther. I've used it enough that you may know it by heart:

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 KJV)

Mordecai firmly believed that his God was capable of providing deliverance for His people independent of any individual. God does not need us, He wants us. However, we do have to listen to him. Caiaphas didn't listen, although that was His job. He listened to people and politics. He listened to what people wanted, and what they feared. (My, oh, my. Does that sound familiar?)

If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. (John 11:48 KJV)

So, it wasn't sufficient to ignore Jesus and just leave Him alone -- then or today. If His enemies do, all men will believe on him. Worse than that the Romans (substitute anything that stands between men and what they want) shall come and take away. Well, today they don't so much take away as just keep us from things we want.

Caiaphas had the answer to protect his world.

Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. (John 11:50 KJV)

From our point of view, that is a tremendous prophecy. Caiaphas happened to be the high priest at that time. If there were to be a prophecy regarding the Messiah, it should have come from his lips -- and it did. One man to save all. Why not, sin entered through one man:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12 KJV)

And the opportunity to remove it came through one man:

For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. (Romans 5:15b KJV)

That's the point that Caiaphas missed. He heard it from spies in John 11:46, he heard it from Christ at His trial in John 18, he heard it from Peter in Acts 4. He denied them all in Acts 4:16 and demanded that they spread their message no further. Peter spoke for Christians then, and for us today:

But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:19-20 KJV)

We continue to do so.

Help

There are 107 verses in the Old Testament that contain ‘help.’ Forty of those verses are in the Psalms alone. Only ten verses with that word are found in the New Testament.

We all need help along the way. David was never too proud to ask for it, as Pastor read from one of his psalms last night:

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. (Psalms 12:1 KJV)

It appears that way today, as we hear of churches closing or splits within denominations. One such denomination was in the news last night. Separation within the American portion of the Anglican Communion has ended up in secular courts, one side requesting secular help in determining a religious question.

Paul wrote against this specifically:

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? (1 Corinthians 6:1 KJV)

Paul then goes into the Christian’s job description:

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:2-3 KJV)

(There! Did you see it again? That verse that piqued my curiosity in a previous post? I do have to come back to the training for that one of these days.)

Back to the subject – I believe one of the main reasons for these separations is a lack of adherence to scriptures defining the New Testament church. Had the denomination in question held to the scriptures, part of their congregations would not have left. But the groundwork is laid when portions of the Bible are deemed unusable in today’s society; when church leaders believe societal changes are more important than following God’s word.

Has God changed? Or have people simply decided that following Him is not worth their time. Most people have determined that God may exist, therefore acknowledge and say He is worshipped, but don’t let that interfere with what feels good. Above all, don’t offend anyone by saying God sets limits. Never exclude. Quote John 3:16, hold fast to John 3:17, but ignore:

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18 KJV)

I believe Paul was being rhetorical when asking about wise men:

I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? (1 Corinthians 6:5 KJV)

Don’t be ashamed – seek God’s help before seeking man’s.

Gardeners

Allotment Garden, Peterborough, England

A friend in England introduced me to Allotment Gardening. Her family has eaten the fruit of their labor this last year and are making plans for the coming spring planting. It takes preparation. The garden must be prepared, weeds must be removed, soil must be turned, water must be available, all of this before the first seed is put in the ground.

Nowadays, that first seed doesn’t go into the ground, but into prepared planters in a bright window to get a head start on the season. Seedlings will go from there into the ground when frosts have past, for temperatures have an affect, too. There is not only a sense of accomplishment, but nourishment and great taste!

Jesus begins Mark 4 with a parable about seeds. Today it makes sense, but mainly because it didn’t to his disciples and they received an explanation from Him when they requested clarification. In that explanation we find:

The sower soweth the word. (Mark 4:14 KJV)

That’s me. Back, for a moment, to allotment gardening. Not all gardens are prepared or worked the same. Some are not weeded, some are sifted for every single incorrect root’s removal. My English friend had considerable work to prepare her allotment for planting. Had the previous gardener done well, their work would have been lessened.

I haven’t done any preparation in my reader’s lives. I have not removed rocks, provided water. I haven’t checked to see if the word has fallen on prepared soil at all. And, that’s OK here.

It’s not OK when it comes to my Sunday School class. That’s where preparations are a necessity. Yet even there another verse comes to mind.

And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. (John 4:37 KJV)

We sowers should never become impatient. Most of the vegetable seed packs give an estimate of the time it takes from planting to harvest. I, on the other hand, have no idea how long it might be for these seeds of God’s word to bear fruit – or even if they will. It may be that another teacher will tend this biblical garden, removing stones from the rocky ground or applying living water to wilted faith.

It may be long enough that I will not see the fruit. Doesn’t really matter. It’s just my calling to sow bountifully:

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6 KJV)

There’s another sower parable in Matthew 13 that begins:

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 13:35 KJV)

Isn’t it nice to know secrets? Read this and you will.

Voluntold

Habitat for Humanity volunteers, 2007 Seattle Fairmont Fair

I knew the Christmas Store was coming and had quietly kept from “making eye contact” beyond my annual commitment to do the shopping. Since I really do not like to shop, I look upon that as “over and beyond.”

Then the sweet wife of our Children’s Director stopped by as I was passing out cookies during our Wednesday children’s activities. Somehow she made her way through the squealing 3^rd thru 6^th grade girls (which is an outstanding feat in and of itself!) to talk to me.

“To me.” Not “With me.” Yep, she wanted to discuss the setting up and running of the Christmas Store. She made really good eye contact and explained that I had been “voluntold’ as a helper in the Store.

I love that word!! So many of us are not the first to step forward as volunteers – unless it’s something we really enjoy. Then we not only step forward, we often strong-arm other volunteers out of the way to do the things we enjoy the most. Not all jobs have people that enjoy them standing in line. Thus the word, “Voluntold.”

Think about the Bible stories that come quickly to mind – they were all voluntold, except maybe David and Goliath. David truly volunteered to fight the giant. Most of the other big name stories held back – Gideon, Jonah, Moses. Quite a few others didn’t volunteer, but answered the call rather quickly, as Jesus’ disciples did.

Paul really had to be voluntold!! Talk about a complete turn around, that’s Paul’s story.

Did you know that’s what repent means? Strong’s tells us it means to think differently, or afterward to reconsider. When we repent, we do feel remorse for our sins, and we think differently. We have some suggestions that Paul sent to Philippi:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 KJV)

We make changes in our lives, putting off the old and replacing it with the new. The what and how of that replacement is best seen in Ephesian’s fourth chapter.

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:23-24 KJV)

But, that change has to be volunteered. It cannot be voluntold.

Have you offered to enter His service, filled with freedom and promise? Have you stepped forward in faith to the hoped for and unseen?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)

Acts 3

“Healing Of The Lame Man” (Detail) by Raphael 1515

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6 KJV)

There is no indication the lame man’s life was endangered by his affliction. Certainly there were others in the city with similar or worse disabilities. He did not ask Peter for healing, just for money – which Peter did not have.

Do we give what Peter gave? The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In this instance, the name healed. When we give it, it may provide the direction to a soul’s salvation. Which would be most beneficial in the long run? Walk today, or live eternally?

And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: (Acts 3:8-9 KJV)

Praising God, praising God!! They didn’t thank Peter, they praised God. They marveled at one man’s healing, not thinking about the others that sat nearby.

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? (Acts 3:12 KJV)

Peter turns this into one marvelous opportunity to glorify God through His son, Jesus Christ. Peter speaks directly to their rejection of Christ.

But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. (Acts 3:14-15 KJV)

How many still denying Him today? Oh, they are not calling for Barabbas, nor are they calling for crucifixion – they simply say He is a myth, a desire to believe the unbelievable. The result is the same. Prophecies written for thousands of years were fulfilled in this man.

But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. (Acts 3:18 KJV)

Actions are required.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19 KJV)

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:26 KJV)

Now it’s our turn. Study to see if this is not so.