The Generous Grace of God

Ultimately, the parable of the prodigal son teaches us about "the generosity of God's grace." This kind of grace often challenges our ideas of fairness and justice. "Where's the justice?" That's what the older son is asking, right? He's saying, 'Hey, I've done everything right. Where's my reward?'

But God's grace isn't about what we deserve. "A life of serving Jesus is good for you and the kingdom, but we haven't earned or deserved anything we receive from God, and we never will."

So how can we put this lesson into practice?

As we think about this amazing example of God's fatherly love, here are some ways we can apply it to our lives:

• Remember that God is always waiting for you with open arms, no matter how far you've gone.
• Show unconditional grace to others, just like God has shown to you.
• Celebrate when others return to God, instead of judging them for their past mistakes.
• Be ready to "run" towards those who are making their way back to God.
• Check your heart for any "older brother" attitudes and ask God to help you see things with more grace.
• Rest in God’s generous grace, knowing that it’s not about what you’ve earned but about His love for you.

Let's use this parable to change how we understand God's love and how we treat both Him and others. After all, we serve a God of amazing compassion and boundless grace—and that's something to celebrate!

A God Who Loves to Celebrate

One of the most joyful parts of this parable is how the father celebrates his son's return. "This is a God who loves to celebrate when lost things come home. God just loves a celebration."

We often think of God as serious and stern, but this parable shows a different side. "God is saying, no, we're having a feast here. We're having the best barbecue, with music... It's a celebration, a party. That's who God is at heart—He loves to celebrate."

I believe this is a beautiful image of God that Jesus shows us so clearly: a God who knows when to be serious, when to be strict, when to be lighthearted, and when to celebrate. If we don't think of heaven as a celebration, then we're not fully understanding God's heart. Without celebration, God might not seem as inviting, and without a sense of joy and celebration, the church can't attract a lost and hurting world.

It's easy to imagine a child celebrating and dancing, but can you picture your heavenly Father celebrating and dancing with joy over your life?

The Unreasonable Compassion and Grace

When the prodigal son finally comes back, the father's reaction is truly remarkable. "The father shows incredible compassion, an overwhelming and almost unbelievable amount of grace, forgiveness, and love for his lost son."

In a culture where the son's behavior would usually lead to rejection, the father does something completely unexpected:

"The father, filled with compassion, welcomed his son with open arms. The story even says that the father ran to him, showing his compassion in such an amazing way that he couldn't wait for his son to reach the house. He just ran to meet him."

Can you imagine your own father running to you and hugging you after a big argument or disagreement, without wanting to settle things first or demand a bunch of apologies? The Father just wants to welcome us back with his grace and compassion.

How often do we show this kind of unreasonable grace to others in our lives? Are we known as people of faith for our grace, or are we more likely to insist that people clean up their lives before we extend grace to them? 

The Father Who Anticipates Our Return Home

One of the most powerful parts of the parable of the prodigal son is how the father eagerly waits for his son to return. "God is a God who looks with anticipation and faith for those who are lost to come home." This isn't just a passive wait; it's an active hope that never fades.

The father in the story was watching with anticipation. We don't know how long he had been waiting—the parable doesn't give us those details—but we do know that the father kept an eye on the road, hoping his son would come back. I have heard stories of people who ran away from God for years and years, yet God was always waiting for them to return.

This makes me wonder if I have stopped believing that those who are lost can come back home. So many people have left the church in the United States that it makes you question if they will ever come to their senses and return to God.

The Unreasonable Love of Our Heavenly Father: Lessons from the Prodigal Son

Have you ever wondered what God's love truly looks like? As a pastor, I have thought about this question a lot, and I believe the parable of the prodigal son gives us a deep insight into the heart of our heavenly Father. Let's explore how this story shows us God's incredible compassion and grace towards us.

The Father We Didn't Expect

When we think about fathers, we often picture our own dads. For some of us, those images are good memories, while for others, they might be more difficult. I remember when I was in 7th grade, my friends and I were confident we could beat our dads in a basketball game. We thought we were faster and better, but boy, were we wrong! We got completely crushed by these "old guys." They ran past us, outplayed us, and scored point after point. It was embarrassing, and it taught us a humbling lesson. I don't blame my dad for teaching me that lesson—I needed it. I realized that even though my dad seemed old to me, he could still play basketball way better than a 7th grader.

Earthly fathers can sometimes be more competitive than compassionate, especially in sports, but there's always something to learn about a father's character. The father in the parable of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15:11-32, gives us a picture of a perfect and holy heavenly Father—one who defies our expectations and goes beyond what society would expect.

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Traditions

Jesus was in Jerusalem and got into a heated argument with the Pharisees about hand washing. The Pharisees emphasized a ritual of hand washing to a priority place in their traditions that if you did not follow procedure they would call you out on it.  And so they asked Jesus why his disciples did not ceremonially wash their hands before they ate.  Jesus goes right after the Pharisees traditions that had become more important than the heart of the Law of God. The disciples are concerned that Jesus offended the Pharisees and ask him to explain his reasoning. 

Matthew 15:  16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

Jesus goes to the heart of the issue which is the heart.  You can clean up the outside all you want for outward appearances but our hearts are the key.  So think with me today what traditions Jesus might confront in our American church culture: 

1. We are very offended by the language of our culture and we say we would never us certain profanities in the church.  But Christians are some of the worst people about talking about other people in ways that are slanderous and hateful but we seldom object. 

2. We are often offended by the inappropriate clothing people wear and we might say I would never wear that in public.  But then we turn around and spend an extraordinary amount of money on clothing that is meant to impress other people.  

3.  Do not even get me started on our Christmas and Easter Traditions...

4. What do you recognize is tradition over heart in our American Christian Culture? 

Guys hear me - I do not want you to wear your Speedo bikini swimming suit to church next Sunday or to come in dropping the F-bomb.  Just like Jesus was not saying washing your hands before you eat was a terrible thing.  Jesus just wants us to look at the heart of what we are doing and why we are doing what we do. The heart is really the battle ground for the enemy to trip us up and defeat us.  

Lent 21- Pure Hearts

I remember the school days when teachers would grade on a scale.  So if there were some students in the class who did not really care about the class they would always drop the scale and help me out.  It was not something that motivated me to improve, but rather it made me a bit lazy.  When I think about the concept of having a pure heart I seem to always have the temptation to think of it as a grade on a scale.  There are always people below me and so I must be okay.  

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.  (Matthew 6:8 NLT) 

Maybe of all the "blessing statements" of Jesus, this one is the one that is so far out of reach that we tend to only be able to manage it with comparison.  I mean I know my heart at times is really good and then there are times when jealousy, prejudice, unforgiveness, impurity, and... well you get the idea.  It makes me feel like I can not live up to a pure heart standard.  

One thing I have learned is to discern where my thoughts are coming from.  The devil is a master of sending temptations our way.  These temptations are often in the form of thoughts to distract us from God and His way.  Just because I have an impure thought does not mean it came from my heart.  I just have to decide what I am going to do with that thought.  Dwell on it?  Act on it?  Tell the devil to get away from me. 

Another thing I have learned is that God does not expect me to not be human.  He loves me in my human form and understands my humanity.  He understands all the brokenness of humanity.  A pure heart is not a desire by God for me to quit being human, but rather to learn to depend more and more on the Holy Spirit of God.  My only shot at a pure heart is the heart of Jesus in me.  Jesus must increase in me as I decrease and that is a daily process of surrender.  Then it is clear, the more Jesus is my pure heart the more clearly I see Him.  

Lent 21 - Mercy

As a sports fan I find myself conflicted sometimes in my own opinions.  One thing I struggle with is the concept of "prevent defense" in sports.  When your team is winning and they are doing great and then because they have the lead they change to a "hang on the the lead" mindset.  This so often lets the other team back into the game and I do not want that to happen.  I want my team to win! 

On the other hand I have experience some things in sports that cause me to shake my head in shame.  I was at a basketball tournament and the game was down to the last minute or so and one team was up by 10 points.  The game was essentially over.  The team that was behind had conceeded the game in all reality and was no longer fouling to try and stop the clock.  Then all of a sudden the winning team started pressing and became very active.  They ended up shooting and making a 3 pointer and the end of the game to extent the point differencial.  Come to find out the team's coach figured out that the tournament was going to be decided by points and so they needed to beat the team by more points.  I became pretty judgemental at that moment about the need to rub it in for the cause of a trophey.  

We live in a culture that is competitive. We love to compete and just about everything in life is a competition.  I have taught a leadership development course for 6th graders and in that course we played a game called "Shoulder Tap."  The instructions of the game were to have a partner who you grasped hands like an arm wrestle.  We than told the students that the goal was to count how many times you could tap your united hands on the other person's shoulder.  As soon as we started the minute countdown the struggle and competition was on and most kids only got a tap or two in the minute.  We than told the students that we did not say it was a competition and demonstrated that if the two people worked together that they could get 50 to 100 sholder taps.  We are so much better when we work together.  

Jesus said, "God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy." 

Lent 21 - Thirst

One of my great memories from childhood was backpacking in the mountains of Idaho in the summer.  I can remember having to stay home a few summers as my dad and brother made the trip and came back with great stories of their adventures.  Then I was finally old enough to go on my first trip.  It was so amazing and wonderful - and then came the actually hike the first day.  It was not long before my light backpack started to feel like hundreds of pounds on me.  The beautiful summer day that was beaming with life started to feel like a hot Phoenix, AZ summer day.  My cantina full of water was soon empty and I was soon in complain and dying of thirst mode.  Finally my dad reached his limit and pulled me aside and gave me a little scolding that probably had something to do with "I thought you were grown up enough make this trip!"  He picked up a little rock from the ground and put it in my mouth and told me if I sucked in the rock it would keep my mouth from being dry.  I do not know if it was the talk or the rock that motivated me but I kept going and completed the hike.  

I remember that moment of complete thirst and the feeling of despair when my water supply had been drained.  When I hit that point my mind became fixed on getting a drink. The more I thought about it the more I needed a drink. 

Jesus said - God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness), for they will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)

God created us and therefore understands our desires and our wants in life.  He also knows that one of the best things for us is to desire justice and righteousness.  To want it bad enough that we hunger and thirst for it.  What is it that you hunger and thirst for today?  What is consuming your energy and your desires? Wealth? Safety? Security? Acceptance? Until we desire the righteousness and justice of God we will never be satisfied.

If Jesus is our King we will start to pursue the desires of His heart and His Kingdom.  We will start to pursue justice and righteousness.  

Lent 21 - Humble

As Julie and I were watching some TV last night the question of Journey's band members came up - one of those, "I didn't know Randy Jackson was in Journey." moments.  So as I was looking through Journey members I started to read how Robert Flieschman was the part of band for 6 months or so in 1977 and helped write the song "Wheel in the Sky."  (A personal favorite) As I read about his departure from the band he made the comment that the manager for the band did not really like Robert because he was too cocky.  Robert stated he did not know any lead singers for bands that wasn't at least a little cocky.  Now I am glad Journey went with lead singer Steve Perry but history tells us that he might have been a little cocky also.  

There is a reality that we tend to follow people who have an edge of confidence about them.  I guess we all want to have a leader we believe knows where he/she is going.  So sometimes in our upside down world it seems like the humble are always last in line.  There seems to be no real advantage of being humble. 

Then Jesus says - you are blessed when you are humble.  In God's economy and for God's favor we need to understand that God blesses the humble.  Our inheritance for being humble is the Kingdom.  That is not a suffer now so you can latter go to heaven inheritance, but also a recognition of the power and authority that is available to those who are deeply involved in the Kingdom of God today.  

P.S.  Just a funny story - so we were watching the Super Bowl with some friends and the Weeknd was singing at the halftime show.  And the people at the party my age were having a hard time understanding the words of the Weeknd songs.  I was completely included in not understanding most of the words but I was just trying to act like I understood everything... This took me back to a moment in time when my father was asking my brother and I what in the world was the band Journey was saying in the song Wheel in the Sky.  So we tried to sing it to him thinking that would help... It didn't.  We just had to say the words to him.

The wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'

I don't know where I'll be tomorrow 

Oh, the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin' 

Lent 21 Blessed when you Mourn

I can remember the Sunday afternoon vividly when so many things I tend to forget.  I was driving south toward Joplin to get ready for a week that I loved to be a part of: Teen Camp.  I was just about to Joplin on the back roads when my phone rang.  I got the news that my brother had been stung by a yellow jacket and had an allergic reaction to the sting.  The doctors were not sure if he would make it.  I remember turning around and heading for home in a daze.  I started to think through the details of how to get to Washington, who would go, what to bring, details, details, details... Then I got this impression that I needed to take a suit.  At that moment I burst into tears knowing that I was going to Washington for a funeral.  

My brother was physically revived after he had not breathed for quite some time and it was determined that he did not have any brain activity-  we had to let him go.  Julie and I stayed in Washington through the funeral.  This was my deepest time of mourning that I had experienced in my life.  A loss that I could not just work through in a funeral service time frame.  A loss that took me deep down the path of mourning.  I was deeply angry with God for leaving my brother's kids without a father.  They were 11 years old and I knew this would be a difficult road for them to manage.  When the moment came and my brother took his last breath,  I read from the Psalms about God being the father to the fatherless.  I read this because I was so angry with God for leaving those two kids without a dad.  I worked through the stages of grief in many ways the following days and mostly deep inside so no one would see my pain.

I know two things clearly about mourning.  One, the temptation of mourning is always to push us away from God and to blame God for all the bad things that have happened to us.  The voice of temptation is casting blame on God and causing us to doubt if God really cares about us and whether God is even good at all.  The second thing I know about grieving is God is present.  In the midst of the pain He is always there.  Sometimes we might not be able to feel His love and comfort but He is there. 

So Jesus says "You are blessed when you mourn."  When you are in mourning you can know that you are not going through these dark days because God no longer favors you or that God has abandoned you.  And when we are in our darkest days we can look to God and find joy and comfort.  Maybe even happiness. 

Lent 21 - Blessed

 Jesus most famous sermon is recorded for us in Matthew 5-7.  Jesus introduction to the sermon is a series of statements about what it means to be blessed.  The concept of Jesus' day is often found in our thinking today that if God blesses me I will have money, power and influence.  The wealthy Jewish leaders beleived they were blessed by God with their positions of authority and wealth. Jesus turns that concept upside down with his statements about blessing.  Blessing has the meaning of "favored" or "happy." God looks at us as favored in His eyes and we can therefore have a since of happiness and joy. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit - (NIV) 

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him (NLT)

Humble men are very fortunate (Living Bible) 

You're blessed when you are at the end of your rope...with less of you there is more of God and His rule. (The Message) 

Being poor is not a sign of godlessness.  In fact you can be blessed by God and be poor. When we are financially poor we have limited options and we have to focus on what is essential. There are many warnings in the Bible about what being wealthy can do to your soul.  

Understanding that our spirit is poor without God leads us to a place of depending more and more on God and less and less on all the stuff that isn't God.  If we want to receive all of God's blessings we need to allow ourselves to decrease as we allow Jesus to increase within us.  We learn to die daily to ourselves and become more and more alive in Christ.  If Jesus is the King of our hearts, the Messiah of the World than He can be trusted to rule our hearts and bless our lives as He sees fit. 

What do we gain if we are poor in spirit and trust in God daily?  

- For theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (NIV, NLT, Living Translation) 

Keys to the Kingdom today and for all eternity.  Pretty good inheritance offer.  Our loving Father gives us all we need for our spiritual journey today and everyday.  Treasure beyond compare and beyond our understanding. 

Don't waste your life chasing treasure that will fade away when Jesus is offering us His blessing and His Kingdom. 

Lent 21- Gospel of Matthew

 Matthew 4:1-2 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil.  For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river by John the Baptist he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  I just have to let that sink into my mind today.  After a spiritual high and hearing the voice of the Father saying, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy," Jesus is led to the wilderness. 

I love that Jesus is affirmed by the Father before he has done anything.  No miracles have been performed, no great sermons have been given, no massive crowds have been brought together and God still loves His Son.  

I do not love it so much that the leading of the Holy Spirit might lead us to places of testing and dryness. I want the Holy Spirit to lead me into victory over my enemies, success, safety and ease.  I am pleased when the Spirit leads me places and people recognize His leading and want to follow me.  I am pleased when I get to be used by the work of the Holy Spirit for the Kingdom and I do believe that is what God is up to in our lives... but sometimes we have to be willing for the Holy Spirit to lead us into the wilderness as well as to the mountaintop. 

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and so we must be most aware of the temptations that come in the path of wilderness and preperation.  I think the enemy of our soul is always tempting us at every opportunity he has, but there are specific temptations during wilderness times.  When things are not going our way we are tempted to: 

    1. Turn rocks into stones - you can not count on God to take care of your simple needs so you better take care of yourself. 

    2. Throw ourselves down so angels will catch us - you can not count on God's plan because it will be slow and deliberate, make God act now.

    3. Bow down to the enemy - you can not trust God's methods so try some other paths to find an easy way out of the wilderness. 

We can still trust God in the wilderness and dry times of our lives.  He still loves us, He still has a plan for our lives and He is still at work.  The key for us to trust God is to know Who Jesus Is!  The journey of the Gospel of Matthew is to remind us of who Jesus is and why who He is matters.  

True Worship

Through my years of being a pastor I take notice of when my friends from church get out of the habit of meeting with the Body of Christ.  Part of that reality is I do have to report numbers, but the bigger part is I miss my friends when they stop meeting with me for worship.  I also know it is difficult to keep up our connection with God when we are not involved in the corporate worship of God.  There is power in gathering with like minded people to honor and glorify God.  But what do we do when we feel like worship has become a habit without power or God's presence?  The prophet Isaiah was living in a different day than we do today.  If you were an Israelite in those days you could not just choose another place to worship. However Isaiah deals with the people of his day about what if their worship was not pleasing to God?  What if our religious activity is merely human and not honoring God?  Now that is a problem we could also have today.  There are times when worship seems more like a habit then alive and a powerful part of our lives.  What do we do in those moments?  Isaiah told the people of his day to check their motives for worship.   

Isaiah 58:3 

‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
    ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
    and you don’t even notice it!’

The people felt like they were doing the right religious activities but that God was not paying attention.  They felt like they were fasting and praying but God was ignoring their efforts. So God responds to the people through the prophet: 

Isaiah 58:5-7 

You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind.

“No, this is the kind of fasting I want:

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
    lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
    and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
    and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
    and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

Our worship and our lives need to be on the same page.  We can not go to church on Sunday and hope to honor God if we living lives Monday-Saturday that are the opposite of worship of God.  God says we need to be at work for the oppressed, for the hungry, homeless, naked and needy family.  So if we think our worship is not connecting with God, the first thing is to allow God to examine our everyday actions and our hearts of compassion for people in need around us.  

God's hope for us is that our worship would help us connect with God:

Isaiah 58:11 

The Lord will guide you continually,
    giving you water when you are dry
    and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like an ever-flowing spring.

There may be times in our lives when we feel like we are going through a desert season and we just need to keep the habit of worship until the Holy Spirit revives our hearts.  There are times when we need to check our motives and make sure our daily lives are consistent with what we proclaim on Sunday. 

New Start - January 22, 2021

Dinner was quit a ritual at our family when I was a kid.  My dad rode a bus to work and so it was at a usual time he would arrive home from work.  Mom would call us kids from whatever activities we were up to and tell us it was time to eat.  No, we did not have a dinner bell.  There were some other rituals or rules that went along with eating at the table.  First of all you had to wash your hands before you ate and this was generally a wise idea because many time we would have been outside playing and so we were usually dirty.  Especially my brother and me, sometimes my sister might have been playing the piano or doing other things inside, but she still had to wash her hands.  Maybe we were preparing for 2020 pandemic days.  The rules that did not make sense to me as a kid were the "no hat" and you had to "have a shirt on" to eat.  Hats do not hinder the meal for anyone.  I would rather look at a person with a hat on than a person with messed up hair.  And a shirt, really?  When you got really dirty out playing in the dirt and you had to wash up and take your dirty shirt in the laundry, why would you want to put a clean shirt on just to eat?  I mean I often was (maybe still am) a messy eater and then I would spill food on my clean shirt and that just meant more laundry for my mom. 

The Pharisees of Jesus day also had some rules and traditions that they followed as seriously as my mom followed the dinner time rules.  The problem is that Jesus said their rules had become more important than the heart of worship.  Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah to describe the problem. 

Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote."

Jesus reminds us that our worship must be from the heart and that sometimes we can miss the heart of worship with all our rules.  Many people go through the ritual of worship but never really allow the Holy Spirit to transform their hearts.  We know we are suppose to show up to the dinner table with clean hands and dressed in a clean shirt, but we forget the most important part is to show up with a heart connected to God. 

I am grateful for the times we spent as a family around the table.  My heart is warmed by those precious memories.  

 

New Start - January 21, 2021

When Isaiah writes about Israel, it may start out harsh realities of the coming future but then ends with hope.  There always seems to be a light at the end of the dark days. If only the people of God would learn from God's discipline and turn to God. In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. (Isaiah 26:9)  Isaiah is consistent in the themes of God's people need to seek God and follow God's instructions.  This means fighting for justice and caring for the poor.  This means trusting in the Lord instead of worshiping other gods. 

  

Isaiah 28:7-10 Now, however, Israel is led by drunks who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.
The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol and lose themselves in wine.
They reel when they see visions and stagger as they render decisions.
Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere.
“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?
He tells us everything over and over—one line at a time, one line at a time,
a little here, and a little there!

Human pride seems to always lead us away from following God with all our hearts.  Who is God to instruct us? Are we like little children?  God's response to the people's pride is: 

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, 

     a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.
17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice
    and the plumb line of righteousness. (Isaiah 28:16-17a) 

Peter quotes this passage in 1 Peter 2:6 and refers to Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.  Jesus being our rock and foundation is the key to overcoming our pride and our self-dependence.  Jesus being our rock and foundations allows us to take shelter in God during the storms of life.  

Jesus concludes his most famous sermons with these words: 

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. (Matthew 7:24-25) 

The reality is the storms of life have come and will continue to come.  The reality is that we have a tendency to depend on a lot of things when those storms some but only one thing is needed... Jesus, the Rock.  

New Start - January 20

Reading this middle part of the writings of the prophet Isaiah make you wonder about his mental health.  Such visions of destruction and loss must have been a burden to carry that weighed him down.  Did you catch the part of him being naked and barefoot for 3 years.  I don't even walk around my house naked for more than 3 minutes.  

Isaiah 20:3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia. 

I believe I am going to keep that concept in my mind the next time I think God has called me to do something strange. Well, at least God is asking me to do it with my clothes on.

Isaiah's visions of destruction for nations all around Israel and than also for Israel.  It is one thing to see your enemies destroyed, but then to have visions of your own people destroyed would be a heavy load.  

Isaiah 24:5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
    for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
    and broken his everlasting covenant.

No matter the visions of destruction and how bad they seem there is always a small splinter of hope.  There is always a remnant that survives and God gives us hope.  

Isaiah 24:14-16a But all who are left shout and sing for joy.                                                      Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.

15 In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
    In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
    songs that give glory to the Righteous One!

In the midst of pain and loss God has a way of bringing a song of joy.  The work of the Lord will continue and the songs that glorify God will continue to rise.  

PS - I confess that I have been the downfall of several tambourines and though I have not destroyed them I hid them well enough not to be found.  So I may start proof texting Isaiah 24:8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled... and call it God's will.  

New Start - January 18, 2021

Sometimes reading the prophets writings can get a little bit negative.  The reality was the prophets often had to give a message to the people of "bad news" from the Lord.  Isaiah had been giving that bad news to other nations in chapters 13-16 and then chapter 17 God turns His message towards Israel.  The prophet was probably well received when the enemies of Israel were in trouble but was not received quite as well when he starts to tell "bad news" for Israel. 

Isaiah 17:4 

“In that day Israel’s glory will grow dim;
    its robust body will waste away.

We do not usually like to hear bad news about our own nation and about a land and a people we love.  In the US we tend to only like to hear the good about who we are and it is hard to hear the negative about our nation.  In these days of seeing the racial divide in our country and the political divide in our country - it is noticeable that something is wrong.  I don't expect the US to be God's nation of Israel but I do have hopes of the people of God rising up and making a positive impact on our culture.  Isaiah reminded the people of Israel and us today that when we face the consequences of our sins we must turn to God for help. 

Isaiah 17:7-8 

Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

8 They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives we find that God is always leading us to a place of confronting our sin and turning to God for help.  I always love the thought that God loves me too much to leave me living in my sin and allow me continue to destroy my life.  God loves you so much!

New Start - January 15, 2021

Snow!  Some people love it and some people hate it.  For me growing up in Idaho it was just a normal part of every winter that seemed to extend to Easter weekend most years.  Lots and lots of snow.  Snow can definitely cause us some trouble.  I can remember when I was a kid, on Christmas break as we were headed to Wyoming to see family, we hit some ice and our car went spinning.  We managed to stay on the road and came to a stop.  We thought we had dodged an accident only to have the car behind us run right into the back of our car.  Good thing cars back then, Ford Galaxie 500, was a bit of a tank.  For me snow ment income as a kid.  I had a regular contract with my next door neighbor to shovel their driveway and sidewalks every time it snowed.  Then I would walk the neighborhood and see if anyone else would pay me to shovel their snow.  For me snow was also connected to fun.  We would build igloos and snowmen.  We would shovel mazes through the snow in the backyard and play games for hours.  And then there was the sledding.  I think our church finally banned the annual tubing trip because it always seemed like someone broke and arm or a leg on those trips.  

Today the prophet Isaiah speaks of snow in Isaiah 1.  The prophet has been describing Israel's religious behavior as a nation.  They had continued the religious activity but had lost the heart of the matter.  Their religious activity had become something that God despised instead being pleasing to God.  Good reminder for us today that we can be very religious without pleasing God.  

Isaiah 1:15-20

When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.  Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.

If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.

I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Isaiah reminds us that snow has the ability to cover things and make them appear clean.  Snow has a way of taking the mess of the world and for a while making it peaceful and calm.  God has a way of taking the mess of our lives and covering it with grace.  This only happens when we get serious about the work of God and quit playing religious games.  If our hearts are not in line with the work of God then our prayers will merely be words.  If we do not seek to live as God leads us to live than our sins will remain and the consequences of our sins will remain.  But if we obey and line our hearts up to the way of God, grace and peace are abundant.

New Start - January 13, 2021

Paul, Silas and Timothy write in their letter to the church in Thessalonica that they need not worry about the end of times and that Jesus was already beginning to return.  Maybe they thought, we are a long way from Jerusalem so maybe the end has come and we will be the last ones to hear about it way out here in Thessalonica.  I can remember living in Phoenix. AZ back in the days before internet.  Even though we were only 6 hours from Los Angeles, I can remember there was a 6 month gap between what was new in LA and what was new in Phoenix.  Things in the 1980's seems to travel slowly we can only imagine how news traveled back in the first century.  

Paul assures the church that there are some significant events that must happen before the coming of Jesus that had not happened yet.  Then Paul, Silas and Timothy give us a little insight about one things that will be significant about the "man of lawlessness", who will come before the return of Jesus.  

2:10-11 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.  So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.

The picture is clear that the power of the "man of lawlessness" is deception and lies.  I read a little book by Andy Andrews entitled, "How Do Your Kill 11 Million People?" and in the book Andrews spells out how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi leaders were able to kill 11,283,000 Jews in Europe.  Why didn't the 11 million rise up and fight back before it was too late?  The key to their plan was deception and lies.  Andrew wrote: 

Adolf Eichmann known as "the master" was directed by written orders in December 1941 to implement the Final Solution....An intricate web of lies, to be delivered in stages, was designed to ensure the cooperation of the condemned (but unknowing) Jews.  (Page 22-23) 

Stage 1 was to move the Jews into one neighborhood and put up barbed wire fences around the neighborhood.  The lie given was this was temporary and that this was for their protection. 

Stage 2 was to take bribes from the Jews for future living conditions.  This gave the Jews the hope for a future and that the plans of the Nazi's was to give the Jews a future home. 

Stage 3 was to have a town meeting and lie to the people that the Russian army was on the front and so they were moving the Jews to their own safe communities.  The message was "Please get on the crowded trains for a short trip to a safe and protected future."  But instead they got on trains that led to concentration camps and death.  

Lies and deception are the tools of the enemy.  Powerful tools that have destroyed millions of lives.  We see lies and deception used in so many ways in our day and in our culture.  

Vs 15 With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

If we are going to stand firm in our faith we must hold on to the truth.