Thursday, August 12, 2010

Not Even Demerol

There is a pain greater than being in labor with child that not even demerol can lessen the suffering. That's the pain of forgiveness; because forgiveness demands that we die; die to ourselves: our perceived rights, our wants and desires, our view of justice.
The pain and cost of forgiveness is most vividly displayed at Calvary. Jesus suffered the Roman scourge and was ultimately murdered by crucifixion so that you and I could be forgiven(Is 53:4-5). Jesus Himself spoke of His right to call legions of angels to deliver Him(Matt 26:53), but instead He chose to suffer and forgive even His executioners -Luke 23:34.
Is it any wonder, then, why Jesus taught us that unless we forgive others then God will not forgive us -Matt 6:14-15.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

What's On Your Heart?

Nehemiah 4:6 "So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to the half of it. For the people had a heart to work." -LITV

This morning a prayer request was lifted up concerning the "darkness" that our communities are gripped in. After service, as I drove home, I meditated about this "darkness." Some are in total distress over the condition of their community, and rightly so. Nehemiah was a man also acquainted with grief over the condition of his home community. Upon receiving word of the condition of Jerusalem, Nehemiah mourned and wept for his beloved home. We, too, need to mourn and weep for our communities; then, like Nehemiah, we need to set our heart to working and "get our hands dirty" with the Lord’s work- for Nehemiah it was rebuilding Jerusalem; for us it is evangelizing. Each of us needs to be a light within our community.
The darkness in some communities almost seems as though it were so thick that it could wrap around oneself. However, one thing I discovered during a power outage is that the darker it is the more impact a single light seems to have. When we walk within our communities others should see a noticeable difference in us. I like the analogy, "bugs are attracted to the light" to describe how people are drawn to us Christians when they see genuine faith in us. When we have interaction with anyone that the Lord draws to us we should be prepared- having put on the whole armor of God… our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace (Eph 6:10-18).
Although it is true that “actions speak louder than words,” our mouths are still a powerful tool for evangelizing. James spoke of the power of the tongue comparing the tongue to a consuming fire capable of utter destruction. But, fire can also be used to save lives and property when used in controlled fires and “backfiring” as in fire fighting. What we need to be doing is opening our mouths every opportunity and using our tongues to speak God's Word; igniting an inferno of passion in others to turn from ungodliness(Titus 2:12) and allowing the flame of His Word to devour the dark, dead works of the flesh.
James puts forth for consideration, "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth" -James 3:5. In the original Greek "little fire" is oligos pur -which indicates a short-lived flame. The idea that James is portraying is that even a brief spark (symbolic of just one to a few words) is capable of setting a forest ablaze.
What I put forth to each of us is this: considering the power of one little spark when applied to an extremely dry, dead, and decaying environment; what manner of transformation could take place within our nation if each of us where to start the spark of revival within our communities... within our own homes even… by having a heart to work telling others of Jesus great love for them.