Grief

If you have lived long on this earth you have felt grief.  It is one of the normal human

emotions.  In the past few weeks the anniversaries of the deaths of my parents occurred.  The grief of losing a loved one doesn't ever completely leave.  Some days the grief seems very fresh and other times it is just a little part of our hearts.

As I was thinking about grief I came to realize that even though it is now a normal emotion it was probably never a part of the human experience until sin entered the world.  We grieve the loss of a loved one because of the separation.  Death entered the world because of sin.  

We have a lot of things that cause us grief.  The most common being death.  But, as Christian parents, an even more unbearable grief comes when one of our beloved children turns from the Lord.  

Even though we grieve we have every reason to hope.  Consider 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (ESV)  "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep."

Because Jesus himself experienced death and then rose from the dead we have the wonderful hope of seeing our loved ones who have died in the Lord again.  That gives us great comfort.  

Because we can pray and know that God hears our prayers and that God is patient (The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV))  we have tremendous hope even for our wandering children.

Consider that even our Lord experiences grief.  See Matthew 23:37 (ESV) “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"  Ephesians 4:30 tells us that it is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit.  

My point is that grief comes to us all, even to our Lord.  How we handle it is what matters.  We should grieve with hope.  We should not stop praying.  We should never allow our grief to control us, making us unfruitful.  

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.  Psalm 42:11 (ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Be a Fruitful Branch

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."  John 15:1-2 (ESV)

This is Jesus speaking.  He is using something that was very familiar to his audience--grape

vines.  Most of us have never been growers of grapes.  But many of us have done some form of gardening or maybe even had some fruit trees.  

Jesus compares himself to a vine and says that we are the branches.  We are that closely connected to our Lord.  Just think of it.  What a blessing!  When we put on Christ in baptism we are part of Him.  He gives us the life and nutrients we need so that we can produce fruit.  

If you have ever had a garden or an orchard you know that sometimes a branch seems to be connected and ought to be producing but it just isn't.  If we are good gardeners we will cut that branch off so that it doesn't waste the strength of the plant.  

Sadly there are those who appear to be connected to our true vine but they are not producing fruit.  Jesus says that the Father will take that branch away.  Such a sad thought.  

Consider this scripture:  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:10 (ESV)

But we have a patient, compassionate Father.  Consider this parable:  And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’  And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.  Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”  Luke 13:6-9 (ESV)

What kind of fruit are we supposed to produce?  I remember hearing as a child that the fruit of a Christian is more Christians.  We were supposed to reach out to the lost and lead them to Christ.  Now, I firmly believe that we are meant to share the gospel with the whole world in hopes that all will come to praise God.  However, I do not think this is what is meant by bearing  fruit.

We are all familiar with this passage:  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

These are the fruits we are to produce in ever-increasing amounts.  The Father gives us the written word, prayer, worship and all other "Christian disciplines" as the fertilizer to help us produce those fruits.

Now what happens when we are producing fruit?  The Father prunes the branches that bear fruit so they can bear even more fruit.  Ouch!  This must be the most difficult time to practice being thankful in all things.  Sometimes the pruning involves suffering.  None of us desires suffering.  But all the pruning we go through is meant to help us produce more fruit; to be more like Jesus.  

Let us strive to be fruitful branches.  Let us rejoice in the pruning.  Let us long to be more like Him.

What Are You Singing?

My husband got me a copy of the book Devotedly by Valerie Elliot Shepard for Christmas. 

Valerie is the daughter of Elisabeth and Jim Elliot.  Anyone who knows me well knows that Elisabeth Elliot is one of my favorite authors.  Most of you have probably  heard of Jim Elliot, one of the five men martyred by the Auca Indians.  The book is excerpts from the letters and journals of both Elisabeth and Jim from the years before their marriage with text written by their daughter.  I have not completed the book but am reading it slowly day by day.  It is an excellent book and a wonderful view into how the two of them thought and lived in those years.

There are a lot of things that have stood out for me in my reading but I want to focus on just one of them for this post.  Having read almost everything Elisabeth Elliot wrote I know that in her childhood home hymn singing was important.  The family would sing daily and talk about the meaning of the songs.  Valerie mentioned that much of Elisabeth's theology was formed by those hymns.

I think I realized that was true but for some reason this struck me anew.  Hymns and the songs we sing during our worship, whether at home or in the assembly have a powerful impact on our lives.  We should really consider carefully what we are learning and what we are teaching by our hymns.  

So often, it seems, a song becomes popular because it has a catchy tune or snappy lyrics.  But what is it teaching?  Many people today will reject a hymn simply because it was written decades or even centuries ago without considering what benefit there might be in that hymn.  Likewise we might like a song just because it was one we sang in the church where we grew up.  Not all the older songs teach good theology.  If you look at some you will see that they are teaching salvation by works.  Others might teach cheap grace.  We must be careful.

Consider the newer songs, often called "worship songs."  There are some beautiful songs with deep meanings.  In Christ Alone comes to mind.  What a beautiful and deeply meaningful song.  Also some of the newer songs (as well as the older ones) are taken directly from the scriptures, particularly the Psalms.  On the other hand what about the song that says that Jesus thought of us above all when he was dying on the cross?  I take issue with that song because it is clear from scripture that he thought of the Father and the Father's will above all.  

What about the songs we teach children in Bible class?  I am in my sixties and I still remember well and can sing many of the songs I learned in those early years.  

Let's stop and think about what we are singing and teaching through our songs.  Reject those that contain false teaching.  Be sure to sing a variety of songs.  If you have a favorite song evaluate why that is a favorite.  

Whether we realize it or not we are forming our own theology and that of our children partially through our singing.

Be careful and keep on singing! 

Wait On The Lord

This morning my reading was in Nehemiah.  One thing I really appreciate about reading through the Bible every year is how something different always jumps out at me.  

Today I wondered about the months.  Hanani came to visit Nehemiah in the month Chislev and told him of the sorry condition of the people of Judah and the destruction of the wall around Jerusalem.  The scripture says that Nehemiah was completely cast down by the news.  He was grieving and praying.  

Reading on we see that Nehemiah had the important job of cupbearer to the king.  He went to serve the king his wine in the month Nisan.  The king noticed his sadness and questioned him.

I expect that all of those who are reading this are familiar with the story.  I began to wonder just how far apart Chislev and Nisan are.  In all my readings of this book I never really thought about the time.

I looked it up and found that Chislev is the ninth month of twelve in the ancient Hebrew calendar.  Nisan is the first month.  Nehemiah waited FOUR months before appealing to the king.  Why?

He spent his time in weeping, mourning, fasting and praying.  He was waiting on the guidance of the Lord.  I can imagine him grieving and trying to figure out what he could do.  When he finally did talk to the king, he had a clear plan ready to present.  He said the hand of his God was on him for favor.  

How often do we rush ahead without waiting on the Lord?  That doesn't work out very well.  Consider when Saul got impatient for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifice to the Lord.  He got tired of waiting and offered the sacrifice himself.  Nothing good came from that.  

Nehemiah was highly successful at the task he was given.  He succeeded against terrible odds in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.  He did not let anything get in the way of doing his job.  I believe that his time of waiting on the Lord was the reason for his success. 

No matter how difficult it may be, wait on the Lord, but don't wait without weeping, mourning, fasting and praying.  

NEHUSHTAN

Most of you probably remember the story of the fiery serpents which came among the Israelites as they were wandering in the wilderness.  They had been grumbling and complaining (as usual) and God sent the serpents to bite them.  Many of the people died from the snakebites.  That made the people think and they repented and asked Moses to beg God for help.  

God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole.  If anyone was bitten by one of the snakes, he could look at the bronze serpent and be saved.  

Now fast forward hundreds of years.  The Israelites have lived in the land for a long time.  The kingdom has been divided and Israel has gone into captivity because of their faithlessness and disobedience.  Judah is still in the land but they have had their ups and downs.

Currently the king is Hezekiah.  He was zealous for God and strove to bring the people back to faithfulness.  The people had been worshipping many false gods for many years.  Even since the time of Solomon.  The land was filled with idols.  Hezekiah destroyed them all.  

This is the part I want you to notice:   He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 2 Kings 18:4 (ESV)

The bronze serpent that Moses had made at God's command so many years before had been kept and had become a snare.  The people were worshipping the means God provided, instead of the God who saved them.  Hezekiah destroyed it.

As I was thinking about this earlier today I thought of Jesus who was lifted up on the cross.  Just like the bronze serpent, those who are bitten by the lies of Satan can look to the one on the cross and be saved.  But unlike the bronze serpent, the one on that cross was God himself and we are to worship Him.  

Scripture tells us that a lot of people died from those snake bites.  I don't know if any died because they refused to look at the bronze serpent, but many die now because they refuse to look to the man who was God and who died on that cross.

 

 The Deadly Sin

"...you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  We all know the story.  The serpent was

crafty and deceived the woman.  He did this by appealing to her pride and causing her to question God.  Pride.  Because of pride death entered the world.  Ever since then pride has been destroying lives.  

Cain wasn't happy because God accepted Abel's sacrifice and not his.  Pride.  He murdered his brother.

Naaman thought the waters of his own home had to be better than any river in Israel.  He almost missed out on the healing God wanted to give.  

Nebuchadnezzar was so full of pride that he had a statue made of himself and commanded everyone to worship it.  Later in his life he lost his mind for seven years and lived like an animal, all because of pride.

Remember when David went up against Goliath?  Goliath was full of pride and mocked David.  That didn't last long.

What about the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  The Pharisee even bragged about himself to God.  He was not justified.

We could go on and on.  Paul before his conversion, the apostles, Herod, Pharaoh...

James has something to say about pride. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Pride is deadly.  It is a poison.  It will kill us.  God is opposed to pride because of his great love for us.  He knows that pride will keep us from the grace he desires to pour out on us.

How many have you known who refuse to submit to God because they think they are better than others.  They are good people and of course they don't need God.  

Pride can destroy a ministry.  When a church leader starts to feel that they are strong and can get into compromising situations and they will resist sin, pride often leads to their downfall and the destruction of their good influence.

Recently I have seen how pride can destroy a person.  A longtime worker in the kingdom has begun to think too highly of himself and is more interested in making a great name for himself than in furthering the Lord's work.  He was heard to brag that he was going to build himself the nicest house in the area.  May God humble him before it is too late.

C.S. Lewis said, “the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride.”  Pride is the foundation of sins.  We start to think we know better than God.

We must examine ourselves daily and root out pride.  We are saved by the grace of God, just as every other saved person is.  We are lost without Him.  Jesus died because of MY sins.  Pride will rear its ugly head frequently, but we must destroy it completely before it destroys us for eternity.

 February

I am one of those curious people.  I sometimes wonder about the strangest things and try to find the answers.  Recently I began to wonder about the names of the months.  

The ancient Roman empire fell centuries ago but its influence remains. Many of the months are named for Roman Gods.  As February drew near I began to wonder for what this month is named.  Here is what Wikipedia has to say: 

February got its name from the Latin word "februum," which means purification, linked to the ancient Roman festival of Februa that involved rituals of cleansing. This month was added to the calendar by King Numa Pompilius around 713 BC.

Basically, February was the month of purification. Naturally, that got me to thinking about purity.

In our Sunday evening Bible study we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount. Since we just started this a few weeks ago we are still working through the beatitudes. Thinking about February and purification linked up in my mind with our discussion of "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

What does it mean to be pure in heart? When something is pure it is all one substance. There is nothing foreign in it. Pure gold, is gold. With God's help our hearts need to be purely His. No room for anything but God. Something we must continually work toward.

Seeing God! The pure in heart will see God. Consider someone who doesn't have a pure heart toward God. That person will not see God's hand in the events of his or her life. They will not see God as they walk in the forest or under the beautiful sky. Even as we wait for our new bodies where we will be able to stand in the presence of God and see Him as He is, we can see him all around us if we have pure hearts.

As we move through February let's work on purifying our hearts, filling them so full of God that there is no room for anything else.