Monthly Archives: August 2010

A Made Up Mind

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There’s an old saying, never judge a book by it’s cover.

Don’t think you know everything about a situation too quickly. There’s always more to know, more to understand, things you don’t see.

Don’t make judgements too quickly, before you know what’s going on.

I thought of that as I read this morning from the first chapter of John

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nathanael almost missed Jesus this morning. He always missed his salvation, he almost missed the great thing God wanted to do, he almost missed the very hope for his life.

Why?

Because he had his mind made up already.  He just knew that nothing good come from Nazareth.  Nothing worth anything could come from there.

He knew it.

And, because of that, he almost missed what God wanted to do.

Thankfully, he had a friend that was willing to love him and take him to Jesus.

Today, let’s not be too hasty to have our minds made up about everything.  Let’s be open to new potential and new dreams.  Let’s see what new thing God may be  up to.

Let’s see what could happen in ways that we don’t understand.  Let’s not make up our mind too fast.

Let’s be willing to follow Jesus in new ways. Let’s try new things.  Let’s not be too quick to judge.

Even if we think nothing good can come from Nazareth.  Let’s not make up our minds too quickly.

God may be trying to do something new. Let’s see what He is up to.

Lights and Lamps

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Today in Psalm 119, I read on of my favorite passages of in all the Bible.  It says in verse 105

Your word is a lantern to my feet *
and a light upon my path.

I remember hearing this passage when I was a kid at Johnston Chapel UMC when we did Vacation Bible School and did the pledge to the Bible during each day’s opening ceremony.  It’s one of those verses that always stuck with me.

And that verse makes us feel good when we are thinking about trusting in God, because it promises that God will be a light to us and show us where we are going.

There is something about that text, though. Look what it promises. The word is a lantern (lamp) unto my feet and light unto my path.

A lamp and light are great. But, they are not spotlights.  They simply shine enough light for us to take the next step.

God does not always given us enough light for 10 steps from now. He gives us enough life for the very next step and tell us to trust Him.

He will show us the next step. And the next step.  And the next step.  And will lead us where we need to be.

But, we have to trust in Him in that.  We may see what is next. We may not see what is come.

So, we trust.

Today, take that next step that the Lord has given you enough light to see. And trust Him for the step 10 steps from now. He will lead you where you need to be.

Not as Strong as We Think We Are

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My favorite Christian singer of all time was Rich Mullins. There are a lot of Christian artists that I really enjoy, but he was my favorite. At a time when I was struggling with the faith and what it means to really be a Christian, the words of his songs really spoke to me and really drew me into a truer faith.

Today’s reading from Psalm 78 reminds me so much of one of his songs “Not as Strong as We Think We Are.” The mistake we can make as humans is that we can think we are so much stronger than we are. We can think we can do so much, we get so prideful and think more of ourselves than we ought. And then we mess up, we fall down, and we are reminded just how weak we are.

The Psalmist writes this:

37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him, *
and they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 But he was so merciful that he forgave their sins
and did not destroy them; *
many times he held back his anger
and did not permit his wrath to be roused.
39 For he remembered that they were but flesh, *
a breath that goes forth and does not return.

Man, I am so thankful for those words this morning.  The people’s hearts were not steadfast towards God. They turned away. They didn’t turn to Him. They didn’t seek Him. They chose their way over His way, their cravings and sin over what God wanted them to do.

And God was right to be angry with them. But, the text says, because of His mercy, He held back.

And remembered they are just flesh.

God knows we are not as strong as we think we are.  He knows we are weak and frail.  He knows we will get ourselves in trouble like lost sheep.

He knows that.

And loves us anyway.

In spite of all of our weakness.  All our frailty. All our faults. God knows. And He loves us.  In spite of ourselves.

He knows that we need Him for even our next breath. He knows we can’t do it without Him. He knows we bring nothing to the table for Him.

And He loves us.  Anyway.

Sometimes, all the time, really, we forget we are weak and frail. We are not as strong as we think we are.   We are not.

We really are not a big deal.  We really aren’t.

We are just a breath that will be gone someday.

And God still loves us!  In spite of what we’ve done, in spite of our frailty, we are loved. God knows we are weak. And He loves us.

Today, thankfully, we are not as strong as we think we. May we turn to Him. And in Him, we will find the strength we need. We can’t do it ourselves. Through Him, we can do all things.

Through Him.

Hope for a Monday

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So many of the Psalms have built into them a chorus.  A phrase that repeats itself throughout the Psalm.  I really like this about the Psalms.  It makes us keep coming back to the same point, it makes us keep remembering what is important; what is the thing that we need to remember.

In a Psalm I read today, Psalm 80, this was the refrain that kept coming back, over and over again:

3 Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

The Psalm walks through the triumphs and defeats of Israel’s history.  It walks through the times when they had been faithful, as well as the times they had fallen on their face.

And, in both cases, this refrain is given – restore us oh God, Show us your light, and we shall be saved.

Today, our salvation doesn’t come from ourselves.  It doesn’t come from us being good enough.  It doesn’t come from us being perfect. It doesn’t come from anything we can do.  It comes from God.  All of it.  It all comes from God.

So, whether we are perfect and obey and do everything we are supposed to do.

Or,whether we mess up, fall down, stub our town and blow it.

It’s not about us.  It’s about God. It’s about what He’s done.

Place your hope today not in yourself and your might and your power.  Place it in God.  For it’s through Him we are saved, it’s through Him, we have hope, it’s through Him, we are restored.

Not of our own strength.  But from the light of countenance.

Rejoice in that today!  It’s gonna be a great day and a great week!  Rejoice in what God has done, rejoice in what God is doing, and rejoice in what God will do!

August 1, 2010 Podcast is Up!

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Today’s sermon podcast is is up on Asbury Church’s website. This sermon is the first in my series “Being Salt” which walks us through the Sermon on the Mount.  It entitled Oh Happiness. The text is Matthew 5: 3-12. Click the to our website to stream it there, or you can listen to it through my blog. You can also click here to subscribe through iTunes.

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