A Net in Time

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Faith

Watch and Pray

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I was orginally going to entitle this post, the wicked shall not inherit, but then I read the chapter again.   While it is true that that wicked shall not inherit the earth, it is more true that our job is to watch AND pray.   Let us then consider WHY we should watch and pray.

Watch and Pray

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is talking with a church that he has spent a lot of time with.  He’s seeing things in them he doesn’t like to see and so offers a series of six questions.   Questions that begin with Do you not know?

  1. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 
  2. Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
  3. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
  4. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?
  5. Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?
  6. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Watch and Pray

We are Not Immune

You would think that all believers would know these truths, particularly ones that have been taught by solidly biblical pastors.    But that might not true.   People don’t always know what we expect them too.   Sometimes the world influences us in ways that we don’t expect.

Take the age that we live in now.  Sensuality and money influences about everything you can think of.  Think you aren’t influenced by that?   Please… think again.  We cannot for one moment take for granted that we are immune to certain sins, even some of the grosser sins in Paul's catalogue! The Faith Shaped Life by Ian Hamilton Click To Tweet

Watch and Pray

Watch and Pray

So we need to watch and pray.   We need to pray that we are kept from the evil one, that our churches not succumb to the pressures of the age in which we live.  We need to be alert to influences of the world creeping in in ways that we might not expect. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that we need to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

We need to pray that we don’t deceive ourselves, that we not be compromised by the prevailing wickedness of the world around us.   Watch and Pray.  The earth belongs to the Lord but the devil fights him hard.  Let’s not help him.   Bring glory to God. 

If you’d like to follow along in The Faith-shaped life, amazon link is below.

Before I leave today, I’ve just realized I only have 6 more chapters to go before I am done this amazing book. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying going through this book. I’m getting rather curious about what book I should go through next. These are the books that I am considering. What are your thoughts?

Jesus’ Crucifixion

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I know it’s been a while since I’ve shared my devotions, sorry about that, I’ve been in a bit of a slump since Christmas.  Anyways, last time we met we talked about how Pilate tried to release Jesus but the Jewish leadership would have none of it.   Today we will look at John 19:16-27.

So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,
“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus Was Taken

So they took Jesus,

Four simple words eh?   And tonight I read them and my heart sank.  Jesus, the only human who did no wrong, he was taken.   We know what is going to happen, because … they took him. 

The Crucifixion

They made Jesus carry his own cross.  This wasn’t a special to Jesus thing, it was the normal practice for prisoners.   Carry your cross to where you will die.   So Jesus carried his cross to The Pace of a Skull (also known as Golgotha).   Jesus was crucified along with two others. 

Pilate had an inscription written saying  “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  It was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek so anyone passing by could read it.  The Jewish leadership wanted Pilate to change it, lots of Jews were able to read it, but he said  “What I have written I have written.”

Scripture Fulfilled

Jesus is on the cross, which means he has no use for his clothes.  Soldiers do what they do eh?  Who needs what?  Four soldiers, four articles of clothing, so each took their bit.  One small problem… the tunic was seamless and they didn’t want to wreck it.  They did what soldiers often do… they gambled for it. 

“Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.”

What is significant about this is that it was just another detail that God had covered. He knew this would happen: They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

Mom

So the soldiers did was soldiers do, but juxtapositioned against them were Jesus’ relatives.  The three Mary’s… his mom, his aunt (Mary the wife of Clopas) and Mary Magdalene. 

Jesus saw them standing there with the disciple that he loved (most likely John) and said “Woman, behold, your son!” And to that disciples “Behold, your mother!” From that point onward, Jesus’ mom had a home. 

Do you see how John was unselfish?   The soldiers well, let’s just say they weren’t.  Casting lots for items of a dead man.

Pondering

I don’t know what to say about this passage and how it reflects on me in my life.

I know that I am so pleased with Pilate for not changing what he wrote, not bowing to that pressure from the leadership. 

Delight fills me when I see how God orchestrated even the details of Jesus’ clothing.  That attention to detail shows his love for his boy.  And makes me consider all the more the attention to detail he gives to my life.  

The care that “the disciple Jesus loved” took in providing for Jesus’ mom.   Under the pain of losing Jesus, the disciple followed through on Jesus’ last request to him. 

All these things flood my brain and I don’t know what all to do with them.   I never thought I’d be pleased with Pilate for standing his ground.  I always thought of him as the bad, wishy-washy, let’s push you around guy.  But here, he stood his ground.   So perhaps there’s hope for me too eh?  Hope for me too. 

Living Hope

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We sang this song in church this morning, it reminded me that death has not claimed me. Jesus broke the chains. He is indeed our living hope, our reason for being.

Written by Brian Johnson and Phil Whikam.  You can read the full story of how it came to be here.  In a nut shell, it was a collaborative effort of God impressing upon them the work he has done in their lives. 

Lyrics

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope
 
refrain
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
 
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I’m Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope
 
refrain
 
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
And out of silence, the roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Oh Jesus, Yours is the victory, 
 
refrain x 2

Legacy of Faith

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Okay, here’s the truth.  I’ve been sitting here for the past hour thinking…. how do I write about a chapter in the Faith-shaped life that I am just so not connecting to.  Like I understand the importance of reading the words of faithful saints who have gone on before.   I understand the beauty in a dying man making sure his spouse and family see the glory of God.  I GET IT…..but seriously I am SO not connecting with it.   Not even a little bit.  Leaves me wondering what I can write about then… and then I got to thinking… My dad was a man of faith… I think a lot like him…he left a legacy of faith for me.  Why not write about him?

Right up front I’ll tell you that Dad and I didn’t have the easiest relationship. We didn’t.  Two people who preferred to do our jobs without asking questions or offering a lot of feedback… quick tempers and a lack of knowledge about why people do what they do. GAH… If only I knew THEN what I know now!!!!   🙂

Childhood

My earliest memory of him though… pulling us kids through the water at the beach. This man who wasn’t really a swimmer took time to just have fun with his kids at the beach. We had SO much fun with him. He treasured his family. You know how God treasures us? Dad showed that to me.   

Learning of how he quit smoking cold turkey because it wasn’t good for us children. We were so important to him, nothing dissuaded him from that. 

The cat incident.  My younger sister and I thought it was funny to shake some baby kittens after they had a full tummy of food.  We laughed at how their tummies sounded.   Dad heard about it, listened, then waited until after dinner when he picked us up one at a time and gave us a good shaking up and down.   We learned… kindness to animals under our care was VERY important.  God gave them to us to we need to care for them well. 

Teenage years

When I look back at my teenage years I wonder how anyone could STAND to be around me.   Seriously… angry, rebellious lass I was.  I determined to spend as much time away from my dad as I could.   Wouldn’t let him anywhere near me…Horrible I was.  

BUT as much as I broke his heart, and I know I did, and eventually I came around again… but in the meantime you know what Dad didn’t do?   He didn’t turn his back on me.  As horrible as I was, he remained a steadfast caring dad.  ALWAYS.   How like God you know?   God doesn’t give up on his kids.  He handles our anger, questions, storming out of a room, and he welcomes us back when we get over ourselves and out of a snit.  He does.  And it totally blows my mind. 

Aging happened

My dad and I developed a better relationship over the years.  As he aged though, his mind started to leave him.  It was sad seeing him go.  Despite the falls and the memory lapses, two things never left him.  His fierce love for my mom and his abiding love for God.  Both were there all time. Always a smile or a look over, always his bible, a prayer or a song of worship at hand.  Modeling what it means to love and care, modeling devotion to those who mattered most.  

So yes, legacy matters. I can look back at my dad’s life and see what message he left behind.  Perhaps not written down for generations to see, but lived out so his children could see, and hopefully pass along his abiding love for the things of God. 

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

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Hymntime. their version contains six verses, which is more verses than my familiar three.  Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah is a well-known song for me. 

Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah is sometimes sung with the first line of Guide Me, O My great redeemer.   I don’t know if this is updated language or an original alteration.  Written by William Willams from Wales, he died on the same farm he grew up on.  A wanna-be doctor who became a preacher.  He wrote around 20 hymns.

Lyrics

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Feed me with the heavenly manna,
In this barren wilderness;
Be my sword, and shield, and banner—
Be my robe of righteousness.
Fight and conquer, fight and conquer
All my foes by sovereign grace,
All my foes by sovereign grace.*

Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
Be Thou still my strength and shield;
Be Thou still my strength and shield.

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.

Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav’nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!

This is a tune I am not familiar with but I love listening to men sing. I hope you do too!  🙂

Controversy and Faith

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I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine, well, at least an acquaintance of mine that we’ve had good “rabbit” conversations together.  She doesn’t believe in God and I had a disagreement over something she posted on her facebook page.   The end result of our conversation left me feeling dissatisfied.  Her opinion is that I am not respecting her opinions if I express disagreement with them.   When does disagreement equate disrespect?   I don’t understand that mindset.

BUT as I read this chapter Controversy and Faith, I’m given an inkling as to why I feel dissatisfied.   There will always be a divide between people of faith, and people who aren’t. 

Controversy and Faith

Look at Jesus as an example. All those meetings he had with the Jewish leadership.  Their challenges and questions.  Their mistaken impressions of him and God.

All the people that Jesus collided with simply didn’t understand who Jesus was, and they certainly didn’t understand who God is.  They didn’t understand God’s grace upon and love for his people. 

Most of the Jewish leadership seemed to think that God’s love for them was conditional on how well they kept the laws.   They had forgotten, or at least separated, God’s grace from his commands.

Did you notice though, that Jesus kept doing what he needed to do?  He kept visiting with the sinners of the world AND he kept talking with the religious leadership.

Jesus didn’t let that divide stop himself from interacting with them.

This is my battle … how do I stay connected with the “not of faith” community. How do I stay involved and willing to share my faith with people who think I am not respecting them when I disagree with their sentiments?

Be More Like Jesus

I am starting to think that I must be more like Jesus.   Go figure eh?   Seeing as that’s his calling upon his people.   🙂   Let me explain what I mean.

Willing to share anger when it is warranted.   THIS I would need to be very careful about.  But Jesus showed anger at the flagrant disregard of the people about his father’s house.

Quick to forgive.  Jesus forgave people all the time.  Even at his time of death. 

Asking more questions and answering questions to put me.  All those questions Jesus answered (conversation with Nicodemus for example) and how he asked questions when confronted. 

Talking about matters of faith to those willing to listen.  All those talks in front of crowds, preaching in the temple, talking with his disciples etc.

A willingness to sit with them at parties… like when he ate with the tax collectors.

I think that if I deliberately sought out Jesus’ methods for interacting with a world opposed to him, I would be less dissatisfied in my conversations.

What do you think?

All Things Bright and Beautiful

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All Things Bright and Beautiful is a hymn from my past that I thought I would share with you. 

Cecil F Alexander is the author of this lovely hymn.  A hymn that recalls us to creation God has so magnificently put together.  HE!  The one who has made this frigid weather we are currently dealing us, is the same one who gives us tulips in the spring.  Awesome isn’t it?

It is thought Mrs. Alexander wrote these lyrics at Markree Castle in Ireland.  Her husband, William Alexander, was the bishop of Derry and Raphoe, and later on the Anglican primate for Ireland. 

Not only did she help start a school for the deaf (along with her sister), she also wrote more than 400 hymns, and set up the Girls Friendly Society in London. This society existed to help country girls gain the skills needed to work in the city as well as give them much needed support.  It has changed its focus but is still in operation today.

Lyrics

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

Refrain

[Most hymnals omit the following verse]

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

Refrain

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

Refrain

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Refrain