Scars

Looking at my hands and I see scars from the past. I remember how each scar came to be. The earliest one is from when I was about four years old. I was getting in the 48 Ford and struggling to shut the front passenger door. Put my left hand up on the frame and succeeded in slamming the door on my thumb. Smashed it up pretty good. 

Mom rushed me to Doc Edington and I remember he had a fluoroscope type Xray machine to look at my thumb. Wrapped up my thumb with some ointment and went home. I'll never forget the stench when it started to heal. Lost the thumbnail but it grew back. Thumb does not match the thumb on my right hand but it functions just fine. Think about it most every time I cut my fingernails. 

Lot of other scars over the years that are still visible and a story behind each one. I do think emotional scars are much the same only they are not visible. We remember a lot of hurts but time dims the pain. 

I think about Joseph and the scars he carried. Would it not be just awful knowing that your brothers sold you into slavery? He never forgot. When he did finally meet with his brothers, he was an example of humility and forgiveness. The scar was still there but he was the bigger man.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 

Seeking Wisdom

5/18/2019

I would like to start with a bit of humor. Old guy dies and goes to heaven. He is met at the gate by Saint Peter. St. Peter says that he needs a 1000 points of good deeds to enter into heaven. So the old guy starts by saying that he was married to the same woman for 60 years and not once unfaithful.
St. Peter says, that is worth 10 points.
The old guys thinks, Wow! This is going to be tough. Well my wife and I raised 3 children who all became followers of Jesus Christ.
St. Peter says, that is worth 5 points.

So he adds that in his free time he volunteered at the local mission for the homeless.
St. Peter says, that is worth 3 points.
Now the old guy is thinking, at this rate I’ll be out here for ever to come up with a thousand points. Out of despair he says, by the grace of God I will only get into heaven. 

St. Peter says, that is worth a thousand points. Enter.

Scripture for today is from -

Ecclesiastes 6: 3-10

³ If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, “Better the miscarriage than he, ⁴ for it comes in futility and goes into obscurity; and its name is covered in obscurity. ⁵ It never sees the sun and it never knows anything; it is better off than he. ⁶ Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not ^[enjoy good things—do not all go to one place?”

⁷ All a man’s labor is for his mouth 

And yet the ^[appetite is notsatisfied. ⁸

For what advantage does the wise man have over the fool? What advantage does the poor man have, knowing how to walk before the living? 

What the eyes see is better than what the souldesires. 

This too is futility and a striving after wind.

Not sure if I can accomplish a link to this scripture but I feel it is very important to understand what it is saying. If I were to sum it up in my own words, it would be, it doesn’t matter what you have for property, what you know, who you know, or what you see is desirable in your own eyes, you will always want more – man’s sinful nature is at work. 

I was thinking about this after attending my grand daughters graduation from Hillsdale College. My wife and I are very proud of her because she lived up to her values and ethics. God is involved in her life and has given her a gift. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in an academic setting that will test the best.

After the graduation, there was a party at the house where our g-daughter lived with three other girls. All of them very bright with big futures in front of them. Many of their friends stopped by to congratulate and visiting with them, I knew I was in a different world that I have never experienced before. This was a cerebral world of very gifted young people. They do not look like other young people at other colleges; they dress nicely, no funny colored hair, no tattoos and no metal junk hanging out of their faces.

Then I was thinking about the girl who graduated with a double major, German and Philosophy. What on earth will that degree apply to in a career? Maybe the CIA? Then I thought, college is just getting a toolbox and adding the right tools in preparation for life. The thought then evolved to – these young people are book smart but life stupid and I was there once upon a time. Life is a process of never ending learning and making adjustments. 

What is it that I can share with grandchildren that will help them through life? I have acquired knowledge over the years, attained some sort of status or credentials but will my life be worthy enough for God?

From Ecclesiastes 9

 Indeed, I took all this to heart and explained it all: the righteous, the wise, and their works are in God’s hands. People don’t know whether to expect love or hate. Everything lies ahead of them. ² Everything is the same for everyone: there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad,^[a] for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not sacrifice. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as for the one who takes an oath, so for the one who fears an oath. ³ This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: there is one fate for everyone. In addition, the hearts of people are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live—after that they go to the dead. ⁴ But there is hope for whoever is joined with all the living, since a live dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶ Their love, their hate, and their envy have already disappeared, and there is no longer a portion for them in all that is done under the sun.

⁷ Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. ⁸ Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun. ¹⁰ Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

So, what the writer is telling us is that we all experience life’s ups and downs, the good and the bad but it is for God’s glory that we pursue doing good and that we enjoy what our Father has provided. God wants us to be happy and enjoy what He has provided. 

Found this by John Piper on Wisdom

What Is the Importance of Getting Wisdom?

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/get-wisdom - what-is-the-importance-of-getting-wisdom

Let's begin by asking why is it so important? We have already seen that all men seek happiness, and that this is not bad but good. Now the reason that getting wisdom is important is that it is the practical knowledge by which we gain this true and lasting happiness. Proverbs 3:13 says, "Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gets understanding." Proverbs 24:13–14says, "My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off." 

In other words, by means of wisdom you can make your way into a hope-filled future. It is the key to lasting happiness. Proverbs 19:8 says, "He who gets wisdom loves himself." In other words, do yourself a favor: Get wisdom! Get wisdom! Proverbs 8:32–36 sums it all up beautifully. Here wisdom herself is speaking and she says, "And now, my sons, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways . . . Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord; but he who misses me injures himself; all who hate me love death." If we do not make it our aim to "get wisdom," we will suffer injury and finally death. Therefore, the command, "Get wisdom; get insight," is very important. As Proverbs 16:16 puts it, "To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." It is a matter of life and death. The ultimate, eternal happiness that all people long for will only be found by those who first "get wisdom."

I say that ultimate and eternal happiness is what wisdom will bring, becauseI want to emphasize that not all happiness comes from true wisdom. Proverbs 15:21 says, "Folly is a joy to him who has no sense." Our thirst for happiness is insatiable in this world, and if we do not have the wisdom to seek it in God, then we will find whatever substitutes we can in the world.Terrorists may find it in shooting presidents and popes. Executives may find it in climbing the corporate ladder. Athletes in breaking world records. Scholars in publishing books. Gamblers may find it in Reno. Musicians in selling a million records. The sources where people seek happiness apart from God are countless: drink, drugs, sex, suntans, television, tubing, eating, talking, walking, etc., etc. But the happiness that these things bring is not true and lasting. It is not ultimate and eternal. It is not the joy for which we were made. And, therefore, it leaves us unsatisfied, frustrated, incomplete, knowing that there must be something more. But that ultimate and eternal happiness that we crave is only found by wisdom. Therefore it is supremely important that we "get wisdom."

Now Piper may be confusing you when he says, “It is not the joy for which we were made.” I believe he is saying that the joy he is describing comes greed and the pursuit of sinful pleasures which is different that the joy we live when doing good.

He goes on to say what is wisdom. “And Jesus said the same thing about his own words, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24). A good definition of godly wisdom, therefore, would be: hearing and doing God's Word. God's Word is a divine prescription for how to be finally cured of all unhappiness. Wisdom is the practical knowledge of how to attain that happiness. Therefore, wisdom is hearing and doing the Word of God. But the only people who will do this are the people who are humbly relying on God for help and who fear to seek happiness anywhere but in him. Therefore, the fear of the Lord is the beginning and spring of all true wisdom.

For my grandchildren, I pray for happiness but most of all, to find wisdom in the one true living God and to accept the grace He offers to all. Wealth, wisdom and credentials will not get you into heaven, only God’s grace can do that and it is free. 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank you for your grace that saved a wretch like me. Thank you also for the family you have provided and I will leave them in your hands to find the wisdom they need to get them through their lives on this earth. And may they carry the gospel forward.
Let us remember that true wisdom is found in Your Word and not in men. There is but one book that has the answers and we are thankful to you for your provisions.
Grant us peace in this fallen world and do no let those who defile Your Word to detract us from what is true and good. Let us be ready when the time comes to stand up and defend the truth of Your Word.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen

James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (NIV)

If we believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised, why does our faith waver? We are prone to doubt because we fail to see God at work in our circumstances. 

Trust God who sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer. His invisible Hand is already at work on your behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will and preparing you to receive what He wants to give.

Ecclesiastes Speaks Today

6-May-19

I get a little frustrated these days with people who think they are so important. I have wanted to use chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes for some time and recent events have given me an opportune time to reflect on the words that God has given us. 

Everything is Futile

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

² “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
³ What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?
⁴ A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it returns to its place
where it rises.
⁶ Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,
and the wind returns in its cycles.
⁷ All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
The streams are flowing to the place,
and they flow there again.
⁸ All things are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.
⁹ What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
¹¹ There is no remembrance of those who came before;
and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.

¹² I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

¹³ I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁶ I said to myself, “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

¹⁷ I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind^.

¹⁸ For with much wisdom is much sorrow;
as knowledge increases, grief increases.

I don’t really want to unpack this because the words speak for themselves. What Ecclesiastes does say to us is that what comes after this earthly life is more important than anything we do or say on earth. I will say that I am not one who looks at the gloomy side of life but I do understand the reality of life. 

I also think of John J. McCloy. Who was John McCloy you might ask? I keep an article in my Bible written by columnist Donald Kaul (Pulitzer Prize winner 1987 and 1999) about Mr. McCloy as a reminder of how we are just a speck in time no matter how much money we have or how well known we are.

I have kept this article in an old Bible of mine tucked away in the 1st chapter of Ecclesiastes. At the time this article was important to me because of a spiritual death I was going through and was seeking some sort of resurrection from ruin. 

(Read a portion from Kaul’s column)

When Mr. McCloy died March 1989, there was little mentioned by the media and yet he was a powerful man who served in the Army during WWI and helped the Truman administration in rebuilding Europe after WWII.
So it is not important the epitaph that is written here on earth. It is important that our names are in the Book of Life so that God will see our face when we report to Him. 

I just heard about Verna Aeikens’ death and reminded also that for those of us who knew her, we will remember her in our own small way. There is no doubt in my mind that Verna and Richard are doing things together, maybe making a heavenly quilt, in heaven without pain in their new glorified bodies. 

I didn’t know them as well as some of you but they were faithful in coming to the Bible Study sessions as long as I have been doing them for the last five or so years. They were friendly, inspiring and faithful to the Lord.

We just lost a young woman in our church that went to school with our youngest son to a sudden illness. Why we ask for a person in the earlier period of her life? There are no answers but I am confidant that there was a reason known only to God. 

What I do know is this, life is short and we must enjoy each and every day and thank God for this life. 

Preachers today are mostly irrelevant because they do not make the Bible relevant to today. “We go to church, the minister preaches, I go home, that is what Christians do now.” Pastor Don Widman

Young people leave the church today because they do not see how the Bible is relevant to their lives. Face Book and the internet gives them the options of finding who they are by defining what gender they are to finding what is important in their lives by using pop culture as and example. 

Death seems to be a taboo topic in sermons and yet we deal with death at every funeral service held at church. Few understand that when we die, we do not just vanish, or body might but we are transformed and we do live forever whether it is in Hell or in Heaven.

Death is not considered by the young until a father or mother dies, then death becomes more real. Then the under taker becomes a more prominent figure on the stage of our life.

When I come face to face with death, I hope I can smile knowing death will not conquer me because of Jesus.

Isaiah 25: 8
He will swallow up death for all time,

And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,

And he will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth:

For the Lord has spoken.

Revelation 21:4

And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

And there will no longer be any death;

There will no longer be any mourning, 

Or crying, or pain;

The first things have passed away.

I have been to a lot of funerals and it is interesting how different people mourn the loss of a loved one. For some there is almost a joy that the loved has moved to their heavenly home. For others there is much grief displayed. I’m not going to pretend to know their inner feelings or thoughts or say there is a right way or a wrong way. 

In my own loss of loved ones, I have experienced both sides. When my mother died, it was a relief that her pain had ended and I knew where she was; she was not in that broken body but in heaven. What joy that must be for her.

When my dad died, I was more sad for myself. Dad had lived a long life and toward the end he was miserable. All his old friends were gone and the woman that kept him sociable and active was gone.  Yes I knew I was going to miss him and the realization came over me when he was buried that I was now an orphan. However, I was happy for him.  

When some other relatives and friends have died, I grieved more for them than my own parents. Why? Because I was not really certain where they were going. 

So I ask you today, that if you have not made peace with God, forgiven those that have sinned against you, do it now, do it today. That is what really matters. 

It is not important what is said about you in an obituary, which is for those who remain. What is important is that your name appears in the Book of Life. 

I want to close with this prayer from ----

Psalm 20

1May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

3May he remember all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.

4May he give you the desire of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

5May we shout for joy over your victory

and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.

6Now this I know:

The Lord gives victory to his anointed.

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

with the victorious power of his right hand.

7Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

9 May the king answer us in the day when we call.

(Wouldn’t it be a fine thing if we could establish rules for membership of a church like the Home Owners Association does? We would all look the same; believe the same things and the church would just glide along on smooth ice.)Don’t use            

Lent 2019 Love & Forgiveness

Love & Forgiveness

Luke 24

This is the last message of our Lent season and wanted to summarize what we have been studying. I will end this by using Luke 24 with Jesus appearing to the disciples. 

To begin, I would like to read what David says about keeping God’s commands and what it should mean for you and me.

Psalm 119:

1How happy are those whose way is blameless, who live according to the law of the Lord! 2Happy are those who keep His decrees and seek Him with all their heart. 3They do nothing wrong; they follow His ways. 4You have commanded that Your precepts be diligently kept. 5If only my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes! 6Then I would not be ashamed when I think about all Your commands. 7I will praise You with a sincere heart when I learn Your righteous judgments. 8I will keep Your statutes; never abandon me.

9How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word. 10I have sought You with all my heart; don't let me wander from Your commands. 11I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You. 12Lord, may You be praised; teach me Your statutes. 13With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from Your mouth. 14I rejoice in the way [revealed by] Your decrees as much as in all riches. 15I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. 16I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

17Deal generously with Your servant so that I might live; then I will keep Your word. 18Open my eyes so that I may see wonderful things in Your law. 19I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Your commands from me. 20I am continually overcome by longing for Your judgments. 21You rebuke the proud, the accursed, who wander from Your commands. 22Take insult and contempt away from me, for I have kept Your decrees. 23Though princes sit together speaking against me, Your servant will think about Your statutes; 24Your decrees are my delight and my counselors.

We are taught from the scriptures, that there are two main reasons for Jesus coming, to love one another and the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus commands us to love one another as we should love ourselves. Without Jesus, loving ourselves would be very hard to do because of carrying the burden of guilt. By releasing that burden of guilt, then we can truly love others as we can now begin to love ourselves. 

Now we come to the disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus, one named Cleopas and the other was probably the wife of Cleopas. Then another has joined with them and they did not know who He was. 

Luke 24:

28Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. 30Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" 33So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 35And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. 

36Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." 37But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." 40When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" 42So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43And He took it and ate in their presence. 44Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 45And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 

Here is the commandment -- 

**46Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” .**

[Note from NKJV: Jesus had been considered a pretender and blasphemer. After his resurrection, people had to change their minds and serve Him for who He really is, the Son of God. This is the message Peter would preach at Pentecost, a message that would result in thousands of people declaring Jesus as their Lord. Jesus summarized the mission of the disciples as preaching repentance, calling people to turn from their own selfish ways to Christ, the One who had died for them. 

Remission of sins: The content of the disciples’ preaching would center on God’s gracious offer of forgiveness to all who would believe in His name:] 

Here I want to depart from the text and emphasize John 5:24 and 25, 

24 “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

25 “I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live”.

We laid to rest a friend and neighbor from my home town Sunday. He was a strong witness for Jesus and often used the story of when he was in the Marine Corp and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. At the end of his testimony he told of a chaplain who told him that one way or another, he was going to meet Jesus. Getting to know Him now would be much better than at judgment day. 

Often times Christians are lackadaisical in their faith and take Christ for granted. We get used to the story without much thought. Ran across this poem that speaks to that.

Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy
(1883-1929)

Matthew 25:31-46

When Jesus came to Golgotha
They hanged Him on a tree,
They drove great nails through hands and feet,
And made a Calvary.
They crowned Him with a crown of thorns;
Red were His wounds and deep,
For those were crude and cruel days,
And human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham,
They simply passed Him by;
They never hurt a hair of Him,
They only let Him die.
For men had grown more tender,
And they would not give Him pain;
They only just passed down the street,
And left Him in the rain.

Still Jesus cried, “Forgive them,
For they know not what they do.”
And still it rained the winter rain
That drenched Him through and through.
The crowds went home and left the streets
Without a soul to see;
And Jesus crouched against a wall
And cried for Calvary.¹

If we learn anything from Jesus going to the cross, it must be this, that once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, our sins are forgiven once and forever. Our sins are like a piece of paper that Jesus rips into tiny pieces and forgotten for all time. Our past sins do not have to be our future.In the same manner, in order to be forgiven, we also must learn to forgive. It is only through forgiveness that we can love those who have hurt us. This is probably the hardest for me. I have forgiven others in my past. It is those new hurts that I struggle with the most and it takes time for me to forgive. There have been times when it is no longer possible to forgive someone directly because of circumstances. Forgiveness has to come from the heart and once it is done, life can move on. There is no greater love than the love of Jesus when He suffered with great agony His death. 

To finish, we read in Luke 24:

48And you are witnesses of these things. 49Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

50And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

Praise God, He is alive and He is with us today! Emanuel!

  

Jude 1:24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.