Turning

In the late 1950's Pete Seeger wrote a song called Turn, Turn, Turn (yes, I was there).  It wasn't the most original song ever, because the words came, almost verbatim, from the text of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  I am sure Mr. Seeger was focused on the last part of the passage, "a time for peace (that was a big deal in that time of social and political turmoil)." While I agree with the sentiment of peace (we need a lot of that these days), I want to focus on another part of this beautiful poem.  In verses 2 and 3 these words appear ... "a time to plant, and a time to harvest, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build up."

The poem was penned by Solomon, who was called the wisest person ever (aside from Jesus).  However, Solomon's human wisdom didn't land him the warm, fuzzy, and wonderful life he had planned.  He dealt with numerous woman issues, political turmoil that broke the kingdom apart, and (if you read his work carefully) an unhealthy dose of depression.  Solomon concluded, in all his wisdom, "Everything is meaningless ... a chasing after the wind."  This is what happens when people become reliant on their wit and wisdom and fail to rely on the Word of a perfectly wise God.  But that is a story for another day.

I want us to spend some time on three verses from Ecclesiastes 3.  

1. A time to kill and a time to heal. If you look at these opposites, one wonders how they go together.  Then, you remember the New Testament words (Matthew 16:25) ... "Whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it."  What thing(s) are you/we keeping alive, preventing us from truly healing?  We were wronged?  Let it die!  We were cheated?  Let it die!  Our trust has been damaged?  For God's sake and perfect purpose, let it go!  These are the things we keep alive, blocking our ability to heal.  Remember ... we die to self so we can live for Jesus!

2. A time to plant and a time to harvest.  If you think about the agricultural year, it is a healthy cycle.  We toil in the planting (it's hard work).  We sweat in the summer heat, as we keep the crops alive, till the soil, and water the seeds.  We harvest at this time of year.  Many communities have festivals (our Peanut Festival and the Farm City Banquet).  As Christians (and traditional Americans) we have another day ... Thanksgiving.  As a Church, we plant seeds all the time.  It is hard work.  But remember ... we worship the Lord of the Harvest!

3. A time to tear down and a time to build up.  I love this passage.  Again, we see opposites.  And this phrase is interesting because it contrasts something easy and something difficult.  It is easy to tear down.  Our political candidates rip each other apart, not understanding they are also tearing apart the fabric of a nation.  Our ideological camps demonize those "other" people because it is popular, exciting, and easy.

Here is where, on this eve of Thanksgiving week, I want us to consider the wisdom of God's Word.  I believe it is time to take this passage to heart.  Life, and all parts of life, happens to every person on the face of the earth.  All of the things in Ecclesiastes 3 can/will/do happen.  It is up to us, the Body of Christ, to do what the old Shaker Song says "to turn, turn, will be our delight, til by turning, turning, we come round right."  The point of life, of turning, of seasons, of knowing what to kill-off and leave behind, of seeing past the obstacles, of knowing that there is a healing, planting and harvesting God calling us into a Kingdom of abundance ... is to know God is a builder, a creator and a lover of souls.  We have a reason to be thankful.  We can be part of harvesting, building, and healing.  WE CAN COME ROUND RIGHT!  Amen? AMEN!  

For The Monarchy

In Judges, there is a troubling story.  I have reminded you of this story several times because it is s story of priority, perspective, and place.  The story begins with Judges 19:1.  "In those days Israel had no king."  What follows is the most vile and decadent story of rape, murder, dismemberment, war (over 100,000 died), partial genocide, and finally a shacky peace.  The story ends with this statement (Judges 21:25) ... "In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did as they saw fit."

Let's talk about the Biblical idea of a monarchy.  God's kingdom is a monarchy.  There is a true, just, merciful, grace-filled, and beautiful King on the throne.  His name is Jesus, and "on His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed, 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:6).'"  God Himself made those inscriptions, so it is (and must be) true.  God's Kingdom is of the heart (Luke 17:21), on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10), and near (Luke 17:21).  It is universally known that the Kingdom of God is the primary teaching of Jesus.  Jesus begins His ministry with these words from John the Baptist ... "Behold, the Kingdom of God is at hand (Matthew 3:2)."

Why am I bringing this up today?  In Jesus' last prayer (John 17) Jesus says that the disciples (including us) are "not of the world" but are "not to be taken out of the world."  In the song, Land of My Sojourn, Rich Mullins writes about America, saying, "Nobody tells you, when you get born here, how how much you'll come to love it, and how you'll never belong here, so I'll call you my country, and I'll be lonely for my home, and I wish that I could take you there with me."  This is precisely the Gospel meaning of Jesus' prayer in John 17 ... we are IN the world, but not OF the world.  We are Kingdom people, with a King (that is our priority), a perspective (we view the world through the lens of Jesus), and a place (we are "bound for the promised land").

On this day when we honor those who have invested their energy, love, blood, sweat, and tears in this experiment called America, I want each and every person to give thanks.  Our country is, with all of its flaws, the greatest country ever.  But as you pray, give thanks, and tell our veterans, "Thanks for loving us and your country enough to place everything on the table for us," never forget we owe ALL allegiance to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Also, I respectfully ask you, who is your king, and in whose kingdom are you choosing to live?  Evaluate your priorities, your perspectives, and your desired place of final destination.  Then, let's talk Sunday about Kingship and Kingdoms.  See you there!  Randy

The Holiness of Being

The Book of Acts explores various aspects of the early Church. Its central theme is "continuing in the faith." Faith is portrayed as a journey that teaches us to follow and depend on a God who is very much present in our lives. The power evident in Acts comes from the Holy Spirit, which empowers the Church, resulting in healing, significant events, and a sense of "heaven on earth."  But Acts is about one more thing.  It is about "being" the Church as the person of Christ is lived out through regular people.  There is a holiness to this that is beautiful and supernatural!

In Acts 16 we get a glimpse of "being the Church" vs "going to Church."  The believers were gathered together on the Sabbath.  It was how they lived.  It wasn't one option among many.  Gathering was part of the life of the Church, and it was as common as breathing.  The believers were seeking a "place of prayer."  The believers were a mix of people, very different from the gathering of Jewish men in the synagogue.  Paul is speaking to a group of women.  The Holy Spirit, amid Paul and his team serving in obedience, shows up in the heart of a woman named Lydia.  "One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth.  She was a worshipper of God.  The Lord opened her heart to respond to God's message (Acts 16:14)."

Five things are highlighted here ... five things we seem to struggle with in our "Pre-Christian," modern world.  Here they are:

1. Lydia was present.  I wonder if our modern rationalizations lead us to think we can be the Church in a non-connected and distant way?  One of the vows we make as we become part of our local congregation is the vow of presence.  Remember that Lydia was THERE and all of the other things happened because she first chose to be in that place of teaching and time with God's Church.  Are YOU present?

2. Lydia was listening.  The Bible, and lots of preachers, repeat certain things.  When you learn to critically read Scripture, you learn to pay special attention to those repeated themes and words.  They are repeated for a purpose, and one of those purposes is to lead us to listen.  "Faith comes by hearing," Romans 10:17 says.  We can't hear if we aren't listening.  Are YOU listening?

3. Lydia was worshiping.  Do you know the reason God claimed and called His people out of Egypt?  Most of us think it was about the Hebrews (just like we think the Church is about us).  The Bible tells us God brought the people out of Egypt "to Himself" so they could worship Him!  God (Exodus 19) calls us a Kingdom of Priests, a chosen people, and a treasured possession (i.e., we are His).  We are called to worship.  Are YOU worshiping?

4. Lydia allowed God to "open her heart."  When you walk into the church on Sunday morning, is your heart open or closed?  Is your heart full of your issues or empty to be filled up by God?  C. S. Lewis reminds us that one of Satan's ploys to distract us is to have us think about what is wrong with the church, the person beside us in the pew, or the preacher.  We fill ourselves with all of that "mess" and are not open to what God is actually doing.  Are YOU open?

5. Lydia responded!  The next verses in this story are all about Lydia's entering into the work of the Church.  She first responds by submitting to God in baptism, dying to self, and rising to live with Jesus in the life of the Church.  She invites the ministry team (Paul's leadership) to stay in her house and receive her hospitality.  Lydia responded ... do YOU respond?

Do you see what is happening here?  Lydia entered the "body of Christ!"  "You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt (remember My actions) and how I carried you on eagles' wings (remember my provision) and brought you to Myself (remember your destination).  Now, if you obey My commandments (remember to follow ME), and keep My covenant (remember you are keepers of My promise), then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession (you/we / the Church is special to God). ... you will be for Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (we are called into His holiness) (Exodus 19:4-6)."

Do you see it, hear it, and perceive it?  It is all connected to God and you are invited to be part of that connection ... to BE the Church!  What a blessing, honor, and responsibility!  Lydia got it ... do you?  

To Those Who Wait

You all have heard the old saying, "Good things come to those who wait."  My parents probably said this so I would develop patience.  I lacked patience in my teen years, and I probably retain that trait now.  In fact, patience is a fruit of the Spirit.  But, we might take this trait too far.  Patience and procrastination are sometimes close bedfellows.  And there is an urgency to Scripture, as God calls us, leads us, and warns us that time is moving way too fast.  One of my friends says, "Daylight's a burning!"  He is right!

The writer of Hebrews quotes the Holy Spirit, saying, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for 40 years they saw what I did (Hebrews 3:7-9)."  Responding to God is an urgent matter.  Failure to respond is likened to "the rebellion."

Let's break this down.  "The rebellion" here was a time when stiff-necked people were led by Moses in the wilderness.  God provided manna ... the people complained.  God provided quail ... the people grumbled.  Though God delivered the people over and over again, they continued to gripe, moan, and reflect back on slavery as "the good old days."  God, in this story from Numbers 11, calls all of this dissatisfaction and complaining rebellion.  Because that is surely what it is!

But the operative part of this passage relates to the word "today. "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." I wonder if these two points are connected because they are related. Hardened hearts, the urgency of God's plan, and hearing God's voice relate directly to the negative aspects of "blowing off" what God is saying.

Let me highlight this with a few questions.  Has a pastor's message moved you?  How did you respond?  Do you see a need in the church?  How did you respond?  Do you know God calls His people into regular fellowship?  How do you respond?  Did you hear the call to allow God to use you and your giftedness?  How do you respond?  If, in all of these opportunities, you waited, you are part of what Hebrews calls, "rebellion."

Sunday, we will speak truth into the rebellion of this world.  We will sing grace, into the hardness of this world.  And, we will speak Jesus into a world that needs Him.  Will you come?  Or, will you wait for a better time?  "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."  Great, and true advice!  Randy

Winds

For parents, grandparents, and from a church that would love to make a positive difference, I have a statement.  Somebody will influence the young people (youth, kids, young adults) you love.  Who will that be?

I bring this message knowing that God desires every person on the face of the earth to hear and follow the Gospel.  This is a Wesleyan thing, informed by John 3:16 ("all who believe in Him") and John 3:17 ("for God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it").  I think this is really good news, because I am all for God saving this fallen world we share, full of strife, war, conflict, division, and hate.  We need the beauty, grace, and peace of the Gospel.  But somebody doesn't want any of that.   Here are a few thoughts and a few nuggets of advice from God's word.

First, let's all remember that we have an enemy.  It is popular to believe there is no Satan, cosmic enemy, or conscious presence of evil in the world.  God's word disagrees.  "Stay alert!  Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)."

Second, even when the message of God is preached and taught, we (the fickle people we are) are (as Moses would have said) stiff-necked.  The Old Testament term is a blend of pride, arrogance, and stubbornness.  In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel and the word of God spread, but there was serious opposition, especially from jealous Jews.  "They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region ((Acts 13:50)."

I give these examples because influences and influencers are all around us.  My friend, John Riley, talks about "influence" as "leadership."  I think he is right.  Those who influence us, lead us.

Over the past 2 weeks, I have had two things happen that show how God's people, good people, have chosen to allow themselves and our young ones to be influenced and led, not by the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit, but by the reckless winds of culture.

I read an article from the New Yorker (not exactly a bastion of conservatism).  It was about how we have been influenced (led) to believe that Cannabis (and all its derivatives) is safe.  The article went on to describe cases of psychosis, debilitating symptoms, and severe mental health repercussions that are related to Cannabis use.  By the way ... this is the recreational drug the media, much of the medical profession and a large segment of society have let themselves be convinced is "harmless."  We (culture) have been blown off course by the reckless wind of deception.

I also have seen many who have allowed the winds of influence to creep into their Sunday choices.  Facebook pictures of boating on the lake, absences so preparations can be made for hunting season, football, and one person asking about having sporting events on Sunday.  All of these choices are made by "good" people, but are these good choices and good "influences" for us and our kids/grandkids? Are our children stressed at an early age, all because we consider cultural conformity more important than spiritual maturity?  I hope you will consider these observations as "truth in love."  Maybe these are symptoms of something deeper.  Our children are frantic and busy to stay in the cultural norm, but is that norm healthy?  Are WE following the wind from Ephesians 4 ("tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching (Ephesians 4:14)") or the wild but faithful wind from John 3:8 (the wind of the Holy Spirit)?  We are choosing our leader ... our influencer ... and possibly our god.

There is a better way, my brothers and sisters!  And here it is.  We (the Church) follow the Holy Spirit and our leader Jesus.  Here are the results we can expect, straight from God's word ... "Then we will no longer be immature, like children.  We won't be tossed about by every wind of new teaching.  We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.  Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way to be like Christ, who is the head of the body, the church.  He makes the whole body fit together perfectly (Ephesians 4:14-16)!"

Which wind will you choose?  Which wind will you teach?  Will you fit the culture, or fit the Kingdom of God?

From Fallen Stones

This week, on Wednesday at 6:30 pm (meal at 6 pm), we will have our first full Charge Conference as a Global Methodist Church. Liberty Methodist will join us, and we will have a meal, fellowship, conversation, and celebration of life together. Wesley described this as Christian Conferencing. Wesley loved this time, which he kept brief, as a means of God's grace poured out on God's people. Wesley would have treasured this as a blessing.

Is such a thing Biblical? Emphatically, yes. In Acts 15, the Apostles are meeting in Jerusalem. The issue at hand was that some Christians thought new Christians needed to become Jews to join in the new fellowship of the "People of the Way" (the early Church). When I read this chapter, I was compelled by James's words describing the rag-tag people who were called into the early Church. "After this, I will build again from the fallen stones. I will set (God's building) up again. Then all the nations may look for the Lord, even the people who are not Jews, who are called by my name" (Acts 15:16-17), a reference from Amos 9:11.

Two groups of people are spoken of in this passage. The first are those Jews who were part of a broken building, called "fallen stones." This should resonate with us as Global Methodists, coming from a broken house fractured by division and understanding of Biblical authority. But, as "sinners," we also identify as "fallen stones" as we have been lifted up by a master builder who will take our ruins and build something beautiful and useful.

The second group in this discussion are the Gentiles. James makes the point that "we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God." James realizes that God has opened this door, and our rules, regulations, and structure should invite, not restrict, the Gentiles who desire to come to the faith.

Aren't we all "broken?" Aren't we all sinners redeemed by the goodness and grace of God? Haven't we all been raised up as shattered stones and placed into the beautiful Church God is building? Isn't this part of the best news ever? We CAN be restored! We CAN be used by God! We CAN be "born again!" Praise the Lord! AMEN

Tricks and Beliefs

In today's world, there's lots of trickery happening.  Listen to a presidential candidate speaking, and you will hear some trickery.  Things will be promised that (if you stop to think) aren't exactly in control of that candidate (whichever candidate you support).  Read posts on social media, and you will soon get caught up in something you want to believe, but it is really only trickery. I have discovered, sadly, that two of the faith stories I used for years were really not true.  Trickery!

So, how do we keep from trickery?  How do we know what to believe and what not to believe, even as we try to rely on a pure and holy God?  How do we discern the truth?  I ask questions.  And the main question is, "Who benefits from my belief in something?"  There are a huge number of posts that are created by artificial intelligence.  Others are created by foreign powers that want to promote their interest or influence our upcoming election.  If you ask the "who benefits" question, you will find that many of these posts are good for Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Russia.  Do these people promote our interests, or are they mortal enemies who wish us ill?  Are they for chaos, while our God is a God that brought order to chaos (Genesis 1)?  Who benefits?

In Acts 19, there are serious challenges to the People of the Way (the early Church).  The Chapter is all about what people believe.  Do they believe in the Gospel message or, do they oppose the Gospel message?  Will they leave their belief in Artemis (the Greek goddess of hunting and wild animals) and follow the truth of the Gospel?  And, are there deeper and more sinister things in the undercurrent of the story?  Those who are caught up in the commerce of the Temple of Artemis stand to lose money if people join Paul's movement and Jesus' Church.  Jews caught up in the commerce of the Jewish Synagogue stand to lose if the people learn about Jesus.  When people follow Jesus ... truly follow Jesus ... it changes everything!  The Jewish sacrificial system is out of business.  The "merch" of the Artemis movement becomes worthless when people learn Artemis isn't real.  Who benefits from what people believe?

If you think this is just a story from Scripture, think again.  Who would benefit and who would lose if we (Christians) became so caught up in following Jesus we actually allowed that belief to change our lifestyle?  Music sales, the football industrial complex, alcohol sales, and a fair number of political icons, would lose followers ... because the people would follow a God named Jesus.

The preacher, Tony Evans, made a promise years ago.  I hope he has kept it.  He said, "I will not let any expense (cost center for you accountants) be greater than what I give to God's kingdom."  The decision impacted where he lived, what he drove, and what he did for recreation.  It even impacted his family, as children and grandchildren were no longer at the top of the spending plan.

I hope you are getting the point.  Acts 19 is full of what happens when people choose to follow Jesus, and what happens when these choices come into conflict with societal norms and Satan's plan to oppose Jesus at every turn.  The choice, here, comes down to asking a question, answering the question, and following the answer you have chosen.  Who benefits from our beliefs, and who we choose to follow?