Foundation

Every great building begins with a foundation. Before the walls rise or the beauty of the building can be seen, something must be established beneath it all. The foundation determines whether what is built will stand. The same is true of a nation, a people, and certainly our faith.

The Old Testament book of Ezra tells the story of God's people rebuilding what had been lost. In 586 BC, Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, its beautiful Temple destroyed, and many of its people taken captive to a foreign land. Their homes, their nation, and their place of worship were gone.

But their story did not end in the rubble.

1. God Was at Work Before the First Stone Was Laid

Nearly 50 years later, Cyrus, king of Persia, conquered Babylon and allowed the Jewish people to return home and rebuild their Temple. Ezra 1:1 tells us that "the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia." Think about that! Cyrus wasn't Jewish. He didn't worship the God of Israel. Yet God used this foreign king to begin restoring His people.

Cyrus gave permission, but the people had to do the work. They returned to their ruined city, cleared away the rubble, and began rebuilding. God had provided the opportunity, but His people had to respond.

2. The Foundation Was Worth Celebrating

In Ezra chapter 3, something remarkable happened. When the foundation of the new Temple was laid, the people gathered to worship. They sang, played instruments, and praised God, declaring, "He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever" (Ezra 3:11).

There were no walls, no roof, no beautiful sanctuary. Just a foundation. And still, they celebrated!

But not everyone was celebrating in the same way. Some of the older people, who remembered the magnificent Temple that had been destroyed, began to weep. The younger people shouted for joy. The sounds of celebration and weeping were so loud that no one could distinguish one from the other. The younger generation saw what could be built. The older generation remembered what had been lost. Both were standing on the same foundation.

3. Every Foundation Has a History. Every Foundation Carries a Cost.

As we approach Veterans Day, I see something of our nation's story in this ancient account. We enjoy freedoms that we did not create for ourselves. We worship, speak, gather, and live with liberties that generations before us have defended, often at tremendous cost.

This reminds me of something God told the Israelites through Moses. They would one day live in houses they had not built, drink from wells they had not dug, and enjoy vineyards they had not planted (Deuteronomy 6:10-11). In other words, we often enjoy the blessings of someone else's labor and sacrifice.

Our veterans understand this perhaps better than most. Some served in distant lands, some endured the horrors of war, and some returned carrying wounds, both visible and invisible. Others never returned at all. Many served faithfully in times of peace, ready to defend the freedoms we sometimes take for granted. 

Like the older generation standing before the Temple foundation, our veterans remember things the rest of us have only read about. They remember the cost.

And Ezra reminds us of something important: A foundation is not simply something we inherit. It is something we are entrusted to build upon. The people of Jerusalem couldn't simply celebrate their foundation and walk away. There was still work to be done.

The same is true for us. Honoring our veterans means more than offering a word of thanks once a year. It means living responsibly with the freedoms they have defended. Freedom is more than doing whatever we please. It is the opportunity to do what is right, serve others, protect the vulnerable, and leave something better for the generations that follow.

And as Christians, we remember that beneath every other foundation stands the one that matters most: Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11).  This Veterans Day, may we be grateful for those who have served, mindful of the sacrifices that have been made, and faithful in building upon what we have been given.

For every foundation is a gift from the past, a responsibility in the present, and a promise to the future.

The Writing On The Wall

Have you noticed in Scripture how God (and those God anoints) speak boldness and truth to the authorities that hold power?  I am writing this blog before Tuesday's voting.  It isn't that I want to influence anyone's vote ... pray, seek God's face, read God's word, and vote accordingly.  But I do think we have an exaggerated view of our political influence vs. God's influence over national leadership.  The Bible (and history) tell us it is ALWAYS dangerous to ignore God's plan, thinking that our schemes are better.  Nowhere is this more true than in Daniel 5!

In this harrowing Scripture, writing appears on the wall of King Belshazzar's banquet hall.  He is living in lavishness, drinking from the silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Then they brought in the gold goblets taken from the temple in Jerusalem.  They raised the cups to the gods of gold and silver, and of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.  From nowhere, human fingers appear, and they write words into the plaster of the wall.  The king is upset and terrified, so he calls his wisest men, his enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to interpret the words.  They cannot, but the queen remembers a man who has "the spirit of the holy gods in him."  She recounts that this man (Daniel) interprets dreams and solves difficult problems.  So Daniel is brought to the king, and he is offered a purple robe, a gold chain, and the 3rd highest position in the kingdom if he solves the puzzle.  Daniel's interpretation was this ... "You have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! So God has sent this hand to write this message.  “This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” This goes under the category ... "Be careful what you ask for."  And, to ensure that the people and the king know that God doesn't mince words, "That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed. And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two." (Daniel 5:23-31)

Sunday, we will look into this story that should scare us a lot more than all the horror movies we have seen over the past few weeks.  Here is a short summary:

1. When we celebrate and enable haughtiness, and even revere it, we shouldn't be surprised at what happens ... God is the God who sees.

2. Don't mess with God's people, even when they are in exile for good reason ... God is watching.

3. God is aware of worldly events, and He has the power to change them swiftly and with stunning clarity ... God is working.

4. The ends never justify the means ... God is in the long game to win every soul on earth.

5. God deeply cares for His people, His Church, and His sheep, even when they are lost ... He is the God who finds lost things.

Back to that election.  Your heart matters more than your vote ... God has given you a heart of flesh, new and beautiful.  So go out, pray, listen, sift your decisions through Scripture, and follow God's heart (not YOUR heart).  I think if you do that, and truly seek God's guidance, God will be with you.  Politics in 539BC were dangerous, cutthroat, vicious, and deadly.  Maybe they still are.  My advice is to look at the writing in the Word so that we never have to see the writing on the wall.  And, in the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I got to say!"

Saints?

Sunday is All Saints' Sunday.  When we hear the word Saint, we might hear different things.  Roman Catholics might think of those granted Sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church.  The secular world might think of those people they deem to be really good.  In Scripture, Paul seemed to use the word loosely, calling believers in various congregations of the early Church 'Saints.'  What does this seemingly vague word mean?  Here goes!

In formal terms, I would hold that Sainthood would be embedded in the culture and tradition of the Christian Church, held there by time, tradition, and Scriptural foundation.  The major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, are recognized as Saints by very early Church traditions (both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches).  There was no formal 'canonization' process here ... but the Church calls these prophets Saints.  And Paul calls the early church people saints too!  Why?

Saints follow something bigger than themselves.  What do we remember about the names we will read on Sunday?  We probably think a little about their jobs, what they liked to do, and some funny or compelling moments.  But when the preacher gets up to speak, the important part is about who they were under the God they followed.  Sunday, I talked a little about Ms. Etoil Mathison.  Her life was focused outward, toward the people and the God she loved!  Saints live their lives outward!

Saints hold to bigger values/standards.  It is interesting how Paul speaks to the early Church in the context of who they ought to be ... not necessarily who they are at that moment.  He begins Ephesians, writing to the Saints at Ephesus.  He is gently corrective, and calls them beyond their culture to "be patient, bearing with one another in love."  He reminds them that they are to grow up, so that they will not be blown back and forth by the wind of every teaching.  Paul sees Saints through the eyes of Christ ... people who will become those offering Godly virtues and standards to a fallen world.

Saints make a difference for God beyond self.  Ezekiel (our Biblical Saint this week) was called the Saint of the Resurrection.  Ezekiel reminds us of the fallenness of the people he addressed, but also of God's ultimate plan to restore, revive, and remake His people into a "resurrection army."  In the song Valley of Dry Bones, Michael Card writes, "the dead will come alive, their graves will lie abandoned, and all those dwelling in the dust will wake and shout for joy."

Wake up sleeper!  We are called to be bigger than self, greater than the standards of this world, and make a difference that is eternal.  Saints!

What Will It Take?

Chapter 1 of Jeremiah is a very disturbing word from God.  Jeremiah was not known for mincing words or sugarcoating the truth.  In fact, God clearly called Jeremiah to boldly proclaim, "I have put words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant (Jeremiah 1:9-10)."  Did you notice that the passage is 2/3 on the negative side?  Why?

Over the past few years, we have intensified the work at The River.  We hope to accelerate this project and have a workable/usable building in the spring.  While we also need folks to accelerate giving toward this project, we are hopeful that God and God's people will be faithful and generous.  In doing the work at The River, we have learned, through a lot of sweat, labor, and even some lost blood, that much had to be torn down before we could begin rebuilding.  That 2/3, 1/3 ratio seems to be an accurate estimate of how renovation works!

Here is what is happening in Jeremiah's time.  Through Jonah's preaching in the 750s BC time period, Nineveh (Assyria) is spared destruction.  Assyria grows in power and dominance and becomes a leading world power.  Assyria demolishes the Northern Kingdom of Israel (722 BC).  The Southern Kingdom (Judah) is spared, but continues a spiritual decline and cultural drift from God's plan.  In the battle of Carchemish (605 BC), Babylon defeats Egypt and what remained of Assyria, making Judah an unwilling puppet of the Babylonian Empire, and Jerusalem falls to Babylon in 586 BC.  Babylon's rise is predicted and described by Jeremiah's prophecy.  He spoke hard truth, but Judah did not listen and chose to align with and trust world powers, rather than the God who brought them into the land they occupied.  The message (then and now) ... God is bigger than world powers and greater than the kings and princes of this world.

It took renovation (uprooting and tearing down, destruction and being overthrown) for Judah to look up and see God.  It took "a bronze wall to stand against the whole land- against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land."  That bronze wall was Babylon.  So ... are we on that same road, "forsaking God, and burning incense to other gods and worshipping what our hands have made (Jeremiah 1:16)?"  This is a hard question worthy of our reflection, and (I think) repentance.

Beyond

I love the story of Jonah. Not because Jonah is particularly heroic, faithful, or even likable. In fact, Jonah may be one of the most shallow, self-centered, and stubborn people God ever called into ministry. And yet, God uses him to accomplish something extraordinary. Maybe that's the point of the whole story. Our God is a God who goes BEYOND.

1. Beyond Our Imagination - God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and preach repentance. Nineveh! These were ruthless, violent people, enemies of Israel, and seemingly beyond redemption. If anybody deserved God's judgment, surely it was Nineveh.

But God had other plans. Jonah eventually preaches one of the shortest sermons in Scripture, and something unimaginable happens. The people listen. They believe. They repent. Even the king humbles himself before God. God sees possibilities where Jonah sees only problems. He sees people worth saving where Jonah sees people worth destroying.

God's mercy goes beyond our imagination, our prejudices, and our expectations.

2. Beyond God's Reach? - Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh. So he runs. He boards a ship headed in the opposite direction, apparently believing he can somehow get beyond the reach of God. That doesn't work out so well. A storm comes. The sailors become terrified. Jonah ends up overboard, swallowed by a great fish, and finds himself in a place seemingly beyond rescue. 

But even there, God is present. The remarkable thing is that the fish isn't simply God's punishment. It is also God's rescue. What looks like the end of Jonah's story becomes the place where God gives him another beginning.

Jonah discovers that we can run from God's calling, but we cannot run beyond God's reach. And sometimes the very place we think is beyond hope becomes the place where God's grace finds us.

3. Beyond Our Understanding - Perhaps the most astonishing thing about Jonah isn't the great fish, the storm, or even Nineveh's repentance. It's Jonah himself.

Why in the world would God choose such a shallow, stubborn, angry, and spiritually immature person to proclaim His message? Even after Nineveh repents, Jonah is furious that God would forgive them! And yet, God doesn't give up on Jonah. God patiently teaches him, questions him, rescues him, and continues working on his heart. The story ends with God asking Jonah a question, almost as though God is still inviting this reluctant prophet to grow up in his faith. Maybe Jonah wasn't simply sent to Nineveh so that Nineveh could be saved. Maybe Jonah was sent to Nineveh so that Jonah could be changed.

And that brings us to a wonderful question. Who is worth God's time, patience, understanding, forgiveness, and salvation? What say you?

Ex Nihilo

Over the years, I have met many people who had gifts and graces that might have led them into the calling of ministry.  Their way with words was compelling.  People liked them and were willing to follow them on a quest.  They seemed to have what Ezekiel called "a fire in the belly" for sharing the Good News of the Gospel.  But there was a problem.  Life, bumps in the road, and (worst of all) comfort happened.  Pastors call these people MIA.  They might have been captured by the lures of the enemy.  They might have counted the cost of following and decided they didn't want to pay that cost.  They may have become distracted.  But I think the most frequent issue (in my experience) is that they loved their place in life more than they loved God.

Life is a test.  David, in Psalm 63, is in a great test.  God's word says, "The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13)."  The King runs to the Wilderness of Judah (he is unwilling to allow Jerusalem to become a battleground).  And Psalm 63 becomes a lament about his situation, a song of longing and praise to God, and a shout of faith that God will bring David victory over his enemies.

In David's situation, he has nothing to count on except God.  But David also knows that our God is an "Ex Nihilo" God.  The Latin term means "from nothing."  Ex Nihilo describes how God created all that exists from nothing (let the anti-creationist try that!).  And these are the kinds of tests that either bring out our despair or our faith.  2 Samuel says, "The people have become exhausted and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness (2 Samuel 17:29)." David and his followers left Jerusalem with little or nothing.  But David knows where to place his faith.  "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you,  meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely (Psalm 63:1-8)."

The people who enter ministry generally enter it with nothing.  And we, whether in our personal life or our service to our church, have a propensity to see ourselves as having few resources to accomplish the work we see ahead; we need to remember David's lesson here.  We have a great God.  So, we seek God, our source of living water in "this parched and weary land."  We have seen God's power and glory, and we have been to His Sanctuary.  God, not what we have, is our source of help.  So we can rest securely in the shadow of His wings.  As the song says, "He will hold me fast!"  AMEN?  AMEN!!!!!

The Beginning of Wisdom

While the Bible is pretty clear that the beginning of wisdom is with God and from the fear of God (Proverbs 1), the 1st few verses of Proverbs have caused me to think about the subject of wisdom.  Proverbs is part of 5 Biblical books known as "Wisdom Literature."  Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and Job comprise these 5 books.  Job is the oldest book in Scripture (the date of writing), and Psalms is probably the most quoted.  But hear these words from Proverbs 1 and ask yourself, "What does this say about the END of wisdom?"  "These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge, and discernment to the young. Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1:1-7)."

Here is what I find remarkable about these words.

1. They are universal - Young, Old, Simple, Wise, and those who desire to do what is right.  The only group seemingly exempted are the fools!

2. They exist to bring good, success, and structure to life - God's Word is like that, isn't it?  The paradox is that the stable walls of structure are the strong fortress of freedom and goodness.

3. Wisdom seems to have no end - For those who have wisdom (those with understanding), seeking wisdom is a continual, lifelong pursuit.

Here is what I have observed.  In 1994 I went off to Asbury Theological Seminary to seek knowledge, and hopefully wisdom, about God, God's Word, and theology.  What I found was remarkable.  The men and women who taught there were consummate experts in their fields.  One knew the Book of Matthew by heart in numerous languages.  Another understood the mysteries of John's Revelation.  Yet, in the midst of this great knowledge, they pursued knowledge and wisdom daily.  They had understanding, but still pursued "the meaning in proverbs and parables, the words of the wise, and riddles."

I am reminded that Jesus spoke in parables, not to provide explicit moral teaching (though this teaching did/does exist).  Parables were intended to cause those seeking understanding to seek, dig, ponder, consider, and struggle with truths that aren't too far from the mystery of God.  They are not easy!  Just try to "go thou and do likewise" as you read the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  Attempt to understand why some are sheep and others are goats in Matthew 25.

Here's my point.  Those who choose wisdom eternally pursue knowledge and wisdom.  I believe this continues even after we are with God in heaven.  And why not?  Jesus comes so we will know what God is like.  Scripture is revealed so we will come to understand God, ourselves, and others.  "Seek, and you shall find.  Knock and the door will be opened to you!"  Be wise, my friends!