Stop Trying To Make Christianity “Relevant”

Today is Sunday, February 4, 2018. Day 21,878.

Vincent Damon Furnier, aka Alice Cooper, born on this date in 1948, said, “When you believe in God, you’ve got to believe in the all-powerful God. He’s not just God, He’s the all-powerful God and He has total control over everyone’s life. The Devil, on the other hand, is a real character that’s trying his hardest to tear your life apart.”
BrainyQuote

The word for today, from Dictionary.com, is byzantine, an adjective which means, “complex or intricate.”

Well, the StuporBowl is tonight. Wait. SuperBowl. Super. Yes. That’s what I meant. We’ll be watching at least part of it at our church’s SuperBowl watching party tonight. Is that all one word? Or should it be two words? Does it matter? Anyway, in case anyone has missed it, I will be rooting for the GOAT. That doesn’t mean he’s my favorite quarterback, mind you. Far from it. My favorite quarterback of all time (I bet my Mama knows) is the one and only Dandy Don Meredith.

We’re getting ready for our worship gathering, this morning. We worship with The Exchange, which meets at the Northpark YMCA, at 9100 N. Beach Street, in Fort Worth, TX. The gathering begins at 10:15.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 
  Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 
  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. 
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 
  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 
The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 
from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 
he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 
The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 
  Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 
Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33

The last verse of Psalm 33, verse 22, is my verse for this year.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1

Yes, my God, in all things, you are my God, and I will seek you in the morning, and learn to walk in your ways.

(From The Business of Heaven, C.S. Lewis)
Dogma and the Universe

“It is a common reproach against Christianity that its dogmas are unchanging, while human knowledge is in continual growth. Hence, to unbelievers, we seem to be always engaged in the hopeless task of trying to force the new knowledge into moulds which it has outgrown. I think this feeling alienates the outsider much more than any particular discrepancies between this or that doctrine and this or that scientific theory. We may, as we say, ‘get over’ dozens of isolated ‘difficulties,’ but that does not alter his sense that the endeavor as a whole is doomed to failure and perverse: indeed, the more ingenious, the more perverse. For it seems to him clear that, if our ancestors had known what we know about the universe, Christianity would never have existed at all: and, however, we patch and mend, no system of thought which claims to be immutable can, in the long run, adjust itself to our growing knowledge.” (From Dogma and the Universe)

What is amazing about this quote is that the article from which it is taken was written in 1943. It holds true even more, today. There is a prevalent opinion that Christianity is out of fashion, or no longer relevant. And the harder some factions work to make it relevant, the worse it gets. I believe it is a mistake to attempt to “make” Christianity “relevant” to today’s society. The thing is, true Christianity, walking in the steps and words of Jesus Christ, is always relevant. Living our lives the way Christ would live them if he were we (that’s how Dallas Willard put it) is true Christianity, and that concept is timeless.

So let’s stop trying to make Christianity “relevant” by copying the world. Let’s live our lives the way Christ would live them if he were we.

Father, help me to live in this way. I fail so often, which, I’m sure, adds fuel to the fire of the unbelievers. Help me to be more cognizant of how I’m living and the effect it has on others around me. I am not just myself. I am an ambassador for Christ. I have to remember this. Help me to walk in his ways and in his words, in your kingdom, and in his easy yoke.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Grace and peace, friends.

The Walk Is More Important Than the Work

“If the world was perfect, it wouldn’t be.”~~Yogi Berra
(BrainyQuote)

Today’s word of the day, from the Oxford English Dictionary, is perspicience, “Keen or clear perception; insight. In early use also: †the ability to see all things, infinite vision.”

A bonus WotD today, from Dictinoary.com, is catawampus, “askew; awry.”

Today is Panic Day. Forget Douglas Adams and his “Don’t panic” phrase for a day. Go ahead. Panic. I like what the website says: “Imagine a whole day devoted to what most of us do every morning, at least Monday to Friday.” Right? Just get it all over with in one day, and then, since it is also Get Over It Day, simply “get over it.”

The concert went pretty well, last night. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the way I played (but are we ever?), as there were still some parts in the music that took me by surprise. What that shows is the definite need to practice more outside of group rehearsals. You just can’t get to know the music well enough, practicing once a week. Hopefully, that’s a lesson learned. We did, however, get a standing ovation from the small crowd that attended. And it was good fun.

It’s Wednesday, and nothing’s going on tonight, which is good. I’m tired from two consecutive nights of band activity, and getting to bed late. That, and we have to watch the series finale of Downton Abbey tonight. They have an awful lot of story lines to wrap up.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22

We all need a good “defense system.” We have many to choose from. We can choose to be defended by our nation, its military, and its political system. We can choose to be defended by “emotional devices” that keep other people from getting close to us. Or, we can choose to “relax confidently in God, ‘our help and shield’.”

“Defend me, Almighty God, from every power of sin. As I learn to trust in your care, I find both gladness of heart and peace of mind. ‘Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you’ (Psalm 33:22). Amen.”

(From My Utmost For His Highest)

So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67)

Today’s reading is “The Time of Relapse.”

The question Jesus asks his disciples is penetrating. It comes right on the heels of many other “disciples” turning away from him because of his teaching. They turned away from walking with him. How important is it that we walk with Jesus? “We have to maintain a venturing attitude toward Him all the time.”

“Many today are spending and being spent in work for Jesus Christ, but they do not walk with Him.” While the work is important, the walk is ever so much more important! If God gives us a task or vision, it is not up to us to work to keep ourselves in that relationship. It is up to us to “live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live the life with God on any other line than God’s line, and that line is absolute devotion to Him.”

Father, teach me this devotion. I have spent too much time in my life trying to work to keep the vision or relationship going. Show me, by your Spirit, how to live this life of absolute dependence on Christ.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

Simply Be

“Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.”~~Albert Schweitzer
(Brainyquote)

Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is autoschediasm which means “something that is improvised or extemporized.”

Today is Fun Facts About Names Day, a day that falls on the first Monday of March each year, and encourages us to learn “historical meanings and influences” behind our names.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. The worship gathering went well, and we had PAT (Pastoral Assist Team) meeting afterward. In this meeting, we had a very good discussion on the “spiritual” side of our church. We discussed a couple of different church models, and all agreed that, right from the beginning, we had set out to do something different. The typical evangelical church model has all attention pointing to the middle of the circle, with very thick walls of delineation between the church and “not the church.” The model is pastoral-driven, while the members make occasional forays out into the “wild” to feed the poor, minister to the sick, and try to get “bad people” to stop doing “bad things.” Sometimes this looks like what we called “love from a distance,” while other times it doesn’t resemble love at all, especially when we try to get “bad people” to stop doing “bad things.” The basic idea for the model is that “they come in.”

The model we are aiming for, while having definite delineations between the church and “not the church,” has much thinner, even perforated “walls.” The arrows point out from a circle, which has, as its basis, relationship. It is “incarnational” in essence, as we attempt to share life with people. The basic idea of this model is that “we go out.”

In order for this to work, we must have two things. We must have what is called “oikos,” which is a Greek word that simply means “family.” We must do things in community. “No man is an island” in this model. We get this largely from the fact that Jesus never sent his disciples out alone. At the smallest, they were sent out in pairs. The other thing is that we must have a better understanding of the “spiritual side” of things. If we believe that there is an invisible, spiritual world out there, shouldn’t it have a greater impact on our lives? This is where we have been the weakest.

Jesus said the Father was seeking people to worship him in Spirit and Truth. There is a vast separation between the “Spirit” churches and the “Truth” (which we also call “Word”) churches. On the Spirit side, we have the full-blown “Charismatic” churches that don’t want to hear where the Bible (“Truth”) might differ from their practice. On the Truth side, we have the full-blown fundamentalists, the more radical of which will only use the King James Version, being sure to point out that the words spoken by Jesus must be in red, and all pronouns designating God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit must be capitalized.

Our church seeks to walk a path right smack in the middle of those two. We want to acknowledge the spiritual side of the equation. Our pastor has been humble enough to admit that he is lacking in this area. He had us read Proverbs 3:5 yesterday. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. He confessed that he has been wont to do exactly what this verse cautions us not to do, leaning mostly on his own understanding of things. We have covenanted to walk out into this area together, committed to maintain a balance between the Truth and the Spirit. This is not totally foreign to me, as I have dabbled in “charismatic” things in my past. One of our PAT members was brought up Assembly of God, so he is very familiar with these things. It should be an interesting road ahead. We are not going to turn full-blown Charismatic, nor will we retreat to fundamentalism. Again, we seek to walk right down the middle between Spirit and Truth, because that’s where we believe Christ wants us.

When I was in seminary, 30 years ago (egad), I had a professor who told us that, when you walk down the middle of the road, you will get “brick-bats” thrown at you from both sides. I’ve always remembered that statement. If you’re getting criticized from both sides, you must be doing something right. At least that’s how I feel about it.

Sorry about the lengthy explanation, there. Today is Monday again, so it’s back to work. Band practice tonight, but then we have a performance tomorrow night. We will be playing at White’s Chapel United Methodist Church, which is located at 185 S White Chapel Blvd, Southlake, TX 76092. That’s right off of 1709 or Southlake Blvd. The concert begins at 7:00 PM.

This time next week, I will hopefully still be asleep in a cabin in Glen Rose. 🙂

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
Psalm 33:10-12

I like the distinction Peterson makes here. “Belonging to a nation is not a secular option for people who don’t want to belong to God.” In other words, one is not the opposite of the other. “Nations, as well as individuals, find their proper rule and government under God.”

“Almighty God, rule this nation with justice and mercy. Under your rule may all realize the joy of your presence, and experience not only your providence, but also your redemption, through Jesus Christ. Amen.”

If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Proverbs 3:24

In today’s reading from Daily Guideposts 2016, Ashley Kappel writes of her daughter, Olivia. She calls her a “whirling dervish of a child.” Olivia was always moving, it seemed. If she was awake, “she was moving, crawling, rolling, climbing, and navigating the stairs over and over again.” It appeared that she never looked tired or ready for bed. But her mother knew differently. You see, the more she “partied and played,” the closer she was to “surrendering to sleep.”

When Olivia would be at her most frantic, Ashley would take her to her room, read a story, and rock her. “It was only then that she’d sigh and relax into my arms,” Ashley says.

As she sat and rocked her daughter, Ashley thought, “How often does my heavenly Father watch me as I bustle around, tackling my never-ending to-do list and hardly stopping for a minute to eat, much less pray?” God calls us out of the chaos of our lives, to “climb into His arms and simply be.”

What a beautiful picture! How many times have you envisioned yourself climbing into your Father’s arms to “simply be?”

Father, I pray for the discipline to do this, from time to time. In this year, when the theme of my devotions is “abiding,” I need to take more time to truly do that. My spiritual life depends on it. Let me just sit with you a while.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

A Thirsty Tongue

“In love the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two.”~~Erich Fromm
“Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night.”~~William Blake
(BrainyQuote)

Today’s WotD, from Dictionary.com, is commodius. While it may sound as if it is referring to a particular piece of bathroom furniture (in a Roman form, even? “Marcus, I must visit the commodius!?), it, in fact, means “spacious and convenient; roomy: ample or adequate for a particular purpose.” Perhaps you have a commodius house, or a commodius office at work.

Today is White Chocolate Cheescake Day. Why? Because chocolate!

We had a very nice time at the Irish Festival, yesterday. We drove to a nearby train station in Dallas and hopped on the Dart Rail for $10 ($5 each for two Day Passes). The train dropped us off right in front of the gate of the Fair Park. Parking at the Festival was $15, and we probably would have had to walk a mile to get there from the car. So that was a “win/win” situation. I realized, while on the train, that a $5 Day Pass also provides some people with a pseudo comfortable place to sleep for the day. You never know what you are going to see when you ride the train. The important thing is to not panic and realize that anything you might see on the train is “normal.”

The festival was fun. We heard a lot of good music as we walked around, even though we never really stopped to listen to any for a significant length of time. It was just everywhere. There were also a number of food booths with free samples. We even bought some of the food products, too. We bought some really good jelly/jams, some salsa mix, and some beef jerky for Rachel. Then I got a nice Celtic “Circle of Life” t-shirt and a new hat. I’ll be wearing those to church this morning. The hardest part was deciding what to eat, though. I finally settled on a Scottish sausage sandwich, and some “gravy french fries.” I was disappointed that the gravy was brown, but they were okay. The sausage was okay, but not great. Christi got a patty melt at one booth that was out of this world. She shared it with me. Afterward we bought a funnel cake and a couple of Diet Cokes. The miraculous thing is that we planned it out and didn’t have any of the food/drink coupons left! That never happens!

The one thing that disappointed me is that they didn’t have any Mead this year. The closest thing that had was some apple cider, so I had a cup of that. It was pretty good. But I really wanted mead. Oh, well. Scarborough Renaissance Faire is right around the corner.

This morning, we have our worship gathering at 10:15. Christi isn’t running the Mac today, so we don’t have to be there early. Our church, The Exchange, meets at the Northpark YMCA, at 9100 N Beach, in Fort Worth, TX. Come join us if you are nearby.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Psalm 33:6-9

“Do words really make any difference?” Eugene Peterson asks. “Does talk ever cause anything to happen?” I doubt that, when he wrote that, he knew that I would be reading this in the middle of one of the strangest and, perhaps, worst Presidential campaigns we have ever experienced; one where words seem trite and meaningless, and, at times, even obscene and insulting. But they are words that are definitely attached to deeds. Empty promises. But the words of God, that’s a totally different story. We have here, “a biblical witness that traces the very world we live in to the word of God.”

“O God, by men who make promises that they never keep and by people who make statements that they do not mean, I begin to treat words as ‘mere words.’ And then I look around at what happens in creation and in salvation when you speak, and I’m ready to listen again, especially to the ‘Word made flesh’ in whose name I pray (John 1:14). Amen.”

On second thought, maybe he did write that during a Presidential campaign!

“A thirsty tongue is liable to be a murmuring one. When Israel was not satisfied, she tested God with her lips. So with me, and how often I have known this, when I have not been wholly satiated with the water of life in the morning, the tongue is apt to move loosely in criticism of God’s children, His ways of leading, His apparent slowness to provide.” (From The Journals of Jim Elliot, March 6, 1948)

Father, I see the truth in what Jim Elliot has written here. I pray that the eyes of my heart would be satisfied in you. May the times that I spend in your word burrow deep into my spirit, satisfying me so that my tongue does not wander into territory that it unseemly. I cannot count the number of times that my loose tongue has gotten me into some kind of trouble. Tame it, my Lord, in the name and power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

More Than A Savior

“If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues.”~~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
(BrainyQuote)

Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is rupestrine, which means “living or growing on or among rocks.” I would like to think that this also applies to people of whom we say, “Do you live under a rock??”

Today is Absinthe Day. There’s a great deal of mystery surrounding this allegedly hallucinogenic alcoholic beverage. It seems to have been banned for a while, but is legal again. However, I’m not sure it’s quite the same as the drink that famously inspired Earnest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde. I would love to try it sometime, but a bottle costs in the neighborhood of $85. And I don’t think you’re supposed to just drink it straight. I have had some in a “Margarita” at our old favorite Mexican restaurant that closed. It was quite good, and tastes slightly of licorice. In days gone by, people who drank absinthe were said to be “chasing the green fairy.”

Yesterday was a pleasant work day. We got off work on time, which is always nice on a Friday. I picked up dinner at OC Burger (none of us had “burgers”) and brought it home, where we relaxed and watched Tuesday’s episode of The Voice. There were a few good auditions, but no one really remarkable. Except for maybe this girl named Emily Keener who performed a very interesting take on Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

Today, Christi and I are going to the North Texas Irish Festival. This event occurs on the first weekend of March, each year. I look forward to hearing some great Celtic music and sampling some delicious food. I may even buy stuff. Who knows? But not much. We don’t have room for much more stuff around here.

On this date in 1963, the Hula Hoop was patented. You can read the story at History.com.

Today’s birthdays include:

1133–Henry II, King of England
1713–Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury
1836–Charles Goodnight, American cattle rancher
1853–Howard Pyle, American author and illustrator
1887–Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer
1908–Sir Rex Harrison, English actor
1914–Philip Farkas, American horn player/teacher
1920–Virginia Christine, American actress
1922–James Noble, American actor, Benson
1927–Jack Cassidy, American actor, Mary Tyler Moore
1931–Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player
1936–Dean Stockwell, American actor, “Yog Sotthoth!”
1939–Samantha Eggar, English actress
1946–Murray Head, British actor and singer, Anthony’s brother
1948–Elaine Paige, English singer/actress, Cats
1948–Eddy Grant, Guyana-born singer, “Electric Avenue”
1954–Marsha Warfield, American actress, Night Court
1955–Penn Jellette, American comedian/magician
1958–Andy Gibb, English-born Australian singer
1959–David Fury, American TV writer/producer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1969–Paul Blackthorne, British actor, The Dresden Files
1974–Eva Mendes, American actress

Dean Stockwell is an actor that has played many roles, my favorite of which is probably that of Wilbur Whateley in the 1970 movie, The Dunwich Horror. He turns 80 years old today.

Crispus Attucks, David Dunbar Buick, Joseph Stalin, Sergei Prokofiev, Patsy Cline, Michael Jeffery, Jay Silverheels, Yip Harburg, John Belushi, and William Powell are among notable deaths on this date.

Patsy Cline died in a plane crash on this date in 1963.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.
Psalm 33:1-5

What is “praise?” Peterson defines it as “talking and singing happily about what God has done.” A very simple, but adequate, definition. It is appropriate language and music for human nature, and “it brings out the best in us even as it celebrates the best in God.”

“‘Let me, God, add my voice to all who praise you.
“Great praises are in the air!”
I recollect your word;
I observe your works;
everything is praiseworthy!
All praise to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!’
(Richard Eberhardt, ‘Great Praises’). Amen.”

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16

(From My Utmost For His Highest)

Today’s reading is “Is he Really Lord?”

if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus Acts 20:24

In the KJV, it is translated “so that I might finish my course with joy.” This prompts Oswald Chambers to briefly discuss the meaning of joy. He calls it “the perfect fulfillment of that for which i was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing.” Isn’t that exactly the opposite of how most of us would define “joy?” But the desire of Paul’s heart, that which would give him joy, was the finishing of the course and ministry given him by Jesus.

This is the thing we look for when we desire to hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” when our lives have been completed. In order to do this, however, we must find our “niche” in life. We find this, spiritually, when “we receive our ministry from the Lord.” But in order to receive this, we must spend time in his company; “we must know Him as more than a personal Savior.” (Emphasis mine) This is where many Christians lose out. We get saved. Maybe we read our Bible occasionally, and even might go to church regularly. But if we do not spend time on our own with Christ, we will miss out on some marvelously fulfilling ministry opportunity.

Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” and then answers with, “Feed my sheep.” When we receive a ministry from Christ, we learn that the need is not the call; “the need is the opportunity. The call is loyalty to the ministry you received when you were in real touch with Him.” And when this is received, it is okay to “ignore the demands for service along other lines.”

I also believe that this ministry can change, as the seasons of life change. I, personally, have experienced this, as my ministry changed from being a worship leader to being a prayer leader. I would also encourage those who don’t have this realization, yet. Stay in touch with Christ. He will reveal something to you, eventually.

Father, I thank you that you have use for me in your Kingdom. I pray for the discipline and inspiration from the Holy Spirit to accomplish that ministry, to be faithful to it. Lead me in the way that you have for me. Teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name. Help me to abide in Christ, daily.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

Embracing Christ

Good morning. Friday has finally arrived. It is Friday, April 17, 2015.

Today’s Word of the Day is papabile. “A prelate likely or worthy to be elected as pope.” Also, ” In extended use: a person worthy of, or likely to be elected to, high (esp. political) office.”

Today is Blah Blah Blah Day. To be perfectly honest, that fits my mood to the tee, this morning.

Yesterday was a bit scary for a few moments. At one point during the day, I left my workstation (with my phone sitting on it) for less than a minute. When I got back, there was a missed call and message from the Medical Center of Arlington phone number. I listed to the message (my mother), and it sounded scary, so I called her back immediately, in spite of regulations that we are not supposed to be on our cell phones at the work station. The procedure of putting the feeding tube in my dad’s stomach went fine, but when they took him to recovery, his oxygen level plummeted. He was too tired or too weak to breathe. They put him on a breathing machine, and got him stabilized, though, and eventually got him back on the oxygen through the standard tubes in the nose. They were just bringing him back to the room when my mother called me. This was almost 3PM. She believes that we almost lost him.

I went straight up there after work. Christi wasn’t going to go, anyway, as she is still suffering from a sore throat and nasty cough, as well as occasional temperature. When I got there, he looked pretty good, and my mother was okay. We believe that was just a temporary scare, hopefully, just one time. They plan to start feeding him through the tube today, and are still talking of releasing him, maybe tomorrow, to go back to Mineral Wells and enter rehab for a bit.

My mother and I had a nice meal at the hospital cafeteria, last night, as well, and we had some good, serious conversation about the possible future. I won’t go into any of those details, right now, because, for one thing, we have no clue what the future holds, and for another, we aren’t going to worry about the future. We are both hanging on to what my daily devotional was about yesterday, that being that we get enough mercy for this day alone, and we don’t need to spend time and energy worrying about tomorrow.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33:4-22

(From Solid Joys)

Today’s reading is “Embracing Jesus.”

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
1 John 5:3-4

When Jonathan Edwards struggled over this text, he came to this conclusion: “Saving faith implies . . . love. . . . Our love to God enables us to overcome the difficulties that attend keeping God’s commands — which shows that love is the main thing in saving faith, the life and power of it, by which it produces great effects.”

This could be put in another way to say that “faith in Christ is not just assenting to what God is for us, but also embracing all that he is for us in Christ.” We used to say that it wasn’t enough to have “head knowledge” about Christ, but that we had to have “heart acceptance” of Christ. I think Piper has said it better. “True faith embraces Christ in whatever ways the Scriptures hold him out to poor sinners,” says Edwards. This kind of love, this “embracing,” treasures Christ above all things.

“Believing that Jesus is the Son of God means ’embracing’ the significance of that truth — that is, being satisfied with Christ as the Son of God and all God is for us in him.”

Father, I pray for your Spirit to help me, to enable me to treasure Christ above all other things. I pray that I would embrace him above all else, and all that you are for me in him. May my love for you in Christ be lived out in the faith that you have given me, that faith which can overcome the world.

I continue to pray for healing and recovery for my dad. I thank you that we got through yesterday, and still have him around. I thank you that, no matter how small, there is hope that he might return to a life similar to that which he left last Wednesday. But even if he is not able to do that, we praise you for your might hand in all of this. You have been present and “visible” through our trial in this past week. My mother’s strength is amazing. Even her moments of weakness have been few and brief, as she reminds herself that all is in your hands and that you are in control. It appears that she has worked through all possibilities, and she is strong and firm in her faith. I praise you for this, Lord.

I pray for this day, that we would have safe passage to and from work, as well as a good, productive work day, with no anxiety. I also pray that we would not be anxious about what tomorrow may bring, for you will provide enough mercy when tomorrow gets here. May we never forget that your mercies are new every morning! I pray for Stephanie, that you would draw her closer to you today. I pray for Rachel and Justin, as well, that you would draw them closer, and provide for them what they need most for this day. (Yes, I know these prayers seem repetitive, but it is my daily prayer for my loved ones.)

Your grace is sufficient, Lord.

May we who call ourselves by his name fully embrace him for all that he is.

Grace and peace, friends.

They Are New Every Morning

Good morning. It is Thursday, April 16, 2015.

Today’s Word of the Day is hat trick. (When I use the Merriam-Webster WotD, the link probably goes to the current day’s word, rather than the specific entry.) As a matter of fact, I just realized the the OED link won’t get you to the word on any day other than the day I write this. I will probably stop linking those, just for that reason. Anyway . . . “hat trick” is one that a lot of people will be familiar with. It is a sports term which can mean, “the retiring of three batsmen with three consecutive balls by a bowler in cricket, the scoring of three goals in one game by a single player,” or, “a series of three victories, successes, or related accomplishments.” The last definition could apply to non-sports accomplishments, as well.

Today is Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day. I sometimes think people do that every day. I saw a guy at my work yesterday, wearing shorts which looked a lot like pajama shorts.

They did a “swallow test” on my dad, yesterday, and the result of that is that they are going to put a feeding tube into his stomach today. This, according to my mother, will enable them to release him to the rehab place in Mineral Wells, as they will be able to feed him. The cause of the swallowing issue is, ultimately, the Inclusion Body Myositis, with which he has suffered for many years, now. However, there is hope that the rehab center will be able to work with him to get those muscles working again, so that he can eat again. I suppose that the head trauma from last week may have exacerbated the effects of the disease. The doctor seems to think the feeding tube will be temporary, however, he also said that it could be left in indefinitely, even if he regains the ability to swallow properly. My mother sounded hopeful on the phone last night. They are talking, if the procedure is successful, of releasing him Friday or Saturday. We are selfishly hoping for Saturday.

Both the Red Sox and the Rangers lost horribly, yesterday. The Sox remain in first, with a 6-3 record, while the Rangers sit in fourth, at 4-6. Kansas City finally lost a game.

Christi’s throat continues to hurt, but she currently doesn’t have fever, which is a good thing.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Psalm 33:1-3

(From Solid Joys)

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

“God’s mercies are new every morning because each day only has enough mercy in it for that day.”

This is the reason that, when we try to bear tomorrow’s burdens today, we fall into despair and worry. We don’t have to do that. There is no reason to. Yet we constantly find ourselves, as my mother used to say, “borrowing trouble.” “Today’s mercies are for today’s troubles. Tomorrow’s mercies are for tomorrow’s troubles.”

Will we have enough mercy to stand in times of severe testing? Scripture seems to indicate that we will. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1 Peter 4:14) We have the promise, that, when we are reviled because of the name of Christ, the Spirit will be upon us. Remember Stephen, as he was stoned. That same Spirit will come to our aid when we are sorely tested.

The children of Israel received manna one day at a time. When they tried to gather too much and save it for the next day, it spoiled. “There was no storing up.” We, too, must depend on the Lord’s mercy in the same way. “You do not receive today the strength to bear tomorrow’s burdens. You are given mercies today for today’s troubles.”

Tomorrow, we are promised new mercies. “They are new every morning.”

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9

Father, help me to remember this truth! I pray for the realized mercy to know and trust that there will be enough mercy for tomorrow’s troubles when tomorrow gets here. I don’t have to worry about it today. This is probably one of my worst faults. I worry. I struggle with what may happen. I fret over situations that may never occur. Help me to apply today’s mercy for today and let tomorrow’s mercy handle tomorrow.

I pray for this day. I pray for my father’s procedure, today at around noon. I pray for it to go smoothly, and that it will, indeed, facilitate their eventual release from the Arlington hospital, so that they can go back to Mineral Wells, and at least be close to home. I pray for this mercy for my mother, that she will handle one day at a time. I pray for our travel to work today, that it will be safe and smooth. I pray for Christi to feel better today, that her throat would heal, and the coughing subside. I pray for Stephanie, that you would draw her closer to your heart. May you grant Rachel and Justin peace and love, and whatever they need most for this day.

We thank you and praise you that Jacque’s biopsy came back benign. I pray now, for Kevin’s back, that he might get some relief. We also praise you for Brandon’s successful surgery, and that he may now fully recover and go back to work. You have answered prayers, Father, and we are grateful.

When you are tempted to worry about tomorrow, remember that tomorrow will begin with new mercies, enough for tomorrow’s trouble.

Grace and peace, friends.

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Good morning. It is Tuesday, July 3. Tomorrow, we stay home!! Huzzah!! Wow…today’s “holidays” are rather lame, in my opinion. We have a choice of “Eat Beans Day,” which probably isn’t going to happen, or “National Compliment Your Mirror Day.” “Hello, mirror! You’re doing a great job of reflecting!” No. I don’t think so. And I’m certainly not going to stand in front of the mirror admiring what I see in it. While I realize that I’ve made great progress in the last 5.5 months, I’m simply not that vain.

On this date in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ended. On this date in 1981, “Back to the Future” was released. And that photo that made the rounds last week, stating that June 27, 2012 was the date set in the time-traveling DeLorean was a hoax. Check out this article. On this date in 1969, Rolling stones Guitarist Brian Jones was found dead from accidental drowning. On this same date in 1971, Jim Morrison died of heart failure in a Paris bathtub. Both of them were 27 when they died. What’s with rock stars and 27?

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Christi thinks she is feeling a little better this morning, but is still very weak-feeling. She’s up and getting ready for work. Prayers for her day would be greatly appreciated. We are definitely looking forward to tomorrow, an oasis of non-work in the middle of the week. Also, if you’re a praying person, please lift up the youth group from our church, The Exchange, as they are in Falls Creek, Oklahoma, for youth camp.

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Father, I pray for some vision of you this morning that will keep me focused during this day.

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Today, I’m reading Psalm 33. This one begins with a shout of praise.
Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. (1-3)

If I live to be 199, I will never comprehend how anyone can read that and not think we should use instruments in the worship of the Lord.

For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. (4-5)

Evil as it seems, the earth is full of God’s love. One only has to have eyes to see it.
The Psalm closes out with hope.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
even as we hope in you. (18-22)

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My Utmost For His Highest

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5

When I get into the presence of God, I realize more than just the fact that I am a sinner. When I am in the presence of God, I sense the concentration of my sin in a certain area. “There is never any vague sense of sin, but the concentration of sin in some personal particular.” He will convict us, by the Spirit, of the one thing that is fixed in our mind, in our heart, that sin which “clings so closely” (Hebrews 12:1). For Isaiah, he immediately focused on his “unclean lips.” What did God do? He sent one of the cherubim to lay a burning hot coal on Isaiah’s lips to purge his sin. “The cleansing had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.”
Dare we pray for this revelation? I promise you…it’s painful. Can you imagine the pain of a searing hot coal placed on your lips? I believe that God tells us through this that we will not be cleansed without some hurt. He will show us the sin, but it will not be pleasant. At first we will want to resist, because the flesh is strong! But if we allow the Spirit to have free reign, God will cleans, and then we can move on to the next thing.

This is important to me in the matter of prayer. If I am to be a “prayer warrior” (which I am still not), then I must come to grips with any sin that God reveals to me. I must walk in the Spirit; allow the Spirit to have free reign in my life. This is my heart’s desire.

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Father, it is my desire to worship you with my whole heart. I want to be obedient to the command that Jesus said was the most important, to love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then I want to be able to turn this outward to love my neighbor as myself. Yet I find that I am tripped up daily in both endeavors. Though I am officially a “saint,” by the blood of the Lamb and the power of your Spirit, I am also a sinner. I pray that you would, by your Spirit, show me my sin, before it happens! I would ask that you would prevent me from sin, Lord. Prevent me by reminding me, convicting me, beforehand. Cleanse my mind from evil thoughts. Cleanse my heart so that all I care about is serving you. This does not mean that I will not care about doing my job or loving my family, because doing both of these things well serves you in the highest way possible. These are the things that you have given me to do in my life.
Lord, you have placed me where you have placed me for a reason. It is not necessary that I know all the reasons. It is only necessary that I acknowledge that I am right where you want me, and that I must follow your leadership. You are leading me down a path of prayer, specifically of intercessory prayer. I stumble at every step, it seems. Just yesterday, I had every intention of praying for our youth at 11am on the dot, because that’s when they were leaving for camp. It wasn’t until I was on my way home from work that I realized that I had forgotten to do this. I take that back…I was actually on the way to the gym with Stephanie when I remembered. But at that point, Steph and I joined hands (I kept one on the wheel) and prayed for the youth, hoping that they had arrived safely to the camp. My heart still has a long way to go for this ministry, Lord, but I pray that your Spirit will keep chiseling away at the impurities that clutter me. Yes it’s painful; yes it hurts, but I don’t care! I am nothing. As I’ve noted before, I am not second, I am last. This is not self-deprecation; this is reality; this is being completely comfortable with and acknowledging my place in your work, in your kingdom. Without you, I am nothing.

I see that the earth is full of your steadfast love, Father! It is so easy to see all the negative, and I have been very guilty of this for a long time. I believe that it is possible to acknowledge the failures of society and the wickedness of men, but see your love in the earth at the same time. I have been too cynical for too long. Turn me around, Lord. Make me a blessing!

I pray for this day, Lord. I pray that Christi will feel better today. I pray for your healing hand to rest upon her today, as you empower her with your Spirit that resides within her. Make her aware of your presence today, teaching her to draw on your infinite supply of grace and mercy during her work day. She is a blessing, Lord, both to me and others around her. I pray you heal her today from this infection. I also pray for Stephanie today, that you would make her aware of your presence and love in her life. I pray that you would inspire her to read some from your Word today and to draw from your grace. You have blessed me at work these last few days. I pray that this would continue. I also pray that you would make me a blessing to the people I encounter today.

I will continue to pray for Bart and Summer as they continue to recover from their surgeries. May you bring them back to full health quickly. I pray that this surgery that Bart had has fixed his issue completely, that it will not return again. I also continue to pray for Jeremy and his job situation, that you would intervene, both in his heart and in the heart of his boss. I also continue to pray for our friend, Susie, in her health and fitness goals. Help her to stay focused and committed to them.

I pray for our youth today. I pray that their week at camp will be marked by how much they feel your presence in their spirits. Yes, I pray that they have fun. But more importantly, I pray that they see you and see you in power and glory. I pray that they will experience you in such a way that will change their lives forever. I don’t pray that they will all be called to be pastors or missionaries. What you want to do with them is your business. What I do pray is that, in whatever you give them to do with their lives, you lead them and inspire them to do it to your glory, with all of their might, looking to your face to live, and drawing from that eternal fountain of grace that dwells within you. I also lift up Zach Schroeder and any others who have gone with him to be sponsors and counselors at this camp. Fill them with your spirit, Lord!

I pray for the leadership at The Exchange. Guide them by your Spirit, Lord, showing them the direction that you want the church to go. I pray that you would give our church a building to call home. While that may not be our most important need, I believe that it would give us a better face in the community.

Your grace is sufficient, Lord.

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May the steadfast love of the Lord shine on your life today.

Grace and peace, friends.