Healing Rays of Righteousness

The Things God Has Not Done

Has it ever occurred to you to thank God for things he has not done?  We usually thank God for the things he has done. And we should do that.  But the Bible also tells us about four wonderful things God has not done for which I’m fairly certain we are all very grateful.

FIRST – God has not rewarded us according to our iniquities.  (Psalm 103:10) – “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” 

In the Exodus experience, the Israelites along with the Egyptians should have lost their firstborn child to the angel of death.  But God provided a substitute in the Passover lamb.  Therefore, he did not deal with his people according to their sins.  This is wonderful in David’s eyes and he meditates upon the mercy that had saved them.  Read verses 7-14.

By what right do we dare stand before God today?  We have no inherent right.  If he gave us what we deserved, we would all perish; for the Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  But God makes possible that right for us in Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  (John 1:29).  Thank you, God!

SECOND – God has not failed to carry out even one of his promises.  Having completed his lengthy prayer, Solomon stood to bless the people.  The inspired man of prayer looked back on Israel’s long road from Mount Sinai and summed up the entire history of Israel in one sentence;  “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised.  Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”  (1 Kings 8:56).

Also, Joshua, the aged hero affirms God’s faithfulness; “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.  You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”  (Joshua 23:14).

Today the record of God’s faithfulness still stands.  He has not failed his word.  When God speaks, it is as good as done.  This means we can trust God.  He will never disappoint us in regard to his promises.  What God promises, he both can and will perform.  Thank you, God!

THIRD – God has not given us the spirit of fear.  “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid (fearful), but gives us power, love, and self-discipline (a sound mind).”  (2 Timothy 1:7).

Listen to the prophetic message regarding Jesus’ birth that we often hear read at Christmas; “say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’” (Isaiah 35:4)

Jesus comes to free us from fear.  Fear is one of the most controlling emotions of our modern life.  Fear causes weakness and failure.  Fear saps strength, paralyzes initiative, and poisons the atmosphere.  When fear is evident in our lives, we can be assured that it is not of God.

John writes, “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  (1 John 4:18).  Thank you, God!

FOURTH – God has not appointed us to wrath.  “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

The Scriptures repeatedly remind us of God’s coming wrath on the day of judgment.  And Jesus confirms both God’s gift of salvation and his righteous judgment in saying, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36).

Earlier in that same chapter, we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  (John 3:16-17).

We cannot earn salvation or deliverance from God’s wrath, but because of God’s great love and mercy, we can receive eternal salvation by coming to Jesus Christ in repentance and trust.  This is the basis of our hope.  Thank you, God!

Thanking God for these four things that he has not done is a good way to begin every new day.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 27, 2019

Making Peace With Our Past

Many of us have a painful past to live with; a past that we can neither escape nor change.  For many the painful memories are so powerful that their recall brings deep pain to the present.  Feelings of inferiority, unfairness, and anger surface.  Long forgotten fears once again grab a choke-hold on our life.  The past haunts them.

The story of Joseph is a proven model of how to best respond to a painful past that brings healing of mind, spirit, and relationships.  That story begins in Genesis 37.

Joseph, the favorite son of his father Jacob, experienced a very painful past.  He was raised in what we would today call a “dysfunctional family.”  Sibling rivalry filled Jacob’s household.  Favoritism abounded and jealousy infected brotherly relationships.

It became so bad that one day Joseph’s brothers caught him, threw him into a pit, and discussed killing him.  One brother intervened and convinced the rest to instead sell Joseph as a slave to traders headed toward Egypt.

In Egypt, Joseph became the property of a man named Potiphar.  Things seemed to be going better for Joseph.  But then, Potiphar’s wife made continual sexual advances toward him.  Frustrated by Joseph’s refusal, she falsely charged him with attempted rape and he was imprisoned.

Years later, the Pharaoh had a dream that no one but Joseph could interpret.  The dream revealed that Egypt would experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.

To reward Joseph for interpreting the dream, the Pharaoh gave Joseph charge over all of the agricultural activity in Egypt.  The years of plenty came and Joseph stored up the abundance of grain for the future survival of Egypt.  Seven years later the drought and famine began.

The drought and famine became so widespread and severe that people in neighboring countries came to Egypt to buy food from Joseph.  And it wasn’t long before Joseph’s own brothers arrived to buy food.  Joseph recognized them, but they no longer knew their own brother.  Joseph sold them the grain they requested, but he also tricked them into coming back to him several times, before he revealed his true identity.

Read Genesis 45:1-15

When he did identify himself as their brother, they were terrified.  They remembered the pit and the time they bartered with traders and sold their own brother into slavery.  They had every reason to be terrified when Joseph says to them in verses 4-5, “Come close to me.  …I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!  And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.”

Joseph was able to make peace with his painful past and experience healing of mind and heart by choosing the following three responses of belief and behavior.

1. Joseph Practiced Forgiveness

Joseph had been wronged, not only by his brothers but also by Potiphar’s wife and the forgetful cupbearer.  Joseph could have struck back and felt the exhilaration that comes from getting even.  Instead, Joseph chose to forgive.  That’s the first step toward any healing of the past.

Rather than reaching out in anger and revenge, he embraced his brothers.  By choosing to forgive, Joseph made reconciliation with his family possible.

Forgiveness, while not the easiest of options, is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the removes the handcuffs of hatred.  Forgiveness breaks the chains of bitterness and shatters the shackles of selfish retaliation.  Forgiveness frees the heart to enjoy life to its fullest.

2. Joseph Chose to Live in the Present

Joseph chooses not to be imprisoned by the bitterness of his past, but instead, to live in the present with his eyes focused on the future as evident in verses 9 through 11.

Making peace with your past always includes choosing to let go of yesterday and live for today and tomorrow.  Recalling and reliving the sorrows and pains of yesterday does nothing but rob us of the possibility to experience the wonders and beauty of the present.

3. Joseph Saw the Hand of God At Work in His Life

Joseph’s ability to forgive his brothers was a result of his understanding of God, and of God’s greater purpose in the painful events of his life.  Joseph came to realize that God, not his brothers, determined what Joseph would become.  Joseph believed that through all his painful experiences, God was preparing and molding him to become the person God needed him to be.

Three times in this chapter (vss. 5,7,8), Joseph declares his belief that God’s purpose, not their evil intention, brought him to Egypt.  And he repeatedly assured his brothers that he was not angry and asked them to forgive themselves.

Like Joseph, the apostle Paul came to understand the way God uses adversity and pain.  He wrote in Romans 8:28 – “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Our difficult and painful experiences often become God’s classroom of learning how to trust God and how to forgive others.  Those of us who have been there, who have journeyed through the valley of painful events, who have suffered much but chose to forgive the past, can now look back and attest to God’s leading, providing, shaping, healing, and calling us into a larger life and ministry.  I know because I’ve been there and done that.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 20, 2019

Thoughts For Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a day of expressing love to another.  And we Americans spend billions of dollars on chocolate candy, cards, and roses in our efforts to show our affection for another.  But sadly, these extravagant expressions of love are often very short lived and the relationship becomes broken or destroyed by the evil selfish emotions of anger, greed, or lust.

I think Valentine’s Day is also an excellent day to remind ourselves of God’s most beautiful and glorious love message that he sends us, not one day of the year, but every day of our lives.  And he sends it to us wherever on earth we may be physically and emotionally that day.

In his book Experiencing God, Henry T. Blackaby writes, “God is far more interested in a love relationship with you then He is in what you can do for Him.”

Unfortunately, that ‘love relationship’ is the road less traveled by for many Christians.  We tend more often to relate to God with our hands, by what we do for Him, and shy away from developing an intimate “heart of love” relationship with Him.

Some of the most profound teaching regarding God’s love is found in the third and fourth chapters of John’s first letter.  In verses eight and sixteen of the fourth chapter, John tells us that “God is love.”  

Those three little words get to the heart of what John believed about God.  They tell us that God is pure self-giving love, and that God cares deeply about you and me and covets our love relationship with himself.

But, how do we know that God is love; that he loves us and cares deeply about us, both you and me?  The answer is found in his valentine message of love to us, recorded in 1 John 3:1 and 4:9-10. John begins by gushing out this proclamation;

• How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
• that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!
• This is how God showed his love among us;
• He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
• This is love; not that we loved God,
• but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I’m reminded of a story out of Roman history.  The Roman army had subdued the kingdom of Armenia, and now the king of Armenia stood before the conquering general.  The king fell to his knees and pled with the Roman general:  “Do whatever you wish with me, but I beg you to spare the lives of my family.”  The Roman general graciously spared the life of both the king and his family.

Later, the king of Armenia asked his wife what had been her impression of the Roman conqueror, but she responded, “I never saw him.”  “How could you have failed to see him?” asked the king.  “He was only a few feet away.  What were you looking at?”

With tears welling up in her eyes, the queen replied, “I saw only you, the one who was willing to die so that I might live.”

Each one of us who has given his or her life to Christ can put ourselves in that story, for we know what it is to have someone love us so much that they willingly die for us.  Such remarkable, amazing love is at the very core of God’s character; at the very center of God’s heart of love.  And nothing we can ever do will stop or hinder God from loving us.

I call this God’s ever-loving valentine to us.  And having received such a beautiful valentine from him, I think it is only appropriate that we respond to his sacrificial love with our own valentine of love and praise as we recommit our life of devoted love to him.

I think an appropriate praise valentine from us to God is found in Psalm 36:5-9;

• Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
• Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.
• O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.
• How priceless is your unfailing love!
• Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
• They feast on the abundance of your house;
• you give them drink from your river of delights.
• For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

The character of God is love.  May you revel in a daily love relationship with Him.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 13, 2019

Invitation to Rest – RSVP

Beverly Sills was an excellent and popular soprano opera singer, who died on July 2, 2007.  She was known as a very joyful and giving person.  This was so clearly evident in the following story.

Beverly had just completed an outstanding matinee performance, and according to the program, she would give another performance that evening at 8:00.  Backstage her loyal fans were congratulating her, when one of them said to her, “You must rest now, because I see that you have to give another performance tonight.”  “No,” said Beverly Sills, “I don’t have to give another performance tonight.”  “Well,” said her fan, “it says here in the program that you have an 8:00 p.m. performance this evening.  Did you forget?”  Beverly answered, “Yes, I do have a performance tonight, but I don’t have to give it.  I get to give it.”

Beverly Sills always felt she was privileged to be co-laboring with Jesus in blessing people with her singing, and so every musical performance was always a “privilege” and never a “duty.”

She did not consider it a task to do or a burden to endure.  She believed her performance to be her co-working with Jesus, because she believed she was doing what God called her to do, that is, to SING.  She truly and gratefully felt privileged to be yoked with Jesus in living her life.

In Matthew 11:28-30 we read, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

With these words, Jesus invites you and me to come to him and find rest, wisdom and strength for the oft-times difficult and pain-filled journey of living our Christian faith in a world that often challenges our commitment to being a good and Godly person.

But every difficult situation is also an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Jesus, and to have our trust in him strengthened.  Jesus knows our limits of strengths and weaknesses, and so invites us to find soul rest by being yoked together with him in our laboring.

The Greek word for “easy” means “well-fitting” and so I hear Jesus saying, “My yoke fits you well; your work or situation is tailor-made to fit you.  So yoke yourself with me, and I will labor with you, making your life easier and your burden lighter.”

The burden is made light because Jesus shares the burden with us and carries the greater weight.  And the yoke is made easy because Christ is always so loving and compassionate in helping us through all of the hard and uncertain circumstances of life.

Jesus’ invitation to rest is not the promise of an easy road, but rather of a difficult road made easier because of his being a traveling companion whose wisdom and strength makes the journey more restful and free of stress.

The truth is that I don’t have to love my neighbor.  I don’t have to share what God has given me.  I don’t have to feed the hungry, visit the sick, and be a friend to the lonely and dying.  I don’t have to be kind, compassionate, and considerate of others.  As pastor and chaplain, I don’t have to preach the “Good News” or minister pastoral care to hurting and needy people at any hour of the day or night.

I don’t have to do any of these things, but I am invited to do them as a privilege in being yoked with Jesus in his ministry of loving and serving others.  And yoked with Jesus, God’s gracious love transforms my life and attitude, making my labor and ministry a privilege to do.  With the apostle Paul, I now say “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

I confess that I haven’t always viewed my work as being a privilege.  My life journey has had its share of dark, difficult and discouraging times, and my work as pastor and chaplain seemed at times more wearisome obligation than privilege.

But, I also can affirm that whenever I would remember Jesus’ invitation and that I was yoked with him, the healing rest I needed flowed into me, making lighter the burden and transforming my work into a joyous privilege.

I am so grateful to Jesus for his amazing grace in my life and ministry.  I now reflect on my 53 years of being yoked with Jesus in ministry to others as a joyous privilege.  And, I say to you, stay yoked with Jesus.  His yoke will fit you comfortably and will give your soul rest in every day situation.  Trust him with your life, and you will be glad you did.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 6, 2019