Healing Rays of Righteousness

Lead Us Not into Temptation

The Lord’s Prayer is realistic and reminds us that we are human and prone to sin. And so, even after we have pleaded for God to “forgive us our debts,” and are assured of his forgiveness, we still need to pray for God’s daily help to think and act as righteous persons.

To pray “And lead us not into temptation” is to admit our spiritual weaknesses and selfish desires. The Greek word that is usually translated “temptation” can also be translated as “testing.” I think this is a more helpful word in praying as “And keep us from being tested.”

Just as Jesus was tested in his wilderness experience immediately after his glorious baptismal experience (Matthew 4:1-11), so likewise, will “temptation” test the character and commitment of all who claim to be Jesus’ disciples.

Both “temptation” and “testing” refer to everything that could endanger our relationship with God. This includes those very difficult and painful wilderness situations that test our faithfulness to God, and in which we will be tempted to give in to sinful unbelief or behaviors.

In this petition, we are asking God to protect this relationship. We are pleading for God to spare us situations and testing so deep and compelling that they may overwhelm and tempt us to be unfaithful in our commitment to his love and lordship.

After admonishing his disciples for sleeping during his agonizing prayer time in Gethsemane, Jesus urges them to pray for God’s enabling strength to stand the test. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41).

However, we are encouraged by Apostle Paul’s reassurance to the Christians in Corinth that “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The second half of this petition, “But deliver us from the evil one” is about the ever-present reality of spiritual warfare. Satan continually tests us to destroy us, and Jesus teaches us to pray for God to spare us from Satan. This petition can also be read as “Allow us to be spared circumstances that would tempt us into sin” or “Deliver us from every peril that awaits us.”

“Temptation” is the opportunity to do evil. But the “evil” referenced here is something done to us. Of course, we may choose certain evils and suffer its consequences, but this petition is for protection against becoming a victim of the “evil one” who is Satan. He is truthfully named the deceiver, slanderer, accuser, destroyer, tempter, and father of lies.

Given the reality of evil assaulting us, we hear the cry to “deliver us” as a cry of panic. It is something we would only ask of someone whom we know has power over the desperate circumstances of our situation. And so, to pray “deliver us from the evil one” is a confession of our ultimate trust in God.

We know we are weak and cannot stand against Satan’s testing, so we pray that God would deliver us from the possibility of failing the test and bringing dishonor to God’s name. We pray, believing that God in his wisdom and love may block Satan’s effort, or help us through the testing toward making us stronger in character and commitment (Romans 8:28).

This petition realistically recognizes that we will be exposed to evil and victimized by it. But it also reminds us that evil will not have the last word. It claims the promise of the resurrection which gives affirming evidence that even during evil and trouble God can bring about goodness, life, and peace.

The great hymn “Amazing Grace” sings of being brought “through many dangers, toils, and snares” and reminds us that God has ultimately conquered the evil one and that he faithfully walks with us toward complete and eternal deliverance in his Kingdom.

Whenever my faith in Jesus is being tested, I am encouraged by a song I love, “What God Hath Promised.” I hope its message encourages you as well.

God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.                                     But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,                  Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised we shall not know / Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear / Many a burden, many a care.
          But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,
          Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep, Never a river turbid and deep.
          But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way,
          Grace for the trials, help from above, Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 25, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Forgive Us Our Debts

I think it is significant that the word “And” links our first petition “Give us today our daily bread” to this petition for God to “forgive us our debts.” It seems to me that Jesus intended for us to understand that just as our physical person cannot live without the bread that God gives, neither can our spiritual person survive without the forgiveness that God alone can give. No less important than bread for our bodies is forgiveness for our sins. Like daily bread, we need God’s daily grace and forgiveness in our lives.

To pray “Forgive us our debts.” is to affirm that God is our Savior and will forgive our sins. You and I both know that we cannot live a single day without sinning either by not doing what we know we should be doing, or by doing what we know we should not be doing. To pray “Forgive us our debts” is to confess and repent of our wrongdoing, being confident that God greatly loves us and will completely forgive us through Jesus’ death in our behalf. What amazing love and grace this is given us!

In this prayer sin is spoken of as a “debt” we owe God. Because God created us and so loves us, we owe God everything. Specifically, we owe God love and honor as his adopted children and willing obedience as his servants. We sin when we do not give what is owed to God. We become indebted to God and need to ask God to forgive this debt, whether little or huge.

Rather than the word “debt” Luke uses the word “sin” in his version of this prayer (Luke 11:4). Matthew also uses the word “sin” in 6:14-15. It was not uncommon in Jesus’ day to use a financial metaphor for sin and forgiveness, as seen in his parable about the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-35.

This parable also underscores the importance of the second part of the prayer which teaches us the need to examine our relationship with others. In the first part of this petition we ask God to do something for us – “forgive us our debts/sins” and we promise to always be forgiving toward those who harm us in some way. Jesus clearly states that this response of forgiving others is required of us if our plea for God’s forgiveness is to be heard and granted.

Forgive “as we also have forgiven” doesn’t mean God is to forgive like we forgive or that he must do so. It’s the other way around. God’s forgiveness precedes and underlies our forgiveness of one another, as is seen in Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant.

“Forgiveness” as used in Scripture means “to release” someone from an obligation or debt, whether legal, financial or moral. Have you ever had a financial debt you couldn’t pay? One with disastrous consequences? Can you imagine having it forgiven? Well that’s what sin and forgiveness is like. That’s the picture this request uses.

Jesus insists that our receiving forgiveness from God is connected to our forgiving relationship with those who wronged us. Our unwillingness to forgive those who deeply hurt or abused us, cancels out God’s forgiveness and blessing in our own life. This is the ultimate sin and Jesus made this a matter of great importance and consequence. Forgiveness opens the door to relationships, both with God and with other people. Loving and forgiving is not always easy, but it is always essential.

It is very apparent that our society is more focused on retaliation and “getting even” than it is about forgiveness. And neither does it care much about the destructiveness of unforgiveness. This in turn has caused unforgiveness to be one of the major contributors to the destruction of relationships in our families, churches, and communities.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we know that the call to forgiveness is not necessarily practical or realistic. Nevertheless, we forgive because God forgave us through Jesus Christ and to be obedient to him is to be forgiving like him. We forgive because this faithful imitation is the most appropriate way to show our gratitude to God and indeed to worship God.

To pray the Lord’s Prayer is to admit that we are sinners. We pray, not as righteous people, but as forgiven sinners. And in the Lord’s prayer we find the consolation of God’s forgiveness. Forgiving others is the inevitable result of knowing and deeply appreciating God’s forgiveness.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 18, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

“This, then, is how you should pray: … Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11).

I think the Scriptures indicate that our “daily bread” is about more than just our food, which, along with water, is the most basic of our physical needs. Even in our time the word “bread” is often used to talk about all kinds of food, and it is also used to talk about the money or job needed for all our daily provisions.

In the biblical setting of this prayer, Jesus would want us to know that in asking for “bread” we are asking for our basic needs to be satisfied. In Exodus 16:4 God tells Moses to instruct the people about gathering the manna that he would be sending them during their wilderness journey. He says, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.”

The emphasis on God’s instruction is in the people gathering only what is needed for that day, and to also trust God to faithfully supply enough for each and every day.

So, when we put these two words together – “daily” and “bread” – we are asking “our Father” to sustain us by providing our physical and material needs in sufficient amount for each day. This would suggest that we should be very grateful when our daily physical and material needs are supplied.

By giving us this guide to our manner of praying, Jesus is teaching us to trust God for our daily needs. He is teaching us to believe “our Father” hears and knows our needs. He is also teaching us to learn contentment and a trusting relationship with God’s daily provision. These attributes seem so foreign to modern thinking.

Jesus teaches us to pray for “daily bread” – not for gathering or storing up for tomorrow. We are taught to pray each day for the bread we need for that day. This is a difficult lesson to learn when our culture continually tries to convince us that having more is better and having the best is gratifying. As Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:32-33, we are not to be like the pagans who devote their whole lives to the pursuit of material things and trust in their own powers to provide them. Instead, we are to “seek first his (God’s) kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

A few verses earlier, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do no sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”  (Matthew 6:25-26).

However, another question also needs our consideration. What does it mean to pray for daily bread in our cultural context of affluence where most of us have more than we need for the day? And yet all around us in the world there are those who don’t have their basic needs met.

Please note that this is a corporate prayer, “Give us.”  It is not just about us. We don’t just pray for our material provision, but also that “our Father” would supply the needs of all his people, throughout the world. Jesus would have us understand the prayer to be both a petition for our own needs as well as an intercession on behalf of the others who have need of bread.

I do believe that God provides more than enough food for all the world. And that he gives some more and some less with the expectation that we will share the supply with each other. When we get more than the daily bread we need, it is not to hold on to it for our own security and tomorrow’s comfort. We are given the more so we can share it with those who need it. In doing so we bless others and are blessed with God’s goodness to all the world.

Our prayer for “daily bread” challenges us to be part of the healing of the world in our sharing and ensuring that those who are hungry will also graciously receive their “daily bread.”

However, the question keeps coming back to us daily: Will we who have more from God than we need, share with those who have less than they need? Will we choose to learn contentment so that our excess can become their provision of daily bread from God.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 11, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).

The word “hallow” means to regard as sacred or holy, to set apart or make different, that is, make different in the sense of being better or special.

And so, to pray “Hallowed be your name” is not offering praise to “Our Father in heaven,” but rather it is asking him to act in revealing himself as holy, supreme, sovereign and high above all other powers and authorities.

We are saying, “Exalt yourself. Magnify and glorify yourself in my life and in our world, so that your name will be revered, glorified, and praised, ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’”

Jesus taught that God’s kingdom is where God rules as the only and supreme King, and his will is done. Jesus also taught that our greatest desire and priority should always be for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. It is where his righteousness, peace and joy prevail.

This is the reality we desire and express in praying “your kingdom come, … on earth as it is in heaven.” It is to pray for God’s rule and transforming power to come, a power that sets people free to do his will, that overcomes the kingdoms of this world, and that completely defeats sin, Satan and death.

It is also to pray for the time to come when Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of the universe, is obeyed fully by all, including me and you, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Max Lucado has written – “When you say, “Thy kingdom come” you are inviting the Messiah himself to walk into your world. “Come, my King! Take your throne in our land. Be present in my heart. Be present in my office. Come into my marriage. Be Lord of my family, my fears, my doubts.” This is no feeble request; it’s a bold appeal for God to occupy every corner of your life.”

I agree and further believe that God’s primary will for all of us is that we would daily experience a life filled with his abundant joy, peace and healing goodness. I believe this is his promise to all who live in obedience to him as their Father and King. And to pray “Your will be done” is to commit myself to live in love and obedience to him as my Father and King.

The question we must ponder is whether I am willing to let God have his way in my life, or do I really want God to do things my way? How serious am I when I pray “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” or when I sing the lyrics of the old hymn; “Have thine own way, Lord, Have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay.”

I believe we all would agree that heaven is the place where God’s intentions are perfectly fulfilled, where his name is hallowed, his rule obeyed, his will is done. And I would hope you also believe with me that God has those perfect intentions for earth as well. In teaching us this prayer, I believe Jesus wanted us to know and understand that “as in heaven, so be it on earth” is the essence of his promise and our purpose on earth.

And so, when we pray:
– that God’s name be hallowed (made holy) “on earth as it is in heaven”
– that God’s kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven”
– that God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven,”
we are anticipating that life on earth as we know and experience it, is going to be changed, transformed in the light of God’s will and purposes for mankind.

I believe that to be a disciple of Jesus, is to commit myself to fully participate in God’s grand transforming, redemptive work on earth, giving witness to a “new creation” made possible by Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection.

I believe God put us here to enjoy him and his good creation, and to do his work of caring for his good creation, and to establish and enlarge his holy, awesome and glorious kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.”

We live on the earth as citizens of heaven, seeking to live in obedience to God’s rule, and giving witness by what we say and do, to the priorities of God’s kingdom, awaiting the day when we see “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2).

And someday, someday, our prayer will be answered. God’s name will be “hallowed” on earth, and we will be able to sing with the angels and all of creation, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – March 4, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Our Father in Heaven

This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).

Many of us have memorized the words of this prayer. But do we seriously contemplate and understand what we are saying? In my study and use of this prayer, I have gained a deep appreciation for the spiritual insights and relational understandings expressed in it. And praying this prayer has greatly enhanced my relationship with God.

Over the next several weeks, I invite you to consider with me the truths I think Jesus intended for us to learn about our relationship with God through praying this short but majestic and potentially life-changing prayer.

In teaching us this prayer, Jesus says we are to address God as our Father, not “my Father” but “our Father” – thus making it a community prayer. When we pray this prayer, we are acknowledging and affirming that we are children of God’s family, worshiping and praying together, as Christian brothers and sisters around the world. A biblical truth we sometimes too easily forget or ignore.

The Scriptures tell us that in confessing Jesus as Lord, we are accepted into a holy family. The apostle Peter says that we “…are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, …Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;”  (1 Peter 2:9-10).

To address God as “Father” implies a relationship in which we are not God’s equal peers but are as homeless children that he has loved and adopted into his family. And as his adopted children, God has committed himself to act toward us as a loving Father acts toward his family.

Addressing God as “Our Father” also reminds me of Jesus teaching that we must be childlike in our attitude and relationship with God. He said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 18:3).

Now think with me for a moment about this relationship that we are invited into. I think you will agree with me that the Scriptures reveal God to us as the “Almighty, All-knowing God” the unapproachable “Most Holy One” and the “Creator” of all things.

And yet, what is most amazing and stunning to me, is that, according to Jesus, this awesome, most glorious God wants me to call him “Father.” In fact, the Aramaic word for “Father” as translated here, is “Abba” and carries a more intimate and loving nature than simply a formal title and is similar and akin to our word “Daddy.”

However, this near and intimate God asked Jeremiah, “Am I only a God nearby, …and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? …Do not I fill heaven and earth? (Jeremiah 23:23-24). And the psalmist worshipfully declares, “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth.” (Psalm 33:13-14).

Yes, it is true that God is as close as a loving parent who holds us in his lap. But that image is incomplete without the image of God being distant, high and lifted-up. A common synagogue prayer invokes “Our Father, Our King.” Both truths are held together. Heaven is about God’s kingship, God’s reign. We acknowledge these truths when we pray “Our Father in heaven.”

The gracious truth is that while the transcendent God “in heaven” is always near us and sees us, we can only be in relationship with him by his initiative in first reaching out to us adopted children as “Our Father in heaven.”

There is absolutely no possibility of our entering into the presence of God or having a relationship with God by our own ability and effort. There are no gifts of “good works” or “money offerings” big enough for us to gain entrance into God’s family.

And so, each time we address God as “Our Father” we should be reminded that we have been graciously loved, redeemed, made holy, and adopted as sons and daughters into God’s family, and that he desires for us to address him with all the love and appreciation we can muster from within ourselves.

I believe that the invitation to call God “Our Father” is a tremendous, sacred privilege that we far too often take for granted. And I believe this “father/child” relationship with God is more important than all our other relationships, demands, priorities, or loyalties. Think about it.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 26, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Building Community

In her book, Bring Us Together, Marjorie Holmes writes this yearning prayer for community. “Oh, God, we go through life so lonely, needing what other people can give us, yet ashamed to show that need. And other people go through life so lonely, hungering for what it would be such a joy for us to give. Dear God, please bring us together, the people who need each other, who can help each other, and would so enjoy each other.”

If you are old enough to remember the TV series, THE WALTONS, you may remember one of the programs in which a small black boy, named Josh, is in conversation with Jim-Bob and says, “You were born belonging. That must be a great feeling – to belong.”

I fully believe that God created every human heart with the need to belong, to be accepted, included, and cared for in a community with other human beings. Indeed, he created us to live together in communities of love for one another.

One of the problems in our Western society is our emphasis on individualism, which has greatly diminished our sense of community, and even a felt need for it. I believe individualism is a characteristic of the human heart that leads away from God and his intention for every human being to be in community with others.

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, he answered by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” And then he added this, “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39).

To follow Jesus command, we must use the biblical language of community rather than the cultural language of individualism. To experience the abundant life he promised us, we must use the language of mutuality, of caring for one another, providing for one another, and being accountable to one another.

The early Christian community caught this vision and became a fellowship of sacrificial love, sharing life at all levels of spiritual, social, and economic relationships, such shelter, clothing, food, and wealth.

God’s design and purpose of community is what biblical scholars have named “the ministry of shared pilgrimage.” This is a priestly role for all people of God, and fits well into Anabaptist theology regarding the belief in the priesthood of all believers.

Anabaptist Christians regarded the need to live in community as an essential core value.
Myron Augsburger, a highly regarded theologian and pastor who is deeply rooted in the Anabaptist tradition, defines this biblical understanding of “love in community” in his book, “The Robe of God.”
“First, love personalizes relationships rather than institutionalizing them. We are to look at people as ends in themselves and never as a means to some other end.
Second, love energizes relationships rather than legalizing them. Jesus moves us beyond codes to compassion. As we care for people, we regard the law only as a means for treating others with justice and mercy.
Third, love immortalizes relationships rather than temporalizing them. We have been called to always look beyond the need of the immediate, to share the quality and the extension of the eternal. We are not to make our decisions solely on the basis of the needs of the moment. With eternity in view, we share to invest in a life.”

I think this is a compelling, directive word for all of us, countering the noisy, tempting, siren calls of individualism. But most importantly, it is a much needed directive word for church congregations and their related ministries.

It saddens me to witness how our culture’s focus on individualism is so rapidly diminishing God’s call for all mankind to be primarily focused on mutuality, a shared pilgrimage of caring for one another, providing for one another, and being accountable to one another.

Myron Augsburger’s definitions of love in community, help us to “walk our talk,” that is, to act out our Christian beliefs regarding community in the way we care and provide for others. It is about transforming our work and worship into Christian ministry.

The question for each of us to ask ourselves is, how am I today and every day nurturing a community spirit of concern for others in my home, work, and church relationships.

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (1 Peter 3:8-9).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 19, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Self-Worth Begets Self-Confidence

The story is told of a little boy being overheard talking to himself as he strode through his backyard, baseball cap in place and toting a ball and bat.  “I’m the greatest baseball player in the world” he said proudly.  Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed.  Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said”I’m the greatest player ever!”  He swung at the ball again, and again he missed.  He paused a moment to examine bat and ball carefully.  Then once again he threw the ball into the air and said “I’m the greatest baseball player who ever lived.”  He swung the bat hard and again missed the ball.  “Wow!” he exclaimed.  “What a pitcher!”

That boy felt good about who he was, and with unwavering self-confidence believed in himself.

Dr. James Dobson has said that the greatest gift parents can give their children is a healthy self-esteem.  He states that if children don’t think positively about themselves, they will be unmotivated, lacking energy and enthusiasm for life.  He believes that it is critical for children, with their emerging personality, to gain a strong sense of self-worth and self-confidence.

I believe this to be true, but I also believe that this same sense of self-worth is critical for our emotional health and happiness throughout life, and especially during the latter years of life.  As children, our sense of self-worth comes first from parents who constantly affirm who we are and what we accomplish.  Then throughout every stage of life that follows, our sense of self-worth is sustained by frequent affirmation from those around us.

However, it is equally important if not more so, to regularly find ways to affirm our self-worth.  When we acknowledge our worth as children of God, we acknowledge and honor God.  Self-worth means self-respect, and both are rooted in who we are as God’s special and unique children.

The apostle Paul writes “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”  (Romans 8:14-17).

And John writes in his first letter “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1).

God condemns foolish pride, but self-worth that flows from a knowledge of our precious value as a child of the all-knowing and all-loving Father God glorifies the God who created us.

On the other hand, the loss of self-worth is tragic.  Losing one’s sense of self-worth can shake our faith in God.  Godly self-worth is the gift God implanted in us when he created us in our mother’s womb, and losing it is like losing God.  And so, rediscovering this gracious gift of self-worth is like finding God again, for it is the heart-beat of human dignity.

Self-worth and self-confidence generally grows stronger as we age and mature, because as adults we find purpose and a sense of self-worth through what we “do” – that is, our work and achievements.

Furthermore, our society generally measures our worth by what we “do” rather than on “who” we are.  That is, we are valuable if we are doing something important and the greater the importance the greater our value.  And so we tend to base our self-worth on our “doing” rather than on our “being.”  This is contrary to the way God measures our value.

For that reason I think it is important for us to frequently rediscover and reaffirm our worth based on “who we are” as unique human beings, children of God whom he most dearly loves.  And it is equally important that we be more diligent in verbally affirming those with whom we together live, work and worship.

We must not, we dare not give up the struggle to maintain our own sense of self-worth, nor should we ever diminish our efforts to encourage and enhance the self-worth of others, both the young and the aging, for as long as God gives them a heart-beat.

“How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with you.”  (Psalm 139:17-18).

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 12, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Putting Our House in Order

I concluded my previous blog, “Numbering Our Days” by reminding ourselves that each day is a gift of time entrusted to us by God to manage and use for his glory and our neighbor’s good.

When Jesus’ was asked “which is the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  … And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matthew 22:36-39).

So, when I read that the prophet Isaiah visited King Hezekiah during his illness and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” (2 Kings 20:1), I hear him referencing relationships, both with God and with others.

Yes, there are some very important legal and material things that we should be doing toward planning for our departure, toward putting our house in order before we die.

Faithful Christian stewards acknowledge that God owns all and has given us everything we possess with the responsibility to manage and dispose of our wealth and things in a way that pleases him.   And so we give appropriate and adequate written direction regarding the distribution of our material wealth, such as a “legal will.”

We also give appropriate and adequate direction regarding our physical care if and when we cannot make such decisions, by writing a “living will and advance directive.” 

And it is equally important to give direction regarding our funeral service and the disposal of our body.  Such written directions are an opportunity for us to make our final public declaration of faith in God’s goodness and love.  And it is always a most welcomed gift to every surviving spouse and family.

In writing about departing from this earthly life, Billy Graham encourages us to consider how well are we prepared.  “Before we embark on our final trip, have we left our earthly home in a state of chaos or a condition of order?”

Nevertheless, I believe the most important and most urgent thing we need to do in putting our house in order has to do with our relationships, both with God and with others.

In her book, “Border Crossing” Katie Funk Wiebe writes, “God’s purpose for the older adult is to complete the life cycle, to bind the generations together, to hand over the faith.”

What is my relationship with God?  Is there need for confession and recommitment to his lordship in my life?  What are my relationships with family, neighbors, and co-workers?  Is there need for reconciliation?  Are there words I need to say and things I need to do for reconciliation to happen?

To put our house in order is about honestly examining ourselves, our attitudes and actions, and seriously consider what is of value and worthwhile to us, and what is not.  What kind of spiritual legacy will we pass on to the next generation?  What life values will they receive from us?  Are those values rooted in material wealth or spiritual realities?  How will my children and grandchildren, friends and neighbors remember me?

To put our house in order is about reassessing our conversations and conduct, and asking ourselves whether or not we are growing in our Christian faith and behavior.  Am I becoming a more mature, well-rounded person, or am I becoming more selfish and childish?  Am I becoming more caring or more callous, more forgiving or more vengeful, more tolerant or more critical, more generous or more self-centered?

To put our house in order is about looking back over our years and feeling good about the ways we served the Lord, knowing that our life was about making the world a better place in which to live.  It’s about seeing our life’s conversations and conduct bringing forth spiritual fruit in the lives of our children and grandchildren, as well as neighbors and friends in their commitment to the Lordship of Christ.

What spiritual legacy will we pass on to the next generation?  What will be our crowning joy? The apostle Paul gave this testimony as the time of his death approached.  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – February 5, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Numbering Our Days

In the beginning God created TIME. He then placed things into space and TIME. Then he created MAN and placed man in TIME as a subject of TIME to live in TIME.

This is to say that God created TIME and gives it to each human being as a daily gift, heartbeat by heartbeat. And someday, during one heartbeat moment, the same God who created TIME, works in TIME, and placed you in TIME is going to say, “That’s it. There will be no more TIME.”

During the past 80 years mankind’s average lifespan has increased by an additional 20-30 years. Unfortunately, many persons have not prepared themselves to fully enjoy these years of extended life, and so wake each morning without purpose and with a diminished sense of self-worth. They awaken each morning with no vision, no purpose, and little enthusiasm for living. Their days are just one long boring “rocking chair” wait for death. How sad!

Yes, each one of us will die. Life on this earth will come to an end. How will God call time, ending my life on earth? There are many possible ways. When will God call time? Only He knows. How much time do I have left? Only God knows. How do I prepare for that end moment and the latter years of life that precede that moment? That’s the focus of this presentation.

One of the comments I hear frequently as a chaplain and pastor is this, “I didn’t expect to live this long” or “I never thought I would get to be this old.” In those words I hear the confession, I wasn’t prepared for this. What should I be doing now?

What we do with our daily gift of TIME very directly shapes how we will age physically, socially, and spiritually; and determines what kind of person we will become in our latter years. To prepare for growing old gracefully and gratefully must begin before the time of retirement.

Today, not tomorrow, is given to us for the purpose of fully enjoying a meaningful present, while also preparing for our retirement. This early preparation is important not only for sufficient financial resources, but also for adequate emotional and spiritual resources to carry us through to the end of this life and into eternal life.

The Psalmist prays, “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.” (39:4). And again, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (90:12).

Joni Eareckson Tada writes, “…of all the things to be counted, this is the hardest – to number our days. We number everything else so easily. We know how much money we have in our purse and how many dollars in the bank. Farmers number their sheep and cattle. Restaurants number the meals served in a week. Teachers check off attendance records. Gardeners can tell you how many tomato plants are in the backyard.

Yet we find it hard to number something so precious as our days. Perhaps that’s because we see our days stretching on and on. They seem infinite and so there is no need, we think, to number them. Things we fail to account for, we waste. That’s why it is wise to ask God to teach us to consider each day separate from the next, distinct in its purpose, unique in the way it is to be lived.” (Diamonds in the Dust, 1993, Sept. 14).

Contrary to popular thought, we do not live on borrowed time but on entrusted time. Each day is the gift of time that God has given us. Today is the day we hold in our hands to manage and use for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.

As Bill and Gloria Gaither sing so beautifully – “We have this moment to hold in our hands, and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow may never come, but we have this moment today.”

What do you want to accomplish before your TIME in this world of TIME is ended? How do you want people to remember you? I invite you to join me in striving to use our gift of TIME in 2020 to make a difference in the lives of those around us, that is, to be blessed as we bless others. We are never too old to live and work in God’s kingdom on earth. Let’s do it!

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – January 22, 2020
http://www.geigler13.wordpress.com
Ray M. Geigley

Looking Ahead and Trusting God

Have you ever wished you could see into the future and know every significant detail of the rest of your life’s journey?  Wouldn’t that knowledge make things easier?  It’s evident that many people think it would.  For that reason, many look to astrology, one of the ancient methods of predicting the future, which continues to be a popular resource for looking ahead.

Both biblical and secular history has proven that reliance on astrology for guidance can be extremely addictive and dangerous.  Such reliance on mostly human and often misleading false predictions can easily take control of our mind and planning.  More importantly, it weakens our ability to make intelligent, rational choices that are undergirded by Godly wisdom and trusting faith in his purposes for us.

In any looking ahead and planning, we usually do not anticipate storms.  But the reality is that storms, both in weather and life experience, frequently terrorize our beautiful and comfortable world, upsetting our plans and hopes, and causing us major disruption and loss.  Storms often create life-threatening situations and challenge our survival.  All storms amplify our human limitations and need for God’s help.

I remember a weather storm experience while traveling the Ohio Turnpike into Indiana.  It had been raining fairly heavy but as we crossed the state line from Ohio to Indiana, the rain and wind picked up speed suddenly and dramatically, making it extremely difficult to see ahead even with the wipers at full speed.  Some vehicles were pulling off the road as best they could, but I thought that decision to be more dangerous than to keep moving forward on the roadway.  And so, at much slower speed and with eyes intensely focused ahead I kept driving forward through the storm until it had passed and the sun glistened on the wet farmlands.

Driving through a rain or snow storm is no leisurely sightseeing tour of the countryside.  It is an intense, serious concentration on the road directly ahead, searching out it twists and turns, and looking to avoid any hazards or obstacles that could bring our forward progress to an end in wreckage.

The same is true in our spiritual journey.  We need to always keep our eyes clearly focused and our ears keenly attuned to God’s presence, who is both out ahead of us preparing the way for our safe travel and also by our side giving direction. This is especially critical when we are experiencing one of life’s inevitable storms.

 I think we prepare for this by giving serious, careful, and daily attention to God’s Word and God’s Spirit in our entire life journey of relationships, discussions and decision-making.  God spoke this word of authority and promise through the prophet Isaiah (48:17) – This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”

I think this biblical model of living by faith and trusting God is much like driving a car at night.  You can see only as far ahead as the headlights shine, and yet you are able to reach your destination by continuing to travel the short distance the headlights make visible.

When we make plans to travel any lengthy distance at night, we don’t insist in seeing all the things that may disrupt, delay, or detour our travel before we begin.  We simply set out trusting our headlights to make visible any problems that lie ahead in time for us to make appropriate response.

So it is with Christian living.  We live each day trusting God to reveal enough of his plan and path for us to make appropriate decisions.  God has promised, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”  (Psalm 32:8).

We live and walk by faith, not needing to see the whole trip, but trusting God to lead us moment by moment.  God used a blind person, Helen Keller, to put this truth into a song for us.

All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who thro’ life has been my Guide?
Heave’nly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, what-e’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me; Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for ev’ry trial, Feeds me with the living bread.
Tho’ my weary steps may falter, And my soul a-thirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me, Lo! A spring of joy I see.

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – January 15, 2020

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley