hope

This isn’t how it is supposed to be…One day we will do this right

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Today I had the opportunity to sit in front of my TV and be a greeter at Church. This isn’t how this is supposed to be. We had some technical difficulties, and the feed was missing sound for the first 10 minutes. This is not how this is supposed to be.  I had technical difficulties at home with my TV, and I participated in the service through a 4″ phone.  This morning all I thought was,  “This isn’t how it is supposed to be.”

During the service, once it got working, I had some friends from Church text me about the tech stuff and sent me thanks for it working. I had nothing to do with fixing it, I just let the team know at Church it wasn’t working. At the end of our conversation, one of them said, “I can’t wait until I can see my Church family again.”  I agreed this isn’t how this is supposed to be.

Although there is a lot of good that has come from all this, not the least of which is churches and people sharing Jesus online, I cannot tell you how much I want to be together with people in worship. This is not how it is supposed to be. I look forward to the amazing moment when our community can be together again. It will be a great moment for our people and for me personally. I love people, and I can’t wait to be together again.

I had a thought today; even when we get back together, even when we get together and pull out all the stops and it feels like heaven, it won’t be.  This just isn’t how it is supposed to be. You see one day, when this is all over, we will gather all together, in person, in our resurrected body for worship that will last for eternity.  It will be beyond amazing, and it will be beyond everything we have ever experienced or seen.  We will hug our loved ones and celebrate Jesus like we can’t even imagine.  That is the day we see a little here but will see more fully when Jesus comes again.

I pray as we go through these days that we are reminded that this isn’t how it is supposed to be, not just in worship, all of it.  Jesus changes everything, and I can’t wait for it to be just as He said it will be.

13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:13-17 ESV

Peace I give you…Opportunities to share that peace today.

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Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 14:27 English Standard Version (ESV)

I have two stories to share with you in this time of struggle. Maybe Jesus is leading us as Christians to be those who help bring peace not fear, to bring joy instead of heartache.

Today as I made my way out and about to do my weekly grocery stuff for the house I was was reminded that people need peace.  I went to Meijer to get groceries.  I stopped two people who were working after I saw them sound exacerbated with people asking questions and generally people being angry with the workers.  I just walked over stopped them and said “Thank you for serving us,  I really appreciate what you are here doing for everyone including myself.”  The two I talked with, for just a few seconds, were shocked and said thank you.  I hope it set their day in a new direction of peace in these tough time.

Later today I was outside with my kid and my neighbor walked over.  He was curious about some work I had done on my house and asked if I liked it.  As we talked about it our conversation turned to his anxiousness about what is happening between his retirement accounts, and getting food.  As we talked I had the opportunity to share with him about how God is working in all this and how we will all get through this. We cant control these things so I trust in Jesus to get us through this. He walked away thanking me for helping him feel less anxious.

These stories aren’t about me. They are about how right now our world needs to see peace and calm.  Our world doesn’t need more things to worry about, but needs to see Christians caring for our neighbors, sharing the peace we have in Jesus.  So today if it is your neighbor, or your family, or your co-workers be someone who brings peace and joy, not worry or tension.  People need that today as they do every day.

Reading the Gospels in Lent…Compassion and Hope.

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So I have made it a couple of days through my reading of the Gospels.  I will be honest I have never been very good and being consistent with reading the scripture on a daily basis.  So as I keep reading I pray God will continue to speak in these words to you and me. If you would like to journey by reading in this way don’t be afraid to start up.

If she could only touch his garment.  Those words from Matthew 9:21-22 touched me this week.

Matthew 9:21-22 English Standard Version (ESV)
21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

This story has always been one that gets to me.  Here is a women who has no hope in anything but Jesus. As a women who bleeds she couldn’t go to the temple or be with God.  She would have been an outcast in her community. She would have been an outcast and no one would have had any compassion on Her. All she had left was Jesus.  In her head she says those words.  If only I could touch him.  Then I will be healed. Then I will be made well

I had two questions for us this week.  Do you and I long for Jesus in this way?  Do you and I think if I could just get to Jesus then my life might be different.  I know for myself I try to fix it all on my own most of the time. I trust I can fix everything but when things get out of hand and things get beyond my skills and abilities I don’t always do this.  I want to be someone to thinks, if I could only get to Jesus!

The second question to ponder this week is are you alone.  Do you feel like no one has any compassion on your or care that you are here.  Where are you on your journey?  Are you at the point in your life where you just need Jesus.  Are you at the point in your life where you feel you are an outcast or lost and it seems no one sees you are can help?

If you are in this place come to my friend Jesus.  He has compassion on you and He can make you well.

As we read more over the coming weeks I pray we all see Jesus bring us who are outcasts and lost closer to Jesus.  My prayer for all of you this week is that you will get to touch Jesus who has compassion on you.

  Matthew 9:36 English Standard Version (ESV)
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

 

Why do we suffer?

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I have been asked many times by many different people in ministry why we have to suffer in this world. They normally say it like this. “If God is truly in charge then why do bad things happen?” Why is all this stuff happening to good people? Why am I suffering?

It is something I think every Christian has heard from their non-believing, and believing friends. We all want to have great lines to say to them because we want to help them through their sorrow. Often we say things like God doesn’t give us more than we can handle… PLEASE STOP SAYING THIS TO PEOPLE! When you are going through the death of a loved one, lose of a job, betrayal of a friend, this doesn’t help, it just turns people against the one thing that can bring them hope. Sometimes life really does give us more than we can handle on our own. We sometimes do need others to walk beside us. We need Christ in our life to help us through this time of suffering.

So I go back to why do we have to suffer? Paul in Romans 5:1-5 helps us see this suffering for what it is.

5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ESV

suffering is a result of sin, not just our sin or others sin, but sin that is in the world. Sin causes all forms of pain in this life.  Sin a three letter word that causes so much damage.  Romans 5 1-8 talks about the suffering we have but that we also have peace with God.  We have suffering because of the sin in our lives.  When you wake up in the morning with pain, this is a result of sin.  When you have a broken relationship in your life it is a result of sin.  Mostly in that case it is your sin and someone else’s sin.  When a loved one dies to early of something like cancer it is a result of sin in the world. Sin has wrecked everything.  Yet we have hope that in this life and the world to come Jesus is bringing his whole creation back to perfection.  We can have hope that one day we will not have pain,  we will not have broken relationships, we will not have death anymore.  We know that we suffer now for a little while so that all people might be saved.

Next time a friend, or family member asks why do we have to suffer? You can remind them it is sin.  Its the simple answer that may not be the most comforting but it is the truth.  Also remind them we can give thanks to Christ who came to overcome sin, death and the power of the devil.  That one day their will be no more sorrow and no more pain in this world.  This suffering is only for a little while here on earth.  I am reminded lastly that as follower of Jesus who has gone through suffering I pray my response to this is like the prophet Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer’s;
    he makes me tread on my high places.