Let hopelessness give way to peace

Among my childhood memories is an anxious period during the Cold War, when President John Kennedy issued an ultimatum to Russian leader Nikita Khruschev to remove missiles from a Cuban launch site. My wife and I both recall school drills that involved crouching under desks in case of nuclear attack.

Those who study history realize how very close this world came to disaster during this standoff, which ended with Khruschev removing the missiles. I was blessed this Christmas with discovery of a sermon my father shared during that "crisis season" of 1962.

In the midst of that time of high anxiety, Dad posed this question: "Will you believe that there are people who do not worry about the prospect of atomic death without warning?"

He then answered boldly: "There is a way to a sure confidence that were death to come this day, life will have just begun."

He continued: "Ways and means of waging war and inflicting destruction become more terrible, but men do not change in their basic nature, loves, loyalties, fears and hopes -- because God has planted in the soul of every man a hunger to know Him and His peace."

"That desire is often perverted," he continued, "and many die trying alone to find their destiny. How tragic this is so! Still, Christ stands with open arms and calls confused, twisted and lost men and women to His peace, His salvation for now and all eternity."

The Christmas message ended with this prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, let this be the last hopeless Christmas for all who hear, and the first joyous Christmas for as many as yet wander apart from your peace and assurance that life was given to all this day in Bethlehem -- if we will but take the gift of Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen."

We pray that prayer again today, 50 years later. May all who are fearful and alone come to know the peace of a life lived in and through Jesus Christ.

Godly characteristics

I was listening to the car radio a few days ago when the speaker, whose name I cannot recall, talked about "the characteristics of a godly man."

There were four characteristics on his list. They follow, with associated Scriptures:

Listener. Mark 9:7: "Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud: 'This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him'."

Righteous. Hebrews 10:38: "But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

Obedient. 1 Peter 1:14: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance."

Humble. Isaiah 66:2: "For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."

The wonder of fellowship

Often Jesus manifests His presence in our lives through the words and actions of fellow believers. That reality was demonstrated in dramatic fashion in our lives last week after my wife suffered a serious fall.

Soon after arriving at the emergency room I was able to text a handful of brothers and our fellowship prayer team leader as a series of examinations and tests began in a busy ER center. Prayers for peace yielded immediate results, and prayers for His protection were answered when we ultimately learned my wife had suffered no breaks or threatening internal injuries.

"You're battered and bruised," said the physician, "but not broken."

With that welcome news we were released to the comfort of our home, where we learned of continued prayer on my wife's behalf. We also saw Christ's love reflected by His children in the form of phone calls, visits and delivery of meals, one of which included the delicious homemade bread pictured here.

My wife recalls the painful minutes after her fall on a slippery deck a block away from our home. She remembers asking "Why, God?" as she struggled alone with the pain and uncertainty of the injury that occurred when she was simply trying to deliver a pie to our nephews.

The answer to her question is still not certain, but we see clearly that she was never alone. God was present throughout her ordeal, protecting her from a myriad of physical injury possibilities more serious than what she suffered. We see clearly the opportunity the fall created for an immediate call for His comfort and protection. We have experienced the love He expressed through many gracious brothers and sisters who came alongside, offering His love through prayer, phone calls, visits and delivery of meals prepared with loving hands.

We give thanks, Jesus, for the unconditional love you modeled for us as you "emptied yourself" and became flesh, ultimately choosing -- even though you were without sin -- to take on our sins and die on the cross so that we may be redeemed, admitted into the promise of eternal life with the Father rather than suffering the eternal separation we deserve. We give you thanks for the wonder of the fellowship of believers, a precious and powerful means of manifesting your presence in our lives.

Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Sacred service

This morning I share a vital reminder to all who call themselves Christians, especially those who anguish over their failure (real or perceived) to witness the gospel. From Oswald Chambers:

"When we preach the historical facts of the life and death of our Lord as they are conveyed in the New Testament, our words are made sacred. God uses these words, on the basis of His redemption, to create something in those who listen which otherwise could never have been created."

The pressure is off! We are merely His instruments, and when we act or speak in harmony with His will, we can be assured He is pleased. Acting through His believers into the lives of those who have been made ready by the power of the Holy Spirit, God can achieve His will.

(Chambers excerpt from"My Utmost for His Highest," November 9, "Sacred Service.")

Privileged to support a call

I was privileged recently to hear from a brother who, after months of prayer, has accepted the Lord's call into the ministry. He asked for opportunity among a group of brothers to share what is on his heart, and he asked for prayer.

This evening was memorable on many levels. First of all, I and others noted that the "calling" on our brother's life came as no surprise to us. In fact (and I know he realizes this), he has been engaged in personal ministry as long as I have known him. This call, however, is the call to pastor a flock in a new place, as yet undetermined.

I was encouraged as my brother shared with a spirit of humility, combined as only God can do with a spirit of courage and boldness. "I am nothing. I'm a simple guy. Only in Christ am I anything," our brother shared. "I cannot be all things to all people ... but I can teach, and I can love .. and that's what I'm going to do. I want to live in the center of God's will for my life."

In coming months this man's brothers and sisters in Christ will hold him up in prayer; pastors will take him under their wings as "lead shepherd in training;" targeted prayers will seek to clarify such things as place of calling, provision, protection against demonic attack, and possibly expression of support from others who are willing to relocate to a new fellowship.

Like others, I am excited for my brother and his wife, who have stepped in faith onto a path that does not currently feature many familiar "markers." We will continue to pray for a new "family" in His church ... and we will pray in gratitude that this pastor and his flock will answer not to a "parent" church, but solely to Christ's authority.

"Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast." Matthew 22:9

Shed your burdens

Several years ago in a "Men's Fraternity" study (Robert Lewis) we learned about unresolved issues that many of us insist on "packing" with us wherever we go.

Similarly, my wife and several dozen sisters in Christ spent a recent weekend focused on "Shedding Your Burdens, Receiving His Grace." The women visualized their unresolved issues as "bricks," with scriptural support and a graphic skit to drive home the point of our natural resistance to surrendering our load to the Lord.

The reality is that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But it has never been God's desire for us to suffer under the weight of "bricks" such as guilt and fear.

Because of His grace, and the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Who is Jesus the Christ, we are invited to GIVE OVER our loads and freely RECEIVE the unconditional, never ending love of the perfect Father.

I pray that someone struggling with the lie that he/she must first "clean up" before surrendering and receiving God's grace will finally see clearly that His invitation is simply to "come," warts and all.

I pray that someone who has surrendered his/her life to the Lord will speak the name of Jesus and claim His redemption when a demonic whisper suggests: "There is no way a perfect God could possibly love a phony like you."

Remember: "The thief (Satan) comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy." Jesus, on the other hand, "...came that we may have life, and have it in abundance!" (John 10:10)

Recall the words of Jesus Himself: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, 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." (Mattthew 11:28-29

Having to make hard choices

This is a message well worth your time, delivered by Pastor Wayne Barber of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pastor Wayne builds his message around Judges 24, noting that we have only two choices in life: God or the flesh. He also notes that without the Holy Spirit, we have no capacity to deny the flesh.

We give thanks for His grace, for the blood of Christ that redeems us from all sin: past, present and future ... when we surrender our will and recognize Him as Lord of our lives. ("Victory is NOT us overcoming sin. It is JESUS overcoming US!")