Freedom Isn't Free

“Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which also occur on the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954” (wikipedia.com). This holiday, along with Memorial Day, is an annual reminder that freedom is not free. We are brought face to face with the fact that there has been, and continues to be, a great cost associated with the securing and maintaining our civil and national freedom.

This reminds me also of the great cost linked to our spiritual freedom. God just didn’t snap His fingers and it was done. No, making us free from sin came with great sacrifice. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The Son of God went to war with Satan, who had the power of death, and defeated him. But it cost Him his life. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Hebrews 2:14).

Every Sunday, as we share in the Lord’s Supper, we memorialize the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who fought and won the greatest battle of all time. It’s a war that will never have to be fought again because it secured eternal freedom for those who put their faith in Christ. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Praise God!

God loves you!

Mike

Weakness And Strength

“Our God does not need noble characters, as the ground-work of His masterpieces. He can raise up stones as children. He can turn thorns into fir trees, briars into myrtle trees. He can take fishermen from their nets, and publicans from their toll-booths, making them into evangelists, apostles, and martyrs. We are not much by nature -- wild, bad blood may be flowing in our veins; but God will be the more magnified, if from such stones He can raise up children unto Abraham. The miracle of His grace and power will bring more conspicuous glory to His holy Name, in proportion to the unpromising character of the materials on which He works” (F.B. Meyer, Abraham or The Obedience Of Faith).

As Meyer penned these words, perhaps the words which the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church so long ago were in the back of his mind. There was a time in his life when Paul felt particularly weak and useless. He doesn’t give us the specifics of the problem but he describes it as “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). He prayed three times, asking the Lord to take it from him. But each time, the Lord said “No.” The lesson for the apostle was that true strength is found in weakness. Why? Because when we are weak, God’s strength is most clearly seen.

Here is how Paul describes it: “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

Some of God’s mightiest works are accomplished through weak and flawed people. Feeling weak and useless? Great! You are in the perfect position to bring glory to God. He specializes in using imperfect people. Frankly, it’s all He has to work with.

God loves you!

Mike

Platforms

In the midst of all the discussion of party platforms in this election cycle, I thought it would be good to reflect on the platform which guided Jesus as He “campaigned” and which He encouraged His followers to adopt. We call it “The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12):

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

• Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

• Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Modern political platforms are noticeably different, aren’t they? The reason for that is because modern politicians in our country could never be elected by pushing these points. But that says more about us as a country than it does about Jesus’ platform. Modern politicians and platforms are designed to appeal to the party base and, hopefully, to attract other voters. They make grand promises that are often easily ignored once the winner takes office. Maybe I’m jaded, but that seems to be the way the system works (or doesn’t work, depending on your perspective).

The platform of Jesus provides a remarkable contrast. Instead of focusing on things that appeal to me, it challenges me to be who I should be. And if you and I are guided by Jesus’ principles, then many of the moral and social issues that fill today’s political platforms become yesterday’s news. I think I will vote for Jesus!

God loves you!

Mike

Relevant

“When I was in seminary and I took a preaching class, seems like they told you in the preaching class that the preacher was supposed to stand in the pulpit with the Bible in one hand and today’s newspaper in the other…The preacher stood with one foot in the biblical world and one foot in the modern world, and tried to bring those worlds together in the sermon…The trouble with life situation preaching or with much of our preaching — conservative or liberal — is that the traffic seemed to move one direction on that bridge. It was always the modern world putting the questions to the Bible; it was the modern world deciding what in the Bible was relevant or irrelevant, possible or impossible. So that most of our preaching is in the translation mode; we start with some modern category.

“But one thing we overlooked in reaching out to speak to the modern world — to translate this gospel into more contemporary categories — one thing we overlooked is that it was this brave new modern world that gave us Dachau, Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Nagasaki. The modern world gave us not only TV and the telephone but the Nazis. That is the world we are supposed to make the gospel credible to?” (William Willimon, preaching.com).

Relevancy. It’s a buzz word in religious discussions. “We have to make the gospel relevant.” Since when? The message of a crucified Savior has never been a popular one with most audiences. Paul told the Corinthian church: “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Both groups were put off by the message but the apostles didn’t change their preaching. There are many today who scoff at the gospel message. So do we need to make it more palatable? It is the world that needs to change, not the message. “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

God loves you!

Mike

Abundance

“Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat. You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” (Numbers 11:18–20).

Everytime I read these verses, I smile. It always reminds me of an exasperated parent who has finally hit their limit with a whiny child. “If you want to whine, I’ll give you something to whine about!” I won’t confirm or deny if I ever heard those words as I was growing up. God’s children, the Israelites, were complaining about the struggles they were facing during the wilderness wanderings, a problem which they had brought upon themselves by the way. In this particular case, they were grumbling about the lack of meat to eat. To make matters worse, they had the arrogance to pine for the dining elegance provided by Pharaoh back in Egyptian slavery! What is implied here? That they should have stayed in Egypt! That God cannot provide as well as Pharaoh!

If you ever doubted the abundant provision of God, this story puts that concern to rest. Even in a negative situation, dealing with unappreciative rebels, God can still provide abundantly. When God gets done, the quail are piled up three feet deep within a day's journey all around the camp (Numbers 11:31). How about that, Israel? Is that enough meat for you?

It’s far better to experience the abundant provision of God when we are being faithful to Him.  He longs to bless us. He “...is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20). Give Him the opportunity!

God loves you!

Mike

Stronger Together

“I have always been amazed by redwood trees. These massive structures often grow over 300 feet tall, and many have trunks that span 20 or more feet in diameter. It’s a little hard to wrap my brain around something this substantial. When I think about these trees, I assume they must have a root system that reaches the center of the Earth! A storm or a tornado could easily blow over an entire redwood forest if it lacked a strong root system. But redwood trees have unique roots that are actually just six to twelve feet deep. Their roots are shallow but wide. So how do they stay standing during a tumultuous storm? They are able to withstand significant wind because they intertwine their roots with the other redwood trees that are nearby. Their roots are all connected, and they are literally holding each other up. They ultimately intertwine their roots so they can share nutrients and physically support each other. Just a few feet below the ground is a massive, interconnected support system. These roots act as hands that have linked together to hold each other up during difficult times…Who you are connected to matters. Redwoods don’t survive alone, and humans…can’t either. We need each other. We need community.”* 

The spiritual application of this illustration for Christians is likely already obvious for most readers. We are also stronger when our spiritual roots are intertwined. The principle is exemplified in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”

We are stronger together. Are you encouraging community?

God loves you!

Mike

*https://www.mollygrisham.com/blog/redwoods-roots

Lucky

“Did you hear about the classified ad that read something like this: “Lost – One dog. Brown hair with several mange spots. Right leg broken due to auto accident. Rear left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in dog fight. Answers to name ‘Lucky.'” Lucky? Of course! That was a lucky dog. He was lucky because, with all those things wrong with him, somebody still wanted him and was willing to pay to get him back. Isn’t that the story of the gospel? With all of our sin and rebellion, God still loved us enough to pay the ultimate price to win us back to Himself” (preaching.com).

Spiritually speaking, we are the “Lucky” of our own story. According to the apostle Paul, God didn’t love us and Christ didn’t die for us because we were so desirable. No, we were a mess. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Romans 5:6–9). Did you catch the descriptors in that passage? God’s classified ad would read: “Lost -- One human. Answers to any of the following names: Helpless. Ungodly. Sinner. Deserving of My wrath.”

Thankfully, unlike the dog of the opening story, we don’t stay the same ugly mutt after being found. No, we are transformed by the amazing love of God. The helpless one is no longer helpless. Ungodliness is replaced by holiness. A sinner becomes a saint. No longer is there any fear of being a target of God’s wrath. And there is no “luck” to it. It’s all due to the incredible, undeserved, and matchless love of God in Christ. And that, my friend, is something to bark about!

God loves you!

Mike