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