Reversal

“Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9).

Times were tough for the church in Philadelphia in the first century.  Like the other six churches addressed by the Risen Lord in the book of Revelation, these brothers and sisters were feeling the heat of persecution.  But in spite of the fact that they didn’t have much influence in the culture around them (“a little power,” 3.8), these Christians were continuing to obey the words of Jesus and steadfastly refusing to deny Him.  The main source of their struggle was the militant Jews of the time.  These false claimants of the name “Jew,” who professed to be worshipping God but, in reality, were serving Satan, were making life miserable for the believers in Philadelphia.  The spiritual progeny of those who hounded Christ and His apostles were still abusing His followers.

But a reversal was coming.  Because of the faithfulness of the Philadelphian disciples in the face of trials, the Lord promises to deal with their persecutors.  What a message of comfort to a hurting church!  The day was coming when the persecutor would bow before the persecuted.  The hater would be humbled in the presence of Christ’s love for His spiritual family.  The reversal of circumstances is a time-honored message of hope for those who are faithful to God (cf. Isaiah 49:23; 60:14; Philippians 2:5-11).  By the time one reaches the final chapters of Revelation, we see the reversal pictured prominently in the new heaven and earth (cf. Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27; 22:14-15).

We thank you Lord that suffering for our faith IS NOT the final word.  Please help us, Father, to maintain our faith until Your time of reversal, when all wrongs will be righted by Your power and for Your glory.

God loves you!

Mike

Smooth Talkers

            The Bible often warns against the harsh use of words.  The apostle Paul listed abusive speech as one of the sinful habits that should be abandoned in the new life of a Christian (Colossians 3:8).  A destructive tongue is variously characterized as a “sharp razor” (Psalm 52:2) or a “sharp sword” (Psalm 57:4; Proverbs 12:18).  If you have ever been on the receiving end of the weaponized words of a skilled practitioner, you likely have the scars to prove it.

            But there is another form of speech that doesn’t have the jagged edge of harshness but can be just as destructive.  The Bible also warns us about smooth talkers who use their words to damage us.  The Psalmist speaks of one whose “...speech was smoother than butter, but his heart was war; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords” (Psalm 55:21).  The wise father in Proverbs warns his son of the deceptive words of the temptress: “For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (Proverbs 5:3-4).  As Paul closes his letter to the Roman church, he references troublemakers who would seek to lead them away from the truth: “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting” (Romans 16:18).

            In some ways, the smooth talker is even more dangerous than the harsh talker.  The intentions of one using abusive speech are easily identified as destructive. There is no doubt about what is going on.  But the motives of the smooth talker are harder to discern.  He or she may be saying good things in pleasing ways but still seeking to harm you.

            Be on guard against the smooth talker.  And, even more importantly, let’s all seek to speak in pleasing ways -- but never as a cover to harm anyone else. 

God loves you!

Mike

"But even if He does not..."

            Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.”  Along with Daniel and many others, these three Hebrew youths had been forcibly taken from their homeland and transported as captives to Babylon.  By God’s grace, they made the best of a bad situation and achieved positions of influence in KIng Nebuchadnezzar’s administration.  But situations continued to arise which tested their commitment to God.

One such situation occurred in chapter three of Daniel.  The prideful king of Babylon had a massive golden image erected and invited all of his administration to the dedication ceremony.  As part of the festivities, at a certain point, everyone was to bow down and worship the image.  Failure to do so would result in the offender being put to death in a blazing furnace.  This posed a problem for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.  Remaining true to their faith in God meant they couldn’t bow down and worship the image.  But disobeying the king’s command meant certain death.

To their credit, the youths stood firm on their commitment to God and refused to bow down.  This news quickly came to the king’s attention and he flew into a rage.  He had them brought before him and gave them one last opportunity to follow orders before being thrown into the fire.  Their response reveals their great faith: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16–18).

Do I have the courage to be faithful to God even if things may not work out the way I want?  Lord, please help my faith to be conditionless.  No “if’s,” “and’s,” or “but’s.”

God loves you!

Mike

Shared Experiences

“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9).

As the apostle John prepares to share the message he was given with the struggling believers in the first century, he spends the first part of chapter one setting the stage for what will follow.  Verses 1-3 are a prologue which tracks the revelatory process as it makes its way from God to the seven churches of Asia.  It also includes a blessing for the reader and the obedient hearers of the prophetic words of imminent events.  Verses 4-6 highlight a collective greeting from all three members of the Godhead, each of Whom will be intimately involved in the events of the following chapters.  We have small preview of coming events in verses 7-8 as the Eternal and Almighty Lord God references the coming judgment to be meted out by His Son.

That brings us to verse 9.  As I studied these verses recently, I was struck by the humility of the apostle as he speaks of his own role in the important message he was chosen to share.  John doesn’t assume a position of authority as an inspired apostle.  He is not some ivory tower theologian writing to those enduring something he knows nothing about.  He is also in the trenches of spiritual warfare as a “brother” and “fellow partaker” with the suffering believers to whom he was writing.  He wasn’t composing this letter from a comfy office but from a rocky, desolate island used as a penal colony by the Romans.  His preaching of Jesus had resulted in being banished to a first century “Alcatraz.”

What life experiences do you have that could enable you to reach out to someone who is hurting?  Often the best help comes from someone who is going through (or has gone through) the same struggle that others are enduring.  Your words can carry a greater weight if you “have been there.”

God loves you!

Mike

The Right Ballast

“In 1979 the tugboat Cahaba was headed down the Tombingbee River in Alabama, USA. The current was flowing fast as the tug’s pilot approached the bridge and released his coal barges. He then put his 1800 horsepower twin engines into reverse to get away, but when the boat moved slightly off line the current swung the boat sideways and slammed it into the bridge. The current was so strong that it forced the boat down under the water. To the astonishment of onlookers it passed under the bridge and popped up, upright, with the engines still going and the pilot at the wheel, on the other side. Why did it come back to the surface in an upright position? Because it was ballasted with a metre thick lining of cement on the bottom of the hull. It is a vivid reminder that life can often go horribly wrong, but if we have the right “ballast” – faith in Christ – then we can get through it and emerge upright on the other side.”*

            As I read this, I was reminded of another harrowing boat story.  This one is recorded in Luke 8:22-25.  Jesus and His disciples get into boat to cross over to the other side of the sea of Galilee.  As some of the men (likely the fishermen among the group) attended to the business of sailing the craft, Jesus took the opportunity to rest and soon fell asleep.  After a while, a dangerous storm blew in and the boat began to take on water.  It's entirely possible that the disciples tried to navigate the waves on their own for a period of time, but their efforts proved to be useless.  In desperation, they shake Jesus awake and beg for His help.  Perhaps rubbing the sleep from His eyes, Jesus rebukes the storm and all become calm.  But there is another rebuke coming -- this time for the weak faith of the disciples.

            The right ballast in a scary situation makes all the difference.  Where is our faith?

God loves you!

Mike

*http://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/problems/

Who Made This?

            "Sir Isaac Newton was in his office one day when he received a knock at his door.  He opened it to find a good friend of the scientific community who happened to be on the opposite side of the beginning of the universe controversy.  As he entered the room, his eyes were drawn to a large table on which sat a scale model of the universe.  It was exquisitely detailed -- painted even down to the circles on Saturn.  It was mechanical -- a handle caused the planets to rotate around the sun.  This moving replica was an amazing sight.  “My, what a wonderful thing this is!” he exclaimed.  “This is the most extraordinary thing I have seen! What genius put this together?  I should really like to shake his hand.”  Sir Newton replied, “No one made it.”  His friend retorted, “You must think I am a fool...Some very wise and talented person made this.”  Newton’s reply is still a wise answer to the current controversy.  “This thing is but a puny imitation of a much greater system whose laws you and I know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and a maker.  Yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being with either designer or maker.  Now tell me, by what sort of reasoning do you reach such incongruous conclusions.”"*

            Design demands a designer.  We take that as a given in everyday life.  When we see a beautiful new home, we never question that some intelligent and resourceful person or group of people designed and built it.  But for some, that common sense response is jettisoned when it comes to the Designer of the universe.  Why is that, I wonder?  Could it have something to do with the fact that this Designer makes some claims upon our lives to which many are unwilling to submit?  Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

God loves you!

Mike

*Mike Johnson, in The Truth: God or Evolution, Marshall/Sandra Hall, Baker Book House

Broken

"Going once, going twice, sold for $7,000.00!" the auctioneer said right before his gavel hit the table. Rita Coors was elated. She'd just purchased a porcelain mask, hand painted by John Denver.  She couldn't wait to hold it in her hands. As the auctioneer at the 1997 Charity Celebrity Ball for Hospice of Metropolitan Denver handed her the mask, it slipped through her fingers and shattered into a million pieces on the floor.  She didn't demand her money back or abandon the broken piece of art. Instead, Mrs. Coors picked up the pieces and took them home with her. Later she decided to place the broken pieces around a collection of John Denver photographs. She made something beautiful out of the accident. Now she not only had a souvenir from a celebrity, but a story to tell too.  Brokenness isn't unusual. Life often slips through our fingers and shatters at our feet. When it does, the best thing we can do is pick up the pieces and make something beautiful out of it, and then be willing to share the story with others who've been shattered too.”*

Perhaps you have stood (or are currently standing) where this woman stood, with something of great value to you lying in shattered pieces at your feet.  Maybe a marriage, a family, a career, a life goal of some sort -- something into which you had invested so much and for which you had so much hope.  But now it’s irreparably broken with no hope of it ever being what it once was.  What then?  It seems to me that there are basically two options.  You can let the brokenness defeat you or you can pick up the pieces and begin to build something else of value.  This isn’t to make light of your loss.  Be sure to make room to grieve the brokenness but be careful of letting it define you.  Jesus died so that brokenness doesn’t have to be the end of your story.

God loves you!

Mike

*Leadership Journal, Winter 2001, p. 40 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson