Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
Truth is not negotiable. There is no gray area between arriving in Philadelphia and landing in Miami. It does not matter what my feelings are or what popular opinion is being promoted on social media, the Liberty Bell is still in Philly, and palm trees still grow in Miami. The same is true about our opinions about history and more specifically about the history of Israel. Carol from The Real Christian Woman blog has done such an excellent job of explaining things, that I have reposted her article on my blog today.
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heartĀ and a good conscienceĀ and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:5 NKJV
This past Wednesday, I had what the medical profession refers to as “minor” surgery”. Of course, in my experience, the “minor” part has mostly to do with who is receiving it. Thankfully all went “Nominally” for the hernia repair but suffice it to say that most of this week has passed like a blur. Besides the obvious discomfort and subsequent difficulty readjusting to performing minor activities, (Like walking), the biggest issue was rescheduling all the various nursing home meeting for the week. I am very thankful for other volunteers who have stepped in and carried two of the meetings and the third I was able to reschedule for the following week. In 1 Timothy, Paul was facing on a far grander scale some of the same issues as he asks Timothy to deal with at Ephesus in order to correct the doctrinal drift of the church. When Paul first preached in Ephesus, a great revival had broken out and he had remained there about 1 1/2 years. However, just as he had feared, in his absence false teachers had slipped into the church along with some local leaders who had turned back to their traditional Judaism, and both were bringing in confusion about the entire point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, my circumstances are quite different than Paul’s, but some of his same challenges face all of us who do nursing home ministry.
Each week there sits in front of us a mixture of Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans and Catholics, along with Pentecostals and many garden variety, non-churchgoers. How are we to preach Jesus? What is the point of our ministry? As I came across today’s verse in a devotional plan that I am following with a friend, I thought, “This is it!” When we are sharing the good news of salvation through the cross and the love of God, there is no great goal than seeing people respond with a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. Does this mean dancing around biblical doctrines, excusing sin or altering the foundation of salvation through Jesus? Absolutely not! But it does mean that we have no time to quibble about different backgrounds, various traditions or minor differences. There is precious little time left in the lives of our members and every moment that God gives us with them counts. The thing I missed most this past week was the butterfly release at Life Care. I was told that each person was given a tiny box with a living butterfly and in memory of those who have passed away this past year, everyone opened their container and released their butterfly. I thought how much that act was like sharing Christ at the nursing homes has been over these last thirty-five years. I have to the best of my ability given to them the love of Christ in both message as well as in friendship. I am also reminded that just like those butterflies, we all will soon fly off to Heaven or Hell. But in the meantime, I know that God, for His own reasons has entrusted me and many, many others with the responsibility of preaching Jesus Christ to anyone who will listen in places most of the world has forgotten and to pray that as their own box opens, that they have learned to love God with pure hearts, forgive and ask forgiveness from others with a clean conscience and trust in Jesus with all their hearts.
I was in the spiritĀ on the Lordās Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. Revelation 1:10 NRSV
In Hebrew, the word translated as trumpet was a ramās horn called a shofar and God chose the shofar to be used for many important occasions. The shofar was blown at the beginning and ending of religious festivals, called the people together for meetings and its blast was also used as a signal for armies to advance in battle. When God blows a trumpet in our lives, we should not be afraid because it is HIs sign that we are His people and that He has a message we need to hear.
At the time of the writing of the book of Revelation, the apostle John had been exiled to an island used for prisoners called Patmos. On that island, John was as far from home as he had ever been in his life. But even in his isolation, instead of surrendering to despair, John chose to worship. Though very few of us will ever experience circumstances, like John did, all of us have our own times of difficulty, isolation and even despair. But Gd, even at those worst of times, is still with us and wants us to hear his voice. We never know what unusual ways He may choose to speak, so we need to be always ready listening. Then when we least expect it God just may come to us today and blow a trumpet and bring us news from Heaven.
Prayer: Father recently I have been battling fears and feelings of isolation. Thank you for remembering where I am and blowing a trumpet so I can hear your voice in my life today!
praise2worshipdotnet 
You must be logged in to post a comment.