Daily Verse

Act Like Men!

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments 
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.  
1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Today’s verse reminds me of Eisenhower’s final instructions to the troops on the night before the Normandy Invasion of June 6th, 1944. “I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. “ As the general knew, these were the final words some of those men would hear. In face of the coming battle, he appealed to their courage, devotion and skill, and then above all these he asked them to pray for the blessing of God. Thank God for such men, by whose sacrifice the evil Nazi regime was eventually defeated.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Like Eisenhower, Paul closes his letter with instructions preparing the church for a spiritual battle. He begins with the phrase, “Act like men“. In today’s society, such advice would immediately be misconstrued and soon pummeled by the press. But in Paul’s day, his instructions were perfectly understood. His readers knew how men ought to act, and it had nothing to do with their sexual prowess, if they looked amazing, or were applauded by society. They understood that grown men ought to be unafraid to face hardship, ready to defend those around them and willing to suffer without complaint. Men were expected to be motivated by concern for others, especially their families, and guided by the desire, not just to have things, but to do good for others. Paul was not appealing to the chest pounding male bravado that celebrates personal victory, but to the willingness of fathers who work tirelessly to provide for their wives and children and give a helping hand to their neighbors.

Though we men do not always live up to that standard, it doesn’t mean the standard needs to be changed, transformed or updated. When we fail (as we often do), we instead need to refocus on the last phrase of Paul’s instructions, “Let all you do, be done in love.” Yesterday was my wife’s birthday and I bought her flowers (which she loved!). But Nancy’s expectations for me do not end with flowers. I do not get to just drop off a bouquet and then act like a jerk for the rest of the year. Love is fairly pedestrian. It slogs along through the battlefield of life, pressing ahead one step at a time and dodging incoming fire, while working its way towards the goal that God sets. At what is that goal? It is the Cross of Jesus Christ, because that is where true love and courage is to be found. We need to be reminded that Jesus went to the cross, not just because he had to, or was forced into the situation, but because He chose to give His life. He set the example of what it meant to “Act like men. Our challenge on this anniversary of D-Day is to do the same and to give our lives, one day at a time, with courage, faith, and most of all by the help of Almighty God and with His blessing on the undertaking that we have before us.

Written in Heaven

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice 
that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20 ESV

There are a great many things most of us would like to do or have in life. Many of these things are good and right, such as getting married, getting a job and having a decent home for our family. Each time we reach one of these accomplishments we feel a bit of satisfaction and joy. When it comes to whatever ministry that God has placed us in, the same holds true. Sunday school teachers love nothing better than praying with a child to receive Christ, worship leaders love seeing people raising their hands and singing along and pastors get excited when the altar is filled with people praying. Now, don’t get me wrong, these are all great, but when the disciples came back super enthusiastic from a bang-up mission’s trip Jesus cautioned them to focus elsewhere. He pointed to a day when all our life is over, and our doing is done. The only thing that will matter for us then is if we find that our names are written in Heaven. One way to be sure about if our names are written in Heaven is to search our hearts and ask a simple question: “Where is our greatest treasure?” Jesus told us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. If we have made Jesus, the treasure of our heart. If we have asked Him to be Lord of our life and to forgive our sins, then we can rejoice not just in Heaven, but here and now. Our greatest joy must always be, not that others praise us or think we are important: not that we have a stack of money in the safe or the latest model car. The greatest joy must be that we have been found by the Good Shepherd and that our lives belong to Him!

Today’s song was recorded this past Sunday at Discovery Villages, where my friends in long-term care loved singing this song. If you listen carefully, you will hear more and more voices as the hymn goes along. That is because they were still coming into the room and towards the end you will also hear some clapping joining the voices. I believe that the joy they are experiencing is because they have realized more than most of us, that none of the things of this world really count for much, but the promises of God will last forever!

Indispensable!

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments 
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 1 Corinthians 12:22-24 ESV

Indispensable! How I love the sound of that word! Society and sadly even some of our families, certainly do not think of us, who live in retirement or those in nursing homes as indispensable. We who once were the primary caregivers for our children are not really needed for much. Some in long-term care cannot even shower, cook or do the dishes without help. Dispensing with our help is something they have learned to do a long time ago. But the good news is that God delights in calling us indispensable. “In what way can I be indispensable?” you may ask. Here are three.

Prayer: Young people use the phrase, “over the hill” to describe getting older, but in some ways our years put us at a hilltop, from where we can see what our children and grandchildren cannot down in the valleys of life. So, instead of using that perspective to cluck about “That younger generation” God wants us to take time to pray. Because we know first-hand about consequences, and the bumps, bruises and scars of our own missteps and sins, God has taught us to pray, and He will hear and answer the prayers when we cry out to Him.

Connections: Grandad or Nana may not be the first call our kids make when the water heater leaks, the car breaks down or when their kids get in trouble at school, but sometimes we are asked for help. Then we can share the connections we have developed over the years. We know somebody, who knows somebody, or we have “been there and done that,” in that exact situation. Uncle “Google” pretends to know all the answers, but in the midst of a divorce, a disabling accident or a friend’s betrayal, real people with even average intelligence, beat the artificial kind every time!

Counsel: This is tricky, because if we are always offering counsel, we will be ignored (especially if we are right!). We must be patient, so that when they do call to ask our opinion he or she will want to listen. Let’s be sure when that time comes, that we are honest about our own struggles, and then point them to how we have found help in our faith and in God’s promises. We who have lived longer must tell them how we have failed, but with God’s help have gotten back up and gone on. Because we have been weak, He has become our greatest strength. Now our job is to pass it on to them!