Be Thou My Vision...

“When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots
of fire all around Elisha.” - 2 Kings 6:15-17

What do you do when it seems as though you’re surrounded? Too often, I act like the servant of Elisha in this story. Problems come up, circumstances seem overwhelming, I feel like I’m surrounded, and I cry out, “Oh no! What shall we do?!” Have you been there?

The real problem in this story is a vision problem. That servant in this story may well have had 20/20 vision in his eyes, but the eyes of his heart, his spirit, were blinded to the reality of the situation. Did you notice that Elisha wasn’t anxious at all in this situation? He simply told his servant, “Chill out. It’s not what it seems. Trust God.” (loose paraphrase)

Elisha prayed a quick prayer and his servant was able to see what Elisha had seen all along, and what was really true. Yes, there was a problem, but God already had it taken care of! Elisha’s comment helps me on so many levels as I apply it to my own faith and walk with God… “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” How many times do I forget that!? What an amazing revelation it must have been for that servant as he was granted the gift of seeing those hills full of the fiery horses and chariots of the army of God!

The saying says, ‘appearances can be deceiving.’ Our enemy, the devil, is a deceiver, and many times uses appearances to keep us from seeing the Truth of God. Paul echoes the same thought in 2 Cor. 4… “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen.” Where are your eyes fixed today? Whether you can physically see the armies of heaven surrounding you isn’t the issue. Does your heart know that God sees and knows the situations of your life and has the power and the answers?

I’m reminded of the words of the old hymn, “Be Thou My Vision”:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best  Thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.


Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father, I Thy true son; Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.


Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight; Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight; Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower: Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.


High King of Heaven, my victory won, May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

I hope that as you spend time living life with your heavenly Father, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, you will remember that, when God is your vision you can know that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them…!”

Good Friday...

Good Friday…

I’m sure it didn’t seem very good to the disciples as they lived it. Their leader, the One whom they believed was the King, the Messiah, the answer to their deepest needs, was arrested in the wee small hours of the morning. Those disciples who sneaked back and watched from a distance, saw their Master and friend mistreated, scorned, mocked, and then, as the sun came up on the scene in front of Pilate’s court, they heard the worst thing imaginable: “Crucify Him!” How could they? Jesus was the Son of God! And why wasn’t He stopping them?!

Then, beatings, more mocking, pain and agony… Their Savior, struggling to carry a heavy cross, the tool of His own execution, up the “Hill of the Skull”… Cries of pain as He was nailed to the cross… And after all the intensity of the crucifixion, the comparative silence for the next hours as Jesus hung above the crowd. Just the occasional mocker, amid the quiet, muffled tears…

No, I don’t think that story sounds very “good…”

That is the story we commemorate at our Good Friday Services. It is a sober time, an emotional time, but necessary. Without the grief and pain and loss and death on Good Friday, Easter Sunday would have no meaning.

And yet it’s also true that without an empty tomb on Easter Sunday, Good Friday would be anything but good. It is only because we know that Christ conquered the grave that we can have hope in the midst of the grief of the crucifixion!

Was Christ’s crucifixion “good?” At the time it sure didn’t seem to be. Yet for you and I it was the best thing that could have ever happened! Because of Jesus’ death, we can be forgiven and have the hope of heaven!

Back in the Box...

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal..” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

            

I have been blessed and challenged as I’ve prepared for our current sermon series on Sunday mornings, based on the book, “When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box.”  It is a very practical reminder that life is short, and it matters what we do.  So often, the ‘eternal’ things of life take a back seat to the ‘temporary,’ instead of the other way around.

In the verses above, Paul reminds us that most of the things that we experience in this life will not last.  They are just so much dust and ashes, they (and we) are ‘wasting away.’  And yet we treat them as so important!  In reality, in eternity, it won’t matter what kind of car I drove or clothes I wore or whether I had the latest technological gadget.  These temporary things can certainly be tools with which we ‘play the game’ of life, but they’re not how we win.  We win when we’re rich toward God, when we invest in eternal things, when the eternal takes priority over the temporary.

The things that will last forever are much fewer than all the temporary stuff of life.  When we invest in God and His Word, in growing our own souls, and in serving those around us, we are participating in the eternal.  How are you investing in the eternal, becoming rich toward God?

In these days when things are uncertain and everything seems to be ‘wasting away,’ be encouraged that you can truly be renewed day by day as you fix your eyes on what is unseen - what will last.  Because when the game is over, it all goes back in the box.

Troubled Times...

I’m sure you’re like me, wondering what in the world is going on! 

Revolts, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, the threat of economic and nuclear meltdown…  It’s enough to make us want to crawl under a rock and hide!  And it’s enough to make us wonder where God is in the midst of it all…  There are many attempts at answers to those questions, and many are helpful.  The bottom line is that you and I aren’t God.  We don’t know and won’t know everything.  The issue is not knowing more, but trusting more. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

Our own understanding is limited.  Let’s trust our God who loves us and is all-powerful.  Submit to Him, especially in times of crisis. 

And as you submit, let’s remember these words too…

Psalm 46…“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted in the nations.  I will be exalted in the earth.  The Lord almighty is with us…”

Certainly the earth has given way and the waters have roared and foamed and the mountains have quaked over the last few weeks in Japan.  And yet we can still be confident that God is not dead.  Take the time to know deep in your soul that even though it is devastating and you don’t understand, you KNOW THAT HE IS GOD…  And then perhaps the most important thing – "the Lord Almighty is with us."  Even in tragedy, in the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us.  And that makes all the difference.

Below I have pasted an article from H.B. London at Focus on the Family, addressing some of these same issues.  Good words from a great man of God…

Also, if you would like to make a donation to Nazarene Compassionate Ministries for disaster relief in Japan, visit www.ncm.org/JapanCrisis.

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THE LENTEN SEASON —AND THE COMFORT IT BRINGS H.B. London (focus on the Family)
The world is troubled today over the natural disaster in Japan. Panic seems to be the word people are using in reference to the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. The radiation levels are rising. The United States has begun evacuating American citizens. So much of what is happening around the world is out of our control. The massive revolts of Muslim people. The uncertain stock market. How do we deal with all of this?
The answer comes as we prepare for Easter.

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 'Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?' Jesus said to them: 'Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains'" - Mark 13:3-8).

The disciples must have been troubled by Jesus' words. There wasn't much good news in His message. We don't hear much good news today either and people are troubled. As we look around us, we see so much uncertainty — spiritual wickedness in high places, war and rumors of wars on practically every continent, moral decay at every level and a mind-set that seems to say, "What does it matter anyway?"
But are things hopeless? By no means! You see, Easter is the time of the year when we are reminded of who Jesus really is — that the One who has turned our darkness to light 20 centuries ago is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 18:8)! We need not hang our heads in defeat because there is One who has already secured our victory (I Cor. 15:57)!  We can look forward — and upward — to the One who is alive, who defeated sin and death and Satan, and who lives and reigns forevermore. He is still the One! His name is Jesus!

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid"
(John 14:27).

Listening...

I was reading today in the book of 1 Samuel about the boy, Samuel as he grew up in the Temple, serving Eli the priest.  It’s a familiar story, one I’ve heard since I was a boy in Sunday School.  As you probably know, one night Samuel was trying to sleep and was awakened over and over by a voice calling his name.  At first he thought it was Eli, his boss, but Eli recognized it was probably God speaking and told the boy, Samuel, to reply, “Speak.  I’m your servant, ready to listen.” (1 Samuel 3:9-The Message)  When the voice came again, that’s exactly what Samuel said, and it began a life-long adventure for him as he allowed himself to be led by God as His prophet and priest to the people of Israel.

As I reflected on that story, a few things came to mind that I need to be reminded of, and I thought I’d pass them on to you…

1.       Listening is Intentional
It takes conscious effort to listen, especially to God.  We have to make the time to get quiet, to read the Bible, to meditate on God with no distractions.  Chances are, you will not hear an audible voice that awakens you at 2am giving you divine instructions.  But we do have the “very words of God” at our fingertips in the Bible!  And we can hear from God when we gather for worship and Bible Study…  But just like with Samuel, we won’t hear God speak until we listen.  And listening is intentional.

2.       Listening is Active
Few of us are good listeners.  It takes effort to really listen to our spouse, our kids, our coworkers, our friends…  And yet, if we are really going to be engaged in what they’re saying and what they need from us, we actively tune out distractions and listen…  And we’re ready to respond. 
The same is true with God.  Samuel not only listened, but was poised and ready to do what God was leading him to do.  James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”  It’s not enough to simply hear or sense what God wants us to do…  We have to do it!  Listening involves action.

3.       Listening is Hard
Not only is listening hard, but usually, when we sense God’s voice across our souls, usually following through and obeying, is even harder.  For Samuel, it meant talking to his boss, Eli the Priest, and telling him that God was going to judge him and his family for their sins.  Samuel avoided Eli all morning!  As v.15 says, “[Samuel] dreaded having to tell the vision to Eli.”  Sometimes following through on God’s commands is hard.  Whether it’s taking a moral stand when it seems like everyone else is not, or serving in ministry doing something you’ve never done before, or starting a faith-based conversation with someone who doesn’t yet know Christ…  It can seem daunting! 
But let me say, not only from personal experience, but also from Samuel’s story, it gets easier.  The more you have a habit of obedience, the easier it is.  God used Samuel in mighty ways until he was an old man…  Verses 19-20 say, “Samuel grew up. God was with him, and Samuel's prophetic record was flawless. Everyone in Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, recognized that Samuel was the real thing—a true prophet of God.”  That leads us to just one more thing…

4.       Listening is Continuous
Samuel lived a life of listening.  It’s really profound to read that “his prophetic record was flawless…”  That means he heard well what God said and repeated only the things what God wanted him to repeat.  Samuel led Israel well, and his success goes all the way back to that night in the temple when he learned to say, “Speak, Lord.  I’m your servant, ready to listen.”

Just one more thing… 

When I read 1 Samuel 12:23-24, I realized that Samuel’s job description is much like mine, and his admonishment of the Israelites is a good one for all of us:

           

“…Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.
But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”

Please know that I am praying for you, and I will do my best to teach you the way that is good and right.

May God bless you as you seek to “serve Him faithfully with all your heart.”