"To Him be glory forever": August 2020

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Life and Death

On the first day of this month I turned 63 years old. At some time during the past year I came to the conclusion that as much as I enjoy being a pastor, and as much as I enjoy reading for my work, that it was time to stop acquiring books connected to ministry. When we moved here one of them men who helped unload our truck commented on the large number of boxes labeled “books.” I’ve read a lot in the seven years we’ve been in Dulce, and I’ve also added to my library. But I still have quite a few unread books. I suspect that should I stay here until age 70 that a few of those may still be unread at that time.

I believe that the end of our ministry here is still years down the road, but that now seems to be the time to do a small bit preparation for that day. I do have a list of books I would like to acquire, but it’s intentionally a short list. Every week I get emails of sales from my favorite bookstore, but no matter how interesting a particular title seems, or how highly it may be commended by a pastor I respect, the emails are deleted. I already have enough good books to keep me busy. As far as a permanent collection goes, I intend to keep some books when it is time for us to leave here and find good homes for as many of the remainder as possible.

Something else that seems to be a long way down the road is my own death. My health is fine. Because of something called the Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee I’ve run more miles this summer than I have since the summer of 1996. I come from long-lived stock. Both of my parents are in their 80’s and in good health for their age. My mother has lived longer than either of her parents and most of her siblings, and my father is still chasing the number of years each of his parents reached.

Death has been on my mind, intermittently, because of the kind of year this has been for ministry. I have another funeral scheduled this week, the ninth one in the past three months. A number of them have been connected to COVID-19, which all by itself is evidence of the fleeting nature of life and the quite unexpected ways and times it may come to an end. I fully believe all that scripture says about the days of my life being known to God, and so I trust that the way and time He has determined will be for the best and according to His plan. I also have no doubts about the promises He has made to hold me in His hands forever, promises we happened to share with our children in our devotional time last night.

Death’s timing and means are out of my hands, but I would like to have some influence in the way my passing will be marked by others. I’ve been thinking of this because of the number of funeral’s I’ve done of late. Ordinarily there is a rough outline I use in the church and a different one I use later at the burial. The pandemic has changed things on the reservation and so right now the entire funeral is done at the cemetery. I’ve made a hybrid service that I adapt as best I can for the particular circumstances, at least as far as I am aware of them.

From my point-of-view as a pastor the most important part of planning a funeral is picking the scripture to be preached. It is my belief that a funeral is, more than anything else, an opportunity for God’s people to gather for worship. There is often great sorrow and heavy hearts, and as we gather we praise God and turn to his word for comfort and hope. As far as faith in Jesus goes, people at a funeral are all over the place, from very committed believers to complete unbelievers. My task is to use God’s word to point all of them to the hope of the Lord Jesus.

Use God’s word, but, more specifically, which ones? Sometimes someone in the family will have a suggestion and other times no one has any idea and I offer the family that I will “use my best judgment.”

This was all going through my mind as I was thinking about the coming funeral and skimming through the Psalms. What would I want at my funeral? What I would want is for my Savior and Lord to be lifted up and for people to see some of his beauty and majesty. I would want for the grieving to be comforted and the lost to know in whom they can find their true home.

But from what text? Here are a few that come to mind, in no particular order. Psalm 97. Romans 8. Ephesians 1:3-14. John 10. Colossians 1:15-23. Hebrews 1.

Lest this blog post go one forever I’ll end with these words regarding my faithful Savior and Lord, in life and in death, from Ephesians 3:20-21:

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Savior? Lord? Neither? Both?

Last week a pastor I know asked this question on Facebook: “In one sentence, who is Jesus to you?”

I must have seen the question almost as soon as it was posted, because my reply was the second comment: “My Savior and Lord.”

The first comment was the opposite of mine, “My Lord and Savior.” I did look back once to see what some other answers were. I didn’t see any clues as to why he asked the question in the first place.

I did think a bit more about my answer and the one before mine. Does the order of those two roles for Jesus matter? Can Jesus be one of those things without also being the other?

For Christians, the order matters, if only slightly. Jesus is both Lord and Savior, but he needs to be my Savior first, before I live with him as my Lord. If I am still living lost in my sin, oblivious to my peril and need for his salvation, I will not really care, or even desire, for him to be my Lord. I can get along quite well as the lord of my own life, thank you. At least that is what I thought before Jesus became my Savior, at which point the folly of that line of reasoning became clear to me.

But what about the non-Christian? Is Jesus Lord? Is he Savior? Yes, and no.

Jesus is not the savior of the non-Christian. He does not save anyone who does not call on him to do so. The Buddhist, the Hindu, the Muslim, the atheist, the person claiming a generic Christian identity without personally trusting in Jesus…none of them are saved. He would very gladly and readily save any and all of them, as is made clear a number of places in the Bible, such as what Paul writes in Romans 10:9:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Is Jesus the Lord of the non-Christian? Yes, he is. Perhaps not in the personal sense, as conveyed through the words “my Lord,” but certainly in the sense that He is, and always has been, Lord of all creation.

John 1:3 says:

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

And in a post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, in Matthew 28:18 he said:

“All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.”

The Christian understands that at the end of the day there is no one who is not accountable to the Lord Jesus.

Who is Jesus to you? It is a good question. My hope and prayer is that he is Savior and Lord, or Lord and Savior. The order is not nearly as important as that he is both of those things, to you, in a very personal sense. May Jesus be your Savior, you Lord, now and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Setting The Tone For The Day

The first thing on my list of “things to get done” today was to go to my study to read the Bible and pray. By itself that is not unusual. Reading the Bible and praying are the first things on my list on the majority of days that are workdays. Some days the pattern is different, often due to the particular demands of the day. The exceptions always seem justified at the time, but so often as those days unfold the decision shows itself to have been unwise. I may have been pressed for time and shifted prayer to a more convenient part of the day, and something happens that shows me that moving prayer that day was a poor choice.

So today I went to my study and checked the app on my phone to see what the Bible reading was going to be. Lamentations 1. Certainly not a place in the Bible where we would turn if we were looking for something quick and inspiring, something to make us feel good. But God’s word, from beginning to end, is filled with truth that we need to hear, and Lamentations is no exception. As I read and prayed I lingered over the first part of verse 18, which says:

“The LORD is in the right,

For I have rebelled against his word.”

Ouch! That verse describes sin in a nutshell. God has revealed His truth and I have rebelled against it. My rebellion wasn’t just a one-time thing but happened over and over. In His mercy God’s revealed truth also included His Son Jesus, as my Savior. I still rebel but also know that my place with Jesus is sure and unfailing.

Reading the Bible and praying early in my day isn’t important so that I can cross it off my list and be what the Jesus Storybook Bible calls one of the “super extra holy people.” It is important because it prepares me to be a better servant of my Savior and Lord as the day unfolds. I don’t know what the day will bring but I believe that He most certainly does. If I want to serve him well in whatever may come I’ve found that it is essential for me to be grounded as His child.

And as I write, late on a Wednesday afternoon, what has the day brought? Reading with the boys while they ate breakfast. Some administrative work for our congregation. Editing of this coming Sunday’s sermon, from James3:13-18. All of those things were expected. I also had brief conversations with two different men who were hitchhiking to the next town. Another man who I have had mostly casual contact with in the past few years decided that today was the day to take advantage of an open invitation I’d given him He came over and we spent an hour talking about the story of Abraham and a few other things.

Jesus is a wonderful and beautiful Savior. He is a kind and loving Lord. It is a privilege to know Him in these ways and to live each day as His servant. Experience has taught me, especially as a pastor but even before then, that some time in the Bible and prayer are essential to serving Him well as the day unfolds.

And now, a half hour after writing the last paragraph, I’m reminded of the wisdom in beginning the day with the Bible and prayer. One of the men I saw earlier today came to the house, needing a meal and some face masks. I was able to give him both, and also pray with him. Just one more reason to thank the Lord for setting the tone for the day first thing.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

The Anvil Of Scripture

One of the books I am currently reading is an excellent work about being a pastor. As I was soaking up the wisdom from Albert Martin, a man who’s served as a pastor for around 50 years, I read these words:

“Regarding this issue, we must have our thinking hammered out on the anvil of Scripture.”

I read that sentence several times, not because of the particular issue Martin was discussing, but because they state a truth that is pretty much applicable for virtually every issue of the Christian life. Our thinking must be shaped by the instruction of God through the words of the Bible, and not in some other way or through some other standard.

The picture I found online of a blacksmith at work illustrates Martin’s point. The anvil represents God’s word, the solid and unchanging standard, that God, the Master Blacksmith, uses to shape us for His purposes and His glory. Sometimes that shaping is effortless, but many are the times when heat and hammering are the only ways to bring about the desired result.

Sometimes our thinking changes easily. I can think back to my own conversion and see things that changed nearly effortlessly. And I can also look back and see things that have changed only under great effort, with lots of resistance on my part. And given that the Christian life is one of continual growth and change, from the moment of conversion until that time our Savior calls us home, there is change going on right now that must happen in agreement with God’s word in order for it to be pleasing to Him.

The idea of being hammered on an anvil doesn’t sound very much like fun. But it is an act of love by God to do so. He loves us and does what is needed to conform us to the truth of His word, rather than let us go off adrift in some other direction.

It’s good for us to regularly read our Bibles and give serious, prayerful thought to what God is speaking to us through it. There will be times when His truth will confront us. Those are the times we need to dig deeper and be shaped by the truth of the anvil of Scripture, to our good and for God’s glory.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Desires? Plans? In A Pandemic?

I went for a run this morning and while I was out I crossed paths with a woman from our congregation who was out for a walk. We stopped to talk for a bit, giving me the opportunity to ask how she and her family were doing during the pandemic, and particularly the lockdown we have had here on the reservation for the past 10 days. Before we parted ways I lifted up a prayer with her, gathering some of the things we had talked about, especially the desire on our hearts for things to settle down, pandemic-wise, and get to normal, whatever the new normal might be.

That episode this morning came back to mind as I read Psalm 20 this afternoon. In verse 4 the psalmist writes:

“May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.”

Hmmm… What is my heart’s desire right now? What are my plans? If it was up to me, what would it be possible to do, right now? Besides entering a “new normal,” which presumably would have a marked resemblance to the “old normal” my heart’s desire and plans right now would include:

For our congregation to gather for worship and share the Lord’s Supper.
To be able to make visits to the hospitals and nursing homes.
To travel with my family on vacation and visit our parents, grandparents, and grandchildren.
For my wife and our kids to reconnect in-person with family and friends who live locally.

I could list quite a few other things, but these are the ones I find myself longing for day after day. Some of those things have been on hold since March. Others, like the vacation we didn’t return from this week, are more current. And there is nothing in the news that encourages me to make firm plans for any of them right now. I’m sure there is a horizon out there somewhere, but I have no idea how far away it is.

But that verse of Psalm 20 speaks to me in another way as well. Robin and I close each day reading the Bible and praying together. And that prayer, no which of us is praying on any particular day, often contains, or closes with, a request that we might continue to serve God well in the place where He has called us. And when that becomes my heart’s desire, when that sets the agenda for my plans…lets just say that the opportunities for success are all over the place.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the plans on my list, but as I wait on God’s timing to bring those opportunities closer, I know He has given me plenty of other very good things to do. Good things to do as I serve Him in this particular place, at this particular time, to His glory.