"To Him be glory forever": trust

Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Trustworthy

Last Monday I woke up and checked my phone to see what the weather app had to say about the current conditions. 41 degrees! I was excited! That was certainly not what I had expected. The previous night we had been out for the Christmas sing-a-long at one of the other local churches and Robin and I had discussed how in the winter a particular temperature always feels colder at night than that very same temperature does in the morning.

Forty-one degrees…a bit of springtime on the second day of winter. I dressed for the low 40's and went outside…and I was cold! I don’t know where my weather app gets its information from. Usually it seems very accurate but on Monday the actual temperature was much colder than 41. During the time I was out at looked at the ground in various places and there wasn't a single spot where there was water that hadn’t frozen. Thirty-one seemed more likely than 41 and I changed my clothes accordingly when I got back inside.

My weather app is usually trustworthy, but it failed me on that particular day. Something else that is trustworthy, and which never fails us, is God's Word in the Bible.

In 1561 Guido de Bres wrote a statement of faith that said this about God's Word:

"We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered “by human will,”
but that “men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,”

as Peter says. (2 Peter 1:21)

Afterward our God—with special care for us and our salvation—

commanded his servants, the prophets and apostles,

to commit this revealed Word to writing.
God, with his own finger, wrote the two tables of the law.

Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures."

De Bres goes on to write a number of other things about the Bible but the statement above gets at the heart of what makes it a trustworthy book, which is that it was provided to us by God. God, through the Holy Spirit, inspired the people who placed the words on paper, so that words written to us are God's words

As a new year begins I want to encourage you to read God's Word on a regular basis, at least a few verses every day. God's love for His people is so great that He sent a Savior, Jesus, and the Bible is given that we might know of His love and our salvation without any doubts. And unlike my weather app, God's Word never fails to give us the truth.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Relying on God

Earlier this week I met with a woman who belonged to our church at one time in the past. She is one of many people I have met who told me that they grew up as a part of this congregation. I don't know why or when she left, and she belongs to a different church in town now.

We met because she wanted to find out when some members of her family were baptized. I invited her to come with me to the church and look through some records. Being in the building brought back many fond memories for her. She told me a few stories of things she was involved in at church as a young girl.

The thing that made the most impact on me as we talked was when she told me that she prayed first thing every morning, because her mom had taught her to do that. "A wise woman, your mom was" I told her. Her mother also taught her to develop a heart that could be thankful. Her mother taught her to find things to be thankful for even during difficult periods of life. That is another wise thing to teach a child. Or anyone, for that matter.

In Philippians 4:10-13 Paul writes this:

"I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. It was during a period of imprisonment that would end in his death. When we read Paul's story in the book of Acts we learn that there was much hardship in his life. Beatings, being stoned, shipwrecks, prison. And with that as a background Paul can look on his life and say "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Paul doesn't mean that because he believes in Jesus he can do whatever he wants, because he certainly couldn't end his imprisonment. But he does mean that because of who Jesus is, and what Jesus has done, that Paul can find peace and God's presence in each and every circumstance of his life.

The work that God does in the heart of each person who has faith in Jesus is powerful, almost beyond belief. Like Paul and the woman I met with this week, let us each learn to rely on the presence and power of God in each circumstance of our lives, giving our thanks to Him, to His eternal glory.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Are you excited?

“Are you excited?” That is a question I have heard a lot this week, perhaps a bit more with each day.

I am excited, and that sense is growing, but is also tempered by what is, I hope, a realistic sense of what lies ahead.

Today is Wednesday and by the end of the work day next Wednesday I will be “retired” from my job at Mayo Clinic, the job I have had for 27 years. That is a significant period of time to work in the same place and I have met many good people, both employees and patients, over the course of those years. But like all things do, my time at Mayo is coming to an end. The day is rapidly approaching where the faces, the routines, which are so familiar, will change. In a sense they will change dramatically. Next week I will go to work on Wednesday morning, much as I have since 1986, and when I return home in the evening it will be with the knowledge that I won’t be returning to work there again. That moment on Wednesday afternoon will be the end of one thing and another step to the next significant thing.

I am not retiring in the traditional sense, the one where every day is Saturday. I am leaving Mayo as retired by virtue of being of an age and years of employment that meet the retirement criteria. My retirement from Mayo is because I have been called into another vocation, to serve as the pastor of the Jicarilla Apache Reformed Church.

Leaving a place and vocation that I know well for a place and vocation that are new to me will be a pretty big change. There is going to be a lot of adjustment. There will be a steep learning curve. And my family will be along for the ride.

I am excited about the moving into pastoral ministry for what I anticipate to be the last phase of my working career. I am excited to move into a new community, to meet new people and to live in what for me is a new part of the country. I am excited to be doing this with Robin and our youngest daughter. And I am glad that they are excited about these changes too.

But I also have a sense of realism of the task that lies ahead. Like many other vocations, including the vocation of being a parent, there are all manner of things that can happen in pastoral ministry that can’t really be prepared for but instead have to be experienced. I can learn and study and think about this and that, but I won’t really understand many situations fully until after they have happened and I have had a chance to think back on them and the way I handled them.

And I know that being a pastor is a big responsibility, not just in the sense of the things to be done among the congregation and community, but particularly in spiritual responsibility. Among the wisdom Paul gives to Timothy about his vocation are these words:

“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

We are off from Rochester to Dulce because we, and most particularly me, have been called there by God to serve among His people. It will be big changes in many ways. Some parts may come easily and others certainly won’t. But we serve a big God, a God who is always good, a God who is always faithful, and most importantly, a God who reveals Himself personally through His Son, Christ Jesus.

We go in faith to serve this God, to His glory, now and forever.

Yeah, I am excited!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Trust

I had my hair cut today. No big deal. I went to the barber, the same guy who has cut my hair for four or five years, sat in the chair and put my glasses in my pocket. As he wrapped a cape around my shoulders he said something like: “Clean it up, off the ears and not too short on top?” To which I said: “Yes.” He went to work and we spent the next 30 minutes talking as he did what he does for a living. He does it well, having a steady business, with lots of regular customers.

But today something was different. When he was done he took the cape off and I got out of the chair to pay him. It was the first time that before taking off the cape he didn’t hand me a mirror and turn the chair so I could check out the haircut myself. I didn’t ask but he must have remembered what I told him last time he cut my hair, about two months ago.

That time, as he got the mirror out, I told him it wasn’t necessary. He was the barber and I trusted him to do his job well. I didn’t need to look at it for myself.

Later in the day while I was re-reading 1 Kings 19, in preparation to preach in a few weeks, I remembered this morning’s experience at the barber. In 1 Kings 19 Elijah has just seen God do some pretty remarkable things. And as a consequence of the power God has displayed Elijah is, somewhat surprisningly, running for his very life. He is so desperate that he asks God to take his life. It appears that for the moment Elijah has lost track of who God is and what God can do.

Sometimes we have the same thoughts that may be plaguing Elijah. We are in a bad spot, a time of deep trouble, and we forget who God is, or where He is, or what He has promised to do. Our trust in God wavers.

In times of distress we want God to show up…right now!

In Deuteronomy 31 Moses speaks to the Hebrew people. They have been wandering in the desert for 40 years and he is preparing them to be led by Joshua as they enter the Promised Land. In verse 6 Moses says:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Moses reminds the people of the same thing that we need to remember today, particularly in our times of suffering, our times of distress. And that is that there is never a time when God is absent from His people.

God is a God who is unfailing in every respect. He has always kept His word, He always keeps His word, and He will always keep His word.

And His word is something that we can always trust, no matter what the circumstances are that surround us. Amen.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Letters and Promises

This morning Robin was going to give a message for the children during worship at church. Until she got sick, that is. (Not real sick, just too sick to go to church. She is beginning to feel better.) I subbed for her, and this, more or less, is what I shared with the children.

First I talked a little bit about letters. Not the ones that we use to spell words with but the kind that we write to people. Letter writing was once very common. It was the way we stayed in touch with people we didn't see very often, people who may have lived a long ways away from us. Writing letters was very common when the Bible was written and many parts of the Bible began as letters that were written by one person to some other people. These letters were so important that they were collected and saved, so that we can read them in our Bibles today.

Then I talked a bit about promises. One of the children told me that a promise was “When you tell someone that you are going to do something.” And that is correct. We tell someone that we are going to do something and then, later on, we keep our promise and do that very thing.

Then I told the children that the letters of the Bible, such as the one we were going to read from later before the sermon, are filled with promises that God has made to us. I told them that it is good for us to read the letters over and over, so that we learn and remember God’s promises.

And then, reading from our daughter’s copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible, I read then a promise of God, written by Paul to the Romans, which says:

“God loves us! Nothing can ever – no, not ever! – separate us from the Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love of God he showed us in Jesus!”

That is the condensed version of Romans 8:31-39, but it clearly tells a profound truth, a promise of God of His enduring and unfailing love for His children.

And as my daughter leaned over to remind me during the children’s message, “God always keeps His promises!”

Monday, November 12, 2012

Being prepared

I live in southeast Minnesota and our weather has changed dramatically over the last two days. On Saturday it was unseasonably warm, reaching 73 degrees. That was really nice however a change in the weather was in the works as the sun set. Yesterday’s warmest moments were in the early morning, when it was in the high 30’s and a light rain was falling.

And this morning? Well, let’s just say that winter is pretty much here now. There was no snow when I got up but the temperature was in the low 20’s. I had set out clothing last night to wear when running this morning, clothing based on a forecast into the low 20’s. So I stretched a bit, got dressed, and headed out the door.

There was a light breeze as I went down the driveway and out onto the street. A quarter mile from home the road turned a bit and I felt the wind with greater intensity. This, being the beginning of my 27^th Minnesota winter, was not exactly welcome but also not exactly unfamiliar territory. Over the next few months I expect to run in weather much worse than what was out this morning, the kind of weather that will make me long for today in the same way that today I had a longing for the warmth of two days ago.

A mile-and-a quarter from home and the road turned again, so that I was basically running into a steady headwind. I later learned that the wind speed was close to 20 MPH, with gusts of 30. My original intent was to run to a point four miles away from home and then turn around and head back. My face was cold and I was beginning to think that perhaps a face mask would have been a good thing to have. And while my face was cold, it was my hands that felt colder, to the point that I considered turning around early. I had dressed for 20 degrees, but not a windy 20 degrees.

A number of years ago I developed the habit of opening and closing my hands in coordination with my pace when running in winter weather. Open-and-close the right hand twice. Then the left hand twice. Repeat. And repeat again, until the run is over. It is a method that keeps blood moving in my fingers and keeps my hands warm. It works well, when I have the right mittens or gloves on my hands. And today, running into the wind, I certainly did not.

My face was cold. My hands were cold, and getting colder. Then I reached the point in the road four miles from home and I turned around.

What a dramatic change! Still cold, but also very calm. When the wind briefly gusted it felt like a tailwind, something that was moving me towards home without really making me feel any colder.

And this Bible verse, 1 Peter 5:8, came to mind:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

I thought about how running into the wind this morning was similar to living during times of adversity, times when we know we are best off staying grounded in the Bible. There are seasons of life that can be so turbulent that God’s word is the only place we can find refuge.

But those seasons don’t always last. They may be unpleasant, they may be long in duration, but they will also pass away into more peaceful times. And as that happened in my run, as I turned from running into the wind to running with it, I was reminded that while it was now much more peaceful I still needed to be mindful of the overall conditions.

I still needed to open-and-close my hands to warm them up. I still needed to watch for debris on the roads. I still needed to be mindful of cars going by me.

The words of Peter aren’t a call to live in constant fear as we navigate life. They are a reminder to be mindful of God and the promises of His word, promises that are our sure place of rest and refuge, no matter what the season of our life.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Transition

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25

We (my family and I) are in a transition. Some major things have been changing and we are expecting them to continue to change for a while. We have some ideas of how they may change but since several of the things we thought were imminent last summer haven’t happened we are less certain now about where we are headed and how we will “get there.”

Looking back it could be said that I’ve been in transition for the past ten years but this transition for our family began in earnest about one year ago. I graduated from seminary and Robin took a leave of absence from her teaching job. We had some feelers out to several churches but nothing was happening. We believed that God was leading us, somewhere, and we prayed that we would be able to listen well and be obedient when his call became clear. We sincerely wanted, and continue to want, to know and follow God’s lead rather than just going off in the direction that we may think is best.

Last fall we took what seemed to be a larger “leap of faith,” by putting our house up for sale. It made logical sense, as we did need to sell our house should God call us away from Rochester, and in this market we had no idea how long it would take to sell.

After four weeks on the market and an unexpected turn of events we took our house off the market. That turned out to be a good decision, although at the risk, in our minds, of having our house for sale for a longer time when we did attempt to sell it again.

And while selling our house would be a major step, we had the blessing of knowing a friend with a vacant house we could rent in the interim. That seemed to fit well with the whole notion of being “in transition.”

So this past February we put our house back on the market, and it sold in less than one week! The quickness of the sale caused us to wonder if God was up to something that would soon become clearer to us.

And last week we moved into our “back-up plan,” the vacant house belonging to a good friend. We knew when the rental plan was first made that the house needed a bit of work, work that is still underway as I write this. But it is working out okay. We are all settling in. We are unpacking boxes and placing furniture, some of which will be moved again soon, as the work is completed inside the house. And perhaps moved yet again, as God makes his plans for us clearer.

I’ll be honest and admit that while we believe that God is up to something and that we are in transition, we have had moments of anxiety, moments when we wish that he would just make things clear for us, and make them clear now. Robin and I have each, in our own way, had moments of being tired of waiting for God to act and to clear up the particular unknowns about our life at this point in time. I was reminded of this again yesterday, as I was reading from the Sermon on the Mount and came to the verse at the start of this post.

In that verse Jesus invites us not to be anxious, for we are always in his hands. He knows everything about our current situation. He knows every need that we have. He is able to meet every one of our needs, and we can trust that he will meet them, in the timing that he knows is right.

Later on, in verse 33, Jesus points us to the place where our attention should be in anxious times, saying,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”

I experience anxiety when my focus is on my own needs and concerns, rather than on my Lord and Savior. One year while I was in Community Bible Study we did a study of the Psalms and I memorized a verse that stays with me to this day. Psalm 143:8 says,

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” (NIV)

In all the seasons of life, both those of transition and those of stability, our rest and peace, our purpose and the means to do it, will always be found in God.