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TerryLema

The Heart – Where Things Begin! Day 3

by TerryLema

I am loving my stroll through the Sermon on the Mount. My Bible divides it into 19 passages. I am not going through all 19 passages, but I am stopping along the way when one tugs at my heart. When I do stop, I ask myself that two-word question, “Am I?”

Today I sat for a while in Matthew 5:21-30. My Bible titles those two passages, “Murder Begins in the Heart,” and “Adultery Begins in the Heart.”

My question this morning is, “Am I monitoring the condition of my heart regularly?”

In another part of Matthew, Jesus spoke about a storehouse, a place of treasure. “For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.” [Matthew 12:34-35 HCSB]

Our hearts will either be storerooms of good, or storerooms of evil. It is from our hearts that we both speak and act. We have a choice what we allow to remain in our hearts. That means we need to be monitoring our heart’s condition regularly.

If we find ourselves angry or bitter, if we find ourselves judging others with unkind words, it is time to look into our storeroom and see what is there—good or evil. Then we might just need a time of repentance and confession, knowing that God is willing to forgive.

 

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Salt & Light, Day 2

by TerryLema

I am only in Day 2 of this multi-day reflection on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and I am already finding that this is a far more difficult deliberation than I anticipated. As I approach some of the sections of the sermon, I must face the answers to a two-word question, “Am I?”

The first question was “Am I teachable?” and the second was “Am I poor in spirit?” Both questions caused me to bare a part of my soul to examination.

Today is another question, “Am I salt and light?” [Read Matthew 5:13-16]

As believers, Jesus tells us we “are the salt of the earth.” Salt was a valuable commodity in the ancient world. It was used to preserve food (there were no freezers or fridges), heal wounds and treat illnesses. Our word “salary” comes from the ancient word for salt and means “salt-money.”

Jesus also tells us we “are the light of the world.” We are a beacon in the darkness that draws people to the light of Christ Jesus and the truth of God’s Word.

I noticed one thing of great importance as I read this passage. That is the use of the verb “are.” Jesus did not tell us to struggle “to be” salt or light. He said we already “are.”

So, I guess this question was easier than the first two. I “am” salt and light because God’s Spirit within me has made me so. So I guess today I am considering if I am flowing in those roles as God has determined me to do.

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The Beatitudes, Day 1

by TerryLema

I have decided to do a multi-day reflection on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. My Bible has divided Matthew chapters 5-7 into 19 passages. I am approaching some of those passages from the perspective of two words, “Am I?”

Yesterday, after reading the first two verses in Chapter 5, I asked myself “Am I teachable?” Those verses tell us simply that Jesus sat on the mountain with the crowds that followed Him and with His disciples and began to teach them.

He began with what we call the Beatitudes. [Read 5:3-12] These are the blessings. They set out to remind us that the blessings of God come from far different circumstances than the blessings of this world. They flow out of mourning, gentleness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and even persecution.

It is that first condition of blessing, however, that sets the precedent for all the others. “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” [vs 3 HCSB]

Poor in spirit means to recognize that before God I have nothing to offer. I cannot save myself. I have nothing to barter with God. I cannot deliver myself. I cannot make myself worthy of the salvation that is offered to me freely in Christ. I can only be made worthy BY the salvation offered in Christ Jesus. I am spiritually poor. And not just poor, I am bankrupt.

“Am I poor in spirit?” As I contemplated that question, I admit my poverty is what brought me to Christ Jesus in 1973. It is why I surrendered my life to Him. But … and here is where the Holy Spirit took me today … “Am I still poor in spirit?” or have I allowed pride or arrogance to subtly creep in?

Do I see myself as “better” because I am saved? And how does the world see me? As arrogant, or humbly acknowledging that without God’s grace I would be utterly lost?

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“Am I?”

by TerryLema

I was required to memorize the Sermon on the Mount in Bible College. That was in the early 1980’s. If I stick to my Yearly Bible Reading Plan, I am reading that sermon in the early days each January. I memorized it in the KJV and have read it in every other translation I have. This year I am reading it in my Holman Christian Standard Version.

The problem with memorizing a Scripture, and then reading it at least once a year for decades (not counting the multiple times I have brought a message from it or heard a message from it) is that it becomes so familiar that it often loses the impact it had at the beginning.

So I took a new look this year at Matthew chapters 5-7. I want a fresh look. I am not sure why but the first thing I noticed were the “titles” over the various passages. My Bible divides the Sermon on the Mount into 19 passages.

I sense the Holy Spirit telling me to do more with the Sermon on the Mount than just read through it again this year. I sense Him telling me to approach it from the perspective of two words, “Am I?”

I am going to spend the next few days going through some of the passages of the Sermon, asking myself “Am I?”  I invite you to join me.

The Sermon on the Mount begins with a simple Introduction.  “When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to teach them, saying:” [5:1-2]

I guess I will begin this study with a simple question.  “Am I teachable?”  Something to reflect on today.

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Thinking About

by TerryLema

It is a Monday morning as I write this. I am sitting in my chair this morning thinking about Jesus. Woke up feeling loved and blessed. I have a busy week ahead, busier than I had planned, but all I want to do at the moment is just sit in my chair, open my Bible, and think about my LORD.

How blessed we are to know that God loves us. How blessed we are to know that God wants us near to Him. The amazing, wondrous God wants to gather us under His “wings,” as a hen gathers her chicks. Wants us!  Not needs us – our God needs nothing. He WANTS us!

We are flawed creatures. Often overcome by doubts and struggles. We rebel. We resist His desires for us. We ignore His voice. And still, He wants us.

Oh, the love of God. His mercy. His goodness. His grace. His compassion. He wants us to have it all. He holds nothing back.

He will even discipline us, correct us, so that we might walk in His paths of righteousness with Him. He does it out of love for us, wanting us to have His best. Wanting us to avoid sin and the shame and guilt and dying that accompanies it.

The precious love of God. His faithfulness. He never forgets us. He knows us and all the deep things that touch our hearts. He gives strength. He gives glory. He gives wisdom. He gives us the desires of our hearts so that we might realize them. He gives gifts, undeserved, yet welcomed.

Yes, just thinking about Jesus this morning, my LORD, Savior, Deliverer, Lover of my soul, my All in All.

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His Mercy is More

by TerryLema

Pastor Laura led worship again last Sunday. We sang the song “His Mercy is More” by Matt Papa. The melody is simple but oh, that chorus!

“Praise the Lord, His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our [My] sins they are many, His mercy is more.” 

The Scriptures are clear that we are to be holy like our God is holy. We are to avoid sin, even the appearance of evil. Yet, we still sin. Sometimes it is outward and noticeable to all. Sometimes it is an inner attitude or bitterness only seen by God.

At times, we are weighed down by the sin in our lives and the harder we try to avoid it, the more we seem to collide with it. The enemy of our soul loves to temp us. The world loves to sabotage us. Our own flesh even rebels against our good intentions.

As we sang that wonderful chorus on Sunday, I felt such relief. No matter my sin, God’s mercy to me is more. No matter how many my sins, God’s mercy to me is abundantly more.

I think when David wrote Psalm 23 and included the wonderful truth that “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of our life,” he knew what it was to experience the mercy of God over his sin.

As I joined in singing the song last Sunday, I was reminded that I, too, know what it is like to experience the mercy of God over my sin.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1John 1:9 HCSB]

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Aging

by TerryLema

A friend recently sent me a couple of her favorite books as a gift. One looks like an easy read, but with deep thoughts. The other is a far more difficult read, but also with deep thoughts. I started on the more difficult one, “Being Mortal, Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande.

The book, as far as I am into it (I am about halfway through it), deals with aging and medicine and how as a culture we care for people who age. It is not a cheery book, probably since I am dealing with aging and seeing some of the problems of medical treatments, safety, and decline in my not-so-distant future. But it is extremely insightful and has given me much about which to think.

One thing that stands out so far is that people who lose a reason to live decline faster than those who maintain things in their life which they enjoy and are still allowed to pursue (even if it means being a little less safe).

As I have been making my way through the book, I am reminded of what some might call my “life verse.”  It is found in Proverbs, and it often was part of my signature line in my work emails.  “A merry [joyful HCSB] heart does good, like medicine.” [Proverbs 17:22a NKJV]

I have tried to embrace this verse my entire life, no matter the difficulties or struggles I faced.  But there is a second part of that verse that might be even more significant, especially at this stage of my life. “But a broken spirit dries the bones.” [Proverbs 17:2b NKJV]

As unsettling as this book can be at times, as unsettling as my life can be at times, that verse reminds me that God understood the difficulties of aging long before modern man began to explore them, and I can be reassured of His faithfulness to me in every stage of life.

 

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Light Shine!

by TerryLema

It is hard to believe that in the middle of winter, as we are now, our days are getting longer! They have been lengthening by a few minutes a day since December 20. Of course, we also have more cloudy days, along with rain and fog and snow and  … so we probably do not notice the increasing daylight.

One lovely thing about our house, which we did not notice when we bought it in the month of May, is that in the winter months our house faces the sun directly from mid-day on. With our big front window, and our glass security door, the light floods in and it will heat our living room quite nicely. There are even times when sitting in my chair is too hot from the sunshine pouring in.  (That’s if there are no clouds or rain or fog or snow ….)

Still, I enjoy basking in that light when I can.

What made me think about the wonderful light and warmth that I enjoy mid-winter was a daily verse taken from Jesus’ sermon on the mount.  “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” [Matthew 5:16 HCSB]

Just prior to that verse Jesus reminded his listeners that they were “the light of the world,” and like a city up on a hill their light could not be hidden.

As I contemplated the light flooding in my front window and the effect it had on everything in that room, I thought about the light in us. We are to let it shine wherever we go so that the good things we do (and yes, we should be doing good things) will bring glory to our Father God.

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The Law of Christ

by TerryLema

We are in the midst of a time of prayer and fasting in our denomination.  I am a pretty good pray-er, but not so good a fast-er. With my medical issues and medications I cannot go without food for long periods of time, but I am trying to fast certain foods and certain times. The goal is to focus not on my own desires and wants but on the needs of others.

We are reminded in Galatians 6:2 that we are to “Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” [HCSB]

The Bible does not explicitly explain what the “Law of Christ” is, nor does it explain how the “Law of Christ” is fulfilled when we carry other’s burdens. However, Bible scholars understand the “Law of Christ” refers back to what Jesus stated were the greatest commandments. (Mark 12:28-31)

That first great commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. The second great commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. All the OT law is contained in these two.

The world and the enemy of our soul seek to isolate us, because when we stand alone we are far weaker than we stand together. The world and the enemy of our soul seek to alienate us from our brothers and sisters in any way possible. They will cause divisions, splits, disagreements, and they are gleeful when Christians are at odds with each other.

The Law of Christ, however, commands us to love others as we love ourselves, and part of that is helping others when they are burdened or struggling. I often have to remind people that being burdened or in a struggle is not something to be ashamed of. Everyone at some point in life struggles, and as Christians we are to move alongside and provide the support that is needed.

As a second reminder, however, others cannot know you need help unless you ask.

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Every Thought

by TerryLema

I woke up the other morning with four words echoing in my mind – taking every thought captive. I think I might have been dreaming something that included those four words, but whatever that was, it disappeared from my mind and only those four words were left – taking every thought captive.

Those four words are found in 2 Corinthians 10. Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth, reminded them that the weapons of our warfare in this life are not like the world’s weapons. Instead they are powerful in God – powerful for the destruction of strongholds, demolishing arguments and high-minded things that flaunt themselves against the knowledge of God.

In this life, we are inundated with things that try to shake our faith in God. The world floods us with its viewpoints and ideas from every direction and through every media. The enemy of our soul wants to implant in our minds all kinds of lies and misdirection. We can find ourselves trying to even decipher our own thoughts that spring forth from our feelings, hurts, sin, shame, and doubts.

So when Paul reminds us to “[take] every thought captive to obey Christ,” he is telling us how to capture what is in our minds BEFORE it takes root in our hearts! [10:5b HCSB]

We are not going to be held liable for the things that enter our thoughts UNLESS we entertain them – unless we allow them to become rooted in our hearts. We need to stop them before they start to root and reproduce.

That means when the world, the enemy of our soul, and our flesh try to influence us with things not of God, we must immediately stop and remind the world, the enemy, and our flesh that we are a child of God and that even our thoughts will come into obedience to Christ.  Then we need to transform our minds with the Word of God.

Get into it, read it, and study it!  God’s Word is our first line of defense.  Amen

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