TerryLema

I was invited to become part of a group of pastors (online), sponsored by a well-known church leader who pastors a large church. The fancy invitation told me that I would find all kinds of resources to help me as a pastor. I liked the idea of resources, so I joined.

I then went online and found all the things available to me. Most cost money. There were a few freebies, but they were pretty much subject lists and some other things that really wouldn’t classify as much of a resource.  I did order one set of information, came to almost $30 with taxes and shipping costs. After that, I decided to email their customer service.

I think I was quite tactful, explaining that I appreciated having these kinds of resources available, but wondered if there were scholarships available. I explained that I was a pastor of a small rural church, the very kind of pastor these resources would help, but didn’t have much in the way of finances either personally or through the church.

I received a nice email back from customer service that provided a link to the “free” resources they could offer me. That link took me to five “free” audible sermons given by this famous pastor, one from 1998.

I must admit to disappointment. I must admit my initial thoughts traveled along the “this is just another way to make money” theme, but then I realized that I cannot judge another person’s motivation.  Perhaps there is a real desire there to help pastors. Unfortunately, the prohibitive costs eliminated the very people that need the help most.

Then I remembered and thanked my Savior – I abundantly thanked Him for giving freely.  “Freely you have received, freely give.”  [Matt 10:8 NIV]

I got a flu shot in September. I have gotten one every year for decades and never had the flu. This year was different. I did get the flu but from listening to the accounts of others beset with the same thing, I got a very light version of it, thankfully.

Still it has been a miserable week.  An occasional fever, which always induces chills, and a bit of respiratory junk, which is mainly coughing. Bob got it first and passed it along to me, thank you sweetheart! And, of course, OTC meds to relieve symptoms always raise my blood sugar and I haven’t felt well enough to walk a lot, so that’s been a balancing act to try to keep the diabetes under control also.

I take precautions most of the time, wash my hands regularly, wipe off grocery carts and such. I guess since I have gone so many decades without getting much more than a cold, it never occurred to me that this year would be different.

Do you realize nothing ever just “occurs” to our God? Nothing ever takes Him by surprise either. As I thought about that this morning I thought about three things …

One, the Lord knows the path I take before I ever step foot on it: “But he knows the way that I take….” [Job 23:10 NIV]

Two, the Lord knows what I need before I even ask: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” [Matt 6:8 NIV]

Three, the Lord knows that I belong to Him: “The Lord knows those who are his….”  [2 Tim 2:19 NIV]

Can’t get any plainer than that!  Father, thank you. Amen.

Acts 13:1:  In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. [NIV]

Whoa! Wait! What? Manaen, a boyhood companion of Herod the Tetrarch? This is the same Herod who executed John the Baptizer.  It is the same Herod who ridiculed and mocked Jesus just prior to the crucifixion. [Mark 6, Luke 23]

Ever wonder how Manaen went from being a playmate and friend of a vicious ruler to becoming a prophet and teacher of Jesus Christ in the church at Antioch?

I have my own ideas. Maybe Manaen heard John the Baptizer in his many command appearances before Herod after he was arrested. Maybe he listened as John told about the Messiah who was then walking among the people. Maybe he heard John’s appeal to repent, and while they fell on deaf ears with Herod, they did not with him. Maybe he was even there when Herod and his soldiers mocked this Jesus he had heard about from John.

Whatever happened, whoever testified, be it John the Baptizer or another, Manaen heard the Good News and responded to the love of God. He became a prophet/teacher in the church at Antioch. I am always amazed that the church is comprised of so many different people from so many different walks of life. The one thing we have in common, God called, and all responded to the gracious gift of love and grace.

I can’t wait to get to heaven and ask Manaen how he heard of Christ’s salvation!

Some days just opening my email inbox is an adventure! This morning I received two emails. The first subject was “How to Reduce Belly Fat.” The second was “Free Book – How to Pray.”  What is really funny is that both were sent from the same source.

I contemplated for a few seconds which to open. I probably should reduce my belly fat, but I bet that one is trying to sell me something. The other email advertised a “free book” so I opened it. The email offered me a “powerful book” that would teach me how to “get results EVERY TIME.” [Their emphasis not mine.]

The book listed things I will learn if I read it, two of which were: How to Bargain with God (Huh?), and How to Demand that God Heal & Provide for You (What?).

Bargain with God? Demand that God heal and provide for me? Those two phrases sent chills down my spine. Who are we to bargain with the Eternal, All-Powerful, All-Knowing God or demand that He do anything?

I realize God has promised us that we may approach His throne of grace confidently, but confidence is a far cry from arrogance. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  [Heb 4:16 NIV]

I think I will thank God for His promised gifts of mercy and grace and leave the bargaining and demanding to someone else. Maybe I’ll check out that other email and find out how to reduce my belly fat!

The book I am reading as part of a launch team (“A Call for Courage—Living with Power, Truth, and Love in an Age of Intolerance and Fear” by Michael Anthony) contained the following statistic: “41 percent of first marriages end in divorce. 60 percent of second marriages end in divorce. 73 percent of third marriages end in divorce.” [from “32 Shocking Divorce Statistics,” McKinley Irvin Family Law, October 30, 2012.]

The immediate response to that is “Why?” And I would imagine the answers to “Why?” are many and varied. I would propose however, that one reason so many marriages fail is because we confuse love with so many other things, such as infatuation, sexual attraction, romance, etc. Most of those things fly out the window when difficulties and everyday obligations come through the door.

2 Thessalonians 1:3: “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers (and sisters), and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” [NIV]

Paul reminds us of three things in the above verse. Thanksgiving is to be constant. Faith is to grow. And love for each other (including our spouses and children) should be increasing. What makes that even more amazing is the following verse.  “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.” [v4 NIV]

The Thessalonians’ love increased during trials and difficulties. Only unconditional love (the kind of love God has for us and we are to have for each other) can increase in those times. Infatuation, sexual attraction and romance diminish and if that is what our marriages are based on, they will not survive.

Father, may our love for You and others increase. May we learn to love others with the same love you have for us … unconditional love. Amen.

Such a heavy devotion yesterday—sin, death, judgment. Today, maybe we should laugh a little. For those who celebrate such things, tomorrow is both Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day. Such a conundrum! Do we indulge ourselves in Valentine’s Day celebrations? Or, do we fast and sacrifice and deny ourselves because “lent” begins with Ash Wednesday tomorrow?

Feast or Fast? Celebrate or Sacrifice? Some are going to feel mightily conflicted tomorrow!

I’m not. As much as “they” would like us to think differently, Valentine’s Day is all about romance—not love. It’s fun for one day here and there, but romance isn’t lasting unless it is intertwined with the kind of love that expresses itself daily, even on the days when we aren’t so lovable.

I remember one of my children who always seemed to get sick in the middle of the night. He never learned to go straight to the bathroom and call for us from there. Instead he came to my side of the bed and would tell me he felt like he was going to throw up just micro-seconds before he actually did—all over me and the bed. Love was Bob getting up and carrying the boy to the bathroom, holding his head while he got sick again, and then getting him in clean pj’s and putting him back to bed – all the while I showered and changed our bed. Not real romantic, but I remember those times far better than the occasional romantic Valentine’s celebration in a restaurant.

And as for Lent/Ash Wednesday.  Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me.” [Luke 9:23 NIV, emphasis mine]

Our sacrifice and self-denial are not limited to a day or even a 40-day season, it’s every day, 365-days a year, 24-hours a day.

This past week I learned of the passing of two men, both of whom loved the Lord Christ Jesus. It made me pause a bit and think about death … foreign to us yet reigning over all.  We were made for life, after all, made in the image of God. “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….’” [Gen 1:26 KJV]

God is light and life. Being made in His image is why death is so foreign and why we struggle against it. When sin entered the human race, death began its reign of terror over us. The devil was the first to tempt man to sin, and in that sin, he held the power of death. He had no power to literally take our lives, his power rested in sin and the terror of death and the following judgment.

Praise be to God, the devil’s reign of terror lasted only until the coming of the Son of God.  Jesus came into our humanity and by his sinless life, death, and resurrection broke the power of death, broke the hold the enemy had on us—sin and the accompanying fear of death and judgment.

Heb 2:14-15:  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. [NIV]

While our bodies are still of the earth and subject to dying, death for those whose souls and spirits are made new in Christ Jesus is simply passing from the ones we love on this side of the veil to the One we love and who loves us on the other side. We may not like the dying process, but we no longer fear sin, death or judgment.

Father, thank you for the assurance that when we depart this world You will be there with open arms to receive us in the next. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for destroying the power of death! Amen.

There have been so many times in our nearly 51 years of marriage that times were tough, times where we really were in need. For most of our years Bob was self-employed, without unemployment insurance and working in construction. Often, we wondered where our next paycheck would come from, how we’d make the house payment, where we would find the money for groceries or shoes for three growing children. During these times Philippians 4:12 was a verse I depended upon.

Philippians 4:12-13:  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. [NIV]

While I learned Philippians 4:12 during those times of need, I’m not sure I learned it during those times of plenty. The NKJV translates it this way, “I know how to abound.” 

I don’t think I learned how to abound very well. During abounding times I was far less dependent upon God. I spent without consulting Him. I fared less well in my plenty than I did in my needy because I did not seek the Lord’s wisdom.

I wonder … maybe I should ask God to give me another opportunity (or two) to learn how to abound!  (Chuckle)

1 Sam 23:2:  “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”  [NIV]

2 Sam 5:18-19: “Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD, ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?’” [NIV]

2 Sam 5:22-23: “Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD.”  [NIV]

At some point in David’s life he must have wondered if he would ever be rid of those stinking Philistines. It seemed like every time he turned around they were upon him, wanting to overtake and overcome him.  But notice David’s response each time they showed up. He inquired of the LORD … “Shall I go and attack?”

God had given David numerous victories over the Philistines, but he never took God’s for granted. He inquired of the Lord repeatedly, and God responded repeatedly.

Let’s always be aware that repeated victories and successes can be a dangerous place. We begin to think that we can do it on our own … instead of inquiring of the LORD and heeding His instructions.

Let us be ever mindful every day to inquire of the LORD for that day’s challenges and opportunities—even the ones we face again and again.

I watched the Super Bowl game last Sunday. Philadelphia Eagles versus New England Patriots. Many I knew boycotted and didn’t watch because of issues with the NFL.

I wasn’t feeling well on Sunday. I ended up just resting on the couch and watching the game with Bob, our own little super bowl party, just the two of us and our energy drinks!  It turned out to be a very good game, close score, lots of offense (which always makes it more interesting) and just enough defense at the right moment to turn the score around. The Eagles won, if you haven’t heard yet.

There was a back story about the Eagles this year. Their coach, their injured franchise quarterback, the backup quarterback and many others who made great plays during the game have been open about their Christianity. They held Bible Studies all year, shared devotions and prayed together the night prior to games, and have even baptized converted teammates in hotel swimming pools and the “cool tub” in the training rooms. One player this year donated his entire year’s salary to charity. They are making a difference one person at a time.

These men, and many more like them, are using their platform to share the Good News with all who will listen, both in person and through the media. Some were chastised for talking about Jesus Christ so openly but that hasn’t stopped them. Romans 10 reminds us that people cannot call on the name of the Lord until they hear the Good News.  “And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” [vs 14-15 NIV]

There are some beautiful feet out there making a difference. It’s nice to read about them for a change! Praise the Lord.