TerryLema

Today is the big Halloween party where I am working as a temp through the end of the year. It seems the entire office loves Halloween and the decorations have been building up all month. Some of them I like, the gourds and mini-pumpkins are nice. They remind me of harvest and the need to be thankful. Then there are the skulls with black roses blooming out of them, skeletons, witches and the like. I have a hard time with those kinds of things.  When someone asked me why, I told them it is because they are so “dark.” There is enough “dark” in this world without my adding to it.

One of the marvelous thoughts in the beginning chapter of Colossians is about our rescue from the darkness.  “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” [Col 1:13-14 NIV]

God has, past tense, rescued His beloved from the dominion of darkness that abounds in this world. We were born into this dominion. It rules. One only has to look around to see that darkness surrounds and darkness demands its way.

But God. God provided the rescue from this dominion. Through the “Son he loves,” the Father brought redemption, forgiveness of sins, and the transfer from darkness to light, from death to life. Being a child of light, a resident in the kingdom of the Son who is Light and Life is the chief reason why I dislike the world’s celebration of darkness–Halloween. I don’t want to return, even for a day, to darkness’ dominion.

Father, thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for redemption and forgiveness for my sins. Thank you for taking me out of the darkness – and for taking the darkness out of me! Thank you for making me a citizen in the kingdom of the Son You love, Christ Jesus, my Lord.

One of my favorite NT books is Colossians. There is something about that letter that delights and uplifts my soul when I’m tired or discouraged or battling that unseen enemy of our soul. And I always read it kind of funky.  I begin with Chapter 3, verses 1 to 4. Then after I have that deep in my mind and heart, I go back and start reading from the beginning.

 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” [Col 3:1-4 NIV]

Now that really gets me energized. Let me paraphrase.

Realize beloved, it’s very true, you have already been raised to life with Christ.  Your life is now, in the present, hidden and secure with Christ in God. And there is coming that unbelievable day … when Christ returns to set up His eternal kingdom, you will be with Him, sharing in His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords.  So quit worrying about the things of this present time and present place, those earthly things that will soon pass away. Focus your mind, your heart, your energies on eternal things.

Perhaps nothing ministers to my soul more than knowing that I am already raised with Christ.  Yes, my physical self is still subject to the decay found in the present, but my life, my real life, is already seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Paul reaffirmed that truth in Ephesians 2:6: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” [NIV]

Father, remind me to look at my life not with my physical eyes, which can only behold my physical self. Help me to see with spiritual eyes and know that I am safe, secure and hidden with Christ. Amen.

I have been working my way through Romans 8 in my Sunday messages for the last few months.  It is one of the most glorious chapters in the New Testament.  It has had theologians debating deep Biblical concepts for centuries. Seminary students likewise.  Yet I’m not sure if Paul wrote the letter to theologians or intellectuals. I think he wrote it to the church in Rome, which probably would have been made up of rather common folks like us … possibly even with a large contingent of slaves since Rome functioned on slave labor.

These common people would be facing persecution even martyrdom at times for their faith. They needed something rock solid to keep them steady. Paul told them in 8:28 that no matter what they faced, they could “know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

 That raises the enormous question, “How can we be sure that all things will work for the good?” After all, all things include not only the good that comes from our good, good God, but also our present sufferings (v 18) and as Paul will outline later, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword (v 35).

I read a commentator who said that we can trust this promise of God because God’s ultimate purpose is to exalt the preeminence of His Son.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29

If our salvation is all about the supremacy of Jesus Christ; then it is bound up with God’s eternal purpose to glorify His Son through all eternity.  That’s how we can know for sure that for those who love Christ, “all things” will ultimately work out for their good. Amen.

One last thought to end this week’s thoughts about repentance and revival. Revive. It means to return to consciousness or life, to become active or flourishing again. You won’t find the word “revival” in Scripture. You will, however, find “revive” in the Old Testament. Hear what God says about this in Isaiah 57:15.

“For this is what the high and lofty One says —

he who lives forever, whose name is holy:

‘I live in a high and holy place,

but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” [NIV]

When we humble ourselves and repent, God promises to abide with us.  And He promises to “revive” our spirits and our hearts.  The Hebrew word simply means, “to live.” God will bring “life” to us, both individually in Christ Jesus, and corporately as the Bride of Christ – His church.

The promise is there … and as D. L. Moody said, “No promise of God is too good to be true.”

God’s promise is true. God’s promise is ours. Let us humble ourselves and embrace life. Revive us, Lord!

Ps 145:3-5: “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.”  [NIV]

Psalm 145 is a praise song of David. It seemed fitting to me that we should read this song today and do what it says in verse 5 … meditate on God’s wonderful works.

Is the church what she should be? No. But making no excuses, I will remind us that the church has often not been what she should be. And still, God. God has fought for her attention and has cured her over and over of her sin. He has provided the rain of His Spirit when she was dry. He has blanketed her in a spirit of holiness when she was devoured by the world. He has overpowered her sin and arrogance with His love and grace, drawing her to a time of repentance. We call that revival.

I agree with David, no one can fully fathom God’s greatness. We simply experience it, and commend it to others.

What will you meditate on today? We can focus on all that is wrong, and there is plenty of that to fill our thoughts. Or, we can focus on the greatness of the LORD. We can speak to others of His mighty acts and spread the praiseworthiness of our God. I choose today to do the latter. My God is able … My God has a purpose … My God, my God, is glorious in majesty and has all power. My God will fulfill His purpose for His church. On that I rest my hope.

Thank you, Father, that You have called us for Your purpose. Amen.

2 Chron 7:15-16: “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” [NIV]

Hope.  That is what this verse speaks to me.  Hope.  Yes, we live in troublesome times, in our nation, in our families, in our churches.  If we believe what we hear constantly shouted at us through the media we would agree that there is no hope.  Or that the only one who can offer us hope is someone we need to elect to a public office.  They seek to nullify any hope from any other source.

But church, we have a hope that goes beyond politics, beyond our nation, beyond anything we can stir up in ourselves.  God says that His eyes will be open, His ears will be attentive to our prayers.  He reassures us that His eyes and His heart are with us. His presence indwelled Solomon’s temple; His presence now indwells us. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” [1 Cor 3:16 NIV]

We have a hope that cannot be diminished or destroyed. I never, as a preacher of the Gospel, want to diminish God’s power to turn things around in the blink of an eye. I never, as a preacher of the Gospel, want to dwell only on what is wrong. There is so much that is right! Grace, grace, grace flows from God’s throne. God wants us (even in the state we are in now). God loves us.  He really, really, loves us.  With all that going for us, how can we lose!

Father, I pour out my heart to you. I repent for myself and for my people. I want to seek You and You only. I want to be cured of my sin and arrogance. Bring hope, grace, power and love to your beloved! Amen.

2 Chron 7:14: “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” [NIV]

This is the prescription God gave to Solomon for those times of disobedience. Once He got the attention of the people with drought, locusts and plagues, God offered them the cure. Repent.

God is calling out to His people today, His beloved church, to take the cure He is offering for us. We, too, have a drought of God’s Spirit in our midst. We have allowed the world’s values to devour us and we are being consumed by a plague of sin and arrogance. God is offering us a cure. Repent.

If … then.  Many times God simply works sovereignly, independent of anything except His own Holy Nature. But there are times when God works according to “If … then.”  This is one of those times.

God’s Spirit is calling us to humble ourselves, pray, seek the face of our Father, and acknowledge as the Prodigal did … “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” [Luke 15:18-19 NIV]

“If” we will do that, “then” God will welcome us as the Father did the prodigal. He will “hear from heaven and will forgive [our] sin and will heal.”

“If.”

October 24

2 Chronicles 7:14: “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” [NIV]

I know many people who can quote this verse. I have had this verse quoted to me often. I’ve seen it on posters, plagues and pictures. If you have been in the church for any length of time, you have probably heard several if not many sermons with this verse as theme.

The problem is not that we don’t know this verse, the problem is that we don’t live this verse.  Once God had Solomon’s attention with the drought, locusts and plagues, He gave Solomon the cure. Repent. It was that simple.

We have a drought of God’s Spirit, a compromise with the world’s values and a plague of sin and arrogance in the church. God is trying to get our attention. Once He does, God’s cure is the same for us as it was for Solomon and Solomon’s people. Repent.

And notice to whom God’s prescription is addressed. Not to Solomon (leadership) alone. God is abundantly clear “…if my people….”  Repentance must blanket the entire church. All must humble themselves, seek God and turn from their wicked ways.

Church … God’s cure is there. Are we going to embrace it? Or ignore it?

I try to avoid watching the news. That’s hard to do since there are televisions all throughout the sitting areas where I walk at work, all tuned to CNN. I am SO tired of the talking heads who used to report the news, but now seem to be in the business of being the news, commenting, dissecting, discussing to death every political and non-political statement, tweet, post and response. They are hoping for ratings so they will do anything to grab our attention.

God has a way of grabbing attention that can’t be ignored. He told Solomon to be on the look-out for His call to attention:  “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people ….”  [2 Chron 7:13-14 NIV]

Massive snow falls. Hurricanes. Flooding. Earthquakes. Wildfires.  I have heard people commenting that God is trying to get our attention. I even had a total stranger say that to me one day when we walked by a video of the flooding in Houston on one of those talk shows. Is God trying to get our attention? Is He making a statement to us like He made to Solomon?  Or is it just “Mother Nature” or climate change or global warming? I’ll leave the answers to those questions to the prophets.

I will say that there has been “no rain of the Spirit” in too many of our churches. The ways of the world have invaded and “devoured” the land. There has been a “plague of sin and arrogance” among God’s people. God IS speaking to His people and it is time to listen.

Holy Spirit, open our ears so that we might hear “what the Spirit is saying to the churches” today. Amen.

We often quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 when we talk about revival. To understand how important that verse is, we need to take it (like all other verses) in context.  God begins his declaration to Solomon by making sure Solomon knows just whose temple it is. “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.” [2 Chronicles 7:12 NIV]

I am reminded when I read this verse that God chose Israel out of all the nations on the earth to be His own. He chose the location for the temple where His presence would be. He chose the one to build it – not David who originally had the idea, but David’s son. We call this temple Solomon’s Temple, but it truly was Jehovah’s Temple.

In the same way, God chose the church.  The church is the bride He has picked out for His Son, Jesus Christ.  He is the one who will present her without spot or wrinkle or any blemish.

When I look at the church, sometimes all I see are spots, wrinkles and blemishes.  Then I need to remind myself of God’s promise. “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” [Eph 5:25b-27 NIV]

Christ loves the church. As bad as she may look at times, ragged, worn and not at all ready for a wedding, Christ sees her totally ready because He knows He has the power to make her so.

Holy Spirit, sweep through your beloved church and make us ready! Amen.