TerryLema

“Do you believe you were created for more?”

Every now and again I get an email advertisement that has a subject line that captures my attention.  The one above did just that.  I deleted the email along with most of the others trying to sell me something. Still, that subject line did garner my attention, especially since it came in the middle of a week while I was frustrated trying to learn a lot of stuff which I will need for the next four months, and probably never need to know again.

Were we created for more? If so, what is that “more?” To understand the “more,” we should probably address the foundational question. Why were we created?

I grew up with the Baltimore catechism, a series of questions and answers about Christian beliefs. One of the first questions: “Why did God make you?” The answer: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”

Wow. God’s divine purpose for us is to know Him, love Him, serve Him in this life, and be happy with Him eternally. I am not sure there can be anything “more” than that.

Perhaps the question should not be, “Do we believe we were created for more?”  It should be, “Are we now living up to God’s glorious purpose for us?”

 “For we are God’s workmanship….”  [Eph 2:10 NIV]

Father, I want to know You, love You, serve You now and forever. I want to live Your purpose for me. Amen.

Acts 13:2-3: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”  [NIV]

Work. Toil. Sweat. Labor. Drudgery. PASSION!

There is a work that becomes a passion; it is the one to which the Holy Spirit calls us. Barnabas and Paul were called for a particular work. The church anointed them for that work and sent them off to complete it. In the next chapter, they will return to Antioch and report back what happened on this missionary journey.  “On arriving [in Antioch], they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” [Acts 14:27 NIV]

Work that is done for God becomes a passion. Surely, our bodies grow weary at times. Surely, we may face opposition. Surely, the work may be difficult and hard.  We may find that we have “toiled” in the heat of the day, but there is something that energizes us when we work our passion. The power of the Holy Spirit in us enables us to keep going and keep thriving.

We may not be called to go to foreign places as missionaries like Barnabas and Paul. We may not be called even to work in the church or Christian organizations. But we are all called to a work for God, wherever it is performed.  We have been “set apart” by the Holy Spirit. That PASSION! should consume us until we are spent out.  Amen.

I worked last Monday, 8 AM to 5 PM. It’s the first time in a while that I have worked a full day. Add to that the 60-mile round trip commute and it made for a long day. I came home tired and by the time dinner was done and I finished packing my lunch for the next day, I only had about two hours before bedtime. I’m going to appreciate this 3-day weekend more than I have in years.

Although tired, it was rather fun to get out and meet new people. It will probably take my entire 4-month temporary placement before I’m able to put all the names with the faces, if ever. Everyone I met greeted me with a smile and while there I heard a lot of laughter. Who knew a “finance” department would be so.

Work. Toil. Sweat. Labor. Drudgery. Have you ever just wanted to give old Adam (of the Garden of Eden) a thump on the back of the head and ask him, “What were you thinking?”

Gen 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground.” [NIV]

Good old Adam plunged us into the work/sweat cycle. And yet, we probably would have done the same thing had we been in his place. Until the Lord returns, work, toil, sweat, labor, and sometimes even drudgery will be part of life. Still … there is a work that can be a passion … and passion changes everything — tomorrow.

September 1

My Bible verse for the day was out of Isaiah 26. The prophet gives us a song that will be sung in the land of Judah.  First, he addresses God’s promise, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”  [v3 NIV]

Then he reminds his listeners why they should place their trust in the LORD. “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.” [v4 NIV]

One of the first things I noticed as we got closer to St. George, Utah, last week was the rock structures. Hills and mountains were amazing varieties of colors and formations all around us. Most of us aren’t into rocks. My initial thought of a rock is the gravel in driveways, or the small rocks that get stuck in the treads of my shoes. But anyone who knows rocks, understands how beautiful and diverse they are.

The rock structures and mountains around St. George look immovable, as if nothing could shake them. As steadfast as they appear, however, I know that they can be shaken. One mighty earthquake could send them tumbling.

Not so with our Rock! We can place our trust in Him—He is the Rock Eternal. He will never be moved, never shaken, never tumbled. He is forever true. And we will find perfect eternal peace if we keep our mind steadfast upon Him and our trust invested in Him. Amen.

I am still tired from my trip last week to St. George to visit with our friend recovering from a major illness.  Lots of miles, sleeping in different places, schedules interrupted. I didn’t have my time with the Lord in the morning. I certainly didn’t eat the way I should (hard to do when eating out all the time). Then I came home to laundry, getting my Sunday message finalized, shopping and prepping for returning to work last Monday on a full-time 4-month temporary placement.  Lots to do for this 70-year-old-lady.

Weariness is a part of living in our fallen world. I don’t think we will find even a trace of weariness in the next. I can only imagine that being in our glorified bodies in the presence of the Lord will be eternal energy and strength.

Jesus addresses the church at Ephesus in the Book of Revelation in the opening verses of chapter 2.  He praises them initially … “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” [Vs 3 NIV]

He will go on to admonish them for a few things, including forgetting their first love, but His praise comes first and centers on their hard work and their perseverance. They did not grow weary in doing good and their reward was to have praise from the King of Kings. [Gal 6:9]

I think their bodies grew weary, just as our bodies grow weary, but it is not weariness of body to which Jesus is referring.  It’s our attitudes – we need to make sure that our attitudes never weary of doing good. Then we, too, will have praise from our King.

Patty and I changed our plans a bit coming back from Utah.  We decided to drive from St. George to Tremonton on the Idaho/Utah border after visiting our friend on Thursday. Friday, Bob picked me up there and saved Patty about 250 miles of backtracking to get to her home in Montana.

Tremonton was hosting a county fair and rodeo and the few motels were full. We ended up at the Motel 6. The last Motel 6 I stayed in had been remodeled. Unfortunately, that Motel 6 was not the one in Tremonton. It was clean (thankfully), had wood floors (thankfully), but the odor was obnoxious. Not sure about the source of it either … perhaps what they used to keep it clean? It overcame everything else about the room.

Odors can overpower almost everything, and an odor detected decades later will immediately flash to the memory of that initial encounter.

One of the most precious stories in the Gospels is the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany just before His crucifixion.  It is found in the opening verses of John 12.  “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” [John 12:3 NIV]

“The house was filled with the fragrance” of the expensive perfume. I wonder how long that fragrance lingered in Martha’s house? I wonder how long it lingered in Mary’s hair? If they ever encountered it again, did they flashback to those last days before His death and resurrection?

Thank you, God, for the fragrance of Christ in our lives. Amen

Patty and I traveled last week to see our friend. Patty left home in Montana, picked me up in Idaho and we traveled to Utah at the beginning of the week.  We stayed in a motel in Utah. Not the 5-star kind, but the adequate-for-the-price kind. While a bit dated, it had nice beds, lots of pillows, a fridge and microwave, tv, spa and pool, and served a nice breakfast.  It had all the amenities we needed for our stay. Then we traveled home Friday.  Home. (What a wonderful word!)

Heb 11:9: “By faith [Abraham] made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents….”  

2 Peter 3:13: “But in keeping with [God’s] promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Abraham lived in tents like a stranger in a foreign country. (Sound familiar?) Even though the land had been promised to him, he would not live to see his descendants claim it.

As believers, we too have a promise.  We have been promised a new heaven and a new earth, but not just new. We have been promised that this new heaven and new earth will be “the home of righteousness.” I like that, “the home of righteousness” (the one and only) under the rule of Christ Jesus, our King of Kings.

Father, how we long for home … for our true home, the one promised to all who believe in Your Son. Amen.

I was watching television in the hospital room as my friend slept last week.  She had turned on one of the all-day news channels and as it moved from one story to another I noticed a recurring theme.  Anger. Those interviewing and those being interviewed were angry. The videos being shown were of angry mobs, protestors, demonstrators, criminals and crime victims, etc. It seems everyone was angry about something.

I think it interesting that anger is one of the first emotions to show up in the Bible.  First, of course, was the fear displayed by Adam and Eve when they sinned and hid from God.  But it isn’t very long before anger enters the heart of their firstborn, Cain.

Cain and his brother Abel bring their offerings to the Lord. God looks with favor on Abel’s, but does not look with favor on Cain’s. Suddenly, Cain is angry.  When he displays his anger, God calls him on it and gives him a warning.  “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’” [Gen 4:6-7 NIV]

Simply said, “No point in getting angry, just do what is right.”  Cain did not learn that lesson and ended up blaming his brother for his problems, then killing him.  I think humans have not learned a whole lot since then. We still get angry, and we still don’t always do what is right, and we are still pretty good at blaming others for our problems.

Oh Lord, help us to do what is right. Help us to master sin’s desires for us through the power and anointing of Your Holy Spirit. Amen

This past week we had the unusual event where the moon eclipsed the sun.  People drove for miles to be in the location where the eclipse would be 100 percent.  It only lasted a few minutes but those minutes were absolutely spectacular if you happened to be in one of the prime places.

Unfortunately, Patty and I were heading south away from one of the prime sites in Idaho.  We were on our way to St. George, Utah, to see our friend.  We missed the whole thing.  The only thing that happened where we were was a slight darkening, a bit like a cloudy day when sunglasses aren’t needed.

I missed the big event of this year. I won’t, however, miss the biggest event of all time when our Lord and Savior returns.  Jesus promised that it will be like lightning across the sky, and that when it happens, every eye will see Him. Whether I am alive at the time or have gone home to be with the Lord, because of faith in Christ Jesus, I will see His coming on the clouds.

Matt 24:27:  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Rev 1:7:  Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.

Father, thank you for the promise of Christ’s return. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain and was transfigured before them.  Coming down from that experience he found the other disciples arguing with some teachers of the law. A large crowd was standing around watching. The argument apparently was focused on a father with a son possessed by a spirit that continually tried to kill him. The other disciples had tried to cast the spirit out, but had been unsuccessful. Jesus, however, cast out the spirit and set the young boy free.

This morning as I was reading that chapter, instead of focusing on the transfiguration or the events surrounding Jesus and this father and son, I found myself focusing on a verse between those two events. “As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.” [Mark 9:15 NIV]

The people were overwhelmed with “wonder.” The English does not do that Greek word justice. It is a very intensive word, used only in Mark’s Gospel.  It means to “astonish utterly, to greatly amaze.” It even carries a hint of fright.

The people were greatly amazed before they even saw the miracle. They were utterly astonished simply when they saw Jesus. There is something undefinable that happens when coming face to face with holiness. Moses knew it on the mountain with God, Isaiah felt it when he saw the vision of God high and lifted up in the heavenly temple. The crowd recognized it when Jesus descended from the transfiguration on the mountain.

Oh God, how holy You are. Blessed be the Lord God Almighty. Amen.