TerryLema

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Gal 6:13-14 NIV]

When I look at the Apostle Paul’s life and accomplishments, I am amazed. When God sent him off to be the Messenger to the Gentiles, to those outside the nation of Israel, no one would have thought that he could have accomplished what he did. Yes, he did have helpers, Luke, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Titus to name but a few. He, however, was the tip of the spear that carried the message of Christ’s cross throughout the known world and saw that world change in the span of one generation.

Yet, his prayers, his desires, his thoughts are plainly evident in his writings and are summed up truly in that one verse at the end of Galatians. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul, it was all about Jesus. He lived what John the Baptizer prayed, He must increase, I must decrease.

Paul set such a high mark, such an illustrious example for us to follow. What does it matter if we witness to thousands or a few? What does it matter if we are called to a national platform, or minister in a rural setting? What does it matter if we touch people in churches, or hospitals, or homes, or in the marketplace? What does it matter if we take the message of the cross to small babes in Sunday School or the elderly in assisted living facilities?

What matters is that we truly find our boasting not in what we do or where we go, but in the message we bring … the message of the cross. The importance is found in what our Savior did, in how God came down from His throne and got His feet dusty on this earth. The amazing thing is THAT CROSS where the blood of Christ was spilled.

May we never boast in anything other than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

I watched a Mark Lowry/Bill Gaither interaction on a video the other day. After some of Lowry’s antics, Gaither looked at him and asked, “How dumb can you get?” Lowry’s replied, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

That made me laugh because I’ve been feeling a bit dumb. I posted about it on Facebook recently. Six years ago we had to buy a new range and I wanted a glass top. We found one on sale. When I went to use the self-cleaning function last week, I saw something I had never noticed. Right on the bottom, underneath the clock was “Conv Bake.”

I have been looking at this range for six years and never noticed that it has a convection oven feature (sort of a large air fryer!). I love to cook in my small air fryer, but it is often inadequate for what I want to do. And all this time I have had a large air fryer sitting right in front of me, unnoticed and unused. “How dumb can I get?” Apparently, pretty dumb!

Which had me thinking … what do I have sitting in front of me spiritually that is going unnoticed and unused.

Ephesians 1:3: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Romans 8:17: since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

2 Peter 1:4: [God] has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Philippians 4:12-13: I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

 That’s just a brief look at some of what is ours. So, “How dumb can I get?” Pretty dumb if I am not availing myself of everything I have in Christ.

Last year on this date was the last time I talked to my friend Patty. She was in the hospital and died two days later. I miss her.

Grief is a universal experience. Everyone at some time will go through a time of grief. Working in churches and at a hospice, I’ve observed grief. I’ve also been a participant in that wilderness journey that no one ever wants to take.

As a culture we shy away from grief. The Scriptures do not. From Genesis to Revelation, there are examples of people grieving. And one of the most precious promises of God comes at the end of the book in Revelation where God promises grief’s end.

“[John] heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’” [Revelation 21:3-5 NLT]

We can look forward to an end to death, sorrow, crying and pain. In the meantime, while we dwell on this earth where death, sorrow, crying, and pain are universal, we have the promise of God’s comfort.

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” [1Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT]

So, today, I will mourn my friend Patty with tears. I will reach out to the God of All Comfort. And I will look forward to the promise that one day there will be no more death, sorrow, crying and pain. Amen & Amen

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]

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for me. Trying to recover from surgery. Not sleeping well. But more than the physical struggles, I will admit that I was also struggling emotionally. My thoughts had not been where they should be. The enemy wanted me thinking that God had abandoned me in my struggles.

If we are honest, there are times in all our lives when it seems that God is silent, when it feels like He has abandoned us to our struggles, to our sorrows. It may FEEL true, but it will never BE true. As Paul reminds us in Romans 8:35-39 nothing can or will separate us from the love of God.

Psalm 145:3-5 reminds me that my meditation needs to be on all I have seen of God’s wonderful works in my life and the lives of others.

So today I must determine what I will meditate on—as we all must. 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.

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 me. On that I rest my hope.

One last thought to end these seven days 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!

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 testify 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 beloved, 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 want to diminish God’s power to turn things around in the blink of an eye. I never 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 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]

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

“If.”

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]

I know many people who can quote this verse. I have had this verse quoted to me often. I’ve seen it on posters, posts, and pictures. If you have been in the church for any length of time, you have probably heard 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 had 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.

I try to avoid allowing the news to infiltrate my mind. That’s hard to do since we are surrounded by news media. 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. I try to ignore much of it.

God has a way, however, 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 floods. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. Wildfires. I have heard people commenting that God is trying to get our attention.

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, especially when we are faced with difficulties or things that are impossible to understand. To appreciate how important that verse is, we need to take it (as 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 Temple as the place for making sacrifices.” [2 Chronicles 7:12 NLT]

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, Christ Jesus. He is the One who will present her without spot or wrinkle or any blemish.

When I look at the church, I tend to see the spots, wrinkles, and blemishes. Then I need to remind myself of God’s promise. “…Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.  He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” [Eph 5:25b-27 NLT]

Christ loves the church. As ragged as she may look at times, 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.