TerryLema

1 Thessalonians 4:17: “…so we will be with the Lord forever.”  

This time of year, I often think about my dad and other family and friends who have died in the Lord.  I get a bit nostalgic.  I think about how much I miss them and how happy they must be that they have this dying thing behind them.  They are with the Lord, and I can’t even imagine what that must be like.

There are so many promises in Scripture for those who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus.  I think one of the most wonderful promises is the one above … that one day we will “be with the Lord forever.”

Separation is the theme song of this life. Separations from people we love are common occurrences.  We raise our children to become strong adults and they move away, separation. Friends relocate, separation. We are hit by divorce or abandonment, separation.  Illness and death strike, separation.

Separation, however, will be a thing of the past one day when the Lord returns and takes His own home.  That wonderful little word … forever … speaks of the complete banishment of separation. My soul and my spirit yearn for that day!

Lord, I miss the people I love today that have gone home to You.  Tell them of my love, Lord.  Tell them that one day I will join them in Your presence.  Help me to see that separation from them will one day end and we will dwell in Your house, forever, together.  Amen. 

Mark 5:22-24:  “One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus fell at His feet and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door.  Come and lay your hands on her so she can get well and live.”  So Jesus went with him.”

 You are a leader of the people, a well-respected member of your community.  You have only one problem, your baby girl, your little daughter, is at death’s door.  The doctors can’t do anything. Your education isn’t going to help.  There’s only one hope, an itinerant preacher, a carpenter, who seems to be able to bring healing to the sick.

Your fellow leaders tell you to have nothing to do with him.  He’s a lunatic, claiming to be equal to God. Stay away from him, they say. Still … there’s your baby girl dying in the next room.  You gather up your courage, fight through the crowds and throw yourself at his feet begging him to come with you – come, heal my little daughter, you cry.  And he agrees.

So, you set off together and are soon surrounded by crowds, people shouting, reaching out, touching. Suddenly Jesus stops … STOPS!  He begins to question a woman.  Time stands still.  Your baby girl is dying and he’s talking to the crowd?  Before you can get going again, someone comes from your house and tells you it is too late, she’s gone.

Can you imagine the crushing blow those words are to Jairus?  He’s worked up the courage to seek out Jesus and they don’t get there in time.  Can you feel the anger rising in him as he thinks about the delay?  Then Jesus turns to him and says simply …. Believe.

 You know the end of the story.  Jesus touches the girl, speaks to her, and lifts her up from death into life.  Jairus didn’t understand that Jesus wasn’t really delayed, life was going to win the moment He promised to go.  It may not have been Jairus’ timing, but it was Jesus’.

Sometimes our promises seem a long time getting to us.  Sometimes they seem delayed.  But God’s promises – God’s timing ALWAYS brings life …. BELIEVE.

Psalm 57:5:  “God, be exalted above the heavens; let Your glory be over the whole earth.”

Psalm 57 is a song of David when he fled from Saul into the cave.  David praises God for his protection and at the same time he is honest about the brutality of his enemies.  Verses 4 and 6 are forthright and descriptive.

“I am surrounded by lions; I lie down with those who devour men.  Their teeth are spears and arrows; their tongues are sharp swords…. They prepared a net for my steps, I was despondent. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it.”

Then right between those thoughts (vs 5) it is as if David is suddenly overcome by the greatness of God and he shouts:  “God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth!”

That is a prayer that should be on our lips too.  It is reminiscent of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, “Our Father ….Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

 However dark and brutal our enemies, we like David need to be overcome by the greatness of our God. We should be shouting daily for God to be exalted and His glory to be seen over the whole earth.  We should be praying that the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our God and King.  We should be crying out for God’s will here on earth.

Lord, we pray that Your will be done on our earth; we pray that you are exalted above the heavens, we pray that Your glory be over the whole earth.  We long for that day when Your Kingdom will reign supreme over all and throughout all.  Our King and Our God, give us the courage and strength to be the kind of people who seek to usher in Your Kingdom no matter the costs.

My friend Patty from Montana will be here in four days. She is coming for the Launch of CFC Middleton on October 8. AND because it has been too long since we have seen each other. It would have been even better to have our friend Vaunda here also, but that wasn’t possible this time.

The three of us have been friends since the 80’s. We talk on the phone regularly, and we are there to pray for and encourage each other whenever needed.

We met in Loomis First Assembly in Loomis, California. Patty was born in Washington, and now lives in Montana. Vaunda was born in Oregon, and now lives in Utah. And I was born in Pennsylvania, and now live in Idaho. (I came the farthest for this friendship!)

We are all very different women. We have different talents, backgrounds, interests. But we share one thing in common … We love Jesus and we love His Church.

The final Chapter of the Book of Romans contains a list. Paul sends his greetings to Roman Christians.

He greets Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila (coworkers), Epaenetus (a first convert), Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphose (hardworkers), Adronicus and Junia (fellow workers and prisoners), Ampliatus, Stachys, Persis (friends), Urbanus (coworker), Apelles (honored), Aristobulus and Narcissus (heads of household), Herodian (fellow countryman), Rufus and his mom (chosen), along with Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, Philologus, Julia, Nereus, Olympas (saints).

Paul loved and honored those who worked for the Gospel of Christ Jesus. They seem to be closer to him than even his own family. Isn’t it amazing what the grace of God can do! Isn’t it wonderful the people (the family) God surrounds us with! Thank you LORD!

Hottest Day on Record Ever (7/6/23). Strings of tornados. Bomb Cyclone. Ice Storms. Wildfires. Earthquakes. Famine. Floods.

It has been a nasty weather year. The number of global weather events, according to the United Nations, has seen a “staggering rise” in the past 30 years. Scientists around the world are seeking answers and arguing about the cause.

I think Paul gave us a hint of that cause in the Book of Romans. “For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.”  [Romans 8:19-22 HCSB]

The whole creation is groaning. It is waiting for and pointing toward the return of Christ Jesus. As we get closer to that event, creation is groaning louder and becoming more insistent that we notice.

Science makes claims of “evolution.” While there is no antonym for the word evolution, there are words used to describe the opposite – words such as, regression, deterioration, backsliding, decline, degradation, dying. That is our world (and creation) as it waits for the return of its Creator, Savior, and LORD.

And we too wait. “We ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” [Romans 8:23]

From Groaning to Glory. Amen. Even so, come quickly LORD Jesus.

As you get to the end of Paul second letter, to the Corinthians one word stands out … “Finally.” Chapter 13, verse 11 begins “Finally, brothers, rejoice!”

While Paul wants us to rejoice, he does not stop there. He goes on “Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” [HCSB]

Paul lists four things: maturity, encouragement, unity, and peace. He also gives a promise that the God who IS love and peace will be with us.

I found it interesting that rejoicing leads the way to maturity, encouragement, unity, and peace, rather than comes at the conclusion.

As Christians, we are to seek maturity. We are to not only be encouraged, but to be conduits of encouragement to others. We are to seek unity – not uniformity – with others who also have Christ as Savior and the Indwelling Holy Spirit.

Last, we are to be at peace. Christ Jesus brought us peace with God. The Indwelling Spirit of God gives us peace with ourselves, and peace with others.

Paul will end this letter to the Corinthians with a benediction. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” [vs 13:13 HCSB]

Grace. Love. Fellowship. “Finally, rejoice!”

Recently a friend and I were talking about how tough it can be to get old. The conversation was not centered as much on the physical aspects of aging, although that can certainly affect every part of life. It was centered on the sense of no longer being relevant.

What I mean by that is that aging moves us from the ones giving care to the ones often needing care. It moves us many times from the center of ministry to the edges. We see others doing what we once did … sometimes in a different way … and we wonder if everything is forgotten.  And sometimes it is the physical aspects that do keep us sidelined or make us feel useless.

The first couple chapters in 1 Kings tell us of the transition from King David to his son King Solomon. David was old, cold, and apparently bedridden. There was intrigue caused by other sons until finally David was aroused and installed his son Solomon as king, as God had instructed him earlier.

1 Kings chapter 2 opens, “As the time approached for David to die, he instructed his son Solomon ….” [2Kings 2:1 HCSB]

In every life, if lived long enough, there comes a time when the older gives way to the younger. There comes a time when those who come after us must step up and lead the way. While God’s holiness, standards, and way of salvation never change, each generation in the church must be allowed to lead as God leads them.

The music may be different. The methods for outreach may be newer. Church services may look different. But the center of everything – Christ Jesus our LORD – remains the focus and goal.