Monday blog post July 9th

A Prayer For Hope To Be Abandoned In Order To Truly Find It  (Acts 27:1-20)

Lord, I know that everyone of us has either been or is in a storm of life.  Sometimes we find ourselves traveling in the storms of others and sometimes others are traveling in ours.  When the storm rages, when it batters us, when it seems unrelenting, we try so hard to find or to make a way out.  Our sight shifts from you Lord to earthly solutions.  We put our hope in temporary solutions, man made scheme's, in our own efforts and strength just like the sailors in Acts.  Those men relied on their knowledge then their strengths.  They had put their hope in the things of this world and yet despite it all the storm raged on.  Days and days passed and no glimpse of an end to the storm was able to be seen and those sailors found themselves exhausted, depleted of earthly solutions and they finally gave up all hope of being saved.  Lord, that is where many find themselves today or those they love, in a place where they have tried but no end is visible and they abandoned hope.  But I know this version of hopelessness is needed.  When our hope has been placed in our own vision of a resolution or restoration, in worldly knowledge, human strength, and earthly solutions, when our hope rests on our idea of a way out of the storm then, like the sailors of Acts, we are working and hoping in vain.  It is a human, flawed hope we have invested in.  Like the sailors, Lord, I believe you want each of us to get to a place where we finally give up all hope in our abilities to get out of a storm, give up all hope that our strength will be enough, give up all hope in our vision of the best solution. You want us to stop hoping in the temporary solutions this world offers and to start looking to the eternal hope of you.   Lord, I know that it is not until we give up and abandon these hopes that our hearts are left to look to the only hope that truly exists, the only hope that has lasting solutions, the only hope that gives strength and doesn't require it, the only hope that will sustain us when nothing else can or does.  Lord, it isn't until we abandon the hope that has bound us and weighed us down that we can find true hope in you.  Your hope, hope in you never fails, hope in you gives strength to the weak,  hope in you keeps us still when things continue to be uncertain, hope in you calms the heart, hope in you is not our vision of a solution but trusting in your perfect plan, hope in you is something to always cling to and bring joy to the soul when all else tells us there is nothing to be joyful about.  Lord, help us and those we love to see when we have put our hope in something other than you and let us completely abandon that hope and trust you to fill our hearts.  I thank you Lord that the sailors story in Acts doesn't end with hopelessness.  I thank you that tomorrow we can read about Paul's hope in this storm.  How he continued to keep focused on you and how you used him to redirect the hopeless sailors to the only source of true hope, you.  You didn't promise an easy end to the storm but you promised to see them through.  Lord, see us and those we love through every storm and may your spirit always be reminding us to abandon a useless hope so that we can put our full trust and confidence in the only hope that means anything.  May our hope be in you alone!

AMEN

July 7: Of Words and Their Power

1Chronicles 4:5-5:17

Acts 25:1-27

Psalm 5:1-12

Proverbs 18:19

Psalm 5:1-3

Listen to my words, Lord,

   consider my lament.

Hear my cry for help,

   my King and my God,

   for to you I pray.

In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice;

   in the morning I lay my requests before You

   and wait expectantly.

Among those who know me, there are undoubtedly many who believe I have prematurely become a curmudgeon.  If we are being perfectly honest, some of them believed it was going to happen shortly after they met me - they are just surprised today how quickly it's come true.  As evidence, they point to the things I believe, and how differently I think society should look and how differently I think people should act than, say, a millennial.   To those who see me and say "oh look: the caveman forgot his club again today!", trigger warning: what comes next may be a bit of a shock.  

In the last couple of years, protesting offensive speech has been a growth industry.  If it were a paying job (and I'm not saying that it isn't in some cases), I suspect it would have one of the highest employment growth rates of any industry.  Why do such a growing number of people feel the need to protest the very utterance of speech they find offensive?  Because they have come to the conclusion that speech one might find offensive is the equivalent of assault.  And who wouldn't want to prevent assault?  In their mind, they have concluded that words have force, have energy, have power.

Ok, here's the shocker: I AGREE WITH THEM.  Words DO have power.  They are so powerful as to be compulsive, they insist that THE MOST POWERFUL BEING listen, and they demand that He act.  Psalm 5:1-3 say as much: the all-powerful, the one true God, Who by four of His words - "Let there be light" - began the creation of all we are and all we know?  This God Who cannot lie, Whose words are true?  Our words MAKE HIM LISTEN.  How do we know this?  Well, He said so Himself - when we lament, when we cry, when we pray - He hears our voice.  And not only that, we know He will respond, because He says we can "wait expectantly".  Not wait, possibly fruitlessly - no, wait EXPECTANTLY.  We can expect that He will have heard, He will have listened, and He will respond.  Our words will have compelled God to respond.  How's that for words with power?

Father, you gave us the power to speak.  Teach us to use that ability to speak with You, knowing You love, You listen and You answer.  In Jesus's name we pray.  

July 6

Living with a clear conscience.

Acts 24:16   So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.  

Having a clear conscience is no small matter. Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, understood the importance of having one. In Modern Man in Search of a Soul, he wrote, "Among all my patients in the second half of life… it is safe to say that every one of them feel ill because they had lost that which the living religions of every age have given to their followers and not one of them has really been healed who did not regain their religious outlook."

Jung did not espouse any orthodox religion, but he was among those who recognized the spiritual dimension of our pathology—like the late clinical psychiatrist, Karl Menninger.  Menninger once said that if he could convince his institutionalized patients that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent would walk out of the ward the next day.

This irrepressible sense that we stand guilty before Someone, somehow, is symptomatic of a condition that, left unresolved, will manifest itself in some unhealthy thinking or behavior.   

This is where the Gospel can make a huge difference. The Good News promises resolution of our guilt if we simply confess our sin before a holy and forgiving God. This is what Paul declared as a top priority in his life.  If you are dealing with guilt in your soul today, take a moment and confess your sin before God. The promise of God is absolute, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness".  In other words, if you have the courage to confess, God has the power to cleanse. Like the apostle Paul you can have a clear conscious today. That is the Good News we share to a world burdened with guilt and shame.

--

"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Thursday, July 5

THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018

"But you are a shield around me, O Lord;

   you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the Lord, I cry aloud,

    and he answers me from his holy hill." (Psalm 3:3,4)

The preface to Psalm 3 notes that David wrote it upon feeling from his son Absalom, ostensibly during the son's rebellion against his father.  Even in this terribly stressful episode, David remained confident in God's provision:  "I will not fear the tens of thousands/ drawn up against me on every side."

In a similar vein, the apostle Paul has entered a difficult stretch of his ministry, having returned to Jerusalem with his companions, only to soon face imprisonment.  Paul had received cautionary prophecy in Acts 20, but he pushed onward.  His compulsion emerged from his love for the Jewish people, including several family members.  Some commentators argue that Paul "missed" God's calling, and Paul appears to fumble with his interaction with the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-5).

Nonetheless, the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul the night following his visit to the Sanhedrin, telling him:  "Take courage!  As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."  Even if Paul had indeed "missed" it, Jesus remained faithful and sketched out what lay ahead.

While we cannot read Paul's mind, his presentation before Roman courts and leaders—and later his letters from and witness while imprisoned—served to spread the Gospel even further.  He has several major opportunities in the last several chapters of Acts to bring to Gospel to the seat of political power, allowing to proclaim the rightful kingship of the Lord Jesus.

How did Paul stand firm during his trials and imprisonment?  By remaining faithful to seek God's presence!  As with David, he remembered that God stood as a "shield about" him.  Have you invited God's presence into your life for today?  How about giving God the highest place in your life for tomorrow?  Can you trust Him then to stand by you?

Lord God, thank You for being a shield about us.  Thank You for never leaving us or forsaking us, especially during times of challenges.  Strengthen us to follow You when the path appears bumpy or obscure.  Give us insight into how to speak graciously to those who may be opposed to You and Your Kingdom.  Use us as instruments of peace and grace in this world.  In Jesus's Name, we pray.  Amen.

July 4th

Psalm 2

 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. (v.1-2) Kings, be wise; be warned you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling (v10), Blessed are all who take refuge in Him (v.12)

Heavenly Father, today we are reminded of our Nation's Independence.  I pray Father that as we gather in homes we take a moment to remember those who died serving to save. Lord Jesus, I pray that we remember the ultimate sacrifice of Your life on the cross in exchange for our spiritual freedom. I pray Your spirit rests on the leaders of this great nation and the rulers of earth so that they are filled with the wisdom of Solomon and they turn to You, the Anointed One for guidance. I pray Lord that You wrap Your arms around the injustice and violence that has gripped this land so that we can draw comfort and peace from Your embrace.  Guide us Lord by the power of Your Holy of Spirit to uphold and do what is right in Your eyes.  Strengthen and encourage us. Let us serve you with fear and bless us as we take refuge in You.  Let Your people call You by name, humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways, seek your face and pray, and trust that You will hear us from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCnsiP8atW0&index=2&list=RDEMUm31UdxwM-M_patSRgt2aQ

Randi

Today's reading

Ch

As I sit to prepare for my August sermon on worship from Deuteronomy chapter 12-13 and as Grace church navigates our way through the book of Deuteronomy this summer. I read today's verses and see so many connected themes, disagreements, and even heated debates in today's reading of ACTS. It really comes down to how important is God to you? How much to you really believe His word? We sing songs of praise, we shout out our laundry lists of wants and desires, but do we really want to have a close relationship to God? In today's reading of 2 Kings while doing a temple renovation they find the "book of the covenant" (Hebrew word. Sefer ha-Berit), name derived from Exodus 24:7 ("And he took the book of the covenant, and read it aloud to the people. The King reads the book and gets scared, inquires of a prophet and then realizes he needs to change some decor around the temple such as everything pertaining to the worship of other god's that they have allowed into and mixed with the worship of our God.

Then Acts 21 Paul shares a history lesson, then a lesson about ancestry.comand his heritage as a Roman citizen then a town hall meeting with the Jewish leaders only to watch them fight among themselves about the word of God that they had manipulated to fit/align into their lifestyle, and what they thought it said.

Finally Psalm 1 since it is the first Psalm of the book of Psalms which contains two positions in life. First; happiness, fruitfulness, blessedness. Then second; unhappiness, cursedness, and judgement.
Psalm 1 is a wisdom Psalm, there are lament Psalms, praise Psalms, and enthronement Psalms. This Psalm is the first doorway into the Psalms though short it speaks of the most basic truths, and propositions from God's word.

So what about us? Like we found out from Scott's sermon on Sunday like the drastic change from the foundational core of the origins of Harvard University to its current position of being anti Christian did not happen over night. It slowly crept in and has now taken over.

1. What idols do we and have we built or have in our lives that we try to intermingle with our understand of God's word so we can have our cake and eat it to? 
2.Do we line up with God's plan or try to have Him line up with ours?
3. Take an inventory of your spiritual life verses your worldly one it is much different? 
4. When you speak of Jesus, what Jesus are you talking about? Jesus Christ, God almighty in the flesh who is sovereign over everything, or our self invented Jesus that lines up with and is ok with taking a backseat in our lives?

Let's not be a people who take about God to others and ignore Him in our own lives.

Chuck Goulart

​

 "Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." –Francis Chan

Blog Post Monday July 2nd

A Prayer For Praise (Psalm 150:1-6)

Lord may we each bring to you a heart of praise.  You have gifted each of us, wired each of us, placed a passion in each of us that is different from one person to the next.  Help us to know how to bring you praise.  If it is a song then fill our hearts to sing.  If it is a prayer reveal yourself and enable our mouths to speak.  If it is a written word inspire our hands to write.  If it is through picture give us a vision.  If it is through acts of service equip us to serve.  Help us to know how we can bring you praise to today.  Lord may our hearts desire to know you, to see you, to experience you, to be in awe of you and to offer praise to you in response and according to how you have lead us to that.  Don't let the enemy steal our joy or our voice or expression of praise.  Meet us, join us, free us and remind us of who you are so that it overwhelms us to praise.

AMEN