Tradition
Father, thank You for Your presence in our services today. I am also grateful for a relaxing afternoon at home with my family. My cup runneth over!
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This weekend Karen and I visited a dear friend. While there she asked if I would like to read a book she had finished and because I love to read, I gladly accepted her gracious offer.
I’ve been an avid reader since childhood but in that last year or so, after a bit of a hiatus from reading a lot, I started to use an app called Libby. It’s very handy to have my “books” with me wherever I go – no more torn covers, no more spills, no more trying to balance everything. Whenever, wherever I want to read I just pull out my phone and open the app and I’m off and reading!
But I have to admit, it is nice to have the weight of the book in my hands. Modern technology may be taking a ding out of book publication, but many diehard readers want ink and paper in their hands! It’s the way it’s supposed to be! It’s a tradition – my parents and their parents before them read books!
On Instagram the other day someone posted the quote, “Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.” I chuckled a little when I read it but the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.
We have to admit that some traditions are positive, encouraging part of our lives and others may be what we used to refer to as “sacred cows”, at least in the church. “Oh, we’ve always done it this way! To do it any other way, would be…well it would be downright sacrilegious!” I’m sure you can fill in the blank – the way certain things are done, the timing of events, pieces and parts of what we consider worship, programs that have been a part of church way before we started doing them.
There are lots of instances where eliminating traditions would be for the betterment of all. Effort and resources could be better used elsewhere. But other things – very important things – we need to safeguard. Some may think they are traditions, but instead, they are absolute necessities.
Take, for example, Deuteronomy 6:5-7. It is just one portion of the Law that God gave Moses to give the Israelites.
…you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. NLT
Some things have to be passed on; the salvation of the world depends on it!
July 4th, 2021, Sun, 7:28 pm
God’s Card Glove
Father, we’re grateful for an overall good day! A little rain early on and then an opportunity to get some things done – even time for a good walk and some browsing in some of the shops in downtown Mt. Vernon. Thank You, Father!
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In my wallet, I keep a couple of my credit cards in “card gloves”. They date back to when I served the First Church of the Nazarene in Marietta, Ohio as Minister of Youth and Music in the late 1980s. The “card gloves” are from People’s Bank which is headquartered in Marietta. Being the 10th largest bank in Ohio, they also have locations in Mt. Vernon.
This statement is on the back side.
This CARD GLOVE is provided for the protection of your magnetic striped card. It will greatly extend the life of your card and assures its usability when you need it. Please keep your card in this envelope when not in use
I’ve had them for almost as long as Karen and I have been married – 34 years! And though my wallets have fallen apart and needed to be replaced, these two gloves, though obviously worn, continue to cradle my cards protecting their magnetic stripes! My Discover Card and a MasterCard are kept in tip-top shape until I need them.
Before Jesus even returned to the Father, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to help us. He was sent to help us as a counselor, a comforter, as well as an intercessor. Essentially, as the third part of the Godhead, He did all that Jesus did for His followers but as a spirit, He was not limited to one place at one time. He can be everywhere with everyone simultaneously!
When the Apostle Paul wrote Ephesians 1:14, he was speaking of the idea that the Holy Spirit is our guarantee – some translations use the word deposit – of all that God has promised us.
The Spirit is God’s guarantee [the Amplified Bible adds – the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. NLT
To some degree, the Holy Spirit is to us as the card glove is to my credit cards.
The HOLY SPIRIT is provided for the protection of our very souls! He will greatly extend the durability of our lives and assures productivity and resilience when we stand against the evil of this world. Please keep your life in the Personification of God’s grace and mercy protecting our very souls and with it, we will secure eternal life, as well!
Obviously, the Holy Spirit helps us far more than any envelope could! But you get the idea. Along with that, He helps us discover all the many blessings that are found in our relationship with Jesus. But we must realize that a big part of that understanding that He alone should be the Master of our lives!
We must make sure that we are interacting with the Holy Spirit each and every day! He is there to help us accomplish what we could not otherwise accomplish – to be God’s children in the world! Amen!
July 1st, 2021, Thurs, 7:51 pm
Set Free
It was a full day of taking family to doctor’s appointments. Thank You Father for Your watchcare over us and for giving us a good day together – a day of blessings!
John 8:31-32 (<<click here to read the passage)
Interestingly enough this is one of the passages of Scripture in my July 4th sermon this coming Sunday. On this date here in the U.S., we celebrate Independence Day when we formally declared our separation from the rule of King George and England. In and of itself it’s an important date in our history, but a day that is of utmost importance to followers of Jesus is the day we believed in Him.
Freedom from things we as a collective body find oppressive is cause for celebration but freedom for something we could never overcome – not even with a collective effort – brings joy and celebration that cannot be measured!
In Romans 6:23 the Apostle Paul communicates the truth with which many are familiar. It begins, For the wages of sin is death…
There is not a single “maybe” in the phrase. It is not just a possibility. It is the absolute truth, though grave it may be. Any effort we may make as individuals or as a whole cannot overcome the fact that sin equals death. But I’m so glad that Paul’s proclamation contains a “but”!
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. NLT (emphasis mine)
It doesn’t have an exclamation point but I’d put one there if it were me!
And that is where today’s verses come in.
So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth [regarding salvation], and the truth will set you free [from the penalty of sin].” AMP
That, my friends, gives us no wiggle room whatsoever! Jesus requires far more than part-time obedience. We are called to continually obey His teachings.
Accordance means agreement and that is a harmony of opinion, action, or character. We are to live in accordance with Jesus’ teachings. There is no room for picking and choosing. We cannot just abide by what we are comfortable with, and we cannot omit things we don’t agree with.
Note too that there is a point of division in who Jesus spoke to and to what they – and we! – must abide by. Jesus was talking to those who believed Him. The belief was already there but believing wasn’t enough…action was required, as well.
Let me close with the note for verse 32 in my Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation reads,
Jesus himself is the truth that sets us free (8:36). He is the source of truth, the perfect standard of what is right. He frees us from continued slavery to sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. He shows us clearly the way to eternal life with God. Thus, Jesus does not give us freedom to do what we want, but freedom to follow God. As we seek to serve God, Jesus’ perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be.
Amen!
June 30th, 2021, Wed, 8:25 pm
Over the Head
O God…I have seen you in your sanctuary
….and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
….how I praise you! Psalm 63:1-3 NLT
John 8:28 (<<click here to read the passage)
When I was in college there was a common gesture amongst my friends. We’d hold our hand with all of our fingers extended straight out. We would then pass our hands over our heads. It meant that something said went over the head of someone listening. It insinuated that someone didn’t have their head in the game and were off in la-la land somewhere.
Here’s today’s verse,
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. John 8:28 NLT
Jesus’ statement of being “lifted up” was a nice way of referring to death on the cross. It was not something of which people spoke lightly. Crucifixion was one of the vilest, most brutal, and shameful ways to die.
Now maybe the religious leadership were distracted, but to me at least I think they deserved a hand over the head, for it definitely went over theirs!
In some ways being blind to the obvious doesn’t make sense but we see it in our world, too. We spoke recently with a friend whose grandmother had passed away (another one of those “nice” phrases referring to death). Only after her death did they realize how bad off her grandfather was. She had diligently covered his physical and mental health issues for years. The stress and pressure of it all were probably contributing factors to her untimely death.
But in this case, the spiritual leaders of Israel were so intent on preserving their image and the power they held that they refused to see what was right in front of them. They chose themselves over the long-awaited fulfillment of prophecy that was fleshed out in Jesus of Nazareth. He was the Messiah, the Chosen One. But they flat out rejected Him.
And that is the greatest tragedy of all. They weren’t in la-la land. Their response to Jesus had nothing to do with not having their heads in the game. They deliberately, defiantly denied the reality of who Jesus was. He didn’t fit their preset mindsets and they were not about to change their minds. In their heads, they held the power…not Him. And they were bound and determined to keep it that way.
Are the people of our world today any different? Nope. Too many things have polluted our minds about who Jesus is. Too often we see Him through the eyes of others who have distorted the reality of who He truly is. Ashamedly, the church has contributed to this distorted image, too.
Here is an “in our face” statement of Jesus from John 13:34-35. The Amplified Bible spells it out very clearly.
“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” John 13:34-35
The note on verse 34 from the Amplified Bible should be taken to heart, as well.
The key to understanding this…statement about love is to know that this…is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern… and a willingness to seek the best for another.
Lord Jesus, help us to seek Your heart. May we be all about showing You for who You truly are, not for the contrived notions that we hold. Amen.
June 29th, 2021, Tues, 7:07 pm
Get It Together!
O God, you are my God;
….I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
….my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
….where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 NLT
John 8:21-30 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the biggest struggles that I have as a pastor is trying to figure out if I should say something or not and if I do, when I should say it. For example, sometimes people are out of line in their way of handling things. I really feel that they are headed into dangerous territory, but I also realize that I am fallible myself and don’t want to give them bad advice.
I’ve also been burnt when trying to help steer people clear of potential problems. Several years ago, a young lady I knew was getting involved with a great guy that I also knew, but at the time his divorce was still in the works – not because of our mutual friend but because that’s the way it was headed. I just advised her to be careful. She shared it with him, and he basically said for me to mind my own business and for some time only spoke to me on a professional level. Our relationship in time healed but it’s made me gun shy.
It’s hard in the church, too. By nature, I am not a confrontational person. I abhor conflict and, in my attempts to avoid it have probably caused as many problems as if I’d just taken the bull by the horns.
But look at Jesus in today’s passage. Now I realize that He and the Father were one, but He was still fully man. He is just so sure of Himself and there is not one ounce of hesitation when He says,
“I have many things to say and judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I say to the world [only] the things that I have heard from Him.” v26 AMP
I realize too that when Jesus was teaching His followers or working with the many who clamored for His attention and touch, He was spending time with His Father – late into the night and often way before the sun had begun to tint the horizon.
Jesus was able to pull it all together, just as He needed to. No wonder He was weary and worn…but that didn’t stop Him from doing all the necessary things that His Father had placed before Him. And obviously, Jesus knew just when and where to be to fulfill the Father’s will for every given day!
Lord Jesus, on this end of things I just don’t have it together! I need more focus…and that is totally on me. You are there to guide and direct. But many times, my head is just not in the game. My thoughts wander and I am far too easily distracted. All I can do is pray for Your strength and wisdom and that I will strive to be diligent in listening – really listening – to what You have to say to me. I give myself over to Your more than capable guidance. Amen.
June 28th, 2021, Mon, 9:31 pm