The Debt of Love
It has been a long and full day, Father. Thank You for the blessings of interacting with so many kids and their families at our school’s Open House tonight. May Your hand be upon us all in the up-and-coming year. Amen.
Romans 13:8-10 (<<click here to read the passage)
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. v8 NIV
The first thing that jumped out at me while reading this verse, was the thought of the continuing debt to love one another.
I have some relatives who have worked very hard to control their debt, the opposite of which was to let their debt control them. Far too many of us are controlled by outstanding debt. In our minds, we must have what others have. And the sad thing is that we let very little stand in the way of getting what we want.
When I worked at Kohl’s, over time, we were more and more driven to solicit credit – shoppers were pushed more and more to open a Kohl’s credit card. At one point in time, we just felt like we were getting more and more people saying “no” because everyone seemed to have one or…they just flat-out refused to get one. Personally, I felt that though people seemed to spend lots of money on things, they were maxed out on their credit. With house payments and car payments, not to speak of school loan debt, they knew they wouldn’t be approved. They had so many things, but they were in debt way over their heads.
What kind of world would we live in, if we took the same approach to mounding up a debt of love? Financial debt is quite often piled up to fulfill our wants and wishes. Love debt benefits others. The Apostle Paul encourages his readers to pile up debt to love one another, and in doing so we fulfill God’s law.
Thinking along those lines reminded me of the lyric of a hymn written by Issac Watts in the early 1700s. The line that came to mind was, “The debt of love I owe” which comes from the hymn, Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed. I grew up with the arrangement by Ralph E. Hudson, more commonly known as At the Cross (ca. 1885).
The entire last verse reads,
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do.
With the refrain continuing,
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
We have a continuing debt of love for what Christ did for us on the cross. He paid a debt He did not owe – we owed a debt we could not pay. And when we accept His payment for that debt, the burden of our hearts rolls away, and joy returns! If we do that, we must perpetuate that debt of love by loving others as Christ calls us to, and may He help us to do just that. Amen!
Aug 23rd, 2023, Wed, 9:14 pm
Who Cast the Deciding Ballot?
Father, it is the time set apart for us to come together. May You use this jar of clay for Your glory. As John the Baptist said of You in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” Amen.
Romans 13:1-7 (<<click here to read the passage)
This may not be proper for a pastor to say, but when I read through these verses I groaned inwardly. In the world in which we find ourselves, and I really don’t know if the world as a whole is in the same state that we in the United States are in (and honestly, we are united in name only), the division is profuse. It seems that we are divided right down the middle – half for this (and against that) and half for that (and against this!)
I absolutely abhor politics and the mechanics of it all. It is rare for me to talk with anyone about it. I have my opinions and yours may align with mine or may very well be at the opposite pole of polarity.
The first sentence of the first verse from the New Living Translation reads,
Everyone must submit to governing authorities.
In the last 30 years can those of us on the losing side of elections truly say that we have honestly submitted to the governing authorities? I would say that very few can do so. And I am right there with you! When the candidate that I felt should be in power lost, I had very little good to say about the one who had won. I recall thinking that when one particular individual was elected that we deserved what we got. The “evil” that I perceived them to emulate in their life and policies, I truly felt was God giving us our just due for what our country has become on so many fronts.
I was so wrong in a majority of my thoughts at that time but the part that I was closest to being right on is spelled out in the last portion of verse 1,
For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
I was close but not spot on.
We must never forget that our Creator God – the supreme God above all other gods – and we have plenty, even in our modern era, is Sovereign over all.
I found this quote by R.C. Sproul on the website of Ligonier.org. The excerpt is taken from What Is the Relationship between Church and State?
If you don’t like the president of the United States, remember that the One who cast the deciding ballot in his election was almighty God. Of course, God doesn’t sanction or endorse everything that the president does; neither is it the case that God turns the authority over to the president and says, “Go ahead and rule these people however you want.” Every king is subject to the laws of God and will be judged accordingly. It may be that the president is completely ungodly, but for reasons known to God alone, God has placed him in that seat of authority.
I don’t know if you are a fan or not of whom God has placed in authority over us but regardless, we are called to pray for and lift up to God whomever it may be today and whomever it will be tomorrow. God is in charge. And no matter who we are…we are not.
Lord Jesus, may we – first and foremost – humbly submit to You as the ultimate governing authority. And then may we step in line with Your will in our lives…that is where Your Kingdom begins. Amen.
Aug 22nd, 2023, Tues, 6:46 pm
The Birds and the Bees…uh…Wasps
It’s been a rollercoaster of a day Father. Guide my thoughts towards You, I pray.
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We’ve had our hummingbird feeder up since early summer, but for the last several years we’re having more issues with wasps this time of the year. Recently, it’s been bald-faced hornets – technically wasps. They are nasty-looking critters for sure!
If they’re on the feeder, the hummingbirds will come up to the feeder, but quickly take off. I don’t think the wasps could hurt them, but the birds seem bothered enough by them that won’t take the chance.
Doing some research, I learned that the number one thing I can do to ward off wasps is to keep things clean. Trash cans should be sealed and there shouldn’t be waste around to attract them – open recyclables that are not rinsed out.
Secondly, I may need to take my feeder down and then hang it back up in a slightly different location. Wasps aren’t smart enough to look for their food in a new place.
The last would be to limit opportunities. I need to keep my feeder clean and eliminate leaks. I may need to look into feeders with bee guards – wasps can’t reach the nectar through them.
Our lives are like feeders, we can attract good things…or bad things. Yes, you could easily argue that the bald-faced hornets are not bad in and of themselves, but their only true saving factor is that they eat other wasps, like yellow jackets and they do potentially do some pollinating. Beyond that they are no friend of humankind. Their smooth stinger allows them to repeatedly sting their opponents, causing great pain. So, I’ll stick with calling them bad things.
Hummingbirds, on the other hand, are great pollinators and they bring great joy to many who are able to watch them feed. Watching hummingbirds is very calming and relaxing….hence good things.
Our goal, as believers in Christ, should be to attract the good – and ward off the bad. But it is not a passive undertaking – it takes work.
Keep things clean. Avoid things that attract evil. I remember a song from my childhood, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see! …little ears what you hear! …little tongue what you say! … little feet where you go! … little heart whom you trust! … little mind what you think!”
There are many verses, but you get the idea. The verses end with, “For the Father up above is looking down in love. So, be careful little…” plus the line that it started with. Keep things clean.
Next, we may allow ourselves to be in a bad location. If we stand too close to fire, we’re going to get burnt. We need to distance ourselves from where evil is readily found…or from where it can easily find us.
Then finally, limit opportunities. We must spend time in God’s word and communicate with Him regularly. We need our own personal “bee guard”, and in this case, that would be the Holy Spirit. Only His work in our lives can let the goodness of God through to our hearts and souls, and can easily, and most effectively, keep evil at bay.
Lord Jesus, help us to maintain our relationship with You, and may we eagerly seek the Holy Spirit’s impact and protection in our lives. Amen.
Aug 20th, 2023, Sun, 7:16 pm
Singing THEIR Song!
It was not a normal day for us, but it was a productive day, nonetheless. Thank You Father for the strength and wherewithal to accomplish the task at hand.
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Yesterday, I made mention of the church my dad pastored in the late 70s early 80s. They are having a big anniversary celebration and unfortunately, we will not be able to attend but we are sending our greetings and some memories as well.
I wrote a little something just from me in that that church and the many wonderful people from that church were the final inspirations I experienced before heading off to college. Parsons Church of the Nazarene definitely left an impression on me.
Contemporary worship wasn’t a thing back then…at least not in my upbringing. Hymns were foundational in my life, and they remain a huge part of it today. I realize that there is a lot of amazing music out there and its many variations impact people from all walks of life in all parts of the world.
I really don’t think I’m a stick in the mud, but hymns speak to me. Hymns impact me. I sing and frequently hear God’s Word, loud and clear. Time and time again when I am reading God’s Word, I’ll pause and realize, “Wow! That’s in a hymn I know!” The words I sing are a testimony of Christ in so many areas of my life.
I went back and looked at some of my past blog posts and included a portion of one from 2017 in what I wrote to them and one of my favorite parts of my Parsons church experience was the choir – and oh, could they sing! I don’t think many of them read music but the harmonies that rang from the choir loft were heavenly! I think a lot of it was the fact that they weren’t just singing words and notes. They were singing from the depths of their hearts. I truly believe each person was singing their song!
One of my many favorite hymns is My Wonderful Lord by Nazarene composer Haldor Lillenas. I don’t remember if it was the choir or possibly my mom and dad singing it as a duet, but it continues to bring sweet memories to this day.
Alas, if I only had a recording of that choir from years gone by. But regardless, here is a very nice rendition as sung by the Collingsworth Family.
I have found a deep peace
that I never had known
And a joy this world could not afford
Since I yielded control of my body and soul
To my wonderful, wonderful Lord.
My wonderful Lord, my wonderful Lord
By angels and seraphs in Heaven adored
I bow at Thy shrine
My Savior divine
My wonderful, wonderful Lord
All the talents I have I have laid at Thy Feet
Thy approval shall be my reward.
Be my store great or small
I surrender it all
To my wonderful, wonderful Lord.
Thou art fairer to me than the fairest of earth
Thou omnipotent, life-giving Word
O Thou Ancient of Days,
Thou art worthy all praise,
My wonderful, wonderful Lord.
My wonderful Lord, my wonderful Lord
By angels and seraphs in Heaven adored!
I bow at Thy shrine
my Savior divine
My wonderful, wonderful Lord.
Aug 14th, 2023, Mon, 8:01 pm