Do the Things That I Do
Thank You, Father, for a productive day. Headway was made for Sunday, and we were able to take care of an important appointment. We then had the opportunity to do some grocery shopping. Thank You for Your watchcare over us.
********
Today as I transitioned through preparations for this coming Sunday’s service, I came across a hymn, O Young and Fearless Prophet, that we haven’t sung recently. I’m speaking on what we can glean from the life of Joshua and was searching for hymns that included the word “courage”. Courage is in this hymn but the overall message it communicates didn’t quite gel.
But in verifying that, I read through a couple of stanzas and was brought up short. This hymn spoke to me, though it was penned at the beginning of the Great Depression here in the United States.
I discovered a very informative article written a few years back by C. Michael Hawn on the United Methodist Church’s Discipleship Ministries website. He stated that the author, S. Ralph Harlow, set a tone of service and sacrifice in the opening stanza, seeing the ministry of Christ as a “summons to serve humanity.” This summons is countercultural, meaning that our choices are unlikely to be popular. Furthermore, the summons to follow Christ’s example will take “humble courage.”
The prophetic language of this hymn is in line with Harlow’s theology and activist social philosophy.
The hymn has been included in (United) Methodist hymnals since 1935, yet it was not without controversy even then. Stanza four reflects the economic excess that led to the Great Depression. Harlow calls us to “protest against a greed for wealth, while others starve and hunger and plead for work and health.” The message of this stanza rings as true in the twenty-first century as it rang then.
I found it quite interesting that a minister affiliated with the members of the 1935 and 1966 hymnal committees pointed out that they did not include this stanza because, as one member stated, “the church is not ready to sing that yet.” *
It’s in our current hymnal (1989) but the fifth stanza is still not included.
This has been a bit more of a history lesson, but I would encourage you to thoughtfully read through the hymn’s text and see what the Lord might show you.
Jesus said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do…” John 14:12a AMP
-
- O young and fearless Prophet
of ancient Galilee,
Thy life is still a summons
to serve humanity;
to make our thoughts and actions
less prone to please the crowd,
to stand with humble courage
for truth with hearts uncowed. - We marvel at the purpose
that held Thee to Thy course
while ever on the hilltop
before Thee loomed the cross;
Thy steadfast face set forward
where love and duty shone,
while we betray so quickly
and leave Thee there alone. - O help us stand unswerving
against war’s bloody way,
where hate and lust and falsehood
hold back Christ’s holy sway;
forbid false love of country
that blinds us to His call,
who lifts above the nations
the unity of all. - Stir up in us a protest
against our greed for wealth,
while others starve and hunger
and plead for work and health;
where homes with little children
cry out for lack of bread,
who live their years sore burdened
beneath a gloomy dread. - Create in us the splendor
that dawns when hearts are kind,
that knows not race nor station
as boundaries of the mind;
that learns to value beauty,
in heart, or brain, or soul,
and longs to bind God’s children
into one perfect whole. - O young and fearless Prophet,
we need Thy presence here,
amid our pride and glory
to see Thy face appear;
once more to hear Thy challenge
above our noisy day,
again to lead us forward
along God’s holy way.
- O young and fearless Prophet
*History of Hymns: “O Young and Fearless Prophet” (<<click to read the article)
July 6th, 2022, Wed, 8:57 pm
Brave Enough to Do It
I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
….I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
….Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Psalm108:3-4 NLT
********
Before settling down to write this evening, I happened to step into our bedroom and glanced out the back window. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised to see at least three turkey hens. That in and of itself wasn’t too awfully surprising, but the fact that they all had chicks (or poults) with them, brought a smile to my face.
I quickly snapped a few shots with the camera on my phone, but they were just too far away to get a clear picture.
I watched them for a little while. What was most entertaining was when one hen flew across an area that has retained some water – this is the backside of our drainage ditch. She flew and almost immediately three chicks followed right behind her! I knew there were at least a half dozen more (they can lay up to 15 eggs at a time!), and it took a little while but before too long the rest followed as well.
As I saw her take flight, my immediate thought was, “Are her chicks able to fly yet? Will they be brave enough to do it?” I quickly had my answer, but my thoughts soon wandered into spiritual lines.
Have you heard that the Lord goes before us? Back in Deuteronomy, the Israelites found themselves at a point of leadership transition. Moses had led them before their exodus to the end of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Their parents had balked in fear at crossing into the land God had promised them.
Moses was not going with them, and their new leader would be Joshua – faithful to the core! Moses, as spokesman of the Lord, said,
It is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8 AMP
They too would have to cross a body of water – the Jordan River. But Someone – the Lord God Himself – whom they had come to trust and know intimately was going before them and they too would follow according to His lead.
They were human, as are we, and some I’m sure followed boldly. Others may have been a bit more hesitant but shored themselves up and followed bravely behind, knowing that God went before them all.
In the course of our lives, things may come before us…unknown things, but the Lord goes before us, as well. We need not fear or be dismayed for we know He will not fail or abandon us. May we in faith believing follow Him wherever He leads us.
Amen!
July 5th, 2022, Tues, 7:49 pm
A Can of Worms?
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary… Psalm 107:1-2 AMP
Acts 19:23-41 (<<click here to read the passage)
Reading through this passage, I immediately saw a “can of worms”. It’s one of those passages that could be very volatile. I was hesitant, but that’s all I saw from an application standpoint. But as I thought about it a concept came to mind that is vital for all followers of Christ to embrace and actively cultivate.
First, a quick synopsis of what’s going on here in these verses. Ephesus was the epicenter for the worship of Artemis, a fertility goddess. Verse 35 tells us that Ephesus was the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to…from heaven. NLT
Paul’s preaching greatly impacted many in the area – turning them to the one true God. The problem was that this put a crimp in the pockets of the local silversmiths, who made a great profit off the sales of their little silver Artemis shrines.
Demetrius, one of the biggest manufacturers of the shrines said, in verse 27.
Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will be discredited, but also that the [magnificent] temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned and lose her glorious magnificence.” AMP
Can you say, baloney? Some of that may have factored in, but the Life Application Bible note on this verse states:
Demetrius’s strategy for stirring up a riot was to appeal to his fellow workmen’s love of money and then encourage them to hide their greed behind the mask of patriotism and religious loyalty. The rioters couldn’t see the selfish motives for their rioting; instead, they saw themselves as heroes for the sake of their land and beliefs.
And the whole thing just escalated.
So, here’s the concept that came to mind: discernment.
We all probably have a basic understanding in our heads, but I wanted a more Biblically based definition. I found one on Ligonier’s website. (Ligonier is a fellowship of teachers dedicated to making the deep truths of the Christian faith accessible to growing believers.) Here’s a sound definition.
True discernment means not only distinguishing the right from the wrong; it means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the indifferent, and the permanent from the transient. And, yes, it means distinguishing between the good and the better, and even between the better and the best. (Click here to read more >> What Is Discernment?)
Without getting into a huge political/philosophical debate, I need to stress that followers of Christ need to be very careful about what we believe and why we believe it. Just because everyone else is on the bandwagon, doesn’t mean that we have to jump on, too.
Like the rioters in Ephesus, is it possible that we don’t really have a full understanding of what is going on? Verse 32 spells it out,
Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there. NLT
Just because we hold “John (or Jane) Smith” in high esteem, doesn’t mean that they have the best interests of God’s Kingdom in mind. A lot of things pull the strings for a lot of different people. We need to make sure that we are not just swallowing everything, hook, line, and sinker. Pray about things. Read about them. See what wisdom God’s word has to say. Ask God to help you discern what is best. That is where you will find the answer.
July 3rd, 2022, Sun, 5:46 pm
Get Our Attention
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
….who lives from everlasting to everlasting!
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord! Psalm 106:48 NLT
Acts 19:11-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
Massey and I watched an old Western movie the other evening (older, as in it came out around the time he was born, not me! Haha!) Early on, one of the main characters entered a bar that was also a gambling hall and overheard the guy over the hall lambasting one of his underlings. The main character could tell that the “boss” was full of himself, and right way challenged him to his face. In fact, he slapped him hard across the face three times throughout the confrontation and quickly tossed him out of the establishment. Doing so, he easily set himself up as the new “boss”, truly to no one’s objection. His actions quickly provided him with the fear and respect he needed to take over the responsibilities of the position.
Today’s passage is far from a bar and gambling hall, but God used the terrifying confrontation involving the false exorcists to further His Kingdom
The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. v17 NLT
Often in life, it takes something big and maybe even a bit terrifying to get us to open our eyes and pay attention to what is really important.
Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, in his book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire talks about a night when he was at the end of his rope. The story he shares in his book is utterly amazing and well worth the read but here is a shortened rendering of it.
His daughter, Chrissy, 16 at the time, had a great falling out with her faith and her family. (It’s not easy being a pastor’s kid!) She had run away, and her parents had no idea where she was. She was in a very dark place. But for the providence of God, she may very well have been lost forever.
A lady in their church felt impressed that they should stop where they were in a Tuesday night prayer service and pray for Chrissy.
32 hours later, Chrissy was home! She sat on the floor sobbing and said, “Dad I’ve sinned against God. I’ve sinned against myself. I’ve sinned against you and mom. Please forgive me.” And then she said: “Who was praying on Tuesday night?”
He didn’t answer, so she continued. “In the middle of the night, God woke me and showed me I was heading toward this abyss. There was no bottom to it – it scared me to death. I was so frightened. I realized how hard I’ve been, how wrong, how rebellious.”
“But at the same time, it was like God wrapped His arms around me and held me tight. He kept me from sliding any farther and He said, ‘I still love you.’ Daddy… Who was praying on Tuesday night?”
Chrissy out of her rebellion returned to Christ. And in the years hence, she, along with her husband, has gone forth to impact thousands of lives for Christ.
God uses our lives regardless of what we have done. No one is a lost cause. No act on our part is too vile. None of us are too far gone for Him to heal and use.
Lord Jesus, get our attention. Change us. Fill us. Use us. Amen.
June 30th, 2022, Thurs, 7:59 pm
Don’t Play with Fire!
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
….His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
….Who can ever praise him enough? Psalm 106:1-2 NLT
Acts 19:11-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
A fair amount of the acreage behind our home has not been cleared – though we mow a small glade in the middle of it, most of it is wooded. Directly behind the portion we mow at the front is a rise populated mainly by shag-bark hickory trees. In the autumn we have all kinds of leaves fall to the ground.
One year, late in the fall, we decided to try and clear some of that area by burning the leaves that had accumulated over the years. My son was in his teens at the time and together we worked to keep it from spreading too quickly. Things went well for a while then the fire began to spread into some undergrowth around several small trees. It got a little crazy, but we were able to keep it under control.
Though we succeeded in doing so, shortly thereafter several of our local volunteer firefighters arrived with a firetruck and equipment because someone driving by had reported an out-of-control fire behind our home. Being that we aren’t allowed to have any open burning until after 6:00 pm, it was dark, and we couldn’t be seen.
We weren’t playing with fire but seven young opportunistic exorcists in the area where Paul was preaching did play with fire and boy did they get burnt!
They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” v13b
The passage goes on to say,
…one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. vs15-16 NLT
They may have been wowed at Paul’s miraculous works and wanted to get in on the action. But as my Life Application Study Bible says,
They discovered, however, that no one can control or duplicate God’s power. These men were calling on the name of Jesus without knowing him personally. The power to change people here comes from Christ. It cannot be tapped by reciting his name like a magic charm. God works his power only through those he chooses.
Being a follower of Christ is serious business. It most certainly brings great joy, but it is not fun and games simply to entertain ourselves or others. It demands a dedication of heart and soul, and a giving of ourselves to the point that God can use us to expand His Kingdom in the lives of those around us.
So don’t play with fire, or you might just get burnt!
June 29th, 2022, Wed, 9:17 pm