Fred

My mother used to say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. That’s not saying we as Christians have to always be happy. Circumstances in life can produce unhappiness – yet we are called to constantly rejoice in the goodness and greatness of our God. Joy and happiness are quite different. Joy is based on my relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why Paul, who was under arrest, could write, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” We who know Christ have experienced times of sadness. There’s nothing sinful about expressing our grief in appropriate ways. Yet we also can testify that God fills our hearts with inexhaustible joy at the same time!  

However, with that understood smiles are still important. Wise Solomon said laughter was like good medicine. I can still hear mom quoting a silly poem when I would pout. Many years have passed since those boyhood days, and my mother has been with the Lord for 23 years, but I still remember her voice saying this poem. 

A smile is quite a funny thing,

It wrinkles up your face.

And when it’s gone you never find

It’s secret hiding place.

But far more wonderful it is to see

What smiles can do;

You smile at one – he smiles at you,

And one smile makes two!

Tomorrow is Memorial Day when we honor those who died in the armed services defending our nation. Did you know this holiday originated back during the Civil War?  It was at first called Decorations Day in memory of fallen Union soldiers. The Confederacy had similar traditions but eventually both were combined. Observance of the day has diminished over the years. For many Memorial Day is simply the beginning of summer. It was emotional for me to see the unending white grave markers at Arlington when I visited there years ago. Let us pause and give thanks to the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. The holiday has morphed as a time we honor all those who have served. If you did that – thank you. We appreciate your service.

While we do not diminish the memory of these brave souls on this special day – let us not forget another army, the untold million soldiers of the cross. Our patriotism should not eclipse our loyalty to the gospel. Courageous men and women – boys and girls for that matter who have laid down their lives for the cause of Christ. We think such martyrdom to have occurred in biblical days or in centuries gone by, but according to statistics more Christians died for the faith in the last century than all the past centuries combined. And those numbers increase today. Believers all over the world are persecuted for their faith. 

Yes, we want to honor America’s dead, but we want to use this holiday redemptively too. Let us use it to recommit ourselves to be bold in our faith and faithful to Christ. 

It is funny how you can read the Bible over the years and not see a particular verse, but then it jumps out at you. Lu 12:32 was “new” to me a few years ago. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It continues to provide comfort and peace today. Jesus has told me not to fear – and there’s a lot to fear these days.

Earlier in that chapter Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

Ravens, we call them crows, were unclean birds under the old covenant. What are we to consider about these dirty birds? That the Father cares for them. “Said the robin to the sparrow, ‘I should really like to know, why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so.’ Said the sparrow to the robin, ‘I think that it must be, that they have no heavenly Father who cares for you and me.’”

Cute. But Jesus didn’t die for sparrows or robins. God is not a Father to sparrows or crows. He’s our Father. And yet he cares for the birds –  He feeds them. So the next time you see crows picking at roadkill why not start singing, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Fear not loved ones. He cares for us.   

This story comes from the Sudan Interior Mission.

Hassan was complaining against his Christian wife Sonya. She was to be gone a few days at a woman’s conference. As Sonya left Hassan yelled from the porch. “Good riddance! See this?  It is that woman’s only key to my house. She will never come in again!” With that he threw it into the river that ran by their house. He then stormed down the road to spend the week with his mistress. At the conference Sonya’s friends prayed for her – and for her frightful marital situation.

When Sonya returned, she stopped by the local market. She wanted to fix her husband a nice meal when he returned home from the mosque. She found the house locked up tight so she began cleaning the fish outside. But as she cut it open, she discovered something hard in its stomach. It was the key!  Sonya tried the lock and it fit!

True to form Hassan was livid when he came home and found his wife inside. He demanded to know how she got in. She explained about the house key inside the fish. Hassan became quiet. Sunday morning, he asked to join her at church. After the service he told the pastor, “I want to serve the God of Christians. He is the One who knows and has power to do what no one else can.”

What a wonderful testimony of God’s providence at work in the lives of an African couple. Dear friend, he is at work in your life too. He is working all things in accordance with the purpose of his will. Rest in that truth.

I’ve been asked by couples, “Why should we have a child? What kind of world will he/she encounter?” It’s a good question. I’m sure it has been asked throughout history. 

But let me ask, “What kind of world have children ever encountered?” Gen 6:5, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Nothing has really changed over thousands of years. The Apostle’s assessment, 

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty, 2 Tim 3:1. The old KJV, perilous times.

Dear friend, this world has never been a friend to grace. 

NEVER. At times depravity was more hidden. Today it is more blatant, but depravity has always been here. There is some biblical truth in the secular movie, The Village. Without giving away the plot, the evil was discovered not to be on the outside of the village but right in its midst. Our biggest problem isn’t the evil out there – it’s the evil within our own hearts. That is why we need the gospel – and why we must teach and live that gospel every day. Our children must see how the gospel impacts our lives regardless of the world in which we live. 

On this Mother’s Day let us preach the gospel to ourselves – that we are sinners in need of a Savior. On our worse days we are never beyond the reach of God’s grace. On our best days we are never beyond the need of his grace. May each of us live out the gospel faithfully.

Dr. Paul Brand, a Christian orthopedic surgeon, spent the first of part of his medical career in India and the last part here in America. He wrote is his memoir, “In the United States … I encountered a society that seeks to avoid pain at all costs … Patients lived at a greater level of comfort than any I had previously treated, but they seemed far less equipped to handle suffering and far more traumatized by it.” 

That statement is pretty indicting of our culture. Now I confess, I like to be comfortable. We as Americans feel we’re entitled to it. No one is advocating suffering be pursued or preferred. Its just that somehow as believers many have failed to develop a biblical theology of suffering.  As a Christian God allows suffering or pain for reasons sometimes unknown to us. We’re not to rejoice in the trial – but rejoice in what the trial can produce – steadfastness, patient endurance, Ja 1:3. God has an agenda beyond our understanding.  We must trust him.     

Are we making heaven out of this world in which we live?  The truth is the more we ground our comfort and security in this world, the less we are able to enjoy it. When we turn good things into ultimate things, when we make them our greatest desires, they will disappoint us. Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.” 

May we find our ultimate satisfaction not in our comfort or circumstances but in God himself.  Ps 62:5 NIV, Yes, my soul, find rest in God;   my hope comes from him.

Someone might ask, “Why does biblical counseling play such an important role here at Holt Baptist? 

Well, everyone does counsel of some kind.  Counseling takes place whenever we offer advice to another about how they should think about and respond to life situations.  The question is not whether to counsel, but rather – what kind of counsel will we give?  We need to rid ourselves of the stereotype connected with the word “counseling,” ie, he/she needs counseling.  Many envision someone laying on a couch regurgitating their deep problems while a professional listens in. The truth of the matter is – we all need counsel, and that counsel must be based on the Word of God. We believe God has equipped the church to meet such needs too.     

Ps 1:1, Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.  We are not to receive ungodly counsel – our delight [must be] in the Law of the Lord.  Without God’s counsel we naturally go off course. Counsel that contradicts God’s counsel has existed ever since the Garden of Eden. We need to think biblically when it comes to counseling. We are to look at life through the lens of Scripture. Biblical counseling simply helps others take that look. Wayne Mack, biblical counselor, seminary professor and author, defines biblical counseling as “presenting a system of biblical truths that brings together people, their problems and the living God.”   

This is why biblical counseling plays an important role in our church.

Paul Long who served in the former Belgian Congo tells of a native preacher named Mutombo Elijah. He was the “Billy Graham” of that area. But Mutombo was diagnosed with leprosy and had to move to the lepers’ camp. His dear wife and children went with him, trusting the Lord to protect and care for them.

The leper camp was a dangerous place, not only thievery but immorality and murder. It was not a nice place to live, but this dear brother started preaching the gospel and lepers were saved. In time a church was planted.  In fact, the leper church soon became the largest in their denomination. Then after 15 years Mutombo was cleared of his leprosy. He was offered a new position in any of the churches. He said no. By the way, God had kept his wife and children from contracting the disease.  Mutombo said, “If I go elsewhere, who will take my place in the camp? Will one of you become the pastor of the flock where I serve? No, I will stay where God has placed me.” 

Dear friends, we might not like the circumstances that we’ve been living in this past year, but God has placed us here at this time and in this place. Regardless of the trials we face, God is sovereign and he is love. Our task is trust him, to worship and to serve him. God sometimes decrees a course in life which we can’t welcome enthusiastically but in which we must live faithfully. 2 Cor 5:9, we make it our goal to please him. 

When life takes a difficult turn, we all have quoted Isa 55:9 to ourselves and others, “Well, his ways are not our ways.”  It is true that God orchestrates events in ways that surprise and puzzle us. But in reading the book by Dane Ortland, Gentle and Lowly, I was surprised to learn using this verse that way is out of context with Isaiah’s meaning. Your homework assignment is to read Isa 55:6-9. 

God calls us to seek him, to call on him, and invites even the wicked to return to him. What happens when we do? God shows his compassion – he will abundantly pardon. What an encouragement to our souls this should be!  God abundantly – richly, lavishly pardons! Ortland writes, “He does not merely accept us. He sweeps us up in his arms again.” This is in keeping with the verse, “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are higher than your ways.” Our view of God must change. He’s not a mean ogre ready to pounce on us when we mess up. He’s our loving heavenly Father – his love is beyond our comprehension. 

God isn’t like us. “Even the most intense human love is but the faintest echo of heaven’s cascading abundance. His heartfelt thoughts for you outstrip what you can receive … God’s thoughts are so much higher than ours that not only he abundantly pardons the penitent; he has determined to bring his people into a future so glorious we can hardly bring ourselves to dare hope for it,” Ortland.  

Praise the Lord. Child of God, rest in his love. Puritan John Owen wrote, “The greatest disservice to God is to doubt his love.”

Hesed.  

That’s a Hebrew word I’ve mentioned before in my preaching – one I just love. You come across it numerous times in your OT.  It is one of the most beautiful Hebrew words in your Bible. Hesed is God’s covenantal love, his kindness and mercy.  And it’s overflowing. Various translations treat it differently: ESV steadfast love; KJV and NASB lovingkindness; NIV, unfailing love. 

Recently in my devotions I read Ps 36:7, “How precious is your steadfast love [hesed], O God!   The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

OT guru Dale Ralph Davis writes about hesed, “It is love, but love with an ‘umph.’ I have sometimes called it love with super glue on it.  It’s Yahweh’s love that simply won’t let go … It is precious for it is a sheltering love … [we take] refuge in the shadow of God’s wings.” O dear child of God – take refuge in God’s love. Simple words, yes, but they are not trite or flippant. They are powerful and true.

Charles Spurgeon visiting an English farm asked the farmer about his weathervane. On the barn it read God is Love. Spurgeon asked the man, “Are you saying God’s love is as fickle as the weather?”  The wise farmer answered, “Oh no, I’m saying God’s love is constant regardless of which way the wind might blow.”

Whatever trouble or darkness we might be facing we find security and protection in the unfailing love of God.