A Faith Pleasing to God

September 1, 2013 Hebrews 13:1-6 15th Sunday after Pentecost “A Faith Pleasing to God” Year C Things that we need in life There are certain things that we need to have in our lives every day in order for us to be able to function. There are the obvious things like clean air, food, water, a safe environment, we need to sleep, we need to be able to take care of ourselves, we need to have family or others who love and encourage us, we need to do something that is meaningful for us, we need to have a safe space to feel ourselves. We spend a lot of time fulfilling those physical and mental needs. But we have to remember that we have a mind, and a body, but we also have a soul. Spiritual things that we need And just as the mind and body have needs – the soul has needs also. And without those things – we may not realize it, but our day does not go well. In order for us to live – we need prayer – it can be ours or someone elses, we need forgiveness, thankfulness, humility, hospitality, and charity. Because we cant always see those things – we tend to take them for granted. But we need them and we need them everyday. The book of Hebrews sums our spiritual needs in one word- we all need to have faith in order to survive. We need to have faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is the thing that we need to most, and there are moments that it is the hardest thing to hold onto. Hudson Taylor on Contentment "The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One," said A. W. Tozer. 1. You have His assurance - "for he hath said..." Hudson Taylor the founder of China Inland Mission, was facing a lack of finances in his ministry. He retreated to office and read the Bible awhile, then prayed a while, and then looked again at the finances. Then he would pray a while, read the Bible awhile, and look again at the finances. Then he prayed awhile and read the Bible. After a while he left his office. His wife asked him, "What are we going to do?" "We have a twenty seven cents and all the promises of God...what more do one need!" (From a sermon by Jimmy Chapman, Covetousness, 1/30/2010) Faith and Fact Faith is not credulity. It is not believing in something you know is not true. Neither is faith a substitute for knowledge. Christian faith operates in the realm of meaning, not in the realm of fact. Faith recognizes fact but it is not out to obtain, contradict, or prove facts. Saint Augustine knew this when he said, “I believe in order that I may understand.” Faith Is: Hearing with the Heart An American missionary in Africa wanted to translate the English word faith into the local dialect. He could not find its equivalent. So he went to an old sage, who was himself a fine Christian, for help in rendering the needed word into understandable language. The guru studied it, and finally said, “Does it not mean to hear with the heart?” Strangers in our midst Hebrews 13 starts out with a message that may be familiar – be careful about how you treat strangers, because you never know when you are entertaining angels. In Hebrew culture, they looked forward to strangers. They believed that strangers were always sent from God to give them an important message. Every stranger that you met, you took care of because you just never knew what God had in store. I like this prayer that one woman prays every time their food pantry opens – Lord we know that you will be coming through this line today. So help us to treat you well then we see you today.” Put it briefly, the message of our text for today…. Let brotherly love continue, show hospitality, remember those who are being oppressed and tortured, hold marriage in honor, keep free from the love of money, remember the leaders of the past, continue to praise God, and to do good, it is pleasing to God. It is telling us how to live as Christians and how to treat others. Love those that we are with This message is good advice, and it is a good way to treat others. But the strangers that the message is referring to, are actually not visitors, not people that we don’t know, not people who have not met yet. The strangers the author is talking about are the strange people in this room with us now. Scripture says let mutual love continue – continue to be concerned about those who are in church with you. Always be open and understanding what you speak to one another. You might see that person’s face all of the time, but you never know what is really going on in their life, what they may be struggling with. And the difference a kind word from a fellow Christian might make in their life. Dangers without create dangers within You see, the Hebrew church was a persecuted church. There were a lot of people outside the church who were critical of Christians. There were a lot of threats to the church. There were a lot of people who were willing to attack people for being faithful. I think that we still face many of those threats today. Sometimes having to fight outside demons, creates inside demons which can be just as destructive. Sometimes when are are joined together to deal with the things going on outside the church – we don’t realize that those same issues are going on inside the church. Williams Barclay – who was a bible professor ways that there are two intentional threats to congregations who are trying to be faithful. First people get so concerned about being faithful, that they start analyzing and judging the behavior of fellow Christians. They think if I am being faithful then you are not. They feel justified in accusing others. And secondly, when they see someone else who is weak and doubtful, who is waivering in their faith, instead of supporting that person, they attack them and make then feel even worse. Without Christ as our center, the persecuted church can very easily become the persecuting church. So the message is to love one another, to help one another, to be understanding of one another. Keep the faith and to remember that those strangers sitting next to you are angels that God sent to walk with you on your journey. There are three types of organizations on the world. There are organizations that resolve around a strong leader, and the people get their power based on how close they are to the leader. There are organizations that resolve around the common needs of the people – they feel safe together and they all stay together in order to protect their common benefit. Third there is the organization that is centered around solid teaching, harmony and a way of life that honors, and respects, and loves those in it. There are churches of all kinds. But the kind of church that God wants is one that is centered about the teachings of Christ. One where people can come to be loves, and understood. Where people are intentional about the way they live on the inside, so that they can have some type of affect on the outside. The church is the place to find faith. Solid faith is our foundation for living our lives are a committed disciple of Christ. Discipleship means living a life of humility, hospitality and charity. Jesus does not change Verse 8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Ironically, no matter how hard we try – even in the church we are a part of a changing world. The world out there, throws the church in here in a tailspin. The church has to change on the inside just to survive in this world. It is during those times of church and transition that the people of the church are most likely to lose their faith. In a changing world we forget that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This was said 2000 years ago and it is still a message for us today. There are five things in the world that will never change – God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan for salvation. My personal faith challenge You know I had been an associate in well off churches for 10 years of my career. And as an associate, I was very happy. I slept well at night, because whatever problems the church had, it was not my problem to worry about, I enjoyed my weekends because I did not have to worry about a sermon. I was in very stable churches – so I got paid very well. In 2007, when I was placed in a sole church – I had a big fight with God, because I just knew that he has placed me in the wrong church. I have always loved God, and never thought about leaving the ministry – but I just yelled at God to put me in a better situation. Something that I deserved, and would be happy. I wanted to be faithful, I just didn’t want the struggle that came with it. I told God that I wanted to be anything in the world but Methodist. God reminded me that it was my choice to join the Methodist Church and now that things were not going my way that it was my choice to leave the Methodist Church. God told me that I was free to walk away at any moment and find something else- that would make me happy. God reminded me that God had been faithful to me- and all he asked in return was to be faithful to the church. If I was baptized and of I took vows of membership- what did that really mean to me? More importantly what did that mean to God. If I was to leave in times of trouble – was I really being faithful. In the midst of a changing world there are five things that don’t change. God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan for salvation. God’s answer God reminded me that in life there are no accidents, no coincidences, and no mistakes. What happens in my life, and where I am and who I am with – is where God intended me to be. And that the quickest way out of situation is not to walk away, but to persevere and endure and to walk through it to the other side. There is no place in the bible that says that walking away from the church makes things easier. And when we submit ourselves to God, them God always puts us to work bringing about his plan, God knows the needs of the world better then us, and he creates us as vessels to carry out his plan in his salvation. Bloom where are you planted, and finish the work God gave you. One thing that I have learned as an ordained minister, is that when God makes up in his mind that you are to do something, and he gives you a message to give to the world – just like Jonah in the belly of the whale – you can run, but you cant hide. You can argue with God – but in the end you will not win. There are five things in a changing world that never change – God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan of salvation. God will always wins Sometimes it is easier to just be faithful in the first place. That is the lesson of Hebrews. Our only success is faithfulness Mother Teresa was once asked, "How do you measure the success of your work?" She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, "I don't remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts." Amen. Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. • Faith is to accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, and bear the intolerable. • Faith is idle when circumstances are right, only when they are adverse is one’s faith in God exercised. Faith, like muscle, grows strong and supple with exercise. • Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps. —David Lloyd George • A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul. —Spurgeon • Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will! • Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. • Faith in God is indispensable to successful statesmanship. —Abraham Lincoln be described as follows: (1) High intelligence—Rev. 13:18; Dan. 7:8. (2) Great speaking ability—Dan. 7:8; Rev. 13:5. (3) Crafty political talents—Dan. 9:27; Rev. 17:12, 13, 17. (4) Strong physical appearance—Dan. 7:20. (5) Military genius—Rev. 13:4; 17:14; 19:19. (6) Morally, the worse personage (a) Materialistic—Dan. 11:38 (b) Blasphemer—Rev. 13:6 (c) Against the Law—II Thess. 2:8 (d) Selfish ambition—Dan. 11:36, 37; II Thess. 2:4. (e) Tries to change prophecy and history—Dan. 7:25 (f) Substitutes self for God—Dan. 11:36; II Thess. 2:4. Success that Counts Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com The Christian way When former British prime minister, Tony Blair, was running for office, his political philosophy was often called the “Third Way,” which has been described as a global movement dedicated to modernizing progressive politics for the information age. In May 1999, Blair was in Washington to attend a summit on Third Way policies. He tells the following account of what happened after he entered the large building where the meeting was to be held. He was unsure of which way to go in the building. So he asked a janitor, “In which room is the Third Way meeting?” The janitor, according to Blair, replied, “There ain’t no third way, sir; there ain’t but one way, and it’s straight ahead.” ebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Among the many parenetic admonitions in this text are the requirements of providing hospitality for strangers and care for those who are afflicted. Each of these admonitions is said to be especially important because of our faith in Jesus perceived as the Christ, who is the same person yesterday, today, and forever. It is through Jesus perceived as the Christ that we offer up our sacrifice of praise to God and share our resources with those who are in need. ILLUSTRATION… Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92 A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them: 1. Materialism 2. Pride 3. Self-centeredness 4. Laziness 5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness 5. (Tie) Sexual lust 6. Envy 7. Gluttony 8. Lying Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when… they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent). Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).

The Joy of Worshiping with Christ

August 25, 2013 Hebrews 12:18-29 The Joy of Worshiping with Christ 14th Sunday of Pentecost Year C The City has a sound Shhh, listen. Have you ever noticed that if you are quiet enough, you start to realize that there is a distinct sound to the streets of Chicago. If you listen close enough, you will see that every big city have a voice. People say that Chicago has a bass voice, whereas London has a baritone voice, and New York with all of its horn blowing and yelling has a tenor voice. Every church and community has a personality We have been studying the book of Revelation in bible study, and in the first chapters we were told that the book was written to the angel of the church. John’s point is that every organization, every community, every church has its own personality. It’s set way of understanding life. And it is impossible to lead in that community, or get anything done in that community, or even live comfortably in that community unless you understand and honor the personality. And you come to realize that personality is a living being determined to get its way; that is why John calls the personality of the church an angel. John was not the only writer in the new testament who understood the church as a living organism. That is why the books of the new testament are written to different communities. If you read the epistles the letters to the churches, you will see that each of them have a very similar message, that Christ is the center of our faith. But they each use different words- to help us understand the same message. It is said that Romans, Ephesians, and Hebrews are all based on one verse from the old testament. Habbakuk 2:4 says “the Just shall live by his faith. Romans tells when it means to be a just or righteous person, Ephesians tells how a righteous person should live, and Hebrews tells what it means to have faith. All three books in every chapter of the book talk about Christ being the center of our righteousness, our lives and our faith. Christ is the author and finisher or our faith. Christ is the source of all that we are – whether we confess Christ or not. Another commonality of Romans and Hebrews is that they are not written to a specific church. They are written to a whole community of people. Every city has a personality, a way of dealing with things. Both Romans and Hebrews were written specifically to Christians in the city, reminding them to hold on the faith in Christ, in spite of what is going on around them that may distract them and pull them away from Christ. The text of hebrews Hebrews has been our text for three weeks now, and we still have one more week of the book of Hebrews. God told me that it was a good time to focus on the message of Hebrews for us to day. The message of Hebrews is basically keep the faith. That message was not written to a church but to a community. We don’t know who wrote Hebrews, or what city he was even talking about. It was a unique community because Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians were worshipping together in the same church. They had achieved what is impossible for most churches today. When I started out in ministry I asked if I could be placed in a multicultural church, where different races worshipped together. And was immediately told that there was no such thing in the whole conference. There were white churches that accepted ethnic people, but were still white in character, and there were ethnic churches that accepted white people, but were still ethnic. But there was no church that had a personality of acceptance of all people regardless of race. Churches have always been segregated into like minded people. But somehow, this church was able to overcome all of that and learn to live together. They had achieved the goal that Jesus had set for them to learn to put Christ first and their differences second. They had come up and were now heading down They had reached the heights of what a community of Christ was supposed to be – but leaders realized that instead of them climbing up to bigger and better things, that they started to go backward. They started to revert to their old understandings of life. The older jewish members started to believe that the newer gentile members had to become jewish before they became Christian. They needed to be reminded that we are saved by grace alone. Christ freed us from the law and set us free to be saved. Our salvation is in Christ, not the rules and not the past. I know I seem to say that I love all of the books of the bible, but I really do appreciate Hebrews. Paul was an amazing writer, but we know that this was not written by Paul, because the author of Hebrews has an amazing understanding of the jewish faith. This is the only history book that we have in the new testament. In each chapter of the book the author goes back into the old testament and reminds us of an element of faith. He talks about the angels, the prophets, the saints, the priest, and in each chapter he reminds us that what we had in the past was truly awesome, but what we have in a future with Christ is so much more awesome. The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God's grace. The prologue (1:1-4) presents Christ as God's full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation given in the OT. The prophecies and promises of the OT are fulfilled in the "new covenant" (or "new testament"), of which Christ is the mediator. From the OT itself, Christ is shown to be superior to the ancient prophets, to angels, to Moses (the mediator of the former covenant) and to Aaron and the priestly succession descended from him. Hebrews could be called "the book of better things" since the two Greek words for "better" and "superior" occur 15 times in the letter. A striking feature of this presentation of the gospel is the unique manner in which the author employs expositions of eight specific passages of the OT Scriptures:Communications, Inc. The Book of Hebrews is one of the most profound sections of the Word of God. In it we get a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as the God man more clearly than we do in any other portion of the Scriptures. Moreover, we understand by a study of this epistle that He is God's Apostle to the human family and our great High Priest. Because He is what He is and has done what He has accomplished for us, we have a covenant better than that of Israel; a sanctuary better than that of the Hebrews; a better sacrifice than the blood that flowed on Jewish altars; a better ministry than that conducted by the Aaronic priesthood; and better promises than those made to the Jews. In every way we have things better than those enjoyed by the Israelites. Comparison of Mt Sinai and Mt Zion On today’s lesson the teacher says that in the old days we used to talk about Mount Sinai, and moses and how moses had awe and wonder for God because he was told that he was on holy ground. But in the olden days people could not have a direct relationship with god. In the old days people were afraid of God, and they had these rules and rituals that they had to follow. Today we don’t need to go back to mount Sinai and its ways of doing things. Because today we have a new mountain, mount zion, a new way of understanding God and a new way of doing things. You don’t need to go looking for God because God knows where to find you. When god finds you there is not fear and judgment, there is joy and celebration. 3816 The Holy City Thirty men, red-eyed and disheveled lined up before a judge of the San Francisco police court. It was the regular morning company of “Drunks and disorderlies.” Some were old and hardened, others hung their heads in shame. Just as the momentary disorder attending the bringing-in of the prisoners quieted down, a strange thing happened. A strong, clear voice from below began singing: “Last night I lay a sleeping There came a dream so fair.” Last night! It had been for them all a nightmare or a drunken stupor. The song was such a contrast to the horrible fact that no one could fail of a sudden shock at the thought the song suggested. “I stood in old Jerusalem, Beside the Temple there,” The song went on. The judge had paused. He made a quiet inquiry. A former member of a famous opera company known all over the country, was awaiting trial for forgery. It was he who was singing in his cell. Meantime the song went on, and every man in the line showed emotion. One or two dropped on their knees; one boy at the end of the line, after a desperate effort at self-control, leaned against the wall, buried his face against his folded arms, and sobbed, “Oh mother, mother!” The sobs, cutting to the very heart of the men who heard, and the song, still welling its way through the courtroom, blended in the hush. At length one man protested, “Judge,” said he, “have we got to submit to this? We’re here to take our punishment, but this—” He, too began to sob. It was impossible to proceed with the business of the court, yet the judge gave no order to stop the song. The police sergeant, after an effort to keep the men in line, stepped back and waited with the rest. The song moved on to its climax: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Sing for the night is o’er! Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna for evermore! In an ecstasy of melody the last words rang out, and then there was silence. The judge looked into the faces of the men before him. There was not one who was not touched by the song; not one in whom some better impulse was not stirred. He did not call the cases singly- -a kind word of advice, and he dismissed them all. No man was fined or sentenced to the workhouse that morning. The song had done more good than punishment could possibly have accomplished. —Author Unknown Stumbling upon God Verse 18 begins by saying you have not come to something that can be touched. Come means you have approached, you have walked into. The old God was unapproachable, but Christ is fully approachable, he understands us because he came into the world as one of us. Our task in not just to look for God in the places and people we recognize, but to see God in all things and in all people. In Christ we worship a better God, so we need to be a better people. We need to continue to go forward, not backward, to go up and we have no reason to go down. The biggest message of our verses today is to trust the voice of God in all things. Do you listen to the sounds of the city or the voice of God. Hebrews tells us to listen to the voice of God. the city sometimes can mislead you, but God never does. The voices of the city can lead us away, but the voice of God is always the voice of faith. God shaking things up Hebrews also talks about God shaking our lives, and shaking anything that is not of the new kingdom out of our hands. We are given five important warnings as people of faith. We are warned of the danger of neglecting our faith, of allowing unbelief to take over, of falling back into spiritual immaturity, of failing to endure, but the message for today is don’t ever refuse God. it is not just our faith, but our life depends on it. Verse 25 says see that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven. Keep the faith in all situations and God will not lead you astray. HOPE AND A GRATEFUL HEART There is an old legend of a man who found the barn where Satan kept his seeds ready to be sown in the human heart. On finding the seeds of discouragement more numerous than others, he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. When questioned, Satan reluctantly admitted that there was one place in which he could never get them to thrive. "And where is that?" asked the man. He replied sadly, "In the heart of a grateful person." (From a sermon by Stephen Sheane, "Remembering the Blessings" 1/19/2009) We have been a superior faith – let us it We have been given a superior faith, when we put Christ as the center of our lives. We have been given a superior faith than those who came before us, because we have all that we need in the arms of Christ. Christ is our sanctuary, our salvation, our peace. There is a lot of stuff on Hebrews, it covers everything when it comes to faith. But the important thing to remember – that faith in Christ, and in Christ alone is the source of our salvation. Amen. ________________________________________ 7120 Seeing Other Mountains Talking with John Dewey several months before his ninetieth birthday, a young doctor blurted out his low opinion of philosophy. “What’s the good of such claptrap?” he asked. “Where does it lead you?” The great philosopher answered quietly, “The good of it is that you climb mountains.” “Climb mountains!” retorted the youth, unimpressed. “And what’s the use of doing that?” “You see other mountains to climb,” was the reply. “You come down, climb the next mountain, and see still others to climb.” Then, putting his hand gently on the young man’s knee, Dewey said, “When you are no longer interested in climbing mountains to see other mountains to climb, life is over.” —Maxwell Droke 7122 They Saw The Goal Napoleon saw Italy, but not the Alps. He had an objective and knew where he was going. Washington saw the Hessians at Trenton. A man of smaller stature would have seen the Delaware choked with ice. The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the former while oblivion is the reward of the latter. —Healthways 4457 Every City Has A Voice High above a city, the medley of street noises is blended into one overall note, sound, or murmur. For instance, we are told that the overall note of Chicago is bass; of London it is baritone; and that of New York is tenor. The Book of Hebrews addresses three separate groups: believers in Christ, unbelievers who had knowledge of and an intellectual acceptance of the facts of Christ, and unbelievers who were attracted to Christ, but who rejected Him ultimately. It’s important to understand which group is being addressed in which passage. To fail to do so can cause us to draw conclusions inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Hebrews.html#ixzz2cvybhecM There is an old story of a man who had just become a Christian. He was experiencing some of the difficulties that new Christians often have of uncertainty in his faith; he was wondering if he really was a Christian, and was feeling frustrated with his own lack of growth. He felt he had come to the place where he just could not stand any longer; he could not live as a Christian any more. He came into a church service where a pastor was speaking on the verses in Ephesians that tell of Christ being seated at the right hand of the Father, and that we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God. He talked about Christ as the head of the body, and said that we are the body, and that Christ as the head is seated at the right hand of the Father. As the truth of this gripped this man's heart, and he realized that although he was struggling to swim against the current down here below, his head was seated in victory and triumph already at the right hand of God, he jumped out of his seat, and shouted, "Hallelujah! Who ever heard of anyone drowning with his head high above water!" That is what Hebrews does to us: it helps us to focus on the One who is already in the place of victory. We are fighting a battle already won, and that is what encourages us. When we walk in the flesh, we are fighting a battle already lost; there is no chance, no hope of victory; but when we walk in the Spirit, the battle is already won. The Book of Hebrews addresses three separate groups: believers in Christ, unbelievers who had knowledge of and an intellectual acceptance of the facts of Christ, and unbelievers who were attracted to Christ, but who rejected Him ultimately. It’s important to understand which group is being addressed in which passage. To fail to do so can cause us to draw conclusions inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Hebrews.html#ixzz2cw36oneQ

Seek Christ in all Things

August 4, 2013 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 Year C 11th Sunday After Pentecost “Seek Christ in all Things” What does it mean to be rich? No I am really asking that question? As the bill continue to come in the mail, I am really asking myself what would it be like to be able to pay everything and to still be comfortable. I have really always challenged that notion that money can’t buy happiness. I challenged God to give me that opportunity and to let me be the judge. Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy enough comfort that it doesn’t matter. Or does it? I guess that depends on your answer to the question, what does it mean to be happy? What is happiness truly? Jesus answers that question in today’s lesson. The rich young ruler had a happy life. As a matter of fact, things were going so well, that he needed to expand his storage barns. He needed more space to hold all of his abundance. It is God himself that reminds the man that happiness wrapped up in the things of the world is only temporary. We are temporary – we all go back into the box The problem is not so much the things – the things don’t go away, they stick around. The problem is in us – we are only temporary. We are here for awhile and then we are gone. God reminds the man that you cant every well enjoy your things- when you are not here. Things will sitck around for awhile, but your life is not guaranteed. So where should you be looking for happiness? Here on earth or in heaven? One of my favorite pastors, John Ortberg compares life to a monopoly game. You can spend hours playing the game and moving the men, but when the game is over all of the parts go back in the box. You cant take anything with you, not even yourself. C.S. Lewis wrote, "It is he who thinks most of the next world that does the most in this world." Where there is no faith in the future, there is no work in the present. (From a sermon by Donald McCulley, Got Hope? 12/21/2010) Advice from Colossians The scripture in Colossians reminds us that when we are baptized in Christ, then all of our life is in Christ. If we die with Christ then we rise with Christ. Paul encourages us to make sure that we stay focused on things above, not here on earth. Our happiness is focused on the things of Christ – not on earth. Happiness is a Perspective Do you sing because you are happy; or are you happy because you sing? You’ve met the person. They always seem to have a positive attitude about nearly everything. They’re the people you see on the freeway in the midst of rush hour, bumper to bumper with frustration and impatience, singing sweetly inside their car as they slowly inch their way through traffic. You glance over at them and watch their lips moving and their head swaying back and forth as they watch the road, hit the brake and tap the accelerator. Your first thought might be, are they all there? How can they be singing when everyone else around you is pounding the dashboard and muttering under their breath? What makes some people better at coping with tension; coping with the multitude of everyday stressors that afflict us all? Are they possessed with a special gift that few people have or have they unearthed the secret to being calm when others are frantic that took them a correspondence course and several sets of behavioral modification tapes to discover? Over the years I have discovered a dusty old truth here and there. One that I perceive to be a real keeper is this. People who are happy are people who have made the decision that this is the way that they want to live their lives. Indeed they have discovered a great secret, but one that is not difficult to find. It is our choice to be happy or to be glum. People who can sing in traffic, however, have taken another step beyond just acknowledging that happiness is a choice. They have also discovered one additional maxim, the catalyst for singing when others are cursing. And this is the truth is not always what it seems. On the surface a traffic jam is an obstacle. In reality it may really be an opportunity. It is a matter of perception. Dr. John Maxwell writes: “When we become conditioned to perceived truth and closed to new possibilities, the following happens: We wee what we expect to see, not what we can see. We hear what we expect to hear, not what we can hear. We think what we expect to think not what we can think. (Take) the case (of) Henry J. Kaiser’s construction crew. While building a levee along a river bank, a violent rainstorm flooded the earth-moving machinery and destroyed the work that had been done. As Kaiser approached the work site to assess the damages, he found his crew bemoaning the mud and the buried earthmoving equipment. As his workers surrounded him, Kaiser asked, ‘Why are you so glum?’ ‘Can’t you see the disaster?’ they asked. ‘Our equipment is covered with mud.’ Smiling, Kaiser asked, ‘What mud?’ ‘You must be kidding. Look around you. We are surrounded by a sea of mud. How can you say you don’t see any?’ ‘Well,’ said Henry Kaiser, ‘what I see is clear blue sky filled with bright sunshine. I’ve never known mud to sustain itself against the powerful sun. Soon it will be dried up and then we will be able to move our equipment and start over. Furthermore, our attitude will not only affect how we see reality but will also affect the reality itself. Sun or mud, the choice is yours.’ The difference between sun or mud is a matter of perspective. Again, what we expect to see we see. This delightful story involving Henry J. Kaiser reinforces our choice to look at any situation from more than one point of view.”(Speaker’s Sourcebook II, page 50) People who sing in cars while others are cursing are not happy because they are singing, they are singing so that they might become happy. Where others perceive obstacles, they discover possibilities and opportunities. Singing takes them there and carries them beyond the perceived into the possible. These people are driving from their hearts and their heads, a pretty good combination. Where others see only mud, they see blue skies. Now they possess an attitude that is hard to put down. It feels too good. When the man in the crowd shouted out to Jesus to “make his brother share the inheritance” this is an example of mud-looking, not sky-gazing. He saw only the material implications of the situation, not the relationship possibilities that our Savior had on His mind. It was a matter of attitude. The man could choose to see greed and stinginess or he could, by overcoming the perception of these things, discover the possibilities that fixing the relationship with his brother was more important and far more satisfying. It simply was a matter of opening his heart to other opportunities. Values to put aside Colossians encourages us to put aside earthly values – which Paul names as fornification, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the last one he names if greed. In Luke, Jesus also talks about greed. A specific ugly kind of Greed. In greek the word used is pleonexia - pleon means more, echeion means to have – to get in the habit of having more and more. It is not just the sin of having more then you need, it is the sin of the more you get, the more you have to have. You start to seek more things to make you happy. The problem with that is that the things will last, you wont. Jesus advises us to be rich in the things toward God. What does it mean to be rich? To heavily invest in God’s will for your life and for the world. Happiness is a perspective – it all depends whether we are looking up or down. A Man focused in the things of the earth An article in a San Francisco newspaper reported that a young man who once found a $5 bill on the street resolved that from that time on he would never lift his eyes while walking. The paper went on to say that over the years he accumulated, among other things, 29,516 buttons, 54,172 pins, 12 cents a bent back, and a miserly disposition. But he also lost something—the glory of sunlight, the radiance of the stars, the smiles of friends, and the freshness of blue skies. I’m afraid that some Christians are like that man. While they may not walk around staring at the sidewalk, they are so engrossed with the things of this life that they give little attention to spiritual and eternal values. Perhaps they’ve gotten a taste of some fleeting pleasure offered by the world and they’ve been spending all their time pursuing it. But that is dangerous. When God’s children, who are “seated with Christ in the heavenlies,” give their affection and attention to a world that is A family rich in the things of God I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money. By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially. When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us baby sat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1. We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives. Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the Pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering. The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change. We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before. That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering. We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet. But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich. When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us girls put in a $20. As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills. Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night. We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor. That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed that I didn't want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor! I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could Quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way. Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they need money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week. Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me ,and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering. When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "you must have some rich people in this church." Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100." We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? This is a family that is truly rich in the things of God? What is your story? Let us pray…… There have been times when we have gone to a high school football/basketball game and the kids asked for some money to buy candy. I gave them $5 and they returned with some candy. I ask for a piece and their answer is “no.” Here is what they don’t realize. First – I could take the candy away and eat it all my self. Because I am bigger and stronger I could do that. Second – I gave them the money in the first place, I paid for the candy so really it is mine. Third – I could have bought so much candy that they couldn’t have possibly eaten all of it. Now look at this from God’s view when He blesses us with His power and everything else for that matter. 1st – He has the power to take it all away if/when He wants. 2nd – He gives us everything. 3rd – He can supply endlessly. This goes for our finances, health, and His power. He supplies power to the believer endlessly if we seek Him. "Self adaption from an Ed Young Illustration" By Susan Sauer I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them. I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back. I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it. I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts. I've learned that you can get by on charm for about 15 minutes. After that, you'd better know something. I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do. I've learned that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it. I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you a heartache for life. I've learned that no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides. I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be. I've learned that it's a lot easier to react than it is to think. I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them. I've learned that you can keep going long after you think you can't. I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you. I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. I've learned that learning to forgive takes practice. I've learned that there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it. I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score. I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time. I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down may be the ones to help you get back up. I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel. I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love. I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated. I've learned that you should never tell a child her dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if she believed it. I've learned that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren't related to can take care of you too. --from my wise Uncle Bill Morgan & Aunt Carroll, about to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. John Tillotson said, "He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever." “Mud-Gazing?” Luke 12:13-15 Key verse(s) 13:“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, The Scottish preacher John McNeill liked to tell about an eagle that had been captured when it was quite young. The farmer who snared the bird put a restraint on it so it couldn’t fly, and then he turned it loose to roam in the barnyard. It wasn’t long till the eagle began to act like the chickens, scratching and pecking at the ground. This bird that once soared high in the heavens seemed satisfied to live the barnyard life of the lowly hen. One day the farmer was visited by a shepherd who came down from the mountains where the eagles lived. Seeing the eagle, the shepherd said to the farmer, “What a shame to keep that bird hobbled here in your barnyard! Why don’t you let it go?” The farmer agreed, so they cut off the restraint. But the eagle continued to wander around, scratching and pecking as before. The shepherd picked it up and set it on a high stone wall. For the first time in months, the eagle saw the grand expanse of blue sky and the glowing sun. Then it spread its wings and with a leap soared off into a tremendous spiral flight, up and up and up. At last it was acting like an eagle again. Perhaps you have let yourself be comfortable in the barnyard of the world—refusing to claim your lofty position as God’s child. He wants you to live in a higher realm. Confess your sins, and “seek those things which are above.” You will soon be longing to rise above the mundane things of this world. Like the eagle, it’s not too late to soar to greater heights again. – P R Van Gorder Look … • Look around and be distressed. • Look inside and be depressed. • Look at Jesus and be at rest. --Corrie Ten Boom OLOSSIANS 3:2 "VULTURE" APPETITES While driving along a highway, I have often seen vultures soaring high overhead, swooping down, and then rising up again with the air currents. Every so often, a small group of them can be seen sitting right on the roadway, tearing apart and gobbling up the carcass of some unfortunate creature. I get the impression that these ugly birds are on the lookout continually for what is loathsome and repulsive! Some people are like that. Nothing seems to satisfy them more than feasting on what is sinful, corrupt, and immoral. The books and magazines they read, the TV programs they watch, the conversations they engage in, and the activities they pursue reveal a vulture-like appetite. How much better is the spiritual diet the Bible suggests: "Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things" (Phil 4:8-note). What kind of "food" do you prefer? Don't be like the vulture. Rather, "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby" (1Pe 2:2-note).-- Richard W. De Haan passing away, they lose the upward look. Their perspective becomes distorted, and they fail to bask in heaven’s sunlight. Taken up with the baubles of this world, they become defeated, delinquent Christians. Buttons, pins, and pennies, but no treasures laid up in heaven. The apostle Paul said, “If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:1-note). To live for the things of this world is to miss life’s best. Let’s set our sights on the heights! P. R. Van Gorder