Endurance

"Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 

No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—

he wants to please his commanding officer.

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive 

the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops."

2 Timothy 2:3-6

Have you ever wondered what you would tell your family or friends about Christ if you knew you were never going to see them again? That is what the book of 2 Timothy is about. It is Paul’s letter of encouragement and exhortation to Timothy to live fully for the Lord. I remember having the same urgency in wanting to express all I knew about Christ to my children as they were leaving home. Desperately wanting them not only to know and understand how much the Lord loves them, but also wanting them to know how to honor God with their lives. In this passage Paul gives Timothy three examples to follow.

The first example he gives Timothy is that of a soldier. He told him that a good soldier is willing to endure hardship and will stand firm in the face of opposition, hatred and discomfort. These were all things that both Paul and Jesus had endured. He also reminded him to keep his focus and not let everyday things draw his mind away from the things God called him to. We often think the stage in life we are in is what is making it difficult to focus on God, but the truth is every stage of life has its distractions. Students are distracted by school, young men by their careers, couples by wedding plans, moms of preschoolers by the never-ending demands of young children, moms of school aged children by everyone’s busy schedule, middle aged parents are distracted by the burden of college expenses, and then there are the grandchildren. In each stage of life we have to choose to let Christ to be our focus for all we do. Lastly, a good soldier chooses to live so that he pleases his commanding officer. Every decision we make needs to honor God.

Paul also suggests that we follow the example of athletes. We know an athlete trains and prepares for the race. A part of the preparation is learning the rules and boundaries of the race. If an athlete doesn't follow the rules completely, he can't win. That means as Christians we need to live consistently and always ready to give an answer for the hope in us. We also need to realize everything is sacred for us and that means it is important to our relationship with the Lord that we maintain integrity at all times -- even when nobody is looking. Our culture is a culture of relative values and we need to remember partial obedience isn’t obedience and sin is sin even when everyone is doing it.

Most of us, as Christians, love to talk about the gospel with other believers. However, we are usually unprepared and sometimes not even aware of the opportunities we have to share Christ or to at least cultivate "the soil" for future sharing by loving and building relationships with unbelievers. If we want to partake of the joy of sharing Christ, we need to live as farmers do – fully focused on the job of preparing the soil, planting the seed, watering and feeding the plants, and plucking the harvest. That means we would be constantly busy loving and building relationships as we allow others to observe our lives. It means we are busy sharing the Scriptures, our testimonies, and opening discussions about God. Lastly, it means we are discerning and ready to "reap the harvest" by inviting others to make a decision about Christ.

Again, we have to accept that the Christian life is not a life of ease, but a life of discipline and of intentionality. Sharing Christ sometimes includes enduring hardship while remaining focused on the Lord and choosing to live a life pleasing to Him. We are called to constantly be in the process of sharing the gospel. The questions are: Are we really will to live obediently? Are we focused and diligently working to build relationships so we can share Christ? Last, what are we willing to endure so that others may gain freedom from sin, death and hell? Are we willing to endure a dirty look, physical discomfort, loneliness, hardship, pain, or even death? We need to mature to the place that we’re willing to endure what Christ endured for us? I hope that we never forget to that Jesus for enduring the cross and the shame of our sin for us. I hope we never take it for granted. When we find ourselves tempted to do that it would be wise for us to begin to name each of our individual sins – the sins we commit with our actions, thoughts, and our words as well as the sins we commit due to our inaction, lack of loving words, or neglect to think on Godly things. He desires to help us develop endurance in us, will we yield to His work?

Prayer: Father, Christ was such a wonderful example of the life that you want each of us to live. He was focused, full of integrity, obedient, and willing to endure hardship so that You might be glorified and honored and so that we might be saved. Help us to follow His example. Help us to live lives that are pleasing to you, obedient and constantly busy doing your will. Help us stand firm and strong and to endure until you call us home. Amen.

Sacrificing our “Isaac’s”

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship."

Romans 12:1

Have you reached a point in your walk with the Lord that you honestly can say that all that you are and all that you have belongs to Him? Have you, like me, tried giving your whole life completely to God, but know deep inside there is still something you are holding back? Are you afraid that He may require something of you that you really don't want to do or something you don't want to give up? It could be a career, your family, a relationship, your college plans, a ministry, or some kind of provision that makes you feel more secure about the future.

I dedicated my children to God the moment they were born and I was content in that dedication until two of them were in the military and we faced the possibility of them being deployed to fight in a war. I told myself they were God’s, but then found myself pleading for Him not to test my faith by taking them to war.

In my struggle God brought to mind the story of Abraham and Isaac from the book of Genesis. God took Abraham from his home and promised to make of him a mighty nation. Abraham followed God and time passed and his wife was barren. When they were in their 90's God came to Abraham and renewed his promise of children. In the face of barren, aged bodies they miraculously bore a son whom they dearly loved. When Isaac was a young man, God asked Abraham to offer him as a sacrifice. When I think of all that Isaac represented to Abraham, I think I get a clearer picture of what God was asking him to do. Isaac was the son they had desperately desired during many painful years of infertility. He was also the son who fulfilled God's promise to Abraham. That means Isaac was the proof of God's favor towards Abraham. When I think of sacrificing any of my children, my heart hurts. Even though they are a tremendous blessing, they are not the foundation of God’s plan as Isaac was. So, it had to be a very confusing request and emotionally difficult for Abraham to obey.

However, Scripture indicates Abraham immediately obeyed. It would make me feel better if there were at least one objection from Abraham recorded. Maybe he did it in his heart or maybe he had resolved earlier in his life to fully trust God. We do know Abraham knew the promise of being a father to many nations was still in effect and had been told by God that Isaac was the one to fulfill that promise. He also seemed to trust that God's ways are not our ways and that He can operate outside the norm to achieve His greatest purposes.

Had Abraham not bound Isaac and placed him on the altar, he would not have seen God's provision. He would not have had the prophetic picture of God's provision of a sacrificial lamb. He would have not had the intimacy with God that came from facing one of his biggest fears–that of losing the child of his old age. It had to hurt Abraham to think of sacrificing Isaac, yet it was in the giving of his son that God provided a substitute sacrificial lamb. I wonder what made it possible for Abraham to let go of the son he had longed for most of his life. I believe it was because Abraham believed God is good and that He was provider of all that Abraham needed in his life. He obviously chose to trust God to be true to the character reflected by His names--loving, faithful, just, and holy. I am betting Abraham practiced obeying God in the small stuff so when the big stuff came it was more natural to obey. 

When my husband and I were moving away from Mississippi I did not want to leave. I loved our church and looking back, it was an "Isaac" to me. I talked to our pastor about the move and he told me he wished we could stay. Then he said something, I will never forget, "You have grown so much here and I don't know why God would have you move. However, I do know God is love and God is good. He will bless you through the move." What he said was true. I cannot tell you how many people and blessings I would have missed had we not moved. I have also learned many lessons and grown in intimacy with God through the circumstances and "moves" I have encountered since. I did not do it as graciously as Abraham--I left crying outwardly while kicking and screaming inwardly. I adjusted slowly and painfully, but God was faithful in His blessings and work in my life.

Is there an "Isaac" in your life to which you are clinging? Are you afraid to trust God with it? Could you give Him what you cherish most? God shared His Son with you so why would you withhold anything from Him? God is sovereign and deals with us individually so He may choose to return your "Isaac" to you or not–can you praise Him no matter what He does? Can you trust God's character with what you hold dearest in your heart? Those are the questions I continually have to ask myself. Will you lay your "Isaac" at His feet--for it is in that sacrifice of our Isaacs that we receive God's best.

Prayer: Father, your sovereignty is a scary in that we are not in control. Help each of us lay all that we have and all that we are at your feet. When we cling to anything we lose focus of who you are and become more fearful and selfish. Please help us to let go and rest in your perfect love and infallible character. Our faith isn't faith until it is tested. Give us courage to remain true to you in every circumstance. We love you. Amen.

Loving the Lost

"For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory."

2 Timothy 2:10

I wonder what I would say to those I love if I knew I was nearing the end of my life. The verses above are taken from Paul's last letter to Timothy, and they were his last words of encouragement to his spiritual son. In the letter Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong in God's grace and to be willing to suffer hardship for the sake of the gospel. The early church suffered severe persecution from people outside the church and struggled with false teachers who had infiltrated the church. Because of this and his young age, Timothy had a tendency to be timid and Paul kindly reminds Timothy that God had not given him a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and discipline.

My mom’s heart would want to encourage my children to pursue holiness which is a spiritual desire. But I think, I would also want to warn them of anything that might bring them harm. Instead, Paul shared his heart concerning lost people with Timothy. I realize how often I have had wrong motives for sharing the gospel with others. My motives have often been avoiding guilt, a sense of obligation, for appearances, to obey God, or to earning rewards in heaven. While those are not necessarily all bad motives, an important motive is missing–that of love. Paul states that he was willing to endure all things for the sake of those God has chosen so they might obtain salvation and with their salvation eternal glory. Paul definitely had a heart and a hope for ungodly people. He desired them to have a relationship with God and for them to reflect God's glory. 

When I look at our society I am not sure I think like Paul did, especially when I think of terrorists, men who rape children, drug dealers who get both young and old people hooked on drugs, or students who kill other students because they are Christians or because they feel like it. If am really honest, I have to admit I cringe at the thought of people who do those things obtaining salvation. Yet, if we look at Paul's life before he became a Christian, he was doing things like that. Because Paul knew Christ had forgiven him for tormenting and ravaging the church, he was able to love the lost more than we usually do. Paul loved the lost enough to endure hard labor, pain, imprisonment, and the beatings the Jews gave him with whips. He also loved the lost enough to endure being stoned and left for dead, being shipwrecked and in the ocean for a day and night before he was rescued. He loved the lost enough to spend His life traveling through dangerous waters, across lands full of dangerous robbers, and through dangerous cities and wildernesses. He loved them enough to endure a lot of discomfort simply due to the nature of his ministry. He was sometimes weary, sometimes in pain, sometimes hungry, sometimes thirsty, and sometimes cold without adequate clothing. He was sometimes deserted by friends who fell away from God or betrayed by those seeking to damage the church. He felt burdened and inadequate to deal with all the care of all the churches he ministered in. I fall so short of loving like that, do you?

In light of all that Paul suffered and his willingness to continue to endure tremendous hardship so he could share the gospel with unsaved people, let’s examine our attitudes concerning the lost. We should be willing to develop relationships outside the church with people who do not know the Lord and even with people in the church who may not measure up to what we consider "Christian standards." We need to develop a compassion for the harm their sin is doing to them and a passion for them to truly know and experience God fully in their lives.

I wonder where are you in loving the lost? When you walk down the hall at school, work, church or home and you observe ungodly behaviors does it irritate you or cause you to judge not their actions, but their heart? Do you have compassion and want them to know God? When you see a Christian friend mess up, do you desire to help her grow closer to God or do you look down your nose at her? A youth worker I worked with shared with me that when she went to a football game she hurt because so many of the students did not know Jesus. She saw their behavior and knew it did not reflect Christ, but rather than looking down on them, she hurt and was overwhelmed that there were so many who did not know the Lord. Do you hurt for those who don't know Christ? I want to encourage you not to assume even in your church and youth groups that every person there knows Him. I also encourage you to take time to think about what you are willing to endure for the sake of the Gospel. Are you willing to labor hard and love boldly so others might hear the gospel? Are you willing to witness at the risk of being persecuted, made fun of, or deserted by your friends? Are you willing to put yourself in danger so that you can reach people? Are you willing to be beaten or killed so people might come to know the Lord? Let's encourage and spur one another to love and good deeds and to boldly live for Christ. Let's encourage each other as Paul did to endure all things so that men can know Christ. After all we might not know Him had other people not been faithful to God’s calling to share Him with us.

Prayer: Father, we love you and appreciate so much that you provided a way for us to be reconciled to you. We thank you for calling us with a holy calling and pray that we will have the courage and the boldness and the perseverance to endure all things for the sake of those you are inviting in to a relationship with You. Prepare us to be diligent in sharing our testimony and prepare the hearts of those you have chosen. Amen.

Enduring All

"For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, 

so that they also may obtain the salvation 

which is in Christ Jesus  and with it eternal glory."

2 Timothy 2:10

After my mom died, I wondered what I would say to those I love if I knew I was nearing the end of my life. The verses above are taken from 2 Timothy, which is Paul's last letter to Timothy. These words are words of encouragement. In the letter, Paul encouraged Timothy to be strong in God's grace and to be willing to suffer hardship for the sake of the gospel. The early church often suffered severe persecution from people outside the church and and suffered because of false teachers who had infiltrated the church. Because of this and his young age, Timothy had a tendency to be timid. So, Paul reminds Timothy that God had not given him a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of discipline.

In the above verse, Paul shared with Timothy why he did what he did and what was in his heart concerning lost people. As I reflect. I realize how often I have had wrong motives for sharing the gospel. My motives have been guilt, obligation, appearances, obeying God, or earning rewards in heaven. While those are not necessarily evil motives, I realized an important motive was missing – that of love. Paul says he was willing to endure all things so people might obtain salvation and with their salvation eternal glory. He had a heart for ungodly people to have a relationship with God and for them to be able to more fully reflect the glory of God. 

When I look at our society, sometimes I am not sure I want to think like Paul did, especially when I think of terrorists, men who rape children, drug dealers who get young people hooked on drugs, abortionists who slay babies all day for money, or students who kill other students because they are Christians or simply because they felt like it. To be honest I sometimes cringe at the thought of people who do those things obtaining mercy, grace, and salvation?

Yet, when I look at Paul's life before he became a Christian, he was responsible for the killing of believers simply because they believed in Jesus. Because Paul knew Christ had forgiven him for tormenting and ravaging the church, he was able to love the lost more than most of us do. Paul loved the lost enough to endure hard labor, physical and emotional pain, imprisonment, and beatings. He also loved enough to endure being stoned and left for dead, shipwrecked and being cast into the ocean for a day and night before being rescued. He constantly chose to travel through dangerous waters, across lands full of dangerous robbers, and through dangerous cities and wildernesses. He also endured a lot of discomfort simply due to the nature of his ministry. He was sometimes weary, in pain, hungry, thirsty, cold, without adequate clothing and deserted by friends who fell away from God. He often felt inadequate to deal with the burden of caring for all the churches in which he had ministered. I so don’t love like that.

In light of all that Paul suffered and his willingness to continue to endure tremendous hardship in order to share the gospel, I must examine my attitudes concerning the lost. Am I willing to develop relationships outside the church with people who don’t know the Lord and with people in the church who are choosing to walk in sin? Do I have an understanding and compassion for the harm their sin is doing to them and a passion for them to be set free and know and glorify God. I wonder where you are in loving the lost. When you are around unbelievers, does ungodly behavior irritate you or can you see it as a sign that there is soul who needs the Lord? Do you look down upon them in self-righteousness or do you experience compassion for them because they don’t know this loving wonderful Savior we know? Do you want them to suffer because of their sin or do you want them to experience the same grace and mercy you have? A youth worker I worked with shared that when she went to a football game her heart literally hurt because so many of the students didn’t know Jesus. She saw their behavior and knew it didn’t reflect Christ, but rather than looking down on them, she grieved and was overwhelmed that there were so many who didn’t know the Lord.

I want to encourage you not to assume even in your church that everyone knows God. I remember when I was a volunteer in our youth group that one teenage girl was hanging out with me all evening? Towards the end of the evening, I felt compelled to ask her if she had a personal relationship with Christ. She told me she didn’t but sure wanted one. I shared the gospel with her and she accepted Christ that night. 

What we are really willing to endure for the sake of the Gospel? Are we willing to labor hard and love boldly so others might hear? Are we willing to witness at the risk of being persecuted, made fun of, or deserted by our friends? Are we willing to put ourselves in danger so that we can reach people? Are we willing to be beaten or killed so people come to know Him? Let's encourage and spur one another to that kind of love and to good deeds and to boldly live for Christ. Let's encourage each other to endure all things so that men can know Christ as Paul encouraged Timothy. After all we might not know Him had other people not been faithful to God’s calling to share Christ with us.

Prayer: Father, we love You and appreciate so much that You provided a way for us to be reconciled to You. We thank you for calling us with a holy calling and pray that we will have the courage and the boldness and the perseverance to endure all things for the sake of those You are inviting into relationship. Prepare us to be diligent in sharing our testimony and prepare the hearts of those you have chosen. Amen.

Be You Holy

"But, as he who has called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of life, 

because it is written, "Be you holy; for I am holy.'"

I Peter 1:15-16

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you read a verse like the one above? I do. God is so holy and we so aren't. Paul's writings made it clear that we are holy because of Christ's payment for our sin and our position being in Him. The above verse tells us we are commanded to live out that holiness. Yet, I find myself often struggling with living up to the holiness of God, which is hard to wrap my mind around. Paul's writings in Romans 7:14-19 normalize my struggle as the passage describes his own struggle with holiness. He says that he finds himself not doing the good he desires to do and finds himself doing the evil that he desires not to do. There are a few practical principles that can help us grow in holiness.

First, we are called to a life of holiness that is patterned after the Lord's – not the world's view of holiness. Holiness is not relative to the various situations we find ourselves in, but it is according to God's word. We must realize the world taints our view of holiness or we become desensitized to sin. We would do well to ask the Lord to give us His perspective of holiness and sin. We can even ask Him to give us sensitive consciences. It’s important to realize we will automatically grow in Holiness as we develop our relationship with the Lord. The more we learn to love Him the more we will desire to obey Him and to turn away from all that hurts our relationship with Him. 

Secondly, we need to remember God has given us everything we need in the scripture that enables us to live holy lives. (2 Peter 1:3) That includes instruction, reproof, correction, exhortation, and encouragement. He also has told us He will not give us more than we can handle, but with temptation He will give us a way of escape. (1 Corinthians 1:13) These truths indicate living a life of holiness requires faith that God has provided what we need to grow and will provide strength in the face of each temptation. Every temptation is an opportunity to see God work in our lives.

Next, a very important part of the process of growing in holiness is reaching a point we are in tune enough with God’s Word we actually consistently call evil evil and good good. It is God’s desire we learn to love the things He loves and hate the things He hates. (Romans 12:9) If we are neutral about evil and don't hate it, we have the potential to move in the direction of it. This doesn't mean hating people – just the evil they do. 

There are several reasons to hate evil. First, it doesn’t reflect our Creator. Second, evil damages the person who is acting evilly and it damages those around him. For example, premarital sex has spread painful horrible diseases that kill. It also has done tremendous emotional damage to the people involved in it. Pornography does not just affect those who look at it. Several years ago a county in Florida took all pornography out of it and the number of rapes and childhood perpetration decreased significantly. Sin has its roots in pride and self-centeredness and it results in pain and broken relationships. The scripture uses strong words to describe sin. It is not a disorder, nor is it a developmental issue; it is sin. Sin is serious because it separated us from God and made us His enemies. It helps us to abhor evil if we look at sin as God does in the Scripture, calling sin sin. 

As we learn to hate evil we will be driven with the desire to replace wrong behavior with righteous behavior. Romans 6:13 says, "Neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." To overcome sin we need to do something that is incompatible with what we are trying to overcome. If we have struggled with hatred, we need to do something loving. If we have been lying we need to practice telling the truth. If we have stolen, we need to find a way to give. If we have been disrespectful to authority figures, we need to look for ways to honor them. 

Lastly, our motives for trying to be holy need to be loving and honoring God – not just hiding our faults, getting other people to look up to us, or making us feel better about ourselves. It is simply to show God love and to return to the place that we bearer his image as He originally designed us to do. We would do well to remember that sometimes all an unbeliever knows about our great God and Savior is what they see in us.

Prayer: Father, we praise You because You are Holy. We thank You that You have declared us righteous because of Christ's death. We ask that you help us to hate evil and to cling to what is good. We also ask that You help us to recognize temptation in its earliest stages and that You will help us make choices that will replace sinful habits with Godly behavior. Amen.

Bearing Burdens

"Bear you one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ…

For every man shall bear his own burden."

Galatians 6:2, 5

Sometimes the Lord is gracious to bring the truth of His word alive to us through life examples. I was fortunate to see one of those life lessons unfold during a youth retreat. I had the privilege of watched Chris Riser, the speaker, interact with his six-year-old son as they did activities together. The biggest lesson came as I watched them climb a rock wall. I was near tears when they finished. The scene of them together reminded me of the above verses as well as the relationship we have with our Abba Father.

Josiah began climbing on the easy part of the wall while his father began climbing on the level next to him. At first, they were even and then the dad slowed down a little and let his son get a little above him. Just as Josiah got too high for the spotters to reach him, Chris scooted over vertically and was just underneath his son. He spoke calmly, gently encouraging his son to reach for the next stone, suggesting which stones to step on and which ones to reach for. With his experience and guidance Josiah was able to successfully climb up the wall. At one point there was a really big stretch for the little guy. His dad stretched his arm to the next rock and told him to step on his arm and reach for the next rock up with his hand. For a brief moment the dad bore the total weight of his child. The rest of the way Josiah did well and was able to pull his own weight in the climb. For a few moments the lower part of Josiah's legs were totally hidden by his dad and it was like they were one unit working together. 

Josiah totally began the climb on his own with just the instruction he was receiving and spotters. He was fully carrying his own weight. Then his dad became his teacher even though Josiah pretty much did most of the work. When he reached the spot that he could not have gotten past, his dad became his strength and even his rock. After that point, he was off and climbing again. That is the way we are to be in the church. We are each responsible for loving and serving other people and bearing our own responsibilities. There are times, however, when we become weak, hurt, or lack the experience we need to handle things and we need someone to come alongside and help us. It may be our friends, a pastor, a mentor, our church, or a Christian counselor. I have realized that if I am doing my "job" as a youth worker correctly, there will comes a time I am no longer needed. Chris only gave Josiah what was needed so he would gain experience and become stronger and more independent in rock climbing. Sometimes he was quiet, sometimes instructing, and sometimes he was Josiah's strength. He didn't baby him, nor did he leave him to fail. 

The other picture I saw in Chris and Josiah's relationship is that he learned a lot about God from His dad. Chris loves rock climbing and does it well. He invited Josiah to start learning it and Josiah took him up on it. Watching Chris on the wall, I realized he had a perspective of the whole wall that Josiah did not have at six years old. He was very calm and would lean back a little and scan the wall and convey to Josiah what he needed to do. He also knew his son and knew what his strengths and weaknesses were and he encouraged him without making him feel like a "loser." If he lost his footing, he guided him so his foot was back on course. The amazing thing was that Josiah listened carefully, trusted his father's advice, and obeyed his instructions. Their relationship is a picture of the way God relates to us and it is a picture of how we should we should respond to God. He has a complete perspective of our lives while we only see the little "rocks" or lack of “rocks” ahead of us. Through His word and His Spirit He guides us through life if we listen like Josiah did. We,too,  will be safe if we choose to obey God's voice. When we are weak, He offers us His strength.

Through the community of the church He provides people who help bear burdens that are too heavy for us. We need to listen and obey God like Josiah did. We may need to allow others in on our struggles and let them come along side of us and encourage us with God's truth. When we can admit our fear and our need for guidance, others can impart their courage and wisdom into our hearts. When we are struggling we need to let them hold us accountable. We also need to listen to godly people who speak His truth with open hearts. God is like Chris in that He is upholding us in this life and is our rock when there is nothing to stand on. Even more evident in Chris and Josiah's relationship was love and the fruit that is found in consistent parenting. Several students told me they heard Josiah tell his dad when he thought his dad did a good job on an activity. Josiah had already begun to reflect the loving and encouraging heart of his father. In the same way we should be reflecting our Abba to others by emulating Christ’s example. 

Our heavenly Father loves us and is instructing us -- are we, listening intently? He is our rock -- are we standing on HIM? 

Prayer: Father, thank you for giving us real life examples of your truths. Your word should be our delight and our instruction, please give us ears to hear and hearts to obey. Thank you for your faithfulness to uphold us and keep us from falling. Help us to become people who seek to bless your heart. Amen.

Hope in the Lord

"Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, 
and ye that hope in the Lord."

Psalm 31:23

On September 11, 2001 I woke up about 5:00 am and could not go back to sleep. I turned on the TV to watch the local news program just in time to see the planes crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. I was stunned. As I watched all of the sights and sounds of our nation’s attack, the personal testimonies and the pictures of suffering families were overwhelming. Yet, the Lord was so real and such and encouragement to me during the week that followed. As I saw the first scenes unfold on TV, the Holy Spirit began bringing Scripture to my mind. The words of King David, whose life was surrounded by chaos and danger, brought to my mind that God is my stability and rock in the midst of chaos. This passage encouraged me to trust God's stability in seemingly unstable situations, "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-8.

The morning after the attack I woke up with a praise song running through my head. It was a powerful song about Christ's return. Then I turned on the TV and I saw a mother from California sharing how her son, Mark had called her from the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. He told her he knew they were going to die no matter what they did so they were going to try to take control of the plane back so no one on the ground would die. He told her calmly he loved her and then 12 minutes later he died. She looks at his call as a beautiful gift, proud that he would give his life to save others. 

As I left to walk and pray for her, I was reminded of Christ going to the Garden of Gethsemane to talk to His Father about His imminent death. I wondered if the mother and son shared the same emotions as Christ shared with His Father that dark night long ago. As Christ intensely prayed, God whose very nature is love had to ache, knowing what Christ would endure. Yet, just as the mother expressed comfort she had in her son's sacrifice, our heavenly Father and Christ were comforted by the joy of people being redeemed and reconciled to God. As I contemplated the cross, the song I had woken up thinking about came flooding back unto my head. The first words of the chorus are, "Behold He Comes, riding on the clouds!" When I checked my email, I found some German friends had written of their concern for us. They ended their letter with a praise that Christ is coming back! Both the song and the sentiment our friends expressed are reflective of Revelation 14:14 and Revelation 19:11-16. "And I looked and, behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat, like the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle…And I saw heaven opened and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but He himself. And He was clothed with vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies that were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations, and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords."

Out of New York's tragedy I learned I live too much in the shadow of the cross. Even though we are brought back to the cross every time we confess and repent of sin or take communion, we need to also embrace the truth that Christ has been resurrected and He is coming back. When we focus on the truth that we serve a living God who is victorious over both sin and death we are free to live in a way that honors God. While the cross is a beautiful picture of His outrageous love, our strength comes in remembering His power displayed in the resurrection. If we live in light of the truth that He is coming back, we will be comforted by knowing when He returns He will rule and reign in all of His glory and justice will be carried out perfectly. By remembering the descriptions found in Revelation we are able to live courageously in the face of these hard events that ordinarily paralyze us. We are able to love people who are not easy to love, able to say no to nagging temptations, and be able to grieve losses as people who have full confidence in God's faithfulness. 

May I ask you of you are living in the light of His promise to return? Does that truth purify your heart and give you the courage to love boldly and courageously? Do you long for His return?

Prayer: Father, the 9-11 tragedy is still hard to comprehend. Please continue to be with families who lost loved ones that day. Help us trust in Christ's power during all tragedy’s we face. Draw our minds to the fact that Christ is coming back with his glory fully manifested for He is Faithful and True, King of Kings and Lord of Lords and will reign in love and perfect righteousness. Amen.