With Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving

Periodically, I like to open up my Lutheran Catechism and review some of the basic tenets of the faith. Today, I found myself in the commandments, specifically the one that says: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.

Then Luther adds: What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, conjure, lie, or deceive, by His Name, but call upon Him in every time of need and worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.

This explanation of the command always brings me back to my conversion, my return to the Father’s ranch as a broken prodigal. One day I was a careless spewer of obscenities and curses, throwing the name of Jesus around with a sneer, and the next day, His name flowed out of my lips like honey! And if I heard anyone curse with my Lord’s name, I was cut to the heart! (I still am)

I can’t explain why He took my foul mouth away, but I’m glad He did. Perhaps it is the deep down gratitude of my soul for what Jesus has done for me on the cross. And from that day when I returned to the ranch as a broken prodigal, I have been compelled by the Holy Spirit to worship Jesus with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.

I am not deserving of this grace he has bestowed on me, but it sure comes in handy in my every time of need, a need such as the one that we are all facing in our world today.  May the Holy Spirit touch your heart in such a way that even in the midst of this crisis you are able to worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.

A Prayer For Those Who Are Missing Church

So, how was church today? My church streamed our worship service today and due to my technical deficiencies, we walked in late on line! How embarrassing! We are never late for church!  

This online worship will apparently be the new norm for a while, so I guess we better get used to it. Thankfully, even though we may be home bound….the Word of God is not bound, and we heard a great message about grace from our pastor today. It was very timely, in that during this lockdown and subsequent close living quarters, we are going to have to learn to extend grace  to those very near and dear to us. Sounds like a good training ground for future application!

I just wanted to share a couple of verses with you today, that I came across in my morning devotional time. Both verses seem apropos for the plague we are facing in the world today! The first verse came from Proverbs 22:3, and expresses the wise path of social isolation during this present upheaval!

“A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”  Good advice, right?

The second verse is from Ps 142:7 and I would ask that you would pray it with me right now, wherever you are reading this.  Pray it, because even though I am grateful for the opportunity for streaming worship, I miss the fellowship of my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Here it is: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name.”

Did you pray it? I hope so! Then when God hears our prayer and releases us from this plague, I’ll see you in church!

The Dinah Incident

I am finding myself in the Book of Genesis these days in my morning devotional reading, and today I came across “The Dinah Incident.” You’ll find it in Genesis 34 and there are some good lessons to be found here for the followers of Jesus.

Ge 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

In other words, Dinah went clubbing. The urban dictionary defines clubbing as “when women go out to dance in circles and men go out to hunt them.”  Obviously, “clubbing”  has been around for a long time.  What could go wrong? A lot! Especially if alcohol is involved. We don’t know if alcohol was involved in Dinah’s case, but things went wrong in a hurry!

Ge 34:2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.

Evidently, date rape has also been around for a long time! Certainly, a danger to consider before heading out to the club, especially in a world that sees nothing wrong with the sin of fornication (sex outside the bounds of marriage.)

Well, it was wrong to the Israelites, (God’s children) then,  Ge 34:7 And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

And it’s wrong for followers of Jesus now! Eph 5:3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

The sin of fornication is the norm in the world and I fear it is becoming more and more accommodated in the church. It seems that the church at large is afraid to talk about it as sin, lest they offend anyone.  But what are we to do with this passage in Ephesians, “it is not fitting for saints.”

Perhaps you have been caught up in this sin and the convenient thing to do is just continue to live together. Well, pilgrim, sometimes following the Lord is inconvenient, but God’s ways are always ultimately for our good.

The sin of fornication is no different from any other sin in the Bible and God has given us the way to deal with it. Confess it as sin, turn from it! Ac 3:19 says,  "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”

And remember,  there is no sin that Jesus didn’t pay for on the cross. Confess it, receive His forgiveness, and forsake it. What did Jesus say to the woman caught in the act of adultery? After assuring her of His forgiveness, He said, “Go and sin no more.”

There are other lessons to be learned in this chapter from Genesis. Things like the importance of marrying a believer, (v 14) the dangers of covetousness (v23),  even the attitude of accommodating sin in the church lest we offend the world (v30)

It’s timeless material, like so many other things in Scripture. Let us learn to read and heed!

Another Possible Problem With the Corona-virus

The corona-virus has brought about massive changes in the way we do things, and while social isolation is an effective way of dealing with the pandemic, it can create a whole new set of problems. I want to address one of the possible problems in my devo today.

These are tense times and they will wear on us all as time moves on. We don’t always handle being cooped up with others very well. Frustration ferments, tempers flare, and there is a strong possibility that we could experience a spike in domestic violence.

This was one of the last things on my mind as I spent time in God’s Word this morning, but I cannot deny what I read in the Scriptures and feel compelled to share it with you today.  If that’s not enough, as I was driving home from an oil change this morning, a local radio station was doing a story about the increase in domestic violence during this kind of a health crisis! So I find it necessary to speak up.

Anyway, I was reading in Genesis chapter 31. It’s the story about Jacob finally breaking free from his father-in-law Laban. He had been living with Laban for the past 20 years, and was now leaving with Laban’s two daughters (Leah and Rachel) whom he had taken as wives. Soon they would be returning to Jacob’s homeland and Laban would never see them again.

Now men, you ought to know that it is not fitting to strike or berate your wife for any reason at all. You are to love her as Christ loved the church! You may think that no one will ever find out how you treat your wife, but you would do well to listen to what Laban’s parting words were to Jacob in Gen 31:50. He said, “If you afflict my daughters or if you take other wives besides my daughters – see, God is witness between you and I.”

Do you get it guys? I hope so! Your maltreatment of your wife may be out of view of others, but it is never out of God’s view! He stands as a witness against you. And God has this to say through the Psalmist in Ps 140:12, “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted.”

God sees, He knows, and He will deal with you justly.

What to do? Repent! Turn from this ungodly behavior! Get help with your anger management because it is never right to strike a woman, a child, or anyone else in a fit of anger! And Laban wasn’t restricting his warning to Jacob to physical violence, the word “afflict” here includes browbeating, which is another way of saying verbal abuse.

One more parting word of advice from the Scriptures.  Remember the hot headed and impetuous Peter? Here’s his advice to husbands: “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Pet 3:7)

Honor your wife, don’t abuse her! Treat her as an extraordinarily valuable and fragile vas one would find in an art gallery, rather than a cheap plastic vase you’d find at Walmart! She’s a vas, not a vase. Learn what that means and treat her accordingly.

Spiritual Social Distancing

Pr 18:10 “Social distancing.” In the wake of the corona-virus plague, this new phrase has been coined, and it is a wise and proper response to any pandemic.  

But there is an even wiser form of social distancing that has been around from the get-go and we read of it in Prov 18:10. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.”

Run to the Lord! He is a strong tower and can handle anything that comes your way. You are safe from any and all woes of this life, when you are in the arms of Jesus. He will get you through this one way or the other.

Even more to the point of social distancing, we read in Re 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”

The “her” in this passage is the godless culture of the world and it’s willful sin. Jesus calls us to distance ourselves from the ways of the world. In other words…..repent!  Turn from sin and run to the strong tower of Jesus! It’s not that a Christian is spared from the effects of sin in this world, but rather, in Jesus, you are safe for eternity.  

Jesus addressed the matter of tragic circumstances in our lives on earth, in Lu 13:1-5, “There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  2 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  3 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  4 "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  5 "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

The man-made tower of Siloam fell, but the name of the Lord is the strong tower that will never topple. Run to Him, repent,  and be safe for eternity.  

But will God still receive me? Listen to the words of Jesus in Joh 6:37b,  "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

You are safe in the strong tower of Jesus! Come to Him!

The Holy Spirit Is A Dove......Not A Snipe

Cleaning out an old file today, I ran across this from 1995: 

“Of all the birds. The dove is most easily alarmed and put to flight at hearing a shot fired.  The Holy Spirit is compared to a dove. If you begin to shoot each other, the heavenly dove will take wing and instantly leave. The Holy Spirit is one of love and peace, not of tumult and confusion. He cannot live among the smoke and noise of fired shots. “

This brings to mind a passage from Ephesians which speaks to grieving the Holy Spirit!

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

Let’s try to remember folks, the Holy Spirit is a dove…..not a snipe.

One Thing We Christians Could and Should Do

I was reading from Proverbs 13 this morning and verse 3 says, “ He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.” These days, this spiritual truth seems to apply to our physical world as well. Wash your hands and watch what you put in your mouth was great advice from mom and great advice from the CDC!

With the pandemic, (let’s call it the plague) of the  coronavirus upon us, it might be time to reflect  on past plagues in the Bible. God consistently used plagues to get our attention. He sent the ten plagues to Egypt to get Pharaoh’s attention.  Years later, He would speak  through the prophet Amos and say, “I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. (Amos 4:10)

Given the state of our nation (and yes, even the church) with its disregard for the sanctity of life, the sanctity of sex, and the sanctity of marriage, and a whole bunch of other sins, (see Romans 1: 26-32 for more) this passage from Amos could well apply to us today.

Is God trying to get our attention? Is He calling us to return to Him and His ways? I think this is one area in which we Christians can respond to the present crisis. We can get on our knees and pray much like Daniel did in Daniel Chapter 9.

“This disaster has come upon us, yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.  Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us. We have sinned, and we have done wickedly.  O Lord according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let all Your anger and Your fury be turned away. We do no present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies, O Lord hear! O Lord forgive! O Lord listen and act!

There is certainly more we can do in Christ-like fashion to deal with this crisis, but this prayer of confession and repentance would be a good place for all of us to start.